Showing posts with label fusing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fusing. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 18, 2017


One year post Stem Cell transplant for Multiple Myeloma,
I was feeling grateful to be able
to enjoy the wonderful experience of attending the Sister's Quilt show this year.
For me, it proved to be gratifying in many ways.

The quilts of course were so much fun! 
My husband estimates that out of the 1,500 that were displayed, we probably saw about 85 percent. That's pretty good! considering how hot a mid-July Saturday in Sisters, Oregon can get.

Among the treasures that I brought home with me, was a fat quarter I found while perusing one of the town's antique shops. It was $1.25 and had been previously cut into by someone wanting to use only one of the many butterflies.


I took it home and proceeded to cut and fuse a few of the butterflies onto scraps of fabric that I pulled out of my scrap bins and stitched together. Some of this fabric was an old dish towel that I had previously watercolor painted and used in another quilt.
The top quilting was random and included a handful of different thread colors.
To finish my little quilt, I faced and mounted it onto a stretched 8" x 8" canvas.

This morning, while looking up butterfly symbolism, I found the following:


The Metaphor of the Butterfly
The cycle of the butterfly in and of itself holds spiritual teaching and insight for us.
Birthed from an egg the butterfly lives its early life as a caterpillar.
It then retreats within the pupa or chrysalis where it undergoes a transformation, and finally when it leaves the chrysalis it is reborn as a beautiful winged butterfly.
The magnificent life of the butterfly closely mirrors the process of spiritual transformation as we each have the possibility to be reborn through going within.
By retreating from the world into our inner being, surrounding ourselves in cocoons of prayer, meditation, spiritual books and courses, we're ready at some point to emerge. Awakened and ready to fly, we're transformed and reborn into an entirely new way of being.
In addition to how they live their miraculous life, butterflies don't live long. They typically only live for a few weeks or months at the longest, which in and of itself offers more guidance for us. Guidance that life is short. Even for humanity time moves quickly, and so the butterfly with its magnificent and yet short life, reminds us to enjoy the here and now.
I also like to think that the transformation of the butterfly, as well as each of our own spiritual transformations continue onward after death. With death we retreat from the physical world, but once again we are reborn into another dimension where we get our wings, and remember our full light and how to fly.
http://www.ask-angels.com/spiritual-guidance/butterfly-meaning/

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Enjoying the final days

After a lot of clipping, fusing, handwork, and beading I've finally completed Judy's Fabric Challenge !

For those of you who haven't yet begun, I hope this doesn't send you into a panic.
I wasn't going to reveal anything this early, but excitement got the best of me.
Sunday was actually the last day I altered the surface of this quilt. It has been hanging in my studio for 'reflection', ever since.
I do have a few reasons for getting to this, and completing it early.
At the end of this week, I am expecting company. Also, there is a local Art Challenge that I have decided to participate in. The deadlines for both Challenges were the same - May 1. So in the interest of time, knowing that I would surely loose a few weeks in April, I jumped right in.

I tried to take a good picture of my work with my point-and-shoot camera, but wasn't successful. I am going to have to enlist my husband's help for a better photo.

I'm not sure when I will share some of my thoughts, or processes. I do not want to influence anyone.
It was so much fun to participate in Karen Musgrave's newest fabric challenge!

You can read all the details about Judy's Fabric Challenge on Karen's blog:  http://connectionsbykaren.blogspot.com
She will host a final reveal of all the participant's work, May 1st - so don't forget to check back with her.

Thank you Karen, for providing this opportunity for me to challenge myself.
After all, we all know it's all about the personal growth.
 


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I've been busy. . .

. . .working on my next challenge.
After fusing, I love to machine top-stitch everything down using my Walking Foot.

This time I couched some Birch twigs onto the surface too.

I've added some glass beads, after hand quilting with a metallic thread in a few places. The binding helped frame it all in.

I was pretty happy with the results when I was done.
This was an experiment that I am thinking of using to create a series of four tiles. We'll see how the rest go. . .

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Saint Nick time. . .

Christmas decor is always fun!

Velvet, wool and chenille are just a few fabric options you can choose for making this wonderful homage to St. Nick. Easy fusing finishes this pillow in no time. Machine appliqued and embellished with buttons. This pillow measures 16" x 16".

Pattern is $6.00 on my patterns page.