Finally I can reveal the whole quilt- Tortured Soul

I know that I only posted a small cropped image of this quilt since we were all sworn to silence prior to the judging. I am sharing all of it now, yesterday I was informed that the piece was selected to hang in the show that will be at Long Beach, CA this year. I will be posting more information on the right side soon. It was an invitational juried exhibit so I was not only honored to be asked again this year but so excited when we were emailed the list of accepted quilts. Our group that did the fractured quilt in Sallys honor were all asked to submit quilts this year and I am proud to say the three of us were excepted this year! Yeahhhhh, way to go everyone.  The theme was "Beneath the surface" and my quilt depicts the things that haunt us or torment us that we keep hidden or buried beneath the surface. I did this sketch in life drawing class and even as I drew her she looked haunted and I wondered what she was thinking or worrying about. The sketch has always been one of my favorites since it really showed worry. When I decided to try and translate it into fabric I was worried it would lose the haunting look she had. I am happy with it. It is done with machine applique, paint, micro stippling and thread work, I have also hidden about 8 words within the background, you have to search them out to find them. Its another message of caring enough about each other to look past the surface and to share the true persons issues. It is the hope that we not let our relationships be so shallow but we reach deeper and care for each other.

Another Sneak Peek of a WIP

This is a piece I am working on, trying to finish for a deadline fastly approaching. With all the
interuptions this week I am praying I will finish. Just another sneak peek at a
different project that is 36" x 48"

New work

I am working on a new art quilt, it is by invitation only so that adds to the pressure to perform. The theme is a secret so sorry, can't share, but have been struggling with it. I usually get a theme and think about it for awhile and then "POOF" something comes to me and I start designing and construction or painting, depending on what I am doing. But this time I think and think but nothing.... until the other day. I did a self portrait two years ago I thought would work. It is more of a portrait of how I was feeling about my life. I haven't shared it outside of the group of people who were doing the challenge at that time. ( See of this happens to you) So as I am looking for this portrait, digging through tons of sketchbooks, loose paper, drawers, closets, even under beds and I can't find it! AHHH as I am skimming through one large sketch book I find this other sketch I did in a life drawing class that I have always loved, she has this eery look on her face. When I see the picture I always wonder what she might be thinking or what was going on in her life that gives her that far away look. I remember the model and she was good, but she looked nothing like this picture. So I often wonder if it was her I was drawing or was I drawing myself as I applied that charcoal to the paper. Another cool thing that happened was that it left a soft, faint impression on the opposite page of the sketchbook. A mirror image, a ghost of the original looking back at herself, even creepier!! Now I am figuring out how to translate her and my ideas to fabric. Here is my sketch.

My auction piece for the quilt retreat that I am going to miss again!

I will be in Houston during the weekend the quilt group is having their retreat. It is a great group of women who have been meeting together for over 20 years. Through lots of laughing and crying, the group is stitched together pretty tightly. One of the fun things we do, just to mention one, is an auction. You can bring things to be auctioned off on Saturday, the only rule is that you have to have made it. Every year during the retreat we pick the theme for the following camp. This falls theme was "Going Green", here is my wall art quilt for the auction. It is done with collage, tissue paper, paint, glue, and lots of quilting.

Fractured Quilt by Sub Q Art Quilters

cropped quilt
Originally uploaded by ddhabicht

Our Sub Q Art Quilters group did this fractured quilt. The participants received a piece of a photo and was asked to blow it up 400% and recreate it in an art quilt. They could use any techniques they wanted to use in recreating their section of the photo. Oh I forgot to mention that I gave them their section in black and white, so they had to add back in the missing color. It was a study on value and I love the results! There were so many different techniques from applique, to paints, inks, piecing, even paper towel collage.

Follow up post: I asked everyone to send me the techniques they used to do each of their pieces. I have that information and wanted to share with everyone. The first piece was done by Nancy Mastroianni, she used
paper piecing, beads, crystals and colored pencil. Piece #2 was done by Kay Davis, she used hand/machine applique, art pencils, ink and thread play. Piece #3 was done by Phyllis Campbell, she used tsukineko inks, fabric pens,oil pastels, pigma pens and thread painting. Piece #4 was done by yours truly, Desiree and I applied used painted paper towels, tissue paper, papers, and fabrics to create a collage. I then used paints to add more color. Piece #5 was done by Ann Turley, she used machine applique and paints. Piece #6 was done by Carol Colbert, she used hand applique, paint, colored pencils. Thanks to these amazing women and there efforts in completing this quilt.

New Pattern

- Click on image to see it larger-

Well, I did it again. I had the quilt shop sign me up to teach something that I hadn't designed yet. I thought I would have time but that seems to be the illusive thing in my crazy life! Two days before the due date for class samples I started drawing. Mind you that I had been painting fabric in anticipation of the design but I still hadn't figured out how I would execute it. I finished and even had a few sign ups at meet the teacher night! Phew! I am making it into a new pattern and I think I may kit it up with hand painted fabrics for Houston this year. Here it is, I will be doing another in a square format and a few variations maybe as a show quilt.

Sumi's Quilt is finished

Well I amazed myself at how quickly I finished this project, since I am the queen of procrastination. I like how it turned out although the picture shows the border fabric a bit darker than it is. I like the contrast and I ended up beading the one side of her shoulder and sleeve to make it look like the light was reflecting off of the dress. Click on the picture to see a close up. Finished size is 25 1/2" x 26". One of my smaller quilts. On to another now, I'm on a roll!

Sumi, Another test for a quilt idea I had

I saw a picture of a friends mom and was just called to paint it. I want to paint her for in watercolor but I thought she would make a great art quilt. I decided to use Acrylic Inks on really wet fabric, this kept it loose and challenging to retain the shapes while the inks bled all over the fabric. I really like how it turned out. I did manage to figure it out and gain some control as I continued on. I will now quilt and finish. I love these inks and plan to do some other things with them. What was interesting was that the dark brown I used for her hair bled the red that looks like a glow around her head. When the inks are diluted with water things begin to happen! Sumi is 80 years old and she has been playing the violin since she was twelve, she plays with the Palo Alto philharmonics. I thinks she is just so beautiful! Another woman with an incredible story!