GOOSE LANDING

"GOOSE LANDING"

An Original Design measuring 18" X 32"

Raw edged fused applique, machine thread work and quilting

Fabric painted clouds and snow on the corn field.

Stretched on Stretch Bars.

This is my last quilt for the year 2015.

THE JOURNEY

GEESE

A lot of progress in this piece since the last post. The geese were time consuming  to first draw and than construct out of very small pieces.  I waited to make the final placement until they were all completed and now am happy with how it looks.  Next step, quilting down them and the larger chopped cornstalks.  This may take a bit of time especially with all the holiday prep that will be in between.

I am enjoying the construction of this and am happy to have snow somewhere since, so far, it has been a very mild winter and there is nothing on the ground.  It is even staying above freezing!  I guess those Greenbush Ladies at the church cookout know more than the Farmers Almanac!

GREY BARN RED BARN

Can not believe that so much time has past since my last post.  I had a very bad cold and just could not focus with all the sneezing, coughing and blow of the nose!   However it seems to have finally moved on so I was back in the studio today.

All the background tress are quilted.  I then began work on constructing the two barns I wanted to add to the scene.  I have quilted the grey one but still need to quilt the red one.  Once it is quilted I will add the windows. 

There is a lot more to come!

SAND HILL CRANES

I have finished all the quilting on this piece for all the additions.  Whew!  That took me a long time.   So now....you will see that I have added a pair of Sand Hill Cranes.  We have many of them here and I hear them every day and see them fly over the house.  I just need to go down our road a bit and I can see them out in the fields.  So I had to interpret them in a piece.

I am using my tissue paper drawing to place them in the scene moving them around in different locations until I like the placement.  Right now this is looking pretty good to me.

NOW THE POND

I made the pond and added it and the grasses , rocks and shadows to this piece.  They are fused on but not yet quilted.  I am not a fan of "cheater" fabric but do like to use it when making grasses that are too far away to make them out of individual pieces.  They are great to use as a guide to make it all look natural and once it is quilted you will hardly be able to tell I used it.

I am hoping to quilt this section this week so stay tuned to see how it works out.

TREES AND SHADOWS

How about a few trees and some shadows to set the mood of this piece.   More to come but so far it is coming along as I hoped for.

So much going on this month....mother's day, my birthday, my son's birthday, my daughter's birthday!!!   All fun and joyous events.

Next month will be my mother's 91st bday which I am hosting and then Father's day and my husband and my Anniversary....so summer continues to be full.

Hope all is well in your lives...and you continue to follow along with me in this journey.

HORSE NO. 2

Work continues on my horses.  Horse No. 2 on the left is going to take a while as he has so much more of his harness showing.  It is a challenge making all the hooks, buckles, straps, etc for these but at the same time sort of fun when it all comes together.  Definitely much have a lot of patience for this though and the quilting will also take time.  I am happy with the progress made and hope it continues to move along as well as it has so far.

SUNFLOWERS

I am adding more sunflowers as I move towards the foreground.  I quilt each part as I go....first the stalks, then the leaves, then the petals and last the pods.  Takes time to change the thread colors but well worth it.  Next will com the very closest flowers.

There is a lot of come....as you have probably guessed to fill the left side.  You will have to wait to find out what it is.

TREES

I must apologize for my lack of posting much on this piece so far however...quilting these branches take time and my time in the studio is still limited.   They are finished now and it is time to move into the mid-ground now...I am excited about this piece and hope it works out as I envision it.

TREES TREES TREES

Still adding trees and quilting them as I do.   This will be all that will be added but some still need quilting and some needles put on two small pines.   Then comes the hard part....but I will not tell just yet.

BIRCH TREES

Some birch trees added ....more will come .  Must have a lot of patience making trees....it is repetitious but relaxing at the same time. 

A DAYS WORK

Made some progress today....lots more to come.....feel good with what got accomplished today.

THE FARMHOUSE

 THE FARMHOUSE

38" X 23"

Original design, rawedged fused applque & domestic machine quilted by me.

 Stretched on stretcher bars.

 Close up of bark and machine quilting on tree

 Close up of red fall leaves on small shrub

 Horse and Farmhouse

Pair of horses in the field

...AND MORE ADDITIONS

Two were not enough....had to add one more to add depth as well as movement.
Now I will let it set a bit and see if more is needed or if I am happy with this as is.

QUILTING TREES

 I have been spending the last few days quilting these trees along with a third one not shown here.
This takes a long time but is worth the work.

NOTE:   I was asked about the size of this piece so thought I would add that to my post.  It will be approzimately 38" X 24" when finished.

In between I take breaks and walk the dogs outside and work on my rock terrace garden that runs down our front yard.

The soil is pretty lousy and there are a lot of rocks and stones in it.  There are two levels but the second one further down is just mulched for now and I will plant it next spring.  For now the first row is all sedum and russian sage.   Great for attracting bees and butterflies and also survivors in this type of situation.

THE COUNTRY HOUSE

I have been pondering this next piece while working on the last one.  Wanted to go back to doing a landscape but this time a larger one.  This art quilt will measure approximately 40" X 24" when finished.   I had the horses drawn on separate sheet of tissue to use at some point on a project and they work perfectly on this one.  This is going to take a while to complete as there are a lot of details in it but I hope you will have fun watching it come together with me.

Fog Added

This new piece will be a little more subtle and softer.   I have added a layer of fog…not too dense this time.  I like the feel of it….lots more to come.

Cleaned my studio today.  Took most of the morning and into the afternoon but it needed it.  Washed the cat's beds and then the ceiling fan blades and shelves etc.  It is amazing how fast the studio can get dusty and fuzzy.  Looks great now.  Purged some books and magazines as well.  Will take them down to the St. Vincent De Paul tomorrow.  Over all a very productive day so far.

Website New Piece & Planking

I must apologize for being absent for a while but I have been busy creating my own Website which is now open for viewing so please visit if you have time at:

www.bslartquilts.com

Then I have also begun a new piece….here is the very beginnings of it…..I am currently quilting those trees and then will continue moving forward on the piece.  Stay tuned to take the journey with me.

And last but not least…….

I have added "Planking" to my daily stretching exercises.  It strengthens your core and I believe it now that I have done it for almost one week.  If you try this….start out slow as you will feel it in the morning.  To top if off my friend, Debra told me about placing yourself against a wall and sliding down until you are looking like you are sitting on a chair but there is no chair and your back is against the wall.  So….that one…is also a killer on the legs but…..I think I will be rewarded when I am back to biking in spring.

So…..

It has been very busy here….snowing today too and we are supposed to get 6-8 inches when it is finished and then the wind starts and the drifting.  So that always means it is much worse then the measurement.

Went to see "Saving Mr. Banks".  Excellent movie…much more then what the promos make it seem like.  I would highly recommend it.

Now To Quilt

Okay, I can honestly say, tractors are no fun to make.  Much of the detail will be in the quilting….the geese, the horses, the tractor plus some grasses are still to come.

Must Have Horses

Well…..moved the geese more to the forefront and then added two horses  that have walked up the hill and out of the fog.   One more addition and then I will quilt these critters.   The next addition will take a bit of time to construct but perhaps by the end of the day tomorrow I will have it finished if all goes smoothly.

This quilt is approximately 28 inches by 16 1/2 inches.