Last Chance to Register for Fall eClass

Week 1 has just started in the Pixeladies’ Fall Introduction to Photoshop Elements eClass, and I will be closing registration on Friday, September 21, 2012. 

We have a wonderful group of  artists, quilters, and art quilters taking the current class, which runs for 3 weeks, along with an extra 6 months of course access to finish this self paced class at your leisure.  For more info, please click on “eClasses” in my menu bar above.

Expedition Update:  I have been accepted for the leg of the sailing expedition I wanted, which travels to both The Societies and the Cook Islands in the South Pacific in June, 2013.  This will be a 3 week trip.  Can’t wait to snorkel, see other cultures, and shop for fabric, too!

Works-In-Progress- I will be the guest lecturer/instructor at the January, 2013 Folsom Quilt Guild, so I am busy finishing a workshop project.  It is already quilted, and now I am painting it with pigment colors.  Tomorrow, I plan to quilt a second one to also color.  Keep watching for photos. 

I would love to know what YOU are working on.  Please share!  Carla

WIP report

Time to share some of my work in progress.

Yesterday, Faith came over to work on our homework.  Of course, we got sidetracked, so we went shopping instead!  One of our stops was to my favorite bead store- the one with the infamous bead box that you can dig through for hours.  I bought silver wire in various gauges, I hope to make a new project after I finish my final class homework, that it.

Faith had a birthday the other day and so I am making a freeform crochet scarf in these colors for her:

Then I have another friend’s birthday coming up, so I’m making her this one, too.  I would say these are my favorite colors at the moment:

Since this is a WIP post, I will show you my last 2 metal art projects to turn in next week- both are from silver:

And here is an asian motif from the kimono quilt I’m currently working on:

The next two pictures are not WIP, but thought I would show them nonetheless.  Check out this delightful mini quilt, it was in the bag from Barb.  I’m hoping that was intentional and I get to keep it- LOL!:

Last up, I bought these outside the store from a charity to support Project Linus, which is a worthy cause:

What are you working on???   Hugs, Carla

2 Landscapes WIP

For Wednesday WIP, I thought I would share 2 landscape backgrounds- same technique, same fabrics, but changing it up and giving each one a different “feeling.” I used scraps leftover from a previous projects for this technique.

This is just the background, a foreground will be forthcoming. I thought I would take a moment to share how easy it was (and fast) to create, with some directions for how I will finish it!

Above is step 1- I selected my fabrics, ironed fusible on the back of the fabrics, selected a base (such as fun foam, pellon, timtex, etc). I will then just put some inspiring music on and just started cutting and laying it down on the base until I’m happy. You iron it in place on the base and trim the edges.

As I mentioned above, you can change the “feel” of the piece by how you cut the fabric. The top example is more flowing, and the bottom is more choppy.

Next step will be to load some fabric onto my longarm machine- which will be the back side of the finished piece. (If I were to use my sewing machine, I would fuse a back side, then quilt it.) I would free motion quilt it, then unload. To finish the edges, you can bind it, or just satin stitch around the edges. Add embellishments such as beads, yarn, charms, ribbon, and fibers as desired. Paint to further enhance. Viola! You are finished and now have a mini quilt- larger than a postcard, but smaller than a typical quilt.

Keep watching to see how I finish the above small quilts.

Notice how I like to work on about 3 different projects all at once? I try to work on all 3 projects each day. This keeps me from getting bored- think artsy ADD. Occasionally, I will do one project, then stick with it until it is completely finished.

Enjoy your day! Regards, Carla

PS: A reminder that 4 days are left for my blog contest.  Check out my post on May 5th for more details.

Artful Blogging & Nancy quilt update

About a month ago, I ordered a book from the publisher titled, “Artful Blogging” which arrived yesterday:

This publication is eye candy for creative souls, a visual feast to inspire bloggers. Tracie Lyn Huskamp’s blog, The Red Door Studio is one of the featured blogs, so be sure to go visit Tracie Lyn to see why.

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In case you were wondering what I’ve been up to, Nancy’s quilt is taking up most of my creative time these days. I will share a photo of the work in progress if you’d like, but I do like how it is turning out. The micro fill work is very time-consuming, but will be worth it in the end for the overall look.

Be sure to check back later for the updated photo.

Update: I will reveal the whole quilt when finished at a later time.  In the meantime,   here is the design for the huge alternating plain blocks: