Bee Cause

This is a commissioned piece.  Almost finished.  Still have a few things to work out on it.  The Flower is painted on cloth and appliqued onto the background.  The body of the bee is machine embroidered using free motion zigzag.  I don't have an embroidery machine.  The wings are made from iridescent lame fabric.   The subject of the painting is from a photo I took at one of our pleine air painting sites.

latest projects in the works. Both are original designs. The quilt is 90" x90". The Parrot is 24" x 36".

I have been really lax on posting any thing lately, not because I have been lazy but because I have been extremely busy trying to get projects done and having art shows.  This has been a very busy year for shows.  I have even had to say no to some.  I will be participating in the Southwest Iowa Artists' tour again this year.  I will be at the Harvester Bldg in Council Bluffs.  I hope to post some pictures of my latest projects soon.

Migrating Pelican

This my current project.  The pelicans were migrating and at Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs, Iowa this spring.  I  took a lot of pictures and captured this guy getting ready to make a landing.  Background is painted on cotton fabric.  The Pelican will be appliqued on top.  It measures approxiamately 24" by 36" at the moment.  Bird is ready to be sewn on followed by thread work on the background, then quilting.

Fabric Art Butterfly

It's been quite awhile since I posted anything, but I have been very busy with projects that I just forgot.


Newest fabric art piece.  Red Admiral Butterfly on Cherry Blossoms.  The stamens of the flowers are satin rat tail ribbon.  The pollen is beads.  The piece measures approx.  24" by 36. 

The Buttes at Chadron, Nebraska were nice subjects to paint. One I call Pine Tree Butte because of the lone tree on the top. The other doesn't have a name. These were done on site. I think I am going to add a little more color to the sky and base of Pine tree butte.

I call this one the Cyclone truck, because it is red and yellow. This is a watercolor on paper. It is a truck at Wisecup's Farm Museum. He has a red and black truck that I painted last year which he refers to as his Nebraska Husker truck. That is why I call this one the Iowa State Cyclone truck.

Latest Project in process. Red admiral butterfly on my cherry tree this spring. Just finished sewing everything down. Now I have to figure out how I am going to put the stamens in the flowers. I am thinking about using satin cord for the stem part and yellow beads for the pollen. I am also going to use black yarn for the antenae and the tongue. I need to decide if I should quilt it first, then add the rest of vice versa. I will have to think on it somemore.

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Water color painting Just finished. Commisioned piece measures 21"x28" From a series of pictures sent to me by the person for whom it was painted.

Great Grey Heron

This is the finished fabric art of the Great Grey Heron.  Background is painted using Setacolor fabric paint.  The Heron is appliqued onto the background.  The foliage and water was done on the Long Arm quilting machine.  The grass, rocks, tree trunks and feather details were done on the domestic sewing machine. Finished size is 54"x43".

Reservoir

I just finished this picture of a reservoir.  The background fabric was painted on site using 100% cotton fabric and Setacolor.  The details were then added in by thread painting and free motion quilting on my sewing machine.  The picture is 15 x 20".

T-shirt quilt

Finished the top of a t-shirt quilt for my daughter.  It grew as I worked on it.  Final measurement 110" x 88".  Now to quilt it.

Dad's barn

A water color painting of the barn on my dad's farm which is now owned by my son.  His wife commissioned this painting.

And another one is finished. Luna Moth Fabric Art. The background fabric is hand painted to resemble birch bark. The Moth is appliqued on top. The antanae are made from embroidery floss. Quilt size is approximately 20" X24".

 

Another quilt finished. Monticello pattern by Jinny Beyer. quilted on my Long Arm.

bought this pattern in 1994, found it again with the fabric ready to go. Decided it was time to get it done. Paper piecing and machine quilted.

Current project

I painted the background on a 4' by 5' piece of cotton fabric.  The heron will be appliqued onto the background.  Then, the piece will be quilted.  The background colors are darker than they appear.  The rocks are very dark grey.  The scene is from a picture I took at one of the sites our Plein Aire paint club went to paint.

water lily

My, how time flies.  I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted anything.  I have been quite busy.  Anyway, here is a water color of a water lily I just finished.  It was started earlier this year at Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs, IA.  I am going to do a fabric art picture of this also.

Okay, so it took me about a year and a half to complete but it is finished and sent to the customer.  Free motion long arm quilting was quite a challenge.  Actually the whole project was quite the challenge.  Do I want to make another?  No. But then a double wedding ring quilt, along with the Grandmother’s flower garden were two quilts I said I was never going to do.  I’ve made both of them, now.