Nikki Wheeler

Treasure for You

2011-12-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

May you find treasure under the tree all year long!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays

2011-12-24T08:25:00.000-08:00

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

2011-12-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Hanukkah

2011-12-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

Time to Trim the Tree

2011-12-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

Deck the Halls

2011-12-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Hip Hip Hooray!!!! The Workshop is Ready!!!

2011-12-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to announce that my workshop, Mini Treasure Box of Dreams, is finished and ready for the opening day of Stitched on January 1st! This was my first time teaching and creating a video and I am very happy with how it turned out. Alma's description was "Amazing ...very creative and professional." My husband told me I looked like Martha Stewart. I'm not sure if everyone would consider that a compliment, but coming from him I know "its a good thing."

If you want to take the workshop, you will have to Register for Stitched. It is such a wonderful site with 20 great workshops, I highly recommend it. I took sneak peak at a few and I am very excited to take them. I now have something to look forward to in January when the weather can be a bit dismal around here. If you would like your very own Mini Treasure Box of Dreams direct from me, make sure to register today and email me your mailing address. My last trip to the post office of the year is tomorrow morning. (Think Christmas gift and your special someone will even have a little something to open Christmas morning.)

Now it's time for me to get ready for Christmas--bring on the shopping and holiday cheer!

2011-12-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

The video is done! Or at least I think it is. I had thought I was done filming Sunday night, but when I listened to the edits in a quiet house yesterday morning I heard little voices in the background. Luckily, it was only a short segment and didn't involve sewing or painting. It did take me three tries to get that few minutes of footage though. The first time, somehow, the top of my head wasn't in the frame. Then the phone rang right in the middle of the take. Finally on the third try, everything turned out great. I'm so happy to be able to wear different clothes today. I finished editing and adding little touches to the film yesterday. Now, I'm just waiting for my husband to watch the whole thing to make sure there isn't anything weird that I missed after watching the whole thing too many times. My oldest daughter also started watching it last night. She made it through a segment and a half before bed time -- "Mom, I have to finish! I need to know what happens with the fabric paper!"

Above it my stack of supplies left over. I didn't use most of the paints I pulled out, but I always like to have a lot of choices when painting fabric or making fabric paper. I now have a nice selection of painted, quilted fabric and fabric paper in purple and orange. You can also see on the far left my pile of boxes. I think I made six in the process of filming. Another result of my suppressed perfectionist tendencies. I had so much fun during the process!

Yesterday, I also took a sneak peak at some of the other videos on the Stitched website. It is going to be so much fun. They were great!

The Video Production Studio

2011-12-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

Now that all the Arts and Craft Shows are over for the season, I am having a great time working on my Video Workshop, Mini Treasure Box of Dreams, for STITCHED. I'm not a very good multitasker, so I am enjoying being able to focus all my attention on the workshop. I cleaned out my art room, hung my work, moved my desk to the center of the room and have been filming ever sense. I'm not sure how many hours of footage I have. I thought I would have a hard time seeing myself on the screen, but I'm getting used to it. I've also learned a few tricks, like using my son's giant teddy bear as a stand in so I can focus the camera. He tends to slouch a bit more than me, but it seems to be working.

I'm very glad that we aren't doing any entertaining this holiday season because I don't think I would let anyone except my very closest friends into my house at the moment. As you can see the window seat and a good portion of the living room is filled with the contents of my art room. The kids have found a bit of room for displaying the Lego and Playmobile advent calendars. The also decorated the piano with our collection of snow globes and filled their own rooms with lights. This year I am just going with the flow and accepting their contributions with lots of love. No picture perfect Christmas this year. Instead, I'm going for the perfect video workshop--an artist has to have priorities!

STITCHED Registration Now Open!!!!

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to announce that registration for STITCHED is OPEN!!!

I don't really mean to be yelling at you, but I'm very excited. I can't believe that December 1st is already here. Never mind that the house is a disaster and I have no idea what my husband has bought the children for Christmas. I'm focusing on the excitement and putting on the blinders to the rest.

I would love for you to join me on the STITCHED website. 20 fabric artist are creating 20 online video workshops to encourage you to sew, design and create. In addition to our video workshop, each of us will provide you with printable pdf files with patterns, supply lists and instructions. Plus, Alma is creating a video workshop titled, Beaded Fabric Jewelry, and 5 additional mini video workshops. And we will be there to support you along the way in a completely private site. All this for the unbelievably low price of $89. As an added bonus, within the STITCHED website there will be all kinds of giveaways for students. I've even heard rumors of sewing machines, fabric packages and other goodies.

In my workshop we will make these Mini Treasure Boxes of Dreams. We will explore my quirky method of backwards quilting, make fabric paper, secretly share our dreams and wishes on some fabric beads, and share the big secret of sewing these boxes 100% on the machine. Plus I couldn't resist throwing in some extras, like Treasure Tea Boxes and Nesting Boxes.

Register for STITCHED before December 15th and I will send you a free mini treasure box of dreams as a gift to you. Simply follow this link to the STITCHED registration page and follow the direction. Then send me an email with your address to send your free gift. Register for STITCHED I look forward to working with you!

Let it Snow -- Well Not This Weekend!

2011-11-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

These fun snow men are my latest addition to holiday card collection I'm working on for this weekend's Bainbridge Island Artist's Studio Tour. This is my second year participating in the tour and it is always so much fun. I sold out of my snow men last weekend so I had to make some more. Rosy's favorite is the snowman with the the crown. When I saw the crown in my stash of embellishments I just couldn't resist. I'm leaning more towards the friends because playing in the snow with friends is always more fun. Maybe I need one with just a couple for walking in a winter wonderland. So many ideas. I wish I had the time to do them all!

Why I Was Late To Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-11-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

I had forgotten how much fun I have making mini holiday art quilts. I went a little crazy Thursday afternoon coming up with just one more idea that I wanted to try. Before I knew it, we were suppose to leave in 20 minutes and I hadn't taken a shower yet. Whoops! I called in the troops to get the food together (luckily I just had to bring pumpkin pie and dinner rolls that were already made) and took a quick shower. We were out the door in time to not be the last ones to arrive.

Santa's Workshop and the etsyRAIN Holiday Show

2011-11-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

I've switched gears from preparing for my STITCHED video workshop to frantically getting ready for my first craft show of the season. I will be at the etsyRAIN Handmade Holiday Show this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, November 26 & 27 at the Intiman Theater at Seattle Center. I always love this show. There is so much beautiful work and everybody has so much young energy (I am finding that my definition of young isn't what it used to be). The show runs from 11-5 each day and the first 50 people each day receive a free swag bag filled with goodies. I didn't get a chance to send my swag in, but if you stop by my booth I would be happy to give you a free little something.

The last couple of days I have been busy making fabric paper and quilting and painting fabric. I now have a whole rainbow of colors including lots of Christmas red and green. I have the strips cut, ready to sew together. I'm making inches for gift tags, always a popular item. They are such a fun way to add a special touch to a package that really says how special the recipient is. They also can be used for ornaments, place cards or a little bookmark.

These are some of my favorite nontraditional Christmas colors. I love purple, magenta, turquoise and blue. They are the colors of the vintage glass ornaments my grandma gave me from her collection when we were first married. I haven't used them much since having kids--several were broken and I didn't want to risk loosing any more. For now, I really like using fabric because nothing gets broken. I make sure to use enough metallic and pearlescent paint that I still have plenty of sparkle. After zigzagging around the edges of these, I just need to mount them on painted tags, add a ribbon and they are ready to go. Then of course I have so many ideas for cards that I want to make. We'll see how much I can get done in the next three and a half days.

An Etsy Day

2011-11-19T15:35:00.000-08:00

Today has been a busy day of listing items on Etsy. Now that I have a new camera, I don't have the excuse of less than desirable photographs. I can't believe how much easier it is to have a good camera. The colors are actually right. The images are in focus. I don't have to spend an hour trying to get the pictures right in photoshop. I love being able snap a picture, maybe do a little cropping and I'm good to go.

I have been a little behind with the Etsy shop and have a lot to list. Christmas time is always busy and I would love to provide some wonderful gifts for people looking for affordable art and fun, unique cards. Make sure to check out the journals, mini boxes, art cards and other art in the shop.

Samples for STITCHED

2011-11-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

Part of my busy schedule the past few weeks has been filled with creating project samples for my STITCHED workshop. I'd doing "Mini Treasure Box of Dreams" with includes a 1.5" box filled with fabric beads. I of course couldn't make just one for sample photos, I had to create an assortment in every color of the rainbow. Plus I added in Treasure Tea Boxes and a set of 10 Nesting Boxes. My new camera just arrived this week, so now I need to take fun and creative photos. I'm hoping the sun will continue to shine so I can use a bit of natural light coming through the windows. Off to work before the rain comes.

STITCHED

2011-11-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy with costumes, travel, birthdays and preparation I've neglected to mention by biggest project. Alma Stoller invited me to be part of an amazing new project, STITCHED. Twenty fabric artists are creating twenty new online video workshops. With your paid subscription you can have access to all the workshops and the STITCHED website, including PDFs, 5 mini tutorials by Alma and lots of bonus information.

My workshop is Mini Treasure Box of Dreams. I'm excited to share all my quirky, not traditional methods of quilting and create a project that is special to my heart. My little digital camera died on a hiking trip this summer. I used this project as an excuse to buy a new Nikon digital SLR. As I wait for it to arrive I'm working on samples, photos and all the step outs so ready to start shooting when my new camera arrives.

Houston -- What an Experience!

2011-11-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

Twelve by Twelve exhibit from the red carpet

I am still trying to a handle on everyday life after spending four days in Houston at the International Quilt Festival with the Twelve by Twelve exhibit. Thanks to the Del Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection all 288 quilts from the last four years of our project were on display. It was truly amazing to see them all in person for the first time. Plus, nine of the twelve of us were able to travel to the show. Our remaining friends were there in spirit and as cardboard cutouts.

Brenda, Terri, Kirsty, Terri, Diane, Gerrie, Francoise, Karen, Deborah, Helen, Nikki, Kirstin

I couldn't believe the size of the quilt show. Deborah measured the convention center on Google maps and it is 7/10 of a mile from one end to the other, a full 3 city blocks. This small town girl has never been around so many beautiful quilts. Notice the golf cart in the middle of this picture -- that's how big the show was.

Entrance to the exhibit with the Orange Colorplay mosaic

I was bit overwhelmed spent most of mine time in our exhibit. It was a perfect home in the middle of everything. Plus I felt like a rock star signing autographs and loved talking to people about how much fun the whole experience has been. We had people taking our pictures. Several times I had a hard time writing my name because of the bright spots in front of my eyes.

Book signing

I loved how people would look at the mosaics, traveling from one to the next. When the figured out that each mosaic had a theme or that the same artist did the quilt in the same place of each mosaic they would gain a whole new appreciation and would have to start over at the beginning. I can't tell you how gratifying it was to have so many people tell us how wonderful the exhibit was. Quite a few even said it was the best part of the whole show. Even better than that though, was for so many people to realize that they can do the same thing. We're not superstar quilters that are better than everyone else. We're just twelve women who came together for inspiration and fun. So many people went home with plans to start their own challenge groups.

The paparazzi

A Halloween Birthday

2011-10-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter's birthday is coming up in a couple weeks. I'm actually leaving the morning after her big day for the International Quilt Festival in Houston so we are doing her birthday party the weekend before. She decided to go with a Halloween theme. I am using a print of my "Beware" art quilt for her invitations. I just love the copper wire broom. I don't know if it will be evident in the prints so I will have to have the original on display. The party is also suppose to include a Haunted House--that one I am going to have to put Dad in charge of. He always comes up with the creepy, gross stuff. And I haven't even started thinking about costumes. How does one mom get so far behind? Maybe I will have to convince them all to be something made out of cardboard and I can put Dad in charge of that too.

Hand Work To Go

2011-10-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

Lately I haven't had any studio time. It is go-go-go around here with all the activities. What little time I've had at home, I've spent prepping work to go. Above is all the bead work that I did on my daughter's birthday present. She loves to draw, so I made her a journal I keep some of her precious sketches. I'm still debating between the bottom two. She loves pink and purple, but I really like the splashes of green. I have two weeks to decide, so I wont worry about it for now. I did learn the hard way to make sure the bead container is closed tightly. Whoops. At least it was in the storage area in the door of the car when it opened so the mess was contained. I think I still have a few spare beads rolling around in there--just in case I need some when I'm out and about.

This morning I'm making a bunch of fabric beads. I'll then have all the little scrolls to tie with ribbon and yarn waiting in the car for when I have a few spare minutes. At least I shouldn't have to worry too much about them scattering everywhere.

I actually have a day at home today. I really need to do a lot of free motion quilting. I ran my first ever half marathon on Sunday and hopefully my leg wont hurt too bad to push the foot pedal.

What I Unearthed

2011-10-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

The studio is officially clean, well at least it was when I took the pictures. I now have space to work and a lot of projects to work on. I even managed to find a couple projects that I started last winter and literally haven't seen the light of day since.

One project was based on my Pizza Planet quilt from the Eggplant Twelve by Twelve challenge. All those squares are suppose to be sewn together and then fabric paper circles appliqued. I might have time to work on it after Christmas, but something tells me that it might be another year before that one gets done.

The other was a bubbly circle quilt with the colors I used for the Chartreuse challenge. That one has a little more chance of being finished since it is simpler. I think a few of the fabric paper circles were stolen though when I was working on our Orange theme.

State of the Studio

2011-09-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

A pretty sorry state! Now this would be part of the reason I have created very little this summer and blogged even less. As you search through the layers you can find evidence of the Spicy, Gray and Orange Twelve by Twelve challenges. The boxes in the middle of the room and sitting on the table are from the Bainbridge Artist Studio Tour in August. And the latest layers are finds from my late Grandma's house as we are cleaning it out. I admit it, I haven't cleaned in months unless you count moving the boxes around to find something at the bottom of the pile. The kids are now back in school and I have had a couple of weeks to get the rest of the house in order. I think it is now time to attack the studio. I really would like to get back in there to work. I miss my art! But if I don't come back out -- SEND HELP!

Spicy Reveal Day

2011-06-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today's reveal day again over at the Twelve by Twelve blog! The latest challenge is filled with Spice -- Paprika, Asafoetida, Cumin and Turmeric to be exact.

Power

2011-05-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

Power
3"x5"

Don't we all wish we had magic powers. I could definitely use them to get all the chores done -- nothing too big, just a clean bathroom and Mt. Laundry put away neatly. And the driving, I could do without the 1.5 hours of driving/waiting for kids every day. But of course it can't be that easy.

The truth is I know where real power comes from. I'm just a little too scared to be that vulnerable. I'm learning to trust, although I've taken a few steps backwards in the past few years. Today's goal, step out of my shell more.

Spirit

2011-05-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Spirit
3"x5"

When I think of spirit my first thought is high school cheer leading. "We've got spirit, yes we do. We've got spirit. How 'bout you?" No, I wasn't a cheerleader--more of a goofy nerd who was just trying to find her way like everyone else. But that wasn't what I was aiming for with this little quilt. Instead, I meant the spirit inside that longs to fly with grace and beauty. Sometimes I'm not sure if I've really come that far from those days longer ago than I really want to admit. Other times, I feel much more confident with myself. But most of the time, I think, I'm just too busy to worry about it much. For now I will just ride this roller coaster and pray the screams are for joy.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mom! That's me, with my loving husband and four wonderful kids. I hope all the other Moms out there have the best Mother's Day ever!

Play

2011-05-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Play
3"x5"

I love the bright yellow of this little quilt. It gives so much energy to the purple and orange--a bit of sunshine shining on all that fun. I really can't wait for summer so every day can feel like this! I want to play outside, or at the very least, send the kids outside to play so I can play in my art room.

Flutter

2011-05-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Flutter
3"x5"

Flutter, I think that might be what I have been doing too much of lately. I feel like I flutter from one things to the next, only without the grace and beauty of a butterfly. How to make it look easy, that's the question?

Dream

2011-05-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

Dream
3"x5"

Dreaming is one of my favorite activities. I find it gives me energy and inspiration. I start thinking about possiblities and where I want to go. I get so excited in my mind that I have to take action. I'm finding also that my dreams are an indicator of my long term moods. I know I am down in a rut when I don't even have the energy to dream. So today's goal -- DREAM BIG DREAMS!

Discover

2011-05-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Discover
3"x5"

I case you hadn't noticed, these are my latest series of little art quilts. I decided to go a little larger, 3"x5" (I know, I went crazy), so I could use my collection of metal letter to spell out larger words. I could only fit three or four letter words on my mini 2"x3" quilts. I mounted these on 5"x7" cards. I thought it would be fun to post them individually and respond to each. They are saved on my computer in alphabetical order so I am just going down the list.

Today's word happens to be "Discover." What does it mean to discover? I'm thinking that it is when you learn, find or figure something out on your own, without someone else just giving you the information. I'm not very good at listening when someone tells me what or how do something. Discovery is a much more affective means of learning for me. It may not always be the easiest though. Sometimes I have to do things the hard way. Sometimes I have to do a lot of digging. And sometimes I am so lost I don't even know where to start. But it's worth it.

Dance

2011-05-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Dance
3"x5"

I used to dance throughout the house all the time. Somewhere along the line I got tired. lazy. uninspired. To dance in the kitchen daily sounds like a wonderful goal. Fun, exercise and embarassing the children, what more could I ask for?

Courage

2011-04-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Courage
3"x5"

Definetly something I need more of! How I wish I could just do all the things I'm afraid of. I know that it is too much to ask not to be scared. Instead, I just want to the courage to do them anyways. Number one fear, rejection. Now to put myself out there anyways.

Always

2011-04-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Always
3"x5"

Once again I'm ten steps behind. So many things I want to do, need to do, choose to do and so many things not getting done. I'm sure I could be a little more focused in the I choose to do. I start to feel overwhelmed. Instead of doing something productive to solve the problem, I take a break and play games on my iphone. Add in three trips to school a day and checking to make sure the dog isn't getting into trouble outside every few minutes. Plus, I've become very easily distracted. I can't think straight when the kids around, constantly talking even if it just to themselves. Sometimes I wonder if I just need to table the big dreams of being an artist for the time being. I'm so frustrated with myself for not doing anything well, for letting all the plates crash to the ground. I miss the early days of creating when I was happy with myself for the littlest things. If I found a few minutes every few days I savored it, not letting a to do list weigh me down. I want that feeling back. I want to feel joy and my art to express it!

Bright Skies at Night

2011-04-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Once again, I've fallen behind. You know the story -- family, commitments, gloomy days. Oh, and throw in tweaking my back and being down for a week. At the very least, every day is a new day and I can start again on the right track. Plus, the sun is at least peaking out from behind the clouds. It may not have warmed up, but at least there is hope. The last month has been filled with kids on spring break, our latest reveal over at Twelve by Twelve and a spring craft show on Bainbridge.

Our newest set of quilts at Twelve by Twelve are chartreuse and very fun so make sure you pop over there to check them out. My quilt didn't have any deep meaning, I just had fun playing with the color.

I, of course, forgot to take pictures at the Artist Marketplace last weekend. This was the first year that the Bainbridge Artist Studio Tour did a spring show. Instead of being spread out in studios all over the island, we were together in the middle school gym. It was nice to have everybody together and have plenty of space. One problem though was the lack of cell service inside the building. Whenever I tried to do a credit card transaction I had to run outside. I had low expectations of the show considering it was the first year and the weather has had everyone in a bit of a funk. I didn't feel like heading out shopping, so I didn't really expect everyone else to be in the buying mood. I sold some cards and 5 books, earning my a profit for the day. I also made some great contacts. I received an invitation for a solo show at the Bainbridge Library. I'm all signed up for next April and very excited! I met a woman who works for Jacquard, the company who makes a lot of the fabric paints that I use. She was very interested in my work and the idea of me creating artwork for them. Plus, I met another art quilter who is interested in forming an art quilt group. Now, I just need to make sure I follow up on everything. Truth be told, I have to sneak my computer time this week. Our family is participating in "Turn off the TV" week and we're not suppose to even use the computer. I'll call this part of my "job" so I wont get in trouble.

The quilt at the top is the latest in my circle series. I'm loving the magenta, purple and orange together--so very bright and fun. I've had the background painted for months, waiting. I pulled out my collection of fabric paper circles and started playing with colors. The orange was the perfect compliment for the darker colors. I added shiny orange thread and this piece of art was born.

Next on the agenda, Easter this weekend and the EtsyRain Spring Craft show May 7th at the Intiman Theater in Seattle.

Every Trip Needs a New Purse!

2011-03-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I enjoyed a wonderful time with my best friend from high school, Christina, and her husband, Nate. Christina kindly flew me down for a weekend away from crazy family life and a chance to spend some time together without my kids, something we hadn't done in four years. We went out to dinner, tried a yoga class, and had a three hour lunch at a local winery, followed by wine tasting. I don't remember the last time I enjoyed such relaxed luxury, although I'm still feeling the yoga from Saturday morning.

As I was getting ready for the trip last Thursday, I was feeling like my purse was a little tired (I think I had made it before my last trip down there) and too small now that I actually have a cell phone. I pulled out a large, left over piece of quilted fabric from "Hope in the Storm" and made a simple fold over purse. I added a fabric paper pocket under the flap to hold my phone and lipstick. The straps are another piece of the same quilted fabric. I didn't take the time to measure the strap before sewing in on--whoops. No problem, I just tied a simple knot to shorten it up. I added the fabric paper circles on the front for fun and color. I love how it turned out. I think I might make a few more from some half finished quilts that I'm not in love with. Purses seem the perfect way to create something both beautiful and functional.

Now that I had the purse, I needed somewhere to stash all my cards and ID. Another piece of fabric paper with more circles and I was ready to go.

Spiralling Circles

2011-03-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest creation aging in my art room. I have had this piece of quilted, painted fabric hanging around since October. I had all kinds of ideas percolating before the Christmas art show, commission, book excitement began. Finally, my urgent to do list is taken care of and I have a little time to work on all those ideas.

I quilted the fabric in one big spiral. It created a bit of a puff in the center, but it seemed to flatten a little with painting. Then, I sewed down all the circles and it reappeared. Luckily, I think I can flatten it by fusing on an additional backing fabric when I am done, but that will come later.

I'm currently at the embellishment experimentation stage. I find it useful to lay things out and leave them for a while to make sure I still like the idea. Since I don't have a lot of room and I can't hang them on the wall with the embellishments just sitting there, I lay them on large canvases and stack them up. I find the method works pretty good as long as the pieces are smaller than 24"x24". The stretcher bars of the canvas create an air space so the layers aren't actually touching. Usually the stack ends up on the ironing board, but I can easily move it if another project need the iron, or the rare occasion when the wrinkles in his shirt are too much for my husband (Don't worry, he knows how to move things too). For this piece, I'm playing with flat, circular shell beads in various sizes and colors. The spiral reminds me of a snail, so I thought the shell was appropriate. The pastel colors remind me a bit of Easter eggs. Maybe he will be my Easter Snail.

The Coming of the Chosen One...

2011-03-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

A bit of free time this weekend -- what an unexpected luxury. My husband was a big "eco" meeting for his latest project and the kids were actually cooperating. Saturday afternoon was quiet in the Wheeler household. I was able to finish my latest Pizza Planet quilt, The Coming of the Chosen One. This is the first time I have included a whole phrase in a quilt, but I couldn't resist. This is now my kids favorite piece of art because of its reference to the Little Green Men. It think it is a lot of fun, too! The pictures really don't do it justice.

One of my favorite details is the beaded edge along the bottom. I've never done a fringe before and I love how it turned out.

Pizza Planet Revisited

2011-03-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

I have had this quilt roughly laid out since the last Twelve by Twelve challenge reveal in January. I wanted to create more Pizza Planet quilts since I love the colors so much. But then obligations came along and I just didn't have time. This one sat, sandwiched between two canvases, under a pile of other work for a month and a half. Finally this week, with most of my other projects off the to do list, I was able to come back to it. I readjusted the layout and stitched down the circles with gold thread. Now I am in the process of adding embellishments. I can't get the phrase, "the coming of the chosen one demands celebration" out of my mind, so I think this one will include some text. Plus I think some beading is in order. Right now it looks flat to me. I'm sure that is because everything I have made in the last month has had three dimensional elements.
Now to go see what I can find to spruce this baby up!

The Big Brown Blue and Sage Reveal

2011-03-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

Winter Tree Line

Yesterday was our latest reveal day over at Twelve by Twelve . Surprisingly, I actually created two quilts for this challenge. I was a bit stumped by the colors in the beginning and didn't have a lot of time to think about ideas. The past month and a half has had my head reeling. Luckily, when I sat down to work the ideas came. I used the inspiration outside my window. Winter Tree Line is the evergreens lining the hill behind our neighbors house. I opted to ignore all the gray clouds and instead capture a sunny, blustery sky. Spring Thaw is inspired by the old barn and long gone fields of crops of our little neighborhood.

Make sure to head over to our group blog and check out all the other wonderful quilts. Plus, we have a book release celebration and giveaway currently going on for the next twelve days. Make sure to enter to win a free copy of our new book Twelve by Twelve, The International Art Quilt Challenge!

Spring Thaw

My Ugly Alders

2011-02-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

Our current color palette over at Twelve by Twelve is brown, blue and sage. I was a little behind getting started on this challenge so I dedicated the last week to playing with those colors. The view out my art room window actually follows the palette on a good day (its mostly gray when the sun isn't shining) so I tried sketching with the sewing machine the alders across the street. It turned out very messy, but that's how they look. I don't find them a very pretty tree, especially in winter. This is the first time I have tried to actually draw a picture while free motion quilting, so I gave myself a lot of freedom and just went with the flow.

After stitching, I pulled out the paints. I went with the obvious -- blue sky, green ground and brown trees. I actually like how the paint flowed to the back better than the front. The tension was a little off if a few places though, creating a big loopy mess so I decided to stick with the front as the front. After finishing the beading, I think I should have just gone with the back as the front -- the loopy mess would have just added to the effect. But what is done is done and I'm not about to pull out all those beads.

Next, I added green beads to the branches for a little sparkle of the sun. Working on the commission had inspired me to do a little more beading. I had forgotten how meditative it can be. Plus, I didn't use any fabric paper so it was easy to stitch through.

Originally, I planned to cut the piece down to 12 inches square to fit the challenge, but the the trees were a little too tall and I thought the piece worked better with its current proportions. Besides, I have a couple other quilts for the reveal tomorrow that I like much better. In the end, this isn't one of my favorites. It could use a bit more of a focal point (perhaps why I like the back better than the front) but it was a fun experiment and something I am going to try more of in the future.

Off to Art-O-Mat They Go

2011-02-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

After finishing up my commission, I switched to the opposite size extreme and made a bunch of pieces for Art-O-Mat. These little pieces have been on the back burner for a while. I forgot how much fun they are to create. Plus life at Art-O-Mat has been rather busy. One of the busiest machine is at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. There machine sells over 100 little piece of art a day, making for a nice check for the artists. I'm also excited whenever I find out my work has been in the Whitney Museum or the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Plus, I just notice that they have a machine in Cairns, Austraila and Vienna, Austria . As far as I know none of my work has travelled that far, but maybe one of these days I can check it out in person.

Above are some of the "Dreams" pieces created with fabric beads -- each little scroll representing a dream hidden inside. Below is my "I Felt" series. I use hand dyed wool felt, ribbons, embellishments and a fun little word. I love coming up with different words and then trying to match embellishments to the feelings.

For my "Bits and Pieces" series I created these colorful little quilts from the scraps trimmed from my commission. I love how I can take what would normally be thrown away and transform it into a little piece of beauty.

Finally, these are the pieces that I made from the Pizza Planet fabrics and fabric paper.

Glorious Overcoming

2011-02-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

Here is my final quilt for the commission. I'm still working on the perfect title, but it is about overcoming the stuggles in glory. There is life after the pain and it is beautiful. All the nasties will be transformed and used for good.

I used gold thread for the quilting and painted the background in a beautiful rainbow. The circles come in all colors and are ringed with glass beads. Copper tape forms the stems. All the beading took much longer than I expected. Pushing a needle through several layers of thick fabric paper was a real challenge. I ended up pre-poking the holes with the sewing machine. I still managed to stab myself numerous times, but kept the blood off the quilt. I love how the quilt turned out -- it just sparkles.

Hope in the Storm

2011-02-18T15:03:00.000-08:00

"Hope in the Storm" 24"x30"

With all the excitment about the book coming, I didn't have a chance to finish blogging about my commission. This is my third piece in the series. After the carefree nature of childhood and the craziness of being an adult, this piece deals with the struggles we face when life throws us a curveball. Life isn't always pleasant, filled with bright color and energy. The storms come. Within those storms, I tried to convey hope and the sense that we are not alone despite how it may feel.

Working with such dark, muted colors was a step out of my comfort zone. I began free motion quilting with black thread and then painted the fabric with watered down black paint. The result was a dark gray, which I then painted over with dark purples, blues and greens. The background was still too dark, so I added metallic paints and a touch of watercolor crayons. The effect was a very blustery feeling. I wanted to main circle to be the focal point and not too depressing, so I used a bright yellow-orange with the more muted red and purples. I then added the additional small circles and copper washers. When I first layed them out the piece looked more like a fertility quilt. After rearranging them, I hope that isn't the first impression. My goal is for them to be points of light shining in an otherwise challenging environment. They could also be challenges that have the potential to sparkle in one's life. Finally, I finished the edge with a dark purple varigated yarn and copper thread.

"Hope in the Storm" Detail

Me and My Book

2011-02-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

IT CAME!

Monday, I was on my way out to lunch with my husband for Valentine's Day. I stayed home until the last possible minute just in case the UPS truck came. I really didn't want him to leave my precious package on the porch since it was raining cats and dogs. No truck, so I headed out. But what was that across the highway? A big, brown truck. I had to check. And the driver knew right away that he had a package for me. No more waiting. I was able to get the box right off the truck. Then of course I had to drive all the way down to Bainbridge before I could open the box. I was able to open the box at the office and almost cried as I flipped through it. As we headed to lunch I was so excited that I had a beer just to calm down. I still can't really believe it. I'm a real author. Of all the things in life I thought I might do when I was young, write a book wasn't one of them. Life so often takes you on a path you were never expecting and I am so glad that it does!

The front of the book. That's my chocolate quilt in the lower right hand corner.

The back of the book with my hands free motion quilting.

Here's my chapter, Chocolate.

And here is my house looking so clean. I don't think it has looked that good since. What doesn't show in the picture is the boxes of stuff I stashed in the garage so everything would look tidy.

Now I just need to find the time to sit down and read the whole thing cover to cover.

For those of you who would like to order a signed, by me, copy please let me know via email and I will send you a paypal invoice. I am selling them for $20 plus $5 shipping within the United States. With every order I will include a bookmark featuring my original quilted inchies.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

The Suspense is Killing Me

2011-02-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge is due to be released March 1st or at least that was what we were told. Imagine my excitement when I awoke this morning to an email sharing the news that it is now available online at Amazon. I'm actually a real, published author. I'm still in a little shocked disbelief, especially since I haven't even seen a copy of the book. I know they are out there and there have been sightings. But I'm still waiting, and waiting, and WAITING! for my author copies to arrive. The suspense is killing me.

Okay, maybe I wont die, but I'm certainly not getting much done as I spend my time looking down the driveway hoping to catch a glimpse of a big brown truck. The experience emotionally feels a lot like waiting for each of the kids to be born -- waiting for months was fine, but these last few days are torture! The more I think about it the less patience I have. I have no idea when the book will actually arrive. I just know it will be soon. The distributor didn't give any kind of notice or tracking. The first member of our group received hers on Tuesday. She lives in Maryland and the books are shipping from New Jersey, so it makes sense. It typically takes a week for a package to cross the country, so most likely us west coast girls wont get ours until next week. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up. But I really don't want to wait that long. How can anyone expect me to wait the whole weekend. It's just not right. I really do need to find something to distract myself. But... Maybe, just maybe, that next rubble sound I hear will be him. With my book!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!

2011-02-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is my second quilt for the commission. I was capturing the feeling of my current stage of life. Everything is crazy. Kids, Spouse, Home, Career, Friends, Hobbies, Hopes, Desires. So many good things all going in a million directions. Often it can just feel out of control and life is starting to fly away. I really love the colors in this quilt and the fun embellishments. The star washers and coiled wire are perfect for that extra little craziness.

Yesterday I took all four quilts down to the interior designer who commissioned the pieces for the Peninsula Cancer Center. She loved them! I can't tell you what a big sign of relief that was. I didn't realize how nervous I was until I got in the car to go home and was overcome with exhaustion. These are the biggest art quilts I have ever done and even though she said she loved the pictures I was scared they would be disappointing in real life. Her happiness was a big confidence boost. Plus, she said she is working with another cancer center in eastern Washington and she is going to recommend me to them. Whoohoo!

Youthful Energy!

2011-02-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

I am just about finished with the commission! I am so happy to be on the home stretch now that I just need to cut them to size and finish the edges. It has been a busy three and a half weeks. I probably was crazy to think that I could finish in such a short time, but I wanted to make everyone happy and I have other projects that I want to start on. I was moving along at a pretty good clip until I remembered how long hand work can take. Beading through thick layers of fabric paper is not an easy task.

Youthful Energy (or perhaps a different title since I haven't finalized everything) is the first in the series. I wanted to capture childhood and its carefree nature. I went with light, bright colors and silver thread. I tried to find large flat beads with a hole in the center, but had no luck. Instead, I added circles of hand dyed wool felt to give the beads a little more presence. I also thought the soft felt was fitting for childhood when life tends to be a little softer in nature. When I first stitched down the yarn strings I was a little worried, but after living with it for a week I'm liking the effect and the four quilts together are very fun.

Solution Found -- Hand Spun Yarn and Other Progress

2011-01-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

I think I might have found my solution -- hand spun yarn. It has a softness and energy that reminds me of childhood. Also, I like the silver thread instead of white and the beads instead of washers. I'm so happy that this is coming together! Now to let it sit for a while .

I also moved the circles around for my Busy Busy Busy quilt. I am really loving this quilt! The colors are so fun and full of life.

Stages of Life -- Further Progress

2011-01-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

An Ant's Eye View

Once again I'm working away. Currently by big dilemma is what to do with the circles on my Youthful Energy piece. These are two options using ribbon. For one I used the same blue, organza ribbon. The other, I used a variety of ribbons. I'm just not sure. I guess that means keep working until the perfect solution appears. I think next I will try something a little looser than the ribbon, perhaps yarn. And then there is the question of embellishments. Do I add them? If so, what? Here I'm trying out some washers. I've also thought about beads. I think I might try those on my sample fabric since it is really hard to get a good feeling unless they are stitched down.

I added some star washers to my Busy, Busy, Busy. I think they add the perfect extra fun little element. Now I just need to work on the layout of the circles.

I added a little extra color to my Weathering Life's Storms quilt. The background need a little something to balance out all that black. The difference is subtle and hard to see with the different photographs. I wish I could take everything outside to use the bright foggy sunlight, but the boards wont fit through the doorway and I don't want everything falling everywhere.

I really like how my last quilt is shaping up. I don't have a name (and all others are subject to change) but it has something to do with glory and redemption and overcoming. I am planning on adding beading around the circles to really make them pop.

Any finally, my crazy crowded art room. Even my husband admitted last night that I need a bigger space.

Stages of Life -- My First Commission in Progress

2011-01-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm getting a little nervous about my commission. I just can't believe that someone hired me to create art to display in a public place. Especially since they only saw my work briefly. And they gave me a deposit upfront so I really need to create something they like. I'm trying to reassure myself that I am working in the same style they saw and immediately wanted. I'm asking a reasonable, perhaps even low, price. And I'm working hard to create the quilts in a quickly as I can. But of course, those nagging doubt never leave for long. What if they don't like what I created. What if it isn't what they were envisioning? What if they are frustrated that I'm taking too long? What if they decide what I created isn't worth the price I am asking? What if? What if? What if? Okay, calm down -- it will be fine. I know. I know. I know. I'm sure every artist has been here and I'm not alone. But I will be happy when I'm finished, I know they like them, and I'm passed this first test!

I've tried my best to find time to work. The family, and now a cold, don't seem to be helping a lot, but I'm happy with the progress I'm making. These are just some rough layouts as I determine the exact direction I want to go. One major struggle is finding flat space, out of reach of the dog and children, to lay everything out. With the fabric paper appliques and various embellishments everything needs to be on a table, not a vertical design wall. My crowded 10'x12' art room isn't quite designed to hold 4 24"x30" quilts and still be able to move and work. I brought in an extra piece of wood from my husband's shop to expand the table. It's a couple inches short of fitting two quilts but I'm making do. The others are draped over the ironing board for the moment, but that is going to need to change. Plus I can't really move the first two without everything shuffling. Planning ahead would probably have helped, but to late now. Another area to stretch my creativity, right.

Above is my youthful energy and sweetness. I'm not sure how I am going to ground the circles. Are they lollipops? Flowers? Balloons? I'm still working out the ideas. I did a little experiment with white thread. I'm not sure what I think about it. It seems a little messier than the other quilts I have done using black or gold thread. It might be the combination of edging the circles in white and the additional white thread lines. I also don't know if the lines are strong enough. Nest will be to experiment with various ribbons.

Below is my idea for representing adulthood -- busy, busy, busy! I don't know if every one's life feels as out of control as mine, but my life feels like a crazy attempt to keep everything from flying out of control. And of course, picking up those things that seem to have crash landed. I have curly wire attached to each of the circles. I need to work on the placement of everything, but I do like the energy.

My third quilt is about the struggles of life and how something like cancer can be all encompassing. I want to also show hope in the middle of life's storms. The colors are much darker than I'm used to working with. I don't want it to be depressing. I don't know if I need to add a bit more lighter, but muted color to tie everything together and keep the black from winning.

The final quilt hasn't made it past the background stage. My thought is for it to be about overcoming it all. I'm planning on adding beading and lots of sparkle.

I would love any feedback! Thanks!

Stitching and Circles

2011-01-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

The past week I have been busy quilting away on four pieces for a commission due at the end of the month. Each piece will be 24"x30" but I of course went big to begin with. I figure it is much easier to cut it small than start over if for some reason it ended up to small. The 30"x44" pieces took a lot of quilting -- several hours each. My eyes would water and my nose would start to run from the vibration. I really should have worn ear protection since my Juki is quite loud, but of course I skipped searching for it in the garage. My method was to look around after every bobbin and take a break after every two. It took my five days, but I finally finished yesterday morning.

After quilting was paint time. I bought a big piece of plexiglass so I would have an easy to clean surface and I could move the wet quilt without getting paint everywhere. I really don't have anywhere to lay out big pieces to dry. I was only able to do one a day because of the drying issue. After breakfast was cleaned up, I would paint at the dining room table. Then I moved the quilt covered plexiglass to my bathroom, laying it over the bathtub. At night after everyone was in bed I hung the mostly dry quilt from a line in the living room. By morning it was dry and I could move on to the next. The last quilt is currently hanging out in my bathroom. Only problem is that I still need to take a shower, so I might need to find another safe surface.

While the paint is drying I have been cutting out a rainbow of fabric paper circles. Hours and hours of circles. I now have hundreds so I'm ready to start designing. I have a feeling I need to make some more fabric paper though. I'm missing a bright yellow and a dark blue and red. I also need some light, youthful shades.

Love is in the Air

2011-01-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

I always hate when holidays come way before thier time. Christmas shouldn't be in the stores in September and Saint Patrick's Day shouldn't arrive the day after Christmas. I guess I am a last minute shopper. Last July we went looking for flags and decorations for our boat on July 3rd. Nothing!!!! Instead it was "Back to School." It really drives me crazy. I would much prefer to live in the momment and be surrounded by the current season. But then I openned an Etsy shop. However much I hate it, online shopping takes a little planning ahead. I learned this the hard when when I bought a birthday present for my husband on ebay. The auction closed December 10th. I thought for sure I would have it before his birthday on the 22nd. Nope! Well, in time for Christmas -- nope. It didn't arrive until January 4th. I wont do that again. Thankfully my husband is an understanding man and it was only a small part of his gift. If it had been something big for one of the kids I would have been in trouble. Lesson learned -- try to be a little ahead of the game.

So bring on Valentine's Day. I guess it really isn't that early at a little less than four weeks, but early enough for me. These are a few cards I made last year but never added to the shop. I love the idea of giving original art. The card doesn't need to be filed away in a box, or worse. One can keep it out as a reminder of love. It always makes my heart sing when I see the first Art Valentine I made for my husband five years ago still sitting proudly on his desk. I know that he appreciates me and is reminded daily of my love.

The Sketchbook Project

2011-01-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, I signed up for the Sketchbook Project at the Art House Co-op back in the fall. The kids had just gone back to school. I had been reading books and articles about art journalling. It seemed like a great way to play, experiment and create in a nonthreatening way. Instead I made it into a big deal in my mind -- people throughout the country would see it and somehow I needed to be great among all those sketchbooks. I put so much pressure on myself that I didn't really do anything. But I had do something because I had already paid for it. So finially an incredibly busy schedule and deadline looming caused me to let go of my inhabitions and just get something in the book. I played with paint and watercolor crayons. I glued fabric and fabric paper. I even added a to do list in an attempt to fill pages. Do I love the final result, not really. But it is just a sketchbook and maybe it will show others that a sketchbook can be just a sketchbook.

Joyful Bounty

2011-01-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends works for the Washington State University Extension in Kitsap County helping small farmers, teaching preservation classes and encouraging everyone to eat local. Currently they are working on their first conference to teach and encourage the farming community. Shannon has been begging me to create art for the conference for months. With the holidays and a long to-do list I didn't have a chance until last week.

The big question was how I could represent farming in Kitsap. My first thought was the mountains. We are surrounded by both the Olympic and Cascade ranges. Mount Jupiter is the the view out my windows (whenever it's not hidden by clouds) and of course sunsets are absolutely beautiful set against them. The Puget Sound and Hood Canal also surround us, but I instead decided to focus on green fields. I used rows of bright circles to represent the many small farms dotted around the county. The composition was still missing something, so I added the wonky barn. The finished quilt is approximately 22"x19".

After I was almost finished with the quilt, another person in the office decided that she wanted something more realistic for the conference. Oh well. I decided instead to give the quilt to my friend for the birthday at the end of the month. I was creating the quilt for her anyways. Now she can hang it above her desk and I will know someone truly appreciates it.

The Making of Pizza Planet

2011-01-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

In the beginning...it was white and flat, but not for long!

I thought I would share a bit of my process for creating my quilts, along with photos of all the wonderful painted, quilted fabric and fabric paper I have been creating. I start with plain, white muslin. First I go crazy with free motion stitching. I like circles and spirals, but other times I so flowers or wavy lines. I have tried using the regular straight stitch. It gives a different texture, which at times can be nice, but I prefer the unevenness of free motion. I often over over the lines twice and never worry about crossing. I try to create a free, sketchy feeling. I then through it in the washing machine on hot to wash out any sizing on the fabric and shrink it down a bit. It tends to bring out the stitching and dampens the fabric to make it easier to paint.

Next, it is time to paint. I bring out every shade of each color I have in my stash. Often I will use 10 different paints on a piece of quilted fabric. I like to use acrylics, fabric and craft paints, along with acrylic inks, and of course, metallics. These are the eight different fabrics I created for Pizza Planet.

After painting fabric, I moved on to fabric paper. Once again I pulled out the muslin base. Then I added various scrapbook papers. They are a little hard to see with these darker colors, but if you look closely you can see an added layer of texture. I glued them down with watered down craft paint. I found that I like the craft paint better than white glue because it gives a slightly slippery feeling to the paper. Some people might not like that, but I find it nicer on my fingers to work with. I've always hated any type of chalky feeling. Once, I tried using white glue and junk mail. The fabric paper came out very dry and chalky. The cheap ads were probably full of acid anyways, so for now I will avoid the combination. After gluing down the paper base, I add tissue paper. I tried finding craft tissue at Michael's but had no luck, so I just use the large stack of gift tissue I bought at Costco. It will often rip when very wet. If it does, I just add another scrap to fill in any wholes. Typically I will add two layers of tissue to seal it nicely. And then of course the paints again. I used the same combinations for the fabric paper as I did the quilted fabric. These are the ten different pieces I made for Pizza Planet, plus one I had from another project that fit the color scheme well.

Now with the raw materials made, I started designing. I cut out square of each quilted fabric in 1", 2" and 3" sizes. I used my 12" square gridded ruler as a base and started laying them out, beginning with the largest size and moving down. It actually came together relatively easy. I then cut out lots and lots of circles in various sizes. Once again, my design method was trial and error. I did my best to spread the colors out. I then edged each circle with a gold leafing pen to help them stand out. I had to transfer all the circles off the quilt so I could sew everything together. My gridded cutting mat helped keep everything in order so I didn't get completely confused in the processes. I zig-zagged the squares together. I did flip two of the little squares in the process and had to cut them out and flip them back later -- whoops. Each circle was free motion sewn down with black rayon thread. Finally, I backed the whole thing with a piece of paint rag fabric and finished the edge with couched black yarn. Overall the composition is a little dark, but I really like the colors and circles. I have another Pizza Planet quilt in the works and look forward to exploring it more!

Now Approaching Pizza Planet

2011-01-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

Check out the latest reveal over at Twelve by Twelve!

Themes for the Season

2010-12-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Once again, I am three steps behind. Art shows, kids and holiday prep have me running around like a crazy woman. There is so much to celebrate and so many things that I want to do. I just need to remember to follow the themes of these peices. Peace in the Chaos. Joy in All Things. I sent these peices off into the world last week so they can hopefully encourage other people who need the reminder. I hope you too can find both Peace and Joy in this whirlwind season.

Let is Snow, Let is Snow, Let it Snow

2010-11-19T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have been having so much fun creating Christmas and winter themed work. I just love this little snowman. He is 6"x6", currently framed, and sitting in the window of Dana's Showhouse on Bainbridge. The artists from the Bainbridge Studio Tour have a display to promote the tour the first weekend of December. I will be there at the American Legion Hall. This is the first year I have participated and I'm really excited. I feel a bit out of my league with all the "real" artists . As for the group I'm with, I'm the youngest by at least 10 years. One even led my kindergarten class in a ceramics project when I was 6. I didn't mention this to him though because I didn't want to make him feel old. It should be a good experience and hopefully I will learn a few things from the people who have been there and done it.

These are mini 2"x3" quilts, mounted on 4x6 cards made from watercolor paper. There is so much different imagery that I've gone a little crazy. I'm obsessive, I know. At least I have different cards to post for every day between now and Christmas if I'm organized enough to photograph them.

Turkeys, Turkeys Everywhere

2010-11-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

The kids have working on all kinds of turkey are in preparation for Thanksgiving coming up at school. I just couldn't resist the temptation to join in on the fun. I created 7 different Turkey cards. I list a few in my Etsy shop and I think I will use the others for Thank You cards. I want to send something special out to the people who have really supported me this last year. I figure Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to get organized and do it.

Yellow Seuss Box

2010-10-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest of my felted wool boxes. I made this for my daughter's friend's birthday. I filled it with little girl nail poslish and lip gloss -- perfect for an eight year old who likes to play dress up. I used a wool/rayon blend in soft yellow with a pinky orange base. After a trip through the washing machine it shrunk about 20% to 3"x6" plus the cuff. I then added the yo-yos for a a little extra color. The wonky shape reminds me of something that would have come out of a Dr. Suess book. Very fun and silly!

Wool Felt Box

2010-10-22T14:14:00.001-07:00

I had a fun time last weekend at the EtsyRain Pre-Holiday Craft Show. The weather was beautiful so it was a nice day to be in the city. This country girl seems to only make it to Seattle for craft shows or a trip to IKEA. Only problem was that with the sunshine people just weren't thinking about Christmas yet. Gift buying wasn't quite on the radar. I did come home with a little money for the puppy fund and feeling great about my artwork, so I'm not going to complain.

I did have a few questions about my wool felt, and different projects one can use it for. I decided to do a little experimenting and whipped up this box really quick. I used a 6"x6" piece for the base and 4 6"x12" pieces for the sides. I sewed them up with a straight stitch and threw it in the washer. The first time I washed it by itself on delicate. It barely shrunk and was somewhat flimsy, so I washed it again with a load of jeans and other clothes. I pulled it out and shaped it while it was still somewhat damp. I love how it turned out. It is now 4.5" square and 6" tall with a 2" cuff. Very fun. This felt is my daughter's favorite. Her birthday is coming up in November, so now I have something fun to fill with her gifts. And it was so easy! I think I might be making a few more.

BOO! Halloween is Hiding Around the Corner

2010-10-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Here are of the new Halloween pieces that I made for the Etsy Rain Craft Show this weekend at the Seattle Center. After the show I will add them to my etsy shop, just in time for Halloween!

These pieces are each 5"x7" and mounted 8"x10" so they are ready to frame.

These pieces are each 2"x3" and mounted on 4"x6" cards (envelope included) and ready to frame.

Riot of Color

2010-10-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's task--dye felt and paint paper. And boy did I have fun with it! In the morning, I took over the kitchen with felt, kool-aid, food color and vinegar. I had five different pans going at the same time and create 29 different 12"x32" strips of colored felt. When stacked up, they are nearly a foot thick. From the edges you can't see all the color combinations. They range from blue, green and purple to pink and orange. Now I just need to do some pieces with the entire rainbow and I'm set for a while. These will be cut into 12" x 12" pieces for the season's craft show and the those still around in December will go into my etsy shop. Plus, I will have a whole selection of 8"x12" pieces left over for my own use. I can't wait to experiment with them. After picking my son up from kindergarten, I broke out the paints. Now I have a rainbow of painted watercolor paper to use for gift tags. I have most of the inchies made, so I just need to put them together before next weekend. Next on the to do list is fabric paper. First on the list is shades of black and purple. I'm hoping to make a few Halloween pieces before the Etsy Rain show next weekend at the Seattle Center. Hopefully my schedule wont turn too crazy because I'm really excited to work on them. Off to make the raw materials.

Celebrate Exuberant Joy!

2010-10-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed my new banner and tag line. I have been thinking a lot about my art and goals. Why do I create? Why do I want to share my work with the world? How does my art benefit myself? Other people? Often the questions just seem to big, but occasionally I have time to sit quietly and actually think. And then the flash comes -- I want to embrace joy. I want to laugh at the imperfections. I want to dance in the kitchen. I want to be proud of simple accomplishments. I want to celebrate the details. I want to make the choice to be happy and inspire others to do the same.

So how does that translate into my art. Color! Texture! Imperfection! I'm striving to explore different color combinations. Orange has been my latest challenge. I'm finding that I love it in so many different combinations -- with hot pink or purple and green. It has such a voice that I've just categorically dismissed in the past. I want to turn off those thought that say "I don't like that" and open my eyes to the possibilities. And I don't want color to be flat. I want layers and depth. The trees are never just one shade of green or the sea simply blue. The colors dance and sing when you look closely. Texture is everywhere. From the soft polar fleece of my sweatshirt to the sleek computer, from the cold metal knobs of my desk to my warm socks. I am surrounded by so many little, unnoticed details. Give them life and showcase them. And of course imperfection. I know how perfection can immobilize me. I have always struggled with not wanting to try something I' not already good at. I'm letting go of the attitude of "if you can't do it right, don't do it at all" and allowing myself the opportunity to fail.

Okay, I admit that this all sounds a little high and mighty. I know that I will sometimes fall back into my ruts, I wont always step out and do the things I'm afraid of, I'll get caught up in the negative. But that's okay too. Just get back up and try again! And if I forget, I'm counting on you to remind me.

Circle Chaos

2010-09-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

It appears that a beautiful, sunny September day isn't the best for photographing. I'm really not complaining though -- I'll just have to wait to post all my latest work. I'm still having a lot of fun with my circle series! Here is the latest creation and I have a couple more I finished this morning. For now, I need to go enjoy the sun beause it really wont be here for much longer!

And the Winner is...

2010-09-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Mellisa Graham, who left me a the words "cheerful, dazzling and vibrant" via Facebook. My sincere thanks goes out to everyone for your help. I am so happy to know that my work brings cheer and color to so many people's lives. My biggest goal is to bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart. Thank you for letting me know that I accomplish that every day.

I Need Your Help!

2010-09-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

I would love a little input from all of you! What three words would you use to describe my art? Let me know and I will send a surprise to one lucky supporter. Just leave me a comment with your description and a way to get in contact with you. I will randomly choose a winner Monday morning and email you for your mailing address. Thanks for your help!

Lollipop, Lollipop

2010-09-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling so efficent! Another day of actually photographing and posting my work. I created these peices earlier in the summer and they have been sitting in a box ever since. I just love the fun circles. They remind me of the giant lollipops I would beg for as a kid. Luckily these don't produce any of the sticky mess!

Rainbow of Felt

2010-09-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

I finally found the time to list my dyed felt on Etsy. It has been on my to-do list for the last six months and for some reason I haven't made the time. Usually my excuse has been bad light for photography. I typically rely upon the sun and it has been either too bright or raining. Today we had a night overcast day, so I got to work. I managed to photograph, edit and list around 30 pieces in only a few hours. I know the advice is to space out listings on Etsy, but I knew if I didn't finish now it wasn't going to happen. I'm sure tomorrow something would come up and I have plenty on my to-do list anyways. So now I can cross this one off.

Circle Symphony

2010-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

Check out our latest work over at Twelve by Twelve. We have a lot of exciting news coming up, so stay tuned for a preview of the book cover.

Time to Celebrate

2010-08-03T15:03:00.001-07:00

Being the artist of the group I was put in charge of the invitations for one of my best friend's going away party. Their family will be heading off to Conneticut in September. We are all going to miss them very much. I'm hoping this will give me the excuse I need to hit the east coast and have some fun girl time!

For the invitations I went with a house on wheels. The joke around here is that people are going to think we are celebrating the purchase of a mobile home. Or perhaps we could all gather around to watch house movers move a 5 bedroom split level across country. I'm sure that would be quite entertaining.

Also on the agenda is my seven year old Princess Rosy's birthday. I'm a little behind on this one since her birthday was on July 4th, but whose going to complain about a party, even if it is a month late. Now I just need to figure out what to do with 14 princesses for two hours on Thursday. Wish me luck!

Art-o-mat at the Smithsonian

2010-07-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to learn that Art-o-mat has installed a machine at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Work has the chance of being in another famous museum! I really wish that I could travel as much as these little pieces of art. One of these days I'm going to make it to Washington DC and New York City, one of these days. Maybe we'll need to take a grand road trip around the country in the Airstream. For now I will be content that a piece of me is seeing the world.

Check out the news on the Art-0-mat website: http://news.artomat.org/

Summer

2010-07-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Have I told you how much I like summer. The sun does me well. I love the warmth, but like a true Pacific Northwestern, I love a cool breeze. I'm a wimp when it comes to hot. I really do try not to complain. I simply hide in the shade and not move or head to the water. These two art quilts, Summer Heat and Summer Reprieve, are my interpretations of summer and I love them both. Give me the heat to warm my soul and a cool breeze on the water as a reprieve.

Beautiful Summer Day at the Bluegrass Festival

2010-07-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a perfect summer day, sunny and 80 with a gentle breeze. We couldn't ask for better weather. I had fun at the Bluegrass Festival on Bainbridge even though there weren't many shoppers. Everyone who was spending money was there on vacation. I think us locals were used to the heat and chose to just sit and not move. Regardless, it was a wonderful day to be out at the park. I remembered for the first time to bring my camera and take a picture of the booth. Usually I have so many things on my mind and in my hands that I forget the camera. The sun was pretty bright and I couldn't even see what I was focusing on. I'm happy that I now have a record of how I set up the booth so I don't have to think as hard the next time.

I wouldn't exactly say the show was profitable, but at least I more than recovered my costs and had a good time. Sometimes I wonder why I do the shows. I'm sure I'm not attending the most popular shows. This is the first year that I have done it so I really don't know what I'm doing. I don't know which ones have the best traffic, most eager buyers or fit my work the best. Those I have chose have been easy. I didn't have to do a lot of research or travel very far. I'm a little intimidated by a three day show two hours from home. I think I need a little help if I am going to bite the bullet and go for a big show. For now, I'm learning. I'm figuring out what works for my display and what to look for in a show. Any advise would be appreciated. And then I know that I need to update my Etsy shop. I have a lot of new work and different things that I haven't listed. The to do list can get so long and I'm trying to enjoy the summer, my family and friends. Trying to give myself time to figure out what it is I really want and where I want to go. Life is so grand and there are so many options. I really want them all. For now, I will try not to pressure myself, but remember to take baby steps towards my goals.

Purple and Gold

2010-06-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

In preparation for tomorrow...

New Art Cards for Father's Day

2010-06-08T09:56:00.001-07:00

Here's a few of the Fiber Art Cards that I've created for Father's Day. I know I'm a little behind on listing them in the Etsy shop, but I've decided that I need to give myself a break. I would love to take my art career more seriously, but I just don't have the time at the moment. Instead of making it fun, I'm just putting too much pressure on myself and sapping out the joy. For now I'll do what I can. I hope you enjoy the cards!

Bits and Pieces for Art-O-Mat

2010-05-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

The final Bits and Pieces are labelled, boxed and ready to ship. Time to head out to FedEx. Keep an eye out for an Art-O-Mat machine near you!

I Felt ... again

2010-05-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the next batch of "I Felt..." I'm getting closer to checking off my list.

Pile of Dreams

2010-05-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share with you the pile of "Dreams" that I've been working on for Art-O-Mat. I've spent the day labelling and now I'm on to boxing everything and getting ready to send it off to Winston Salem, NC.

2010-05-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Check out our Kilauea inspired quilts over at Twelve by Twelve!

Rainbow of Roving

2010-04-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

While I was procrastinating working on my Twelve by Twelve piece I decided to dye up a whole rainbow of roving. Don't you love the colors!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

Dreaming of Spring Sprung!

2010-03-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest little quilts I whipped up this morning. I spent the weekend working with brown fabric to create the process photos for my Chocolate chapter. It kept reminding me of the bare earth outside and my desire to see green shoots popping up. I had add a few of my own to the rich dirt fabric. I started with the simple little green shoot on the top, but couldn't stop there. I of course wanted more and more color. Most likely these little quilt will travel off to Art-O-Mat some time in the near future. There are exciting happening over there and I'm looking forward to seeing where my work travels.

The Cuff Photo Shoot

2010-03-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

After the weekend photo shoot for Twelve by Twelve, I decided it was time to try to get some good photos of what I have been creating. I bought some black velvet for a backdrop and pulled out the tripod. It is amazing what a good set up can do! I don't have any special lighting, so I am still relying on natural daylight. This creates rather dramatic lighting coming through the window. My biggest challenge was getting the right exposure with the black velvet. The camera automatically wanted to over expose everything to make up for the dark background. All detail was lost in the strong contrast. I found that I had to make sure the light was very diffused and crank the exposure way down. With such long exposure times, I never could have done it without the tripod. I did find that I had to wait for the washing machine to finish the spin cycle because even that was causing some vibration that ruined the crispness. All in all, I'm happy with how the photos turned out. Next, I will have to work on staging, but for now I will just stick with the black velvet.

Photo Shoot Day

2010-03-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

Photos for the book are done! I wish that I could share the fruits of my long day, but they are top secret until our Twelve by Twelve book is published next spring. Instead I thought I would share my wonderful husband who spent our morning without children help me clean the living and dining rooms so everything would be camera ready. He even washed the windows inside and out. He truly is the most amazing man and I love him with all my heart. I also have my confession photo below. All the things that I didn't know what to do with got put in a spinach box from Costco. I also have a stack of papers that need a place in the file cabinet, but for now live precariously on shelf. During the photo shoot, I just moved them back and forth so it was out of the pictures. Now that I'm finishing some of my big to dos I should be able to put all of it away in a more appropriate place.

This week's to do are just to finalize my chapter and write some short statements about each of the quilts. I can't tell you how good it feels to be almost done! Next week at this time, I should be letting out a big sigh of relief!

Indie Banditas

2010-03-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

Come down and check out the new Indie Banditas Shoppe. I'll be hanging out tonight from 6-8pm for the Bainbridge Island First Friday Art Walk. Kate has done an awesome job of filling the store with treasures from Puget Sound Artists. I'm so excited that I received the honor of being her first sale! There will be live music and treats, so make sure to stop by if you are anywhere in the vicinity of Bainbridge.

Reboot

2010-03-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

Once again, its time for the Twelve by Twelve reveal. This theme is based on the colors Blue and White with a touch of black. I has a wonderful time playing with the soothing colors. I even managed to create three quilts, even it I still need to do the binding on two. Plus I'm using the same fabrics to create a wall hanging with wire and plus sized inchies. Make sure to hop over to Twelve by Twelve and check out all the wonderful quilts. I created my quilt using a simple disappearing nine patch technique. The results reminds me of a pixelated computer screen trying to reboot. Very fun and wild!

2010-01-22T08:06:00.001-08:00

Once again, we have a crazy morning around here. At least, last night we all turned in early-- 9:08 to be exact. After a couple of late nights followed by early mornings, I just couldn't do it. Actually, I never could. In college I was going to bed at 10pm to be ready for those 8:30am classes. Pregnant, I was in bed by 8pm. My bed time has now settled around 10:30. I'm just not productive after that. The kids use it all up. One problem with this set up is I'm not really a morning person either. As I write, it's after 8am and I'm not fully awake. I'm really a middle of the day person--late morning and early afternoon are my most productive times. It seems to work for me at the moment, as long as the chaos and to-do list doesn't become overwhelming. Yesterday was volunteer day at school, so there was no art around here. But Tuesday and Wednesday were a productive days. I pulled out some of the some of the fabrics that I quilted and painted before Christmas and got to work. My newest creations are these Art Quilt Cuffs. They make wonderful, warm bracelets for the winter. I've never been a jewelery person in past, but I'm enjoying exploring the medium. I also made a bunch of Treasure Boxes, both big and small and inchies for cards, tags, and bookmarks.

Ugly Duckling Art Yarn and Time to Just Do It

2010-01-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

Good Morning. Another sleepy day at the Wheeler house, but at least this morning the sun is poking through the clouds and the sunrise was gorgeous. I have to admit that, like many people, I have a very hard time with January. It's dark. It's cold. I just feel blah. Pretty much every January it's the same story. Some years I force myself to do a little more, some years less. I know that just getting started always helps. I need to create. I need to exercise. I need to get outside and get some fresh air and sunshine. And most of all I need to not feel guilty about all the things I should be doing and just don't have the umph to do. I guilt will bring me to a sliding halt every time. So this year, I'm just going to do it in the moment and not worry about all the "shoulds." Baby steps! Every moment is new--a chance for a new start, new resolve, new opportunities, new ideas.

My hope is to warm up my writing skills again and get back to blogging. I know that I've been very neglectful over the past year and a half. I'm always so distracted with life. My head is swimming with everything. It's time to add a little clarity and get some of it written down.

I'm finally bringing a little order back to my house after the holidays and have time to create a little. I've played with my birthday toy, a Louet drum carder. Time to use that big box of fiber that I brought home from Art Fiber Fest fall 2008. I spun 10 skeins of what I call "Ugly Duckling" art yarn. I just started throwing everything into the carder. It didn't really matter the fiber, the color, the texture. It all went in. The colors are definitely more muted than I typically work with, but I really like the way they turned out. The little flakes of color are so fun and the combinations a surprise. The majority of the yarns are a soft brown from a large amount of dark, natural fiber. I did concentrate the pink in two batts, creating a brighter base for all the color. I think my favorite is a soft cream with flecks of pink and green and even some bright sparkly green firestar. I spun them very bulky. I noticed it was a little harder to do since I have been spinning thinner and thinner. I had to make a conscience effort to not draft the fiber significantly. Four ounces of fiber yeilded about 50 yards each. They each have their own character and are fun to explore. For now, I'm putting them up in my Etsy shop, but as the perfect project comes along I will steal them for myself.

Pink Explosion

2010-01-15T16:46:00.000-08:00

I've been playing the fabrics that I created for my "Pink Refractions" quilt. I had a request from an Etsy customer for a pink treasure box since the red one sold before she could purchase it. The request inspired me to bring out the sewing machine (still my daughter's since mine is waiting for a part on backorder) and get to work. I've made several treasure boxes for the Indie Banditas Valentine's show on Bainbridge next month. I also made some small, individual chocolate sized boxes for gift giving. And I couldn't help making inchies. I've used them on a pile of cards and plan on making some little notebooks also.

I thought I would share my photo shoot set up. Typically I would try to take photos outside, but the weather has not cooperated. The days have been wet and dark. There hasn't even been enough light to charge the solar flashlight. Instead I set up a couple chairs drapped with a sheet on the dining room table. I used the chandelier and added a clip on light. With the six light bulbs I was able to have enough light for an in focus shot. I did need to do a little color correcting from the light bulbs, but I pretty happy with make shift set up.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T23:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, just in case I don't manage to stay awake for the next 54 minutes. December has once again been a whirlwind with a house full of crazy, excited children. After working nonstop to prepare for the two craft shows in November and a flurry of custom orders for Christmas, I have created very little the last two weeks. My sewing machine is in the shop and every flat surface is covered in Legos or board games. I decided to take a break from the toys and cleaning and put together a few little creativity kits to list in my Etsy shop. It gave me a chance to play with my supplies without committing to a project in the mist of Christmas vacation chaos. Very fun for me and hopefully I will be able to inspire someone else to make the jump into fiber and mixed media.

Pink Refractions

2009-12-14T07:16:00.000-08:00

Make sure to hop over to Twelve by Twelve and check out all the new pink quilts and our next colorplay theme!

Custom Journal Complete!

2009-12-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

Yay! Another thing checked off my list. I've spent the last week working on this custom journal. I'm not typically a warm color, especially brown, person, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. Plus I've been having major sewing machine frustrations. It just doesn't want to do the metallic thread. I need to take it in to be serviced, but just don't have the time for it right now. I really like how the journal turned out. It is filled with watercolor paper so it is ready for the artist to fill. I hope everyone likes it!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-12-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

What can I say--I, like so many of you, have been crazy busy and have sadly neglected to write. Please forgive me! I had a wonderful time at both the Etsy Rain and Indie Banditas holiday bazaars. I did well with sales and now have my own Christmas budget to spend. Plus, I saved money by having no time to shop. No Black Friday shopping when I'm half asleep and buy things I wouldn't normally just because they are a good deal. I wasn't sucked in this year! Instead I've been creating!

I've been posting lots of new stuff in my etsy shop. I have holiday cards and gift tags featuring fiber art plus sized inchies. Plus bookmarks, treasure boxes and original art. I would love for you all to check it out and let me know what you think!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your love and encouragement. I am blessed to have such great friends, both in person and all of you that I have met on the internet!

The Secret is Out!

2009-11-23T20:12:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to share some VERY EXCITING news... The Twelve by Twelve artists are excited twelve times over to announce that: (drum roll, please.... ) Sterling Publications/Lark Books will soon be publishing a book on our Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt project! We are thrilled beyond words to have this wonderful opportunity, and so happy that our art endeavors and friendships are turning us into authors, too. We know that Lark was impressed by the loyal folks who follow our blogs and website, so thanks to all of you friends-of-Twelves for your encouraging words through our explorations! We'll keep you posted as we know publication dates. We are lifting a virtual glass of champagne to each other and to all of you for your support!

Matchbook Notebook Fun

2009-10-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've been busy creating these fun little matchbook notebooks to give away in the swag bags at the Etsy RAIN Holiday Show. Each is 2"x3" and filled with blank paper, ready to fill up with secret notes. I just love these. My daughters create little books filled with pictures and stories. Santa even used one last year to keep track of his naughty and nice list. They are the perfect size to slip into a pocket or little purse. Be one of the first 50 customers either Saturday, November 21st or Sunday November 22nd at the Etsy RAIN Holiday Show at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle. Or if you can't make the show, I will be giving them away as a free gift with all orders from my Etsy show through the end of the year.

Spin, Spin, Spin

2009-10-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've been spinning in so many ways -- the most enjoyable has been this beautiful yarn. Each skein, except the dark grey, is hand dyed light grey Corridale wool. I then plied it with metallic thread to create a soft, wavy yarn. Very fun! Right now I am building up my stock for the two craft shows I'm doing next month. And then I will list it all in my Etsy shop. I thinking $5 per skein, plus $.25 per yard. $17.50 for a 50 yard skein, $30 for a 100 yard skein. It seems reasonable for hand dyed, hand spun yarn. Let me know what you think!

Busy Days filled with Feelings

2009-10-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

I really thought with 3 of the 4 kids in school I would have more free time. I'm now realizing that isn't going to happen. I'm just busier driving around, volunteering at school, supervising homework and entertaining the four year old. I guess, it's just time to get used to it and get to work.

These are a few more from my "I Felt" series. The small format seems to be about all I can accomplish these days--even the 12"x12" size seems larte. It's a season, right? Just wanted to let you know I'm still around and my intentions are to be a better blogger.

Oh, and look for posts coming up for the EtsyRAIN Holiday Craft Show and Indie Banditas Bazaar because I thought I need a couple more things to do this fall!