Long Beach Quilt Festival

Well, I hope you all will excuse my long absence from blogging - my father has been in the intensive care unit for days and the hospital for weeks. My brother and sister flew out here from far away, fearing the worst... The doctors actually performed surgery for a broken hip on an 86 year old man with lung cancer, limited breathing and limited kidney function. Now he is in rehab and we have all sighed a collective sigh of relief.

Before all this happened, I attended the Long Beach Quilt Show. It was wonderful! I took lots of pictures and visited many vendors. There were not as many vendors as in the past, but I chalked that up to the current economic conditions... Here are a few pix of the quilts I really liked.

This one is called "Derevnya Russian Fairytale Village 3" by Natalya Aikens of New York. It appeared to be made on blocks of non-woven interfacing, layered and pieced together. It was very unique.

The following 2 detail shots are from a quilt called "Come fly in my Garden" by Phyllis Green of California. My shot of the whole quilt came out too blurry, but this was a lovely piece of work. So many of the quilts now have shiny metallic threads and I don't know how to make sure the photos aren't just full of glare...


This one is "Birch Tree Sunlight" by Pam Berry of California. She let the rays of the sun float freely at their ends.


This quilt is called "Best of Show" by Donna Watter of California. I thought it confusing to call a quilt by this name, since some actual winners are called this, but then I suppose a peacock would be that proud....
I love the 3D effect of the pom-poms and also the shell shapes...






This one is called "Bell aka Fairy Lantern" by Robin West of California. Below is a detail shot.



This one is called Ahuimanu Stream and is by Elizabeth Schowalter of Hawaii. The close-ups show the vast variety of fabrics used in the flowers.




It was a great show and I will put more pix in my next post!
~LinMoon

Undersea Wonder Bra done

Well I've finished the Undersea Wonder bra. Here are some pictures. The "seaweed" on the left side is really some "fuzzy" foliage taken off a silk flower stem. It made me realize, tho, that if you had something plastic that you wanted to paint and the paint wouldn't stick to it, you could flock it first, then paint it, since the flocking is what would absorb the paint.










Oh, and at the bottom is a picture of the charm pin I made ages ago, that inspired the "Think Pink" bra. I really had a lot of fun making these bras - it sort of solves the problem for me of what to do with what I make. I hate to spend a lot of time on something, then have it sit in a closet or a drawer - I can't display everything I make - there's just not enough horizontal space!

New Bra - Think Pink!

Well, I got sidetracked and ended up making a bra I didn't even plan to do....

I haven't yet finished my "Under the Sea" bra - the mermaid's hair is done and she looks pretty good, but I need to add some other stuff to that side of the bra. In the meantime, I came upon a brooch I made a long time ago - it was a heart and I had glued pearl buttons, brass charms and filled in all the spaces with small pearls. It turned out really pretty (IMHO), but way too heavy to wear, so it just sits in a drawer. I'll try to take a pic of it.... Anyway, I thought why not make a pink version, but on a bra? You can see the results below. It was really fun to get out all my pink stuff - some things I bought never knowing what I would use them for, since they are really too big for CQ. You can certainly work a lot faster when you glue things, than when you stitch them on! But I really do love doing embroidery, so I can't see this becoming a way of life....



This one will be going to North Carolina for display and will be auctioned off for Breast Cancer Research at my church's event later.
Happy Stitching,
Lin Moon

Raised Cup Stitch

SharonB's TAST stitch for the week is the Raised Cup Stitch. This is one of my all-time favorite stitches, since it makes a flower and I love flowers. I think it's easiest to do this stitch with a fiber that doesn't split easily, like velour or silk ribbon. Click here for my detailed RAISED CUP STITCH TUTORIAL, in case you have trouble with this stitch - it is well worth learning!

Below are some examples of flowers I have made. Do you see the blue flower made of ombre picot-edged ribbon? Just to the right of it is a cream colored raised cup flower made using velour thread. I put a pink french knot in the center. Just to the left of the same blue flower is a pink raised cup flower.











On this last one, after making the flower out of velour, I went back with 3 strands of cotton floss and did a buttonhole stitch around the outer edges.

Happy Stitching,
Lin Moon

The Other Side

Here's the other side of the bra - the beginnings of a mermaid (you were right, Freda!)
I divided silk buttonhole thread into 3 strands, ironed it straight and used that to embroider her features. Then I wrapped her face around a specially shaped piece of cardboard that was padded with felt. Her neck and body are just an applique of cotton fabric, over a piece of felt. Her arm has cardboard in it, which is making the embroidery of her hair a little tricky. I haven't yet decided about her tail. I had made a tail out of some shimmery fabric, which I may have to use if I run out of time, but I'd really like to give her tail some scales, so we'll have to see how that goes. I've been really busy because I took on a temporary job working for the US Census. That has been quite an experience - some people are very nice, some are very paranoid about the government!

And, the other thing keeping me out of the sewing room is the garden. It seems to be daylily and amaryllis season in my yard!

















And at the end is the angel watching over it all....

Time for Another Bra

Well, it's time for another bra! This time the bra is for my church, which is doing a "Bras for a Cause" exhibit in North Carolina in June. The bras will earn money that will go to breast cancer research.

This time I started out with a different bra - I think it was a cheaper one, because when I tried to dye it using Dy-Na-Flow, like I did before, it didn't take. It was so strange, I would go to bed and the bra would be awash in wonderful color, then the next morning, there would be a blue-green spot of color in the center and the rest of the bra would be white again. Polyester doesn't take dye well, so I think this bra has a higher percentage of polyester. Sooo, I ended up painting the bra with Lumiere paints and loved the way it came out! You can see in the picture, all the great blues, greens and turquoises. Also, that gold in there is great.


I started on the right side, with the undersea embroidery and beads, pearls, shells, charms - it's so much fun! I'm not quite finished with this side; I want to add a jellyfish at the top.

Some closeups of the sea...It's amazing, when I'm doing CQ or jewelry, I don't like the misshaped beads or the stone beads. Then, when doing something like this, those beads are so valuable. That just fuels my desire to never get rid of anything....


I'm not quite ready to divulge my plans for the left side of the bra - you'll just have to be surprised!

Happy Stitching,
Lin Moon

Quilting Arts Books

I've been looking at a couple of books on Quilting Arts, pictured above. Quilting Art by Spike Gillespie features the works and ideas of 20 contemporary quilters. Although all the artists are contemporary, the range of work shown in this book is quite extensive. In addition to the many quilts shown, there are 3D sculptures, as well as my favorite (by Mary Beth Bellah), a quilt that lays on ground, then curves upward to be vertical(!) called "Rising Water", featured at Quilt National in 2007.

When you read this book, you feel like you're visiting each artist; you hear how they got started, how they think, see how they work.... Each artist's section includes a feature entitled "Advice From ". Many of them advise the artist to "do it your own way". One piece of advice I found surprising was rather than pursuing new techniques, instead you should work on yourself and deepen your ability to express yourself through your art. I tend to get excited when I hear about a new technique, and I think this artist has a good point.

The Quilting Arts Book, edited by Pokey Boulton contains sections on many different techniques, each discussed by a different fabric artist. The first few chapters are by Linda & Laura Kemshall and talk about where they get their ideas (their most frequently asked question.) The following chapters include information on reverse applique', fusing, eco-friendly quilting, foiling, beading, wax pastels, paintstiks, discharge dying, and many other techniques. Although there are other books that include this type of information with a similar format, I really like the fact that a different artist discusses each method and suggests ways to try it out. It makes the technique seem more personal, like getting advice from the artist herself.

I love what Lyric Kinard says about being artistic. She questions why so many people think artists are simply born creative; instead of considering creativity something we can all learn and develop, step by step, similar to the way a young child learns to read simple books, and develops her ability, so she can go on to enjoy something as advanced as Shakespeare. (She says it much better, but I hesitate to quote the book, since it is copyrighted...)

I found these books both a joy to read...

~Lin Moon

Guardian Angel Art Bra Done

Well I've finished embellishing/decorating my Art Bra. I used silk ribbon, braid, yarn, beads, sequins, and organdy ribbon. I dyed the fabrics and many of the embellishments using Jacquard's Dye-na-flow. It's so easy - just paint it on! I bought a couple of exciter packs and was disappointed that JoAnn's no longer seems to carry them - but they are so good to try out the different dyes/paints in small quantities. In the case of fabric or ribbon, I washed it, then heat set it by ironing. If it was some embellishment that would be flattened or ruined by washing/ironing, I just shot it with some steam from my iron to set it. I have to say, this was one of the funnest(is that a word?) parts of the project - to be able to make whatever color I wanted. I looked for this color of pink fabric at my local JoAnn's, but could only find pale pale pink or hot hot pink. So, back to home to dye some! Besides I have boxes of fabric and really try hard not to buy any more.


Here's the angel, with her archway of mother-of-pearl stars in the sky....She was really fun to make also. The ribbon encircling her dress was pale turquoise with white stitching, so I dyed it to match the dress. The gold edging on the top of her dress is the edging on some woven ribbon that I cut off. Her breasts are, guess what, pom poms! They were just the right size and I made a little "bra" cover for them so she wouldn't have bumpy boobs! It was a good idea to use something lightweight like parachute silk for her dress, since she's rather small and I could make it look compact while still being able to manipulate it the way I wanted. That was one thing with some of the other paints by Jacquard - I painted some ribbons, etc. with Lumiere, but it changes the hand of the fabric, so the ribbon was then too stiff to gather, etc.



And here are the two put together...I almost think the bra is fine without the angel, but after all she WAS my inspiration, so...


All in all, this was a very satisfying project to work on - very few limitatations, very open-ended, I loved it!

Happy creating,
Lin Moon

Half of Bra Front Done

Well, I'm almost done with the front of my Art Bra. Ironically, most of this won't show because it will be covered up by the guardian angel, but I am still having lots of fun!

Happy Stitching,
Lin Moon

Art Bra Angel done

Well I've finished the guardian angel for my Art Bra. The cups of the bra are almost all done, then I just have to cover the sides of the bra and the straps, then finish the inside cups and cover up my stitching mess!

The inspiration for this Art Bra comes from an old song by Mario Lanza my mother used to play. I just love this song, although it's not the usual genre for me. But while making this bra, I kept thinking and hoping that the women suffering from breast cancer know that there are tons of women like me who would love to be their guardian angels, wiping their tears, shooing away the bears. Women who wish them hope, health, comfort, happiness, and healing and who send prayers their way constantly.

Guardian angels around my bed
Joining me in my prayers
They hush the shadows when they dance about
They shoo away the bears
Guardian angels to comfort me
If I wake in the night
They gather all my dreams
Their halos are my light

They dry my tears
If I should weep
They tuck me in
They rouse me from my sleep

Guardian angels around my bed
Standing by till I rise
There's one with shining wings that holds my hand
And shows me Paradise

Art Bra started

Well, since the angel and her wings are done, I've started working on the actual bra. It has 3 color areas on each cup and I am adding lots of texture to each area and then trying to blend it in with the next color. It is really fun to use beads, sequins, yarns, ribbons, trims and embroidery! These 3 colors are the colors I used in her wings. There's lots more to do, but it is really fun!

Happy Stitching,
Lin Moon

angel done

Well I finished my angel's head/hair - it took me hours! I painted sequins, then rejected them. I settled on a flower bead, then changed my mind. I made ribbon rosettes, then chucked them. I tried this bead, that bead, this color, that color - I changed my mind a million times! This is a really small face, so it was hard to use small enough items to stay in scale. I hope I didn't overdo it with all the decorations near her face. I was going for a sort of Art Nouveau look, and so many of my ideas didn't pan out.

I didn't really have a plan for her hair, except that I wanted a bun, and I didn't really leave long enough strands to work with, so I had to work around that. To make her bun, I wrapped a pipe cleaner into a donut shape, then wound it with floss to match her hair in case any showed through later. Then I pulled her pony tail through the donut and pulled the strands of her pony tail down over the donut. I added some parts of earring findings (bead caps) to her bun, after coloring them with an 18K gold pen. I wound 2 strands of floss around a doll needle and ironed it to make her tendrils.

Well, now it's time to work on the bra that she will grace; I painted it with some dyes and have been waiting for it to dry. Gotta get this in a mail in a few weeks, so time is running out...but I am soooo enjoying myself working on this - it's all I think about!

Happy Stitching,
Lynne

Art Bra for WtWW

Here is my angel for the Art Bra I am working on. I haven't yet figured out what I'm doing with her hair, so it's flying a little loose...She's kind of a flat doll, since she'll go on the center of the bra. I had a great time making her dress - I dyed some parachute silk with Dye-Na-Flow and wrapped it sort of free-formed over her. Her face is embroidered, with a little chalk for added color. I also dyed the ribbon under her bodice, etc. to match the dress. She will have wings, of course and a halo.

The latest issue of CQMagOnline contains a Call for ArtBra Submissions. This is a "Can't Lose" proposition. There won't be any rejection letters. If your bra is one of the best, it might make it into the calendar. But even if it doesn't, your bra will be auctioned off and the money goes to support Breast Cancer research. There's no downside! It seems like a wonderful way to support this research and at the same time to be creative. Join me and make an Art Bra!
Happy creating,
~Lin Moon

angel wings

I've decided to try designing an art bra, featuring an angel in the center. I'm not quite finished with the angel, but here are her wings. I started out with white wool-felt wings and felted on some beige roving, then proceeded with random stitches of different textures of pinks, turquoises, purples and gold. I love mixing these textures and colors - such fun!

I forgot to include these gorgeous pictures of the saucer magnolias that were all abloom at UCLA when I went the the Fowler Museum (see previous post).





Aren't they wonderful?