“A woman’s life is nine parts mess to one part magic. You’ll learn that soon enough….and the parts that look like magic turn out to be the messiest of all.” – George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
This is the outcome of “Right Brain Left Brain” seen previously here.
Today brings looking back on the past year. Lots of changes, messiness and magic” This quilt incorporates them all. Don’t ask what my plan for it is, it’s just the magic of creation.
Hand quilted, machine pieced, hand appliqued
Filed under applique, art quilt, batiks, hand applique, hand quilting, original designs, quilting, quilts
Its a cloudy, hot and sultry day. The good news is that I completed the Water Lilies project that I was pretty excited about a couple of months ago. It’s been slow going getting the hand quilting done since the weather has turned hot. It’s much easier to sit under a nice warm unfinished quilt when the weather is cold!
I had trouble deciding on a border, so I finally opted for NO border. The entire quilt is hexagons.
Here are a couple of closeups of the details.
And another….
The size is 60X68
Hand quilted, machine pieced, hand appliqued
Completed: July 2013
Filed under applique, batiks, hand applique, hand quilting, original designs, quilting
“The desert seems to be a brown wasteland of dry, prickly scrub whose only purpose is to serve as a setting for the majestic saguaros. Then, little by little, the plants of the desert begin to identify themselves: the porcupiny yucca, the beaver tail and prickly pear and barrel cacti, buckhorn and staghorn and devil’s fingers, the tall, sky-reaching tendrils of the ocotillo.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl
The Yucca have come into bloom in the high desert. They defy the usual image of a dry, brown summer that one often thinks of in the desert. The blooms are beautiful, white and lily-like.
The spiky leaves become a beautiful and fresh green.
Here is my interpretation of the yucca.
Size: 30×30
machine appliqued, hand quilted
Completed 2002
Filed under applique, art quilt, batiks, hand quilting, machine applique, original designs, photography, quilting, wall quilt
“But I’ll always love you, and I’ll always miss you and I’ll never forget that It’s okay to put dragons in the jungle and tears on a tiger”
― Sharon M. Draper, Tears of a Tiger
This is a commissioned piece for a friend. The request was for a piece with their astrological signs and the yin and yang.
Machine applique, hand quilted,
Shiva paint stiks used to stencil the stripes on the tiger, chinese symbols and details on the dragon.
Size – 47″x35″
Finished 2013
My sister continues her struggle with cancer, right now we’re working on trying to find the right balance for more effective pain control. This has meant giving up some decision making on her part because of the fuzziness caused by the pain control drugs. We did have a wonderful couple of day visit from her niece- my daughter and grandson. It was wonderful to see my sister light up and laugh and share good memories! This seemed to me like a little springtime in the midst of some ugly weather on our journey. Here is my interpretation of springtime.
If I am recalling correctly, I think the blocks are called railroad tracks. I love Jinny Beyer’s. Quilters album of Patchwork Patterns
and always turn to that resource for inspiration. I arranged the blocks to go from lighter to darker top corner to bottom corner. Then I stenciled a feathery plant with purple berries onto the upper left corner. Well actually, the berries weren’t stenciled but put on with a pencil eraser! On top of the feathery plant, I the appliquéd tulips.
Today, I needed a little spring in my life. So this was it!
Finished: 2000
Size: 60×72
Hand appliquéd, hand quilted, additional surface design
quiltingquandary 