Creative Adventure Week, Part 1

I’ve been promising a report and pictures from my visit with Lori, so here is part one.

After a 6-7 hour drive south to Manhattan Beach, CA, I arrived to Lori’s full of creative energy and excitement! After unloading the car, which was stuffed full of artistic supplies, fabric, metal art tools, sewing machine, etc, Lori and I headed over to nearby Torrance for a side trip to visit my father, who had been discharged from the local hospital.

Note: My father, Carl, is now back in Missouri and feeling better.

Day 1 was spent shopping to gather more supplies for the week.  We hit the bead store, JoAnn craft store, Radio Shack, etc. for supplies, then spent the rest of the day making jump rings in my new jump ring maker, then working on chain maille bracelets:

Day 2:  We met up with friend and talented artist Capril to hit a fabulous swap meet (Roadeum) to gather more supplies for the week.  This swap meet has lots of garment district cast offs, remnents and it is a treasure hunt for creative souls!

We came home, then painted huge pieces of canvas using the principle of layering.  Here is what my canvas looked like:

and here is Lori’s:

and what she did with a piece of it:

Lori later attached her handle.  What I loved about this project is that we have different styles, yet both turned out terrific!  We also finished our chain maille bracelet in the evening.

Day 3: We continued to add paint layers to the canvas, tumbled the chain maille bracelets with steel shot mix to make them smooth,  etched copper to make into charms,  and started our little purses to hold our iphones.  Here are mine, two colorways to match different outfits:

And this one is to wear with my brown toned clothing:

A quick note about my iphone above.  That one is my new iphone as I accidentally misplaced my last one.  This one has 3G technology and I love it even more!!  I made my iphone bags so I don’t lose it again!

Hmmm….  shall I make a tutorial when I can find the time?

To Be Continued….   This takes you through Day 3 of my visit.  I skipped over the laughter, the yummy food, and how warm and inviting that Lori and her family treated me.  They always make me feel like a family member when I visit.

Hugs, Carla

Barb Sneak Peek

I’ve been bad!  I’m not supposed to quilt due to an injured right elbow, but I just can’t leave town with Barb’s quilt unfinished.  I’m about 80% finished, so here is a sneak peek:

You can’t see them, but I also have some egyptian motifs scattered throughout this quilt.  So far, so good!!

Had a great visit with my sister, Yvette and her husband, Dave, aka  Captain Dave.  One day, we went over to visit Jack and kids, then out to eat at a Brew Pub, there was a great photo op I couldn’t resist:

Jack’s father and grandfather were both college frat boys, so who knows what is in store for him??  Speaking of Jack, guess who is starting to walk??  His first birthday is later this month, so it is exciting to see no delays, development wise!!

I’m getting ready to drive to Manhattan Beach to visit Lori of Art & Play blog fame.  We’ve been friends just shy of 20 years!!  I will have LOTS to show while I am there, as it will be a solid week of creative art!!

Dad update: He was finally discharged from the hospital and is on the mend.  Thanks you for your good thoughts and prayers!!

Happy New Year!!  Hugs, Carla

Hairy Leg Quilt- revisited

Based on a comment that Lori made yesterday, I decided to get even showcase a past collaborative quilt that we made during one of our Carla & Lori Adventure Weeks.  This is from January, 2005, I believe.  Anyway, here is the back story before I show you this quilt.

I drove down to Manhattan Beach, where Lori lives, and moved in for a week of non-stop creativity!  We took over her entire front room, and day-after-day, just made stuff.  Occasionally, we would stop and go shop for more supplies.  At a wholesale fabric place, we found this wonderful shoe fabric that inspired us both, so we bought some.

The end result was 2 shoe quilts, one by Lori and one by me.  Lori gave me hers to quilt and of course, I couldn’t just quilt it normally.  LOL  Here is Lori’s masterpiece:

Each shoe/leg was quilted differently.  Here is why we call this the “hairy leg quilt:”

Of course, I thought it was pretty funny to 3-D out the hair on the leg above.  The other legs have a tattoo, bandaid, and the other has colorful hose.

What happened to my masterpiece?  Before I could quilt it,  an ink pen stained 2 of my blocks, so I quickly purchased replacement fabric so I could fix mine.  Of course, it is now a UFO… LOL  I really need to pull mine out and fix it!

Actually, I think I will do that when I get home, quilt it, and then put it in a show just for fun.  I’ve also had numerous requests to make a pattern of this quilt and sell them.   I haven’t done this because I am a procrastinator at heart and also since this was a collaborative project.

And that is the story of the “Hairy Leg Quilt.”  What do you think of Lori’s quilt?

Hugs, Carla