Love Notes

I've completed the composition notebook cover.  I named it Love Notes. I wrote those words on the front cover too.

Materials used: Cotton duck or canvas cloth, acrylic paint (including Jacquard, Pebeo SetaColor, and Liquitex brands), Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric, Shiva PaintStik, Margaret Applin Designs Thermofax screen (Doodled Squares-1), Mistyfuse, heavy interfacing, commercial cotton fabric, thread, handcarved stamp, and stencils

Would you like to win this comp book cover? All you have to do is participate in the 3 Creative Studios Color Palette Challenge and you will have a chance to win in a random drawing. << Read more about how to participate here. >>

What's In The Works

I'm working on a couple of projects simultaneously the past couple of days. This first photo is a piece of cotton duck/canvas that I painted with several layers of design and color. This is going to become a composition notebook cover. The painted fabric was inspired by an artist that I enjoy following. Her name is Roben-Marie Smith and her blog is named Every Life Has a Story. Oh and the colors in this piece are inspired by this month's color palette over at 3 Creative Studios.

Next is a new tote/handbag that I'm working on. This is the first bag I've made using a technique that I've pretty much only used on art quilts so far. So this is sort of the prototype I guess. I have always created these focal designs on a neutral colored background. I'm thinking I may have to try it on a colored background. New ideas popping into my head all the time! Does that happen to you too? I probably better go write this one down or else I could forget about it. Does that happen to you too?

I hope your Tuesday is terrific!

SAQA Auction Week 3

The final week of the SAQA auction starts tomorrow (Monday, Sept. 26).  Every year Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) holds an auction to raise funds to continue it's quest to promote art quilting.  The quilts that are available in the auction are all made and donated by SAQA members.  You can read all about how the auction works here.

Here are a few of the quilts you'll find in this week's round up:

Reflections of Summer by Susan Rienzo

Kia Kaha (Be Strong) by Brenda Gael Smith

Crow by Terry Grant

Border Crossing by Helen Conway

Purple with Lotus by Deborah Boschert

Apricot in Color by Michelle Jackson

All of this week's auction quilts can be found on pages 3A and 3B of the SAQA auction pages.

Imagine if There Was No Orange

Oh I can't imagine that at all.  And I'm glad I don't have to, because the beautiful color of orange does exist and it is a mighty wonderful color to enjoy.

The orange kitty above is painted on cotton duck/canvas cloth and is on it's way to a new home. The new owner of this cute little cat is going to make a pillow with this piece and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Mini Kitty

Purple Mini Kitty
10" H x 10.5" W

I finished this little quilt yesterday.  I can't decide if this is a little boy or girl.  Either way, it's pure cuteness...in my cat lover's eye, that is.  Now available in my etsy shop.

Hope you are having a wonderful week.  We are having typical autumn weather...cooler and breezy.  The leaves are started to turn yellow.  Oh I'm not ready for that.

SAQA Auction Week 2

Every year Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) holds an auction to raise funds to continue it's quest to promote art quilting.  The quilts that are available in the auction are all made and donated by SAQA members.  You can read all about how the auction works here.

The second week of the auction starts tomorrow (Monday, Sept. 19)  This includes all the quilts shown on pages 2A and 2B.  Here is the quilt I made and donated, which is on page 2A.

A Little Birdy Told Me

Here are a few of the other quilts in this week's line up.

Klee's Castles by Gerrie Congdon

Maple Jewels by Nancy G. Cook

Cote d'Azure by Jan Soules

It's a Purple Weekend

I must really be in a purple kitty mood this weekend as you can see in these photos. First are a couple of zippered pouches I made with hand painted kitties on them. I had actually started these some time ago and then they got lost in the shuffle and totally forgotten. Until I came across them when looking for something else. So I got them finished up.

I also started these paintings some time ago but had only gotten as far as the penciled outlines on the colored backgrounds. These are painted on watercolor paper and I haven't finished with them yet. I'm sort of liking how the flowers are not colored in and am unsure what I will end up doing with those. I need to soften the background on the top one yet.  

And then I just had to do a thread sketched kitty too. This one still needs some color added and I hope to do that in the near future. Hopefully this one won't get lost in the shuffle.

And speaking of thread sketching, please check out this month's guest artist over at 3 Creative Studios. Thread sketching is the featured technique and the artist who is showing us all about it is Monika Kinner-Whalen.

Blue and Magenta

Or is it blue and purple?  I can't tell.  And I'm sure it looks different on the computer screen than in real life.  And I 'm sure it looks different on a cloudy day than a sunny day.  And I'm sure it looks different next to a gray kitty than a peachy/orange kitty.  Anyway...this one is done and in the shop.

I hope everyone has a beautiful autumn weekend.

Violet/Orange Bag

And I finished another one.  I shared a photo of this one in process in yesterday's blog post.  I ended up totally changing all the purple fabrics that I show in that photo.  They just weren't working for me.  This one is now available in my shop.

One Done One Undone

I finished the purple and green handbag/tote. While I love this color combo, I still prefer the colors more in the previous bag I made (orange/fuchsia/purple).

The bag above is spoken for. I am so thrilled and grateful that so many of you are interested in my bags. Thank you for all the wonderful comments you've left about them. I am going to do some other designs besides cats on the bags, but will always continue with the cats. I am working out a bird design (right now it's mostly processing in my head) because a friend of mine would like a bag with a bird. So one of these days....

In the meantime, here is the next bag in progress.

Purple/Green Bag

I've been working on a new hand bag/tote the last few days.  I haven't been able to create these in anything but a cat theme just yet.  I think I feel that I'm not done with this kitty series yet.  Hmm, wonder if I'll ever be done with kitty themed items.  I doubt it.

SAQA Auction Time

Every year Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) holds an auction to raise funds to continue it's quest to promote art quilting.  The quilts that are available in the auction are all made and donated by SAQA members.  You can read all about how the auction works here.

The auction is split into three sections and the first section of quilts go up for auction starting tomorrow, Sept. 12.

A few of my favorites in this section include:

Woman of the Year by Bodil Gardner

Composition XIII by Deidre Adams

GottaHavaCuppa by Kate Themel

There are many more I could have included here but then that might mean almost all of them.  Anyway, there is a diversity of quilts and styles, which means there should be something there for all to enjoy.

P.S.  I have a quilt in section 2 of the auction, which starts on Sept. 19.  It appears on page 2A.

A Wish For You

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Violet Fuchsia & Orange

I just love this color combination!!!

Just finished this bag and just listed it in my etsy shop.  I think this one is my favorite of all of them.....so far anyway.

Finally Started

I really really wanted to get started on making this kitty bag late last week....but, well, that didn't happen.  But I did get started today and I'm currently adding free-motion quilting to the bag's exterior.

I've been thinking recently that maybe I should create some painted focal designs for these bags that aren't kitties.  Perhaps some puppies or flowers or, or, or.....any ideas from you would be welcome.  What do you think of this idea?  Good?  Bad?  Ugly????

Last week one day I had the opportunity to stop at one of the local thrift stores in my area.  This is a store that I don't get to often and while browsing through the small crafty section they have I spied a bundle of white fabric.  Of course it wasn't labeled as to what it was but I had a really good guess.  It was white denim and I was about 95% sure of this as I have a bundle that I purchased for dyeing from Dharma Trading at home.  The thrift store bundle was marked as five yards and the price was $3.99.  Woo wee!  I bought it and brought it home.  Washed it up and asked a couple of friends what their opinion was and they thought the same as I did on what it was.

I was doing a bit of fabric dyeing the past couple of days and I tossed a small piece of the thrift store fabric into the dye pot and it dyed up beautifully.  I've been wanting to try making some jackets and this fabric will be good to use for what I'm hoping to try.  Who knows, maybe I'll even try making a pair of pants.  Oy!  Did I just say that?

Orange

Bouquet 12" x 12"

Today is the reveal of twelve orange quilts over on the Twelve by Twelve blog.   Orange is one of my favorite colors and I look forward to seeing what the other Twelve by Twelve members did with it.  You are invited to hop over there to check it out.  You can read more about the quilt I made there as well.

Did you know that this quilt completes our color play round?  We've each made 12 quilts to a color(s) specified by each group member.  And....did you know that all these color play quilts and the first round of quilts we did, the theme series, are all going to be displayed at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, in early November?  If you are planning on going, I hope you will stop by and check them all out (that's 288 12" x 12" quilts in all).