I recently re-encountered a friend from long ago and was delighted to learn she, too has become a fabric artist - you can find a link to her website on the referrals page - just look for Carrie Shoup!

She and I have been emailing a lot this week and in the course of our discussions (such as emails are) we talked about our love of fabrics and the things we create from them.  It was through these discussions that I got inspiration for my next piece.  Of course that set off a flurry of fabric purchases (thank goodness I can get fat quarters on ebay and Etsy!) and some other tidbits that I was inspired to purchase.  The crazy thing about my pieces is that while I know what the inspiration is (or who), and I have the materials in hand, I have no idea until I a building the piece how it will turn out and while that used to bother me, I'm starting to appreciate the process.

I don't want to say too much about the piece yet, but here is a sneak peek! 

About two weeks ago, while I was still waiting for the final bits I ordered for the NJF piece I am working on, I decided that I needed to do a challenge piece.  By challenge piece, I mean have someone challenge me to do a piece that was all one color.  Now this could also work for things like all floral prints, all solids, etc.  For this one, it was color and my partner picked blue (and thus the title of my post!).

I also decided to restrict the piece by size (no more the 15" x 12") and I could only use items I already had in house - no ordering decorations or fabric or anything! luckily, I had navy blue binding I could use for the edges!). 

I also sewed a pocket on the back to insert a dowel in order to make it easier to hang up the piece.

Overall I love the look and am pretty happy with how the piece turned out.  My first finished piece of 2015!

I refuse to make another post where I complain that I've been so busy with work or stressed out about whatever that I haven't been creative...blah blah blah.  I won't lie - there has been stress and there has been work but even so.....

That said - I did make one item for Christmas...of a kind.  One of my brothers is a long distance hauler and my usual Christmas gift for him is a musical mix for the road.  Its harder then it sounds (no pun intended) but it is a challenge that I enjoy.  But this year, I wanted to make him something even more special, so I got the idea of dressing up a new lightweight but warm blanket (in a lovely shade of pale green) for his bunk.  I found just what I was looking for on Amazon but had a hard time finding just the right fabric for the dressing part.  Luckily, I visited my favorite fabric store (equilter.com) and found this:

Neat, huh?  (click on the fabric to see it on their website) 

So I bought a few yards, cut it up, sewed it together, and after a bucklet load of ironing, I had lovely binding that I sewed onto the blanket.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a photo of it, but I am delighted to say that he seemed pleased with his mix and his new blanket.

But the fact that I haven't been more creative - be it with textiles, paper or words, has been bothering me and while I don't make new year's resolutions, I have become determined to at least make more posts to the website.  This makes the 3rd one in 13 days - not great but better then last year!!

What sorts of urges toward creativity have you felt of late?  What do you think will inspire you to accomplish creativity in your life this year?

Creating wall hangings was the start of my 'artistic career' (so to speak).  I create them for a specific person/group of people; they contain images and textures that reflect the individual person/people. Some of these pieces have been incredibly easy to create; others have been excruciating - not because I didn't want to do it or hated the subject matter - but because I agonized over each piece of fabric, each charm, each placement. I wanted it just right and I wanted the subject(s) reflected by the piece to feel good about my interpretation.

Over on my road trip blog, I recently made a post about Michael. We have known each other for 21 years and have had more ups and downs then a Dorney Park roller coaster but back in 2009,  I felt very strongly that I needed to create a piece about him.  We weren't actually a part of each other's lives at that time, but it was a project my heart really wanted to do so I got to work.  I gathered all kinds of fabric and utilized some new techniques (such as printing photos onto adhesive backed fabric). I even went into my 'Michael memory box' and pulled out some really special treasures that I felt should be a part of the piece. 

But when it was time to put the piece together - I just couldn't - my emotions just made it impossible to put something together that looked half decent.  So I packed it away and hoped I would feel up to the challenge of finishing it at a later time.

Fast forward 5 years to a completely different emotionally complicated now - but a now that was inspiring me to complete this piece.  A big part of it was that although he has given me the gift of his photographs (go see here) on more then one occasion,  I hadn't every gifted him with any of my original artwork. So after he arrived in Chicago, I spent a solid 4 days and finished the piece.

I'm not going to share every intimate detail here about what everything means, some stories are left for telling by someone else.  But I did want to point out some of the bits that you might find interesting or special.

• There is a photo of Michael and his dog, Molly on a hike - that is a photo printed on adhesive backed fabric (as is the tiny photo of the two of us together)
  
• There are license plates from the 3 states where he has lived/is living - Illinois, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.  These are all cut from fabric printed with license places from each state. (If anyone has any of this laying about that they aren't using - I'd be happy to take it off your hands!)
• When we first met - he had a grey '88 Grand Prix - I LOVED THAT CAR! I honed my driving skills driving cross country in "Esmeralda".  It had over 205,000 miles on it when it was finally dragged off to the junk yard (kicking & screaming, I'd like to think). There is actually a name plate from the car sewn onto the piece along with my car keys....2 very special items that are difficult to part with but add so much meaning to the finished artwork. The name plate was yanked off the car and came away in 3 sections so isn't in the best condition - it took a lot of thread to anchor it securely.

A close-up of the name plate & car keys....

This piece really was a labor of love and I'm pretty pleased with the final result. The finished piece is one of the largest I've done - approximately 22 inches x 34 inches (give or take a few inches each way) and while that doesn't sound large, trying to get into the middle of piece that large to do the embroidery while maneuvering around lots of pins can be a challenge.  But I'm pleased to say I managed not to bleed on it and it looks rather nice, I think.

I have tried to sign every piece I make but I usually just write on the back with a sharpie (unlike my mom who carefully embroiders her name, date & the recipient on the back of each of her creations! so gorgeous!) but this time I used the 'print on adhesive backed fabric thing' and stuck it to the back.  Of course the sharpie still made an appearance because I had to edit the label.

Yesterday, I carefully packed up the piece and sent it to him in Chicago.  No one else has seen it yet - I wanted him to be the first.  I won't publish this post until after he sees it - just because, you know? Art usually speaks when the body can't.

I say FINALLY because after a particularly dry spell (both busy with work AND not feeling the creativity) I completed an entire series of 3 pieces in basically a day! 

I had picked up this amazing fabric with the Paris theme. (see equilter link on referrals page) and wanted to do something neat with it.

A few weeks ago I prepared almost a dozen canvases of different sizes by painting them an acceptable color of pink. I say acceptable because I am not a fan of pink. In any event, as soon as inspiration hit, I was ready to go.

I am also proud to day that I FINALLY managed to teach myself how to 'glue' fabric to canvas without getting the rippled water effect (that actually worked for a few of my pieces....) I got the fabric smooth and it looks great!  

Of course the fun part is adding the extra items - paper flowers, metal charms, ribbons, paper cutouts & graphics, and of course rhinestones! 

The 3 pieces (of which only 2 are shown here) are in 3 sizes - one is around 5.5 x 5.5, one is around 11 x 20 and the last is around 14 x 16. They look cute together but are also great stand alone pieces. 

I am really thrilled with how they turned out!  Next up - a series with a sea/pirate/mermaid theme.... that should be loads of fun!

One of my bothers (I have 6) is getting married in March. I came across a cool idea on Pinterest and shared it with his fiancee and she liked it as well, so we are forging ahead!  It is for a quilt to be given to the bride & groom!

So when I sent out the invitations for the bridal shower, I asked the attendees to bring a 10 inch x 10 inch piece of cotton fabric. If someone RSVP'd they wouldn't be coming, I still invited them to send me a piece of fabric (and some did!). After the shower, we will take all those pieces of fabric and create a quilt top that will be finished in time for everyone to see at the wedding.  After the wedding, it will be put into the loving hands of the St. Daniel's Lutheran Church Quilters in Robesonia, PA, who will complete the quilting; my mom and I will handle the binding when it is finished.

This idea appeals to me on so many different levels - firstly, we have no idea what we are going to get in terms of fabric - not the print or the texture or anything - all of it will be a surprise and a challenge!  Secondly, I love the idea that the community of family and friends are all contributing to a piece that I hope becomes an heirloom.  Its like little unspoken tokens of love to keep them warm for years to come!  Thirdly, as mentioned in my previous post, I like making things that will be given to someone. Forth - this is the first project that I am working on jointly with  my mom (an artist in her own right as a master embroider)! Fifthly - I can once again hand over a quilt to the St. Daniel's Quilters! They quilt for hire as a fun raiser for their church and while not a Lutheran myself, I love fundraisers that don't involve a whole lot of sales on anyone's part.  (I should make a separate post about these ladies - they are something else!).

I don't have any pictures to share as yet but I will make more posts about the quilt and give you all a glimpse into the creative process!