Quilt Art Raven Postcard Challenge

"Happy Bird-day, Mr. Poe" -- 4" x 6" 2009
Donated to the ACS fundraiser FFAC collage mania

This party bird card was made for the QuiltArt list challenge commemorating the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe and also as a fundraiser for Fiberart for a Cause (FFAC) collage mania raising money for the fight against cancer. Click here to see all the great postcards and then buy one or two at FFAC collage mania or at Alzheimers Quilt Art Initiative. My card will be available to purchase through the collage mania sale May 5-7, 2009, I hope it finds its way to a good home.

I decided to try a new technique: painting with caran d'ache neocolor II wax pastel watercolor crayons directly onto the fusible fast2fuse postcard material. After the painting/coloring I then used a wet paintbrush to spread the color. Then I outlined with marking pen and machine stitching. Click here to see my journal quilt of my godtwins also painted with caran d'ache crayons.

Cyber Fyber exchange

The postcard I made for the Cyber Fyber art exchange and exhibition. The 3rd in my Moab Landscape series (click on landscape quilt on right to see the other two). It was interesting to develop a new technique (machine applique, no raw edges) to make this mini quilt. I attached the pieces with yarn and decorative trims, sewing over the folded seam allowances: piecing, quilting and embellishing all in one step. #1 in the series was all hand appliqued and hand quilted so this was quite a departure but definitely a technique I will use again.

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This is the ATC -artist trading card also made for Cyber Fyber, a couching/embellishing practice piece. Can you tell I like yarn embellishing? Click on art exchange to see the ATC and postcard I received from Susan Lenz who organized this huge international art exchange or scroll down.

Click here to view all the ATC and postcards (the online exhibition) and learn about the live exhibit currently showing in Columbia, South Carolina through January 20, 2009.

Peacock Incognito

Peacock Incognito 28 x 25 2008 Donna Starley

My sister Donna's 2008 Hoffman Challenge quilt which won 3rd place award in the pieced category- woo hoo. She paired small pieces of the giant peacock challenge fabric with metallic orientals in a flying geese drunkard's path variation (paper pieced). The hidden peacock parts inspired the title. This is her 2nd Hoffman entry. Congratulations from her very proud sister.

I have also entered the Hoffman Challenge twice (all four of our entries have been part of the traveling collections). And speaking of sisters click here to see my Quilting Sisters challenge quilt.

Wasilowski Plum Basket

This is the newest addition to my art quilt collection: Plum Basket by Laura Wasilowski 2008.

The back is also a work of art so I decided to show them side by side. I scanned them in rather than taking a photo so they are a bit cropped. (click on either for a larger pic) Laura taught at the Utah Quilt Guild annual quilt fest last month. Her classes were very inspirational, educational and a lot of fun. My sister and I each took a class from her and made wonderful quilts. Thank you Laura.

Update: Laura recently shared this quilt on her blog in an ode remembering summer.

Moab Summer Quilt

Want to feel the heat of a Moab summer, here it is in quilt form. This is my corner of the world. Hand appliqued, hand quilted. Made for Houston quilt show 2006 Journal Quilt Project and shown there and in Chicago and Mass. Currently on exhibit at the Springville Museum of Art annual quilt show.

It is Official: I'm a Certified Quilt Appraiser

I haven't posted for two months as I've been quite busy. In April, I traveled to Paducah, Kentucky for the American Quilter's Society Appraiser certification classes and testing. It was quite a stressful and exhausting and wonderful experience and I am now the first AQS certified quilt appraiser in Central/southern Utah (one of the first two in Utah) . There are about 92 in the entire United States. I am very honored to join this highly esteemed group and very excited about where this will take me in my quilt appraising trek.

I want to publicly thank my family for all their support, especially my sister who traveled with me and made sure things went smoothly in Paducah. Thanks for the power lunch of deep fried Snickers bar.

Antique Quilt Blog

Recently I started a new blog to showcase my antique quilt collection and my quilt appraising activities. Please check it out to see a variety of quilts from early 1800's to vintage 1930's and 40's and everything in between. Below is a sneak preview of quilts that are already on the new blog or will be soon. From left to right: c. 1830 strippy flying geese with c. 1800 copperplate toile, c. 1830 9 patch, and c. 1850 strippy star quilt.


Here is another preview: c. 1840 Hickory leaf or reel, c. 1885 blazing star, early 1900's redwork

Cyber Fyber Exchange

Here's the beautiful fabric postcard # 78 and Artist Trading Card #111 (ATC) I received from artist Susan Lenz in her Cyber Fyber art exchange. She made more than 150 postcards and 130 ATC's to exchange with artists and she will show our art in an exhibit in January 2009. "The focus of this exhibition is to highlight the influences of Internet access for today's fiber artists." There are still a few postcards and ATCs available to trade so hurry if you want to join in on the fun.

Both of the cards I received were made by cutting up previously made artwork. Don't know if I could cut up completed work but I definitely think it would be a good way to use UFO's (unfinished objects). Susan was able to make many pieces out of her old work and they are being seen around the world. Now I need to make my small artworks to send to Susan.

Scrappy Color Play Miniature

September 2005 Journal Quilt 8.5 X 11 inches

Journal Quilt Project - Special Exhibit Houston International Quilt Show 2005
Made as a sample for my sister Donna’s class, her paper pieced pattern called for 3 inch squares but I reduced them to 2.75 (eek) to fit this project. It is a mix and match sampler; there are 6 pairs of blocks with the same pieces but each twin looks different based on color placement. See if you can find the match for each block. Quilt awarded 2nd place in Miniature category at 2007 Utah Quilt Guild Annual Meeting (QuiltFest). The ribbon was much larger than the quilt. I gave this quilt to my sister for Christmas 07 so I guess I need to hand it over to her now that I have it scanned and posted. There is a pattern available.

Rocky Road

Collections have been discussed this week on QuiltArt, prompting people to post photos of their stuff so I'll play too. I collect quilts and this 1930's Rocky Road to Kansas quilt was made by my great grandma Isabella Rogers. I love purple and scrappy quilts and this is one of my favorites. The back is purple home dyed flour sacks. The quilt is being held by AQS appraisers/instructors Bobbie Aug and Gerald Roy at our appraisal classes in Idaho Falls in May 2005. I'll be posting more photos of my collection but you can see a few more on my June 07 posting
http://starleyquilts.blogspot.com/2007/06/st-george-quilt-appraisals.html

Moab Rock Talk Quilt in Quilters Newsletter

Woo Hoo. I'm so proud to announce that my petroglyph/rock art quilt: Moab Rock Talk is in the current issue (December 2007) of Quilters Newsletter magazine on page 34. My art quilt guild AQuA of Grand Junction, Colorado is featured in the Readers' Quilt Show on pages 34-36. Please checkout the issue of QNM and our website. I'm also listed at the back of the magazine on page 97, Extra Credit section, letting people know I teach hand applique, do trunk shows and quilt appraisals. I have to admit it was quite a rush to open up the magazine and see my quilt. A big thank you to Quilters Newsletter and AQuA members Marla Ferguson and Marge Fox for publicizing our work.

For more information about the quilt, see my Rock Art post of January 10, 2007. You can simply scroll down to the bottom of this blog or click on the January Archive tab at the right and it will take you to the quilt.

slice quilt

I got a surprise when I visited the Springville Museum Quilt show in Sept. and found a quilt I had worked on but hadn't entered. It was the ocean scene quilt by my friend Bev Hart (click on link at right for her blog). We slice-n-dicers, a group of 6 Utah women, each found an inspiration photo, divided it into 6 sections and then made a slice from each photo. We each worked separately making our slices so they are all unique and we all used different techniques. Bev chose the ocean scene shown here. I chose a Utah redrock scene, Rainbow Bridge (what a shock). Other scenes: an old gas station, a European fence with a grapevine, a still life w/books and clocks, and a winter street scene from a danish cookie tin. Working on each quilt and figuring what techniques to use to make the pictures come to life in fabric was quite a challenge and a learning experience.

I think Bev is the only one so far to have completed her quilt from the 6 sections. She did a great job. You can read more about her quilt on her blog.

On Bev's quilt I did the bottom left triangular section with the bright fish, seaweed and manatee parts shown in detail photo. I pieced, hand appliqued, and couched on my section.

07 Journal Quilt

Wow, things have been busy in the last 6 weeks. In addition to the great AQS news, I also learned that my petroglyph quilt Moab Rock Talk will be shown in the December issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine due out November 15.
I made a quilt for the last journal quilt project now showing at the Houston Quilt Festival show. I used a photo taken while hiking in Arches National Park with my godtwins and their grandma. Here is the quilt and the inspiration photo. I scanned the enlarged black & white photo and then used caran d'ache watercolor crayons to paint in the photo.
I also took classes, did an antique quilt trunk show/lecture and lots of appraisals at the Utah Quilt Guild annual meeting. Then onto the American Quilt Study Group seminar in the historic textile town of Lowell, Mass. My brain is overflowing from all the beautiful antique quilts I saw there and just the wonderful history everywhere, what a treat for us westerners. We don't have any cobblestone streets in Moab or anywhere in Utah. I'll soon post photos from Mass.

Clowns and Quilt Show and Appraisal Testing

Another one of my favorite quilts. Clowns Trapped in Tulle from a workshop with Lynda Faires. About 12" square. Shown in Chicago at the Friends of Keiko show.

We just had another very successful Delicate Stitchers Quilt Guild show here in Moab. I'll have to locate some photos. I was too busy to take my own as I was doing quilt appraisals, taking a class with Virginia Robertson from Colorado and doing demos on hand applique and a mini trunk show on antique quilts. And speaking of appraisals, I got the official notification on Monday that I'm now a candidate for certification by the American Quilter's Society as an appraiser of quilts and quilted textiles. I take the written and verbal tests at the AQS show in Paducah KY in April 2008.

Crossword Quilt

What's Black and White and Red Allover 20x 28

Made for 2nd Proverbial Riddle Challenge, see all the quilts at http://www.proverbialchallenge.org/

Also made for a black and white and one color challenge. I took the limited palette as a dare and managed to use 100 different fabrics. I hand appliqued the letters, hand quilted and did a bit of beading. I used red netting/tulle to take the red allover pun to a higher or it is a lower level?

I love word play and puzzles and combining those with my love of fabrics was a delight.

It is on display at the Springville Museum of Art Quilt Show in Springville, Utah from July 21 to Sept. 2, 2007.

St George Quilt Appraisals

It's about time I share an action shot (sort of) of me doing quilt appraisals. This is my booth at the Dixie Quilt Guild Show in St. George Utah in April 2007. You can see a bit of my quilt collection: Bethlehem star (Pa.) c.1900, small scale log cabin w/strippy back (Pa.) c. 1890, pink Goose in the Pond (Ohio) c. 1900 and red/white/blue quilt which will be discussed later. I had a great time and saw some nice quilts and visited with good friends--who could want more?

Quilting Sisters

Quilting Sisters Stitched Together with Love. Made for Hoffman Challenge 2003 and toured for year. Shown as special exhibit in Houston. Awarded 2006 Honorable mention at National Quilting Association NQA show. My sister (blonde) and I doing our favorite things: visiting and sewing. Hand applique and hand quilted. I had great fun picking out buttons, charms, scrap booking items, to embellish it. I used doll hair for our hair and my sister is wearing a necklace that she'd made mom about 35 years earlier- a perfect match.

Eat Your Veggies

Quilt I made for local quilt guild trading bags challenge Spring 2005 (see entry below for more info. on trading bags). That is me on the left in the green and the quilt owner Monica on the right. She gave me a lot of vegetable fabrics to work with and I rose to the challenge. I tried a new technique: I used small real vegetables & fabric paints to stamp the words. The O is a cucumber slice, V is a snap pea, I is baby carrots, etc. Scanned in vintage seed packets and printed on treated fabric. I hand appliqued the bunny and used piecing & applique for the garden angel. I added green rickrack with the binding for extra pizzazz. What fun but hard to give it up.

Well - Hello Dolly

Well - Hello Dolly. Made for the first Quilt Art bag o' stuff challenge led by Tomme Fent. Owned by quilt artist/author Jane Davila. Jane sent me a bag that contained calm light fabrics (pinks, blues, and greens), beads, buttons and some unusual (to me) items (copper mesh, aluminum flashing, etc.). The fabrics were a challenge (not my usual palette) and I had no clue what to do with the unusual "stuff". Then Jane’s fabrics met the Russian nesting doll fabric I bought for my sister and they wanted to play together. The dolls thought Jane’s fabrics brought out their beauty and Jane’s fabrics thought the dolls were perfect complements and I had to agree. I used each of Jane’s fabrics and I added darker fabrics to balance out the design.
I used freeform crazy log cabin piecing, machine quilting with metallic thread, hand quilting with cotton thread, couched eyelash yarn accents, and beading. It was fun to experiment with the different methods and materials. But I couldn’t figure out how to use the unusual items except for the scrapbook tag which I used as my quilt label/finishing touch.

cards and quilts

Here are 2 more postcards, valentines for my sister and my parents. I've had such fun making these cards. Last week was spent in continuing education for quilt appraising. Any day that you get to study quilts is a good day (even though I had to drive in snow). Today, I went to the Museum of Moab and helped with their quilt collection. I will be curating our guild quilt show there in May and June called A Quilted Feast (food themed quilts). Life is good.