The Making of an Art Quilter

I wanted to share with you Bella's newest venture into the world of quilting.  I asked her if she wanted to make a fabric collage instead of the usual paper ones she is now making.  Without hesitation, she said yes.  Of course, I had one idea about how we would proceed, and she had another.  We went with hers.

After she went through my stash and picked pieces from all the colors of the rainbow, she started cutting little irregular shapes of each color.  She was very careful to keep the piles separate.  This is her first time cutting fabric with "grown-up" scissors.

After she thought she had enough pieces cut, she started placing them on a piece of batting she had me cut to just the right size.

Art cannot be rushed, so there were a few breaks along the way for snacks and playing with Tom.

We put some wash-away stabilizer over the top of the finished collage and took it carefully to the sewing machine.  Bella is only 3 1/2, so she is very comfortable sitting in my lap and helping me guide the fabric while I work the foot pedal. 

After sewing, we ran some warm water in the sink to wash away the stabilizer.  This is the first time I have used this, and I am pretty amazed.  It just dissolves.  Bella wasn't sure if she liked touching the slimmy water as it was washing away.

She was as amazed as I was, I think.

This is what it looks like so far.  I need to wash it again to get all the residue away from the thread, even though I like the look of the thicker line.  I also need to do a little more stitching in a few places.  I am not sure what Bella will want to do next with this piece, but so far, she is pretty happy with it.  She likes her abstract designs in her drawings and, now, in her quilts.

I have been busy finishing up projects I need to get done before Thursday when I leave for a ten days in Fairfax, Virginia.  I am going to stay with my sister-in-law, who is responsible for getting me back into quilting.  What fun we will have!  Does anyone know what kind of scissors I can take onboard the airplane to do some handwork?

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Quilters Anonymous Quilt Show photos

One of the reasons I really wanted to get well fast last week was to be able to go to the Quilters Anonymous annual show in Monroe, Washington.  Tom and I were able to make it yesterday, and I am so glad we did.  The quilt above was made by Dorothy "Sally" Leboeuf.  It is the inspiration for my Provencal quilt.  Sally is the founder of the Rebels, a quilt group I joined last year.  She was the featured quilter at this show.  Her quilting is astounding, but I don't think I got good photos of her quilting, just her colors.  Here are just two more of her stunning quilts.

There were several quilts by fellow Rebels, but I only got a couple of photos.

This one is by Patty House.  It has been great fun watching the progress on this one at meetings.

This one is by Lisa Jenni.  It doesn't show in this photo, but the inset ovals all have wonderful textures.  This is a small but powerful quilt.

This was Tom's first quilt show, and he was fascinated and very impressed with the variety of quilting patterns and techniques.  Since I am not a great quilter, so it was the first time he has really been exposed to the wonder and variety of what quilting adds to a quilt.  It is really great to have such a supportive husband who is interested enough in what I do to look forward to going to quilt shops, and perhaps another show.

 In my next post, I will share some of the other quilts I really liked from this show.  Until then, joyful quilting, everyone.