home
about the artist
gallery
blog
links
contact

Archive for the ‘3 x 3’ Category

Newer Entries »

Finding Balance

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

I am one week in to the new year and feeling good about the direction my life is taking. On the quiltart list,  members usually pick a word for the year. Last year, I selected spunk. It really didn’t work for me. I had hopes of jumping into the new year and my art with gusto and doing incredible new stuff. Instead, I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach for most of the year.

I was not going to select a word this year, but as I thought about how I want to “be” this year, I realized that I was seeking balance in my life. And, so, I now have a word. To that end, I am taking some time each day for introspection and reading something spiritual. I fell more centered.

I have had a busy couple of days as I prepared for the opening of June’s exhibit at Trinity. Mr C got the tummy bug on Friday night so I lost my wing man. I called some friends to help. It was a lovely reception. Here is the food table.

I made these wraps which were so delicious and hit with the attendees.

You just need something for the wrap — lahvosh or tortillas. I used a whole wheat wrap. Spread it with pesto and then top with thinly sliced fresh mozzarella and arugula leaves a roll up and slice. Yummy.

My 3 x3 for yesterday is a bit of a mess. I had a terrible time with the free motion quilting.

I do like today’s 3 xv3 which is up at the top of the post. I love Judy Martin’s blog. She does lots of hand stitching and has a very meditative, zen approach to her fiber work. In her latest blog, she was traveling in the car and hand stitching strips of fabric to batting. I had to give it a try.

Now, back to watching a movie with Mr C.

Posted in 3 x 3, Cooking and Recipes | 2 Comments »

In the Red

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Actually, I am also in the pink. I am having fun pulling out all my red fabrics and scraps to create with. Making a 3 inch square composition is a bit of a challenge. I find myself thinking about it during the day. This one was inspired by some pre-cut and fused scraps that I had in a bag of goodies. It is yesterdays 3 x 3.

Today’s, 3 x 3 is made from red silk organza and silk organza scraps that have been painted. I did some handstitching.

I have not done nearly as much new year organization in my studio as I had planned for this week. I have had a few distractions. I am coordinating an exhibit of June Underwood’s paintings at Trinity. Yesterday, we hung the show. Here is a peek.

Tomorrow night is the opening reception and I am doing the food and wine for that. So, Mr C and I made a trip to Costco today to pick up some goodies. If you are in the area, I hope you will come by.

This morning, I had a check in with my Dr. I am happy to report that my blood pressure was normal and I do not have to go back for 4 months. I get so stressed about having by BP checked, that I am always sure that it will be high so it was a relief.

I found this box of bee’s wax crayons when I was Christmas shopping. I am thinking they might be fun to experiment with on fabric.

I am watching Project Runway: All Stars. What fun to see all the divas back in the workshop together.

Posted in 3 x 3, This and that, Trinity Arts | Comments Off on In the Red

And It Isn’t Even Spring

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

We are having a very tolerable winter, I must say. Today the temps were in the 50s and there were clear enough skies to see Mt. Hood, hardly every happens in the winter. I accompanied Mr C to Trinity this morning. He was working the pantry food handouts. I had some arts stuff to take care of. We took Scooter with us and I walked him around NW Portland. There is a part of me that would love to live down there and walk to everything and be part of the hustle and bustle of the downtown.

Scooter was such a good boy and got lots of loving from the folks coming and going from Trinity. I also enjoyed listening to the conversation between the homeless and Mr C and Lydia. It was a complete departure from what I would normally do and I enjoyed it. It is part of my plan for the new year — get out of my rut.

This afternoon, I finished yesterdays 3 x3 by sandwiching it and doing some simple stitching.

I also did some felting for today’s 3 X3. It is up at the top of the post. I used red prefelt for the background. I have to admit to a love affair with felting fibers together. My friend Terry thinks they look like something the cat threw up!! LOL But, I love the melding of fibers and colors and then adding simple embellishments. So, I am very happy with this little piece.

This is what I did tonight:

These are the pages of my Sketchbook Project for this year. The deadline to send these in must be coming up. The watercolors that I have done are just backgrounds for stitching that I want to do on each page. Some of the stitching will be done by hand, but most will be free motion machine stitching. I hope it works!!

Tomorrow, I hope to finish cleaning my studio. I want to pull off the felt from my main design wall and redo it. It is kinda grungy looking after five and a half years.

 

Posted in 3 x 3, Felting, Scooter, Sketchbook Project | 3 Comments »

Small Things

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

 

It has been a quiet day here. Mr C was not feeling well and so spent most of the day in bed.  We had to cancel our planned family time. I watched the Rose Bowl parade and did some SDA database work this morning.

This afternoon, I spent some good time in the studio. I finished tidying one side. I found the top of my cutting table and cleared the ironing table. The print table is, however, a chaotic mess. I need to find better storage for my paint supply. I found something on the IKEA website that looks promising and is not too expensive. I might have to make a trip there this week.

For my 3 X 3 piece, I did a reverse, needle turned circle applique. One of my original ideas for this project was to do a needle turned circle or two every day. I felt I would bore of it very soon. This is the first time I have ever done one of these and I think I did a pretty good job.

I received a couple of sweet gifts from my daughters for Christmas. I told Lisa that one could buy any thing in the Contemporary Craft Museum gift shop and I would love it. I received these two gifts, which Mia helped her select.

This wonderful little cup is just the right size to hold my rings, I think. I love the lime green inside.

These earrings have a stitched detail which I did not notice at first.

Here is the back side.

I have already enjoyed wearing them several times. Good things do come in small packages.

Posted in 3 x 3, My Brilliant Daughters | 1 Comment »

Ready, Set, Go

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

2012 is here, and I am ready for some fun in my studio and a personal daily art challenge.

I have been thinking about starting something that would challenge me creatively every day. I really enjoyed doing my fiber compositions for the sketchbook challenge last year and so I thought I would do something similar. I am going to make a small 3 inch by 3 inch composition every day with the thought that they will all be used in a larger installation at some point. In addition to my parameters of size, I am going to use the same color background each month.  As I was thinking about this, I realized that a simple color wheel has 12 colors.

I am starting with red. So, I will work my way around, doing orange next month. You can see what I whipped up tonight after a hectic day of undecorating and partying in the neighborhood. I have always wanted to do something like this, but never got it organized. I am excited about using the color wheel. I will sometimes use a print as long as it reads as the color I am currently using. I plan to do a variety of compositions, maybe even some felting. I will do machine and hand stitching.

On another note, I thought I would share this challenge with you.

These are Coral Tree fabrics from Africa which are sold by a friend of Helen Conway, one of the Twelves. The website is here.  In the past, Helen has collaborated with her by making quilts from her fabrics which are displayed in her shop and at quilt shows. Helen invited members of the Twelves to play along and Terry Grant, Diane Hock and I said yes. (Will work for fabric!!) We each got a packet fat quarters of four colors of a different pattern. We have to have some of each fabric visible in the piece and it has to be two dimensional. It needs to be in England at the end of March so it is on my radar. Terry and I are thinking of sharing fabrics to mix it up a bit.

Here is one of my Christmas presents, from Mr C. They are called Huntress boots and are wider to accommodate ample calves and they are also shorter than Wellies. He got me red!

I took this photo with my new lens by using the timer and setting the camera on the floor.

I hope you are embracing the new year and all the possibilities it has in store.

Posted in 3 x 3, Holidays, Quilting Friends | 6 Comments »

Newer Entries »