Shrimpfest is this weekend!

The Isle of Eight Flags Festival or Shrimpfest is this weekend in Fernandina Beach, Florida. I've done this local outdoor event for 6 years now. I love showing in my own town. It's a great festival, if I say so myself. The Island Art Association of which I'm a member runs the "Art" part of the festival. There's antiques as well as lots of shrimp and other foods. And of course, the pirates!!!!

So wish me well!

Monoprint Quilted

I decided to add borders and machine quilt another of my previous monoprints. This print has 3 layers - the stitching added more dimension and texture. Ahhh.... the urge to monoprint is creeping up again.

Some more work done!!!!!! Fun!!!!!!!

I had some more fun working with "strips." I've used mostly commercially printed fabrics with this series. I love the idea of using up some of my stash. I normally prefer to create my own designs, but I do have a huge stash from my traditional quilted days.

Two of these pieces are on rods with crocheted yarns, beads and fabric dangles. The other three are on stretcher bars.

Too Quiet on the Blog, Busy elsewhere

I've been neglectful in blog writing, I'm afraid.

I have been working on an artist book published by blurb.com. It took me a very long time organizing my images so I could upload them. The organizing the pages was a trick. I wanted to have a book with some of what I consider my best work to date to have available during the various outdoor art festivals I show at and something to carry around with me as I travel. I'm waiting quite impatiently for it. If all is good, I have it available through Blurb.com. Check out the site. It's cool!

The images are pieces I've just completed. I got turned on by an article in the recent Quilting Arts magazine, April/May. The article is "Strings of Love" by Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga. The above is my first interpretations. Along with the unfinished yellow/orange/red quarter circle piece(March 27th post), I took either my own hand dyed or commercial fabric, layered it on duck cloth, machine embroidered various designs, cut the different pieces up and arranged them on another piece of duck and stitched it all down.

The right image was woven with these strips with crocheted cording and cheesecloth. The black background was stamped and painted with some yellow, orange, red paints before the strips were sewn down. I glued on some polymer clay circles I made last year with my sister, Marlene, and added beads. This piece now resides in my daughter's rubber ducky bathroom.

The left image is really a partial picture of the piece "A bit of Sunshine" - the quilted part, I will have some cording hanging on both sides from the dowel. I added beading as well. It'll hang like the "Just Ducky" piece.

Anyway, I had some a great time with this technique so I'm doing another of blues and greens. It is turning out like a landscape - a beach landscape. I'm adding beads shortly... I had bits left over so I created a smaller piece that I'll attach to stretcher bars. I'll upload images shortly.

I'd like to experiment more using this technique. I've been using my had dyes but commercial fabrics mostly. I have a lot of commercial fabric that I purchased before I fell i love with surface design. This technique will help me use up some.

Ribbon of Silver Done!

I did struggle with this one. It needed to be completed and delivered to my local Art Association. The theme of the show was "Capturing Light." I machine needle felted my own hand dyed silk and some ribbon down onto another of my hand dyed cotton fabric. Then I machine quilted using my trusty home sewing machine. I machine needle felted a dyed (Not my own) silk hankie onto water soluable sheet and machine embroidered. I also machine embroidered a netting as well to stuff into the center. I ended up reshaping the piece and stretched it onto a 12x12" frame. Done!