stained glass block

KA-Pow!
I opened the yellow scrap bin  and this happened!!
 The color of the month over at  superscrappy  is yellow. I am doing some stained glass blocks each month in their chosen color, all from my scrap bins. I believe a quilt is much more interesting if you mix different tones, as well as different values. Greenish yellow, brownish yellow, butter yellow, all in light to dark.
I made this block from instructions given by two women in my quilt guild for our president's quilt.
 Here are the cutting measurements for their block.
 The block in yellows...

each block at this stage measures 7.5"

Choose a mix of different tones in light, medium and dark of your chosen color. I choose fabrics with a blurry pattern, so they will feel kind of like glass. A lot depends on the size of the scraps!
Instructions for each block :
From your colors cut:
 three @  2.5 inch squares
 two   @  5" by 3 3/4"  (3.75")
From black cut a 1 inch strip and from that cut:
one 7.5 by 1"    one 5" by 1"    and two 2.5" by 1"


 Lay out your pieces like this to see if you like the colors.

Sew them in rows as usual, the two top ones to the black strip. The three little squares to the black strips.

Press firmly to the black strip which makes it stand up a bit like the lead in stained glass.  The seams will meet in the center. It should finish at one half inch wide. Press also from the top and check that size.

 Sew the center black strip to each half of the block and press the seams firmly to the black strip again. Press from the top at the end to really make sure there is still a half inch of black showing.
--- the block should measure 7.5" at this stage.
I haven't decided how to set mine yet, but my two quilt guild members, Lynn and Jeanne, sewed a 1" black strip to the entire outside of each block, making each block an inch larger around.

See all the pretty colors so far?? The colors of the month have been, teal, green, blue, pink, purple and now yellow. I love color!

this post brought to you by the color....

Today's post is brought to you by the color... green? nope, all the colors got together to entertain you today!
Know what this is?? It's magic.

It is one of four, still working solar lights in the angel garden, as viewed from our little haven. As twilight approaches, they start their color changing, creating a little show every evening, just for us. Last night the first lightning bug also added it's little glow to the night. We don't put down chemicals, so we have lots of bugs.

The lights look a bit like little planets, don't they?

They glow blue, green, red for hours.

You know how I feel about color... I want a yard full of them!

some of you asked to see what the orange lanterns looked like when they lit up. See...

Subtle but pretty. I had to move them to a more sunny area so they would light up. They glow a pretty shade of golden orange with a bright yellow strip where the ray of led hits.

The little tiny lights are also solar, and look like tiny little metal lanterns.

I hope you can see these night time shots on your monitors. They evoke such a feeling in me.

This is a view from the yard of the back deck and the three orange lanterns with their gentle glow. Our home looks like a mountain cabin amid all the vinyl clad colonials in our neighborhood. I love sundown. It is so quiet. The colors are gentle. If we were to look at these pictures as a quilt, it might be bright solids against black or navy blue. Life leads to quilts for me. I leave you with this view,

Again I say, come on over, have a glass of wine with us and watch the lights come on.
LeeAnna

When you're a poodle the world is your pillow

 When you are a poodle, the world looks like your pillow. This dog can make himself comfortable in some odd positions and weird places. Today he made himself at home on my batik scrap bin.

 If you need me Mom, I'll be right here. Say for instance you want to rid yourself of that fish on your plate...
Guess I should take the fabric back to the studio before he eats it.
LeeAnna

paintsticks plus quilting

 A little batting and quick free motion quilting with halogram threads, then decide on background and placement...

 This whimsical purple flowery fabric has found it's way into several of my quilts. I just love it and have yardage, so I don't have to weigh the "quilt-worthy-ness" in each situation! I might not cut with abandon, but I do cut into it.

 Each little piece has been quilted with batting only and mylar threads so even if you can't see the sparkle it's there making me happy.

I'm now trying to decide how to box these in, maybe binding each in a bright fuchsia then applique onto the quilted background.
It's not for anything special, but it's fun and bright and easy since there is no place for it to go but my wall.
My widdle poodle looks a bit like Elphaba, no?
LeeAnna

paintsticks

I was out on the back porch last evening, and realized I haven't sketched in a long time. I craved color, so I went looking for these...

These two paintsticks are so much nicer to me, than Shiva, which has metallic colors, but the smell gives me a terrible headache.
This book has some plastic texture sheets, and I got if from the Nat'l Gallery of Art in DC.

I got out some muslin, and it's the cheap thin kind too. I put down some freezer paper on a foam core palette, to hold in my lap while sitting in our little haven, come see it HERE!

Recently I posted a photo transfer onto fabric of this fountain. I started by just drawing a fountain, then leaves (that aren't there in real life) and then got out the textured plates to see what could happen.

There was time and fabric left, so I drew some spirals for fun...

which turned into this snail. I would never have been able to just draw a snail, or it would have looked like a pictionary one at best. But I just started swirling color, then more color and saw the snail coming out! Then I smeared in a body and texture plated around him. I think the rubbings look like ferns.
You know what came next...

a poodle. next to a tree, all done with rubbing plates. In green orange and pink.

Of course.
You are supposed to leave them to cure for a day but I just couldn't wait a moment past noon the next day to cut them apart and press to set the color.

These are oil paints, so you need to use a pressing sheet. I started with paper, then used more muslin and a hot iron.

They are still kind of wrinkly but when I decide just how to use them, they will get really pressed.
I think my portable design wall (shown not opened up) makes it look like an art show!! How fun! I might put three of them together in the same quilt.

Or do separate ones. What do you think?

The little fan on the bottom, was to be an underwater fan, and will still be. I,er, sliced it off accidentally in my glee and haste, but it can still be fused back together. No Worries!

Here is the view, with the supervisor showing me his back.
Everyone's a critic.
LeeAnna

I was framed

I was Framed, I tell ya

 Now that Cole is old or injured or both, he doesn't walk well. Like most of us, his spirit still wants to run free and chase critters and balls and meet new people. This weekend we took our Saturday morning walk in Annapolis to raise his spirits. We broke him out, and oh my,  it was a glorious day weather-wise.
 He tasted from the many doorway doggie bowls...

an amusing little bowl... mmm, hints of squirrel... 

 We saw the dome peeking up amid the shops, with a nearly clear blue sky.

 Cole was patient as Mommy shopped a bit, and took that opportunity to say hi to a few local business owners while I shopped. The walk perked us all up, and our thoughts turned to the budding garden.

 We hung up these cool solar lanterns DH got me for my birthday. Check out that brilliant orange with flecks of all colors!

There are some little pink flowers in my front yard, that spread like weeds. I love them, and they are messy, but look at the close up of them!! Too cool.

I have never hunkered down to really see them this close! They are another quilt, aren't they!?!

For color, and to match the lanterns, here is a pic of a hibiscus from a pot in Annapolis. Brilliant color variations and that stamen! Awesome job, mother nature!
LeeAnna

Flamingos through my window

The quiltart online group of fiber artists issued a challenge titled Through My Window.

I took a photo of my fountain with frog statue on top and plastic pink flamingo beside it. Somehow, and don't ask me what buttons I pushed I distorted the color to look very neon. I chose a font, and size, and printed the words Out my window I see a fountain and flamingo. What if Flamingos flew in every day to drink from my fountain?

I used printed treasures fabric to print the images.
It came out very soft focus and pastel unlike the intense photo on paper.  I tried going over some lines with pencil, and figured I'd fix it with threads.
Here is the real fountain from another view, just so you know what I'm working with here.

This photo came out a little different in color from the top of the page photo... don't ask me, I'm a dinosaur and don't understand what I'm doing.

I used neon silkysheen thread to paint in the fountain details as well as the flamingo and ferns, the embroidery stitch (swirls. That stitch keeps me fixing the motherboard of the Bernina as it's not on any other machine since mine came out)  Borders were a big decision as were cropping of the photo fabric. Then of course binding became a decision. I used my speedy fused binding to do the two different binding fabrics, and stitched over the edge with halogram mylar thread to secure. See my method on my tutorials page.

I fused the first sentence to some peltex, pinked the edge and attached it to the finished quilt with beads by hand. I got it on a bit crooked of course.

The point is, it took about 3 hours to make. It got done by the deadline today. I like how it came out and it will now hang somewhere I can see it for a long time. I tried things I am uncomfortable with and it came out okay. I was able to find a place for rhinestone crystals, which catch the light and make me very smiley.
Did I mention it gone done on time??
The sunshine is calling me, the porch and the fountain are within view, there is a good book involved and I walked away from the studio in total hoarder-looking disarray. I closed the door.  Hope you enjoy my view.
LeeAnna