Week 43 Trick or Treat

Journal Quilt 43 was done with a little bling bling in mind. The pumpkin was actually a wall decoration. The trick or treat was a scrap book paper die cut. It was embellished with individual Tulip gems. This was a simple quilt square, but so much fun to look at. I hope you had a Happy Halloween.

Week 42 The Black Cat

The Week 42 journal quilt is a true three dimensional quilt square. The background is iridescent orange. A black cat was appliqued onto the quilt square. Black ticking was used to bind the edges. The word "spooky" is chip board and was attached with fabric glue. The glow in the dark bats are rubber. They were hand sewn onto the quilt square. The small purple and silver bats were confetti. They were individually placed around the edges with fabric glue. Happy Haunting!!

Silk Tie Dying -Dye your own fabric.

So you can't find that original fabric at a quilt store? Why not make your own? Quilting Arts magazine has a Fabric Swap challenge. You can use any fabric and any technique for altering the fabric. You can dye, paint, discharge, stamp, stencil to alter the fabric. After submitting 4 fat quarters, Quilting Arts will send you back fabric from other contributors. I participated in this for Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and was thrilled with the fabric that I received. I was so happy that Quilting Arts is hosting the same challenge. This is a piece of silk dupioni silk that has been dyed using old silk ties. For the complete instructions see Quilting Arts magazine, Issue 47, Oct/Nov 2010 by Kathy Barinholtz. This is being entered in the Quilting Arts Challenge due November 7, 2011.

Eccentric Gift Cards

Well Tis the season! We all know that the next two months are going to go by so quickly. I was looking for an avenue to make small art. It is always fun to complete a project. Sometimes I start a large or complicated project and I get discouraged because I never seem to finish. Hence, the gift card, small, functional, and just in time for the holidays. I will be featuring gift tags that I have made in the upcoming months. I look forward to sharing them with you.

Fabric Postcard #2 Leaves are Falling....

This fabric post card was made with upholstery fabric. The blue background was selected and cut with pinking shears. The tree was cut using the vagabond and a Tim Holtz tree die. The leaves were all yellow and came in a package that I had picked up at a yard sale. I painted some of the leaves yellow and red. They were adhered with glue. The picture is from State Street in Harbor Springs, which is in Norther Michigan. The perfect fall postcard!

The Tree and Leaf Project -The Owl

This project is starting out with a bang. I didn't plan on starting the leaves for the tree until 2012. However, I felt the tree could use a few friends. The first was this owl. I made this owl from a sketch. I traced the pieces of the sketch like a pattern onto wonder under and ironed them onto scraps of fabric. I was able to iron them onto the base fabric and free motion stitch them into place. The eyes were buttons that were connected with wire. The fringe on the bottom was attached with push pins. After he was stuffed the owl was placed on his favorite branch! Now the tough part, what to name him?

Week 41 Pumpkin Patch

The week 41 journal quilt is all about fall. I love pumpkins and I find piles of them so fun to look at. The picture that is included with this journal quilt is taken at Pond Hill Farm which is in Northern Michigan in Harbor Springs. It is such a fun and happy place. The journal quilt was made using upholstery fabric scraps. The Tim Holtz vagabond was used with the pumpkin die cut for two of the pumpkins. The rounder pumpkin was done by an applique method. Free motion stitching was used to adhere the pumpkins to the festive fabric. May everyone have a fun fall!