Trees Outside My Window ACEO Series Complete

I will be participating in the Friends of Olympia Timberland Library Art Show and Sale in November again this year! Unfortunately there will be a new location away from the Library, I am hoping it wont effect the traffic.

To increase my inventory of smaller more affordable work I have been musing about a new ACEO series. I decided to finish the Trees Outside My Window ACEO series begun in 2008. I have the remainder of the 12 in the series now complete and listed for sale on Etsy!

This is one of my favorites, Knottwood.

I am still brainstorming a new series. In the meantime found and am embellishing another unfinished series! These are trees as well. Over 2 years ago I made an unknown amount of 4 X 6 inch blocks with a variety of solitary evergreen trees. I can not recall how many I originally made. I do know several sold a few years back. I found the remaining 13 that had been layered and machine quilted. Four, so far, are ready to have the binding added then mounted to the watercolor postcard I use as the backing! I don't know if they will hold my interest long enough to finish them all before the brainstorm of a new series jumps out!

The one currently listed in my Etsy shop can be seen in the side bar ---->

They will make nice holiday gifts that can be displayed year round.

I have been looking for my heavy interfacing as part of the brainstorm for the new series. I'm thinking heavy bead embroidery, monochromatic in blue! I have an amazing collection of blue beads, many are cobalt blue. It is the one color I seem most drawn to and I have a great selection of sizes and shapes. I was hoping they would work for the Mirror, Mirrior but it ended up needing a Montana blue. I think the base of these aceos will be the batik I used as the border for Mirror, Mirror... The evergree series is in danger of not getting finished! I can feel it!

I have also begun thinking about ideas for a new call for work:

"The Deep Spaces exhibit, curated by Larkin Jean Van Horn, will show textile works of a common size interpreting the title theme in three venues between July 2011 and June of 2012."

This is a jurried exhibit. The final deadline is not until the first of May, a lot of time from this side looking forward. But I know me and need to get a design selected and started soon so I can take it to completion! I have been looking at Hubble telescope images...

I had a great time at Innovations and now I really want a long arm machine!! Unless a benefactor or the lottery tosses a ton of money my way it will be sometime before that is a reality. In the mean time I am planning to take a class that will then allow me to rent a long arm at Bayside Quilting, a local quilt shop!

I best get myself started for the day, work, ever present, calls my name!

Innovations Fabric Challenge Complete

Yesterday afternoon I delivered my entry in Innovations Machine Quilting Convention's Show! I finished it in funny stages. After quilting the center and first border I beaded with the quilting as the guide. I then looked at the center and determined I would likely not have time to embellish the center and as such it needed additional quilting. I returned to quilting the center. Then the binding and sleeve were added but not turned and hand sewn. I beaded the outer border in a beautiful Montana blue seed bead. I was considering a unique flower or berry motive but ended up staying with only the ivy vine.
A detail of the beading shows a bit of the machine quilting of the mirror. There were a lot of starts and stops so opportunities for error.

Over all I think it came out well. If I had had more time I would have embellished the center mirror with silver beads, buttons and charms. Perhaps after it comes home. Cindy Roth the Innovations director said there are a wide variety of Fabric Challenge entries this year. I do not anticipate winning anyhthing but will again appreciate judge's comments. And it is exciting to hang work where tons of people will see it!

Now I can return to getting my house back in order and a ton of current projects screaming for attention! Last night I worked on the Trees Outside My Window ACEO series!