Artimagus the Adorable or Arty for short

By on 2-19-2011 in art quilts, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

Arty is a little dragon who blows bubbles rather than breathing fire and is adorable. The White Knight of Flowers found him sleeping and blowing bubbles under a sunflower hiding from the Black Knight of Shadows. You can read his story below. The arm was scanned from an ad and the little dragon came from a free Dover image from an old storybook. Photoshop allowed me to make them one.

Artimagus the Adorable

This is Arty’s story. Before I had finished the piece he was whispering in my ear, telling me who he was and all about him. If you ever see a sunflower field, stop and watch for the bubbles floating by …. it will be the White Knight of Flowers and his companion Arty. Don’t forget to say hello.

Artigamus the Adorable story

This little fabric collage was created for a swap on the Art For the Creative Mind Yahoo Group. If you like swapping and are working with mixed media come on over and take a look. The link is listed on the side links.

Catnip Capers …. a summer quilt of kitties playing in the sun

By on 2-19-2011 in art quilts, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

Catnip Capers was done for a woman who truly is the mother of these cats. Her favourite flowers are sun flowers and I thought what better than to put the cats in a sunflower garden enjoying the sun on a hot hazy day. The butterflies and dragonflies along with ladybugs are all present on this summer noon along with a hazy sun directly above. The cats are playing and rolling in the grass with one (there’s always one) looking down on them with humour.

catnip capers

These cats started as embroidery outlines. I painted and coloured them in Photoshop using a Wacom Bamboo tablet. Once they were fully drawn and coloured in I used filters to give them a soft furry look. The sunflowers have stuffed middles along with some of the petals that have been sewn down onto the quilt background. Other petals are double sided giving the flowers a 3D look. The stems are twisted cord, ribbon and embroidery floss. Large leaves were cut and sewn with a raw edge and then fray stop was used to keep them from fraying. The brown-eyed susans have button middles and the flower petals are simply a piece of gathered strips that has been cut with a pinking blade and doubled. The chickweed flowers were made on a daisy loom with ribbon and seed beads sewn for the centers. The little forget-me-nots are made with dark silk from men’s ties and mauve lame. Simple small yoyos turned backward and sewn down with more seed beads. The dragonflies, butterflies and ladybugs are buttons and embellishments. This quilt was an absolute joy to make from start to finish.

Happy Halloween to everybody

By on 2-19-2011 in art quilts, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

Watch out for the ghosts and goblins tonight. I kept these three photos aside just for tonight’s festivities. All of these photos could be used as backgrounds for a spooky digital collage or inspiration for a dark nighttime quilt.

Orange moon through white cedar tree

A summer moon taken on a hot night. The white cedar shadow gives this photo it’s Halloween flavour.

harvest moon

September gives us a different moody moon. The moon this night was a beautiful silver with a big dog ring that picked up the moon shine and through it around the scudding clouds below it.

harvest moon

This is another summer moon. A June moon which was taken on a hot evening and another shadow of a white cedar tree.

Indian Summer in the Ottawa Valley

By on 2-19-2011 in art quilts, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

Autumn in the Ottawa Valley…my heart leaps at the sight of the burning colours on the horizon at this time of year. Is there anything quite so spectacular? The light and shadows play along the rivers creating serene outlooks wherever you cast your eyes or camera.

indian summer

My favourite photo of the blue heron at Andy Haydon Park while he is fishing for his dinner. He is a magnificent bird and would look good worked into a landscape or art quilt.

carp road maples

On our way to the Carp Fair this year we were halted in traffic and I was able to snap this photo of the trees. Carp has rolling farmland which is mostly rock, but good for grazing animals. It is a beautiful country area of Ottawa.

appleton

A trip out to Appleton, a very small town in the Valley. The Mississippi River flows through the town which has many heritage homes. Unspoiled by new houses it is an absolutely heavenly village to stop and take photos.

appleton

Weeping willows growing on the banks of the Mississippi in Appleton present the prettiest photo ever. The day was so peaceful and bright and this was the last day of Indian Summer. This willow would make a great landscape quilt.

appleton

The last photo of Appleton with the Mississippi River reflecting the tree colours back upon itself. This would be a pretty town to live in.

Vintage Autumn Embroidery

By on 2-19-2011 in art quilts, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

Pumpkins, wheat and corn cobs fill this cornucopia. It is a perfect embroidery pattern for this time of year. This is another pattern from the vintage McCall’s transfer books.

cornucopia with pumpkin

This cornucopia would be great on your Thanksgiving table as a runner or table mats. As an embroidered centerpiece among a maple leaf blocks it would be stunning, or used as a pattern for an appliqued block it would be a more modern table quilt.

Brownstone houses from the past

By on 2-19-2011 in art quilts, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

This vintage pattern was published in the McCall’s 1977 Needlework Magazine. They used it to paint ceramic tiles…it even has a fire hydrant and a little dog. The city dweller on your gift list would be happy to receive a creation made with this pretty pattern.

brownstone buildings

These brownstones would be very sophisticated painted onto a silk scarf. As a pillow top they would set off a white couch or could be done in bright colours as well. Embroidered onto linen and stretched into a frame could be another way of creating your own masterpiece with this pretty pattern. A whole cloth quilt of ecru cotton with the brownstones embroidered in bright white would make a lovely spread for a bed as well.

brownstones