A snowy day on the Ridge.

 It was a cold and snowy one yesterday.

 We live in a beautiful place.

The snow on the pines is spectacular.

 The birds could not get enough feed.

The blue jays are a bit aggressive.

I started on the big quilt .

I have the batting cut and have the sky

pined on and will start working my way down.

I choose  a lot of fabric and had a load

to pre shrink in the washer.

Thank goodness for the mangle it makes

short order of ironing a lot of fabric.

Today I set up a show in the library for 2 months.

I will get a few groceries and hunker in for a few days.

Snow Snow and more Snow.

The poor birds are trying to eat enough to

keep warm. I have never put this much bird feed

out . The snow keeps coming and they keep

eating. I will be glad to see this winter end.

And it has only begun.

Today I finished the back of the Sumac quilt.

I will be taking 8 pieces to the Wheatfield Library

Saturday for them to enjoy for 2 months.

I wanted to bring at least one new quilt.

The Sumac quilt is  my most recent work.

Friday I will start on the big quilt.

I need to block in the larger parts and

print up photos of the birds from Barb.

Keep warm out there.

Make bright and colorful quilt to take

your mind off of the cold and the snow.

 Looking back on 2013 I must have made about

50 of these small art quilts.

I had a show in May In Harmony with Nature IV

with Bonnie Zimmer and Doris Myers at TAF.

I was part of the FibR Show at TAF where I

showed the Creamery Quilt.

 I participated in the Jasper County Members Show

in October with 3 pieces. Than I was part of the Salon

Show in Munster, In.  where I received an award.

A milestone for me.

 I made 40 hot pads for stocking stuffers  from my

UFOs and failures. Never say failure The ufo's

 turned into great hot pads. they were a hit.

 I got some great fall photos.

 Tried something new with Katie PM in Michigan.

 Nancy and I did a play date and this

lovely golden tree quilt was the result of that.

 I did a series of Minnesota Prairie quilts.

 This is the newest quilt I am working on love the

inclusion of red in the fore ground. Sumac.

 CHAIRS. This is the basis for a show in 2015.

The whole solo show will be about chairs.

Art quilts, painted chairs, and photographs.

This small quilt was made for my sister Nancy.
This was her Christmas present.

 In 2014 I will be making 10 bed quilts for Christmas

gifts for the women in the family. 2 done so far.

This is the nest and quilt I made to get considered

for the show with Brab.

Barb Lucas and I will have a show in October 2014

combining her wildlife photography and my quilts.

I will be doing a 12 foot wide by 6 foot tall landscape quilt in

5 sections featuring Barb's photographs worked in the quilt. 

 

Another Minnesota quilt. 

 Robin in springtime from In Harmony with Nature show.

 Silk birds nest from In Harmony Show.

Reflected Pines. 

 The Creamery from the FibR Show.

From photos I took in Minnesota.

The best art comes from things around me.

Experiences and places that I love.

 The studio where all this creativity takes place.

Finally one of my best quilts that was in the

AQS Show in Grand Rapids this summer.

Now that I do this retrospective I am amazed

that I got so much done. I even took a month

off to spend a month in Battle Lake Minnesota.

I am so grateful that I am having this time

in my later years to finally be an ARTIST.

God is good to me and I hope I have many

more years to create art from the beauty

I see in the world around me.

Peace to you in the New Year

2014 Goal

Yesterday I picked out fabrics for some family quilts to

make for Christmas gifts next year.

I thought it would be a wise idea to have them

speak for a color combination before I start

taking the time to make them.

I already have the 2 strip quilt tops done.

So I will need 8 more.

I am moving the spare machine up to my

bedroom so I can work on them in the evenings.

Television is boring anyway.

It takes about 10 to 12 hours to make a top.

So it should be doable to have then done by

the middle of the year giving plenty of

time to have them quilted.

This is one of my goals for 2014.