Come see me!

This month I will be the guest speaker for the PAX River Quilt Guild in Southern Maryland.
The link is HERE

                 ---Shameless Self Promotion----
I will be doing my favorite lecture, "Where did you get THAT idea??"
Combining my years in theater, years working with teenagers as a social worker, and years as a working artist who loves a challenge, I have created a presentation that is fun and interactive. My viewpoint is everyone is creative, it's just a matter of allowing it to flourish.  Along with imagination games, and stimulating interaction between members, I share 50 challenge quilts in person. There! Come see me!

The partial view of a quilt I am sharing at the top of the page came from my imagination one day. I must say I get a lot of ideas while doing something mindless, and since there is so much mindless-time in a day what with normal chores like clothes folding and dish washing, there is a lot of time to come up with ideas to make.

She is made from scraps,. see the scrap containment system   Click Here  or look for the label-- Studio-- on the side for more posts on my favorite room. She is twirling the world on her finger, seeing possibilities in the everyday,

Travels to a quilt show and Williamsburg,VA

"Bikini Body" Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival

 We made it to the quilt show and I was overwhelmed by the response to Bikini Body!! I met so many women who could relate to her, and we all found common ground on which to laugh at life! What fun it was!!
I was able to connect with an online buddy, Paula Hughes at sassy quilter and her fun group, who were dancing in the aisles with glee over the shopping. Quilters are a fun group!

Mr. Not Afraid of Color and Cole (Porter) poodle dropped me off and spent the day visiting Williamsburg and writing the dissertation back in the hotel room. On Sunday before we left to rush home to an ice/snow storm, we enjoyed a leisurely walk along the charming streets of Williamsburg. I never tire of the atmosphere, and on this Spring-like day of sun we started the visit with some townsfolk. They were discussing the issues of Revolution but took a moment to include my boy.

Revolutionary Confab, with poodle

 The town is a living museum focused on the time of our colonial revolution. The re-enactors are friendly and welcome Cole for a petting.

He feels most of them need to be petted.

 This is a shot into an exhibit building with a tailor, but the reflection shows the colonial buildings across the cobblestone street.

Then we did a bit of shopping... and just like a boy, my boy wanted something to make noise. He was equally interested in the chocolate and gingerbread purchases. We also left with a few gifts, and some blush wine from the local winery. 

Window Shopping

The main street is Duke of Gloucester Street -or- DOG street. There are lots of dogs to meet. These two made an impact, enormous and the girl had a bow in her hair. There were many puppies who wanted to get to know Cole, and one little 8- pounder wearing a dress caught my eye, but the black lab puppy who showed great restraint around 11.80 year old Cole and won his heart. He begged us to bring her home, but her people were connected to her by a leash so....

Rest Stop

Just before we had to tear ourselves away from one of our favorite places for a long car ride back home, we had a restroom break. Cole did NOT find my hitching him up to the horse post at all funny. They have some enormous horses here, and one year I got a snapshot of Cole reaching his little puppy nose up to meet a draft horse reaching his gigantic nose down to touch Cole's. This year, Cole was over the horse, but very intrigued with the sheep, that looked a lot like poodles lying down, and he yipped at them to get up and play.
They wanted nothing to do with him but he was sure tired in the car home from his adventure.
We started a new book on CD on the trip, and are both into it. We got halfway through the story and arrived home in rain but before the ice began. Now we need to plan another trip so we can hear the end of the story!
Hope you enjoyed our "slides"... remember the old days when people had to sit through slide shows of each other's vacation trips?
LeeAnna

Now showing!

Bikini Body (c) LeeAnna Paylor

Please click to enlarge pic and please don't pin

My quilt, Bikini Body, my self portrait, is on exhibit at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton,VA this weekend. It is hanging in the Annapolis Quilt Guild challenge exhibit.
The challenge was to interpret a song. Guess what mine was...
I like to laugh, life is so dreadfully serious that laughter is necessary to balance the whole thing.





Now let's discuss the details...
The extra bikini's are my own paper piecing pattern and reminded me of the little shops at the beaches of Fl where I grew up.

Note the three-d (functional) tote bag with my signature flamingo on it. She is wearing rhinestone catseye sunglasses in my signature pink, the three d towel has a palm tree (another series of mine) and fringe balls. Hey! Did I say I'm from Florida? I know my kitsch! The little umbrellas are three-d and there are shell buttons sewn on the tops of the umbrellas along the bottom. The palm tree fronds are appliqued in a method I teach that allows for movement, and there are heart bamboo buttons for coconuts. There is beading along the beach rivulets quilted in.
(Please excuse a tiny bit of self-advertising... I teach these techniques. You know, when you take a class and learn  techniques like I teach, you put them in your little bag of tricks and bring out when needed)

The big thing is, all the other ladies are wearing conservative one piece suits. My girl, er, I am proudly showing off curves.Big, fluffy curves that I earned with surviving life.
 I must credit cookies as well.
Please check her out if you are at the show! She so seldom makes it out of the house! 
LeeAnna

Thoughts on creativity

Hey! Old Man Winter! Aren't you about ready to lay down your head for a nap? I'm not so steady on ice but time and a poodle wait for no (wo)man.

My poodle-boy is a schedule freak. He tracks the clock better than anyone I know. He knows when daylight saving time happens and adjusts. He wanted his walk this morning, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor dead of night shall deter him.



To turn this into a creative post. I started my day reading my library book, Creative is a Verb by Patti Digh.

She writes very well and in an entertaining fashion--- many of MY thoughts on creativity. I am enjoying the read although I am highly distractable. Mid way into the first chapter and in my pj's still, I carried my coffee into the studio and considered fabric choices for the video tutorial I'm doing for the blog. Yesterday I cut everything, and made one block as a test and the white fabric is too see-through for this project. It looks the best, no other fabric in my stash works as well, yet I must find another one to use.

I guess you can read about creativity or you can put it into practice. The book will wait.
LeeAnna

Feeling Pinkish

I pieced this in a scrap frenzy a few months ago. I got stalled with whether to border it or not. I just love it, and was pleased as punch to do another abstract that I liked! I like Pink. I know that may not be popular, it's just so, well girly but I find it refreshing and cheerful and happy. I like to wear bright pink lipstick.

I took out my overflowing pink scrap bin one day, organized them, started with tiny one inch squares. Then I randomly pieced itsy bitsy pieces into bigger squares. Then, into strips for diamonds, why not? And finally I ordered them the way you see it now, into a  condo building.

Well that's what I see. Little condo's connected by walkways. Stained glass windows. It's the closest I have come to just enjoying an abstract of my own. I have some sweet fabrics hidden in here you'll see after it's finished! It just fills me with glee! Whee!


It started existence as a playtime activity then grew into something more important, so now's it's an PhD  (project half done) because the question looms.
To Border, or Not to Border, THAT is the question. What do you think?
LeeAnna
linking to Rainbow scrap challenge wonderful link party!

Experiment in Abstract

This little abstract, approx. 10" X 15" started life from scraps. I was given some tiny bargello strips less than an inch wide and one day when I didn't know what I wanted to sew, I put them together with some other donated strips less than an inch wide. See the picture on the left, that came from the initial piecing.

I sort of saw potential but mainly it's purpose was to stimulate my creativity. I wanted to try a stencil with lots of little boxes, and low contrast paint with shimmer.

You can see the shimmery paint more along the top in this picture but it is done in three low contrasting colors over the whole piece. Look for it in the following pictures. It is an integral part when you see it in person.
Yesterday I decided to just make it. Stop with thinking and start feeling. I layered it with peltex to give surface design some body. I decided on a gentle curve and couched 5 different thick threads. I love Art Deco style, so couched on the braid along the side in that feeling.
 
The quilting is done in a right angle style like Frank Lloyd Wright style. Some of the quilting is done just repeating the free form curves across the bottom of the piece. I wish you could see better quilting line in these pictures.
I opened my box of sequins and am obsessed with tissue lame' at the moment.

 There is a metal bar attached  sums up some of my vision for this piece. I need to have a reason to make an abstract, it has to have meaning or it's just cold.
I found my meaning in this piece thinking of life's journey, the people that weave in and out of our lives, the sparkle of stars and beads add excitement, there are a lot of pieces to life but they go together into the whole. Tulle is woven in and left three-d, which means the way isn't always clear but confusion can be as smoke. Keep moving.

Please click on pictures to enlarge so you can see the details that I included. There is a lot of hand beading and sequins over the piece. Gotta have glitz in life!
LeeAnna

Black and White and Confetti Finished!

enlarge picture by clicking on it!

I got busy and finished the scrap quilt I began two weeks ago. This must be a speed record (bed size) quilt finish for me!

Our two day bee scrap a-thon was the impetus for this one. I have been wanting to dig into my black and white collection for a while now, so this pattern from Judy Simmons' blog looked like fun. (Bonnie Hunter pattern)

I had a great time looking through the bin, and I only chose fabrics that were close to the size needed, 3 1/2" by 7 1/2"
and allowed myself to cut some favorite fabrics as well. I decided all fabrics had to come from the scrap management system or from fabric that was in shreds already.




   I had a great time digging into the "cow" drawer for instance.  I love that martini glass fabric and used it in Picasso Poodle    You can see it HERE!

Let's talk about quilting.
I have a back injury that caused me to have to find a way to quilt big quilts in sections. A long time ago I had a class on 12 ways to quilt as you go. There is not one way, there are many ways to do it. I've used many methods over the years.

It takes planning in the piecing stage. I decided to make three sections this time. I planned which one to quilt edge to edge, and which section must leave the backing free to pull back when sewing the tops back together.

I mostly did straight line sewing because I wanted to set a land speed record. I actually liked doing it and the look. I used several 40 weight variegated YLI threads in the top and 50 weight in bobbin.

I sewed in the ditch, quarter inch from each side, down the middles, some free motion around giraffe and martini glasses, and did the same thing across the quilt periodically. 

  I used some star fabric that I've been hoarding for years for the binding. I feel binding fabric is wasted as so much is folded inside where you can't see it but it had to be used, it was the perfect finish.

 I have been doing experiments with paint and freezer paper stencils. I also am hand beading tonight on a small art piece that I started a few weeks ago as a total experiment. It came from scraps a friend gave me and I'll show you tomorrow.

LeeAnna