Last post of the year

Since it has been snowing a lot here my evenings have been pretty free - my days too for that matter. So I finished up a lot of projects. We got some great new striped batiks at Quiltz and I just had to do something with them so this wall hanging was born. It is a great brightener on a gloomy day. We also got in a gorgeous line of flannels and I just had to create a snuggly rag quilt using some of them. Luckily my co-worker, Carol volunteered to do all the snipping. It took her three hours. .. and I really appreciate her help.

I knit these scarves for the two kids who I babysit for. Shoshana picked the yarn and Rascal had a field day with it before the knitting began. Two balls of ribbon yarn wrapped around him, Darcy(the collie) and the coffee table. It looked like Mardi Gras in my house. He was so pleased to see me when I returned home to the mess.

I am teaching a class on felt applique and I needed a quick and easy sample.

This one was fun to create and the sewing was easily done during a couple of meetings that I attended. I was really tempted to buy more wool felt after creating it but I stopped myself from filling that online shopping cart when I realized that I really don't need $150 worth of felt....the colors were so gorgeous that I wanted it all. Ah well...

maybe next year.

Hi Everybody,

This is my last post of the year because I am off to Egypt on Tuesday to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday. She is a retired travel agent and we just can't get the travel bug out of her blood. Should be an incredible trip with the whole family.

I am pretty proud of myself looking back on this year. I actually posted something every week except one! Not bad. And I have four things to post today to make up for future misses. I intend to continue my weekly postings upon my return so expect to see something mid- January. I do love blogging because it keeps me on track and it is great to share what I am up to.

So a special thanks to those of you who read my blog and especially to those who make comments. May your holidays be full of love, health and happiness and may your New Year bring more of the same plus a lot of creativity.

Much Love,

Karen

Add Pizzazz

It has been another busy week with lots of quilting going one. I started the Asian quilt at the store a while ago and I just had to get it off the wall and finished so that took priority. It is a simple pattern using great fabrics.

I am gearing up to teach some new classes so I also needed to get some samples done. This one is for my Add Pizzazz class. We will be playing with Angelina fiber, fusible braid and crystals. I had so much fun creating this one. The braid fuses really easily and I like the look.

I quilted it with a variegated thread and I was very happy with the outcome. The flowers seem to be dancing.

I know this picture is in here twice but I can't figure out how to get rid of it!

Batik Scarf

First I have to apologize. I have been so busy the last few days that it only hit me Monday morning as I was running out the door that I had forgotten to post! This has been a crazy week. I was notified that "Slick" was accepted to the SAQA Transformations Show and I am thrilled beyond belief. The funny thing is that I made that quilt for me - because I wanted to try new techniques - not because I was hoping to get it into a show. So I have learned a huge lesson - I need to create for myself rather than for others....
My mother saw a scarf at our fabulous local yarn store, Websters and she wanted me to see it. The original is made from silk but I tried it with batiks. After a few mishaps, I finally figured out an easy way to create it using Solvy and I love the outcome. I will be teaching a class on it at Quiltz next year.
I have also been making a Lone Star quilt as a commission and after sewing diamonds together for about 4 hours, I discovered that I cut them at the wrong angle and I have a 6 pointed star instead of an 8 pointed star. Quite the surprise! Back to the cutting mat...
I will post more next Sunday. I promise.

Tallis and bag and wedding collage

This piece was created as a wedding gift for Rebecca and Danny. I used parts of their invitation in a collage format.
It was great to work with paper for a change.

I was commissioned to create this tallis and matching bag with my friend, Maxine. She created the corner pieces and I put it all together. We enjoy collaberating on these projects and people definitely get one-of-a-kind tallit. For those who don't know - a tallis is a prayer shawl that is worn during Jewish services. When you put it over your head, you create your own sacred space within the congregation. A tallis is often given on a Bar or Bat Mitzvah when the child is considered an adult and can lead services as a full participant in the community.

Art pins

It has been playtime at my house this week and I have had the best time making unique pins out of Tyvek...yes, the stuff you see wrapped around houses when they are under construction. I paint it, melt it, add glitter and beads and a pin on the back and voila! I have a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art.

I am selling them at the Artisan's Gallery in downtown Ashland and at Quiltz if you want a closer look. They are $10 a piece or two for $18.00. I have been wearing one on a vest for over a year and they hold up well. Once the plastic is melted, it is not going anywhere.

Here are a few examples. No two are alike and I could never repeat a shape even if I wanted to.

I think they are really fun!

Slick

Slick was created in pieces as a collage. I began with a batik that I purchased in Bali years ago. I cut it into pieces, layered it with batting and backing and quilted the pieces individually. I zig-zaged the edges to complete each piece. Then I carried them around with me and spent a lot of time adding stitching, beads and a wonderful fiber that I bought at the fly fishing store.
I quilted two other fabrics and played with the arrangement of them all. I still needed a lighter fabric to link the larger pieces so I created a new fabric using soy silk fiber. This fabric was cut into narrow strips and sewn between some of the other pieces.
I allowed pieces to overlap each other as the collage grew and took shape. It reminds me of an oil slick and the colors that we see reflected in oil thus the name.

I also used large sequins in places to cover circles that I didn't like in the batik!

The finished piece is pretty large and would cover a wall nicely. I loved the process and plan to do it again. It is the perfect way to feature unique fabrics.

Beach art

My art group spent a few days camping at the beach and we challenged ourselves to create art from found objects. We did use glue and wire to hold things together but almost everything else came from nature.
Wendy created this wonderful 3D piece using lots of driftwood, seaweed and a feather. I particularly like the circular shell that hangs off the end in the upper right hand corner.

Patty made two creations...one using crab shells and a feather and the other using dried seaweed and shells. She mounted everything on a board.

Maya created a self-portrait using colored pencils, shells and wire. Do you see the resemblance?

Karen made two projects - one using

driftwood and shells.

The other was inspired by Wendy's 3D piece. It uses seaweed and lots of shells.

Here is a close up.





Denise painted her background and used shells, feathers, seaweed and driftwood. The two pieces on the left side dangle from her work.

We all had a wonderful time - stretching ourselves in the process.