Great Anti Chlor Tip

Just received a message from a girl who read the blog, instead of vinegar and water to stop the bleaching process ( dye Discharged leaves quilt below) you can use the anticlor they use for Aquariums !!! How cool is that.......... Thanks to Anne H.

Fast and Easy printed fish

Heres a real simple idea, go to your stash, find a novelty print and cut out the motifs you want in them. This was obviously a fish fabric. I laid them on a marble piece I had made, put tulle over them to stop raw edges from fraying and couched down fuzzy yarn....

Wholecloth of a different Color

Irena Bluhm is a phenomenal quilter who shares her joy of quilting freely. Last year at my quilt show Machine Quilters Exposition LLC . I managed to steal away and have a little class to learn her technique. The following 2 photos show how easy it is to turn your wholcloth quilt into a breathtaking piece of art. Irena will once again be teaching the technique at the 2007 show. Visit www.MQXshow.com and will get you all the info you need to treat yourself to meeting Irena.

Quilting Arts Magazine Inspired me

In the latest issue of Quilting Arts Magazine , there was a quick class on using a rainbow sheer, silk flowers and a pre pieced quilt . This was a quickly done piece, approx 3 hours from start to finish. ( The pieced part was a ufo hanging around) . It' s nice to be able to take a few hours and accomplish something. For the backing I used a piece of black felt to cover some areas where the varigaeted thread didnt behave!!!!!. Edges were stitched 1\4" away from all the edges and the rotary cut with a wavy edge.

Under the Sea

When you make a mistake piecing cover it with fish!!!! This quilt was supposed to be a tessellation, frustrated over not being able to figure out the correct lines to cut , I covered the marked lines with Tulle, Fish, novelty Threads and Machine Quilting. All applique' applied while on my Gammill. I laid a rainbow sheer on and quilted in the sea ferns at the bottom. I then cut away the excess sheer and went back in with more thread. The fish are simple shapes ripped or cut from Novelty fabric and covered with tulle. Yes it's not just for bridal showers anymore!! LOl

In the close up photo below you will see the rainbow sheer. Lots of shiny fun to use.

Love Abides

A smile after heartache.... This quilt portrays a moment of shared laughter after losing a loved one. Enlarged from a photo , layers of fabric , tulle and paint went into making the recreation of this quilt. Hand dyed sky, hot fix crystals and acrylic paint were added for depth.....

making this quilt helped me deal with a loss in the family.

Shadow Leaves

Talk about easy and fun. This piece was done using bleach and water. Inspired by the book " Casting Shadows by Colleen Wise. My grandson , Jake and I created this quilt in an afternoon. He chose leaves off the ground and we traced them on freezer paper. Next iron them down to a piece of black cotton and spray with a bleach water mix. When the color started to leave we threw it in a bucket of water and dish soap. Rinsed it thouroughly and then set it in Vinegar and water for 15 minutes. We pressed it and the put on fabric leaves offset on each one. 2 borders were added , I threw it on the longarm and it was done. A quick trip to the framers for a copper frame and there it was!!!!! Fast , Fun and easy!!!!!!!!!

Where's the Bird Bob

This is a framed art quilt of my dog Bob Marley. He's my constant companion and spends many hours in the studio with me. The piece was done with fused fabric, piecing, thread painting and machine quilting. Bob loves to chase birds and this is suitable for his nature.

Do Unto Others - Thread Painting

A few years back I had the Pleasure of working with the very talented Ellen Ann Eddy. Her book Thread Magic is one of the most inspiring books I have. Her use of color and imagination are goals I strive to achieve.
The piece I made is called " Do unto Others" It depicts a frog eating a fly and then a bird about to eat him. The piece is worked on stabilizers that are appliqued to a background fabric. Hand dyed yarns were wound on the bobbin of a domestic sewing machine to create texture. Various sheers were fused onto the background. It was an excellent class.
The close up shot below shows a detail of the bird. Rayon threads and metallics were used in a zig zag stitch.
If you have thread Painting you would like to share please do so.