I was having difficulty with my sewing machine while free-motion quilting.  I sandwiched a couple layers of white cotton fabric and Hobbs batting, threaded my machine with black thread and began stitching whatever path I chose.  I meandered all over, sometimes drawing and sometimes writing, all with stitch.  Eventually the machine tension was corrected and I ended up with a neat black and white piece. I thought it looked pretty neat, but then gave it to my sister to add a little colour.  Wow, what a difference a few colourful fabric markers make.

This one was just playing around with shapes using a black Sharpie pen on white fabric.  Some colour was added, and voila!

Now, what do do with them.  Any ideas????

Another busy Sunday.  I'd love to say that I'll be quilting all day, but the family is getting together to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday.  I spent my morning making cupcakes - white cake, white buttercream icing, gold paper liners and gold sugar topping.   Besides quilting, I love to bake and don't mind taking a little time away from stitching.

I had these great crystals to decorate the cupcakes, but there were no hangers to go with them so I created a DIY project and made my own - nothing but a little beading wire and nifty pliers.

So what do you get someone who's got everything and is entering their "Golden Years"?  Money is always a great gift, but seems so impersonal to just add it inside a card.  I took the bills, rolled them and tied each with gold ribbon; tossed them in a zip sandwich bag and topped it off with a little poem.  I hope he likes it!

Just back from vacation in Montreal.  Even though I took along lots to work on, it was not meant to be.  We spent too much time visiting with little time left for art.  On my return I did, however, make this quick modern quilt for my niece who just had a baby.  It was completed in one day.

What a great day.  I finally finished a t-shirt quilt for a friend.  The quilt was put together with over 30 softball shirts and shorts and lots of light-weight stabilizer  -  what a memory!

I thought that the summer would bring some relief to my ever filled quilting days.  I always have some project on the go.  One of the groups to which I belong is making journal covers for a local women's shelter.  The journal cover shown above was made from an orphan quilt block. 

This one was made using tiny quilted pillows sewn together, embroidered and embellished.

 

I had practiced machine quilting using black thread on white fabric.  After quilting, I painted the fabric using Inktense pencils and acrylics.  The piece wasn't large enough to cover the journal so I had to add an extra piece to the bottom.

A painted Tyvek envelope stitched to layered fabrics then melted with a heat gun yielded this piece.  It was then mounted on some felt and stitched into a book cover.

  

Doodles of flowers were coloured with fabric markers.  Scraps of fabric bits were stitched along the spine of the journal cover, then knotted.  

More doodles and Inktense pencils.  

We had lots of fun getting together and being inspired.  Maybe you'll get inspired too!