Baby Confetti

This is the top for the baby quilt I have prepared for the 40 Service Quilt Project. The
quilt will be donated to the Children's Home in Bethesda Maryland. The outer border is slightly larger so that it can be wrapped around to the back and thereby become the binding. The batting should be cut maybe a half inch smaller than the top. I have fabric for the backing and alkong with the top, it should go out this week. The pattern came from a book called "Tried and True -New Quilts from Favorite Blocks" the actual pattern is called "Nine Patch Nuance" by Lynn Ahlers. 

New year starting

Well this year started with a visit to the oncologist in NYC and he agreed that I had 2 little spots of melanoma on my right foot. (same place as before) These last 2 weeks have been tense and frightening. The PET scan and cat scans were done this past Monday and on Thursday my doctor called to tell me they came out negative. Great news for the start of 2007!!! That means those 2 little spots will either be cut out (same day surgery) or there will be a therapy using a serum prepared from the antibodies in my own blood- immunotherapy. It is much easier and there are no side effects because they use your own blood. It has a good success ratio.

So now I can look forward to starting a new job and waiting for my son and his wife to have their first baby- I'll be a grandmother!!! This year should be a great year.

The pictures I added were taken on the second day I went to the city and it was a glorious sunny crisp day. I was using my new camera Nikon D40 digital SLR and it worked perfectly. As you may have noticed from the past- my photography is a part of me and has been for many years. This camera finally brings me up to the present digital camera standard and of course after shopping around this was the best buy for money. It is not hard to use since it has several automatic features. My prior camera was also a Nikon SLR but it used film.

At present I am sewing a baby quilt for a donation for a Childrens Home in Maryland. My art quilt work is in between things looking for a new inspiration. Maybe these NYC photos would help. There was a 12x12x12 portfolio challenge which I sent in 1-12-2007. There is always something.

NYC streets- near Lexington and 53rd street

"Relections" 

NYC streets- off Lexington-- Reflections

 

NYC streets- near Grand Central Station

 

NYC streets- Chrysler building

This was recently done in January 2007 with my new camera Nikon D40- digital SLR. This gives me ideas for another piece. I have a few pictures taken that day- more to follow 

Detail photo - Fall Tree January 2007 12x12x12 challenge

 

Vanderbilt photo for 12x12x12 challenge

Since the theme of my challenge is Photo vs Textile Art , I believe these next two pictures are of some value. I was at the Vanderbilt Mansion in the late fall with a photography group. This comes from my Nikon camera FM2 which uses regular film. In this age of digital cameras, it's odd that I still use a regular SLR camera but it has been with me for more that 20 yrs on many vacations and field trips. My photography is as much my art work as the textile work is which is where the idea for this challenge comes from. As textile artists we should utilize the camera for those special moments and creative ideas. 

Detail photo of Fall Tree- 12x12x12 Challenge January 2007

 

12 x 12 x 12 Challenge January 2007

Fall Tree is my first submission to the 12 x 12 x 12 challenge. It was based on some photographs taken at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park NY. In addition another smaller version of this piece was done as postcards last year. Let me know what you think. 

Post Cards coming out

I am pushing post cards since they are due by 12-15-06. They are very small art pieces
but they have ideas I can enlarge and go further.

I sent a message to quiltart.com that I wanted to pass on to those of you who read my blog
The subject is inspiration and art themes.
Inspiration comes in an instant and when you least expect it. It impels you to see the idea.
It begins with fabric and then it grows as you see that creative idea blossom.-- never knowing where it will take you. There is a special joy for you to suddenly yes- there it is. It comes in a
dream and you wake and there it is- it wont go away.

Art Themes are sometimes easy and sometimes hard. I believe for me art themes come easy from those "dreams". I find for me abstract challenges are difficult to visualize since my mind
works best in reality than the abstract. Visits to the Guggenheim Museum or the Whitney in NYC display more abstract or modern art and each time I find them difficult to appreciate. Yet the art at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC or the National Gallery in Washington DC reveals paintings which are beautiful. Art themes work best in those areas where your creative inspiration thrives.

Post Card Fall Tree#2 11-2006

This is the second one of the "Fall Tree" series. In reality it is the first one I made.
The inspiration came from a walk around the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park NY
where the fall trees were raining down leaves. I tried photographing it but the
raining effect just didnt come out as I had visualized it. It seems to me this could be
expanded into a Journal Quilt for November with the falling leaves floating down. 

Post Cards Fall Tree 11-2006

This is another example of postcards going out in the next swap- Post L'Arte 4. This will be
done as a series. Let me know which one you prefer. Ultimately they will all be going out but I
intended on keeping a few of my better ones for the web site.-- www.jeanneoberrieth.com 

Fall Leaf Post Card 11-2006

I just started my post cards for the Post L'Arte round 4 and came up with a quandry. I dont know which one I like better. A and C were done with light backgrounds and one bar of black. B' was done with black as the background and the light accent fabric as the bar. Also B' has been outlined in gold accent thread where the other two have not. So here is question- which one do you like- A' - B' - or C'?

Been Busy

Its been a while since I came by. This last month I started a new job that is filled with tension and stress. It has taken all this time to relax with it and feel that I can cope. Now on the weekend I can devote myself again to sewing. I completed my monthly journal quilt for October. This has been an effort to make all 10 of them different. Personally I thought that would push me ahead creatively. The "Walk in the Woods" is developing an original artistic rendition instead of using just my photography.
At present there is an enlargement of my echinecia's (from the garden)-- it measures 30" x 28" and it takes time till I see where I want it to go. I start it and then go back and work a little more and walk away and see if I like it. I'm sure there are others of you who use that artistic method. "Dandeneau's Garden" was like that. Its almost there.
Post cards are due for another swap group and is on my table to get started. My quilting- and creative sewing projects are good medicine for me. I keep coming back to them.
Let me know what you think of the the last two.

A Walk in the Woods- Journal Quilt Challenge 10-2006

I'm late for this one but the inspiration came last weekend when my son and his wife came by. We were walking in the woods with the 4 dogs and I saw bits of this piece. It came together after a few days.- sort of works on the brain. I hope you like it.

Latest work

This past weekend I went to a 2.5 day quilt retreat held at the Interlaken Inn in Ct. It was great fun seeing my friends who are crazy like me. I noticed that I was one of 3 ladies who is
into quilt art vs traditional work. This has been my graduation of sorts. Below are two pieces that were pushed ahead. Fish Tales..... is for the Tiny Treasures which is another challenge. This time I worked at using beads to embellish my work along with some free motion stitching and applique. This piece was an extension of the previous birthday card. I have another one in my head with another fabric which is even more interesting as fish scales. Maybe this time I can try sheers which I saw on the fabulous web site of Rosemary Claus Gray.
The second piece Dandeneaus Garden has had a little more work and closer to its end. The sun rays thru the clouds still need help. Maybe some sequins or hand stitching of metallic thread will help. Any ideas will be appreciated. This week I have to work on October's journal quilt.
I am working full time now and finding quiet time to work is harder.
See ya.
Jeanne

Fish Tales.......

 

Dandeneau's Fields

This has had some improvement over the weekend. The light rays over the house and field are not as evident in this picture as I would have hoped. My husband believes that I should add a few more trees in the dip of the right side. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

New idea

This idea comes from an exhibit at a craft show in Rhinebeck NY held last week. The artist told me the idea could be used again with different artistic themes/scenes. He is a retired art teacher who sells his small acrylic paintings at various craft shows. The exhibit is built of two wood rails (painted black) that have a groove (on top and bottom) to allow slats to slide along. Each slat (4" x 10") is canvasboard that has been been painted (acrylic paint) each in a different color scheme of a city scape. He had prepared enough slats so it measured 2ft across. You can interchange the slats by sliding them along the board -- one in front of the other. These scenarios can be changed for the fall or the summer or the spring or fall. You could prepare slats with mountain scenes or sea scapes showing sunrise or sunset. My thought was fish swimming by in a window pane. As they swim by they change color. This example was my first attempt and it really is a birthday card for my neighbor. It measures 4" x 8" and fits a legal envelope. You could mail out your own birthday card to family or friends. Of course it is made of fabric. So what do you think of my "Fish Card"? There are so many possiblities to this idea. The whole rack of slats could be set up on a mantel or a shelf in the living room. I do have another fish piece in the works right now for another challenge which is asking for a work 10" square. When I do these the hard part is the background.