On Pointe

I must say, I could picture this piece in my eye before I ever put pencil to paper. I could see the quilting, the crystals... The whole quilt.  Then of course, I had to figure it out and execute...lol. Isn't it a pain when reality, gets in the way!

But I must say, having the vision so clear in my minds eye, make it easier to do... All except for the skirt.  I didn't know the best way to give it the 3D effect I seem to be going for I my pieces lately.  But I figure it out...  What do you think?

The piece is made from Robert Kaifman's Radiance fabric line, all except for the legs.  Radiance is a silk, cotton blend.  It is so easy to work with and such a joy to quilt, that I love working with it. Plus, how often do you get to work with washable silk?  I used Derwent Inktense pencils, to add the coloring/shading on/around the legs, as well as a bit on the floor for a shadowing effect.

Hope you like it... #radiancesilk #superiorthreads #kimonosilkbysuperior #inktense #berninausa #bernina830 

"Which Path would you Take" wins First Place, Wall quilts at Northern Stars show 2014

As you can see from my last post, I am catching up on my blogging.

The 2014 Northern Star Quilt Guild show was a good show for me.  I have won many second and third place ribbons at this local guild show, but I have wanted for many years to see one of my pieces hang on the 'blue ribbon' wall.  So I was extremely pleased to see this piece do so.  

Lucky for me, the person who brought this piece at the gallery exhibit was happy to let me enter the piece in a few shows this year.  This was the first show and it made me proud.

Besides, this first place ribbon, "Paisley Inspirations" was awarded a third place ribbon in the same category :-).

It was also nice to see a good friend and fellow Pelham Quilters guild member, Donna Chambers, also on the blue ribbon wall for her Umoja piece.  "Umoja, Goddess of the Sea"  won first place in the People, Places category and Best of Show, Small Quilts.  :-).  

The Art of Quilt Making, by the Pelham Quilters at DMA Gallery

I can't believe this is still sitting in draft.  This show was in April.  My sincere apologies, but this has been a crazy year.  I lost my mother in May.  She was 87 and lived a good life, but she was suffering and it wa very hard to see her in such pain.  She is finally at rest and reunited with her true loves, God and my father... The best husband in the world according to her :-).

Once I got myself out of my slump, it was time to focus on my daughter's wedding and her wedding quilt.  She was married on August 31st and was a lovely bride.  But that is for another post.  

So this is a show that 5 women in my local guild, Pelham Quilters, had in a local gallery, DMA Gallery.  Unfortunately the gallery closed shortly after the exhibit closed, but for us it was extremely successful. 

Opening night was packed and then the gallery held a book signing (first two pictures below) for two local authors, that also brought folks in to see our work.   

This is "Umoja, Goddess of the Sea" by Donna Chambers. 

Here is a local artist viewing one of my pieces, "In the spotlight". 

Donna is discussing her artistic process in the making of "Fashionista". 

The curator, Lynnette, welcoming everyone during the opening reception.  You can see my kimono inspired piece "Pathways" hanging in the window, and a part of one of my woven pieces, "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" on the easel.   My piece "Sista Chat" is hanging on the front of the pedestal from which Lynnette is speaking.  

The next three pieces were made by guild member, MaryAnn Ciccotelli.  

Here I am, thanking everyone for coming and sharing some back ground on Pelham Quilters, and the five exhibiting quilters.

These three pieces are by guild member, Sandra Parrott.

This is my most recent piece, "Which Path would You Take".  I was very pleased that it sold during the opening reception.

Here's Sandra, in front of one of her small pieces, "Tumbling Blocks".  

To the left you can see a corner of MaryAnn's quilt and on the right is my parrott piece, "Jungle Paradise".  

This is another of Sandra Parrott's work.  She does wonderful small art quilt pieces.  

I know it is late, but I hope you enjoyed seeing our show.  I will have a solo exhibit in January 2015 at Etui Fiber Arts in Larchmont, NY.  

Paisley project progress....

Say, that three times fast :-)....  Well dispute all the time this takes, I am thinking it is moving pretty quickly!

I got my 2 Magnifico threads by Superior in the mail on Monday (white and a purple velvet) and later that night jumped right into my micro-stippling of the background on my paisley project. If you remember, my hope was to 'raise' the paisley designs up, by stitching closely all around them...almost like trapunto.

Well after 5 1/2 hours of stippling and one hour of frogging, last night I finished the white background. I love the effect, but can't understand why no matter what size needle I used, the stitch holes seem to stay.  Guess I will have to wet it when I block the piece and try to get rid of the stitching holes.  

Tonight, I sat down to work on the background for the purple Radiance fabric.  The effect here is just as I had hoped.  Truly loving the paisley design that now pops!

I got one corner done in about 3 1/2 hours....  3 more corners to micro-stipple, hopefully each done in one sitting :-). 

I can't wait until the stippling is done, so I can move on to the next step on this piece.  It is definitely singing to me :-)....WooHoo!!

Night all,

Renee