Summer 2 & Prairie Fire 2 too!

Monday.  I love Monday morning.  It's so darn relaxing.  Sunday is the busiest day ever always around here.  This morning I'm going to check out framing options with my boy.  My small pieces look so sweet and precious under glass.  Plus it protects the piece from dust and damage.  Shadow boxes are the best, however the ones from dollarama just won't do any more.  It must be why artists take 50% up front for commissions.  That way they can afford to get the piece framed.

I was reading Ann Brauer's recent post on making the same piece more than once - good or bad?   She will.  I will.  I am.  I think I learn a lot each time.  Each one ends up a bit more evolved than the last.  It refines your techniques.  And though I expected repeating a design to be boring, it isn't.  I'm making Summer again and it's a completely different experience.  Work in progress:

This is Summer 2, and is the scene while driving to North Battleford along the North Saskatchewan river valley.  The non-embellished green is the 'other side' and the blue is the Table Mountain range.  The It's 5x7 and awaiting stitched birds in the sky.  Maybe a pair?  Maybe a flock in a V?  We'll see.  The sky is painted cloth.  I am not stitching it.

The funny thing is that, to me, this piece could be done.  Two people have seen my unfinished work and commented that there needs to be something for the eye to look at.  I know that in theory.  But for me, there is LOTS to look at.  Just look at all that sky!!  ; )  Really, what more do you need!?  : )  I look at this and my shoulders go down.  I can breathe.

Is this my mom's fault?  It must run in our blood.  Do you know I share her birthday?  She visited me once in Calgary after my water broke with my first pregnancy.  She was in a state of panic with the Rockies right there beside the city.  She didn't last, and escaped on the next Greyhound back to the prairies.  She missed the birth of my first child because the landscape made her claustrophobic!  Isn't that funny?

And so, why can't this piece be done as is?  I think it's beautiful.  (but I will add the birds...)

After piecing the top for the Spring Sunrise, I decided to give this a try.  This photo was taken in December of 2009.  It's the Winter Solstice Sunrise.

those are my children's fingerprints all over the screen!  ;P

It was an incredible morning where we had thought we wouldn't be able to see the sun come up.  Those dark clouds just about the horizon were thick as a brick wall.  I was about to drive home when all of a sudden up it came!  It was gorgeous.  I made this postcard from it last year (teeny - 4x6").

This Saturday, I put it back up on my computer screen and worked away at the cutting table with the batiks I do not love.  And I put this together!

It's a perfect rendition so far, but seriously - who on earth would hang this one in their home?  It looks so unreal.  Someone will love it.  I will put the photo's road & telephone poles along the horizon because I feel it's such a prairie signature.  It's a little shocking to the eye.  Very strong.  It definitely needs to be in the right room with the right decor.

Okay, back to those french knots in the bright and sunny canola field!  See you tomorrow for Tips on Tuesday, featuring my friend Bee.  Don't miss it.  And for all the locals, Guild Meet is tonight!  Please bring things for the garage sale at 6:30.  Email me if you need extra tables.  : )

~Monika

Sunday Snapshots #26

Pretties for you,  inside & out, real & imagined.

bright sunny day on the Meewasin trail

fresh summer colors.

chain pieced blocks in the window

my daughter's plans for spring planting

Happy Sunday to you.

~Monika

-50C and Sunshine

It's true.  Canadians to talk a lot about the weather.  But how can you not when there's a range of 90 degrees between winter and summer?  Seasons are a big deal here.  Though we cannot go outside, we are still enjoying the sunshine inside.  My daughter and I set up our workstations wherever the sun was.  This morning, it was the kitchen table.  She was complaining that she was too hot in the sun.  (lol!)  Here's what she worked on.

The big table sits near the patio doors, so there is glass between the snow & us.  And me... I made a couple hundred french knots into the canola field with shiny rayon thread.

It's only about 1/10 finished.  But after I did a hundred of them, they sure became easy!  I poked my finger a couple times while pushing the needle through the canvas without a thimble.  My daughter got quite upset and begged, "mama?  do I have to sew when I grow up?"  No honey, you can be whatever you want.  You don't have to copy your parents.  "Then I want to be an artist, but with paints."  : )  Sweet.

I put some chunky beads into the seaweed on this piece.  I love it - it looks like jewels and hidden treasure!  I'm still not sure how to finish it.  I feel it needs white.  This is interesting.

I used some more batiks to make a Spring Prairie Sunrise.  I only used them in the sky.  I've always wanted to do a big sky full of horizontal strips.  I wedged it all in and tried to make some curves, but I'm not sure if you can even tell there are curves.  : )  This is the pieced top in progress.

I recently discovered Anne Brauer's gorgeous pieces, and that's what inspired my sky here.  Anne makes hundreds of these as little blocks and puts 'fractured' pieces all together to create sunning works of art.  So I didn't want to copy her.  That's her thing.  ~By the way, I did email her about it and she was okay with me doing this.~  It was my attempt to use batiks effectively in a prairie sky.  It still needs to be stitched and bordered and I plan to work lots of blooms into that land.  It measures about 22x26" with the border.

I had an interested talk with my mother this morning.  She told me she had seen some of my work.  (She's a landscape artist, hippy, no internet, lives in a cabin.)  I think my nephew showed her pictures on his phone.  She said, "can I make a suggestion?"  Oh god.  Sure mom, I think reluctantly to myself.  Little walls go up.  She tells me, "Put wind in it.  Make the trees move and the branches sway and the snow fly."  I paused.  I told her I work from my photos and it wasn't windy out.  LOL.  And then I looked again at my stuff laying all over the place and said, "But mom,  I don't DO trees, just land and sky.  Trees get in the way."  And she said hollered, "WHAT!?  No trees?  We are definitely NOT the same then!"  Yeah.  : )  And that was the end of that.

Oh well.  Just a funny story there for you.  I did attempt to photograph the wind once.  Check it out here:

But mom, I tried!

~Monika

Generation X Quilters

A while ago I signed up for the Friday Feature on AnneMarie's GXQ blog.  Well, today's the day my name came up!  Thank you such much AnneMarie.

 

LINK HERE

 
So many of us enjoy checking out gen X'ers quilt blogs.  You've helped to create a terrific community by featuring one every Friday!  Although I've been on a recent fibre art swing to prepare for an exhibit, I thought I would post some of my quilting that would be in the "modern" category.  They are all my own designs with the exception of traditional blocks of course.  I need to get back to all those little french knots now.  Enjoy the gallery!

Combo eye spy / coins quilt, 2008, donated to a Le Leche League fundraiser

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, 2010.  Soon to be donated for Autism Awareness.

My husband took this one before I could sell it, 2008.  Guys like this quilt.

all straight line quilted Courthouse Steps, 2010 for sale at the Bookstore

Currently in Toronto for A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine Summer 2011

This quilt was in Quilter's Connection Magazine, 2010 then donated.

my latest, Pink Parliament, 2011.  For sale.  Pattern in the works.

Donated to Habitat for Humanity, 2010.

detail of my beloved dresden quilt, "Daisy Daisy" 2010, reluctantly for sale.

Thanks again AnneMarie!  You can see her awesome blog here.  Click on the photo to link.  : )

LINK HERE

~Monika

ps - While you are here, check out my tutorials listed at the top:  Binding 123, and How to Make a Hanging Sleeve.  Thanks for stopping by!  : )

Things I Love Thursdays

I love the prairies.

photo by me, 2010

I love love sewing with machines that work.  : )

I love fibre art.  Really and truly.

I love watching this bowl fill with tails of thread.  It's full of proof that I'm working.

And I love taking chances with my art.  You just never know where opportunities will lead.

: )
~Monika

Works in Progress!

I'm not sure why, but I've had SO much time to sew lately.  My kids are just getting older I guess.  My youngest is almost 5.  They three of them are all busy playing together, and ... well, they are just busy.  I finished the two Serendipity quilts' bindings.  I finished the commission that's I've been calling, 'Mother's Homestead'.  I've been asked to frame it and matt it with an oval matting like this.  I will go out to get that frame as soon as I get my van back from the shop!

I am waiting for some fabric to arrive from Sandie in Alberta (the accu-quilt die-cutter lady).  Some of the samples she sent me had two teeny scraps that will be PERFECT for Mandy's tree, so I'm not touching that project until that arrives.  It's really going to be perfect.  Sorry Mandy to make you wait longer - and thank you Sandie for helping me out!!

I made this progress on Jesica's quilt from her grandmother's scraps.

You might think it looks the same as before, but if you look closer, you'll see that each square has now been sewn to another.  I'll keep going until I have larger blocks of graduated color.  Then I'll arrange them on the design wall before putting together the top.  My dear 4 yr old sat and helped.  She clipped each connecting thread from the chained squares and put all of them into nice little piles.

Then I sat and stared at all my landscape colors spilled out onto the cutting table.  Can you hear them?  Listen closely...

I hear, "lake.  water & sky.  laaaaake".  I really am NOT a fan of batiks except when someone else makes a quilt out of them.  I gave it a shot and now I've nearly finished a scene that is a view from my mother's cabin.  I have more embellishments to add.  You can click on it to view it larger.  There's some pretty teeny detail in it.

And I need to decide how to finish it / mount it / hang it / frame it?  I struggle with this. I like my small work under glass because of the teeny french knots and glass beads.  People always want to touch it.  Putting them into little shadow boxes is like looking into a treasure box!  : )  This lake piece is 8x10 inches.  I suppose it should be a wall hanging.  Otherwise, I'm very happy with it.  It is exactly the scene you get when you're out there.  At night, you can see the light blink.  Funny to think of a lighthouse in the middle of Saskatchewan isn't it!?  lol.  

That one was made with quilt batting.  That's another thing I don't do when I make my small art.  I use a canvas-like material.  It makes an excellent stabilizer for all the thread painting that would warp a quilt quite badly.  So, here I start with another!  I've been waiting to do this!!  : )  Here's the inspiration.

Actually, this one has inspired several of my pieces.  But I have not done the canola as of yet.  I usually do the pale yellow oat fields.  Here's my canvas with guide lines so it will be level, cut with 1 cm of excess all around. 

Then I pick my fabrics, embellishments, and thread.  The large pieces are fused first.  And I start stitching!

If you have ever been around North Battleford, SK, you'll recognize that blue line in the distance.  As a girl growing up on an acreage, I would always look out to those 'blue hills' and wonder how far away they really were.   (It's a small rocky range where people go to ski at Table Mountain.)  In fact, my son will be going there on a school trip next month.  Me?  I have NEVER tried downhill skiing.  Not on your life!  : )

tree line added by couching decorative yarns

I am so happy with this sky!  It's many layers of many things.  You'd be surprised!  : )  And the little section at the bottom is a replacement for the green blob on the yellow batik.  No matter, it will be covered with another layer still.

As for that canola (drumroll please) I will make a bazillion french knots beginning with the thinnest rayon thread possible.  You thought the 3" dresden plate made me a sucker for punishment?  Think again!

The rayon is for the back couple of rows.  I'll make the french knots slightly larger as the rows come forward and closer.  This is exciting!  It will be 5"x7" in an 8x10 frame and for sale soon.  I think my mom will get the Cochin Lighthouse for her home at the lake.

So whew!  I'm happy.  I'm busy.  Things are progressing.

~Monika

Tips on Tuesdays! -> Labels

Today's Tips on Tuesdays is all about Labels, by request from Becky.  Thanks Becky!  To anyone reading this, please leave a comment on how you do labels (with a link if you are a blogger).  The red button on the sidebar will link you to ALL tips on Tuesdays posts, so grab it or stay a while if you like.

First:  Why label your quilt or art quilt at all?  My answer:  Because you should.  : )  It's handmade.  It's a work of art.  It's a time honored craft.  And it's likely that the quilt will be around long after you.  Give future owners some information about the quilt and it's maker.

I have a quilt that is 40 yrs old.  It's my baby quilt.  It's falling apart.  I 'restored it' with new binding and new backing.  There was no label.  I remember the woman who made it, but couldn't recall her name.  She passed away decades ago.  Luckily I phoned my mom and she knew.  As a quilter, I felt very proud to put this woman's name on the quilt.  This quilt was important.  So shouldn't the quilter be as well?

I know.  Not pretty.  But it's there!  : )

What should you put on the label? Whatever you want really.  I think it's important to put the following:

Name of quilt

Year made/completed

Name of designer/quilter

City or country it was made in.

Your quilt could end up anywhere on this planet.  Think of that.  Some people include a message or a story behind the name of the quilt.  These all add personality to the piece, and validate the importance of the quilt.

Where do you put it?  When looking at the quilt from the front, go to the bottom right hand corner.  Flip the corner up and that's where the label should be.

another label I should really re-do now that I know how.  But it's there!  : )

I remember where it goes because that's where artists sign their work - lower right.  (When facing the back, the label will be on the bottom LEFT hand corner.)  Some people fuse and/or whipstich the label there.  My guild's charity group puts them right onto the backing before the quilt is bound, so that the bottom & left edge are right under the binding.  I thought that was great because then it's unlikely that the label would get removed.  I think I'll do mine like that from now on.

I press a piece of fabric under 1/4 inch or so to make a hemline.  Then I use bic markers.  Really.  I've bought other special fabric markers and they were always garbage.  This is what I use to label kid's clothing too, so I know it won't wash out.  My labels are not pretty.  Some people go all out and make GORGEOUS labels that resemble the quilt top.  If you know a great link, please leave it here!

Krista from Poppyprint just made a post on how she makes her labels.  CLICK HERE to see.

So what would you like to say on the topic?  Do you label?  Why?  How?  Share it!

~Monika

Winter Lights

Yes.  It is still winter.  It's minus 30 all weekend.  Today is Family Day - and a holiday here.  My oldest has the week off for winter break.  My vehicle is stranded for days, but fortunately, everyone is healthy and the house is full of sunshine.  We have many large south facing windows, and I feel like I'm on vacation.  I remember the first winter we moved into this house.  We were so warm in the kitchen & family room from all the sunshine that we put on shorts and tshirts, spread out beach towels... and just layed there in the sun sipping drinks full of ice.  It was awesome!  : )

the latest painting by J. Frost.  VERY cool.

I spent the afternoon going through nearly a hundred of my best photos, sketching some out and trying to make a short list of what to sew next.  There are number of exhibits I would like to have things ready for.  Nothing got farther than the paper and pencil, however, I did come across a photo I had forgotten all about!  It was late autumn / early winter, and we put on our 'patio lights'.  I took many photos.  Looking at them really sparked something creative in me, so this is what I made as the sun went down.  (Thus the dim lighting.)

It's thread painting on black, which I really enjoyed.  Here's how I work.

I purposefull did not try to copy the photo exactly.  I did do the bulbs by the original photo, but I made a different line up & angle, including some dark bulbs.  Then I just doodle-quilted the background in.  Fun!

art courtesy of Jack Frost

We sat in the sun, had a big turkey dinner and have simply been having such a nice quiet time together.  See you tomorrow for Tips on Tuesdays.  Any Suggestions?

Monika

Sunday Snapshots # 25

on the colors portobello and pistachio...

one of my favorite fabrics that match nothing.

Fiona on the left, Pretty Penny on the right.

can you tell i was having fun?

Fiona on-the-go, complete with pockets.

: )
and that's what happens when you're really really loving your sewing machines, and the van quits just before a long weekend (no service until Tuesday) during a minus thirty cold-snap, and your kids are all busy with toys.  I am stranded in my sewing room!

~Monika