commissions

Hi all,
Sorry, I know it's been a couple of weeks, but I seem to be always busy lately. That and I wanted to actually have some pictures to post. I have been getting commissioned pillows left and right, which is a good thing, but now I have a lot to do! These pillows are logo dream pillows Donna G. commissioned for clients. I was really happy with how they came out. The designs were both taken from business logos.

Me and Pillows seem to be getting along just fine! i was thinking about that on my way home from work today. I love to make pillows! The very first quilted item I made was a pillow for Mike, my first hub, back when I was a teenager. It was hand stitched and hand quilted, VERY traditional, but it was pretty. I have made pillows ever since. I think I like my pillows because they are a combination of pillows and mini quilts. I do love to make mini quilts, too. I wish I could come up with an interesting way to frame them. I think they would sell better. Something really artsy, yet inexpensive. For the future, maybe...

My damn printer died last week, and wouldn't you know 2 pictures that I need for my next 2 pillows are there, NOT printed out! Well, since if there is a will, there's a way, I ended up tracing a picture of Bowie off the monitor for a kitty pillow for Kaitlyn! I take my deadlines seriously, believe me! I'll probably do that for the "Blush" logo pillow too, as I need to have the lettering exact. That should be a nice one, too.

Anyway, time to de-stress with a martini. Till next time!

Using Paint

Hi all, Happy Monday!

This quilt is my latest addition to Etsy. I wanted to write about this one because when I posted it, I sort of revisited with it and liked it very much!
It had been hanging in a little gallery called Oh My Gallery and I sort of forgot about it. When I took it back I looked at it and realized this is probably one of my more successful merges of paint and fabric! I did this as a result of taking Velda Newman's class 3 years ago at QBL. At the time it seemed like a lot of fussy sewing, but the paint techniques I learned I find I'm still using, especially adding detail with watercolor pencils. And the sewing doesn't seem so fussy anymore....
I still fight the battle of realism vs. abstract. I am a good realistic artist, yet something keeps pushing me to go into the abstract, probably because I don't think I'm good in that style. Crazy? Yes.This was an appropriate topic because of my current project, my Hydrangea dream pillow series. The flowers have a realistic feel to them, something I have shied away from, and I am liking it!And I am using paint and dyed fabric to get that effect, so I feel this is another successful collaboration. If I can do It I will put a photo at the end of this as an example.
My goal is to have 25-30 pillows done by December for the Plymouth Center for the Arts Christmas sale, but in the meantime they are going up on Etsy, and I have 3 commissioned pillows to do. So, yes, I am busy! But I love this.
Till next time!

Hi all!
This is the first in my new dream pillow series entitled "Hydrangeas." This is for you, Paula! And thank you for the wonderful idea! What a fun thing this is going to be! Hydrangeas have always been one of my favorite flowers, and I really like making these pillows. I love the idea of functional art, especially in this rotten economy. I feel like these pillows do double duty: you get a mini quilt and a comfy, pretty thing all in one.
The quilt, is, of course, a pocket that holds an herbal sachet. In making the blossoms I have used only hand dyed or sun printed fabrics. When I dye fabric I sometimes scrunch it up to get a great mottled affect. Sun printed fabric is white cotton treated with a sun sensitive paint. You paint the fabric, lay objects on top of it, ( in this case, hydrangea blossoms) and leave it out in the sun till it dries. You get the most wonderful image of the object on the fabric. I have had this particular fabric for almost a year; I am so happy to be able to use it! This particular quilt is only lightly stitched; I don't know if that will change or not. I was a little afraid to lose the intensity of the flower image in this one. I am having fun with highlighting and adding detail with my watercolor pencils!
You know, I really love flowers, and I have always shied away from working with them in my art. That reminds me of something I read a long time ago. It was about an artist who never painted flowers although he or she loved them, and it was because it was it was such a cliche kind of subject, like ALL artist painted flowers, so I'm not. Isn't that stupid, and that's exactly what I've been doing. Like it's too girly to work with flowers, or something equally dumb. NO MORE!!! I am out to conquer flowers, and I'm starting with hydrangeas. Look for 7 more pillows. Later!

The Start of Something Hydrangea...

What a busy weekend it was! We celebrated
Mike's birthday on Saturday with a beer and food pairing dinner, with LOTS of beer! It was really fun, and I think he really enjoyed it. The next day was my nephew Mark's 7th birthday party, with LOTS of screaming little boys! I don't know how my sister does it; I have lost all patience for little kids. But, then, I'm old! ( Not, really...) I took an extra day off this week to recover--
And here's what I did with it! Got a good start on my next batch of dream pillows, this one titled "Hydrangeas."Here you see some of the pieces I will be using for the motifs. The motif will be on the pocket, and, of course, the pocket will hold a lovely herbal sachet. There will be at least 6, with my friend, Paula, getting the first one. This is her commission, and so she should. This is truly a project of love, as this flower is one of my favorites. Especially blue ones. A fabric I am using for this series I made last summer with a sun sensitive paint, very cool. You paint your piece of fabric with this paint, and the blue I have is VERY close to hydrangea blue!, place stuff on the fabric you wish to get a sun print from, and then leave the whole thing in the sun till it dries. You get an image of what you placed on the fabric in paint, as the paint lightens around the object. In this case I used actual flowers and leaves, and got some really beautiful images of hydrangea clusters. I am SO glad I saved this fabric. If the sun ever comes out again I would like to do another batch. There are some dried clusters on last years plants that look very promising....
Well that's it. I hope to have a picture of a completed one for next time! Think SUN!!!!!!!!

Winter Moon

Hi all!
Pictured there on the right is one of four "Winter Moon" dream pillows I posted on Etsy last night--TWO are left! My friend Donna bought them; I couldn't be more thrilled! I also had someone see them on Etsy and post it on her blog. That was very cool and I felt very honored. I think these really came out good! My friend Paula has also commissioned one-she wants a hydrangea motif. I have always wanted to do something with hydrangeas, so that will be my next series, hers being the first, of course! I have also fallen in love with dupioni silk! It is great to work with, is surface washable, and has the most luxurious look to it!

Now that I seem to finally have found my focus--what a rough year it has been so far!--I think it's time to buckle down and a make a plan. I've decided to try to get away from TV a bit in order to give myself more sewing and planning time. Not all! I still need my soap and horror! But one thing I did that I've found very beneficial is moved my sewing machine out of the kitchen and into the office. I think I needed to get out of the hustle and bustle of the house. In the office I have the computer. I can use that to either listen to music of watch a movie. Plus, I feel like it's more of MY space, which is so important to me. I am trying to plan things for smaller amounts of time, as I don't have a lot of time! So I am trying to plan small to-do's. That way I will get SOMETHING done instead of nothing at all! I guess it's like inching forward, which is better than standing still. In addition to more pillows I am planning a quilt for a special exhibit at Art Guild. It is for the vision impaired as well as for people who can see, so all the art in this show has to be touchable. But more on that later! :-)

Lil Bo

Hey all!

Missed last week because I had to do the saddest thing I have ever had to do: put down my little cat, Bowie. That's him in the photo. We had him about 11 years and he was a very good and very happy cat. He sure did love to eat. Just before the holidays he became sick, and by the time we got him to the vet he had a raging kidney infection. Put him on meds, fluids, all sorts of pills, but he only got worse. We put him down on Tuesday, Feb 9. I cried for 2 days, and I still miss him. On his last day I made his time left as comfortable as possible. I made him chicken breast, one of his favorites, and he spent a lot of time out in the sun. He was an outdoor kitty and I think he really enjoyed that. He also got some quality lap time. Poor little Bo. The end was very peaceful, and he was surrounded by people who loved him. Mike and Bud were there, and Dr. Lindsay. She thought he was a great cat, and he was. i will always love and miss you, Bo. Rest in peace, my handsome little man.

Another revelation...

Had a fun morning with Rhonda yesterday; we took a ride to see my other sister Sandra at the antique store she works in. What a fun place! I found these little vintage linen napkins that I thought would be great for pillows for my "Winter Moon" pockets, but now that I see it put together, I don't know. Bud was watching me stuff it, and said, Oh that's cute, but then proceeded to tell me it kind of looks like a "frog on a log," like it was just put there on the pillow. I, of course, kind of bristled when he said that, but as usual his criticism is spot on, much as I hate to admit it. And as harsh as he can be sometimes!!! I mean, I don't hate it; I bought them because the yellow stripe in the fabric is the same yellow as the moon, but now that it's all together I don't think that's enough.I think it could be better. I think that's what was wrong when I was in Joann's the other night trying to pick out background fabric and having trouble doing it. I wasn't connecting the pocket to the pillow, just matching the colors. And I like how I worded that, cause that's exactly right! I have already stitched the other pocket to the other napkin, but before I go any further I will play with it some more, and see if I can get more of a marriage between the pillow and the pocket. Keep ya posted!

Hello all!
Here it is Monday and I didn't forget! Pictured here is a pocket from my upcoming set of dream pillows entitled "Winter Moon." They are cut, fused, and stitched, and the stars are seed beads, and sequins. The pocket will be stitched to a stuffed pillow and filled with an herbal sachet. There will be 6 in the set, and will sell for around $30 on Etsy. These have been really fun to make. Given this crappy economy we are in, I decided to try making practical art, and on a smaller scale. I would so love to make some money from my art this year. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that "Fractured Vases" was in the Plymouth Guild art show; well the opening was very fun and they gave my quilt a great spot. It was also very well received! My work is progressing slowly, though. This winter schedule we are in at work gives me practically no morning time; i feel like I am always scrambling to catch up! Plus my cat, Bowie, has been very sick, and of course it's up to me to get him to his appointments! And administer shots, and keep track of his meds...like I don't have enough to do. Got a call from that little gallery some of my stuff is in--Wee Gallery I think it is called. They want to know if I want to trade stuff and put different things in. I may just bag it. If I can't sell a framed mini there I don't see how I'll sell a quilt. Oh well. I guess I feel a little down; I hate this time of year. Till next time, folks--maybe I'll keep with the moon theme. I like it! Grimlets???

Winter Moon Dream Pillows

Whoops! A day late...I was so exhausted when I came home from work all I could think of was bedtime. Oh well, I'm here. This week I started something I hope to sell on Etsy: a series of Dream Pillows. A dream pillow is a small pillow with a pocket on it that holds an herbal sachet and is supposed to promote peaceful sleep and sweet dreams. My pocket will feature fabric art; in this case a very simple scene featuring trees, flying birds, and a full moon. I am having a lot of fun with this project; I would really like to find a way to make more money on Etsy. I will have pictures next week, of the scenes at least. Have a good week!

Fractured Vases

See, I'm back. I think it is in my head that Monday
is now blog night, so this will be a regular. Any-
way, this is the quilt I wanted to talk about tonight. This is my newest quilt called "Fractured Vases." After seeing it when it was finally I done, I realized that this was a little throwback to my quilting roots, and it was really fun to do.
It came about when my friend Janet and I were looking at an issue of Quilting Arts Magazine (Oct/Nov 2009, issue 41). Janet is a traditional quilter, and is always fascinated by the art quilts she sees. We were looking at a quilt called "The Cubist's Edge" by Frances Holliday Alford, trying to figure out how she made it, when Janet said she might actually try to make a part of it to help her understand the construction. I looked at her and said, What a great idea, I'll make one, too, and we can see how they both turn out! Frances' quilt consisted of 12 vases of flowers, but we decided to go with 4, as it would be smaller and easier to finish, as this was just an exercise. So we went into the project with no expectation and had a ball with it! After making 4 cut and fused vases of flowers, all different, we cut them into quarters and put them back together again. Boy was that tough to do ! I liked my vases! Janet stopped there, but I wanted to take mine one step further. I cut a band off each edge, allowing the width of the band, because I shifted them all to one side. If you try to see the bands you'll know what I mean. I wish I had taken a picture of Janet's, as hers looked absolutely NOTHING like mine, and was absolutely beautiful! Our color tastes are completely different, shapes were completely different. We basically followed the same steps, and ended up with 2 TOTALLY different quilts. It was a great exercise! Once I cut the bands, though, the quilt started to take on a life of its own. I saw that when I made those cuts, it made squares inside squares, and I wanted to emphasize that. I did so with lots of fabric paint, oil pastels, and top stitching, to make a light square inside a dark square inside a light square. I don't know that I will make another one in this style, but this was a great learning experience. I learned a lot by working in a different manner, and also from studying Frances' quilt. Oh, and this quilt will be hanging in the Plymouth Guild Art show that opens this Friday!

I'm Back!

I can't believe it's been since last June that I wrote in this thing! I went back looking at the pictures and it was nice to revisit! I just watched the movie "Julie and Julia" where Julie writes a blog about how she cooked all 540 recipes in Julia Child's cookbook, and she was so disciplined about it! It brought me back here, that's for sure! I'm afraid part of the problem is that I am in the throes of menopause and I get very easily distracted, but enough excuses. I'll try to get you quickly caught up on what I've been up to.
The rust and blue Grimlet I just sold on Etsy last month. I have made 2 quilts, one of which is pictured. It is an abstract of a group of crocuses, and the second is another abstract about flowers, but I want to write about that one separately. This past December I had another Grimlet appear in a magazine called Haute Handbags; that is pictured, also! That was a real hoot, to see one of my pieces in a magazine! Then, of course, the holidays got in the way, and I took a little hiatus from all art, but I'm back. And since this is a good night for it, I am designating Monday night to be BLOG NIGHT. That's right, folks, I'm shooting for a weekly entry! And since I worked a 10 hour day today, I'm exhausted and going to bed soon, but it will be a lot shorter than 7 months till I'm back!

New Grimlet

Hey, all. I'm bordering on exhaustion here, but I wanted to get a picture of my latest Grimlet up. This one is for sale on Etsy. I bought the latest issue of Haute Handbags the other day, and I realized I better get going on Grimlets, as mine will be featured in the Fall issue. I think I am going to make a haunted house style next, and I really liked the crow bag I did for Rhonda, so I would like to reuse that theme as well. I think with my next one i will try to simplify the design process a bit, maybe paint more, or stencil more. They take a little too long to pit together. But I will work on that. i am in another bad sleep cycle, so I will sign off now. I'll be back soon, as I just want to chat next!

Learning Experience

What you see off to the side there is the first quilt I have done in a long time that just plain didn't work!! I was so excited to do this quilt; it would have been second in a series of quilts about the sides of buildings (following Cayuga Reflections). I loved the photograph I took this from. But as I was sewing it and adding the texture I thought I wanted.....you know you get this nagging feeling in the back of your mind that something isn't right. And, boy, I tried to ignore it and justify what I was doing, but the truth of the matter is, it just doesn't work and it 's too busy and too monotone and too complicated!!! And what a relief it was to finally be able to admit that and get on with it!!! So I am going to let it rest for a bit. I probably won't go back to that piece, but in the future I may start another one, as I still love the image. And I am still very much interested in the sides of buildings as quilt inspiration. I think I will always have a love for the geometric design and grid placement. That's my roots, I guess. So on to crocus quilts, as I ALSO still love flowers!!

Well, here it is! This is the newest addition to my family. This one was my first entry as a juried artist in the Russell Gallery at Art Guild. It didn't sell, but I think people are starting to remember me. In the current show I have put Cayuga Reflections, and it seems to be getting quite a bit of attention!
It certainly has been a very busy time, but I think I am finally getting caught up a little. I changed my business name today to Karen M. Tripp Textiles, mostly for tax purposes. But I like that! I have a new quilt cut and basted. It's #2 in my series of quilts based on the sides of buildings. Cayuga was the first. You can see that picture a little further down. I am finishing up a Grimlet I had been working on, plus I made a cool one for Rhonda. That's it up there. I would like to make a few more to put on Etsy, but I would like to find a faster way to make them. Maybe the next one will be an experiment.

I have also put some things for sale in a gallery called Oh My Gallery in downtown Plymouth. It's run by Kim Haigh; I used to work with him at Joann's. I have two quilts and four framed minis. I took some beautiful photos of crocuses the other day. I think there may be a crocus quilt in my future. Just a small one. I bought this sheer fabric that is inkjet printer ready and I'd like to experiment with that.

Speaking of crocuses, I am certainly waiting for the warm weather!! This winter was a terrible one, so cold and snowy. Hilary gave me my birthday present already; my birthday is July 8 but I am happy to have it now--we have great seats at a concert that includes Cheap Trick, Poison, and Def Leppard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait, should be so much fun!! Summer and concerts just go together, don't they? And birthdays. Summer is just my favorite time of year.

I went to see Ma today, as her birthday is tomorrow. She will be 74, but she might as well be 104! It really upsets me to see how she is growing old. She doesn't EVER go out or do anything. I offered to take her out to see my show, and then out to lunch, but she didn't want to-too far, did,'t like the long ride. It kind of hurt my feelings that she didn't want to see my show. I hate to say it, but she is my example of how NOT to grow old! That is the main reason I keep up with exercising, so I will be mobile. And I have been exercising! I have a new DVD, Biggest Loser Boot Camp. Killer exercises! I love it. And I have been running again. Need to get back my cute runner's butt!

Guess that's it for now. Going to try to get a bag on Etsy. It's Lost night tonight!

Straight Hair

Well hello again. I did, in fact, get juried into the Plymouth art guild. I am now an exhibiting artist at the Russell Gallery in Plymouth. I am so thrilled! I put in the new birch tree quilt, and the one of my backyard called Lookout Point Woods. I will include pictures. There was a fun little reception the opening night of the show, with wine and appetizers. Hil went, and although Mike couldn't go, Emily and her mom went. It was really good. I also hooked up with a guy I used to work with at Joann's, Kim Haigh. He has recently opened a little gallery in Plymouth on Middle St. called Oh My Gallery, and invited me to submit some things to sell. Well, I was accepted there, too, and put in a beach quilt, my Winter Magic quilt, and a quilt with vegetables. I also put in some framed minis. I feel really good about this!! I have work in two venues in downtown Plymouth!! I may not have sold a lot of things, but I am out there, and that makes me feel successful.
Yesterday Hil and I went and got a haircut together. We tried this new salon called Ulta, and we both got really great cuts!! I had a lot cut of because my hair was so damaged; it just brushes my shoulders now. It used to be halfway down my back. When she was done, instead of the scrunching treatment I expected, she straightened my hair!!!!!! What a shock; I have never seen my hair like that. My hair is curly!!! But it was really fun for a day. Everyone loved it but Bud. He said that was not the woman he married!! But he likes it short and curly- Yay!! Til next time!!

Count down to the 25th!!

It's almost here! My house looks like crap because all I do is sew, but I think I will be done with the birch tree quilt by Sunday!! I hope I remember to take a picture of it to post here. My hand is getting much better, too. believe sewing is good physical therapy!! Anyway, I will let you know what happens on the 25th!!

Feelin' Chubby....

Well, nothing like a little surgery to put a damper on things. This past Tuesday I had a Ganglion cyst removed from my wrist; I'm sure you can imagine how little I've gotten done. Let's see, there was the sinus infection before Christmas, the holidays themselves, then surgery. Not only have I been getting no work done but I haven't been able to exercise, either. I have lost my cute runner's butt!!!!!! I am really going to try to at least start walking this week; I have to do something! God, I can't wait to get this stump off my wrist! But, yesterday I made a great discovery. Even with stump I can embroider with a hoop!!! So I have been able to go back to the hand work on my latest quilt. It is a landscape of birch trees in front of the marsh down the street. Here it has just been put together. I don't even think it was basted yet.

I would actually like to have this done by the 25th as I am going to have my work juried in (hopefully) to the Plymouth Art Guild. I will let you know about that. I guess I should rest the stump now. Later!!

Christmas Crazies

Hi everyone! Again it's been awhile, but my husband has bought himself a new laptop, which means this computer is pretty much mine. Now I can get to it whenever I want so I should be able to keep this blog up a little better!

I have some fantastic news! The skull grimlet I told you about in my last post is going to be in a beautiful magazine called Haute Handbags!!!!!!!!!! I am so very excited!! This will be the first time I have had anything in a magazine. I have made a few more grimlets since that one. My sister, Rhonda, has bought a couple, and I made my daughter, Hilary, one with a "wailing zombie" theme. I just realized I never took a picture of that one; I'll have to get it from her. I also have a variation of the skull grimlet for sale on my etsy site. I will include a picture of that one. I was going to post the first one, but now I think I should wait!

Well here it is the Holidays. I just love this time of year and I love all the holiday festivities, but is it ever hard to get any work done! I feel I have to think about all of my my spare time and plan it to the minute! I am working on a new quilt that I would like to have finished by Jan. 25, 09, but I may have to just plan the month of January to do it! I also want to start a new weekly mini quilt series, too, so I think it may be time to look at my time and see if there is anything I can cut back on, like cooking? Sometimes I just feel stretched too far. Need to enlist Buddy's help more. He is, in fact, my husband.

Anyway, it feels good to be back. I'll never be a daily blogger, but I would like to post 2 or 3 times a month. Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas!!!

QBL

Sorry its been awhile, summer tends to get away from me.I wanted to tell you about the class I took this summer with quilt artist Rosalie Dace. It was at Quilting By the Lake, in Morrisville, N.Y. What an experience! It was such an "aha moment" week for me as far as making progress on my work. She had a quilt hung up that was not finished, along with the photograph she had taken the image from. In the photo there were 2 strong diagonals that she had not incorporated in her design. After 2 days of studying that piece I finally asked her about it, and she told me she did not like diagonals, they were too directional. In complete awe I said, You don't have to put everything in the quilt, do you. To which she said, Why would you make the same photograph twice? It was, truly, dawn breaking over marblehead. So now I look at everything a little differently and ask myself, What do I love about it? Because everything in my photo doesn't have to go into my quilt!!
Here is a photo of the piece I did in that class, still a work in progress.

Handbags

Today I finally got my handbags ready for Leslie's store--what a relief!! That was one of those things that was kind of weighing on me and was becoming stress. My friend Leslie has this amazing little store in downtown Plymouth called North Street Stained Glass Emporium. Leslie is a stained glass artist and her work is amazing!!- so bold and colorful!! It is a store/studio/classroom and it is the coolest! It is what I would want only with fabric and beads. The last time I was at one of her artists receptions she invited me to put some bags in for sale. She hosts a local artist every month, and MY show is in September!! Anyway, I finally got my bags there today: a felted purse, an evening bag with one om my mini quilts as a pocket, and a black back pack with a pink skull motif. This is an example of one of my felted purses. These are really fun to do if you like to knit. Leslie loved the bags and hopefully I will make a sale!

I have fallen totally in love with making handbags, and it's weird, because I have never been much of a purse person. When I get a bag I like, I tend to use it until it practically falls apart. Everyone I know is always changing bags!! As I said earlier, I love the thought of making functional art, and I think people will like using my bags as a way of showing their own creativity.

I have had the past two days off from work and they have been productive, good days. I feel like I have found my path again. Not only did I get Leslie's bags done, but I started my new line of "Grimlets." Last month while I was on vacation, my daughter asked if I knew how to make a wristlet. I said, tell me what that is and I'll tell you if I can make one!! A wristlet is a little clutch with a small strap attached for carrying around your wrist. Sure, I could do that, but when I tried to think of the design in my head I kept calling them grimlets. Yeah I know, nuts. I would say, no, wristlets. But I liked the word grimlets, and wanted to use it somehow. Now, I am a major league horror movie fan, so I thought, why not a grim wristlet, featuring a mildly scary motif!! So I fashioned my first "grimlet" featuring a little skull I have had for years named Jed. It is coming out awesome and will have a picture next time. Woudn't it be cool if these took off?