Indigo & Dragonflies

Just a little bit about several things. I am trying to get ready for the Umpqua Valley Quilters' Guild Show April 26-28, at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, Roseburg, Oregon. If you are driving up I-5, stop and see our talented regional quilters. They allow our Fyber Café group to have a small display of our art work. We have an annual challenge geared to being ready for this show. I have 1 1/2 weeks to get my wall hanging finished. I'll do a reveal when we set up for the show. I had to dye some extra indigo fabric, I did not have a big enough piece to cut the binding strips from. I did four dye baths, one plain indigo, one with indigo/turquoise, indigo/electric blue, and the last indigo/warm black, trying to get a nice navy. There is not a lot of difference between the indigo, and the indigo/turquoise. The one with black dye, separated out, so some dark green spots are showing. The one with electric blue is more teal than the plain indigo, but very close. So I'll need to pick the one that matches my Shibori dyed backgrounds, maybe I'll use several of them.

I also stitched a bunch of thread painted dragonflies, they are not as nice as the ones I did a few years ago, mostly being smaller. I should have made them larger, but I was trying to get a lot of them in the hoop. The green/purple ones have layers of tulle and Solvy, and are stitched in rayon thread, with Sulky shimmer holographic thread over that. They really shine, but you can't tell from the photograph. I also made two in red.

Talk about the nick of time. I called a friend to tell her the baby quilt was ready to pick up the next morning. When I saw her the baby had just been born that morning. It is just random pieced pink/mauve/burgundy scraps, free motion quilted in hearts and loops de loops. A good cuddle quilt for the new granddaughter. I've got lots of stuff to do before the show, signs, labels, flyers, and getting my quilt done! Then I'm off soon after for the Empty Threads Seminar in Asilomar. I have class with Gloria Loughman for 5 days. I am linking this to Nina Marie's "Off the Wall Friday" click here check out what other talented textile artists are doing this week.

Attic Windows with Butterflies

My friend Susan is very adventuresome for a beginning quilter, she made this "attic windows" quilt all on her own. It is for a mutual friend, who's baby is due in two weeks. Susan said she could make the top, but then had no idea what to do with it. So I said I would quilt it for her.

The quilt had a wide white border, so I knew that a rainbow variegated thread would look beautiful there, I scribbled in flowers, butterflies, leaves, and loop-de-loops. On one side I added the baby's name, Natalie Claire, 2014. Now I need to quilt the top that I have made for the baby. It is "Flower Fairy" fabric, with a lavender/lime green flannel backing.

Zebra Baby Quilt

I have been machine blanket stitching the center applique for a zebra baby quilt. Made from an original sketch that I made, the main fabric is a black & white stripe with a hot pink shadow. The background is a clear yellow with tiny black/white bees on it. The colors aren't very good on the photo, I tried to correct in photoshop. Now I need to add borders to get it to the correct size. The little bird on it's rump is done in purple, with an orange beak.