Season's Greetings

I have been busy but finally getting a few hours for working on larger fused piece. Have been working an acrylic abstract painting for a bit each day. There will be many layers on this! Think I have had too strong idea of what I want and need to just go with the flow now. And I have not started Passage(s) yet.
Hope you are having a nice, safe, healthy holiday season. -Sher

2014

I suggested "Passage" as the next word, but still not sure it's my turn. Next year, if we still have interest!' I would be open to having an inspirational quote or phrase as well as individual word. Maybe we already settled that the selector can do that. Comments? Is anybody out there?

Bandana Memories sequel

I made a few minor changes to the top, quilted with mostly meandering and bound it with zig zag stitiching- 2 layers of black and 1 each of 2 different variegated threads. Then I decided it was OK but a bit small (12"w x 13" tall) for all the effort and too small for my wall space. So I made a Jean Wells type of quilt "frame" - separate quilt and hand-stitched the edges of the small one to the larger. The fused small one has Quilter's Dream cotton batting, which works well for heavy fusing. I used Hobbs wool in the larger for a little more loft in it. It's on my LR wall. Overall size is 18"w 21" tall. One lesson for me is how important scale is. This is mostly viewed up close and works well that way, but when viewed from 20' away in my kitchen the detail is all lost which is expected. But it reads as blocks of blues, blocks f creams, blocks of greens, etc around the red shed. When I do a larger one that this was practice for, I will try to have more of the main colors in more areas while still trying to keep good sized patches of colors. I will need larger pieces. Also should give me more options for quilting lines. I welcome critiques.

"Bandana" Memory Collage

Since I am always late, I am trying to get this posted early. It is only "pieced," not quilted yet. I fused it. I got inspired to follow the memories of young me on my parents' first farm in Iowa. I was always happiest outside, flying around the rusty machinery and barn buildings on my own legs or my trike, my head wrapped in scarf or bandana due to ear-aches from the wind. Although too young to verbalise it then, I treasured adventure, fresh air, the colors and landscape. That has remained a constant throughout my life.
I took 2 digital photos locally in TX not IA - a rusty,

blue trash bin and a rusty, red metal shed; printed them on my ink jet and incorporated them in my collage. There are some reddish, triangular bandanas flying around the piece too. I took Sue Benner's 2 day workshop Cut & Collage last month. I started a large piece, but came home and realized I could do a smaller one to practice and get back into it on my own plus have a smaller one to quilt before tackling the large fused one. She warned us that edges can get caught easily when machine quilting, as I will do. This ended up to be 12"w x 13" high. Will finish it with multiple layers of zig-zag stitched edges after quilting. It is easier for me to do this without working to an exact size for now. It feels like painting with fabric, and is very addictive. I completed the top in 2 1/2 hours, not counting the digital photo taking and printing. I used leftover pre-fused fabric I had prepared for Sue's class. Very good for me to do small pieces, then go big.Which I want to do. Going to be at IQF for next 4 days.
Sher

Late Rust

After surviving a two-day moving sale, I am finally getting around to posting my offering for this challenge:

I have been doing a bit more experimenting with raw edge applique--no fusible, just fabric on fabric joined with thread, and, since those slightly frayed edges are the fabric equivalent of what happens with rust on metal,

I thought this might be appropriate for this challenge, although there is no rusted fabric in the piece nor even rust-colored fabric.

I started with a piece of snow-dyed fabric and then added bits of hand-dyes and lots of hand stitching, along with machine quilting on the background. It ended up being about 20 x 14".

Oops...I keep forgetting to post the new word. Despite my search for an alternative, this word keeps invading my consciousness...bandana...that's it...bandana! What do we think about a deadline? Mid to late November? Let me know what you all think!

Rust

I was inspired by the fabric strips that I have from cutting for another project. Just started weaving them together, and voila! I don't typically work with raw edges...not really my thing. But, "rust" is the place to do it, I think. Also decided to play with some hand stitching. Hope this photo works...kept cutting off an edge. I'm about to find out!