I'm trying something new. Well, I've painted a quilt top before, but this one is on silk!
Yes, it's a bit different, but I'm hoping it will be useable when the painting is done.
The subject is a bit weird too - it's a last year's artichoke flower...I found it in the garden before it was cleaned out this Spring, and it looked interesting to my eye. Here are a couple of progress shots...more to come.
Today I was excited to see that my tiny quilt "Day in the Forest" was featured by the National Quilt Museum.
A Day in the Forest quilt: This tiny quilt was made as a donation to the Studio Art Quilt Association and traveled extensively to various places and shows. It was chosen to be part of a further donation to the National Quilt Museum. It is an honor to have it there.
The picture is one taken when my husband and I walked through the Arcata Redwood Forest. It was a walk specifically done looking for quilt inspiration.
Recently it was cancelled - so sad that we can't get together for fun events.
My "Crescent View" quilt will be a semi-finalist at the Paducah, Ky show.
If you are going to the show, you should be sure to stop by the National Quilt Museum. I have been told that "Forest Walk" will be hanging in the museum during the show. But anytime you can go, it's worth a trip to go to the museum and browse the wonderful pieces there.
This week we will begin a New Year, a New Decade, and a New Quilt!
The working title is: Pathway to the Forest.
Hear I'll show you the way I start.
1st-- I select a picture - that takes some computer time digging through the archives of our many photos.
2nd-- I decide on the size. In this case I'm starting with about 35 x 45" - I can alter that smaller as I go if desired.
Grid preperation
3rd--I cut and mark the foundation grid. I use Pellon 820
I also cut newsprint to go under the foundation - and choose a transparent grid to go over the picture. These things give me the "map" I will use to enlarge and create the picture out of fabric.
4th--Then I pull out bags of squares already cut - in the colors that I expect to need. I'll cut more as needed. At this point I'm trying to decide whether to use the small (1/2") or larger (1") squares....what do you think?
As you may know, I'm getting ready to move a bunch of quilts over to the Morris Graves Museum of Art for an exhibit. I thought some of you might be interested in how I store my quilts that are not on display.
Because most of my quilts will hang on a wall, I like to avoid folding them. Creases will show where they are folded. (Probably my quilts more than most because of the construction with many tiny pieces of fabric that are densely quilted.) Anyhow, here's an example of how I roll. The pool noodle to the left is shortened for a smaller quilt. The roll on the right is about 48" long. Both quilts that are rolled on it are narrower in one direction or the other Newport Belle is 78" wide by 43" long - Dogwoods is 31" wide by 80" long. I roll the quilts with the narrow dimension and usually roll the front side in. As you can see the labels on the back of the quilt show, which helps identify which quilts are on the roll. I tie them with salvage strips saved from fabric.
Then the quilts are stored in my studio closet on shelves...or they are put in a long box to ship to a show.