Art Quilts

There has been a bit of creating going on in the studio lately.  Here's what has been happening.

Courage and Love
Collage art quilt
Playing with bits of fabric and arranging them and stitching them.  Inspired by Maya Angelou.

Close up of the poem: Courage is the most important of all the virtues because
                                    without courage, you can't practice any other virtue
                                    consistently.                                           Maya Angelou

Last summer as my arm was healing from a bike accident, my occupational therapist suggested that I draw and paint to help encourage the mobility and healing. And to help my spirit.  I painted three small painting of girls on the beach.
These three painting then turned into art quilts as the result.

You may see more of my artwork in the Gallery at Breeze on my Skin. These art quilts may be viewed in person at the Lanesboro Art Center. Enjoy.

Birds of Fancy, A Mini Art Quilt Workshop

Birds of Fancy ~ Create a Mini Wall Art Quilt

A Workshop to create, stitch and enjoy

Saturday, June 27, 12-4pm

Cost: Workshop $30.00, Materials $10.00

SUTRA, global by design, 570 Main St, Dakota, Minnesota 55925

Call: (608) 792-7641 to register.

Instructor: Mary Lee Eischen

 

In this workshop, students will learn and create a collage mini quilt with photo images and words on cloth to delight and inspire.  We’ll begin with images of birds, nature and/or angels that Mary Lee provides for the group.  Images and text on cloth will be provided to give lots of possibilities for the creation of each personal mini quilt.

We will consider and discuss composition, color, and placement to give dynamic or calming effects depending on the creator’s desires to support the creating.  As in a quilt, we will have our top cloth with images and words, a middle batting cloth and at back piece of cloth.  Putting it all together will be with hand stitching—no need for a sewing machine for this project.  We’ll also create a miniature hanging devise to hang your mini art quilt on the wall.

All materials provided—you may bring a notebook for any personal notes, favorite art supplies such as pencils, colored pencils, scissors, fabrics, or trims, if you choose.

Mary Lee Eischen is a fiber and mixed media artist.  She dyes and paints on fabric, and creates art quilts.  She uses nature, women, family, color, and abstraction in her mixed media artwork.  See more of Mary Lee’s art at her on line gallery at Breeze on my Skin,  or at the Lanesboro Arts Center in Lanesboro, Minnesota or Bluff Country Artists Gallery in Spring Grove, Minnesota.

 

Domestic Goddess Apron

The Domestic Goddess Apron is a pattern created by Amy Butler.  I decided to make one for my friend Kendra.  She's playing with cooking lately and I wanted to surprise her, when I visited last weekend!

I recycled some fabric that had been curtains that covered a bookcase in my classroom a few years ago.  I loved that bright colors of the Kaffe Fassett fabric.  And then I found the pattern at an estate sale and an idea was hatched to make this apron.

 

 Here I've laid out the pocket lining.  I used some interesting contrasting fabric for the ties and the waste band.

Because I didn't have enough length with the contrasting fabric, I added another for interest and pieced them.  All those skills as a quilter were working for me.

The words Joy, Strength, Peace, Love, Bliss, Hope were selected to  read on the pockets.  

The directions for creating the apron are quite straight forward.  I changed adding the top bodice by leaving the waistband open on the top.   Then I stitched one side of the band right side together with the top bodice.  Then I sewed all layers together allowing no raw edges to show in the inside of the apron.  

When following the directions, here are my changes:  On step 9 leave the top seam open the length of the bodice.  On step 13, sew the bodice to right side waistband--only the front.  When that is sewn, sew waistband front, bodice and lining together right sides together.

Completed Domestic Goddess Apron 

Kendra modeling her Domestic Goddess Apron.  She ready to cook up something good!