My Redbud Tree

This quilt is really nothing super special - except a way to use one of my sun-dyeing prints that I did.   The center leaves are from my redbud tree - I laid them on the specially treated cyanotype fabric and put them in the sun for 15 minutes.   After rinsing, I got this gorgeous leaves print.   So I put it together with some strips of green fabric - meant to be random and not meant to be super straight or perfectly the same size - so as to represent the trees.    I quilted the veinage in the leaves and added 3 sets of beads to represent the little pink flowers that come first in the springtime on a redbud tree.   The small pink piping is from a piece of snowdyed fabric that I did last winter.

Bras for a Cause

My friend Kathi, talked me into doing this - taking a Bra and decorating it - it will be on display for a month at the GoArt Gallery at the Senior Center.   It was fun and I could keep going - but it is time for it to be done.

Pics Below:

Before...............and  After  

I made the wired shell in the center

See closeup

Some ruching, pearls, yarn, appliqued fish

ribbon, pearls, crystal bubbles, seashell buttons

Lighthouses & Water

I often say that my quilts are inspired by nature.   I'm not sure yesterdays walk or activities will inspire any quilts, but it was a beautiful day on the water................

For those of you who think - "yeah, so what?" - this was at the end of a long pier........I never walk out on long piers - phobias are a horrible thing!

This photo was taken part way out - looking towards the end of the pier - yes, I'm proud of myself!

Mark, my handsome husband of 40 years!!!

The newly remodeled lighthouse at Point Breeze on Lake Ontario

Isn't she beautiful!!!

Look at all the gulls lined up on the pier!

My sunflower in the front yard - taken after I got home from the lighthouse tour

I love closeups of flower centers!

Rust Transfer - how fun!!!!

I tried to find a "quote" about the beauty of rust.....but no ones seems to think there can be any beauty in rust. I beg to differ. This is rust transfer or rust dyeing onto fabric. My friend Kathi, who has the best source of fun shaped metal objects to experiment with, brought this home from her job. It was a large circular something (?) - completely rusted. Look at the different colors, textures, swirls etc.

We laid white fabric over the object, spritzed it totally with vinegar water, smoothed it out and put it into a plastic bag for heat. After several days, this was the transfer. What to do with it!!!!! My husband says it is perfect just the way it is.

Look at the perfect center and all the texture around it. How can you not see beauty here?  On the right, Kathi says the dark spots are where the fabric absorbed actual rust from the rusted object.

More Flowers

I really need to finish something- quilting wise - to post here.   But, I seem to be stuck, for whatever reason.   I did a lot of sunprints and am trying to do something with those - but my sewing room is a mess and there is too much "non-sewing/quilting" stuff that has gotten put in there temporarily and so I hate to even venture in the room.   Anyway - I took these pics this morning.  We had a good rainstorm last night, and I like all the raindrops or waterdrops still on the flowers.

The most perfectly formed little pink waterlily I have seen in our water garden.

Look how it is centered so nicely between 3 of the lily leaves.

Part of the Convoluvulos plant Martha gave us.   My flower is SOOOOOO small.

I can't remember what this is...........SIGH

"Still" Loving the Sun Printing!!!!

I did more sunprinting today - finally tried doing a photo.   This is my Grandson Aaron - 11 years old and I think it came out really well.

On the left side, Aaron-done in Cyanotype - Sun Printing! August 2, 2010.

On the right side is the original photo used to create the transparency for the cyanotype.

I love the results - maximum results - minimum effort involved.

I took the original photo and sharpened the contrast a couple of times.   Then I made a B&W copy and sharpened the contrast a couple more times.   Finally, I used Adobe Photoshop to create a negative and printed it out on transparency sheets.   After that I laied the transparency on the specially treated fabric, in the sun for 15 minutes, and VOILA!!!!

New Waterlily

The second posting of today (no new quote) - I jsut discovered our brand new waterlily is blooming!!!   It's called Georgia Peach!

Mandevilla Privacy Screen

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity. ~John Ruskin


I have a mandevilla at the end of my porch - trained with twine to climb high!!!! It creates that much needed privacy screen between me and my "crude" neighbors! Take a look!!!

Side View of Mandevilla at edge of porch

Mandevilla climbing High         

                                                                                  

First Hisbiscus of the Season - a deeper red than shown here - a little more than 6 inches in diameter!!                                          

More Sun Printing

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art. ..................Paul Cezanne------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm still fascinated with the sunprinting process. I've done nothing more than printing a few objects on the small 8.5 inch squares, I must get to actually putting them together or in some sort of quilt. Undoubtedly I will use the leaves first. Here are a few more of the ones I did the other day!!! Two are fern leaves from my HUGE hanging fern on my deck, the other is a geometric graphic vortex print. Not sure what to do with this last one.....but I'll think of something.

Vortex Graphic

Griffis Sculpture Park

Last weekend my husband and I visited and stayed in the southern tier for a few days to take in some different sites & parks etc.   One such place was Griffis Sculpture Park.   It required a lot of hiking and it was hilly and it was HOT, but it was MORE than worth it.   Here are a pics of my a few of my favorites:

Simply titled...."Ten"

On the right - "Pineapple"

A Giant Mosquito

Love the Giraffe eating from the tall trees.

Mask - this was open so you could get inside

(assuming you were agile enough and could

stand the heat!!!)

A whole bevy of "sunbathing ladies"!

 

The Dancer

Abstract Landscape (on the right)

 

My husband getting in on the fun!!!!

I should live here!

I found this house in Ellicottville, NY.   For those who know me well, don't you think I should live here?   (Hint:   Think purple!)

Or down the street, perhaps I should own this business!!!     See more pics of this neat business below!

I just love their logo/sign;   and

it is decorated so nicely with flowers.

Quilt Show

Today I went to a quilt show in Skaneateles.   It seemed like a smaller show than our guild show and definitely a smaller boutique and silent auction, but the vendors had a whole HUGE area and there were a ton of them - all kinds of them - in a huge room, known as the Vendor Mall........and it was Air-Conditioned!!!!
I find fewer and fewer quilts now that give me the real WOW factor, but I am posting some of my favorites here!   (Actually, some of my real favorites were the "Do Not Touch" Quilts made by their guild in place of Do Not Touch Signs!   What a great idea!    I'll post a couple of my favorites of those also.

This is probably my favorite

done by Nancy Bales.....

you could believe you were

actually there.   Cheesecloth

denotes the waterfall.

To the right is an example of wonderful thread

painting

A really neat "town" scene.

To the right, this one probably had

the most viewers, trying to actually

see the woman's face in the shape

of the applique.   Truly a work of

art as everyone had a different opinion

as to how it should look.   It was titled

"Lady" and done by Barbara Ackley.  

Leaf Collage by Kitsie Demmerie

LOVED this!!!!

A batik with a large flower on the left

hand side.......all done in french knots.  

More Detail below.

Some of my favorites of the "Do Not Touch Quilts"