Fiber Postcard Workshop 05-15-11

I taught this workshop for the Surfside Quilters Guild on Wednesday (05-11-11).  There were fifteen students and they all seemed to learn something and they said they had a good time.  Here are five of the postcards that were made in the class.  I may have some additional images in the future, but these ladies have given permission for me to show their work.  In the class I showed different ways to create the design on the front of the card - cut and fuse an original design, cut out and fuse motifs from fabric, use TAP paper to print or paint an image, etc..

 

Mary Gorelick did a wonky quilted background and applied a cutout doggie with his toys - so cute.

Marjie Butterworth free cut a tree and some leaves and added a fabric cutout of a bird house and birds.   The colorful bow lends a lot of cheerfulness. 

Bev Ringel free cut the pink balloons and machine appliqued them to the ombre background.  The "Survivor" banner is something she brought from home.  I think the addition of the sheer overlay with the sequin stars and dots is inspired.  The echo quilting gives the feeling of flight.

Carol Whiteside chose this elegant violet flower to combine with some spirals that lend a lot of movement.  I like the light random flowers in the background.

 

Wendy McCallley free cut a garden of flowers to bloom in the sunshine. She did a lot of threadwork to give a feeling of movement - a slight breeze in the garden. 

Hard boiled.... 05-14-11

When I was a child my mother would mark eggs after she hard boiled them.  We always had lots of eggs because everyone kept chickens in the 30s and 40s - a saving grace during WWII.  At some point mom started drawing faces on eggs when she put one in a lunch bag - she was a gifted artist who, as a teenager, hand-tinted photos for photographers.  This was, of course, before color film.  I picked up her egg drawing habit and have always drawn faces on hard boiled eggs - just for the fun of it, something I do for myself.  I change "styles" every now and then - it just happens.  Currently I seem to be channeling Picasso's less talented sister. 

 

I always buy brown eggs - just because I love their colors.  Once in a great while I find araucana eggs in lovely soft blues and greens - I can hardly bear to break them.

A few years ago I discovered a copy of Corky's daddy's professional magazine with a cover full of "eggheads".   A completely different style from mine - I rarely give anyone hair. 

The blue polka dot chicken with fuzzy worm is a refrigerator magnet - fabric fused to the magnets you cut.  

 
Great eyelashes - with a sort of dewy look.
I use only Sharpies for this .

Wordless Wednesday 05-11-11

For those who don't know - Blogger had a major problem and no posting was allowed for about 24 hours since Wednesday evening sometime. So, now they are back in running order.  This post from Wednesday was not posted, so here it is.  I could not post on Thursday.   Del

"....you make my heart sing." 05-10-11

Today was the Surfside Quilters Guild meeting in San Clemente.  What a great group of friends this is.  The speaker was Sandy Sutton who has a fabulous collection of antique and vintage quilts.  She has become addicted to quilts of that era just as I have become addicted to contemporary quilts.  She is intensely interested in researching everything there is to know about her quilts, a difficult task since all of the quilt makers are dead and there are very few records about specific quilts.   I, on the other hand, can look up a lot of information on quilter's websites on the Internet.  Or talk to the quilter via e-mail.  Lucky me. 

But even with all the almost unbelievable quilts Sandy showed, this is the one that made my heart "sing" today. 

 
Mary Jayne Bellamy showed this quilt at Show & Tell (or more properly "Monthly Quilt Exhibit").  She calls it "Why?" on the form she submitted.  She goes on to say, "Pyramids pattern from a friend in the desert.  Scallops on the sides, why?  It is a 5 year old UFO." 

It has been decades since I made a pyramid quilt and when I did it never occurred to me to capture the "zing" of SPRING.   I've said many times that my favorite color is yellow, although sometimes it has to struggle with red and violet/purple, but I haven't particularly enjoyed yellow with pink.  Maybe it is the variety of greens sprinkled throughout that make a balance.  I think Mary Jayne should rename this quilt and call it "A Host of Golden Daffodils" after William Wordsworth's poem.   Or maybe "Spring Song".  Or maybe "Heart Song".  Or maybe "Singing Heart".  Or.......!

A House Guest 05-09-11

My friends Nancy and Mike are out-of-town and have left their little Suki with another friend.  But the other friend needed to go to a Mother's Day event and spend the night, so Nancy ask me if I would take Suki for twenty-four hours.  Sure!  She is a sweet little dog, maybe half the size of Corky and verrrrry active.

The friend and I met in a parking lot (no, not Starbucks') and I drove home with Suki in her little cage, which she didn't like one bit.  Later I discovered that she is not usually confined in the car - whoa, that is too dangerous!  What if there is an accident and she gets loose?  Corky wears a seat belt or rides in a carrier.  As soon as we got to my house I took her out to show her the backyard.

 
She headed straight for the low wall across the back and leaped up for a stroll.  I was concerned that she would jump down on the other side, but it is very steep and there is no clear spot to jump into, so she just strolled along, taking in the view.

Inside she tried my chair and took a little nap.

 
But she likes to be up high and ended up on the back of the wing-backed chair.  Besides, from that aerie she could see out the front window in case someone came to rescue her from this strange place. 
A few things I hadn't considered.  When we first came in the house I had to go back out for her food, etc., and forgot that she is not sill-trained as Corky is - she followed me out and trotted right on out of the garage to the front yard!  However, she does come when she is called, so I called and she came right back in.  Corky, of course, does not come when he is called because he has completely lost his hearing.   Since Suki can hear everything she rushed around checking out every sound - she was quite concerned that she could hear noises in the garage.  I ran a load of laundry out there and she was hearing the washer which I can hardly hear, maybe I should have my hearing checked.  

I was told she would sleep in her cage, but she was not pleased.  So, I let her out and she jumped up on my bed, curled up and went to sleep.  No fussing, no bothering, just a little snoring.  We were both quite comfortable.  I wonder what her parents will say.  It certainly seemed something she is accustomed to doing.

Today I met the friend in the same parking lot and return cute little Suki.  She happily got in the other car and didn't even look back.  I do wonder what Corky will have to say when he smells another dog at Camp Del - not something he has experienced in the past. 

 

Quilt from TCQC by Polly Bech 05-07-11

"Breaking Through" Polly Bech  - Pennyslvania  2008 12" x 12"

Purchased from SAQA 2008 online auction

Polly Dressler Bech specializes in sunprints and stamping on her quilts.  As you can see she has also used raw edge slices to expose the color underneath the top layer. 

And she has added hand stitching for additional color.

 

Great backing fabric and a very simple label.

www.pollybech.com