Hey, I'll be vending at Art on the Avenue, Alexandria, VA on October 2, ...

Hey, I'll be vending at Art on the Avenue, Alexandria, VA on October 2, ...
 
Come join us at
Art on the Avenue
Saturday, October 2, 2010
 
We’ll be in Booth E193 between Randolph & Raymond Streets
on Mt Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VA
 
Betsy & Linda
www.betsytruedesigns.com
www.matlyndesigns.com
 
map & directions at www.artontheavenue.org
 

OK, now what?

I signed up for the Sketchbook Project. The idea is to sketch on a theme (I selected "in flight;" thought it would work well with my interest in birds) and create a sketchbook that will then be submitted to the project in January 2011. Pretty much anything goes--sketchbooks don't include just sketches anymore.


You can rebind the sketchbook, have pages that fold out, use paint, ink, fabric, etc on the pages as long as you keep the original dimensions. If you're interested in the project, go to http://www.thesketchbookproject.com!

The sketchbooks will be on tour and be part of the permanent colection at The Brooklyn Art Library.

There is something intimidating about a new sketchpad. I've read of people scribbling all over the cover just to make it seem "used." What will I do? More later!

Location:Grimsley St,Alexandria,United States

Obi what can you be?

OK, I know it's a bad title, what can I say? Too much sunshine in California. But I discovered a Japanese Art & Antique shop in Pacific Beach. I only had a minute but found this $9 obi. Love it and as you can see, it's already been decostructed! (It was great to rip something apart because I wanted to, not because I had to undo a mistake!)

Oh, Obi, what will you be? Stay tuned!

Quilting in San Diego

I'm working on a couple of different projects while here in San Diego--a couple of commissions, a burlap challenge with my quilting buddy Lynda, and a couple more things, but I got distracted when I found these packages of batik strips (I did buy them to use in the burlap challenge, and they will go in that). I also found a rubber stamp set by Kate that allows me to stamp the cutting and sewing lines for hexagons. So now I'm doing a batik Grandmother's flower garden thingy... Going to Rosie's Calico Cupboard in San Diego (La Mesa) is always dangerous for me.... I also found some wonderful things at Quilter's Paradise in Escondido. Another awesome quilt shop, and HUGE. Next year, I'm bringing an additional suitcase just for fabric! 'Cause I need more fabric.

Dreaming Down Under

Here's a snap (sorry it's not the greatest) of my "Dreaming Down Under" (c) 2007 that is in Myrah Green Brown's Pieced Symbols: Quilt Blocks from the Global Village. It uses Myrah's foundation pieced patterns in a quilt of my own arrangement.

On the QuiltArt email list, Myrah asked for volunteers to make quilts from her patterns. Intrigued by her concept of global symbols, I volunteered! I had fun working with Myrah's patterns. I enlarged the two figures in the center so that they would be appropriately sized with three each of the other two Australian symbols she assigned me, and extended the hair into the borders. The fabrics are mostly Indonesian batiks, but there are a couple of commercial fabrics, one of which is visible in the detail shot, which were designed by Aboriginal artists.

Thanks to Myrah for letting me be part of her project and for creating such a great book!

(Foundation piecing is still not my favorite way to make quilts, though there are times when it is the best way to get the effect I want!)

A Gazebo for Jo Ann (private collection)

Here's some pics from a recent commission I completed. An online friend wanted a Christmas gift for his wife. We discussed several possibilities and settled on a gazebo theme. He sent me some photos of what turned out to be a gazebo on their beloved home which they had recently sold. I knew that they take care of their grandkids, so I zero'd in on the tire swing as an element that had to be in the quilt, as well as the wooden bridge and the great twisty tree branch. I took some poetic license to arrange the elements (all were NOT visible at once in any of the photos he sent). Once Jeff agreed on the design, I was off and running!

Close up of the gazebo showing some of the quilting! The white deck furniture was very narrow thin pieces of fusible and a bit of a pain! But I was pleased the way it turned out. The gazebo needed them. The fabric I chose represents both the light and shadow on the gazebo and the crosshatched lath composition.

I asked about any wildflowers (none were in the pics he sent) and he said Texas Bluebonnets. I found a fabric which depicted a bit of a storm-at-sea quilt but worked very well for the dark and light of the bluebonnets. You can also see some of the beading I scattered to represent other wildflowers.

The tire swing. I used a black on black floral for the tread and a dark gray fabric for the rest.

This was a great commission to work on, I really enjoyed it. I put a big push at the end to get it done a day earlier than planned, but it still got stalled in Baltimore during the big snow of December 19th. Jeff and I were checking the UPS tracking about every fifteen minutes, but it made it to Texas for Christmas.

All pictures and text copyright Betsy True 2009, 2010.