Hooray....One Done.....

Have you ever felt like "life" is conspiring against you getting any creative time?  Well, for the past couple of weeks that's how I have felt.  First, we had to make more of our Bindles in order to fill those orders coming in after being given a shout out in Quilting Arts spring issue.  Thank you everybody...we really appreciated all the orders, it made us kick it into high gear and make more than we have ever made at one time before...whew!  Secondly, I got this nasty cold, that left me with absolutely No Energy.

On March 11, I gave you a peak of a "stacked landscape" we had done that was going to be turned into a pillow...

Here is the finished pillow...done and on it's way to Lakeshore Sewing in Grand Rapids, Michigan as part of a trunk show.  If your in the area of either of their locations, stop in and check it out.

This close-up shows the trees,foreground and if you look closely the clouds.  Oh and birds.

Raggedy edges give my heart palpitations....just love the moods they evoke....all this texture draws the viewer in for a closer look.  Somehow it gives the work an added presence, something extra that a flat piece of cotton doesn't.  Enhances the overall effect.

Stay tuned....the pattern for this and the seascape pillow will be available shortly.
Thanks for stopping by.

Without Knowing, Friends Inspire Me.....

This past fall in Houston at Quilt Festival I was making my way down to our booth after teaching my last class and saw a couple of wonderful ladies relaxing at a table.  I stopped to say hello and joined them briefly.  Now this wonderful pair befriended us at AQS-Chattanooga 2015, and have over the last year brought us many wonderful goodies, a taste of home.  When their smiling faces arrive at our booth we know we are going to benefit from their arrival...okay maybe not my "waistline" but I haven't found that to stop me.  As we were talking they wondered if we would hand-dye some vintage linens for them...I quickly said yes....figuring this would provide the perfect opportunity to thank them for their kindness'.

While hanging these gems to dry I found myself thinking about the women who created them, and what they would think of the colors I had used.  For some reasons I can honestly say they were stuck on my mind all evening.

 

 Today, I kept checking on them, admiring how they looked...only a couple didn't turn out how I hoped they would.   In the past I have admired artist "memory" cloth work, where these gems have been incorporated into their present day pieces.  In fact I have included my grandmothers crocheted doily and clear glass buttons into one of my Minnesota series pieces.  I have also created and gifted angels for my cousins and siblings made from the same grandmother's linens....it was my way as the oldest grandchild to pass along memories. In the past I have hand-dyed other vintage linens, but they haven't turned out like these did, so......my brain....just keeps working overtime.

Here are a couple of others.....you may see why they have worked their way under my skin.

 As I've touched and admired them today I believe the possibilities are endless.  Thank you ladies, this made me look at these old linens with fresh eyes and with a new respect for "women's work"...I have always used them just "as is" and this has made me look at things differently.   Hopefully they will also be inspired to create something wonderful and I will be excited to see what they do with all their new gems....show and tell will be encouraged.

Whew.......

My fingers have been worked to the bone, tying these little delectable "bundles" of textures, our Bindles.  After being given a shout out in Quilting Arts magazine we sold out in 24 hours, so we jumped to dyeing all the compoments.

This box full of Bindles now shows all those components tied together and ready to go, it is 3 layers deep and there is a second box not quite as big but overflowing.   Hopefully we have enough to fulfill all orders quickly.

We often say our booth looks like eye candy when we get all the wonderful colors out there, these are a great contributor to that sight.

After finishing all these goodies I took time to view the blossoms on the trees...ah spring and warmer days are on the way.

Back to the dye studio....I'm in the process of dyeing fabrics to work with during our Artist in Residency during April in Paducah, KY.  I've been mulling some new projects over in my mind and figure that will be a good time to try and implement them. 

Somedays...When You Least Expect It........

You get a nice surprise that takes you off guard.  Yesterday we kept getting orders for our Bindles, which are small bundles of various textures that reminded us of a hobo's pack...resulting in their name.  It wasn't until almost midnight when it dawned on Kristin that she had provided a Spicey Mustard Bindle to Quilting Arts last fall in Houston....hmmm....  Today her hunch was confirmed....  We got an awesome shout out from Quilting Arts in their April/May issue on our Bindles! Thanks to Scott Murkin for the photo....cause he had already received his issue.

Soon thereafter another order came in for Bindles and basically wiped us out and we thought we were so smart with how many we had prepared prior to our three shows.  Now mind you on our drive back from Florida we were pretty happy with the thought that we would not have any really heavy dyeing to do before Kristin leaves for New York City next week....hahaha...best laid plans, you know that old saying.  So guess what we are doing, you got it...we very quickly jumped into a heavy dyeing schedule so that we can fill those orders.  Thank you to everyone who reads Quilting Arts we really do appreciate you.

Now back to the couple of other embroidered pieces I managed to finish while in Florida. This landscape will have a few beads, rocks and such at the bottom; then possibly set into a small wall hanging.

This is one of our finished "stacked landscapes" finished off into a pillow...

Here's another one that I finished embroidering on in Florida that will become another pillow.  The first time I worked in this longer rectangular format it took a bit to adjust, but I think I'm becoming more comfortable with it.

These pieces are a collaboration between Kristin and I, she lays out the landscape, does some basic hand stitching and then passes them off to me.  I'm supposed to view it, add embroidery and create a scene or hopefully visually create something the viewer can connect with.  Yeah right....sometimes it's harder than you might imagine, sometimes a total surprise even to me.  We have found that we see colors differently, she sometimes sees something in the piece that I don't and she is usually surprised by what I finally come up with. Guess that is the nature of a collaboration.

I will try to remember to photograph and post all these "stacked landscapes" after they are totally complete, so stay tuned.

A Few Days On the Beach.......

We managed to do three shows in 2 weeks and squeeze in a few days on the beach in Florida.  Oh if only those few days had managed to last a bit longer....I really could have used them wisely, really I would have.

During the show I demonstrated a few items, but when attendance dropped off in the afternoon I managed to stitch a little.  Then in the evenings I stitched and stitched....it felt so good to get a few things done.  I will have to add a few beads to a couple of them, cause they do need a little bling.

            

These bitty stacked landscapes are really sweet.  It really doesn't take much stitching to enhance them, or create a scene.  A couple of beads, rocks or such will add to the overall effect.  For now it will take a bit more contemplation before they are done, because I think they each need to be finished a bit differently.  Choices....framed, pieced into a quilt, mounted on a quilt-let (small quilt used as a mat) maybe I can figure out something else too.

Still on beach time....time to call it a night....so I will show you some more in the next post.