Something About Nothing

I wanted to create a few cards and decided to use my Gelli® Plate , a few lovely found objects to create texture, and Strathmore Mixed Media paper .  I really like the weight of this paper (140 lb) and it will take layer after layer of paint! I used my 8x10" plate.  This is one of the simpler pieces. I then purchased a cd wrap pattern from the Silhouette Store.   I cut a few cards using this design and my Silhouette Portrait. I also played around with some pens on the design after I cut it out. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the card I gave to my son, which I like a lot more than this one. I also bought another pattern called a  pentagon petal fold card ,  which folds up like this. . . These have become my new go to for gift cards and money.   I gave one to my sister for her birthday and one to my son for his graduation and they both really liked them.  I need to make more!

Last week I made a visit to Phoenix, AZ, and I came across some fun fibers I wanted to share.  First there was a funky hippie store with lots of prayer flags.  I  knew of a few friends that would love this Day of the Dead set of flags. We attended a dinner at the Law School which had these beautiful Navajo rugs draped across the balconies for decoration.  I wish I had been able to look at them up close to see all the weaving! It's always wonderful when you can see beautiful fibers without really searching!

In the Urban Dictionary Fangirling is defined as: v. 1. the reaction a fangirl has to any mention or sighting of the object of her "affection". These reactions include shortness of breath, fainting, highpitched noises, shaking, fierce head shaking as if in the midst of a seizure, wet panties, endless blog posts , etc.  I'm not sure how I would react if I met a Hollywood celebrity but I do know that I Fangirl when I meet certain quilters!  A couple years ago I met David Taylor, at the Utah State Quilt Guild Quilt Festival.  He was teaching at HMQS this year. He is a fantastic quilter and a fabulous man. I understand that his classes are very informative and entertaining.  I saw him setting up for his class at HMQS and pondered asking him to take a selfie with me but I restrained myself!  I bet he wouldn't have minded but sometimes a teacher just needs a moment to themselves. :D A fellow quilter introduced me to Angela Walter's quilting books a few year...

I really enjoyed the special exhibits on display at HMQS this year.  My friend, Kaye Evans, teaches a Kaffe Club class every year and they exhibited their quilts.  This year the class focused on Dresden plates.  Cheryl and Ron Garn pieced this stunning oversized king sized quilt  Another stunning exhibit was from a group called "Quilts on the Wall."  The art quilts are all painted and explore the theme of Shadows.  The only thing I didn't like about the exhibit was that it didn't have the artists names next to each quilt.  I found this quilt especially striking.  I think that perhaps it was done with some discharging.  I'd love to know how it was created and by whom! There is a very active group of art quilters in Utah County which also had a lovely exhibit.  A number of the members belong to the Utah Surface Design Group, of which I am a member.  I recognized a number of my friends pieces:  Kathleen Ba...

 This weekend was the Home Machine Quilt Show in Sandy, Utah.  Practically my backyard.  I entered a quilt in the show:  SWR - "Sylvia Was Right"  I started the quilt while at the Pie Plates Retreat. The blue was created using Color Magnet with a thermofax screen and turquoise dye.  The purples are the leftovers from an ice dyed pieced that I then over printed with a thermofax screen of onion skin cells and human brain cells for the Science challenge of The Printed Fabric Bee. When I started to piece I planned on using the two pieces of fabric I had dyed along with white for an accent. My friend, Sylvia, decided to give me a challenge by throwing some scraps of peach at me.  I complained like a big baby and told her I didn't want to use.  I used it, and she was right, thus the name SWR. I'm sorry this photo is a bit blurry but it gives you an idea of the wonky, free form piecing I used to create this piece.   I didn't win a rib...

This month's Printed Fabric Bee theme from Queen Bee Gerrie Congdon was "Geometric." I played around at making different shaped stencils.  I had so much fun making a multilayer stencil last month I decided to create another using circles, which I cut into fourths and then cut some (orange quarter circles) out of one stencil and the others (blue) out of another stencil. I started with an ice dyed fabric and stenciled in a Navy blue Jacquard textile paint .  As I went I felt like the Navy was a little dark so I went over the Navy with Turquoise.  And then went with yellow for the second stencil. It was a very fun challenge! If you would like to win a 6" piece of this fabric as well as 6" squares of the other challenge fabrics hop on over to Gerrie's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee blog and leave a comment!