The Dancer

I have to admit these colors were a challenge to me, and I'm not exactly sure why.  I spent a long time thinking about what I wanted to do, going from abstract back to realistic.  I traced the Lorikeet, took out some lines, enlarged it, but nothing grabbed me.  I eventually started focusing on just the colors, and what they reminded me of.  What came to mind was the various dancers we saw in Peru.

We saw festival dancers and street dancers, and they all had wonderful colorful outfits on and were kicking up their feet to the music.

While the colors were not the same, they were all vibrant like the colors Brenda chose.

This gave me the idea to try something with a dancer, with flowing skirts and colorful clothing.  I new right away that I didn't want the whole body in the piece, as I don't do faces or limbs well.

So I found some green that I had screenprinted a while ago, and the red-orange and yellow- orange were in my stash, I just needed to paint the designs on them.  The blue was difficult, I couldn't seem to come up with the blue Brenda had posted.  I think this is a little darker, but it works.  I added some hand stitching and satin stitched it together.

Lorikeet Dreaming

It's already 1 September here in Australia and I awoke to the sound of lorikeet chatter. It's hardly English birdsong but it still makes me smile. I've made two pieces for this challenge.  I'll show the "official" piece later today.  In the meantime, here is the unofficial piece Dreamlines #4: Lorikeet Dreaming a continuation of my Dreamlines series:

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True Colours

I've found working with this palette much more challenging than I expected. Those saturated colours work so well in nature but, as Terry has remarked, are quite intense in a small composition but see that lime collar, that brings some relief!

Many before me have been entranced by the colours of rainbow lorikeets.  Tomorrow I hope to visit the exhibition The Governor: Lachlan Macquarie 1810 to 1821. Among the exhibits is the intriguing Macquarie Collector's Chest and look what's inside one of the main compartments.

Not Quite Done with the Last Challenge

I bought beads to make a fancy edge treatment for my Purple and Yellow Complementary challenge, but I ran out of time to actually sew them on.



But, a few weeks ago, after a little web research, I was in the mood to try a little beading. I'm glad I wasn't rushed because I tried four different designs before I liked the result. The finished border is nothing like what I had originally imagined. But, I really like it, and I think it adds to the contrasts between the two halves.



I know that technically we have an alloted amount of time on these, but in the spirit of experimentation, I really, really, really wanted to see what it looked like with sparkly beads!

Everyday, it's a gettin' closer...

Here are Gerrie and I (Terry) reviewing the color proofs of the Twelve by Twelve book. We are in the home stretch. I believe this is the last edit before the book is printed. I feel extra lucky that the rest of the "twelves" trusted me for this final proofing step because I got to see how beautiful it is going to be. Takes my breath away. Truly. When I pulled the spreads out of the big envelope, the title page was right on top, with the book's title (Twelve by Twelve The International Art Quilt Challenge) and each of our twelve names listed. I had to take a moment to just sit and look at that title page.

Lark Books, our publisher, has done a wonderful job with the design and layout and especially the photography of our quilts. Gerrie and I were seeing details we had never seen before. There is so much information and insight and humor and, well, love in this book. I know it is there for the twelve of us and I hope it shines through for everyone who reads it.

The publication date is March, 2011. We will let you know when it can be ordered or if the date changes. We are so excited to share what has been an incredible journey with all of you!

Possibilities

When we visited relatives in St. Louis this summer, Aunt Nancy encouraged me to look through some drawers of old linens and take what I wanted. I just realized I chose several pieces with "lorikeet" potential!
Of course, I'll have to tackle that mess in the background before I can really dive into the creative process.

Gotcha! (almost)

I completed my first lorikeet piece (apart from the facing) a week or three ago. But the bright scraps were calling and I grabbed them before the idea went away:

Sneak Peek from Gericon

I finished up a couple of weeks of marathon quilting for my Q=A=Q submission. I have another big project to work on, but before I got to that, I thought I better get the next theme done. I was clueless when I went down to my studio and started looking at fabrics and paints. Then I spied my drawer of roving. Bingo. So I started to do some machine felting, but I broke the screw that the needles attach to on my Bernina. What to do?

Nuno felting! I think I like it better. So this is a sneak peek at a corner. Because you get a lot of shrinkage with felting, I was not sure what I would end up with. But it is just about 12 inches square. After it dries, I will do some hand stitching and maybe some embellishment.

Deja vu

It just occurred to me that I made a lorikeet colored quilt several years ago. It was a sample for my American Quilter magazine article about my fusing method. I had completely forgotten. Go figure—

Two done

I almost never make more than one piece for a 12 x12 challenge, but I have now finished two and can't decide between them. They are entirely different. I can't say that I love either one. I am having a really hard time with this color palette. Too intense for me. Too Fisher-Price.

On a personal note. We are waiting for our grandson to be born. It will be soon. Emily is feeling some contractions, but nothing very strong or regular. Keep us in your thoughts.

Lorikeet Quilt - Check!

I am happy to say that I just put the finishing stitches into my lorikeet quilt. Yay!

When I was looking for fabrics in my stash to use in my quilt, I found the one pictured above and thought it a perfect match. I decided to use it and it now covers the back side of my quilt.

And OH MY GOODNESS! I just realized that I am to pick the next color theme. I really need to start thinking about this.

Good intentions...

I haven't been contributing to this blog as I should have been in recent weeks, although I have been thinking about posting a lot. Does that count? But, I do have an idea what my next quilt will be about and look like. I have an unusual inspiration source:

No really - there is a quilt design in there!

And I have a box of lorikeet colours all ready to go.....

...... somewhere in this lot.....

Help!

Cover Quilts

Check out the cover and first page of the Craft Fair Friend magazine (caution 4.5MB download) for the forthcoming Craft & Quilt Fair in Christchurch, New Zealand (17-19 September 2010). The Twelve by Twelve quilts will also be on exhibition at the Craft & Quilt Fair in Hamilton, New Zealand (9-12 September). Brenda will be giving twice-daily floor talks at 11am and 2pm.

Lift Off?

I have an idea. I have dyed more fabric. I have no more excuses.  I have cut into it.

It might be a bit fuzzy but I think I have lift off.