This is the second one I selected. It will be 30x 30 when finished. 

This is one of 12 sketches we had to make for the Silk Painting class I am taking.  

This is a group of singers that were there for the reception. I think they called themselves the Sweet Adalaids.  

This was my challange quilt. Each participant chose a song and made an interpetation and also had to use a challange fabric. You really can't find my fabric because I dyed it.  

This is a quilt that was done by a friend, Pat Jennings, and it showed in Houston a couple of years ago. I love this quilt! 

This is another of my quilts that was in the show.  

The following pictures were taken at the Art Quilt show reception in Berea, Ky. The center quilt is mine. A good time was had by everyone and we had quite a crowd. 

This was a second similar piece. I simply made some improvements on the inside. 

This was also hand dyed at an angle and them stenciled with butterflies and bees. 

This tee shirt was dyed first at an angle, then I stenciled the design and also added some crystals.  

This purse started out with a piece navy fabric, I then stenciled it with copper fabric paint.  

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

What to do next?

I finished up all the projects I was working on, even some really small pieces that I started a long time ago.
I have a dozen ideas, but can't seem to decide which one will be worth putting the effort into.

I know, those of you artful quilters who have ( made it big) by that I mean those of you who have entered into competitions and won first places and money and machines, and teach on a regular basis, now are saying that you are just going to make art for art's sake
and if it gets into the shows ok, if not, that is o.k. also.

Maybe someday I will feel that way to, but for now when I make a big piece it feels like it must be something that will at least have a chance of getting accepted. There is so much fantastic pieces out there these days.

So, this is my solution------------- I start decorating clothes. This way I get my creative juices going, and it takes only hours instead of weeks or months. And in the meantime I can contemplate WHAT NEXT!
So here is a sampling of what I have been working on!

This is the finished project from a class I took at Get-Away last month. I really learned a lot and plan to do more.The shading is all done with threadwork. I really think it is good to take classes along the way. There is always something new and just being in class with other students helps to get the creative juices going. 

This is my latest quilt. I have been trying to put more depth into my quilts, and this is a picture my husband took on a trip to Italy many years ago.  

This is my latest piece, finally finished. It was inspired by a picture that my husband took on a trip to Italy. I have been trying to get more depth into my quilts this year, and this is a pretty good start. It was done by fusing each piece on, but when I started to sew on the top some of the pieces started to come up. So, I wound up doing an applique stitch around each piece.  

This is the Challange quilt. We were suppost to choose a song and then make a quilt symbolizing it. Mine is Starry Starry night, written about the artist Van Gough and the version I love is sung by Josh Groban. The moon was done in a mosiac style and the stars were outlined with threads by hand.  

This is a close up of my Challenge quilt. The middle star has the challenge fabric which was black and white, only I dyed it. It has little musical notes on it.  

Sorry I hit the wrong key. Jaunita's class was called Quilters Collage. I just got to busy in the class I forgot to take any pictures. This picture is of Pat in the Blue shirt.  

I took a class from a friend by the name of Pat Jennings. She taught Adventures in Portraiture. Such fun and I loved learning a new technique. The possibilities are endless. I also took a class from Jaunita Yeager called Quilters 

This is my friend Cindy Vough who is our Vice President, and she was in charge of putting together Get- Away this year and next. She did a great job! 

This quilt was made a couple of years ago and won Best Use of Color at our State Get-Away in 2005. It as well as the other entries traveled all over Kentucky, and was shown at guilds and schools and other venues for one year. I was very happy to see it again. 

Quilters Are Jack of all Trades!!!

One of my quilts is being considered to use on a post card, as advertisement for an upcoming show. Of course I am very excited to be considered, and as I was taking pictures yesterday, it occured to me how many skills one has to master in order to be competative in the world of quilting today.

Not only does one have to think up an idea for a quilt, then design it in paper or whatever works for you. Then she must chose fabric and make the top. From there she must choose a backing and sandwich it together. It doesn't stop there as the next step is to decide how she is going to quilt it. Practically no one hand quilts anymore, so then there is the question of FREE MOTION QUILTING. This scares some people to death, and I must confess it takes a lot of hours of practice to become proficient. SO, now it is quilted and bound------------- but that doesn't end the process.

It took me some time and money (I must confess) to figure out a working program to photograph my quilts. I started out borrowing a friends 35mm camera, and spent hours trying to find slide film and a place that would develop the film. So I finally purchased a 3 mega digital camera. Then the shows decided you could send in digital cd, but they wanted at least 4 mega. So, I bouhgt the bullett and purchased a 6 mega. Of course I had to learn the new technology also and how to download the pictures and THEN somehow get them into a program that would allow then to go to my blog. ( I can't tell you how many hours I spent figuring out that one.

All in all, QUILTERS are amazing. Especially those who like to compete! It will be a cold day in hell when this profession really makes one a lot of money, so the love of the craft keeps us going. I know it is for the ART that makes it all worth it, and for the glory of being selected as standing out of the crowd. So, I guess I will do it in some stages as long as I can sit at my machine and see what I am working on.

My hat is off to those of you who continue the tradition!

Monkey's looking at monkeys!! This is Linda and we both had the same idea at the same time.  

Here is another. Painted red and stenciled with dark purple. Looks like snakeskin. 

I have been making fabric to use in purses. The following are just samples. Painted with a basecoat and then stenciled. Could be cool. 

Beautiful Irisis 

Could be turned into and interesting quilt!