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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Take time to...


...Stop and smell the roses... and the poppies, and the irises! Here are some of the flowers in bloom in our garden right now. I value these particularly because they take little or no work, but bloom faithfully every year and bring us great color and enjoyment. I am also including a photo of one of my first art quilts, completed in 2005, of the large purple irises in the photo. I don't think I've ever posted that quilt, which is also one of the biggest and most challenging quilts I've ever done. I enjoyed adding fabrics like velvet and flannel to give the petals that soft texture, using a sheer polyester to make the swan's reflection, and stitching on sequins and beads to make the water sparkle. It is still one of my favorite pieces and guests always comment on it.












These smaller irises
are particularly special because I did not plant them! I have no idea where they came from - they look like they've been growing there a while, hiding out among the day lillies, and I didn't notice them until they started to grow flower stalks. How nice is that!

Monday, May 11, 2009

April Showers...

Here is my mini fabric book! It is created out of one piece of fabric divided into eight pages, as seen below. When it is cut in the middle and folded a particular way, it becomes a book. I used these mini alphabet stamps (I got for 1$!) to spell out the words. I also used lots of sheer and shiny fabrics and fibers, including tulle and netting, dryer sheets, and angelina fibers. It was a lot of fun to create!


April showers...have miraculous powers. The earth is blessed...
...as robins nest, seedlings sprout, and daffodils shout, crowds of crocuses cheer -
Spring is here!

The finished size is 4"x6". What do you think?