Ah, I Am Green

The sun is shining, the snow is melting and I have laid aside my brown fabrics. 

A scrap of color has caught my eye.

Not wanting to waste (that is so stuck in my personality), if I have a bit of paint left after working on a project, I use it up on a piece of muslin. Perhaps these muslin pieces are nothing but paint rags or maybe, just maybe, they are the start of something beautiful?

When I pull out one of these painted pieces, I don't feel the pressure to create a masterpiece.
I can play and experiment and there is the thought that I may be able to rescue this bit of nonsense or perhaps, a masterpiece WILL pop out.

Thinking spring, I could see trees coming alive on this mottled ecru fabric. 

I started to add embroidery stitches. 

Will this work? 

The green tree is coming to life but is it still just blending into the background? 

There just isn't much of a value difference.

French knots add texture to the ground.

I finished my Quilter's Tile off with a border and binding of a great dotted print.

Even with a fun fabric in the border, the green tree still didn't stand out. 

Out came the paints.
 I mixed a bit of yellow into my green for a spring green and painted,
not the tree, but a halo of green around the tree.
My tree is now happy basking in the glow. 

Quilter's Tile

"Ah, I Am Green"

8" x 8"

"Ah, I Am Green" is available for 
purchase here.

Linked to Off the Wall Friday

Dancing Trees

Quilter's Tile - Dancing Trees

8" x 8"

Sharon V. Rotz

Some days you don't know where your path may lead.

I had stamped on a printed fabric with both a hand made stamp and some basic texture. The variety  presented by the stamping piqued my interest.
After adding a hand dyed fabric to two sides, I brought out my needle and embroidery floss. The simple lines created by the stamp suggested curving tree trunks and the idea bloomed in my mind.

Maybe it's the long winter but the trees are so happy to not be covered with snow, they seem to be dancing with joy.

Flowers poked up along the winding pathway. (I do love making french knots.) 

Color, color, anything but white.

Quilter's Tile - "Dancing Trees" is available for purchase.

$32.00 includes shipping (US sales only)

Linked to Off the Wall Friday

Working Small

What could these two unrelated fabrics possibly have in common?

It turns out that they both contributed to my latest project. 

As my hands were busy fringing the edges of the circles for one project, my mind was also busy. Look at the growing pile of silk threads. Should they simply be discarded, the logical choice, or could I find a use for them?

A piece of scenic printed fabric (similar to the first photo) provided a resting place for the threads.

I trapped them under a netting and added a bit of machine quilting and a good amount of hand stitching.

I also trapped wool roving on the mountain tops to give them a misty look and added more embroidery stitches.

My favorite french knots were added to the bottom for a bit of extra detail.

My completed mountain mini measures 7" x 9".

Linked to Off the Wall Friday

Adding Hand Stitching and Beading

After a good start last week, this week I'm adding hand stitching with embroidery floss.

With a layer of batting behind the fabric to stabilize it, it is easy to stitch without a hoop. By going beyond the lines created by the stamp, I am getting a feeling of perspective.

Simple running stitch adds interest to the sky area.

Now its on to my attempt to trap my lovely slice of agate. Maybe inexperience is as asset, as I plunge ahead and stitch random rows of beads across the agate.

It's Trapped!! It doesn't have a way to escape. What fun!

Now more and more beads??

What comes next?

Any suggestions?

Linked to Off the Wall Friday

Mowing Around the Violet Patch

With the warm weather and sunshine, its hard to stay inside. The grass is growing and needs a trim so with lawnmower in hand, we are out to tame the lawn.

But, STOP!

There are violets blooming

and more violets blooming.

In fact, there is a whole patch of violets.

How could I possibility mow down these beauties?

They even come in white. 

There is no way that I can mow. I've chosen to simply enjoy the scene. The bits of grass and weeds scattered in my violet patch are safe until another day.

The quilt of the day is

"Mowing Around the Violet Patch"

8"x8" Quilter's Tile

featuring 

silk ribbon embroidery and

machine applique and machine quilting.

Linked to Off the Wall Fridays

Tuesday's Tile - A Time for Trying and Learning

Quilter's Tile - Striped Grass

8" x 8"

©2013 - Sharon V. Rotz

Lately, I have been working on several challenge projects. The fun part of challenges is the big reveal when everyone gets together for a time of show and tell.  Because this time has not yet come, I cannot show you any of my larger recent projects.

With that in mind, today's project is a small one that I have been hand stitching in my spare moments. The base is a gel print which I made last summer when my world wasn't filled with the blasts of another snow storm. Over this background, I have worked lines of chain stitches for my "grass". 

It was an unexpected move to use grey for the seed heads. The color seemed to have no relationship to the rest of the piece but the more I did, the more I liked the combination. Again, my small Quilter's Tile gave me a chance to try something new.

When it came to finishing the project, I wanted to repeat the color combination. What would stripes of grey and green look like?

Without the perfect fabric in my stash, I found two fabrics and cut a strip of each to piece and re-piece to create a striped fabric.

How will this look with my embroidered center?  Too much? But, you don't know it you don't try so I continued on.

With the curving lines of the grass in mind, I curved the borders and stitched them on.

Oh, a bit too wide and pretty powerful!

Trimmed down a bit, maybe not too bad. 

A top and bottom binding added on.

What did I learn?

The color combination worked for me.

I would leave more space around my center, it seems a little squished in.

The border is fun, but still could be narrower.

But the biggest thing that I learned is to try it.  

Have you tried something new this week?

Linked to Off the Wall Fridays

Friday's Tile - Blue and Wooly

Quilters' Tile - Blue and Wooly

8" x 8"

©2013 Sharon V. Rotz

After working on a larger quilt, it was fun to get back to a small project.  This tile had been started a few weeks ago and you can see its beginnings at this earlier post.

Beads were added.

And more beads created a new shape.

Hand stitching emphasized the shape.

It was a delight to see where the stitching took me.

After adding the binding, I rotated the piece in my hands. Which way was up?  Would it matter? Could abstract art be viewed from multiple angles? 

Which way would you choose?

Linked to Off the Wall Fridays

Working on Enlarging My Shrunken World

Many years ago, I made a lovely pair of black wool pants that I wore with pride. Then one day, they accidentally got mixed in with other laundry and were put into the washing machine. Opps! It was a sad day. My pants came out 6" shorter and were never worn again.

Since that time, I have moved on from tailoring into quilting, and now found new possibilities for wool that has been agitated and spun into a much smaller, felted life.  Recently, my sister gave me an old wool sweater to "play" with. Into the washer it went. It came out reduced from extra-large to mini and had a wonderful, soft hand.

Because there was small holes right in the center of the front, I cut a piece out and added subtle color. Now where would I go next?

Instead of trying to mend the holes, I emphasized them by adding stitching around the edges.

The wool really played off the blue of this piece of batik. And the path continues..........

Inspired by the beaded work of Mary Stori and others, I am now in the process of adding beads and stitching to my wool piece.

So this week, I have two hand projects going. When I am tired of hand-quilting my star quilt, I can take a creative break and add more stitching and beading to my small wool piece.

By the way, does anyone have an idea for a sweater with a large hole in the tummy?  Maybe a giant quilt block appliqued on the front???

Linked to Off the Wall Fridays

Tuesday's Tile - Adding Beads

Quilter's Tile - Red Leaves with Beads

8" x 8"

©2012 Sharon V. Rotz

I am in awe of the exquisite beaded works of Sharon L. Wright exhibited at the Form and Function gallery exhibit at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau, WI.

After seeing her work, I knew I wanted to try adding beads to my own art projects. My attempts would be a far cry from her level of expertise but you learn by doing and I was ready "to do".

I had a finished quilter's tile that I felt could use additional interest and adding beads would provide it.  Out came a small container of mixed red beads that I was saving. (No, I didn't know when I purchased the beads that I needed it for this project, but it is so apparent now.)

I randomly added beads to the corner, building out to more scattered beads. 

Between and around the beads, I added french knots using embroidery floss. I had never combined beads and embroidery before. Again, thanks to Sharon, for the inspiration.

I used six strands for the heavier knots and three strands for the finer knots.

I'm happy with the combination of beads, knots, and the row of dots on the printed fabric.

Who inspired you today?