Storytime Quilt

I fell head over heels in love with this fabric line, "Oceanica"  from In The Beginning. I used it to make this "Storytime" quilt I made for my nephew as a Christmas gift.  He is just getting to the age where picture books are holding his interest.  I hope he has many reading adventures under this quilt in the coming years.

This fabric gave me chance to practice my free motion quilting skills.  I followed the designs using a black thread.  I only had a few slips into the light spots.  All in all the quilting turned out beautifully.  I wasn't able to take very good pictures before the quilt went to it's new home.  I finished the binding on Christmas Eve.

This fabric was purchased from Lou Ann's Quilt Garden in Oelwein, Iowa

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  I am finishing the front porch renovations today.  The porch looks great and the wind no longer blows through the living room!

Fresh Fabrics

At long last - Snow Dyes!!!  This is the driest winter we have experienced in Wisconsin for many years.  Finally last week we received a snow worthy of snow dyeing.  If you are addicted to this technique like me..this snow was a long time coming.  You can see 4 of the new snow dyes in the center to upper left hand corner of this photo collage.

When I was at retreat a few weeks ago I spent an entire day editing photos of new hand dyes for my Dye Candy Shop. Sometimes it seems like the photographing, cropping, color touch ups and listing the of fabric take almost as long as the actual dyeing process. I am so pleased to have the job done.

This weekend I am getting together with the ladies from the Richland Center quilt guild.  We will be making purses to sell as a fundraiser for "GRACE" a local charity that assists patients with cancer.  I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing different purse making ideas.

Sending you warm wishes from southwestern Wisconsin where the temperature is 1 degree F at 5:30 pm.  BRRR   - Chris 

Project Quilting Week 1 Challenge - Architectural Elements

                                                      photo by Jack – Lloyd (found on Flickr)

This week the theme at Project Quilting is "Architectural Elements". This is the first of 12 weeks of challenges.  Join in anytime.  Prizes are awarded weekly to participants.  Kim, The host of project quilting says " These challenges are intended to help you “Think Outside the Square”. Be creative. Take a risk. DO SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE WILL THINK OF DOING."

The challenge for week 1 is due tomorrow at noon.  Follow this link to read more.

Looking for another challenge that lets you set the criteria and develop your own ideas?  Join the Art Quilt Blog 2012 Challenge "A Series of Quilts"

Project Quilting Anyone?

Pattern: "Treasure Box Quilt" by Edita Sitar

Fabric Line: "Color Defined" by Faye Burgos for Marcus Bros 2010

Season 3 of Project Quilting is starting on Sunday Jan 8th. Modeled after Project Runway, there will be 12 weekly quilt challenges.  If you want to play along, click on the Project Quilting badge located near the upper right hand side of my blog. Anyone can join in at anytime during the season.  Lots of fabulous prizes will be given away each week.  Dye Candy Fabrics sponsoring one of these prizes. I will be giving away one yard of fabric each week or an $18.00 discount towards items purchased from my Dye Candy shop.  Hope to see you there!

I'm off to join my mom and girlfriends for the weekend at the Homestead Cabin Retreat.  The first item on my list for the weekend is to pin baste this quilt top. Wishing you happy stitching!

Chris

Dragon Reflections in Another Place

Dragon Reflections

Chris Daly 2011 created for 

Art Quilts Around the World "Another Place" Challenge

I am an avid reader of fantasy fiction.  As a child I was immersed in the Land of OZ series by LF Baum. Not only did I love the stories but I marveled at the fantastic illustrations of John R. Neill.  Later I traveled with Ursula Le Guin to Earthsea and Anne McCaffrey to meet the Dragon Riders of Pern.

This quilt was created for the Art Quilts Around the World "Another Place" challenge. We were to create a quilt using a technique we had not used before.  We also had to use plastic and paper in our quilts.

The idea of a dragon theme quilt came to me immediately.  Trying to figure out how to incorporate plastic and paper into this project kept me from starting my quilt top for quite a while. I tried thinking in an abstract mixed media sense but kept coming back to my original theme.  Once I had the idea of a reflecting pool it all came together. 

The dragon reflection in the pool is drawn on card stock using colored pencils.  I quilted the batik fabric then covered the dragon image with the plastic from a Ziploc Freezer Bag.  I tried a cellophane type of bag first but the stitching perforated the plastic.  The plastic in the freezer bag is very pliable and stands up well to the machine quilting.

I worked on the quilted dragon head separately.  I drew the quilting details on the top fabric first using a pencil.  Next I layered the top with batting and a muslin backing.  I machine quilted the scales on the dragon head and neck.  Once that was complete I applied Daler Rowney acrylic inks over the top of the quilting, a technique I have wanted to try for a long time.  The inks covered the pencil lines, toned down the turquoise blue quilting thread and added a vibrant shimmer to the dragon.  I added 2 more layers of batting under the dragon's head to give it more dimension.  The head is appliqued it in place using a straight stitch.  

The Daler Rowney acrylic inks were a gift from my mom this Christmas.  I had read about the inks on Leslie McNeil's blog MarveLes Art Studios.  I love these inks. Thanks Mom, thanks Les! The inks have more substance to them than some of the other fabric paints on the market.  They were easy to mix and apply. I love the subtle shimmer they add to my fabrics.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!

Chris