My Four Journal Quilts for March 2008

This is just a 'doodle' quilt. I used scraps of muslin that had been used to try out brushes, colors, etc. These are sewn to a piece of green felt with more strips inserted for a kind of border. It is embellished with three round fused kaleidoscope pieces printed from the computer, some beads and some ironed-on plastic Easter basket grass. I used decorative stitching around the edge.





This is called 'Dream'.
I used scraps of muslin that I'd tried colors on, the mask-like faces that I drew on fabric are fused on and are partly hidden behind Angelina fiber as they inhabit the dreams of the sleeping figure below. I drew and colored this figure and her quilt digitally and printed her on fabric, which was then fused to the purple bottom panel. I used some decorative stitches and an applied border.





At the left is 'Dancers'.
I used fused fabric and added some embroidery for their hair.
It is sandwiched with flannel for batting and has muslin backing.
It expresses the joy I feel when I'm in my studio having fun!









This is a collage on muslin, and it uses homemade paper, mulberry paper, and tissue paper, with transparent paints added. I used Elmer's
glue diluted half and half with water to put down the layers. It was sandwiched with flannel and a muslin backing, and free motion quilted.








You can click on each quilt for a slightly larger view.

The Ketchup Sisters - part 2

Here are the other two 'Ketchup Sisters'. And now I'm caught up. I have four journal quilts for every month since August 2007. The face on the left was drawn and colored with Neocolor 2 watercolor crayons, used dry on muslin. The face on the right is a thread drawing on fabric.

Fumble Bees Forever!

Although I have told you about my recent membership in the new art quilt bee at my guild, I haven't written about another truly special sisterhood that I am privileged to enjoy. For several years now, I have been V E R Y lucky to be a member of the FUMBLE BEE, one of the several Bees that exist in the Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild.
Until last week, there were eight of us. We meet once a month, at each of our homes in turn, for lunch and an afternoon together. We usually bring some small hand sewing project to work on while we visit, but our conversational focus is usually anything but sewing. Husbands, banished to other parts of the house on meeting days, report overhearing wild bursts of laughter and sometimes even lines that they claim could have come from questionable jokes. We are also widely known for our fun trips to quilt shows, fabric shops and seminars. On some of these trips, our members travel incognito, and prefer to be known as The Travelling Threads. Getting lost has been an added fun activity on some trips, as has cell phone calls from back seat to front seat in the same car...(don't ask!)
And, don't get me wrong---although fun is frequently our focus, we have some very accomplished and dedicated quilters in our Bee---people who consistently win ribbons at shows (not me!) and even one member who quilts professionally.

Fran

One such immensely creative and accomplished quilter and FumbleBee member was Fran Johnson, who lost her life to ovarian cancer just four short days ago on Friday, February 29. She brought her own special brand of fun, good humor, supportiveness, wisdom, and strength to our Bee. On Wednesday, February 27, she asked her family members to summon the FumbleBees to her house for one last get together. It was an amazing gesture of love and friendship on her part and utterly typical of her. Since her diagnosis, Fran had battled her cancer with everything she had. None of it can have been easy, but she kept going through all of the surgery, chemo, transfusions, and other treatments with her usual sunny smile and with her sense of fun intact. She truly made the most of every moment of every day. She hosted our January Bee meeting at her house, and drove herself to our February 4th meeting at Maggie's, where she was as cheerful and nurturing as ever. Her spirit was just as strong when we told her goodbye on February 27.

L to R: Connie, Maggie, Margaret, Renate, Faye

We had our March Bee meeting yesterday at my house, and during lunch we reminisced about Fran and what an amazing woman she was and how much we miss and will always love her.
Then we 'talked some trash' and played with watercolor crayons on fabric.

I think Fran would have loved it..