Thursday, February 20, 2014

Adding your own QR codes!

My packrat tendencies provide me with plenty of fodder for drawing


I cannot stop picking things up when I walk.  I bring them inside...to draw or decorate with....and then they end up in jars all over the house.  On the plus side, I find them endlessly inspiring.

Recently, Quilting Arts Magazine included an article on how to add QR codes to your work.  You simply download an app from Stickr.it.com and while you are there, order some QR patches.  They come in sticker form and in cloth form so you can sew them onto the back of your fiber pieces.  When you scan the code and you can upload photos and record information that you'd like to include about the piece.  So much fun!

A brief online search shows other services for this king of thing, and if you try another one, please let me know how you like it.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Think creatively to save work and time...

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn"
Edith Sitwell
 I've chosen Edith Sitwell's optimistic quote to title this art quilt (you can read it on the left side of the quilt) and to serve as inspiration for all of us who have experienced this miserable winter.  In general, I love the way things look in winter, all sparse and full of subtle color, but this year I need to believe spring is coming!  Somewhere beneath all that snow are the seeds that will bring back my beloved Queen Anne's Lace.


Stone inclusion - gift from a friend  and an old sketch printed on silk organza



Dried redbud seed pods,  coated with resin for strength,
and a pressed ginkgo leaf

So what about the time savings?  I called this an "art quilt" because it is made of sandwiched layers of hand dyed silk organza, organza printed with drawings, linen, cotton batting and a backing fabric, the entire sandwich embroidered and stitched.  A real quilt would require finished edges, but the word "art" allows me to leave the edges with curling pulled threads.  And of course, the stitching is nothing like the precise work a real quilt requires.  Time and sanity saved!

Inspred by Jane Nicholas' book Stumpwork Butterflies and Moths,
 I took the liberty of showing the seed stage of the Queen Anne's lace.
The change from blue/brown to green/white signifies the arrival of spring.