"Autumn Candles". Birch trees art quilt

I seem to be in a birch tree theme this year.   This is my second one -an autumn theme,

This is the water color painting - that I saw somewhere - that inspired this latest quilt.  

About the same time I decided to do this quilt I saw an article on "tiling a background".  Since I wanted a lot of green, I decided that would work.   So I tiled green rectangles onto an orange leaf background ( no small feat I might add).  Then I raw edge appliquéd birch tree colored fabric.   I left some of the edges very raw for texture and dimension,   The splotchy red leaves are snippets of fabric...loosely quilted down with invisible thread and some edges left undone for more dimension.    I tried to add red beads....but the quilt didn't want it!  (Has your quilt ever talked to you like that?)

Very, very happy with the results, the overall look and how I really can tell it was inspired by the painting.

Where I Stand - Lapidary Show

Several of my fellow RAFA members are taking part in a show put on by the Lapidary Society in Rochester at the end of October.  The challenge was to use stones, gems, beads etc in some other way than jewelry.   Easy for those of us who always have to have a bead on our quilt.     

This is my entry!  And below is the hallway carpet that inspired it!

I walked into our hotel this summer and knew immediately I had found my idea.  No one is ever surprised to see me taking a photo of the floor or the ground.   Oh course not real stones on the floor but the blue images marching up the side looked like beads and stones to me.  Voila! Hence the name of the quilt... "Where I Stand"

ArtCGirlz Mandala Exhibit Opens

Friday night was our opening reception.   There are 8 quilts and 3 paintings done by our group.

 

This is my quilt titled "Where Words Fail...Music Speaks".  I have already talked about this on my blog, which you can read in the post done just before this one.   I invite you to ready about my journey with quilt.

  

Lori Anderson's quilt is called "Healing Shadows".  She took one of her own photos of trees and a manipulated it in a kaleidoscope program to obtain the circle.   Her background frames the photo just perfect.

 

Kathi Everett - "On Wings" - loves the "wings" graphic.   She took a graphic and she and Julie Brandon of Red Dog Enterprises manipulated this graphic on the computer as you see it now, set it against an orange background and printed it out on fabric.   Kathi embellishes it with crystals.

Martha Lorshbaugh calls hers "Zendala Mandala".   She fussy cut a fabric to obtain a perfect mirror imaged pattern.   Her real love is Zentangle and she has quilted an elaborate Zentangle on the top.

Mary Ellen Casey - "Om mani padme hum" - was our show coordinator and she did the only true round quilt and found a great way to hang it.  She was inspired by a commercial pattern and interpreted it in fabric, embellished with thread painting etc.   

Chris Keuhl  - "Sun, Sand, Surf" - had been on vacation at the beach,   She did this using paper piecing technique and added sparkle with crystals and gold leaf.   I LOVE the colors.

Susan Rathbun loves to ice dye ands et out to. Relate a perfect. Or le with dyed fabric.   She wasn't really happy with what she got, so she heavily embellished it with beads (which I love) and. All sit. "Oops, Lemonade"

I did another quilt of just free motion thread stitching on a dark background.   I couldn't get a good picture to show the pretty variegated thread I used.  I call it "The Butterfly Within"

Bethany is our painter.   She did this series of 3 Mandalas  which are very intricate, using a very tiny paintbrush.  

Green - "Ship &  Compass"

Red - "Wellington"

Blue - "Talk In Your Sleep"

Mandala - Completed At Last

Oh how I struggled with this!  It started simply enough with a challenge issued by a local gallery for my ArtCGirlz group to do a show...creating mandalas.   Since mandalas are supposed to be personal, what better than music for me to use.  I already had the theme and I had a circular patterned rust dyed fabric.  I found the center motif and printed it on fabric and appliqués to the rust dyed fabric.   Easy enough.   I then decided to stencil paint the word "PEACE" around the circle as music often brings peace....relief from the everyday stresses.   So far so good,  

I then found the saying "When Words Fail... Music Speaks" and decided to ink stencil it onto the fabric. Still working good!  

  Then I decided to machine quilt the treble clef flourish symbol....Big Problem!   Have you ever tried to quilt through rust???   My machine needle locked up every time.  No matter what I tried it wouldn't work and I decided to quit.   I folded it up and threw it In the bottom of the closet.  About the same time I began to question why I don't do more with my music....I was trained after all and the process of thinking through that led me to concur  with my decision to just stop and not do this project after all.  But like most things, I kept thinking and pulled it back out and tried again and then threw it back again. Finally I decided to add beads to hold things together.   Before that I tried the treble clef sign once more, changing needles, thread, holding my breath and barreling through.   Once I started with the beads I really began to like it more,  then I found a perfect border.....circular, mandala like and I quilted it in circles.  I kept adding beads to the point where I finally don't hate it!  So, it is completed and will hang in the show!    

You can see our show at Blue Pearl Yoga Studio Gallery on Main Street in Batavia,  all of us who are showing have had "journeys"... Personal to us, which I hope will result in the public understanding the intent of this show.

Textured Pumpkin

I love this pumpkin I found at the market. It says it is am heirloom pumpkin.  I just love the texture...it looks wooden.  Not sure how you get wood to look like this, but it is what it reminds me of!

More flowers .... Still growing!

I have 2 planters outside my sun porch door.  Both have coleus, sweet potato vine and impatiens.    As you can see, they are huge this year.  The tallest is almost half way up the window.   Granted they are low windows, but still....

More mandala hints!

Music is my theme!  I have added some beads after quilting the border very intensely!    I don't hate it any more, in fact, it is better now with the embellishments!    Now...to know when to stop!!!!

Mandala quilting continues.....

This piece continues to be a struggle.  If you believe in the intent and worth of a mandala.. I must be destined to " learn" something...but what??

I'm now into quilting concentric circles which has become almost "zen like"...the first time of any peace or serenity on this quilt.   I still don't love it, but I'm trying to complete it and not give up!   And so...it continues!