Jack and the Beanstalk is now a pillow, about 12″x16″. It is hand embroidered, my own design, inspired by a book of fairy tales. This has an overlap opening on the back.
And I finished the Mermaid and Troubadour pillow, about 15″ by 16″. This is my favorite one. It has a side zipper.
Here are the backs. Jack has blue and green. Mermaid has lavender and multicolor.
I worked on this for several more hours. Then I took this picture, with no flash. It is truer color than the others, and there is less bounce back from the shiny stuff. What do you think, better?
The work so far, wool yarn and cotton thread, some hand dyed.
I have a new book for inspiration , Free Form Embroidery by Judith Baker Montano. So I started a new piece. It is raw edge appliqué, hand embroidery with thread, floss, cotton and wool. It’s a landscape, and I’m having fun doodling with my needle as I go, a good project to off the new year.
We hung up my quilt at the Lyon Den in Grand Rapids this morning. It’s right next to the front door. The wall is jungle green, a good color behind it. Here’s a snap.
White flower is 8×10″
Flower Banner is 7+1/2 by 15″
Kathy, you choose and I’ll send it off to you.
I made a small change to this quilt today. Now the toad who owns the stool has appeared.
Remember I will send you a little tiny quilt this week, if I draw your name from the comments I receive.
This is a teaser picture. I finished my entry for the International Quilt Festival today. I am showing you this peek, a fraction of it. It looks like it’s vibrating.
Number 138 for the year. Hope it gets accepted.
After taking care of business the first day, we felt like playing. So, inspired by a picture in a magazine, we decided to each make a small quilt using circles appliqued to a pieced background.
Julie is good at staying on task, and made this lovely little panel.
Deb changed her mind about the circles, and put squares on hers first, topped with circles.
I started out okay, with some bright fabrics. But they were chattering at me, so they turned into Monsters In Love.
Then, because I had strayed so far from my intent, I made another one. But after all the piecing and recutting and more piecing, I wanted to quilt designs on it, instead of applique circles.
Running With Scissors invited me to teach a Folk Art Quilt class on Sunday. Our theme was Secret Life. We had 16 people, all working hard and playing with their stashes of fabric.
They were portraying a Secret Life, a fantasy vision of a possibly different reality.
Some people chose to show a personal story.
Others made a memory quilt, ( of the time when she was a Viking!)
They were colorful.
And imaginative.
There were animals…
some of them studying to be professors.
Others were just showing off their cute personalities.
Some people showed a personal dream of success.
Others were mind readers, showing the dreams of their pets.
Great artists of the past were inspirational.
Symbolism came into play with a couple quilts.
Admiration of other cultures made a good subject.
Communication between species was a theme of one or more.
And it was an opportunity to play with new styles.
I have unfortunately missed a picture of one quilt which depicted an ideal dream of the future. Maybe if Mary sees this, she can send me one??
We had a good time.
