Sunday, March 29, 2009

Spring fever

I finished this smallish (13" x 31") piece today. It is not for the green line show—too small. It is not for anything. Yes, the bottom is not square and the top is slightly narrower than the bottom. (intentional) My friends will be sure that aliens have taken over my brain, this is so unlike what I usually do. The bottom, dark fabric is a piece of plummy purple Jeff Gutcheon glazed cotton that I have been hoarding for about 15 years. I wish you could really see how delicious it is.
The most shocking part of all is that it has beads (gasp!) sewn on it—a lot of them. Beads usually don't appeal to me. What can I say. The green fabric said, "sew some beads on me—then do a bunch of hand stitching around them." I obey the alien voices.

The three larger things are little flat rocks that I picked up at the beach and have been rattling around the top of my sewing table for a year or so. I tried using them once before, but they looked stupid. This time I think they work. I think I have to call it "spring fever."

35 comments:

  1. VERY cool. I love all the elements! The quilting is the perfect touch.

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  2. I LOVE IT Terry!
    Its FABULOUS - I noticed it under your sewing machine on another post.
    I thought for sure it was for your Green Line show.
    GREAT JOB!!!

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  3. No way. I love this. love it, love it. Perfect embellishment. You know I love wonky.

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  4. Resistance is futile! Gotta love those alien voices. I love this too!!

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  5. This is gorgeous... yep, you got to listen those voices or they will get even with you!

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  6. It makes me think of an underground space, and the treasures someone has collected--perhaps the Borrowers...did you ever read those books?

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  7. Anonymous8:02 PM

    Truly beautiful. You've made something gentle and something that LOOKS effortless (we all know that's far from the truth!)

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  8. Absolutely stunning! The picture of the quilt took my breath away! I can hardly imagine what seeing the real thing would do.

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  9. The beaded embellishment on this is just the right amount. Anything less or more wouldn't seem right. Nice work.

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  10. lovely, lovely.

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  11. Yup - your quilting here istruly awesome! I too don't usually like embellishing, but you're right, those fit perfectly!

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  12. Another masterpiece - the stones and the beads work wonderfully. I hope everyone who reads my blog tonight and tomorrow will check in on yours to see this lovely piece of work.

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  13. Wow. Incredible. LOVE it.

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  14. The green and the purple! The river rocks! The wispy grassy quilting. I love every single detail! Congratulations.

    (The blogger word verification voices are telling me you should have added "fringe.")

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  15. What I like is how placid it seems from a distance, and how intricate close up. Yum. You did good.

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  16. Beautiful! I like it when you listen to these alien voices.

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  17. Just great! Breaking free is one of the best things to do in art. Every important piece starts with alien voices, and they are not always right! But we have to take the risk. Nobody else will.
    Such pieces are hard to give away. They are stepping stones.

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  18. It's so beautiful. Very serene. The beads are the perfect touch for this.

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  19. it's absolutely wonderful! good thing you listened to the aliens...

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  20. The fact that there are 19 comments since you posted must tell you this is pretty cool. The colors and the shapes are really peaceful to look at.

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  21. That's the most beautiful piece of fiber art I've seen all week!

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  22. Oh, Terry, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It's serene and exciting at the same time ... I'm wondering whether a period of time locked inside your own head (re the ear thing) has opened up a new creative door? This looks like you, but looser. Truly fabulous work. I hope I can see it in person some day!

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  23. So glad you listened to the voices in your head! Hope they speak to you again. This is marvelous.

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  24. It's lovely! The beading is just right, as is the quilting

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  25. love the colors,,,,love the beads and love the stitches !!!!

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  26. Terry, This is a fun piece -- I hope you do more. I also loved your Judith's Garden in the TCQC.

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  27. This is JUST beautiful. And I know the exact purple Gutcheon fabris that you used. I have a piece that I've hoarded too, along with others from his collection of solids. No one has come close to producing those colors commercially.

    Really, really lovely.

    Ann Miller Titus

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  28. You do beautiful work. The stitching on the lower half is very unique looking. Great color combination and the beads and stones are a great addition.

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  29. Well, it seems that we all love this piece of art! It is beautiful and I love the rocks. Hope you had a sunny day and are feeling much better. Cheers.

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  30. This is too funny, the voices must be transmitting beyond your head. Last month Ron and I picked up several little white rocks on the beach with the express purpose of embellishing with stitch, no glue for this girl.

    j

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  31. This is a beautiful piece, very subtle!

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  32. This is SO beautiful!

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  33. I've never commented on your blog before but felt that I must after seeing this piece. It is absolutely stunning! The simplicity of line and form combined with the perfect amount of embellishment is really, really well done. Congratutions!

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  34. Um, congratulations!, not congratutions....still waking up... ;-}

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  35. I just discovered your blog! I've just gotten back into quilting and am reading all the blogs I can find. I LOVE this quilt!!! I love the beads, I love the quilting and I love the size! Beautiful!

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