Modern Topiary

I wanted to share with you a few things that I have finished at the end of the year in 2016.  This was lots of fun using a linen gray fabric for the background and then batiks for my circles.  I quilted it instraight line quilting with a little bit of thread painting on the inner and outer borders of the circles.

Good Morning

I hope everyone had a wonderful and very blessed Holiday and Happy New Year!
It seems like it has been forever since I posted and it really has so I thank you all who have stayed with me.  It has been filled with a year of so many changes on the outside as well as on the inside.  For those of you who do not know my Mamma' passed away at the end of July and her battle with dementia is done.  Mamma and I always had this thing between us in previous years where I felt she always looked at things with her glass half empty where I lived with an attitude where my glass was half full and I didn't understand that and we talked about it many times but what I found out after her passing was that in the last few years she did live her life with her glass half full!  I miss you Mamma and I know you are dancing in the heavens.
I have managed lately to get back into working with my wonderful stock of fabrics and although it is slow going it is there and I will show you some pics in the next post of what I have been working on.
I am hoping to join the blogging world again with weekly posts so I look forward to being active again.

Happy Thanksgiving

The beginning...again

Good Morning one to all.  Wow it has been a long time since I posted and I do apologize.  Since we all know life gets in the way I will not even go there.  Let's just say that things are looking up and better and I look forward to a quieter time now with lots of sewing in there.
I have managed to do a few ATC's and such and will post a few pics.  I am glad to be back and now let me see if I remember how to do this...lol  Have a great day everyone!

 I finally finiahed my husbands Route 66 quilt and he loves it...

 These weee are ATC;s

 There were 3 of us working on each others quilt and this was my finished top.

 Karen a friend of mine taught a double wedding Ring class I was her assistant...this is the one I started, wonderful experience

 These were ATC's for music..

Last year we had a pizza box exchange in which you had 6 pieces of fabric you wanted on your quilt .in the pizza box.  A mystery was read and a hint was given for the next meeting  on what block to do of course I had betty boop  and I did manage to get the top finished...

Thanks for being here and I have more photos to post and I hope to stay in touch often.

Thank you for your prayers

Hello friends of my blog...I just wanted to post a note of thanks and appreciation for all the thoughtful prayers and good intentions sent out to my Mom and family.  As some of you know my Mom had a stroke Wednesday and is somewhat better but still is in the hospital and I am sure rehab after this.  It has been a trying time and I feel blessed to have you all cheering her on.  I really don't know that she will fully recover from this one  but I have hope from your kindness and prayers sent our way...thanks again.

Dotee Doll

A friend of mine in an art  yahoo group that I am is are exchanging a St. Paddy's Day dotee doll with me. They are much like ATC trading cards they should not be sold but only traded..so here is the one I made for JudyD.  I hope you like her...

TN Snow

Morning!  I hope everyone is thawing out and I am certainly wishing we have seen the last of snow for awhile, how about you?  I meant to post the other day when we got over 8" of snow with drifts of 11, yikes!  For Chattanooga that is not the norm well I am sure this has been an abnormal winter for lots of people.  So here are some of the beautiful pictures I took during our snowfall...

Fabric art journal page for Judy

Well I am catching up a little and maybe even a week ahead of time. Imagine that, finally!  I am in a monthly Art jourmal page exchange and each month is just what that month means to us.  This  is my page for February and I did add crystals but you really cannot see them that well.  I love the look of pink and brown together so I just added lace, trim, crystals, a few words and of course chocolate...Judy I hope you like it..

ATC February

Morning!  I finished my February ATCs for the Fiberantics group that I am in.  Our theme this month was "transparency"  which I was trying to think of something different for this month with keeping it simple.  Because as you all know I can go over the edge and just keep adding and adding...since my word for this year is "simplify"  this is what I came up with...not that it was hard just time consuming but I am satisfied with the results.  Now I have one more thing to complete which is my February journal page and I can finish my grandson's quilt....
Old  Fashion Screen Door:

What I did was use gesso on each card then ink stamped the background and used a  flower stamp in achieval black so there was something to see other than color.  I cut and glued the no-seum screen down and used thin pieces of wood cut to size  and ink glazed to make the old fashion frame...added the bead for a door knob and called it done....I hope you enjoy taking a peek and I thank you!

Mixed Media January Journal page

First let me wish everyone a very Happy Valentines Day and I really hope you get to enjoy the day with your loved ones! It has been a very busy month so far  between doctors and taking my m-i-l to the er for falls that could have been prevented if she would use her walker, I am already exhausted. That being said I will be going to my Modern guild this morning and that is always a pleasure to spend time with our group here in Chattanooga.  I am still missing my DF Linda it is like everywhere I go she should be there but hopefully I will see her in April and we will get a chance to catch up.

Anyway I am in a mixed media group and the theme this year is what each month means to me:  so here is my month of January...take care and have fun.....

I used gesso, watercolor;  glitter; white marker; black archival ink and washi tape...I hope the lady that receives it really enjoys it.  It was allot of fun to do.

January ATC

Good Monday morning.  Just wanted to post a pic of my first ATC's for this year for the FiberAntics group.  Our theme was "3 words of advice"  so I chose "Believe in Yourself"   Good way to start the year don't you think?  Have a great week...

2 New classes I have started

Now you have to promise not to laugh but I have started 2 new classes this New Year the first one is a knitting class and I am hoping to lean how to do more than the knit and pearl stitch.  Our teacher actually started us out making a cable cast on and now we are into the next class which is following the pattern.....here is a pic so far

My next class is a drawing class and I really want to stop drawing stick people and learn to take it to another level.  Jackie is a wonderful teacher so here are a couple photos of our first class together.

In the beginning she had us draw an apple and cylinders so the first 2 are my drawings without any guidance and then the last 2 are done with Jackie teaching us perspective and shading with different marks and pencils..I think the second 2 are better and I had a wonderful time.  There are 4 of us in the class...2 of the ladies are much further advanced and then there is another friend of mine and me.

I will post updates as we go along...Thanks for taking a peek..

Wow I have not posted since the holiday

Ahh it is true it seems life was more simple back a few years ago.  It is not that I have not been in my sewing room at all just not as much as I would like to.  I hope you all have had a wonderful start to a great New Year  ahead and are looking forward to all the new creativity that is just waiting around the corner to be made.
As for me I am looking for more time in my sewing room and so far this year I have had more time which has been a good thing ,by more time I am meaning a few more days, which I am grateful for but as time goes on it might get better.  I am hopeful!  Here are a few photos of stuff that has been completed since I last posted...

I made this zipper pouch for a friend of mine who moved to FL in January and I added the map so she doesn't get lost when she comes to visit...

This one was made as a gift for the Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild

And you cannot see this very well and I forgot to take a picture of it when I got the top finished.  This is the pic of the layout but  I will get a better one after it is quilted.  This is for my grandson Dayton..

And I have started 2 new classes this year so that is starting out good right?  I will be back with photos of "in the beginning" later today.

Thanks for being here.......

Merry Christmas

Taking this time to wish you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas from my family to yours!  I wish you all  a healthy, fun filled and creative New Year!!!!
I have chosen 2 words to set as goals for this coming year

Simplify & Focus

Have you chosen any words  to help with the coming New Year?

thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving either with family and friends or in your quilting studio.  I know I had a dinner for 15 family and friends and truly enjoyed it so much and "thank the Lord" for  allowing me to do so.  But now comes the hard part of trying to race to the finish line which is Christmas Eve to get some things completed. From my home to yours... I  truly wish you have a wonderful Holiday season
Here are a few pics from my Thanksgiving...

Me and the Mister

My daughter Leigh-Anne;S-I-L Jeremy: The Mister: A Friend Karen

at the door my sister Debbie: brother Carl: my son Gene: my daughter-in-law Samantha

 Friends Jeremy and his son Jerick;

granddaughter Phalynn: grandson Dayton

My Mom Evelyn; and M-i-L Kathlene

Our 40th

Yesterday was our 40th wedding anniversary and I woke up to a beautiful gift from my husband and a day shared with family and friends..it was a wonderful celebration.....this is the gift I woke up too and I am thinking I just might keep him..lol  Have a great day everyone.

A few colors of Fall

Let me leave you with a few colors of fall that have finally come to Chattanooga.  These photos are mostly from the house here but there is one beautiful tree filled with red leaves that was taken down the road...Have a great day everyone.

October ATC's

I am in a FiberAntics art group led by Veronica and we are winding down the year.  We have one more to go and then we will start again in the New Year.  This month the theme was pumpkins which I guess we could dress a pumpkin up in all ways but I chose to use the pumpkin seed.  I used modge podge to actually add the cupcake holders to the cards then added a little pumpkin die cut and some pumpkin seeds in the center.  Then added a little information on the back about pumpkin seeds.  I really did not know what I was going to do until I started them I just wanted to use pumpkin seeds so this is how they turned out.

Greatful threads art group

I have been wanting to try and catch up with the finishes for this year so here is another one.  In January our "greatful threads" art group here is Chattanooga posted a challenge to make a portrait of ourselves .  The parameters were it had to be 50% fabric and the size was to be around an 11 x 18 (?) and it had to be quilted.  Well I did finish mine, just by the ringing of the last bell,,,lol

I really did enjoy doing this project and it was a stretch for me and my problem area was skin tone.  The only medium that is not on this quilt is oil paints.  So if anyone has any ideas on what is good for getting the skin tone on fabric I would appreciate any suggestions.  Thanks for taking a peek.