Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Things That Make Me Happy (a.k.a. Thanksgiving)

For many years we celebrated Thanksgiving at my brother's home in Austin, Texas. Roy and I would drive from Mississippi through East Texas and pick up my parents for the large family/friends gathering. This year Linda and I ate the buffet at Golden Corral. The food was acceptable but not memorable. A good thing and a sad thing--we didn't have all those delicious leftovers. But we were thankful for many things!
I had the neatest surprise recently. I love to make and mail fabric postcards. One I sent in 2007 turned up in an estate sale and was returned to me. What a delight to know that someone had placed this little card among her keepers. An additional surprise was to see that the postage stamp pictured the image of my Baltimore Album quilt. At the time I had these stamps printed, first class rate was 41 cents. Did you know you could get stamps printed with your choice of images (for a small fee)?
Click to enlarge any picture.


I have made progress on the three cats fabric collage, beginning on the left with Rahrah. Her coloring is a strange mixture of tan, gray, orange, with a hint of darker stripes irregularly placed.

Tarbaby is in the middle, with his solid black fur, highlighted by some sunlight from the window.

Elizabeth is done with shades of lavender and purple for a little whimsy.
How does Elizabeth know when I'm working on her image? She didn't pay any attention to the piece as I worked on the other two cats but had to be close enough to supervise her part!
Another thing that makes me happy--the dedication of my daughter Linda to fostering kittens. She was recognized in a monthly feature as "People Who Make a Difference" in our newspaper. She not only fosters kittens but will take kittens with ringworm and treat and bathe them to get them back to good health. Here is a link to the article and pictures in the Hattiesburg American.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

After Elizabeth, What's Next?

I enjoyed creating the fabric collage of Elizabeth (and have so much fabric already sorted by color!) that I think I will tackle another piece, this time of all three cats. They are intently looking out a window with bright sunshine on the table and on their backs, making interesting highlights. There is probably a squirrel or lizard out there.
Rahrah, Tarbaby, and Elizabeth

My starting point

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Susan Carlson Retreat Part 3--Elizabeth, My Almost Perfect Cat

Elizabeth, My Almost Perfect Cat, 34" x 25"
Well, Elizabeth's whiskers are done and facing on the back, even the sleeve.
I thought and experimented with several ways to depict her whiskers (and even those little eyebrow hairs) and decided on a Madiera Glamour thread in two sizes--two-ply and six-ply white/glittery thread with a touch of glue for stiffness. The whiskers are attached to the face but are loose except where they are sewn in. They are stitched to a tiny bit of batting over white lace, which added a slight fullness or puffiness to the two cheek pads.
Click any picture to enlarge.
Detail of whiskers

Elizabeth checking on the Madiera threads

Ear hair made with hairy ribbon overlaid with tulle
Okay, can I take a nap in your lap now?
Linked with Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2017/11/craft-vs-art-off-wall-friday.html

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Portland, Maine, retreat with Susan Carlson, Part 2

It has been two weeks since I came home from Susan Carlson's fabric collage retreat in Portland. I've had such a good time working on Elizabeth! Here is how she looked on the last day in Maine, and then her progress:


Elizabeth on the background

Adding shadows

Adding more shadows
 
Quilting
Trying to quilt with Elizabeth's help
She seems quite pleased--won't stay off of it!
All done but the whiskers and facing

Susan Carlson wrote a blog post about the retreat. You can read it here and see pictures of the  other students'  pieces in progress. She is an amazing teacher and I would love to take another class with her!