Caliente!

Very summery and hot! I like this one too -- bet I know where some of the influences came from. Which part is the napkin? It took me awhile to find the "flavor of the month" but I finally found it. And now you are "caught up" -- at least for today. As of midnight tonight, I'm behind again, but I have an idea so that's progress.

May Challenge Piece

Thank you both for your encouragement. The plan yesterday was to dive into May and get it done. I worked on a design, but it didn't say jump and so I am still pondering. My goal today is to commit to something and get it going.

The color will be yellow and I have jalepeno napkins. The weather outside says most definitely jalepeno weather but the piece is the May piece. I may have to switch my order of napkins around.

Linda, your piece is really beautiful. It feels so serene and springlike- just what we all need right now! The stitching is great. Susan

Gorgeous!

When you get back in the saddle you really get back in. That's really pretty. And I think I'm seeing some layering.... yes? Very Asian feel, but not so much in the coloring. At first I thought I was seeing blueberries, then I put my glasses on and enlarged the picture. Nice stitching too.

April Eastern Winds

Welcome back, Linda. I hope new dreams and plans develop soon and joy returns.

Don't feel the least bit intimidated by what I do!! I feel like I do really simple pieces compared to what Elizabeth does. I love using the photos my husband and I take on weekends on Lake Superior or other travels plus the bird photos my sister takes. I just print them on fabric and add something else to them. I have no idea what July will look like and will wait until we get back from vacation on the 24th or 25th to do anything. As for my colors- the background is the color of the month and I'm going straight through the color wheel from yellow in January to yellow-green in December. July will be purple! Susan

Some wise person once said....

that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. And so today, I look at the blog to find that Linda has taken that first step. You've rejoined our discussion, and are headed into the studio to sew. The hardest part of any project (for me anyway) is getting started. I know you'll catch up soon -- because when you get going, you don't quit. The angst and the joy will mix together and something amazing will result. Ignore that feeling of being overwhelmed -- it's a creativity killer. Fight through the rubble and DO!

Thanks for the nice words about my pieces -- April really was hard, and May came more easily (sort of). I love the idea of sharing how we did things, and I'm most definitely open to the idea of a stamping layering day.

Susan -- can you come down and play with us? Maybe we could celebrate all the summer birthdays together! We could have a play weekend (or several days!).

Good Morning Ladies,
I am back. Today I will go into the studio and try to finish April. Then I am just going to let the wind take me wherever to play catch up with both of you.

Susan, your pieces are beautiful. I look at each one and wish I had a trip in the works. Are you using images from pictures that you have taken on personal trips? I have stopped trying to figure out what colors you and Elizabeth are using each month.

Elizabeth, I am awestruck by your last two pieces. They are beautiful and both of them pull me in because of the complexity of the layers. I guess Bible study has really paid off--I know where many of these are coming from. Mostly I am thrilled that you are again doing faith based pieces. Knowing what happened to the Beatitudes pieces< I feel like you have completed a circle and come back to your center.

You had mentioned a possible playday/technique day for the round robin, but I think I would like a playday where we could do a stamping layering piece. You are getting such depth with these new pieces and I would like to achieve some similar depth in mine.

A SUGGESTION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS CHALLENGE

The last blogpost about your techniques used to achieve your piece are where I really think we all could benefit and grow. Instead of just posting our pieces, could we each write a description of our techniques that we used? I am sure that even if we each tried a technique that had been written about, our finished products would continue to be totally original works with our own individual flavor.


That being said, I want to admit to both of you that I am now officially overwhelmed by your pieces and am feeling pretty insecure that my future pieces will even measure up. I feel taped up and confined just as much of my supplies are sealed up in boxes.My creative ideas seem to be locked away and I am not sure how to unleash them. I want to create my pieces out of sheer joy and abandonment, and I don't feel any joy inside me at all.

Today my only goal is to create something--and to actually sew--no matter what I end up producing. With that I am off to the studio...

Thanks Susan, I like this one too. The scrolls were done with a stencil and Stuart Gill Alchemy paint. The paint was hard to see because it was so much the same color as the background, so I used a gold acid-free gel pen with a wide nib to outline the paint. I quilted around it but not through it.

Yes -- the orange fabric of the lily is hard to miss. I used a light box for the drawing of the lily, the same drawing I used to make the fabric lily. The original photo is one I took at Franklin Park Conservatory -- I've always wanted to use it in a quilt. The actual lily is quite red, with a yellow center and a lot of green. The lily on the sheer at the bottom was also from FPC gardens.

The hardest part of this was choosing a background fabric. I had already made the lily and I bet I auditioned 40 fabrics for the background! That is the most difficulty I've ever had choosing background fabric.

Elizabeth- you are amazing. When you decide to catch up, you don't waste time! This one is really, really pretty and again, the layering is super. How did you do the scroll images? I WISH I could see all of yours in person, because I know I'm missing a whole lot. I surely know what the color of the month is on this one!
I had my six pieces up north with me to show my sister. Would you believe John just caught on the to the 20" by 10" size? My sister really liked the pieces and I taught her how to make a raw-edge collage with one of her bird photos and she was ready to join our challenge! Susan

Elizabeth's May Challenge Piece

And, here's May. This one went together as fast as any of them -- maybe faster -- and I learned some new things!

Susan's June Challenge Piece

Here's Susan's newest piece! Beautiful!

Thanks

Thanks Susan -- I really enjoyed doing this one, even though it was harder -- in some ways it was easier -- I think because I decided to give in to the process, rather than control it -- as is my usual method. I'm happy with it in the end.

YEA!!! Congratulations on finishing. I love the layers and seed stitching- it really is a wonderful piece. Susan

Finally!

April is done! And it's only June already. Now I can work on May. April's was harder -- I had the concept, knew where I wanted to go, but it just wasn't coming. I did end up with what I wanted, and there's some room for improvement -- but I learned a whole lot. Enjoy!