Monday, October 9, 2017

Art with Fabric Blog Hop 2017

Hi everyone!  

First and foremost I want to Thank and apologize to Alida at Tweety Loves Quilting.  I did not complete my project.  I have many excuses but I won't bore you with them all.  Short & Sweet I usually work the best when I have a deadline and start at the last minute under pressure.  I like to work that way.  I have been extra busy with things at The Broken Needle the last couple of weeks.  I was so looking forward to this hop and to actually sit down and have some sew ME time.  Yesterday, (yes down to the last second, bad Wendy) I was working on my project and my Baby Lock "locked" ugh!!!  Check out my lovely video. 

 I spoke with Alida and she said it would be fine to share my WIP.  So here goes 😼



I found this interesting piece of art by Maud Lewis called "Road Block".  I thought it was cute and funny.  I love the cow in the road ha ha.

MAUD LEWIS

(1903 - 1970)

Maud Lewis exemplified the simple life. But simple doesn’t mean dull. The simplicity of her paintings, brushed initially with scrounged paint from local fishermen onto ubiquitous green boards and post cards, continue to evoke feelings of innocence, of child-like exuberance as enduring as the spring times she loved to paint. And today she still captures audiences intrigued by everyday scenes as diverse as hard-working oxen and whimsical butterflies.
Maud Dowley Lewis was born March 7, 1903 in South Ohio, a community near Yarmouth. Her father Jack would provide a moderately prosperous living as a respected craftsman, making harnesses and serving as a blacksmith. Agnes, her mother, favored artistic pursuits including painting, folk carving and music. Born disfigured with sloped shoulders and her chin resting on her chest, Maud led a confined but happy home life after she quit school at 14, perhaps in part to escape the mocking of her peers. “What is life without love or friendship?” she once confided to a friend. Her mother lovingly taught her to play the piano before arthritis crippled her hands. Physical deformity may have been her lot, but even more tragic was the loss of both her parents within two years. Who would care for Maud? Thankfully, an aunt who lived in Digby took her in. There she would later answer a newspaper ad that would determine the course of her life. A man named Everett Lewis wanted a housekeeper for his cottage in Marshalltown. She married him in 1938 at the age of thirty-four and would never travel more than an hour’s drive from her birthplace. “I ain’t much for traveling anyway,” she said later, “as long as I have a brush in front of me, I’m all right.” Cameo cigarettes added their share of comfort as well.
Although short in stature with hands gnarled by arthritis as the years passed, she stood tall when she plied her brush over green-backed particle board. Everett Lewis, a stingy, parsimonious but certainly hard-working man, kept house and made meals allowing Maud to spend most of her time delving into her world of wonder and creating fanciful works of art. Maud gathered images from her happy childhood and limited excursions in a Model T with Everett to paint cheerful images on dust pans, scallop shells and even on her house. They would settle into a routine where Everett enjoyed peddling and haggling over the paintings Maud would love to paint. The happiness she painted first attracted neighbours, then tourists and eventually even international attention. It started with a Star Weekly newspaper article and then a 1965 CBC Telescope program featuring her unique works. Her notoriety began to bloom like the cherry trees that garnished several of her paintings. Orders came in so fast that the paint hardly had time to dry--one reason you may notice fingerprints on some edges of her paintings.
Her style became as fanciful as her subjects. She painted a world often without shadows, autumn leaves on winter landscapes, and even 3-legged oxen. Was she adding humour in her subtle, shy way? Her gentle nature and magnetic smile might give that away. Awkwardly bent over a painting, she may have been squinting and intense, but her inner joy escaped onto her panels with unrivaled determination and vitality. Small wonder her work garnered the attention of even the Nixon White House. Ever pragmatic, Maud wrote to ask that funds be forwarded before she sent the requested two panels to the President! Today her work unequivocally demands status as “important art” in numerous fine-art collections around the world.
Much like her American counterpart, Anna Marie Robertson (Grandma Moses), Maud was uniquely creative, self-taught, specialized in painting everyday rural life, loved animals and appreciated the beauty of nature. Both initially sold their paintings for just a few dollars, but saw their work increase dramatically over the years. The works of Grandma Moses command prices in the $30,000 to $600,000 range. Of comparable quality, Maud’s paintings currently fetch $6,000 to $20,000, holding much promise for the future.
Not formally trained, Maud adopted a style that emerged from inside the heart of a true artist. As such, she could produce images of enduring quality and appeal, images that transformed her maritime surroundings into painted visions. The irresistible charm of her art had triumphed over the arrows of adversity.
- Reproduced with permission from Wayne & Jocelyn Cameron
I used a piece of muslin and sprayed it down with Terial Magic.  I "love" this stuff.  It makes your fabric stiff and you can put it in the printer and print your images.  No need for the fabric sheets that you can buy in packs of 4.  You can make your own!  Costs much less this way too.  Also, there is no need for any stabilizer.  Once you are finished if you want you can wash the Terial Magic out and the stiffness is gone.  Yahoo!


 This is a close up of the couple in the car.  Keep in mind I had planned to do FMQ/Thread Painting on this piece.  I will complete it eventually.


I wanted the cow to stand out so I chose this fabric to applique onto him.


I used my light box and traced a piece of heat & bond lite to the fabric and then fused it to the cow.  I also fused fabric in other areas such as the tree trunk/branches, barn, and planned to do the ladies scarf as well.

To make this piece my own...I added a piece of fabric that had a city print.


I plan to add a few borders around this piece and use different colors to make a kind of crazy art border.


Here is where I started my FMQ on the road.


and here is where I had to stop.......whaaaaa


I didn't get very far with that.  Thank you so much for visiting today.  Again Thank You Alida for inviting me and putting up with me today!  Have a wonderful week everyone!


Friday, March 17, 2017

Irish I was quilting

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Yes, Irish I was quilting. My husband and I opened a quilt and yarn shop in Bunn, NC about 25 miles Northeast of Raleigh. We have been open for 8 months. Fortunately we have been so busy I haven't had much time to make any quilts for myself. I am usually making samples for the shop when I can.  To celebrate Worldwide Quilting Day which is tomorrow, Marian from Seams to be Sew has brought us all together for this wonderful blog hop and a lot of Giveaways.  I have to say I have not blogged for almost an entire year for obvious reasons :)  My sewing room has changed quite a bit. Here is what my new sewing room looks like. 




The upstairs of my quilt shop ha ha. I share it with the customers, "friends".  
At home to keep things organized I like to use old pretzel/snack containers like these...
I remove the label and sort scraps by color in each one.  I also have this rolling cart that I bought from Sam's Club and again I try to sort the scraps by color.
This fishing tackle box makes another great organizer.  I keep buttons, safety eyes, and other small things in it.  Sometimes you can find a tackle box is more inexpensive than some of the  sewing organizers out there.
    I would say that my favorite tool is my electric seam ripper.  Check this out!




You should be able to get one at your local quilt shop. We have these available at our shop or online.  Man oh man does it help.  I hate frogging (rip it, rip it) one rip at a time.  The electric frogger really does come in handy. Thanks to Marian at Seams to be Sew for bringing us all together from all around the world.
Now, do we have some giveaways or what? First you can enter for a chance to win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to my shop, The Broken Needle.  The winner will be announced on Monday.  If the winner is local you may use it in the shop.  If you are not local you may use it online. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Next Northcott Fabrics will be giving away 3 fat quarters from the Surfs Up collection.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And here is a chance to win Terial Magic (2) 24 oz bottles (1 winner per bottle) Must be willing to pay shipping cost.  
USA Priority Mail: 6.75
Canada: 15.50
International: 23.50

a Rafflecopter giveaway
and Martelli Notions - Rotary Cutter with 5 additional blades - Shipping Costs same as listed for Terial Magic


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Lastly Electric Quilt Company is offering 30% off

Promo code: EQHOP2017
The code is good from 3/16/2017 to 3/27/2017
Exclusions: Electric Quilt 7, EQ7 Migration Kit, Upgrade from EQ Mini to EQ7, EQ Mini Migration Kit, EQ Academy classes, and EQ University classes.

Don't forget to check out all the other blogs today and check out Seams to be Sew too for a Free pattern and more giveaways!  Thanks for visiting and have a Kwilt Krazy Day!
March 17
March 20
March 21
March 22


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