More Unfinished Business

What is it about quilters/textile artists that we seem to amass so many unfinished projects?  Just about every quilter I have known has a sizable stash of "UFOs" (unfinished objects), and some even take pride in having more UFOs than other quilters.  Are other artists this bad with not completing things?

Anyway, I have not touched the Mardi Gras 8x10s" in the last week.  I picked up another project that I started a year ago: a collage that started with a tea towel.

image and design copyright RPS

The only thing that the tea towel had on it when I dug it out of an auction box lot was the embroidered clover flower and leaf at the bottom (and some stains).  It has come a long way, hasn't it?  I am building up a band of mixed stitches across the surface and I have some other small fancy pieces to add to it. 

image and design copyright RPS

Like many of my collages, I don't have a vision for the end of this piece, I will know it when it looks right.  The important thing is to realize when it is time to stop, I don't want to overdo it.  Maybe this weekend I will do something with the Mardi Gras series...

World War I Challenge

Yikes!  It has been a while since I posted here.  I have gotten wrapped up in  the World War I challenge piece that I mentioned previously.  The challenge is a poppy themed quilt, inspired by the poem, "In Flanders Fields."  Here are some in progress images:

First, my initial idea involved rubbings from gravestones in a nearby cemetery.  I only found a metal medallion indicating the grave of a World War I veteran.  In my collection of fabric collage stuff, I found a vintage hanky with some red poppies on it, and a felt tobacco premium flag  (Belgian flag, of course) from the World War I era.  I wanted those two items to be a part of the collage.

Image and design copyright RPS

Adding the flag and hanky would be the last steps in the collage, at this point I really needed some poppies.  I free-motion quilted the outlines of the flowers and leaves:

Image and design copyright RPS

Then, I colored the poppies with crayons, and heat set them by ironing.

Image and design copyright RPS

At this point, I wanted to add some detail with hand stitching, so I auditioned the flag and hanky again, changing the planned locations for them.  I didn't want to hand stitch where the extra pieces would cover my hard work.

Image and design copyright RPS

Check back on Thursday to see how the hand stitching and additional quilting turned out.

A Little Progress

Aside from spring planting and fall harvest, nothing gets me off track more than packing for a quilt show.  I have not accomplished much on the samples for the demos I will be doing this weekend, but I have enough done to show the samples.

Image and design copyright RPS

This is part of a collage that I am doing on a vintage tea towel.  Take a look at the feather stitch I used to stitch a length of silk sari ribbon around a square cut from a vintage hankie.

Image and design copyright RPS

This is a bigger view of the above detail.  The piece above the hankie is a mini collage that I started as another project that stalled, so it is going into this tea towel creation.  I am feeding my fascination with layers upon layers with this piece.

Not my stitching here!  This was the stitching on the tea towel when I rescued it in an auction box lot.

Finally, a little stitching I managed to finish on one of the collages that I will be talking about in Lebanon, Ohio this weekend.

Odd and Ends

Oh my, there really is a random acts of art movement!  I mentioned the concept in my last post, not knowing that this was a "thing."  Even though I'd love to sell my work (I need the money!), I really like the idea of encouraging future artists and collectors by leaving original art trading cards, postcards or bookmarks for others to find. 

Earlier this week, I had a great time with my art journaling group, making artist trading cards.  Enough cards were made so that we all had a card from everyone else.  The group is continuing, but is was a nice way to have a memento from each participant.  I love the cards I that received, and will always treasure them.  This has been my first real stint at teaching, and I think that is has gone well.  I have learned just as much as the rest of the group, and I am pleased that we are inspiring each other.

Going off in another direction, I had some more auction success this past weekend:

Yes, I have a problem with fancy hankies!  This is part of a bunch of 311 vintage hankies that I bought.  Most of them will go into the resale stash, but I am going to make things with them too.  I have to have samples of projects for the stuff I sell.  These are too pretty to keep hidden in boxes and dresser drawers.  This winter I will be making several fabric collages with hankies.  Keep checking back for my progress...