Seeing Red

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we'll be seeing a lot of red in cards, gifts and decorations. How about our quilts? How often do we use red? I found red in abundance in many of my quilts. At times the amount of red is significant as in the chair in this quilt called Breeze. It's balanced by touches of red on the bed as well as the strong statement of black in the bed posts.

Red is used in Branching Out in a scattered way as flowers strewn across the surface.

In Footloose red is evenly distributed in the border and makes a strong presence on the sheep and those retro PF flyers.

Here the color red is balanced in the corners and center of Heartburst.

Omega-3 is an example of red that is evenly distributed but not in an even number.

At first glance Hope Flourishes doesn't appear to contain any red fabric.

But on closer inspection, the cherry red adds zest to an otherwise subdued color palette.

Why Quilts Matter

There are numerous reasons why quilts matter to me. Quilts are an outlet for creativity, a voice where no words are needed, a tactile expression of care, a link to the past and a peek at the future.

Darra Williamson's most recent post on her website Why Quilts Matter, includes my winning quilts from the Road to California competition. Yeah, I already posted about this earlier but it bears repeating!

(detail of Rare Birds)

Road to California Winners

Check this link for the incredible 2013 Road to California winners. Two of my quilts made the list.

Chromatic Transitions received 1st place Traditional Wall Applique and

Rare Birds received 3rd place Innovative Wall Mixed.

Fabric Plus

Sometimes a quilt needs a little something besides fabric to liven it up. Fabric plus paint is used here. The "lace" is painted through a paper doily.

Fabric plus yarn is illustrated below with a yarn binding.

Fabric plus yarn (a single ply) is couched down for the corn silk in this piece.

Fabric plus beads and a tassel enhance the box perched on the books.

Fabric plus a computer and printer results in the images on fabric shown in this quilt.

Hark!

Hark! Now, there's a word we don't use anymore! It means "listen; pay attention." This carol dates from the early 1700's and reminds me to pay attention to the reason I celebrate Christmas.

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King,
peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies;
with th' angelic host proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King!"

Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord;
late in time behold him come, offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King!"

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new born King!"

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Yellow Stuff

Christmas comes in many colors. These yellow ornaments really brighten up my tree.

Highlights

A touch of white fabric paint can highlight shiny objects for more realism. This vase has a swipe of white paint.

These grapes appear more rounded with the addition of white paint.

Eyes come alive with a white highlight.

Objects like metal and glass shine with patches of white.

In Loving Memory

In loving memory of my mom, Gladys Petersen (June 18, 1922 -- November 8, 2012.) She was blessed with a winning smile, a sweet spirit, a determined nature, an inquisitive mind, capable hands, a green thumb, and, above all, a tender heart.

Until we're together again . . . In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yellow Stuff

Yellow in all its glory . . . taken at the Butchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia.

Yellow Stuff

A crusty fireplug in Franklin TN

I always wonder, with anything vintage, what this piece could tell me of its history. Was it ever uncapped to assist in dousing a fire? Who lived in the house right behind it? Who painted all those layers of color?

There's unique beauty in aged objects.

Midwest Gold

Corn--it's the gold of the midwest. The US is the world's largest corn producer and consumer. Iowa and Illinois are the top two producers by state. In this quilt, the corn (full ear and cross section) are visual lessons in how to roughly calculate corn yield. It’s a formula based on the number of kernels per row and the number of rows on an ear of corn.

Machine decorative stitches are used as background quilting in the yield sign and as tire treads.

Three ply yarn is separated and one strand is couched down for the corn silk.

The 2012 drought has devastated Indiana, with all 92 counties designated as primary or contiguous disaster areas by the USDA as of August 15, with the lowest estimated corn yields in more than 20 years. Having just returned from a road trip through Indiana we saw mile after mile of corn fields ruined by the drought. It was a strong visual reminder of the importance of farming and corn in particular.

Yellow Stuff

The Geneva, Illinois Concours d'Elegance is an annual classic car event that's a "can't miss" event for me and my husband. This year I was delighted to see three yellow beauties all in a row. Enjoy!

Hand Quilting

Since the year 2000 I've been machine quilting to maximize the quantity of quilts I can produce. For quite a few years before that I hand quilted and love the unique relief resulting from the individual stitches.

For travel I like to have a handwork project. I've been making very slow progress on this piece for the last eight years. Although it isn't finished I decided to post images as I just spent some time stitching on it this week when on a trip to see my mom. She calls it my travel quilt. It shows up with me every time I visit. The pattern is "Breadfruit" by Elizabeth Root in her book Menehune Quilts . . . the Hawaiian way.

Yellow Stuff

Sometimes all it takes is a bit of yellow to really liven things up. Imagine these flowers without any yellow. They'd still be beautiful but they wouldn't have that extra zing.