Storms on the Lake

There have been a lot storms out over the lake this past week. High winds have kicked up white caps and big waves. That weather has been my influence for this piece.

Lake #36 - 13"x 12.5"

Once again, I forgot to take a photo before machine quilting it. I remembered mid-way through the lake section. The definition of the quilting patterns always amazes me.

Lake #39 construction

This one along with eight other pieces in this series was delivered to Good Good's gallery this afternoon. That's another thing that amazes me ... having my work in a gallery ... YIPPEE!!!

Just Playing

The piece of "Ortwork" that I put together yesterday with the girls ended up as a border.

In the Garden - 13"x13"

While I was having a reflexology treatment in the afternoon, it came to me that what I had created that morning would be best cut up and made into a border for something else ... flowers. I came home and painted a zebra printed cotton flannel. I was going for roses and cut and layered lots of petals. The print was too small to differentiate multiple petals .... soooooo chenille yarn was machine couched in spirals to make fanciful posies.

The outside edge is curved because too much would be lost by squaring the piece. I'm not sure if I'll keep it as is, or mess with it further in the future.

My four young artist friends quilted their pieces today. The girls selected beads to sew on their quilts this evening and tomorrow morning. They are pleased and excited by their accomplishments. Especially the two who have never previously touched a sewing machine.

2 Years of Sharing

Two years ago today my nephew, Peter, set up this weblog for me to share my art and techniques. It has, and is, serving my philosophy to pass on my knowledge and enthusiasm for "making stuff". It is most appropriate that this is the day four young friends could come over to play with me.Georgia decided to make a tree. She's working upside down so as not to disturb the pieces placed at the bottom. It's not a bad idea to work upside down at any time. It gives a different perspective to your work making it easier to spot weaknesses. Audrey decided to make a patchwork-like background.
Chewy was totally "into it" as you can tell by her body language.
Her mother, Katrina, was intrigued with the process. She's an artist and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play with my "Ortwork" technique.
Here are their pieces pinned to the design wall.
Tomorrow they'll come back to quilt their creations. All three machines are set to go.

Back to the Lake AND to the Lake Series

It's been soooo long since I've posted AND even longer since I've added to the "100 Lake Series". There's a lull this week between visitors to the cottage. So here's the result of getting all my supplies and equipment set up in the studio that became just another room when the cottage was rented.

Lake #35

Making this piece was a struggle. It surprises me how out of the groove I can get when I'm away from creating for a length of time. The flow wasn't there ... I felt clumsy ... until I was well into the process.

Lake #35 construction

This one got the big cloud shadows that I've been observing on the lake since we got back.

The one below was the last lake piece made during the July 4th weekend. The day it was created felt like this one looks. It came together so easily while I was having a relaxed conversation with my daughter's-in-law mother. During the construction she would ask why I chose particular pieces ... she had her doubts about the greens I kept digging out of the bag. She was highly amused when after a few minutes of sifting and rummaging in the bag that all I'd come up with was just one little colored thread. I hadn't intended to add clouds, but she wanted to see how they were created, so they're there ... and it worked in the piece. My friendly observer liked the results so much she purchased it to hang in her bedroom in Wisconsin.

Lake #34

All of the lake pieces are for sale ... except for the seven that have already been sold. As they're purchased I'm putting a SOLD in that quilt photos caption in the Picasa lake albums. They can be bought either directly from me or the gallery, Good Good's.
There's a "GG" in the caption of those pieces in that gallery. Note that the complete caption is visible when you select the largest photo size in the upper right corner.

The price is $150. The pieces are all thirteen inches wide and vary from eleven to twelve inches high and are ready to hang. Any purchased from me will have NO extra charge for shipping. Sooooo, if there's a particular one that appeals to you, now you know how to make it yours.