Yesterday was an art filled, learning kind of a day. First I enjoyed my Art History class where I am learning so much that I did not know. It meets twice a week and the teacher is so enthusiastic and interesting, he makes it fun!

Then in the evening, a meeting of my Art Quilt group where, after sharing our Show and Tell, we had demonstrations on Discharging followed by hands on working with the various techniques. I opted to be an observer since I came direct from class and wasn’t really dressed for playing with bleach! I’m planning to test some of my fabrics though to see what color is underneath for an idea that I have! It looked like a lot of fun with very quick results.

I got up really early yesterday morning to see the total eclipse of the moon. The sky was clear and the view was great! Then about half way through some clouds moved in and it was touch and go; but even then it was beautiful with the clouds all backlit. You can see the interesting reddish glow that was the shadow of the Earth.

Most of my pictures were pretty bad because it’s hard to hold the camera still enough but I’m sure you saw better ones on the news or online. At least I was there!

Here’s my latest masterpiece!

“Splash” 40 x 40″. The timing was right and the quality good enough, I thought, to enter it into Quilt National this year. They require that the work be kept undercover so I usually don’t have anything available to enter. They did not accept it so I am free to show it now. I used a combination of hand dyed and commercially printed fabrics in this entirely pieced, larger than life toddler.  I especially like the way the batik contains reflection colors and some white that looks like foamy waves. Most of the fabrics in the hair are printed “grass” fabrics. Heavily machine quilted with various threads to compliment the fabrics.

No, I know we are not there yet. But…

I always know when some online group is talking about “Third Weekend In October” because sales of the pattern skyrocket and my blog reader statistics show a huge increase. Keepsake Quilting carried this pattern for years, they called it “October Weekend” and it was one of their best sellers. Mine, too. I keep a yearly count of sales and at the end of 2013 had sold 31,394 of them since it came out in 1994!

It’s a unique scrap quilt pattern and not as hard as you might think. All straight seam sewing with some foundation papers to make it easier, you make it one unit at a time and sew them together into 9 patches, then into rows in the traditional way. The quilt is 84 x 104″. I have never increased it’s price so it is a bargain at $7.00. Click on “Patterns” in the side bar to purchase. There is also a smaller, wall hanging version, same technique but fewer pieces, called “New Leaves Wall Hanging” if the big one scares you!

I’ve been working on the Yorkie and finished the first half.

Not at all happy with the squiggly blue on white background but I have a shortage of nice lights. I’ll have to dig a little deeper!

While working on the face, I found this one in the stash that has the right colors; it will work much better, so I redid the first half.

Much better!

I am woefully behind, can’t believe it has been so long since I have posted, but I have been busy!

I did manage to get a photo of “Jesse At The Lake”, on display at the art guild.  This guy was impressed that  I had even included the pulley mechanism!

With the sewing machine off to the shop getting cleaned I was able to spend some time working outside and drawing some new projects for later.  After I got the sewing machine back, I made 25 more matted 4X6’s to donate to the Topeka Art Guild’s fundraiser, last time I checked there were only 7 left.  30 @ $7.50 = $225.00 for them- nothing for me!

I also made my annual 12 x 12 for the SAQA auction, which needs to be there by the 1st of June.  It went into the mail this morning.  I had a challenge to use the hand dyed material

that I made at an art quilting group that I belong to, so I used those fabrics in the flower and leaves plus another hand dye by Judy Robertson for the background.

The little quilts will be auctioned off online this fall.

While the dogs quilt was hanging on the design wall, finished, I saw something that bothered me, so after I got my machine back I fixed that; time was becoming an issue as it needed to be entered soon.

Actually there were quite a few entries that needed to be made, entries that were due from May 29 – June 6, so for the last two days I have entered IQA World of Beauty and Raining Cats and Dogs, AQS, DesMoines, Aullwood and the SAQA auction.  It sounds easy, but involves getting and preparing photos with differing requirements for each one and generally jumping through a lot of hoops.

It’s coming right along – laying in some color with the reflections.

When I found this fabric in CA, I knew it would work for the reflections and it is, but it needed some brightening up with some batik fabric as well.

The fabric came and two of the pieces were usable, if not exactly right. I had to “make it work” as Tim Gunn would say.

During the waiting time, I sewed everything that could be sewn. Do you think the hill looks better?  I replaced some of the dark water with lighter, and cut more to fill in around the figure.  It’s coming along.

After my last post, I went online to eQuilter.com and ordered 5 half yards of batik water fabric – none of which was the one that I was looking for, but surely there will be something there better than what I have. In the meantime I have cut what I can but have not been able to sew it all until I get the water, so things are looking out of whack due to unsewn seam allowances. This is what it looks like right now, that dark water will most likely be replaced, and more reflections added.

Linked to Off The Wall Friday

This photo is a little fuzzy but shows yesterday’s progress. I think I need to shop for more “water” like what I used in “Longhorn Splashdown”- now THAT is water fabric that really looks wet! What I have may be too dark.

It snowed almost all day yesterday, so it was great weather for sewing! Here is what I had at the end of the day. So far I am pretty happy with it, but still may make some changes. The black line of the far hill is bothering me a little bit, but on the other hand, it IS a nice graphic line. I will live with it for awhile and see what happens.