Betty

With the exception of just a few people (including myself), everyone who attended Patt Blair's class last weekend painted portraits of their pets. Cute, but they really didn't do much for me. For one thing, I'm really not sure what I'd do with another small "art" quilt, and especially one of Julie, who I see all the time. However, I'm really feeling fired up right now and looking for subjects to paint. It was this line of thinking that led me to an "aha" moment...What if I were to incorporate the portrait into something that was useful...like a tote or a pillow? Now that appeals to me. (You know how I love "functional" art and new opportunities to use my Funtionality labels!)

I know what you're thinking (I'm thinking it, too!)...not another tote!!! However, I envision this to be a very special tote. One to be used when you walk your dog or take your dog to the park for a play date. It includes a portrait of the pet, a pocket for doggy waste bags and treats, and a large interior for the owner's paraphernalia. Don't kid yourself, it's actually just like the dozens of other totes we've made, but with a painted portrait on the front. Well, I spent the last couple of days developing my idea and the results aren't half bad. I had a great picture Maria had emailed me last year of her dog, Betty. I got to work yesterday morning and painted Betty's portrait in record time and by early afternoon I was quilting it to the front of the bag. It's now Sunday afternoon and the bag is finished. In fact, it's already en route to Maria who will be returning home next week to Seattle from a three-month long fishing trip. I can't wait to see what she thinks...

A Busy March

March has been a busy month. Early in the month Vera came for a day and we worked on a project she's making for her friend's graduation. She raided my stash of Laurel Burch fabrics and is working on a patchwork tote. So far, so good. The following Sunday, March 11th, Sally arrived for a visit (having hitched a ride with her friends who'd spent a week visiting her in Santa Barbara). That night, and precisely on her due date, Julie had her kittens. We were all up for the event, prepared to help the little momma if needed, but all went well and by 5 a.m. we were exhausted from watching and went back to bed for a few hours. Sally and I spent the next few days in the studio making a chrysanthemum pillow and a blue and yellow floral tote for Sally's friend, Otti, who was coming for dinner mid-week. Our time together was over too quickly and on Thursday, Sally rode the train home to Santa Barbara. We enjoyed a visit from the Rausch grandson's over the weekend and drove to Berkeley on Sunday afternoon to have dinner with Jeff, who was spending the week in San Francisco on business. That takes us through the first half of the month! Oh, did I mention...I celebrated my birthday on the 13th and received a very special gift...two separate weekend retreats with nationally-known, highly-acclaimed quilt artists Patt Blair and Lura Schwartz Smith (to be held in August). The Patt Blair retreat was held March 23 and 24. 

The weekend was hugely successful. I would go to Patt's retreat just to see (gawk) at her quilts. She must have brought 30+ quilts to the retreat. All were of animals as that was the topic of the retreat. I'd attended her retreat last year, so I was far from a newbie. However, I learned a few new tricks and was greatly inspired by her work and my individual time with her. She's not only a very talented artist, but she's got to be one of the top quilters in the world. Wow! I spent most of my weekend painting a rooster. Here's a picture of the rooster in-progress...

Before the retreat ended Sunday afternoon, I started a second painting of a parrot and continued working on it through Monday afternoon. It still needs a bit of work, but here's a pic of my parrot in-progress...

I'm happy with the results, considering they're only my third and fourth attempts at whole-cloth fabric painting. I'm feeling so inspired and have so many ideas for painted projects, I don't know where to begin...

P.S. Before I started something new, I decided to finish my second (failed) attempt at this process (the camellia I painted in Patt's class last year). I found the camellia as I was gathering my supplies for the retreat this year. I wasn't happy with the results and had left it folded up in the box with my paints. I didn't like it any better when I found it a week ago, but decided to use it as a practice piece for quilting. And that's exactly what I did...

I'm glad I didn't give up on it! It looked so cute after I painted the background and quilted it that I made it into a 16" pillow and mailed it to Sally to go with the chrysanthemum pillow we made together earlier this month.