Leaf Printing

I know it is Saturday.  And I try not to o anything too exciting because I know you are probably off having fun with family or maybe on quilt retreat.  But this was dangled in front of me by Carol of Quilted Fabric Art.  And of course I couldn't resist.

Darn you, Carol.  Now I had to spend $30 on more art supplies.

I scavenged some leaves from the back yard.

 Dug through some boxes for my brayer. 








I did a test print on some muslin.  I think I like this better than the real prints.  A testament to the "keep it simple" thought.

This is the typing paper I use to collect the overflow paint when I "brayed" the leaf pieces. 

This is cool.  Now I want to toss the sewing machine and do this forever!










These are bookcovers to be.

More later.

This technique is courtesy of Mad Quilter Woman. 






And I am linking up with Nina Marie at Creations.  Maybe I can do better in 2018 and post every week again.

Off The Wall at Nina Marie's!

I am linking this up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall posts.  Check out her space and see what wonderful stuff all the other people are doing this week.

I have had a difficult week working on getting my mother into hospice and visiting with Suzette from Texas.  So not much has been done.  But there are some interesting things that I have done.

Rust:

Several people have suggested that it looks like something from the Southwest.  Frank thinks it looks like something from Arches National Park.

He hiked to the first arch, but that was when I was jut beginning to have problems with my knee.  And I waited in the lot for him.  Not so much fun.

But it does look like the arches in the park.  So that is what it just might have to become!

I have been playing with hexies at night when we sit and watch our crime dramas.  NCIS, CSI and NCIS New Orleans.  Now I need to find someone who can take me to the next step and put them together.

I have put them together in bundles that will eventually be flowers of some sort.





I did not do my green foxes yet.  I have learned not to scoff at any color fox that might come out of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I have already laid out some fabrics that will become fox face!

I have big plans for them!

Off the Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Every once in a while I get something that is truly worthy of a spot on Nina Marie's Off the Wall post.    (go check it out)

And I know my readers have seen this in the last couple of days, but I needed to make a complete post for Off the Wall.  Gosh, I still just LOVE this!

Tonight at the guild meeting a Program Director for another guild asked me to put together a class for them.


Yes.  I have arrived!  LOL.

I saw this on a show I had on as background noise in the house.  I passed through the room and it caught my eye.  I worked out the way to do it and, well, just did it!

A mandala made of my name.  I have never really liked my name but it is so beautiful in this piece.  Can you see it?  It is in there 8 times!  Before you look at the revelation, really look to see if you can find it.

I am filling in some space here so you will have some time to look for the name.  I put up two eco-bundles about two weeks ago.  They are vegetating and creating some eco-goodness.  SOME people can't wait and opened theirs.  Meanwhile, I boiled some acorns and was letting them steep to create a nice golden brown eco-dye.  But that was foiled when the pesky squirrels ate all the acorns and overturned my dyepot.  Now I have none and have to start over again.  And find more acorns. 

If you go HERE  you can see the saga of the engineer husband and how he "helped" me with the math on my mandala. 

OK......Can you see me now?  Yep!  Still liking  it!

Off the Wall Friday - The Journey

Oh, Nina-Marie, I love your idea.  Did I say that already???  LOL.

I do so appreciate how you made your drawing, because just this week I was complaining to my very talented daughter that I needed help with my idea for the Swamp Show.  I am certainly NOT an artist and she is very much one.  But she always finds a way to not help me!

I was bemoaning my fate at being relegated to just a traditional pattern or something, not that untested vision that is in my head.  I didn't think I could get there from here.  Which made me think.......

A couple weeks ago, I purchased two sets of notebooks from one of the book stores.  They are small books that can be put in my purse or a tote or even stuck in the folder of my iPad.  I was not sure which one would be more useful, they come in several styles: plain pages, graph pages and lined pages.  ANd they were three to a pack.

The trouble is that I just can't seem to keep up with that stupid cute little book.  You can see which one is missing, the one I had been sketching in.  Yes. I searched for about 20 minutes and finally found it.  Thank goodness.

I had an idea to change up the duffle bag so I sketched the side how I would do it.

Then I had some ideas for sayings on a quilt that might spark some block ideas.  I like the one about the happy sayings.  And I have an idea for some shoe blocks with a really cool line from a popular song.  I won't give it away, I don't want you to steal it!  LOL.

Just this afternoon I was looking for an easy quilt to put on the frame for a quick quilt job and I found a round robin piece I designed about 4 years ago.  We each made a center and I described each of the four sides one by one they were to create around it.  It was sent around to 4 different people, there were 8 of us, and I worked out this elaborate crisscrossing of pieces among them.  They wanted a small piece so I designed a wall hanging.  I always intended to make mine larger into a lap quilt.  But it got stuck in the closet, not even in my UFO box!

I pulled it out and placed it on my crowded and very messy quilting work space.  I want to finish it up using some of the things I have learned in the last 4 years from rubbing elbows with people like Nina-Marie and Patty A and Charlene.  I have much more confidence now to put into this piece.

Sketch for quilting motif

See, this is how I get so many UFOs!  LOL.  I am working on my Paperweights too in there somewhere!

Anyway, I need to extrapolate the sketch books into my daily routine, and to sketch with an idea....like my Vase piece.

Let's see what this week brings.

thanks Nina-Marie, for getting me started on the Journey!