Creating an art quilt tutorial: Many months ago I promised a tutorial of how I make an art quilt. I think it was last June. I have started doing videos for youtube so decided to use all the pictures I had taken for the tutorial and put them into a video format on my vlog.



Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them. The video does not go into a great deal of depth. I will probably do another one some time about how I am inspired.







Until next time,
angels be with you.

feeling dreadful while excited - near to the point of exhilarated:
I feel dreadful because I've not taken time, had time, to comment on so many friends blogs. But there has been so much happening. I am "this close" to being ready to open my etsy shop. I may not have lots in it to start with but I'll see how it goes. EVERYTHING takes so much time. YAAH, so what else is new Wendy!
I'm also near ecstatic because I finally felt comfortable to try doing something on canvas. I was terrified for the longest time. Fran said to me once it's not a big deal. Then I was very much the mixed -up media artist. I think I still am, but I'm finding much comfort in that place.
Between suziblu's inspiring videos and the creating in my journal I feel like I'm really finding my place. Now if some fairy, some fairy god-mother, any fairy, particularly my daughter, would decide to help a bit with the laundry, I'd be dancing my way to the stars. Wouldn't you think a 16 year old girl might like to do her own laundry? NOT this one - I guess we'll rationalize for her and say she has issues (which she really does) but that's not a suitable response LOL.
We'll proceed on the dance regardless.
This is a picture from Wednesday. It shows a couple of the canvases I'd splashed paint on. There are also a number of fabric pieces with pictures and words printed on them. Some day I might try to do a tiny tutorial on how I do that. I'd also printed parts from some of my poems which I'd translated to french with babel on some recycled paper. That would be the one that says confidential. tee- hee - really confidential. Actually I'll really miss all that recycle paper when it runs out, which it nearly has, WAHHHH!
These are some mini quilts in progress. The fabric with the gold is my own design done with permanent ink and the gold which is shiva paintstik. I love this fabric.
I'm also showing a flat canvas of 8x10 inches which I painted on and then applied some of those french words. Sometime if I remember I'll share the words as I wrote them. Don't hold your breath though.
I believe I forgot to show this journal quilt which I think I finished on Tuesday night.



In order to see the details of it, which you really must, please click on it and then do the view on black at my flickr.

I'm off to the big city again for some more tuning up.
Angels be with you dear angel friends,
Wendy

journal quilt for autumn: This is the first of a number of these autumn quilts. I have so many photos to use and so much fabric, so many trims and so many ideas. I'll try to tell you more about it next week when I can get to it. I've shown it in very large size so you can see the details.

Oh yes, it might not be finished. The time is very late, almost time for Suze to be waking already in the UK LOL, so will be all for today. Not sure how much I'll be able to post over the next days for AEM - will see what I can do.

Back to the blues: It has absolutely nothing to do with my mood. I'm feeling more like a rainbow these days. It has everything to do with the fact that blue was my first most favourite colour. When encountered with the proposition of doing my next creation for the journal quilt group to which I belong, I chose this blue fabric. The page to go with it explains more about it.




When I started looking for more tea cups and pots for all the tea swaps Mary Ann organizes, I came across more blue.



And for this week's Friday finds I couldn't help myself but buy this beautiful trunk which I found three houses away at their garage sale for only 50 cents.



I love the inside of it and when I sent Greg to pick it up I mentioned all the nails in the greatest hope that the wooden containers came with the nails. YES! They did.



My dream will be to empty out the nails right quickly and clean those containers, then decorate with ribbons and tins and odds and ends to look remotely like this idea I found in the book Designing with Fabric which I was fortunate to receive from Mary Ann also.














We're off to the farm again for a couple of days. Angels be with you.

Angels of kindness:
A number of weeks ago some dear friends named me as one of the recipients of this "nice matters" award. I felt so honoured. Now finally I am returning the favour by naming some of my other friends with the same award. I would like to name Elena, Karen, Debra, Darcy, Helene and Fran to receive the award.

I also received recently the Rockin' girl blogger award from Darcy and so I will name Suze, Nance, Jude, Mary Ann, and Janet to receive this award. I know many of you have already received this award but I would like to present it to you also. You are all so great.



Angel images have arrived together with all the other angels. Helenina and Karen have both sent beautiful images on Flickr. Enigmaticdec, a friend from close by, and maybe moving closer, sent me a wonderful image and purposely had allowed room for me to add words. Thanks so much to each of you.



For anyone following the bits and pieces of what's been happening in my life the past ten days or so, I'll say that we had a fine visit at the farm this past weekend. I had a long visit with Jeanne and I am confident that she is ready to face whatever the future brings. She appeared so much like her bouncy, cheerful self even though she'd just had a major surgery a few days previous.

I've been fitting in dibbles and dots of art too. Many of the projects are not quite finished but here's some of what I've been doing.


I'll give you details once I've gotten pieces closer to completion.












Angels be with you.

retreat:
I'm all packed and ready to go for my annual retreat at Manitou Beach. I've been so fortunate for about the past 10 years to have part of a week by myself to just write and paint and read and go for long walks.
I've been busy.



I will be doing a tutorial on the May journal quilt soon after I get back, I think.




















Angels be with you,
Wendy

When the spring sun shines ~

Only beginning of April journal quilt: My excuse - umm - April is a shorter month, I had one VERY busy week, I kept changing my mind about the fabric I want to use, BUT mostly I think I've been procrastinating about the weaving. I REALLY want to do it, but I'm quite UNCERTAIN how it will work. OK, I think I'll JUMP right into it today - after I do a huge grocery shop and take the dog for a walk, OH and eat breakfast and the list goes on. Hopefully today.

Presents and fabric: The first two photos are of the fabulous ATCs I received from Janet. I was very fortunate to have my name chosen for her giveaway with the "one world- one heArt" draw. Thanks Janet. I love them.
The fabric is for my April journal quilt. I purchased it yesterday. The colour is yellow. The technique is fabric weaving. You can be certain I won't be doing a regular weave - too formal for my liking.
Better get to those inchies. Yuck. I hate when I procrastinate so much. Would help if I were feeling better.
Angels be with you.

March Journal Quilt: Once again I am late in completing my monthly journal quilt for the cloth paper scissors (CPS) journal quilts group to which I belong. But I did complete it. Click on the pictures to get a better view of the actual journal quilt and the typed words that go with it.

There is a link to William Henry here.

Angels be with you

"And I think to myself, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" - I have completed my February journal quilt, only four days late. That's OK. I'm trying to worry less - kind of like a lenten sacrifice, New Year's resolution, dream wish for life. The journal quilt is for the CPS journal quilt group to which I belong. I think the quilt, together with the words on cardstock explain the quilt enough for now. To read the poem Orange, see the post from yesterday.

I'll talk more about the embroidery another day. I started morning pages and they still need to be completed, huh, it's almost 10 p.m. I want to tell you about what's been happening.

Angels be with you.

Wendy

Orange: I'm not quite certain if this journal quilt is totally finished but will try to squeeze it in yet for artwords whose theme for this week has been poetry. Though some of the words to "what a wonderful world" are on the quilt I was spending a lot of time thinking about the poem I wrote called "Orange" as I was making it.

The photos are of my Dad, my Mom and brother, and then my brother and me. Family is very important to me, for those of you not yet aware of that. Though I grew up with "Orange", I never would have been able to get to the place I am without the love and support of my wonderful family.

When I was a child

With diabetes,

I grew to hate

The colour orange.
The sugar in my body

Needed testing.
Orange

Meant sugar,

Too much Sugar.

And now -

I envision lines,

And lines,

And lines,

In the record book,

Lines of orange.

As a child with Diabetes

What

Went through my mind

About these lines of orange

In the Record Book?
They were always present.

I probably did not even recognize

Any interspersal of beautiful blue,

Or calming green.

Striving For perfection?

Who Me?

Striving to erase all those lines,

Of orange,

Which could never

Be erased.

Striving to erase the lines

Of imperfection

Which would be

Forever

Part of me.

Today -

I can truly appreciate

The colour orange.
Now I understand

It represents joy.

I work towards Joy.

I strive for it.

I strive

For more imperfection.

The striving

Is not easy.

Forever will live in me -

Those lines and lines

Of the colour orange.

Last day of February:

I have this thing about March. Maybe it has something to do with my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that March can be one of our most stormy winter months. Maybe it has something to do with the spiritual connections I have and the fact that March always falls within the season of lent. Maybe it has something to do with the fact of - well - I just do not know what it is all about.

This year I have decided not to give up anything or take on extra because of it being lent. I guess I have decided to try to give something up - that would be worry. So far I'm not doing very well.

OK, I'll try this. I'll try to share with you an article from Issue 25 , February/March Quilting Arts magazine. I say I'll try this because I don't want to worry about my journal quilt which is supposed to be completed and submitted today. I have decided I want to do much hand stitching/embroidery on it and I am having some challenges with the blanket stitch. I will get it done because I really like all that it's about. I will most certainly not get it done today however.

Back to the article - as you wait for me to share more information from the Art as Business seminar I attended last week I'll tell you that I found the article"What price Art?How to objectively price your art quilts" by Jamie Fingal to have some good information about inventory and portfolio as well as general suggestions for things you need to be thinking about with pricing and the "business of art". If you've not had a chance to see this article and are interested in trying to sell your art, of any kind, I recommend checking this piece in Quilting Arts magazine.

Something else I'm trying not to worry about is - I have been very negligent in sharing the book I received in the mail on Monday as a part of the CaC book swap. Jennifer decided to send me From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. Jennifer says "this is a very special book from my childhood". "I loved to imagine going on such an adventure!" I am trulty looking forward to reading this book - hopefully with Cat beside me. I don't think she's seen it and may really enjoy it also. Thanks Jennifer.

Please bear with me as I play with templates - "sew unsorted". Which one do you like for my blog (if you've seen the other ones lol - this, purple, parchment)?

Feeling sew unsorted - a journal page I've been working on for a few days. The unsorted feeling has been here for a time but growing more over last few days this week. We were supposed to go to Saskatoon yesterday but it was storming again. We were supposed to go to a wedding in Saskatoon today but we are all sick, and the roads may still not be that great.

I am also experiencing a bit of a block mainly because my sewing machine has not been working for the past two weeks and I have a deadline to complete my February journal quilt by Wednesday. Someone else used the song that I was planning to use as suggested theme and I just felt I didn't want to use it even though I know it wouldn't have mattered.

Though I've chosen a different song AND hand painted (also suggested for this month) a number of pieces of fabric I could choose to use, I just can't get into it. I think it's what you would call a block.

Now my sewing machine is back. I've chosen the photos I want to use on my quilt and I've started pulling fabrics out that might work with the red painted fabrics. Tomorrow...

The photos are of my Dad, my brother with me, and my brother with Mom. I have to decide how to place them in the journal quilt. I may not even use them. Decisions.

Stay tuned to learn more from the seminar I attended about "art as a business" and also a piece I'm planning to write "Breathe like a frog".

Almost forgot to mention that if you enlarge the journal page, ummm, don't look too closely at the words of the background. It's just the old book I happened to get it from. Though maybe you could imagine me tearing with my teeth and using my tusks. lol Maybe it fits with breathing like a frog.

Angels be with you.