Monday, June 20, 2016

Summer hiatus

We're not exactly in the dog days of summer in the Pacific Northwest, but we are now officially in the trailer travel, hiking, biking and gardening season.  

So that means I want to be OUTSIDE!

While I still have some things in the works, and will blog when I get to them, I won't be blogging each week during the summer.

Summer hiatus is in store for me.



Thanks for reading my blog this last year, and catch up with me again in the fall.


Monday, June 13, 2016

Nancy Crow workshop in October

It's still way ahead of the future workshop with Nancy Crow, but I've been getting ready early because of the exhaustive supply list.  I'm really looking forward to the week-long intensive class and am positive that I'm going to learn a lot about abstract design.

To tell you the truth, I'm not that keen on abstract art in the museums, partly because I just don't understand most of the pieces.

Yes, I've taken a few classes from other instructors and have made a few abstract design pieces, and I kind of liked them, but I know that it takes more practice to develop your own technique and outcome.  Sigh...  I think my mechanical engineering brain is too entrenched.

It is a good thing that we broaden our viewpoints as we age, isn't it?




Monday, June 6, 2016

Larkin Jean Van Horn class

Larkin Jean Van Horn taught a class to our guild this week.  Wow!  This was the most fun I've had in class in a long time.  She told us to bring a bunch of fabric in colors of our own choosing and to bring beads to coordinate. So, since lime green is still my favorite color and I have lots of it, I pulled from that pile and added a couple of purples.

I put together the background with my lime green fabrics in her very fun method of fusing directly to the batting.  But when I pulled out the purples, they were nixed!  Luckily, other people in the class offered up their stash and  I was able to cobble together the right colors.    In every class that I take  through my quilt guild, the people in the class turn out to be the most generous and fun group!  If you aren't taking classes yet, try it.   (I'm not showing you the processes I learned from Larkin.  You have to take her class to learn her techniques.)

Mom's Beaded Memory

My focus beaded center is a pin that I made for my mother many years ago.  When she passed away, I inherited it back.  So Larkin helped me figure out how to attach it to this piece.  I spent a lot of time thinking lovingly about  my Mom as I hand beaded the background to go with this pin.  There's a cute little fringe that I added in two colors.  


I faced this little art piece and think that I may attach it to a larger background.  But here, for now, is this lovely little quilt.