This is just the beginning...

O my gosh! I kept having difficulty finding a day to dye my own fabric at home. And honestly, I was kind of afraid. I had done it in a couple of workshops, (thank you Claudia Wood for all of your fine teaching and technique!) but never all by myself. I've had all the material and equipment for months. So last Saturday I felt brave. I took a cue from Patsy Thompson (http://www.patsythomsondesigns.com/) and dyed my fabric outdoors, letting it dry in the sun instead of all that rinsing. Then I machine washed it twice to make it color fast. And everything turned out brilliant and beautiful!! (If you don't mind me saying so myself.) Take a look at the pictures.

SERENITY

This (right) is the finished art quilt. It's 14" x 16". It is one piece of fabric, with patches appliqued on. The color was discharged with bleach. The leaves were stenciled with Paintstiks. I am pretty pleased with it - as a novice! ; - )

Jenny convinced me it was a good candidate for entry in the East Cobb Quilters' Guild "Quilt Georgia 2009." She said they probably wouldn't have many art quilts entered. So I sent my application off today. I will also try to enter "Pansy Garden." (pictured above) This is the quilt I made to be donated to a local Women and Children's shelter.

With abandon...

I just love teenagers! They have no problem being in their own little world. And they approach art with abandon. My friend Keva's daughter, Haley, wanted a canvas with a tree for her bedroom. She saw one in a store that she could not afford to buy. So she asked me, "Miss Kathy, can you help me paint a tree?" And I answered, "Of course." Haley and her cousin Alex came to my studio on Friday. Here is what they created...

Ok - it's official - I'm obsessed! I am devouring every art quilt book I can get my hands on. I can't go through the excercises fast enough. Really I just pick and choose. I am not a pure artist - I consider myself a folk artist. That explains why my color choices and design layouts often don't follow any theory or rules. I don't believe art should have rules anyhow. My photography skills are aslo primitive, but here are some examples...

My First Blog Post

So, I've been thinking of doing this for quite some time. I've been following quilters and artists on the Artful Quilter and SAQA blog rings. I AM inspired. By the work, by the words, by-the-by. This is all so new to me, the blogging, and the art quilting. I had a refresher in quilt making about 2 years ago. I found a mentor, Jenny. Jenny is a traditional quilter and she does beautiful work. Next I joined the local guild, Quilters of the Southern Crescent. The first guest speaker I had was the owner of Atlanta's "Fiber On A Whim" and that about did it for me and traditional quilting!