Nurture - Hope - Peace - Joy - Understanding

 On a background of eco-printed cotton, I have screen printed an image of trees on the earth. Surrounding that image are lines that are drawn in ink, paint and thread . . . holding it all in with freehand thread painting of the words HOPE ... UNDERSTANDING ... COMFORT ... PEACE ... JOY ... NURTURE.

Nature needs our nurturing and understanding and in return we are provided comfort, peace and joy. This small art quilt (approximately 9" x 12") is backed with white wool fabric and it has been hand stitched around some of the prominent leaf prints and seed stitched over the majority of the background.  A hanging sleeve allows it to hang from a dowel or a branch.

Hearts for Christmas or anytime . . .

 These heart decorations will hang on your Christmas tree or simply say "I love you". Freehand embroidery on wool (some is on upcycled blanket and upcycled blue jeans on the back)

There are a few beads added to the blanket stitched edge on some of them.

If you know the Shuswap you will recognize that. some of them are a view of Shuswap Lake with Copper Island.

These will be heading to the

Shuswap Artisan Market

next week.

Festive Greeting cards

 I love making greeting cards and this year I decided to focus on a variety of Christmas trees. They are all on hand-dyed fabric with trees that are stitched in some funky style to make each unique. Some of them have been created with my eco print papers that have been collaged before cutting. Here are a few photos to show you . . .

Twisting in the Wind

 This is the second art quilt in an ongoing series . . . Executed on hand-dyed cotton by Vicki Welsh, the gradated colours from rich earthy greens in the foreground to vibrant pink-orange in the sky have created a beautiful landscape.  The thread-sketched trees are twisting in the wind and creating energy that could be a fall scene or the aftermath of a fire.

It's small size (approximately 10" x 17")  makes it perfect for any wall in your home or office.

Bending in the Wind

"Bending in the Wind" is a small quilted wall hanging that has been created with freehand machine quilting and hand embroidery on my own hand-dyed cotton fabric. The luscious green fabric ranges from a pale celery to more intense medium green in the chartreuse tints. It has been freehand machine quilted in variegated green thread in soft curving lines depicting wind and hills. The thread-sketched trees lean into the hillside as their branches are blown in the wind. Hand embroidery in hand-dyed threads accentuates some of the spaces in the quilting. The lines and texture will draw you deep into this artwork each time you look at it.

This art quilt is one of a kind and will look beautiful on a narrow wall in your home or office. It will hang invisibly from a small dowel inserted in the sleeve on the back of the wall hanging. Space two small nails or pins 8-1/4" apart and place a 9" dowel on them and it will hang beautifully.

All Shall Be Well

During this time of the Covid29 pandemic the world is not the same place that it was just a few months ago.  

This art quilt was constructed in a black and white colour scheme with the accent of a bright green anchor.  The white fabric is a patchwork of a variety of styles of printing and writing, done by me with India ink, primitive pens and markers using the words "All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well" from Julian of Norwich (1342-1416). The bright green accent colour was chosen for it's visual impact but also because it is the colour of hope, which is also symbolized by the anchor. The white patchwork stripes are quilted in bright green thread with the words that are written on the fabric ... the black stripes are quilted in black thread with water-like stitching.
It is pieced in such a way that some words can be readily read and others are seen as a shape rather than a word. This calming phrase made the construction of this quilt very peaceful.

It seems like a timely sentiment for these challenging times.

 The backing is a coordinating black-white-grey print and the bright green binding is made from the same fabric as the anchor.  This art quilt measures approximately 27.5" x 24.75".

This is available in my Etsy shop. 

Hand-dyeing fabric

During this unprecedented time of self-isolation due to the Covid19 virus, dare I say that I am enjoying the creative time without external demands on my days?

This week I have been dyeing some fabric and threads for an upcoming project and I thought I'd share this photo with you.

I was going for soft blues and greens that speak to me of the world around us. This fabric is destined to be used to create prayer flags that will tie in with that theme and I am now anxious to move onto the next step . . . more creative fun!

Of course, once I had the dyes out I couldn't resist trying out a few other colours and adding a few more bits to the dye packets ... cheesecloth, silk ribbon, and a bit of lace. These will all find their way into something 😃

Published in German magazine

I have been published in  Patchwork Professional, a German magazine that has featured an article on my textile art ... what a privilege it was to work with them, and with photographer Jerre Paquette, who took the beautiful pictures that accompany the article.  It is a six page article with photos of seven of my art quilts. My high school German of many years ago is not quite up to reading the text, but I trust that they say good things :)

Modern Valentine

While I am almost housebound with all the snow outside the windows, I am making good use of my time creating some new little art quilts.

This one is thread sketched in black thread on white cotton with some hand embroidered French knots. The border is a delightful black and white print that also has hearts and flowers on it.

It will stand on a tabletop or hang from the wall and I think it would make the most wonderful contemporary Valentine.

This little quilt is framed in a 10" square shadowbox frame. It is now available in my Etsy shop.

I will be teaching a workshop in Eagle Bay (on Shuswap Lake) in February. I'd love to have you join me to create a needle felted landscape that you can then use as a base for hand or machine stitching and embroidery. No experience necessary!

Wednesday February 19, 2020 
9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Bring a bag lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided
Cost: $90.00 per person (includes all supplies, and the multi-needle felting tool worth $25.00)

Register with Sallyanne Calver 250-675-3884 or with
Carol Newton at 250-675-2125 by February 5th.
Scent free class – Need 10 participants to hold class
Suitable for hand felting or a needle felting machine ...

Heartfelt Wishes

We are well into January and the snow has piled up around our house ... brrrrr, it is cold!  I love to retreat to my studio when the weather is like this, and working on this red heart piece has been a great diversion.

The heart itself is needle felted with hand dyed wool roving in shades of red-orange-purple. It was then hand stitched (with hand dyed and variegated threads) to a background that is scarlet red dupioni silk that was free motion quilted on the diagonal.  The layered threads and beads have embellished the heart that will speak of love to whomever is gifted this little piece.  The heart is mounted in a white frame that can be hung on the wall or can stand on a shelf. Frame size 9" x 11".


This framed heart is now available in my Etsy shop

Happy Canada Day

 To celebrate this amazing country, I have listed a new journal in my Etsy shop today ... with a hand stitched maple leaf adorning the cover. This is a raw silk journal cover that can be removed to be used on other journals or books of the same size (7" x 10" x 1/2"). The pink-orange piece of eco printed raw silk has been dyed with madder and the threads are variegated in the same colour family. The big red bead that is the closure is a vintage Chinese bead that was a gift from a friend ... it seems like such a beautiful way to complete this journal.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/704387566/eco-print-raw-silk-journal-textile-art?ref=shop_home_activ...

I am a venor at Celista Pottery Show

I am delighted to have been invited to be a guest artist at the Celista Pottery Show/Sale this year.  This is an amazing show and this is the 35th year! Come and visit me if you are in the Shuswap area  July 20 and 21, 10-4.

I've been published

My eco print journals have been featured in the SUMMER 2019 edition of ART QUILTING STUDIO magazine. 

Lots of Eco Prints

With the abundance of fresh leaves available at this time of the year, I have been doing lots of eco printing ... scarves and journals dominate my collection, but greeting cards and other things are also being created.  Here are a few photos.

Journal Cover on Vintage Handwoven Linen

This journal cover was SO nice to stitch on as the fabric is a dream to needle.  The raggedy bits of eco print fabric have been layered and stitched with hand dyed and commercial threads.  The big wood button is a piece of a birch branch and is made by my friend Don Chambers.

The notebooks that I am using for these journals are beautifully made in Canada and available at Costco, so can be replaced quite easily when they are full.

This is now available in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/678364113/eco-print-handmade-journal-textile-art?ref=shop_home_active_1

Neddle Books for Sewists

Even the tiniest of pieces of eco print fabric can be used in the creating of these little needle books ... the perfect place for sewing needles to stay safely hidden.


The base fabric of these books is wool fabric that was dyed with red onion skins, iron and cutch to create  a warm caramel brown. The inside pages are the same wool but it has been eco printed with leaves from my garden. On the outer surface, other pieces of eco printed cotton fabric are layered with a piece of vintage lace that was also dyed in the cutch dye bath. Hand dyed and commercial threads have been used to sew the pieces together and create a splendid texture on the surface.

 

French knots and vintage lace

You will find an occasional bead or button on the surface and bits of thread that pull away from the cotton material to create a soft edge.

Approximately 4" x 6" in size, these are the perfect size to slip into your sewing box or leave out on your favourite side table while you are hand stitching.


The colours in these pieces range from warm caramel through gold and cream with some charcoal and a touch of green from some of the plants used.

The use of little scraps of eco print fabric was inspired this week by Rita Summers of Australia, who has been working with similar bits and pieces. You can find her at Gone Rustic Gallery in Hobart, Tasmania.

French knots and tiny copper beads

Christmas Cards

It's time to start thinking about Christmas cards and I have created these cards for the Shuswap Artisan Market in Sorrento, BC.

The cards have been made with fabric that I "made" by layering bits of glitz and glitter under green silk organza and then free motion quilting it.  The trees were cut out and then stitched to hand-dyed watercolour paper ... with the addition of a big silver star on top and a few clear beads on the tree.

 The blank cards come with a matching deckle-edge envelope in a clear poly sleeve.

Remembering

This week we will mark the end of the First World War 100 years ago. Poppies have long been a symbol of the armistice and I have created this small art quilt in remembrance of my father, who lied about his age in order to enlist in the Great War at the age of sixteen. Two of his brothers didn't return from that war, uncles I never had the chance to meet.

Needle felted wool stitched to a background of black linen and wrapped onto a thick painters canvas. Hand embroidery has embellished some of the poppies and the field and have spilled some poppies onto the black background.

A smaller version of this piece has been mounted in a white shadowbox frame.  Both pieces are available at the Shuswap Artisan Market in Sorrento, BC this week.