Quilt Alliance - Animals We Love

Every year the Quilt Alliance has a contest and auction to raise money for their nonprofit organization. They were established in 1993 with the intention of documenting, preserving and sharing the American quilting heritage. 

I have participated in their contest every year since I first discovered it in 2010. Creating a quilt based on their theme always invigorates me and brings me back into quilting. This year the theme was, "The Animals We Love." Recently we have frequently watched the Mexico themed movie, "Book of Life". After chatting with my husband, who is of Mexican ancestry, we came up with the idea of a sugar skull bull, a Muerto Toro.

I started the quilts with improvisational piecing of black and white fabric. I wanted the background to be neutral, but also have contrast to the bright colors that would be placed next.

Then I freehand cut the basic shape and large shaded areas of the bull face in bright, fanciful colors.

Once I was happy with the general layout, the large pieces were machine appliqued on with matching thread. Then I freehand cut the small applique accents to the bull face.

The background then became a little too quiet and I needed some color impact. I quickly drew out flying geese on a narrow strip of paper to foundation piece on.

That linear flying geese looked incredibly abrupt placed into the improved back. I did more chopping and moving so that it flowed better. The color shapes became representative of  fans cheering the Toro on in the ring. Since marigolds are traditional at Dia de los Muertos, there is a giant bloom on Toro and petals thrown from the crowd. It is now realized that Toro is no longer a fighting hero, but has fallen and moved into the next world.

All the small applique bits are hand embroidered on with perle cotton in unique touches.

Large Swarvoski beads are couched on to Toro's eye and falling tears.

Bright and in your face graffiti machine quilting covers his face and the crowd. 

The remaining background of black and white are lovingly hand quilted in big strokes with perle cotton.

I love Toro and was sad to see him off, but I hope he raises lots of money for the Quilt Alliance. And I maybe fully intending on buying him back at the auction!

I am entering this quilt and blog post into the Blogger's Quilt Festival on Amy's Creative Side. If this quilt is one that you love, please consider voting for it. XO

Mr. Sunshine

Mr.Sunshine - 2012

Wowzers! This art quilt took way longer than I had anticipated. I originally wanted to do a series of sugar skulls with different bone tones. I may still continue to slowly work on that series, but I have seriously missed my personal November deadline.. My pregnancy exhaustion mixed with two active little girls has required I slow way down. It's been a great test of my patience and I'm glad I saw this through to the end.

It is a collage applique style with shimmery tulle machine quilted on top. Lots and lots of hand embroidery on the face.

Really enjoyed working with such bright colors and a primitive design. The more I shut off the parts of the brain that tell me what is trendy and I listen to my inner voice, the more fulfilling my work has become.

I can't wait for 2013! I have a number of collage series that I will be working on. I have 4-5 macabre carnival sketches that I'm itchy to sketch on fabric. I'm going to also try moving my art quilting style on to wearable goods by request.. i.e. clutches, scarves, and more. And I have bought a TON of silk painting supplies and I'm so excited to jump in and learn something new. I haven't found too much current information on silk painting or in combination with applique quilting, so I'm planning on documenting my fails and scores on the blog in the hopes of helping others.

WIPS this week

Near the end of last month it dawned on me that in the space of two weeks I had Baby's 2nd birthday, Sewing Summit, and a big Disney trip. All wonderful! Except I'm that crazy loon that thinks each event needs all kinds of handcrafted items. Gah!

So here are my WIPS for the week, note I have not even started on the Disney stuff ( don't mind me hyperventilating over here..)

For Sewing Summit.. I made my Weekender bag..

My zipped pouch for the swap and my nametag..

What's left? Well I have two days to finish a camera strap and some fun clothes. We'll see what is accomplished..

I've been slowly working on this quilt for a bit. Playing with string blocks and the idea of a deconstructed chevron. In the interest of time though this may end up being a runner or a quilt with *lots* of negative space..

Working on my next collage, which will actually be a series of sugar skulls. P.S. If the skull theme is not your taste, have no fears.. I'll be moving on to my next series in November ;o) I know it's not for everyone, but it is something I've wanted to play with for awhile now..

And lastly, working on completing my second table runner for the holidays made with circle appliques. The ornaments were fun and I love their whimsy.

Starting to wonder how many seasonal runners I will be able to design with just the circles!

What are you working on?

Beauty & the Beast - Part One (The Fun, Artsy Part)

Well if you are friends with me on Instagram, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Yup, I drank THE kool-aid, I made an Amy Butler Weekender bag. Let me preface that I did not originally intend to.. Okay, here's what happened..

I used to live in Arizona and that's where I was first introduced to the mega fabulous Crafty Chica. I fell in love with her style, her confidence, and her desire to inspire. She is such an amazing artist and inspirational, positive Latina role model for my two ankle biters. I have followed her success and am so happy to watch her make it national and with a craft line of her own.

This past month I had the opportunity to work with one of her craft products - flocked decals. Not boring ol' traditional puppies and teddy bears, but really awesome designs that you will want to go crazy with. And I went crazy all right!

I ironed on the flocked decals to white linen - I knew I wanted a canvas-ish base to work off of. For the sacred heart, I used watered down acrylic paints to bring it to life. You could of course use fabric paints or even the Crafty Chica's fabric pens!

For the muertos couple, I really wanted to enjoy some mixed media flavor.. lots of paint with lots of hand embroidery.

There is SO much embroidery that is hard to highlight in the pictures. If you are going to Sewing Summit in a few weeks, come get a closer look! The flocked decal was perfect for this mixed media project. It provided yummy texture and a fabulous base for painting.

Needless to say, quite a few hours went into working on the decals. I didn't want to just frame it, I wanted to enjoy this all the time. With Sewing Summit around the corner, I thought it would be fabulous to create The Weekender bag and include this as the highlight.

And I do have lots to say about the actual construction of the bag.. which I will give you later this week in Part Two.. Until then Click here to see if a Michaels store in your area is carrying the Crafty Chica line.

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I received this complimentary product from CraftyChica.com as part of the Crafty Chica Design Team, 

 and was asked to share an original DIY project.

Dresden Challenge - SLMQG

I have been a member of the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild for almost a year. I've met friends, learned new techniques, been inspired, and most important - been surrounded by others that understand a love of fabric.

The SLMQG came up with a challenge that has taken on a life of its own. We were tasked with creating a Dresden quilt, inspired by Darlene Zimmerman's amazing template.

What did I make? 

I made an art quilt inspired by Dia de los Muertos. I love Day of the Dead! My husband is of Mexican heritage and it is important to me that our daughters embrace their Latin roots. Day of the Dead is NOT Halloween. It is not scary. It is a joyful occasion when families remember and celebrate those that have passed. Decorations are bright, cheerful, and yes lots of skulls.

Why did I make an art quilt? I quite often struggle with my love for true art and what is considered mainstream. I have boxes full of patterns from designers that appeal to the masses. And I love them.. However when I create, many time I'm trying to express a feeling, a thought.. something that may speak to only a few. But do these two loves always have to conflict? I don't think so..

So the challenge to me was to use this amazing Dresden template - something that would be a great tool for all quilters.. and make something that spoke from my heart. Something that I consider beautiful and unique.

On my quilt I have a folded rose with skull..

Lots of hand embroidery

Free motion quilting and lots of painting..

I hope this inspires you to try creating a bridge between traditional quilting with art quilting. Darlene Zimmerman's template laid the foundation for a perfect Dresden circle. It created a crucial base for my art quilt. I can't wait to play with this more! This template also makes a fabulous mini tree skirt, which was my original idea.. Come back later this month and maybe you will find a Halloween tree skirt using this same template!