Whew! Just under the deadline!

I finished the quilt for the Breaking Traditions: With One Voice Challenge. I am honoring The Young Americans.

This group, of which my daughter is a member, brings the youth of the world together through their Music Outreach Tours. Through out the US, as well as in Germany, Great Britain, Japan, and Australia, groups of YA's work with young people in an intensive three day workshop and at the end produce a one hour show highlighted by music, dance and theatre staring the local talent.

Music is the universal language and these workshops bring out the talent and self-esteem lurking in the midst of teenage angst.
They're work with disadvantaged and troubled youth are particularly inspiring. Directors Milton C Anderson and Bill and Robyn Brawley produce a great group of "teachers" in a fun, energetic and dynamic environment sure to change the world, with one voice!

Antique Shop Open!

Yeah! My last two weeks have been possessed by the hugh job of setting up an antique booth in an antique mall
one and one-half hours away. Yesterday we installed it all and I must say it looks splendid! Much more work to do but in 2 weeks when I go back, I'll make those changes and it will be fine.

I leave for California on Tuesday to help my daughter move to her new house. My son, yet to find a job after graduation from college last spring, has agreed to go with me. I am taking all the things my daughter has been unable to take on flights when
she has been home these last years. We should have quite a time driving across the country through this heat! 105 today with 80% humidity! Enought to kill you! Warnings all over the media and airways. Hope no one dies from this blast of the eternal furnace. Now I know how a lobster must feel being boiled alive!

Missed the journal quilt project again this year. Had every intention of finishing my project for the contest, as always life got in the way. The antique shop was just to good to pass up. Ron and I have wanted to do this together for 20 years. I look forward to great success! Quilting will have to wait.

I am planning to offer to teach a class this fall or winter at the local quilt shop. I think that "Making Your Own Mark" will be the course. Creative cloth type course. Haven't got the details worked out or the projects completed yet. Maybe postcards will be the outcome of the cloth. We'll see....

Postcards

Well I'm home from Michigan and got 12 cards ready for the mail yesterday. The Art2Mail Challenge I've entered is almost finished. 6 more left and I already have the base fabric done for those. I have two quilt challenges that need to be finished by August 1 and August 30th so I will be crazy in the studio until then. Also an antique shop has dropped into our lap. This is something we have always wanted to do so, I will have it up and running by the end of the month. With a trip to Cali planned for the first week of August to see the DD, I will be swamped. Nothing like burning the candle at both ends. So much for retirement!

May Flowers & Fun

Can't believe it's May!  But the flowers are lovely.  Took all kinds of pics yesterday before the thunder storms so I could prove that they existed.  Here are a few.

I have begun painting some old dryer sheets mounted to freezer paper for stablizing. Works super.  Using twinkling H20's paints from my scrapbooking stuff.  will spray them with a acrylic coating so they are washable.  Intend them for some more postcards for the exchange.  Many layers will be added to the next ones.  

Sold a bunch of cozies late last month and had to get them out before going to work for my husband's company for a couple weeks.  Good way to make some bucks for summer splurges! HA HA  Will have the Cinderella dress done next week for a customer in Arizona.  Should be cute...she's a singer and does Cinderella birthday parties for little ones...great part time job for her!  

Son's college graduation is this Sat and party is all ready to go...hopefully!  Daughter's home from Cali for the affair and her boyfriend's band is playing 4 concerts here in Nebraska for various activites and selling their new CD...band's name is 

Rally for One...check them out here

Cleaning, Purging and Great Additions

Cleaning is a Spring Thing right....well if I kept cleaning until next spring, I might be finished.  At least now I can work in the studio without tripping over boxes or trays of sorted fabric.  I have taken over my son's old room too for sorting...husband says he better watch out or I'll take him to the Goodwill with the rest of the old stuff.

Hopefully will begin listing some of the de-stash this week on 

Quiltsy and etsy.  I have enough fabric for three lifetimes of art.  Quite literally.  My stash has grown with the addition of my Grandmother's and my mother's stashes.  There really is no room for making anything until I finish the sorting and purging.  Sorting almost done, purging to begin!  

I'm so happy to report also that my son has made the leap and is engaged to his only love, Jamie.  They are so excited.  I am happy for them.  They really do make a great pair and are planning a New Years Eve wedding in 2009 turning 2010.  Long engagements are all the rage again so they really have time to plan well.  

Gable graduates from UNL in May and Jamie will begin her rotations in Pharmacy in June so real wedding planning will begin the following May.  I'm tickled for them!

Artdoll Quilt Challenge and Green Postcard Challenge

All my challenges are currently completed!  YEH!  and early too.  Can't believe it.  

Even made Art@Mail postcards and got them mailed this last weekend.  Also spent yesterday cleaning the studio and made some heart felt decisions to sell some of the many books on art, sewing, quilting, knitting that I've acquired over the years. Some were my Mom's and Grandma's and some are early purchases of mine when I started quilting again in the early 80's.  WOW how tastes change or is it growth. What I thought I loved many years ago hardly captures my interest now. 

Many artists on one of my internet groups have been discussing moving on from a particular group or moving to a particular group, I think that I really just want to connect with other artists.  I want to hear their struggles and see if mine measure up in some way.  Does this make me an artist too...etc.  Everyone that knows me always compliments my work.  Does this make me an artist...do I really have to "be " an artist to make art?  

Someone recently suggested that we use timers to give direction to an otherwise directionless day.  Mine is going off....

 

Challenge Beginnings

This is posted to the Green Postcard blog as well.  I have the beginnings of the background down for the card challenge.

The plastic fabric will now be layered onto felt and embellished with wool roving that has been hand painted.  

I really hated this mid way through and almost threw them away, but after auditioning areas with a template cut 4x6 I found that there were parts that I liked.  

Sometimes just forcing your way through opens up some other opportunities that you just don't see at first.  Maybe this is what moving to the next level in my art is all about..........Trusting that you can work through the weird stuff and come out with something you can be proud of.

Artdoll Quilt Challenge

I am posting a sneak peek at my artdoll quilt for the challenge offered through QuiltArt.

I have never done a challenge before and took this on to stretch my design capabilities.  

I discovered how thin muslin is...and that it is not easy to stuff tiny tube appendages, but I am otherwise pleased.  She is now my studio muse.....asking me to come out and play!

I have named her Luna; as she is shares the face of the orb that guides my sign of the Zodiac, Cancer.  She is guardian of the "sewing room" and studio and beckons to me daily....

Quiltsy Store

I'm pleased to announce that I have started a store at Quiltsy.com ! This is a new online auction site "Just for Quilters" and fabric art related merchandise.  I have needed to de-stash for the longest time and this will be the new venue.  I have become increasingly dismayed at e-bay and the changes afoot and have decided to give this new venture a try. Kim Noblin's site has been very easy to work with and I've already had my first sale.  I have listed books for now and soon will have some de-stash fabric and notions listed as well.  

I have the link posted to the right.  Go and check it out!

Art doll

Well the art doll project is coming along.  I received the face from Etsy store Graphixoutpost and have realized it is not exactly what she needs.  Although it is lovely, I feel she has gone in another direction.  Perhaps my next doll will be right for it.  Uh oh, that means there will be another doll.  

She is not named as yet, but will be the "studio muse" that I have been searching for.  I found her among the many stacks of fabric and rubberstamps just waiting for me to call her out.  She needs some love and care but will be stunning for sure.  

The background quilt she will be mounted to is almost finished as well.  Beading and hand embellishments will add to the base layers.  I sorted through a large sack of scraps from my inheritance fabric and found enough for the string pieced area along the left side.  The bottom is some hand dyed stripe that I had forgotten about but really seemed to ground the dear one.  

WoW! Time really does fly!

It can't really be Feb 14.  We just had christmas.  My Fiftieth Year is half gone and I still have yet to get more than 3 hours at a  time in the studio!  I had intended to quilt and create every day, all day this entire year!  So much for resolutions and great plans of...

Have entered myself in two challenges this spring, a "Artdoll Quilt" challenge and a "green postcard" challenge to get myself into the studio regularly.  Have many ideas swimming around for both--nothing definite.

My artfdoll has a face courtesy of Graphixoutpost at Etsy.  She will be wise and wonderful if she ever gets a body or a quilt.  Hand painted and hand dyed fabric will make her body with beading and fiber for hair.  Wise and whimsy will be her cloak.

For the green postcard challenge, I will probably make several and choose the best.  Have been saving many fun embellishments since my days of altered books so this shouldn't be so hard.  We will keep you posted with pics soon!