A Little Landscape

Back around 1988 I took my niece, Alexis, to Carmel for the weekend. We spent some quiet time on the beach, listening to the ocean's sounds. I snapped the photo of her as she was building castles in the sand.

Twenty-some years later I borrowed part of my photo and printed Alexis on fabric so that I could insert her into my "Accidental Landscape" quilt. The quilt is 10" X 12" and is comprised of many small pieces of fabric, fiber, shells, beads and starfish. If you are interested in creating your own small landscapes, get the book "Accidental Landscapes" by Karen Eckmeier and have an adventure of your own. This book is filled with great ideas for all sorts of landscapes from beach, to farm, to forest, to mountains. You'll be surprised at just how quickly you can become an Accidental Landscape artist.

Where Does the Time Go?

My 'baby' brother Barry turns 45 this week! WOW, blow my hair back. I remember when mom brought him home from the hospital. He closely resembled a drowned rat. However, he improved greatly over the years, and is now a very buff, 6'5", Elvis-drawling, basketball-playing all around good guy and father of three.

A picture of his birthday fabric postcard is included in this post (click on it for a larger view). This totally buff toolman pictured reminds me of Barry. You will note that he has a bloodied gauze bandage on his left arm. This represents a recent scare that he had when working at his electrician's job. While cutting an overhead wire he managed to accidentally slash an artery in his arm and could have bled to death were it not for a seemingly random series of tiny miracles that got him to the hospital in time for a micro-surgeon to save his life. We're all glad he's still with us. Happy Birthday Barry!

Journal Quilts - Building Sand Castles

My niece, Alexis, spent a good amount of time with me when she was younger. We went on some amazing adventures together. One day in 1988, when she was about 4 years old, we spent the day on the beach in Carmel, CA building sand castles. I photographed her when she was unawares, as she began her castle. It was a bright, sun-shiny day, quiet and peaceful. We had tucked ourselves up in a cove, protected from the ocean swells. This journal quilt that I made for her birthday this year - she'll be 24 - is a memory of that small journey, proof that time is fleeting and definitely going quickly by us.

Alexis' photograph is printed on silk and attached to some lovely batik fabrics that were in my stash that are remindful of the sea. Other embellishments include over-dyed rick rack and trim, fresh water pearls, beads, shells and charms along with metallic thread and free-motion quilting. The back of the quilt has a poem about sand castles and a commemorative quilt label. Click on the photos for a king-size view and read the wonderful poem.

I included the image of the seahorse on my quilt label because it is truly my favorite of all sea creatures. The seahorse is the only species on Earth where the males give live birth to the young. After the female is fertilized she squirts the fertilized eggs into her mate and then swims off and away - no doubt for a quick trip to Nordstom's. My kinda' gal. The male seahorse is left to the gestation and birth of the sea-ponies. Fitting.

Jill - The Bingo Babe

My sister Jill mentioned that while I had indeed made her a paperdoll, I had never made her a paperdoll with HER face on the doll - as I had done for other members of the family. She seemed a bit put out about it, as a matter of fact. So in celebration of her 58th birthday I made her a paperdoll with HER face on it. (This is her when she was around 20 or so -- it's been all downhill since then.)

Since Jill is into Bingo in a big way, but also likes Keno, slots, cards, dice - you name it - I decided she needed to be a Bingo Babe with added pieces representing other gambling disciplines. The pictures above depict the front and rear view of the doll. The Bingo Card is kind of a 'sandwich board dress'. Underneath it on the front is a "Welcome to Vegas" bejeweled sign, and underneath the back there is a slot machine. On the back of the Bingo sandwich board you will note the Chapel with the number "5" on the steeple - this number being significant to Jill - you'll have to ask her! Also note her quart-size bingo dauber hanging from her hand -- I didn't want her to run out!

My goal was to make this Babe the gaudiest of the gaudiest with a headress to rival Beach Blanket Babylon. I think I succeeded. Go forth and win big, you Bingo Babe, you. Oh, and Happy Birthday sis! (As always, click on the pictures for a close-up viewing.)

Anniversary Post Card

My sister Jody and her husband Gary went on an Alaskan cruise in 2007. Jody hates to fly. (I secretly think she's waiting for them to build a bridge to Hawaii, so she can drive there.) So, it was with great amazement that she got on a !! helicopter !! to go see the glacier while in port in Alaska. This is a fabric replication of a photo of her and Gary standing on said glacier. I used landscape quilting techniques along with printing photos on fabric, lots of thread painting, Angelina fibers, glitter and other embellishments. I felt it was necessary to also commemorate the helicopter ride, so note the back side of the FPC.

Photoshop Elements - Photos to fool you

I just finished up a 4-week class in Photoshop Elements and learned how to do some fun things with photos. I start Photoshop Elements II (another 4 weeks) next Monday and am looking forward to learning other techniques.

I've included a set of pictures which I modified using Photoshop to exhibit some of its capablities. I had a small 1/2 inch square negative of my late mother in a picture with my sister, Jody and her daughter Alexis that was taken around 1986. I had a local photographer create a JPG file for me from the negative. Then I took this really junky JPG file (top photo) and cleaned it up, took out some junk in the picture - like lamps that look like they are coming out of their heads), added a bush on the left to cover up some unsightly stuff and generally improved skin tones, removed moles & blemishes, etc. (middle photo). Then I decided to just move the people to another location. So the last photo is of these 3 ladies (circa 1986) standing in front of Pittock Mansion in Portland, OR (a photo taken 20 years later in 2006), where none of the 3 ladies have ever been (bottom photo). I just love technology. (Remember to click on the photos to see a really big view of them.)