Design Opportunity

From Irene Watson

I recently had time to play with the techniques in C June Barne’s book, Stitching to Dye in Quilt Art. I really like the pieces she’s done using her foundation technique so I ran out on a shopping spree and bought every white and off-white cotton and cotton blend in the area.

Armed with my new stash, I loaded a plain piece of muslin onto my long-arm. I stitched down strips and quilted as I went. I really liked the results of the undyed piece and struggled with the decision to dye or not dye for weeks.


Last week I threw caution to the wind and decided to dump that bugger in a bucket of dye. I made two mistakes. The first was dyeing on a day when I was fighting a virus. I sneezed while holding the dye container over the bucket and spilled a good amount of dye into my solution. The second was ignoring the first mistake. My little golden yellow piece is now lovely neon orange. The color in the picture is not true. It’s a really eye burning orange.

I haven’t decided whether to view this as a challenge and work with it as is, to overdye it with bronze or a light red to try to tone it down, or to bleach the heck out of it to remove some of the color. I’m leaning towards bleaching it. If it ends up with holes, it’ll just be another design opportunity. Right?

Reward for a Morning Walk

From Ellen Lindner

I know that observation is a large part of inspiration. And that practicing those skills improves them. So, I was delighted when, after four days of walking past them, I finally noticed a patch of Black Eyed Susans. As the dog tugged impatiently on her leash, I gleefully picked handfuls. As I did so, I noticed that the flowers that were past their prime were equally interesting. (Another observation!) I picked those ratty flowers with only half their petals, and ones that had no petals at all. Plus the buds. What a wonderfully diverse collection.

Since I'm doing a series called "Around the Neighborhood," I think there's a good chance these flowers will make their way into a quilt.

Abstract from Realism

From Ellen Lindner

At our recent play day, we did an exercise about finding abstract designs around us. The assignment started with photographing objects throughout the house. Later, we were to sketch one of the objects, removing as many details as possible, in order to reveal "the essence" of that object.

I decided to try a similar thing with some photos from that day. My question: How much could I omit and still be able to show the essence of these items?

I'm sure you can identify the old phone, above. I was struck by the strong design of this little photo. Maybe a future quilt design?

Can you identify the items below? (They belong to Jill.)

Yep. Her crocs.

This is a fun, and I think, valuable creative exercise.

Fun Play Day

From Ellen Lindner

We had a fun play day at my house, yesterday, with projects ranging from hand work to computer work. Although we were initially spread out, by late afternoon we had all migrated to one spot. After all, it's all about the socializing right?

Above, L-R: Ruth Anne, Paula, Peggy and Barbara

Above, L-R: Martha and Jill

Brevard Live Magazine Featured Artist *NEWS FLASH

Posted by Dij Pacarro.

*NEWS FLASH!  Dij just got accepted into the Art Gallery of Viera.  Check out their website  to see more of her quilts. Grand opening is Friday and Saturday, June 19th and 20th.

Lou Belcher wrote the most wonderful (and kind) article about me, complete with photos, in the June issue of Brevard Live Magazine. 

You can download it online at: http://www.brevardlive.com/

Once you download the June issue, scroll down to pages 56-58 to see my article. I'm so jazzed!

Asian Fusion: Take Out With a Twist

From Jill Brown
Here is my take on the Brevard Art Museum's challenge using the white take out box. I started with a bright oriental themed fabric and another coordinating fabric. I matched two colors of fusible glass with my fabrics. I then created a "dome" out of the fused glass to fit over the take out box, placing the metal handle through the dome. I quilted the oriental fabric, cut it into strips, then wove it into the glass dome, leaving spaces to show the white take out box below. I then added my bead "steam" on the top of the box.

The dome and box were placed on an oriental style plate, with a pair of chopsticks next to it, ready to enjoy the hot steamy meal inside!

The place mat underneath was woven using the oriental themed fabric, and the coordinating green fabric. They were cut on the bias, at a 45 degree angle (in opposite directions), woven and then quilted.

Bon Appetit!

The Thinker

From Paula
Doll making has become my passion, and using Tyvek is one of my favorite techniques. So, when given the opportunity to enter the Brevard Art Museum's Take Out Exhibition, it was a no-brainer for me to combine them to create The Thinker, Outside the Box. Her body is made from a piece of hand dyed fabric I made in a class, and later stamped during a program at a Dirty Dozen meeting. Her hair is a few natural silk cocoons, topped with a Tyvek kerchief painted to match her body fabric.

First, I covered both the inside and outside of the container with fabric made from painted dryer sheets, Angelina fiber, and tulle. Using recycled Tyvek, I painted and heated small pieces and covered the outside, taking care that the edges were also covered.

I made sure there were a few spots where the liner would show through. I made a few beads and curly-q's to form the vines and stalagmites, then polished it off with some hot-fix crystals.

The final challenge was what to do with the wire handle. It turned out that it made a perfect sash when strung with the Tyvek beads.

Here she sits on her Tyvek throne, holding a mysterious crystal and pondering the origin of this mysterious beauty. Maybe it came from the crystal laden grotto below.....