Thanksgiving Blessings!

We enjoyed spending Thanksgiving with our two daughters, one son-in-law, and three grandchildren.  This is something which we haven't done in a few years as we are usually in our motorhome in Palm Springs this time of year.  The only thing which wasn't so great is that our son-in-law Nick, Mandi's husband, wasn't with us as he is serving a tour of duty in Afganistan this year.  We thought of him often and prayed for his safety and know that next year he will be home to celebrate with and enjoy his family!

The three grandchildren, Ethan, Caleb, and Pearl, got along famously.  We know that Pearl enjoyed the company, because she did not tell anyone that it was time for them to go home, which is what she had done in the past!  We celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday, as our children had other family get togethers on Thursday.  Mandi cooked all day and provided us with a wonderful feast which we enjoyed for the following four days.  The grandkids got to make candy necklaces, watch a movie and eat lollipops with Grams one day.  Aunt Carly and Uncle Nate took them all sledding twice, yeah snow!  We also made some ornaments with lots of stickers and glitter glue.  The boys and Pearly watched monster truck videos on the computer with me a couple of times (one of their favorite things)!



'The making of a Snowman'




Jewelry Making 101!



Storytime with Mom, Aunt Carly



'This is way too much fun'

It was hard to get everything squeezed in that we wanted to do, so on Sunday morning before departure, we got to feed them ice cream with sprinkles and whipped cream for breakfast.  I know that was a first for them and who knows, it could become a tradition!  We are truly blessed to have such great children and grandchildren.

FFFC 'Garden Globe'

The challenge for November was to do an abstract piece using just one shape.  I have to admit that this was a difficult challenge for me as I have not done an abstract piece per se, even though I have been quilting for a number of years.  I have seen a lot of abstract pieces which I have coveted, and have contemplated playing with the style, but had not followed through.  I am not really in love with this piece, but I will definitely play with this concept in the future.  Thanks for pushing me outside of my box.

That being said, I decided to use circles as my shape, and fit it into my self selected theme of botanicals.  I used some of my photos and some from the Morgue Files and played with them in PSE 9.  I applied a free action (which I downloaded from the web), called Crystal Ball to each of the photos and then printed them onto fused fabric treated with Digital Grounds.  I then fused and cut out organza and the black and white circles.   I quilted the background with circle motifs prior to placing the fused pieces on top (after several attempts to find a suitable placement).  I used gel pens to add some bling to the flower globes and then stitched everything down.  I then did some bobbin work (my first time) on the globes using some Razzle Dazzle from Superior Threads.  I thought about adding some beadwork or paintsticks on the background circles.  Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Fractured Quilt 2010

I have been a member of a Fractured Art Quilt group for about four years now.  The group began with six members in the first year.  At the end of the first projects, three of the members dropped out and we decided to replace only two of them.   Three of the original members have continued with the group to complete a total of three pieces and others have either one or two pieces which they have finished.

Each member designs a pattern and then fractures it into five pieces.  One piece of each persons' pattern is given to each participant.  (This means that each person works on every pattern including their own.)  The originator of the pattern establishes what guidelines, if any, they have for their original piece.  Everyone has about ten months to finish all five pieces and return them to their respective owners.  Each individual then puts their fractured pieces back together and does the finishing quilting and embellishing. 



The fractured quilts which have been completed to date were shown at a special exhibit at the Sisters Quilt Show in Sisters, OR last summer.  They were very well received and we have since begun work on next years fractures.  I am posting pictures of the pieces which were completed since the group began.



Joanne Baeth, 2008





Dona Ford, 2008





Louise Page, 2008





Carol Dougan, 2008




Joanne Baeth, 2009



Dona Ford, 2009

Louise Page, 2009




Susan Massini, 2009

Carol Bowen, 2009



Joanne Baeth, 2010



Dona Ford, 2011



Louise Page, 2010

 


 


Susan Massini, 2010



Cheryl Carbone, 2010





 



THE BOYZS

I know that Halloween is history, but our daughter on the other side of the state posted pictures of our two grandsons on her blog last night and they are so cute, that I need to put them up on mine.  Ethan (4, soon to be 5) dressed up as 'Bob the Builder'.  Caleb (just turned 3) decided that rather than being a fan of Tinkerbell, that Captain Hook was his hero.  When Grams asked him about Captain Hook he described him as 'that guy with a bad attitude'.  So here they are, my two favorite grandsons!'



'Dos Amigos'

'The Bad Attitude Bandito?'



VISTA QUILTS!

I am so excited to post pictures of a recent project completed by a group of ladies from the Klamath Basin in Oregon and Northern California.  The idea for the project came after viewing Slice Quilts done by a quilting group on the east coast (I think).  The pieces which we did were based on photographs taken by Jeremy Franklin  ( http://www.wildernessperspectives.com/ ) who is a sewing machine technician and photographer from Klamath Falls Klamath Falls, Oregon   The group was formed by Joanne Baeth, Dona Ford, and Susan Massini, local fiber artists.  Robin King and Diane McKoen, ( http://www.taterpatchquilts.com/ ) hosted the group at their shop. 

There were three photographs chosen for the projects and each project was divided into eight slices approximately 10"x60".  The only stipulation was that each artist had to accurately portray their pattern piece in accordance with the photograph.  Joanne, Dona, and Susan then scheduled numerous work sessions throughout the year to provide assistance, suggestions, and support.  They also did demonstrations on numerous techniques which the artists might utilize to realistically depict their piece.  It took approximately one year to complete the projects.  Three of us who were involved in the process did our project long distance as we choose to spend the winter in warmer locales.
 
I did have the opportunity to see some of the pieces in process, but not completed.   They were beautiful then and upon completion are beyond words.  There is so much texture and depth in each piece and the realism is jaw dropping.  They really do accurately depict the photographs that they were based on.  Joanne, Dona, and Susan are to be highly commended for all their hard work and wonderful instruction on these projects.  Kudos to each of the artists for their commitment and the beautiful work that they did.  I have been to a lot of quilt shows and have not seen anything quite like these pieces.  The quality, workmanship and uniqueness are to be highly admired.  Thanks to each one of you!

'Sprague River Aspens'



'Klamath Lake'



'Mt. Shasta'

All Three/Klamath County Museum

Pearl and Her Pumpkins!



Pictures are for the birds!



Pearl has been having lots of fun getting ready for Halloween.  A week ago she went to Gramma and Grampa Crawleys' for an annual party and pumpkin carving.  Mandi decided that Pearl should be an owl and that Gramma Page should make the costume.  We glued the feathers onto a black t-shirt and made owl feather decorations for her glasses and her hair.  Isn't she a hoot?

The same weekend of the party, Great Granny Page along with Aunt Genie and Uncle Tim came to visit.  Erika, Genies' daughter is a student at Gonzaga University and it was Parents Weekend.  Granny brought Pearl a Halloween outfit.  Pearl was going to visit her Daddy Philip this morning, so Mandi put her in it.  I wanted to take a picture for Granny, but Pearl was not too high on the idea.  Mandi and I finally got her to agree to having her picture taken, but she would not move off of the toilet where she was watching her mom put on her makeup.  The venue isn't the greatest, but the little squirrel still is pretty cute!



Pearl also received a package from her Aunt Gloria this week and it had another Halloween shirt.  Gramps and Grams were taking care of Pearl Thursday and had occasion to venture out.  We dressed her up and took her picture and wanted to tell Aunt Gloria thanks for thinking of her!

Did someone say cheese?



That's about it for Halloween pics of Pearly, I just wish I could see what my other two favorite pumpkins (Caleb and Ethan) are doing for the holiday!



Fast Friday Fabric Challenge

'In The Spotlight"

It has been a long, dry period for me as far as creating fiber art goes.  I finished a Fractured Piece in July for an exhibit at the Sisters Quilt Show, but have not gotten anything done since then.  To get myself jump started again, I joined an online group called Fast Friday Fabric Challenge.  Every month a new challenge is issued and participants are supposed to finish their piece within a week.  The challenge for me is to work quickly and intuitively and actually complete the project.  (Those who know me well, know that I am a great starter, but not such a good finisher.)



Closeup of flower



The first challenge, issued in September, was to create a piece in the chiaroscruo style, which means using clear-obscure or light-dark to create a strong conrast or unusual lighting, making the piece have a dramatic effect.  Over the last few months, I have been taking an online Digital Montage Class in order how to learn to use Photoshop Elements (PSE)  in my fabric art.  I used a picture of a Dahlia which I had taken while at Manitou Park earlier this fall and enhanced it in PSE.  I used a filter for different light effects, enhanced the color and printed it onto white fabric which had been treated with Digital Grounds (a printing aid made by Golden Products).  Using the Digital Grounds greatly increased the color saturation on the fabric.  I know this because I tried to skip the step of treating the fabric with the Digital Grounds and have several printed shots of the Dahlia in which the color looks faded out.  I call the piece

'In The Spotlight' and it measures 11.5" x 11.5".  I thread painted the Dahlia picture and then added it to the yellow background fabric.  I then quilted the entire piece and added the black and white border around the picture.  I am glad to have completed this piece, even if it took me the whole month!

The second challenge for FFFC was issued on October 23rd.  Participants had to write or find a haiku and then design a representational piece.  I wrote my own haiku:
"Autumn leaves changing hue,

  Dancing softly to the ground,

  Winter close behind."

I took a picture of the neighbors beautifully colored leaves,  played with it in PSE, and then added another layer of a tree branch which I made to look like a stamp over the top of the leaves.  I added the haiku text, layered it over the top of the first two layers and then merged them into one and printed the photo onto white fabric (again treated with Digital Grounds).  The leaves on the bottom of the piece are some which I collected on my morning walk.  They are fused between two layers of fusible web, layered on a black background with netting placed over the entire bottom piece.  The two pieces were then joined together, thread painted and quilted. 

These challenges have been fun and taken me out of my slump.  Thanks to the FFFC group for inviting me in!