Nathan's Quilt

Noelani's quilt has been received in Oklahoma. 

 Nick's quilt is waiting to be layered and quilted. 

 I have started making blocks for Nathan's Quilt.  His is the last one "due."   Here are the blocks up on the design wall.

I am using some of the fabric left over from Nick's quilt but adding a lot more commercial prints.  Here are some of my favorite (so far) squares.

The blocks are not connected to each other yet but I will be sewing them into strips and then sewing the strips together.  I won't be squaring the blocks before I sew them together or squaring the strips before they are sewn.  How boring would that be!!  I love the interest of wobbly lines.

Postcards

After watching this video by Jane Davies, I decided to make some postcards.  I particularly liked her comment that since  you would be working on large paper then cutting it into smaller postcard sizes, you didn't have to worry about design, balance, blah, blah, blah that you normally have to worry about.  Sounded very freeing!  And, besides, I needed some postcards.

I got five 12x 18 inch papers to this point then started thinking about how to finish them.

I decided I could build more of my cut-out phrases Haiku and paste them on each postcard.  These aren't cut out or quite finished yet but here is kinda what they will look like.

If you would like a postcard, send an email to quiltordye@ftml.net with your address and I'll mail you one.

Nick's quilt

Noelani's quilt is in the mail.  And I have finished the top of Nick's twin sized quilt.  The goal is to finish it before the Maine Event so I can take it to Show and Tell.

The primary colors are a deep purple and green.  The fabric is mostly hand dyed but there are snippets of commercial fabrics.  The green fabric came from the deconstructed play date I had with Beth. Here is the picture of the fabric again with a couple of close-ups.  It worked fabulously in the quilt.

Abandoned Theme for Whiteline Printing

Okay, the supplies are in the mail.  In the mean time I need to come up with an idea and start some drawings.  For some time I have wanted to take some pictures of an abandoned mill factory near by to create an art quilt series based on them.  I am now going to start the series by creating some whiteline prints.

I have taken some pictures today. Since the theme for the print exchange is "Just a Second" I thought I would focus on 2 windows for the print.  Here are some of my photos.

I love the broken panes in with the other panes.  I love being able to see the light through the windows on the other side of the building.  I love the curve at the top of the windows.  I prefer the photos that don't have the windows centered and which show some perspective.

What do you prefer?

White Line Printing

Ever since Beth gave me an article on white line printing I have wanted to give the technique a try.  When Daniel Smith had a sale on their Baltic Birch Relief woodblocks last week I ordered some to carve for the technique.  Then I felt guilty--how many cool art supplies have I bought and not yet used??  Don't answer that.  Well, I am guilt free now!  Now I am committed to a print edition where I can try the new technique and use the print blocks.  How is that for everything coming together?  It is almost like I planned it!

White line printing is based on the Japanese woodblock printing method but is totally American.  While the Japanese have separate blocks for each color in their prints, Americans decided to use one woodblock but to print each color separately.  In order to do that, the print paper must be lined up exactly the same each time.  That is accomplished by folding one edge of the paper to create and edge that can be tacked in place and a printing surface that can be folded up and down as the artist adds each color.

Here is a better description of the process by someone who knows more than me.  And below are some white line prints from Kate Hanlon's blog.

  This one is actually the wood block.  You can tell by the wood grain.  It is a work of art on it's own.

Do you have a favorite?  I think I like the flowers best.

The Print Exchange

I've joined 500 world wide artists who will  be making prints for the Just A Second print exchange.  Each participant will create an edition of twelve prints to submit and will receive ten unique prints made by strangers in return! Of the two remaining, one will go into our archive at Brooklyn Art Library and the other will be used in an exhibition here in New York.

I'm so excited!  And I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!  I like it!  LOL

Noelani's Quilt

I have a new great-niece.  My niece has adopted a 7 year-old wonderful little girl named Noelani.  Of course, her favorite color is pink.  Here is her 'welcome to the family' quilt.  It is 40 x 46 inches.

Of course, no good deed....  My niece informed me that I had not given her two sons a baby quilt when they were born.  I remember making them both flannel blankets with crocheted edges but that is not a quilt evidently.  So now I am making two more quilts.  Glad I like to make quilts.

Texture Homework

The Fire blog is kicking off a month of texture. The homework is to go on a texture walk and find "texture."  When you stop just looking at things and start seeing the individual details, you start seeing texture.  Here are some of my texture pictures.

Wouldn't that make a fabulous quilt?