This month was just full of artful activities! December 1 had us hosting over 100 people as our home opened for the Traditions Christmas Tour of Homes. You can check out the slideshow with photos from it. With the house still being remodeled, it was fun to show before and after views but there’s still much to do. Jim and I had just returned from Williamsburg/Virginia Beach, Virginia for the opening of the Cherrywood Fabrics Prince exhibit (and an autograph session for the artists 😁) before Thanksgiving and then the Tour were upon us. Lots of doll clothes to sew, a quilt to create for Scott, a giant Christmas stocking and more…Jim kept busy laying foundation blocks for the new attached shed on the detached garage plus lots to do with the grandkids: concerts, programs, parties, etc. next post, I’ll share more on the quilt projects. For now, best wishes for a wonderful New Year to all of you!
All posts by Marykayh
“Uniquely . . .Prince”
An exciting day when I received word that my “Prince” art quilt was accepted as a finalist in this year’s Cherrywood Fabrics Challenge!! Like “The Lion King” piece, this one will be photographed for the book and go on tour around the country for the upcoming year 2018/19. Am still grinning since mine were both chosen for the two challenges that I entered 😁. Perhaps the gorgeous purples in the fabrics were the enticement or maybe the lure of a rock and roll theme for an amazing musician pulled me in, but it was an adventure researching Princes’ life and music while I designed the piece below. Had to figure a way to keep the guitar strings supported so there’s a laminated cardboard piece on the back to keep the quilt from collapsing or curling in when hung. Loved putting all the beads and crystals plus the variety of embellishments that were mostly hand dyed. ‘Way cool theme and fun to create. Will let you all know what venues it will appear in. Anxious to hear myself!
Abstracted Flowers
The challenge I presented to the 2nd Monday Art Group was to abstract spring flowers and create a quilt piece. Using a painting of my own, I created this by fusing 1/2 inch squares to a black background, covering with various pieces of colored illusion netting, quilting overall, then adding the button and bead embellishments. What fun! 9-1/2” x 34”, it adds a brilliant colorful focus to my home. Original painting below:
Boro and Tea Bag Art
Going from high speed free motion quilting to hand stitching in 60 seconds is the name of the game when Boro enters the picture. Of course, researching this on pinterest, in books (Slow Stitch by Claire Wellesley-Smith)and talking with the 2nd Monday Art Group has been enlightening! Focusing on the mending aspect of this Japanese patchwork, I actually am wearing an old favorite sweater again, patched in silver and black. Our challenge this month had to do with using tea bags and boro so the piece above is my result. Lovin’ it! Have decided to include some in the last of my Chinese pieces too so look out! Chinese tea makes for some gorgeous stained bags.
My Lion King Quilt is in NYC!
Check out my quilt next to Karla’s shoulder! The collection of 20 arrived just after Thanksgiving (and just after I had been there 😕). Mine is right off her shoulder with the tiny two giraffes and the red setting sun. Very exciting to see and know that it’s on exhibition all month for others to enjoy seeing! Please go to the link below to view other shots of this on the Cherrywood fabrics Facebook page. Click on the photos area to see more. (Facebook.com/cherrywoodhanddyedfabrics)
The Forbidden Palace: Mysterious and Haunting
Surrounded by gorgeous hot pink and orange blossomed fabrics, I hung my grayed teals/blues/purple pieces at a recent Kaffe Fassett workshop in Intercourse, Pennsylvania at the Old Country Store. I’d recently finished a queen size quilt using these brilliant colors and wanted to work in the more subdued shades reflecting my memories of a visit to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, China. Kaffe and his associate, Brandon, were wonderful about helping us all but especially teaching me to work with the gray values in my piece. It wasn’t easy keeping it mysterious and still colorful but I love the results! It needs to be quilted and embellished with some serious beadwork reminiscent of the beautiful jeweled necklaces and headpieces of the old Empress’s but I wanted to share it on the blogsite. With an upcoming move to the Midwest, it may need to be packed temporarily but is first on the line for completion. Note the imagery of the dragon wall and summer palace, the organic rocks and the shapes tucked into the piece. Surrounded by the unexpected pop of polka dots made me smile thinking about the laughter of the little Chinese children dressing up like Emperors and courtiers. Ghosts of the past certainly filtered through this amazing palace with it’s hidden rooms. It took me back hundreds of years and truly left a mark on my memories of China. 
Metamorphosis: The Joy of the Journey
Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more excited about being a finalist in a quilt challenge, I learned that my entry in the Hoffman Fabric Challenge was also selected. When I first saw their fabric for 2016, the digital butterflies, I wanted to work with all the variations so acquired pieces from each. Set in a convergence style, then cut and shaped to add the dimensional butterflies and taggies with strands of sparkling beads and crystals, it shows such joy that I smile every time I look at it. Quilting uses different colors of Aurifil threads with “Joy swirl” patterns and pebbles to show fun, movement and a pathway. This art piece is on it’s way to California now for final judging and the amazing opportunity of being on tour throughout the country for the next year. ‘Way Way cool too!! Now what should I work on???
The Lion King Challenge: Cherrywood Fabrics
Wow! I’m a finalist in this challenge and am so excited thinking that others besides my friends might like my artwork. 🙂 This was an interesting piece to create because I got to use the lovely Cherrywood Fabrics (like suede) in black and golds. So much of African fabrics are texture and design oriented that I had to figure a way to paint the animal prints and use quilting patterns to speak to these. Embellished with gorgeous African Beads, raffia, and giraffes cut out of exotic wood veneer (not to mention the signature Lion King Logo), it was a lot of fun to design. As I listened to the powerful music from the Broadway show, studied online videos, and talked with others, I focused on the concept of the paths that we follow throughout our lives (our circles) and sewed with my Bernina. Loved working with this fabric! Had fun creating around the theme! And, am eagerly waiting to hear if it “goes on the road” with the Lion King Tour. And maybe (keeping the fingers crossed), it gets displayed in New York City at the Lion King Broadway theater this fall!! It’s in Minnesota being photographed for the book at the moment. ‘Way Cool!
Vote for Freedom and Liberty
Did you ever wonder what to do with all those political buttons that end up in your stuff? Creating a patriotic wall hanging with a transparent mesh lady’s image overlay as the base for these pins was a fun way to display them. Since I also work at the election polls, it was a good reminder to VOTE, not just a right but a responsibility. Looking at the pins made me think back to when I worked as a Goldwater girl during my first presidential election. It’s tough to find pins these days and there’s so much more information to sort through in making a decision. Kind of like picking fabrics for a quilt project? So many choices to entice you but which will serve best in the end? Hmmmm . . . .
The Tartans versus the Traditionals
Tonight I’ve been watching the Iowa State vs. Iowa football game (Go Cyclones!) and got to thinking about how it’s like the Tartan Ties vs. the Traditional Ones. Usually a log cabin block has lights posed against darks in this “Barn Raising” pattern but when you have tartans (plaids) and traditional, well, it just seems like they should play against each other instead. Do you ever wonder what makes it a “Plaid Kind of Day” to wear a tie? Is it a more relaxed and fun day vs. a formal one? Hmm . . . I loved the way all these tartans worked with each other in the design despite the coloration differences. As I noted earlier about the clans they represent, maybe when it comes down to it, they all end up unified into a strong “Plaid Kingdom” both worldwide, in Scotland, and in this quilt! When you lay the individual blocks down, the pattern created is “Barn Raising” because the darks or plains start to build a line around the lights or plaids. In a bigger quilt, this is very pronounced but here, it adds a surprising touch of another pattern appearing within the design. Back to the sewing room again . . .more to finish this week.
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