Embellishment

All 125 flames are now appliqued ~

All have stitched inner flames, or smaller appliqued flames inside ~

The three panels are sewn together ~

I've found the fabric I like for the backing ~

The binding will be the same kona black ~

I'm now embellishing each flame with beads ~ the silk organza images and the Luther Seal will be attached with tiny seed beads ~

24 words and phrases will be added ~

What shall the title be? ~

90 Flames

The right panel of the banner is now appliqued. I used one of my machine's shading stitches, in various widths, from 4mm.-7mm. to applique the 5 sizes of flames on the panel. I free-motion stitched them using my regular opened-toed foot because I felt I had better control with it, instead of using my darning foot.












35 more to be stitched -
Since the 125 flames in total will represent 125 years of the congregation, they are also the people. Interpretations of music, outreach, family, caring, and our congregation's passion for taking in Jesus' true spirituality will be added to the flames.

Quilted Center Panel

I just finished quilting the center panel of the banner. Using the two forward, one back stitch on my machine, I was able to get the top-stitch effect that I wanted. I worked on about a 10 inch area at a time, changing thread color quite often. I was having a few problems with my bobbin thread showing too much, so I changed that thread each time too. Since I use this stitch quite often in my quilting, it really wasn't that tedious.

What also helped immensely was that I finally got a walking foot for my machine, so now you could say that I have a Kenmore~Janome machine. The dealer knew exactly what foot I needed.

What's next? I'll be warming up to free-motion quilt on the flames. I'll keep you posted...

She Sure Gets Around

The "Green Goddess Dressing" quilt does it again! Her latest photo is in the current issue of Common Thread,
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores company newsletter.

They wrote something very nice about me and the quilt...thanks to Sally, Becky and Kayla from Store 610 for setting this up ~

Progress on Banner

After removing over 10 flames from the banner, I felt I needed to break it up a little. I started working on this center panel by fusing small strips of the same hand dyes that I used for the flames. The Luther Seal is about 2/3rds of the way down the panel and in the photos here, you can see the silk organza with some images from the church printed on: the "1882" is taken from the cornerstone. All is going well...when can I start quilting?

To view previous posts on the banner, check out May 24-June 5...

Of Wood and Stone

A few months ago, I found a postcard of Emmanuel from the late 40's - on it was a description "the church beautiful" ~

Here are some of the photos I took today "of wood and stone" ~ the first three are from the sanctuary, and the last one is of a stone carving on a fireplace.

All inspiration for the banner...

Painted Luther Seal

I was a little unsure of how to add the colors to the Luther Seal that will be on the banner...

Remembering that if it didn't turn out right, I could go to plan B...

Here's how I did it:
~ copied the image from the internet
~ enlarged it
~ printed it out in black and white on cotton lawn with freezer paper ironed on it
~ pinned it to a piece of canvas-like fabric
~ painted with Jacquard Textile paints, and Lumiere on the outer circle
~ the color between the rose and the gold circle is teal (can't tell from the photo)
~ Pigma Micron pen for accents
~ it felt a little like "paint by number"

I'm very pleased with the outcome!

Trusting your first instinct

Here's an early work in progress photo on the banner. I should have trusted my first instinct and the first design I came up with...

After placing the flames in two different ways, I came back to this one. One had the flames as a tree, one had them in a large spiral with the colors all mixed. I also realized that fusing them directly to the batting wasn't going to work (what to do with all the little areas showing through), so I am fusing them on black Kona cotton.

The Luther Seal has been printed out on white cotton and my plans are to paint it, or color it with oil pastels. Still working out the details of printing the images of the church's wood carvings on silk organza.

Problem - I counted about 135 flames, and I only need 125.
Ten flames must go. And I must go to bed now...

Emmanuel at 125

"Be ablaze with enthusiasm. Let us be an alive, burning offering before the altar of God." hildegard of bingen, 12th c.

I have been commissioned to create an art quilt banner for our congregation's 125th anniversary that will be celebrated on July 22nd. I am so excited! The size will be about 30x45 inches.

These are most of the cottons that I had dyed earlier in the week, some solids (check out that grape one), some 2-color pieces, and some discharged cloth that there aren't any photos off yet. I've started to cut out 125 "flames" that will be fused on top of my batting, and the quilt will also include Luther's Seal (probably the focal point). Our church has so many beautiful wood carvings that I wanted to do some rubbings on, but most are too 3-dimensional. I'm now going to photograph some of them, and see what they look like printed out on silk organza.

The stained glass image of Christ is from the brochure that our church had put together this year. Most of the photography is by Steve Pitkin (Gee's Bend photographer) and his staff. I'm hoping to have him photograph the banner when it is completed.

I'll keep you updated on the process ~

Bronwyn's quilt

Grandma Sharon...Grandpa Bob...Mommy Rebecca...Daddy Brad ~
Here's an early photo of Bronwyn's quilt before the stitching began -
There's a story, you know...the butterflies...the hands as flower petals...the vines below. I guess you'll have to wait until Christmas to find out~

Untitled, so far...any thoughts?

Women of Stash!

Okay, so it's a working title...

I started this quilt two years ago ~ 45x45 inches, and the largest that I had ever attempted. Gave it up. Then, one night "they" were calling me. "Let's see if she remembers where she put us."
I have to admit I started freaking out a little when I couldn't remember right away.
The title, "Women of Stash" was decided upon two years ago because I didn't buy any new fabric to start this quilt. Everything came from my stash. I pieced fabrics for the backing. I even stitched pieces of Warm and Natural together (what a pain).

I started a journal since I am determined to finish this one. For entries in 2007, I've made that decision. When I started thinking on the word stash, and what that means, part of it for me is not wanting to let go, not wanting to CUT, SLASH, WANTING TO SAVE IT FOR GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT!!!

Well, to start, I cut the quilt top into 9 pieces, approximately 15x15 inches each. It originally had only 72 goddesses on it, and that wasn't nearly enough, so I added 45(?) more. Added circles, and folk hearts, again from stash. Most are connected, some now are broken. More journaling.

I'm pillowcasing each section, and quilting with gold metallic (good Superior) thread. How will I sew them together? Not sure. When they are stitched together, my design should look like a tree. Pictured is the bottom section, and I think I should move on to the bottom left next...

Blogger note: I've been reading about the problems, and I haven't been able to upload photos from any folders, but for now "Blog This" on Picasa seems to work.

New quilt started

Well, I didn't know how old that dye was...but I thought it was worth a try! A little of this, a little of that, and lots of white areas left on white cotton. Hmmm...time to add some color with D'uva chromacoal sticks and some Camellia oil pastels.

It's working title is "Confetti Garden" and I've marked out 13 sections (love that Clover chalk marker with it's fine line) to quilt. Free-motion in 3 styles for added interest to be done yet.

With my first outdoor art fair coming up, I am thankful for the creative frenzies that I am giving into right now. If I'm ignoring or avoiding some other things, then so be it...I am still working with the children at church, keeping up with my son and all his activities, and being the loving, adorable wife to my darling hubby.

Oh, great!!! Son telling me right now he needs posterboard for a project due tomorrow on Andrew Jackson - ah, geez, school is out this week - did the teacher forget 'till now about this important assignment? Gimme a break!

New quilt started!

I was asked if I wanted to provide some artwork for an exhibit at an "Earth Day Celebration" at Rockford College coming up on April 23rd. Well, I couldn't start it before the Chicago festival, so...

Here's a shot of my humble start! These are 2 sections - bottom representing earth, and top representing sun. The remaining sections will be water, and 'loved ones.' The size will be about 20x22" - The inspiration for this quilt came from a John O'Donohue poem - "May the nourishment of the earth be yours, May the clarity of light be yours, May the fluency of the ocean be yours, May the protection of the ancestors be yours."

It's taking a while to cut and fuse, and I do have more little fused pieces - so I'm considering making a few other quilts, based on the same theme. I am becoming attached to working on a black background, and going back to my love for geometric shapes...

I'll post more pictures as it evolves, and is quilted, of course!