Friday, December 30, 2011

Yule Haiku and Fiber Art - December 30, 2011

Yule Haiku and Fiber Art - December 30, 2011

Sparkling baubles...
Glistening upon the tree...
My eyes dance with cheer...

       A designed and made this fiber art piece to go with my "yule"  haiku.  I made thousands of beaded icicles for my Christmas tree over the years.  I took a digital photo of some of these icicles in a crystal vase on my coffee table and then printed it on fabric.  I then quilted it and added real  red beads to the tree and many of my beaded icicles onto the photo of the vase.   This gives it a 3-D effect.   Fifteen of my beaded icicles were attached to this fiber piece.   It does glisten brightly.

Friday, December 23, 2011

November - Gnarled




ancient catalpa
gnarled witness to history
leaves whisper secrets



Our prompt word immediately brought to mind the gnarly bark of the catalpa tree which I have photographed many times.  Chatham Manor, built around 1770, stands just across the river north of Fredericksburg, VA and served as a Union headquarters and hospital.  In front of the house are two catalpa trees, known as "witness trees", which were planted before the Civil War.

To learn more:
Chatham Manor
Chatham Catalpa Tree

The background image in my piece is from my own photograph, transferred onto a batik with Lesley Riley's TAP paper.  The quilt measures 11.5 x 14.5.

Monday, December 5, 2011

December prompt

The word for December, and our final word for this first year is: YULE

Have fun, and Happy Holidays!

Cherie

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

"Gnarled Coral" - Haiku Fiber Art and Poem - November 30, 2011

"Gnarled Coral" - Haiku Fiber Art and Poem - November 30, 2011

We're safe and secure...
Hidden from the world's dangers...
Is it just a dream...

   I designed and made this fiber piece with cotton fabrics, fancy yarns and beads.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

My Peach Rhapsody

Just about the time we got the Haiku prompt word for September I was itching to do another fiber/ribbon collage quilt.  The perfect opportunity arose when we were presented with the word “Rhapsody”.
I always think it’s  interesting to look at thought processes and how we end up where we end up so I hope you do too.  I considered “what have I been rhapsodizing about lately?” Peaches!!  I had brought home some from the market and every time I had one I was oohing and aahing about how declicious and perfect it was.
AND, just a few days before I had been in the local quilt shop looking at orange and PEACH fabric and carrying on about how gorgeous it was.

Tada!……………….. Peach Rhapsody
And here’s the Haiku

late summer harvest
fruit heavy branches bow low
ripe juicy peaches


Sunday, November 13, 2011

November - Gnarly Old Cat

For several years we have had a little family of feral cats occupying our back yard. Yes, we’ve been feeding them, and at one point early on we trapped them (3) and took them to be sterilized and for shots. We then turned them loose once again. There was no way these were ever going to be pets. 
Now, there is one plus a couple of neighborhood interlopers who come around from time to time.  This remaining little cat is the original – the Mom cat – she must be at least 15 or 16 now and is a tiny tough kitty. And very gnarly indeed.
Here is my Haiku:  

Gnarly Old Cat
Gnarly old cat waits
Not quite feral not near tame

Now running away
 

Friday, November 4, 2011

November word prompt: GNARLED

Here is the word for November : GNARLED
I hope you will have a lot of fun with this one. I see all kinds of possibilities.
Cherie

Monday, October 31, 2011

"Canopy of Caladiums " - Haiku and Fiber Art - October 31, 2011


 "Canopy of Caladiums" - Haiku and Fiber Art - October 31, 2011

A place of shelter...
Caladiums surround me...
The bugs feel secure...

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

October - Canopy

My 10x6" quilt is meant to depict the rain forest canopy, and that flash of crimson represents all the exotic species to be found up there.  The leaves were cut from my collection of leaf fabrics and are not fused, only glued enough to hold them in place for the stitching.  I thought the frayed edges might make them look wilder...or something.


in the canopy
high above the forest floor
a streak of crimson


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Canopy


Leafy canopy,
Dappled shadows on the earth.
Life revealed below.

9"x12", done with Noriko Endo's confetti landscape technique.
Ann

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Canopy



My found haiku reads:

   the turtle-doves sat
   or fluttered from bough to bough
   pines over my head

Sunday, October 9, 2011

devistation



Hiding under canopys

of smoke, voracious fires

wreak devistation


I painted this fire but intend to embellish and quilt it. It measures 14x15.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Milky-way Splendour


In starry heaven's
glittering canopy glows
Milky-way splendour

I had so many different ideas for this challenge, it was hard to choose one.
The background is five different fabrics, layered (three of them have glittering crystals of some sort embedded). The gaseous clouds are silk hankie with a tiny bit of Angelina in the mix. I layered dark blue tulle over all and quilted, changing thread colors to match. Last, I applied about a 'zillion' Swarovski crystals in two sizes of crystal, moonstone, gold and orange.
It measures 21"x35"

This was such a fun challenge...thank you Ann!

Love to know what you think :-)
Cherie

Monday, October 3, 2011

October Word Prompt: CANOPY

Here is the Word prompt for October: CANOPY Presented to us by Ann Turley.

This one is really wide open for interpretation! I have all kinds of images ...

Have fun

Cherie

Thursday, September 29, 2011

A Spectacular Rhapsody - Fiber Art and Haiku - September 29, 2011

A Spectacular Rhapsody - Fiber Art and Haiku - September 29, 2011

      I live in northern Virginia and the firework display in Washington DC is spectacular.   I beaded the fireworks on this fiber piece.  My haiku for this piece is:

Bombs bursting in air...
I see and hear the fireworks...
My heart beats quickly...

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Hungarian Rhapsody

The first thing that came to mind when considering September's Rhapsody prompt was the Hungarian Rhapsodies by Franz Liszt, probably some leftover fragment of my years of piano lessons.  While thinking about the musical theme, I was also making up the grocery list for the coming week and somehow Hungarian Goulash, which has paprika as the defining ingredient, entered the mix.

I used an inkjet transparency transfer method with gold Lumiere paint to create the background.  The piano keys were done with CorelDraw, Photoshop and good old pencil and paper, when I couldn't get the computer to make just what I was after, then printed onto fabric and enhanced with colored pencils.  The pepper shape was from a photograph and just the perfect bit of fabric.  I left off the haiku words, as it seemed busy enough already.  The whole is machine quilted - the lines are meant to represent sound waves.   I tried a facing for the edge finish, which is certainly clean and easy, though the corners aren't sharp enough to suit me.  Next time.  This one is small - only 9x6.5".


music fills the air
expect the unexpected
rhapsody in life



Friday, September 16, 2011

Rhapsody

Joyous ecstasy,
Harmonic rhapsody,
Music to my ears.

9"x12", this is my contribution to this month's prompt.
Ann In Fallbrook, CA

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Rhapsody



































My found haiku reads:

    universal lyre
    had conversed with every leaf
    the voice of the wood

Monday, September 12, 2011

Sheers Series #8: Rhapsody In Blue

SPARKLING AUTUMN SKIES
SHADES FROM AZURE TO SAPPHIRE
RHAPSODY IN BLUE

I am posting my piece unfinished, as I am leaving town again and won't be able to finish til I return home. It is all sheers, #8 in my series. This time I opted to use no fusible, so the pieces are all basted together right now. Not sure exactly how I will finish the edges...I have two or three ideas and will experiment when I can.

It measures 36"x27"

Thanks Pat for the beautiful word prompt!
Your comments and suggestions are as always gratefully received!
Cherie

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Life's a Rhapsody



My small quilt is 18x 30". It is on a silk background quilted with music symbols. The ribbons are doing the dance. I love all comments, criticisms, and discussions.






Life is a Rhapsody



Irregular, improvised



colorful music

Sunday, September 4, 2011

September Word Prompt: RHAPSODY

Howdy everyone...Here it is another month gone by, and time for our Sept. word prompt. The word this time is presented by Pat Havey: RHAPSODY.

This should elicit some wonderful poetry and art...I'm looking forward to them!

Cherie

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Journey - Seeing the Elephant

No one knows the exact origin of the phrase "seeing the elephant" in conjunction with a journey.

Hindus consider it a good omen to see an elephant when one is traveling.  In the Hindu pantheon, Ganesha, who is depicted with the head of an elephant, is the patron of beginnings, the arts and sciences, and writing.  Ganesha is revered for his ability to remove obstacles, though he has been known to place those same obstacles in the way of those who need to be deterred from the paths they have chosen.

Historically, Alexander the Great defeated an army mounted on elephants during his campaign in the Indus Valley in the 3rd century BC.  The ancient Greeks used elephants in war, as did the Seleucids of eastern Macedonia and the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasties.  The Carthaginian general Hannibal drove an army of elephants over the Alps in 218 BC, though most of his elephants didn't make it.

In these early encounters, those who "saw the elephant" would have likely been awed and frightened, unless of course, they were those fielding the war elephants.

Charlemagne was intrigued by stories of the massive beast and managed to acquire one of his own for his palace at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle).  People came from all over to see this marvelous animal.

In America, there were traveling circuses which often included an elephant, and the inhabitants of the towns which these shows visited would ask each other if they "had seen the elephant".

When American settlers began to move west in the early 1800s, their letters and diaries often mentioned "seeing the elephant".  In the early years of the westward migration, the phrase denoted excitement at seeing new places and anticipation of a better life ahead.  In later years it became more common as a description of discouragement when the hardships of their journey turned out to be more than they could bear, or when their destination eluded them.  Indeed, many of these immigrants turned back in their defeat.  During the Civil War, soldiers would refer to a battle they had been in, or an upcoming one, as "seeing the elephant".

I have chosen this elephant to illustrate our journey word this month because I think all of us who create have met our own elephants along the way.

My elephants this month were an earthquake and a hurricane, neither of which did any real damage here, though that first elephant made quite the bad impression on one who had never even considered worrying about such a thing, and stopped forward movement for over a week.

This piece is 8.5 x 11", machine appliqued and quilted.  The background design is my own drawing, and the elephant was machine embroidered prior to the quilting and is based on an elephant drawing in the public domain, from wikicommons.


when following dreams
the journey must continue
past the elephant



Tuesday, August 30, 2011

"Journey" - fiber art / haiku - August 30, 2011

"Journey"  -  fiber art / haiku - August 30, 2011

    My haiku fiber art piece for August was about a journey.   I did a photo transfer onto treated fabric of a digital photo that I took while taking off from LAX this past month.  It is machine quilted.
My haiku for the fiber piece is;

Where am I going?...
My journey to happiness...
I'm above the clouds...

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Journey

 
detours? distractions?
unplanned stops, uneven road
part of the journey
We are the sum of all that has happened to us - positive and negative. It is all part of our journey through life. 
 


 
watercolor wash,  overstamped with household utensils and distress ink, ink messages and road map collage, manila tag painted with distress ink and attached with brad and ribbon.
Guila Greer
Honeyquilts

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Journey


One Step begins a
Journey of one thousand miles.
I can't find my shoes.

This is a small watercolor with pen and ink. I used a few patterns from Zentagles to do the border and background.
ANN

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Journey





































my found haiku reads:

The next train arrives
rounding-up of stray children
outside the station


Thursday, August 4, 2011

AUGUST PROMPT: JOURNEY

Here it is , the 5th of August already, can you believe how fast this summer has flown by?

The word prompt for this month comes to us from Becky: JOURNEY.

Looking forward to all the wonderful haiku and art pieces for this one! Have fun

Cherie

Saturday, July 30, 2011

"Balance" - Fiber Art and Haiku - July 30, 2011

"Balance" - Fiber Art and Haiku -  July 30, 2011

Look at how you stand...
Life is full of challenges...
Maintain your balance...

    I designed and made this fiber  art piece to go with  a haiku about balance.  I used cotton fabric, fancy yarn and shells on this piece.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

(un)balanced

Balance - yin and yang
Competing priorities
Pushing and pulling

Photobucket

This may be my favorite piece so far. It is "8.5 x 11" like my other pieces, but is not square - the quilting distorted the dimensions and so I left it that way.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

July - Balance

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw our word for July was "The Ape Who Guards the Balance" (Amelia Peabody, anyone?)  A bit of research told me that the book title refers to Thoth, the ancient Egyptian deity who weighed the hearts of the deceased to determine their fates.

Using an ancient Egyptian god in a Japanese poetic form wasn't going to fly, nor did I want to make anything death themed, but those scales stuck with me.  Then I thought of juggling the things I have to do and the things I want to do.  I googled juggler images and turned up an Egyptian tomb painting of female jugglers.  Still ignoring the obvious sign from god to make an Egyptian sort of quilt, I came up with this one.

The juggler is based on the tomb painting (which is in the public domain), but the face and eye were modernized.  I drew the scales while looking at various scale images, and scanned a real skeleton key to trace.  They key bit came from a book-on-tape I was listening to at the time, can't think what now.  The line was "the key is balance".

Techniques include fused applique, stitched down with monofilament, machine quilting, and hand embroidery (the chains holding the scales).  The haiku is written with a Liquid Gold pen.


trying to juggle
too many balls in the night
balance is the key







Thursday, July 21, 2011

July Haiku Art - Balance

What balance means to me these days is the attempt to put the mind and body into a balanced or integrated state as we do through Yoga practice.
My quilt incorporates the words: "Shanti" which means peace and "So Hum" .  So Hum is a mantra that we use for focus while doing deep breathing.

The Haiku
close your eyes breathe in
jasmine scented air swirling
find your center - stay
 
Shanti 2
 

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Balance

My found haiku reads:

they float through the air
dance on the tips of their toes
The dancers take joy

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Steam-A-Cheese


This is my first project for the Haiku Art Quilters, and I hope it is OK. I made a small quilt, only 5"x7", and it represents my dilemma. Do I stop to make meals, or do I continue to quilt? Ironed cheese, anyone?

Cooking and quilting,
I'm often torn between them.
Where is the balance?


Ann In Fallbrook,CA

Thursday, July 7, 2011

balanced diet


Haiku -


A balanced diet -
Coffee, chocolate, chips and wine
Any arguments?

This bit of sillyness is made on handdyed background. The cake is velvet and metalic knit with beads as nuts. The wine is layered and painted with shadows. The chips are two layers of organza and one of tulle all bonded with misty fuse then heated with the heat gun for shaping. What a fun one this was!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

YIN AND YANG

My Haiku for July : Balance

Perfect harmony
Masculine and Feminine
The Yin and the Yang


I simply drew a couple of Zentangle type symbols for my journal this month. Too many challenges at the moment, LOL.

Cherie

Monday, July 4, 2011

JULY PROMPT: BALANCE

It's time again for the word prompt...this months word given to us by Carole is...Balance. There are so many ways you can go with this one. I can't wait to see what turns up .

Remember the form is 5-7-5 syllables (for this first year at least). If you can do it in the week, great...if not, post when you can...it's never too late!

Cherie

Thursday, June 30, 2011

"Stream" haiku and Fiber Art - June 30, 2011

"Stream" haiku and Fiber Art  - June 30, 2011

It runs through the land...
Gurgling in the sunlight...
Cool and refreshing...

Saturday, June 25, 2011

June Haiku Art: Waterfalls

I love the June prompt word:  Waterways.  Having grown up on the Great Lakes and steeped in the history and lore of the St. Lawrence Seaway I immediately thought of Niagara Falls.  And a more recent Falls discovery - Minnehaha Falls.
I am currently working on a couple of water related quilt art projects and did not want to start another one right now.  So I turned to another art form and designed and made Waterfall earrings.

Waterfalls    the Haiku

cascading splendor
mists rising torrents swirling
mighty falls thunder
 
and the Art

Waterfalls  
Sterling Silver and Swarovski Crystals

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Waters of home

I grew up in south Florida, on the shore of Lake Okeechobee, so that's what jumped into my head when I thought of "waterways."

Lake Okeechobee
Altered by the hands of man
Fragile, beautiful

Photobucket

Photobucket

One shot with flash, one without. Combined, you get an idea of what the piece actually looks like! Color is truer on the darker/no flash shot, but you can see the couching (new technique this month) around the lake better on the lighter/with flash shot.

I really like how this one turned out.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

June - Waterways

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw June's word was watersheds - the small tributaries that flow into larger ones, and finally into the bays and oceans.

The image here was made several years ago with UltraFractal 4.  The fractal was printed onto fabric and then machine quilted.  It's surprisingly hard to quilt a fractal image, as many parts of it have no real boundaries, and it's easy to get lost or trapped, despite prior planning.

But what about the yellow bits?  Sunlight reflecting on the waters?  Sandbars?  Pollution?  You choose.







waterways of life
creeks and streams feeding rivers
flowing to the sea


Orcas at Play... June Waterways.

Haiku:
Waterways flowing
Friend and foe, rage and calm
An Orca pod plays

 I went through the usual... writing down what the word brought to mind... especially since Kathy used the word 'ocean'...then focused on what had to be the most pleasant day trip of a lifetime. Hence my 'Orca's at Play'. On that trip, at one time I counted 25 dorsel fins above the water... then to hear the sound below the water as they communicated... well, what can I say, except 'AWESOME'!
I hope you enjoy my experience through this small vignette....

I used painted Steam-a-seam for the water, with a bit of color above and below. In keeping with my purpose so to speak, I again journalled and used a small bit of fabric.
Here is what the painted Steam-a-seam looked like before I cut ouit the piece I wanted.

I look forward to your comments...

Saturday, June 11, 2011

May


I did the figure for a Pamela Allen class and then wrote the "soft" haiku about children. Then I finished this piece. It's done with raw-edged machine applique (my first) and a bit of machine quilting.

Children soft and smooth
Life's confusions hard and rough
What about children

Linda Jacks

Friday, June 10, 2011

Haiku housekeeping

Load your photo, then

click on it and select "large."

Wow! It sure looks great!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Sikanni River

crystal clear sky blue
Sikanni River flows by
pristine wilderness

I did this piece for another challenge, but since I'm so limited for time thought I'd submit my Haiku and the work that inspired it.
I hope I will become a more active participant :)
Rhoda



Saturday, June 4, 2011

geysers and rainbows



Small water droplets

become clouds and rainbows

as geysers perform.


This little quilt is 10x14". It is raw edge appliqued, The geyser is organza shredded and angelina fibers - unironed. The sky is hand dyed. This was fun and quick and a strange take on waterways - but thats what came to mind - Go figure!!!!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Sheers series #7: Waterfall


From over the edge
cascading, plummeting down
pooling crystal clear

This is #7 in my ongoing series of work entirely in sheers. The background is a watercolor print sheer. The waterfall is distressed (using a needle) organza with pieces of cellophane behind it to create the 'rainbow' effect. Micro glitter adds the sparkle of the water spray.
It measures 11"x15"

Thanks for another good challenge Kathy
Cherie

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

June theme: waterways

For June, let's think waterways -- oceans, rivers, canals.

Since I got to choose the prompt, I made my haiku in advance.  It features a photo I took of a ship going through the locks in the Panama Canal.  The found haiku reads:

it's the same old talk
same old view of the canal
some work at the docks

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Clouds- May "Soft" Haiku

"Clouds" -  May "Soft" Haiku

Soar Above the clouds...
Shimmering in the sunlight...
Floating through the sky....

Monday, May 30, 2011

Dandy-lion

Photobucket

"Soft"
Dandelion puffs
Explode softly in my yard
Hard to get rid of!

The new technique this month was trapunto, for the dandelion leaves. A couple of them wound up a bit overstuffed, once I stitched the veins, so I resorted to snipping the back and pulling out some of the stuffing on the biggest leaf.

I also bought some rayon embroidery thread to use for the dandelion puff. Shiny and pretty - and not too much of a pain to deal with!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Soft

Soft was very hard for me.  Apparently I don't often view my world through a soft filter.  I first thought of cat fur for soft, and then spring colors, which led to this.

Techniques used in this piece include fusing, machine applique and quilting, watercolor crayons and ink for the words, and the use of colored pencils to darken the petals and to lighten the water when I discovered that the thread work wasn't going to fix what turned out to be poor choices of fabrics.





a sudden wind gust
sends showers of soft petals
to drown in a pond



Thursday, May 19, 2011

A Soft Day In Ireland


The Irish are used to a lot of rain.  Sometimes it rains hard; sometimes it's more like a misty blanket covering the earth.  They call this a "soft day".


 




steady gentle rain
Irish hills shrouded in mist
another soft day