Turning Points and Meeting the Person That Inspired Change

Do you ever remember having a turning point when all your preconceived notions are put aside and a new door opened? When I started to quilt it in 2002 it was a chance to learn some of the new techniques had been introduced since my first quilting attempt in the mid 1970's. It was also to have an opportunity to meet other creative women from our community. I filled my stash with traditional fabrics and colors and set about learning as much as I could. It was a year later when I saw "New Dawn" by Caryl Bryer Fallert (both quilt and artist are pictured above) that everything changed. It was like being released from a box and my imagination started to go wild. I suddenly had a need for vibrant color (I always did, I may have just repressed it for a while). My stash took on a new life as I refined my dyeing skills to include quilting fabrics. I love the highly saturated colors. I dye lighter colors with my mom in mind. She prefers a pallet full of pastels.

This year in Paducah I had a chance to meet the woman that inspired me and see her quilts up close. Every single quilt is a work of art from the design to the fabric selection.

But what I love to explore most is the quilting. Click on the photo above to see more detail.

The last quilt pictured is called "On the Wings of a Dream". It is simply stunning! To view more of Caryl's work please visit her site Bryerpatch.com

All photos published with permission from the artist.

Dyeing Homework

Photos from left to right: #1 Unbleached Muslin, #2 Velvet - Silk/Rayon Blend, #3 Habotai Silk

I recently enrolled in a four week long Shibori fabric dyeing class with Marjie McWilliams at Quilt University. I've used Shibori techniques on cotton in the past but I've always wanted to try dyeing silk and velvet. All I can say is wow! I found a couple new favorite fabrics! I LOVE the color that comes out of the silk/rayon blend velvet and the Habotai silk just glows!!! Here are my results from lesson #1 Arashi dyeing. Arashi literally means "Storm". 

I am very pleased with the cotton and velvet pieces. Next time I will wring a little more water out of the cotton fabric so I get brighter results.  I don't care for the way the Habotai silk dyes turned out. I will use a much lighter hand with the paintbrush next time so I can get more subtle colors. But.. I never mind when things turn out the way I don't expect. I learn so much more that way.  I think I will overdye parts of the Habotai silk with sky blue next time to add some more excitement.

I hope you have a wonderful week! I am off to Paducah with a few girlfriends. More homework posts when I return.

Seasons Post Cards

These are the postcards I made for the Art Quilts Around the World Postcard Exchange. Only after I sent them did I realize all my photos are a bit lopsided. Our theme was "Seasons". All of these post cards use my hand dyed cotton fabrics and the leaves are made from gold velvet that was overdyed.


Spring: Poppies are some of my favorite flowers, so delicate yet so strong They are the first to herald the warm weather.

Fall and Winter: The Swamp White Oak is the only deciduous tree in our valley that does not lose it's leaves until Spring.

Summer: Delphiniums are another of my favorites. They have vibrant layers of color which can only be fully enjoyed close up.

Fall and Winter: The Sugar Maple is the state tree is Wisconsin. It has always been my favorite in fall. When I lived in the city I would drive miles out of my way to see my favorite Sugar Maples on my way home from work each Fall. This tree turns brilliant hues of red, yellow and orange in the fall. In late winter the tree is tapped to make maple syrup. Wisconsin to the top producer of maple syrup in the United States.

Postcards from OZ

Our "Art Quilts Around the World" group had a postcard and ATC exchange this winter.  The theme chosen was "Seasons".  Each of the postcards in this post came from Australia.  

Fran made the lovely "Wet Winter Day" postcard.  I love her how she created the illusion of rain with thread and fabric choices.

Earlier this year the world watched as areas of Australia were consumed by bushfires. This ATC is called "A Faint Hope".  It comes from Kathryn. I can only imagine how much emotion went into her work.

Both her ATC and postcard use photos printed on transparency film.  I slipped a piece of white paper in between the wildfire fabric background so you see the photo image clearly.

"Summer in Australia" by Joy.  It makes me want to dive right in...almost.  I love her sense of humor.

My postcards were sent almost two weeks ago and have yet to arrive.  Once they have been received I will post my pictures and show you how I used the over dyed velvets.

Overdyed Velvet and A Brave New World

On March 31st the Art Quilts Around the World group revealed the results of the "Brave New World" challenge. Here is my personal Brave New World.

There are so many changes happening on our planet right now. I decided to connect a few of the thoughts that have been foremost on my mind. I have always been fascinated by religion and the similarities in beliefs between all religions of the world. It strikes me dumb that so many wars are fought over religion. My theme is "My Brave New World: One Message, Many Prophets". I chose a passage from the Old Testament of the Bible that is a common message to all religions of the world. We are connected to nature and need to tread lightly on the planet.

The colors I used are very typical of the earth and sky this time of year in Wisconsin. I used many scrap pieces of fabrics which were overdyed to renew them for use in this quilt. The tree is made with a piece of gray corduroy trousers overdyed with purple. I used colored pencils to add shading. The hills are made with scraps of gold velvet. The sky is fabric that was used to clean up spills from the dyeing process (there is a huge red spot hidden behind the sunset). It is me you see standing in the corner, in this lifetime and other lifetimes. This is "My Brave New World".

I invite you to visit this site and see the results of the challenge.