Sewing with Mom

I promised photos, so here are a few. All works are still in progess, but progress is being made! Mom came up from DC this week, so I took a few days off work and beaded or sewed while visiting.
Bali Bloom is where I left it, waiting for one last row of beads (again). The workshop flower is ready for quilting--I have marked big chalk leaves behind the flower and plan to start quilting those, then see where to go. (you can see the chalk marks if you click the photo.) I've got bright green and turquoise thread out to use for quilting on that dark blue/black fabric. It is not really my style, but an opportunity to practice, and I am determined to get a trapunto effect out of something! Here I trapuntoed the petals, so let's see if the magic happens. Meanwhile, McAuley Angel waits for me. The last time I walked by the statue on Stevens Ave, she was virtually hidden by the bushes surrounding her--I thought they were roses but they are actually a white-flowered bush that looks like Hydrangea.

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Projects in Process

One more row of beads to add and THEN I think Bali Bloom will be done. Or at least ready for another round of commentary. The extra beads have added a lot--you'll see.
Meanwhile, the flower started in Barbara Olson's class is appliqued to a background, fabric from behind the flower trimmed away, polyester batting added just behind the petals, stitched using a technique I learned watching a Patsy Thompson YouTube video. The plan is to layer the whole with batting then quilt like a madwoman all over the dark blue background. In several colors.
All this has been a distraction from McAuley Angel, which is waiting to be threadpainted, trapuntoed, attached to the background, then embellished. I'm using what I learn from working on Barbara Olson's flower to help me think through finishing the angel. So it's all interwoven.
I will take pictures and post them very soon. It's been a busy month!

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Bali Bloom Returns

The consensus is No! Bali Bloom needs further beading, so it is back on the unfinished list. Meanwhile, I created a background for McAuley Angel, using the technique from 'Vase' (see Feb. 16, 2009, Invitation!) which involves tiny bits of fabric. I am at the tedious stage of tearing off the stabilizer that held all the bits in place while I quilted. You can see some of the stabilizer still in place in the photo. Once the stabilizer is off I can wash the background, then applique the angel, who awaits thread painting.

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Bali Done

Bali Bloom is finished! Or at least I think it is. I have it ready to take to the office tomorrow and see how it looks on display--and whether others concur that it is complete. Beaded several weeks while hanging out with my father-in-law watching the Red Sox on TV. What do you think? Is it done yet? Click on the photo to see a larger picture. The beading actually looks subtle in this shot!


Several of us met up for a quick trip to the Lowell Quilt Festival. We spent Thursday at a wonderfully fun workshop with Barbara Olson.We worked on flowers using very wild, vivid colors and patterns and learned design principals and an applique technique involving glue (which I am not at all fond of. In fact, in order to finish my piece I think I will need to figure out a different technique!)
But we had such a great time together and saw oh so many beautiful, take your breath away quilts.

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Angel Quilt

The angel quilt is taking shape. Image outlined onto watercolor paper, painted with watercolors, printed onto fabric, painted with fabric paint, embellished with oil pastels and glitter. The technique is from a DVD we watched courtesy of Heather, called Stitch Imagery with Kelli Perkins. Lots of fun ideas. So now I have an angel element, time to figure out how to get her onto a quilt! Here's the statue which inspired this quilt.

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Let the beading begin!

Bali Bloom could have been complete, but it didn't feel quite done, so it is on with the beading! I have spent several evenings beading the center, and all the yellow anthers--almost done with that segment. My plan is to create a path of pink/purple/green beads along the edge of each petal, where it overlaps the next petal, and scatter the beads out into the background, bringing a little light to the dark green/brown background fabrics. I got some help today from a young visitor, who ably popped beads on my needle as I needed them. I could use a helper like that all the time! The pink/purple pathways are pretty ambitious, but I think it will add the sparkle I am looking for.

Meanwhile, I need to find some Bubble Jet Set so I can get to work on the angel quilt--starting from a photograph of the McAuley Angel (an angel statue in front of the Sisters of Mercy residence). I plan to paint, then print on fabric, and see where I go from there. The Bubble Jet Set is to prepare the fabric so I can print my painted angel directly onto the fabric. I am thinking of creating a background using the 'scraptures' technique I used for the floral bouquet quilts, (see post 2/19/09 Invitation!) then appliqueing the angel on top. No idea if it will work, but it will be fun to find out!

See more of my quilt photos at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

New Quilts

Bali Bloom could be considered complete! Here is a picture of it with the curvy border, offset bloom and background leaves. The remaining question is: to bead or not to bead? Since it is a big piece (38 x 48) even beading judiciously will require a lot of beads. I am considering it, though, where each petal overlaps the next one. Possible also in the center, a few yellow beads? What do you think? I have asked several quilting friends who caution that beading will add a lot of time to a piece that can essentially stand on its own now. I’ll mull it over a bit.

Meanwhile, I am starting a new piece, yippee! I hope this will be the first in a series based on photographs taken on the Portland Trails. If you are not familiar with the Portland Trail system, it is a wonderful network of wooded walks that wind through the city. Within steps of each trail head you are removed from traffic, sidewalks, cars and city sounds and sights. It is really quite remarkable. I began walking many of the trails this winter, camera in hand, and have several photos I am anxious to turn into small quilts. I want to think about this series as ‘Fairy Habitats along Portland Trails’, so while each will be based on a photo taken along the trail, fairies and their environments will hopefully creep into each scene. I’d love to do 6 to 12 quilts in the series—we’ll see how it develops. Here is a tree trunk and fairy wings (the fairy will be added, as will a door in the trunk.) The photo that inspired this scene was taken along University Park Trail—one of the shortest trails in the system, off Allen Avenue. I absolutely love the technique I learned from Christine Fries-Ureel for creating tree trunks from strips and scraps of diverse fabrics.

Finally, I have been asked to create a wall hanging for a co-worker that can be anything I want, any technique, as long as it includes an angel. How fun! I am researching angels at the moment, especially Victorian and Art Nouveau paintings. This could become a reason Bali Bloom gets declared complete without beads!

See more of my quilt photos at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts