Catching Some ZZZZZ's

This cat can sleep anywhere, any time and in any position.  He sleeps though noise, visitors, earthquakes and the occasional outdoor critters that get into the house.  But open the cupboard containing his food, and he shoots out to the kitchen as if the house were on fire!!

Signature Block

Bumble Beans Inc is asking for donations of signature blocks for a large quilt.  The color scheme to select your fabrics from are pink, red, light blue, dark blue and a light brown.  I made a log cabin block and will send it off to New York to add to the quilt.

Sunday Walk

My family had a wonderful Easter weekend and even with all of the activities, we managed to squeeze in a walk along the La Jolla coast.

The La Jolla Caves are reached by a tunnel consisting of 145 steps or by kayak along the ocean front.

I love the lifeguard call box at Boomer Beach.  The patina and script are a work of art.

The sea wall at The Casa (Children's Pool) was built in 1934 to create a small beach where children could come and be protected from heavy surf.  When we were young, my sister and I came to this beach every day during the summer to swim and play.

In the past few years, harbor seals have discovered the protected little beach and have made it their playground.  The water is now polluted and the beach is roped off to people during parts of the year.  It is an ongoing controversary as to who belongs on this beach - seals or humans.

It was so nice to spend time with our daughters, always a treat for them to get away from their hectic lifes in Los Angeles.

Mini Quilt Swap

I am participating in a mini quilt swap organized by the Bumble Beans Inc blog called "15 minutes play". The piece needs to measure 12" x 12" and everyone needed to use scraps to create their little quilt.

I chose colors that reminded me of a summer garden, reds, blues, yellows and lime greens.  The points get larger as they flow towards the bottom of the quilt.  I used a cream polka dot fabric on the right to represent a calm area next to the explosion of colors on the left.  French knots, flowers and top stitching were added in yellow spaces and I quilted the top with free motion flowers using red thread.

I hope my swap partner enjoys this little garden as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Happy Easter

My daughters are visiting for Easter weekend.  We had fun coloring eggs.  We got very artsy, trying different methods to give each egg a personality.  Some were rolled in salt after dying, some had stickers added to make designs, some were wrapped in scotch tape before dipping in the colors and some sat in the dye for a long time until becoming ultra-bright.

HAPPY EASTER!

Thursday Journey #8

Balboa Park in San Diego covers 1200 acres near the downtown area.  Landscaping began in 1892 and most of the buildings were constructed to host the 1915 Panama Exhibition.  Today, it is a popular destination for visitors and residents.  The park contains the famous San Diego Zoo, beautiful grounds and buildings, museums, fountains and an artist colony.

The reflection pool is home to colorful carp and water lilies.

Spanish Village Art Center features artist studios and shops.  I love the painted cement, it reminds me of a patchwork quilt.

The landscaping and numerous gardens are spectacular.

A visit to Balboa Park or the San Diego Zoo isn't complete without a ride on the carousel, built in 1910.

We enjoyed lunch in the patio at The Prado at Balboa Park, a cute bristo tucked into one of the old Spanish buildings.  Another great Thursday!

Spring Blooms

Here's a little 8" x 10" quilt I made when I first started art quilting.  I had just purchased a free motion foot for my sewing machine and wanted to try it out.

Adding beads and texture was so new to me after making so many traditional quilts.  It really got me excited to try new sewing methods.

Paper Flower

Following a tutorial on janeville.blogspot.com - I made a little paper flower.

I cut 3" circles from an old book.  Then I shaped each circle into 4 petals.

I added a tint of color before assembling my flower (Jane's instructions are to paint the flower after it is put together).

The paper flower added a little extra to the orchid plant I gave my friend Sherry for Easter.

Prep Work

This last weekend, I prepared some pages in my art journal for future creations.

I started with a yellow acrylic background then added texture with bubble wrap, bottle caps, corrugated cardboard and a little collage.

It's fun to use everyday items, you really start to look at everything as possible art use before recycling.

Next, I tried watercolors with iodized salt.  I painted my page with watercolors and sprinkled the salt on while it was still wet.  I used iodized sea salt, low sodium salt and kosher salt to see if there was any difference.

This shows an area with the kosher salt, because of the coarser granulars I think it worked the best.

Brush the salt off after everything dries and you get a beautiful speckled effect.  I really like it!

Thursday Journey #7

About 3 miles from our home is Mission Bay Park.  It was once nothing but mud flats until 1958 when the City of San Diego started dredging the bay.  They formed small islands and peninsula's with the silt and mud, turning the area into a beautiful treasure.

Kiteboarding off of Fiesta Island has become a popular sport. 

The sidewalks are the perfect spot for walking, jogging or biking.

Each spring, yellow and white wild daisies pop up all around the bay. The ribbons of color have spread to the sides of the freeway and into the residential areas.  What a beautiful sight.

Casa de Milagros

Last year I took a class called  "Casa de Milagros" taught by Helen Shafer Garcia and we learned how to make little houses.

 I started with a sheet of cardboard which I cut into forms for the sides, floor and roof of my casa.  It was covered in papier mache, then I added copper wire to the roof.

The sides and floor were painted and I added fabric, tissue paper, beads and charms to dress up my casa.

My "Casa de Milagros" became Hawaiian on the inside, I added words to a Hawaiian song and drew a wahini on tissue paper.  This class was colorful, fun and I love my little house.

Lantern

Summer is on it's way and I couldn't resist this ceramic candle lantern to use on our deck.  What a great addition to enjoy while sitting outside watching the nightly fireworks at Sea World.

Another Great Class

Monday was the second half of Jane LaFazio's "Nostalgia Quilt" class.  We shared our progress, went out to lunch, worked on our quilts, then had to say goodby way too soon.

What a nice group of ladies, I learned so much from them and from Jane.

My little basket is finished except for the binding.  I added some buttons, an old key and color to the rose.

I started on another idea.  My husband's father was a professional tuna fisherman and I wanted to make something in memory of him.  I traced a drawing of an albacore tuna onto sandwich wrap (no pun intended). Once again, I sewed it from the back of my quilt.  I really like this idea, it gives you a very crisp image on the front.

Charlie the Tuna is now ready to embellish.

Little Memory Quilt

This weekend, I got a chance to work on my nostalgia quilt.

I added some color to the basket with pencils, sewed on key shapes and a rose from the back of the quilt and put some lace on one edge.

I printed "Gertrude's subigkeiten korb" (Gertrude's candy basket") in fabric ink on the side.  I will finish this little quilt in class today.  

Nostalgia Quilt

For my class with Jane LaFazio, I decided to create a small nostalgia quilt in memory of my grandmother, Gertrude Naumann Snedecor.  She was of German descent and raised in Jackson, Michigan.  I wanted to incorporate a small, bone china basket made in Germany that she had received as a wedding gift.

I took a photo of the basket, then traced the image onto artist tissue paper.  The tissue paper is then pinned to the back of your quilt.  Jane showed us how to use free motion quilting on the pattern so the design shows up on the front side.

After many practice tries with the free motion foot, I still am not confidant enough to use this technique on my quilt.  I ended up using a straight stitch and turning the pattern alot.

This is the front of my quilt.  I used coffee stained muslin and stitched the basket in black thread so it really shows up.  I'm very happy with the results so far and now it's time to add on all of the fun things that will make my little quilt really special.

What's New Pussycat?

Red

Poipu

Mondays With Jane

For the next two Mondays, I am taking a new class with Jane LaFazio.  The lesson is "Nostalgia Themed Art Quilt" and the class is being held at Visions Art Quilt Gallery in San Diego.

Jane demonstrated several techniques to transfer images, taught us how to sew our designs from the back of our quilt, to use free motion stitching and how to add shading with tulle.
We left the class with ideas swirling in our heads, eager to get started on our projects.

I have coffee stained some muslin and gathered a few nostalgic items for inspiration.  We will work on our projects at home then meet next Monday for a full day of class to complete our Nostalgia Quilts.