tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29058496829744229192011-11-27T17:23:23.511-07:00<i>Follow the Creative Life of Marcy... always colourful!</i>Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.comBlogger791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-12454538542742242302011-09-25T15:34:00.004-06:002011-09-25T15:36:08.387-06:00

It still isn't fall here!! September 25th and the leaves are just turning. We are waiting for the frost and enjoying fresh tomatoes off the vine... unheard of this time of year. Here are some pictures of my garden... you can see all the green! Volunteer sunflowers are still blooming like mad. Some plants like the Delphinium have been tricked into thinking it is spring again... despite being cut

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-71869162841557730612011-09-05T11:37:00.001-06:002011-09-05T11:38:42.722-06:00

It is becoming that time of year where nature's thoughts are turning to fall. The frost has not come, but the nights are cool enough that leaves are starting to turn colour and the rose hips are getting the translucency they always do when the cold comes. Autumn is a good time of year with the temperatures during the day being "just right" and the outdoors calling for walks amongst the falling

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada54.87660679614488 -117.4438480312500153.93936829614488 -119.46275053125001 55.813845296144876 -115.42494553125002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-9428636154719067692011-06-20T18:23:00.001-06:002011-06-20T18:25:53.355-06:00

It has been raining a lot this week and though it is June the humid weather is definitely feeling April-ish. Tomorrow is the first day of Summer. In celebration I have posted a few favourite views of my garden... photos that were taken this afternoon. On a CMYK colour wheel, green and fuchsia are complimentary colours... these garden shots emphasize how the green makes the fuchsia seem at its

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-68340889298320169492011-03-06T11:09:00.002-07:002011-03-06T11:13:34.248-07:00

Well, I'm not going to New Zealand, unfortunately, but one of my pieces is on its way as part of a group exhibition from the Fibre Art Network. The exhibition is called Canadian Content. Our exhibition will be part of a large quilt show called the Remarkable Symposium 2011 in Queenstown, New Zealand from April 18th to 23rd, 2011. Pretty exciting! My piece is called "Wild Rose Hip" and it

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-81326595697237908672011-01-28T15:54:00.001-07:002011-01-28T15:55:22.997-07:00

Today I am felting some wool for a new project... a piece that will hopefully travel to New Zealand in an exhibition collaboration by the Fibre Art Network. A great opportunity to have a portfolio piece travel afar. When I am in my studio, things get a little piled up. I'm pretty sure if you ever found the end of the rainbow... this is what you would see. The colours are so

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-47841826227243242202011-01-24T14:17:00.000-07:002011-01-24T14:17:55.064-07:00

It is plus 4 degrees celcius today! Time to get outside... I am always inspired artistically by these lovely rose haws and their delicate forms. I'm sure something good will come of this picture. Rosie... dubbed Snowsie today... had a wonderful romp! She had to be dug out a couple of times. Her heart is as big as a lion, but she is only about a foot tall.

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-75345968453704893882011-01-21T15:50:00.002-07:002011-01-21T15:52:28.704-07:00

Today I submit my final proposal for my MFA exhibition plans. Today, I submit a document that states I will create 50 pieces... all 20" x 20" square to be presented at the end of May 2012. Today, I wonder what on earth I am thinking that I can accomplish this gargantuan task :-) So here I go on a new beginning...

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-70803806308252171222010-12-01T17:05:00.000-07:002010-12-01T17:05:23.093-07:00

Two weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop taught by Margie Davidson at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, AB. The workshop was two days long. The first day we learned about manipulating cotton in folds and gathers and then dyeing the cloth in vats of dye. This method of dyeing is called Shibori. The second day we used natural indigo in our vats. It was a wonderful learning

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-40298572156177028962010-11-01T22:31:00.000-06:002010-11-01T22:31:25.948-06:00

Here are the same giraffes as posted below... with spots :-)

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-44859528942890406302010-10-31T16:50:00.001-06:002010-10-31T16:53:01.016-06:00

This weekend I am working on a project for the annual Quilting Arts calendar contest. This is an annual ritual where I submit work and get rejected :-) Toughens the soul and keeps me determined. This year's theme is pets. Over my lifetime... a brief 45 years... my family and I have had... several cats, including three at the moment, several dogs, including one cute little Cavalier at the moment,

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-9165988162978064592010-10-26T18:00:00.000-06:002010-10-26T18:00:09.374-06:00

Today is our 25th Anniversary. We celebrated yesterday because my husband has a business meeting tonight :-) We did have a lunch date today though! I searched high and low for an anniversary card, but I never could find one that said what I felt. So, I made one instead. I'm posting it as a warm-up for Creative Every Day month which starts November 1st. Each picture represents one year of our

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-13946287972552127542010-10-20T16:18:00.001-06:002010-10-20T16:25:41.159-06:00

This week I'm experimenting with a product that is new to me, but has been in the fibre art world as a medium for a long while. Tyvek is a kind of plastic paper used in house building and it somehow made its way to the art industry... as industrial products often do. This 4" x 6" piece was heated using an iron and then coloured with pencil crayons after it cooled. I'm going to try many, many

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-20702391454956577372010-10-19T16:46:00.000-06:002010-10-19T16:46:06.663-06:00

One of the many things I do to relax and still exercise creativity is to make a treasury collection on Etsy. Here is today's Funky Giraffe treasury :-)

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-92005814055640225372010-10-12T08:18:00.000-06:002010-10-12T08:18:37.982-06:00

And in colour.

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-78696960118616578382010-10-11T10:16:00.001-06:002010-10-11T10:28:22.304-06:00

I live in Northern Canada. Our days are already getting terribly short... and our leaves are now gone. Fall fell. I inked this tree yesterday in remembrance of leaves :-) Thank goodness they'll be back in the Spring!

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-7877327057216099562010-10-06T14:54:00.000-06:002010-10-06T14:54:00.285-06:00

This month my husband and I are celebrating our 25th Anniversary. We are just celebrating quietly on our own, but in our minds it is something big to be proud of and thankful for. We have worked hard over the years... living, being, raising children... and we have many reasons to celebrate 25 years together. One of our favourite consequences of our decision to share our lives together are our

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-12088709210160499082010-10-01T20:31:00.002-06:002010-10-04T16:25:51.843-06:00

Often before an anticipated busy part of life, I decide I need to be more organized so that I can keep afloat during the upcoming busy time. Ironically, by the time I'm finished prepping for the busy time, I have been so busy getting organized that the busy time is quite relaxed. Next Friday, October 8th, I begin working on my Master in Fine Arts. I know it will be busy. So I have been

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-791625898135570792010-07-29T10:03:00.000-06:002010-07-29T10:03:51.683-06:00

While relaxing in my Mom's garden, I finished the binding on five more minature sunflower quilts. I'll post them on Etsy when I return home. My Mom's garden is the perfect place to photograph garden flowers. Enjoy!

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-30706183708920079022010-07-28T18:39:00.000-06:002010-07-28T18:39:36.496-06:00

This week I am vacationing in Ladysmith, BC at my Mom and Dad's house. It is lovely here and so relaxing to sit in the garden. Instead of twiddling my thumbs, I have tried to knit a bowl and then felt it. I did learn to knit when I was a teenager, but had to re-learn this week. I don't think I've ever finished a knitting project before, so completing this little bowl was good in all kinds of ways

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-72014939982461359182010-07-25T09:36:00.000-06:002010-07-25T09:36:51.804-06:00

My twenty-one year old daughter... always watching out for my best interests... taught me how to Twitter on Thursday. I am here to rave... a bit. As a marketing and business exposure tool, Twitter is probably one of the best. Some say Twitter is old news, but I think it will work for me just fine and dandy. Worth a look if you want to boost some traffic to your web sites and spread the word at no

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-5244293446922027752010-07-22T18:25:00.000-06:002010-07-22T18:25:50.497-06:00

I have been hand-dying fabric and getting it ready to sell on Etsy. I have photographed some of the fabric today... takes a lot of time, but is fun too! Go to my Etsy site if you want to purchase any. Enjoy colour...

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-87628367060241188702010-06-21T07:52:00.002-06:002010-06-21T07:55:03.417-06:00

This weekend's creativity involved two-dimensional gardening. Here are three miniature sunflower quilts I made to sell on Etsy. Cute and sunny and fun to make .

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-31582837481518550562010-06-12T14:18:00.000-06:002010-06-12T14:18:24.163-06:00

This has been an exciting week for me in design. I have been featured as a Canadian designer in the Canadian Quilting Association's magazine "The Canadian Quilter". It is a five-page feature, which is wonderful! One page is about me and the other four pages feature my pattern "Counting Sheep". This pattern is also availble on my website http://www.sunflowerdesign.ca/. Thanks to CQA for this

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-25001438759827576112010-05-30T21:38:00.004-06:002010-05-30T21:42:44.768-06:00

Do I have anything to show for my creativity this weekend? I don't, but I did spend a lot of time being creative! This weekend was spent catching up on graphic design work, both paid and volunteer. One of my latest volunteer ventures, started in the winter, was to become Assistant Website Coordinator for the Fibre Art Network, also known as FAN. There are a variety of things that I do... post

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-79027428232103609802010-05-24T11:43:00.004-06:002010-05-24T11:55:08.476-06:00

After spending all day Saturday watching the rain (and snow) fall from the sky... I got bored and decided I had a craving for pink cupcakes. Too lazy to drive anywhere to get one, I decided to add a treasury to Etsy about pink cupcakes. Ironically, every pink cupcake I chose was inedible. Fun, but did not do much for cravings. Today, May 24th, is my daughter's birthday. Sam is 21 years old today

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-32419021806162208642010-05-18T20:17:00.004-06:002010-05-18T20:23:11.210-06:00

I've been away for a while and then sick for a bit and now life is ready to get back energized. I travelled to the Canadian National Quilt Show in Calgary with my very good friend, Elaine. We had a marvelous time, despite the snow and explored a lot of different places in Calgary as well as attending the show for a couple of days. I had my first quilt exhibited with FAN (Fibre Art Network) as

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-5895181067771622092010-04-04T18:40:00.003-06:002010-04-04T18:50:21.713-06:00

My birthday was last Monday, March 29th. I had a good day... considering my age :-) I turned 45 and I am really happy about it because I didn't really like the number 44. There was just nothing special about it. I got many nice gifts, but received this extra special one today from my daughter who is away in University. It is called a Wordle and it is crafted by hand not by computer, which is the

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-52929827341930995792010-03-20T16:35:00.007-06:002010-03-20T16:43:14.923-06:00

Creativity is followed in many different ways in my studio. Besides graphic design, fibre art, felting and quilting, I have been interested in drafting patterns of my own designs. My first pattern is now up for sale on Etsy! It has taken me a while to get all the details finished and now that the pattern has been officially tested, I feel very comfortable putting it up for sale. It is available 

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-40676292065312346302010-03-14T19:31:00.000-06:002010-03-14T19:31:05.031-06:00

Back home from holidays. We had a great time in Maui exploring and snorkeling and relaxing. I picked up a Sashiko kit at the Maui Quilt Store. It took only two or three hours to finish and now is ready to be made into a pillow. It was nice to work with my hands while I was away!

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-83278853148564280922010-03-02T11:57:00.002-07:002010-03-02T12:00:16.678-07:00

This week my husband and I are visiting Maui! We are staying near Kaanapali along the West shore of Maui. We arrived late in the day after the Tsuanmi warning was lifted. Everyone is happy their homes and livelihoods were spared. Yesterday we took a lovely afternoon drive to Kihei and found the Maui Quilt Store. My husband found another husband outside waiting for his wife and they quickly

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-17089041572066887612010-02-20T09:59:00.002-07:002010-02-20T10:03:40.544-07:00

It has been three weeks since my last post. My husband and I took a short trip to Florida and I have been busy catching up since. I hope this weekend will allow me to spend some time in my studio! I was honoured to be invited to speak to the Edmonton and District Quilt Guild on February 17th. This was my first public speaking event. I was asked to share how my career as a graphic artist has

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-28871963165147724402010-01-25T13:03:00.001-07:002010-01-25T13:05:13.016-07:00

This quilt was finished last Friday, but I had to wait for weather to cooperate for a photo opportunity. I am submitting the quilt to be included in an exhibition called GeoPhysical held in May as part of Quilt Canada. The Fibre Art Network (FAN) of which I am a member, is putting together this particular exhibition. It is great to have it finished. I really enjoyed machine quilting this one... a

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-86556207835466945762010-01-19T11:09:00.002-07:002010-01-19T11:31:31.442-07:00

Penguin has a new friend. King Penguin that is... or mini-Giraffe. I made this Giraffe over the weekend with instruction from Wool Pets by Laurie Sharp. Turned out kind of hairy. Maybe in the olden days, giraffes were hairier? Or maybe this is a Northern Alberta Giraffe. And must admit Giraffe is kind of buff... more like horse muscles than giraffe :-) My quilt is now listed on

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-68838227476174138202010-01-18T11:19:00.004-07:002010-01-18T11:39:24.562-07:00

A little post :-) Craft Hope for Haiti is an Etsy Site that is selling handmade items to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. If you would like to donate some handmade items, please visit this site and learn how. There are some excellent items for sale, so if you don't have anything to sell, you may find something to buy!! If you have a blog, put up the Craft Hope for Haiti Button to help

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-39111886886108523522010-01-18T09:39:00.001-07:002010-01-18T09:41:20.713-07:00

Here are a couple of photos that I took near my home in the forest. I edited them in Photoshop. Possible quilt ideas??? Maybe. One of my goals for this year is to create a body of work. A series. I've never done this before. My theme is going to be Wild Roses, which I have been photographing since last May. I have a LOT of reference material now...

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-84308525521283494332010-01-13T09:35:00.001-07:002010-01-13T09:37:48.924-07:00

It's mid-January almost and I've decided to come back to blogging. I needed a break from the electronic world for a few weeks... and I now I'm re-energized. I've joined Creative Every Day 2010 to keep focussed on creating. I will share a lot of my work during the year, but I won't be able to share everything! I'm looking forward to being part of the Creative Every Day community of artists and

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-741760137233890432009-12-18T11:48:00.001-07:002009-12-18T11:50:40.487-07:00

I'm a typical Canadian obssessing about the weather... only -10 today! It was -44 on Monday, so I am glad to get outdoors again. I am posting Trevor's quilt today. I have been working on the quilting of it. I traced some music into the panels and will begin quilting and painting it this weekend. I'm excited to see the results. I think Trevor will like it no matter what happens. The music idea

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-59246473284056656052009-12-07T13:50:00.000-07:002009-12-07T13:50:28.080-07:00

It is early afternoon and has warmed up ten degrees to -20 Celcius. Rosie and I are cheered by this and went for a wander through the forest to take pictures of the frost. It was not long before Rosie was lifting her little paws and heading back down the trail toward home. Short walk!

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-48042743471010188412009-12-06T11:39:00.001-07:002009-12-06T11:40:09.251-07:00

It is a sunny winter day today and makes me think of summer. I made some sunflowers this week and here they are to share with you. I've been using grosgrain ribbon as binding and it is working like a charm! I've also been tackling some machine quilting and having a little success at that... pictures coming soon.

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-14449474362594856682009-12-03T22:49:00.002-07:002009-12-03T22:51:28.508-07:00

I have been busy creating this week! I just haven't blogged for a few days. I will put some pictures up on the weekend. I've been working very hard on thinking that machine quilting larger quilts is fun... but really it isn't. I almost started having fun... but then my thread kept breaking. I changed my needle to a larger one, but that only delayed the thread breaking by a few stitches. Back to

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-69871616387915438182009-11-30T00:53:00.012-07:002009-11-30T08:29:01.405-07:00

I have enjoyed AEDM so much and I want to visually share all that I accomplished this month. I know I will sign up for Creative Every Day so I can keep the momentum going. Thanks to all my fellow artists participating in Art Every Day Month and other friends and family who have stopped by with a kind word of support. Special thanks to Sam for joining in on the fun :-) Enjoy the pictures... and

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-52748938797051611922009-11-26T10:12:00.007-07:002009-11-26T10:13:52.452-07:00

I don't have much to say, except it worked!! The wool inside the lava chamber glows and bubbles and boils. Keep in mind this little quilt is about 3 feet high. Cool, eh? Now I must put this project aside and work on another more pressing deadline... Christmas! Keep you posted :-)

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-53185068836530224592009-11-24T12:48:00.004-07:002009-11-24T17:54:59.919-07:00

AEDM. What a great activity Art Every Day Month has turned out to be for me. I have been working hard on my projects. Being able to share my little accomplishments every day has enabled me to get a lot of work done. I have only posted half of the days of November, but I have worked every day on creativity and definitely been more focused on staying on art task than ever before. Thanks for the

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-19012264532157710702009-11-22T11:35:00.001-07:002009-11-22T11:36:30.699-07:00

As quilts do, this project is coming together a bit at a time. I have a tendency to layer with other parphenalia, such as fabric, beads, and in this case stones. The beauty of these beads is that they are made of real stones. I will list them when I am finished. There is real pumice shaped into round beads! I am very excited to find them and even more to incorporate them into a quilt about

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-14278004690755902392009-11-21T15:23:00.015-07:002009-11-21T15:30:55.586-07:00

It is a beautiful winter day here. I was intrigued by finding this in our yard... So Rosie and I decided to follow the tracks. During winter, the sun hovers low on the horizon. This nicely highlighted all the trees and wild rose bushes in the forest. Although we never did find any deer, we did see these... Of course, the purpose of this blog for

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-88513130606581400842009-11-18T11:02:00.002-07:002009-11-18T13:38:13.991-07:00

Well, I'm glad I tackled the Inchies early rather than waiting until the deadline! They are done and I am happy with them. I can send them off to their new home later today or tomorrow. I took them outside and hung them from my Linden tree in the sunshine for you to peruse. The idea to use the inchies this way comes from a book by Nadine Ruggles. A link to her book is here... This is the

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-27526592691857662612009-11-17T14:59:00.006-07:002009-11-20T09:47:47.005-07:00

A dusting of snow made the forest near our house a winter gallery of wonders. My quilting pal, Rosie, and I ventured out with camera in hand to have a closer look at all the details. Here are a couple of things that we found... The snow had settled gentle frosty outlines on everything in sight. For a change, there was no prairie wind and the snowflakes had been allowed to gently float and land

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-51548815901133125352009-11-16T11:30:00.001-07:002009-11-16T11:32:31.785-07:00

Today I worked on Inchies as part of my Art Every Day Month creativity. I must say that I have a lot of new found respect for anyone who can make an Inchie. I cannot! Well, I can cut and quilt an inchie, but I cannot make the edges look nice, despite watching tutorials on youtube, reading up on inchie edging techniques and asking my expert sewing friend, Elaine, for help. So this will likely

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-30406120179728028562009-11-15T12:19:00.005-07:002009-11-15T12:50:52.334-07:00

I have always been fascinated by snowflakes. From catching them on my tongue as a child, to capturing winter scenes in a snowfall as an adult... snowflakes have been a big part of the wonder of winter. My favourite poem of all time is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by poet Robert Frost. Here is this week's snowflake quilt all finished. I added a simple border and even simpler quilting. I

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-42410476937710586872009-11-13T17:53:00.002-07:002009-11-13T17:58:07.076-07:00

I have been working on art every day, but not much to show for it. I guess I could scan all my little doodles, but that takes time away from art! Today I have a mess to share :-)! I am working on a quilt project that involves a bottle of wine... not drinking it, but portraying it. I've started with wool, my favourite medium of late. I will be working on this part for a couple of days I think. It

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-79333072603802218142009-11-10T15:55:00.001-07:002009-11-10T15:58:10.670-07:00

Today I am posting the next step in a mini-work in progress for art every day month. The background is blue wool roving, and now I have added a snowflake of white wool, as well as ivory seed beads and rhinstones. It is nothing like I imagined... as usual, but I am happy with it. I think it will become a small wall-hanging over the next few days. I'll share as I progress. I am segueing to a new

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-74294197805184386472009-11-08T12:33:00.002-07:002009-11-08T12:35:50.390-07:00

Today's art of the day is the beginning of a small project. I made the background this morning... Tomorrow's art of the day will likely be to add a snowflake. The picture in my imagination is quite wonderful... but we will have to wait and see the final results in real life :-). The background above has been done with wool roving and a hand needle-felter. I love wool!

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-73923575056881954162009-11-04T20:42:00.003-07:002009-11-04T20:44:45.003-07:00

Art Every Day Month. Here is my second art day. I decided to just have fun with my pencil crayons. I'll probably do that a lot this month. Every doodle or drawing or sketch I make, I keep. Then when I need ideas I always have something to fall back on... or move forward with. I'm sure many artists do this. I've even gotten inpsiration from my grade ten sketch book... and yes that was a long time

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-53488905142340568182009-11-03T19:05:00.004-07:002009-11-03T19:09:01.700-07:00

I am behind already! Art Every Day Month started on the 1st of November. Here is a project I worked on today. It was half done already and I took an hour or so and finished it. A sense of accomplishment is mine this evening. This little quilt is 4.5" square.

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-56336174663359914542009-10-26T12:48:00.005-06:002009-10-26T12:58:06.772-06:00

I went for a bit of a wander through the woods yesterday. It was time to photograph the wild roses again. This year we missed out on the Fall colours because a ten-day cold spell killed the leaves while they were still green. So it is odd walking through the wooded path with green leaves littering the ground. But it is still pretty and nicely unusual. Some leaves had a chance to change

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-49224984749844041042009-10-22T16:40:00.002-06:002009-10-22T16:43:58.832-06:00

Next week I am attending an art quilt retreat near Edmonton. It is mainly a professional development retreat with a few fun activities in the mix. One of the challenges we are participating in is a project with a mask theme. Here is a preview of what I am working on. We are also dressing up on Halloween, but I haven't figured that part out yet. I have a wizards hat, but nothing

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-6249000206733075892009-10-21T19:44:00.002-06:002009-10-21T19:51:32.827-06:00

I just returned from Edmonton. It was time to replenish supplies! It wasn't really... it was time to visit my daughter at University, but I also spent many hours in quilt and wool shops. I tried to just look, but that didn't work very well. I did buy more felting wool and a wonderful book on felting wool animals. It is called "Wool Pets". I am really excited to start working on something from

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-13664867465238333732009-10-15T19:40:00.003-06:002009-10-15T19:45:41.290-06:00

Today I spent time working on some art trading cards. It was fun. I felt like one of Santa's elves working in  my little shop. I want to make 40 trading cards and so the process is a bit assembly-line-ish. I needle-punched roving for the top of the card and sewed it between two strips of black as you can see. I decided to have a little fun with some thin copper I bought from a fibre art store

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-77098090356949110932009-10-13T11:41:00.006-06:002009-10-13T12:01:25.244-06:00

First off... thanks to everyone for their kind comments on my blog for the Quilt Festival. What a great time and what a treasure trove of great quilts! I still haven't made it through the list of quilts to visit, but I am working on it. My daughter, Sam, came home from University this weekend for a Thanksgiving visit. We enjoyed her company and had many good laughs. Seeing her so happy and

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-58857735826730072222009-10-09T11:10:00.005-06:002009-10-13T20:51:39.086-06:00

Today is the beginning of the virtual quilt show. It runs from October 9th to 16th and there are already many, many participants. If you want to see the other quilts participating, please click on this link Blogger's Quilt Festival. Below is my quilt for the show... This quilt is titled "Self Portrait". When I was attending university doing my Bachelor's Degree in Design, I

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-47908106419028865152009-10-07T11:13:00.001-06:002009-10-07T11:14:10.848-06:00

It snowed today! I can't be sad because it is so very beautiful. Soft white butterflies fluttering to the ground. We've had a long Indian Summer in Northern Alberta. The frost didn't come until October 1st (usually it is at the end of August), and most of the leaves on the trees are either green or just turning colour. As a creative person, it is important to take time to play. So with my bouncy

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-77512958090671078862009-10-06T15:05:00.005-06:002009-10-06T15:10:59.855-06:00

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog and had a look at my studio. I had such a fun weekend visting other creative people's studios (and I am still touring with a second look at some!). The event inspired me to spend all day Sunday and Monday in my studio just enjoying the space... and, of course, creating. This weekend, October 9th to 13th, there is a virtual quilt show. You can look at

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-20642386126147028762009-10-02T18:16:00.001-06:002009-10-02T18:18:05.689-06:00

Hi there, Welcome to my Studio! I'm excited to share my creative space. It is nothing fancy, but it is all my own. I did tidy a little before I took pictures, but most of my things are within sight for inspiration. This is the main view of my studio as I walk in. to the right, I have a lovely, large light table/work surface where I spend most of my time working. This is a close-up of my wall

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-36727098754603970332009-09-30T09:23:00.001-06:002009-09-30T09:25:03.696-06:00

The question of the week... Should I clean up my studio for pictures that I post on Saturday? Or should I just leave it messy like it usually is :-)

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-78640224376147122072009-09-28T12:26:00.001-06:002009-09-28T12:28:45.174-06:00

The theme of the Fall 2009 issue of Studios is Open Studios, so they're kicking it off with a virtual tour, and you're invited to participate! Click the link below to take part of Open Studios on October 3rd, 2009! http://www.interweavestore.com/Mixed-Media/Magazines/Studios-Fall-2009.html.?a=qa090928

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-38657713755286633982009-09-27T20:11:00.001-06:002009-09-27T20:12:46.863-06:00

It is Sunday evening at the end of September. Winter is not anywhere near, which is unusual but welcome. We have not had frost yet, but the evenings are getting cooler. I went for a walk today in search of wild roses. I have been photographing Alberta Wild Roses each month to document their changes. I noticed today that although there has been no frost, the rose haws have started to turn a

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-31925898393797768052009-09-02T11:07:00.000-06:002009-09-02T11:25:07.378-06:00

Back from two months of holidays and fence building. Not a lot of studio time (read none), but lots of time out for thinking and idea gathering. I'm off to a FAN (Fibre Art Network) quilt retreat at the end of October, so I will be busy preparing for this as well as working on my first quilt series.For the retreat, I have to make a mask for the mask challenge, some art trading cards and create

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-48016381391936322592009-07-18T16:50:00.001-06:002009-07-18T16:58:21.960-06:00

Today I finally finished Trevor's quilt top. I am very pleased with the quilt overall even though it did not turn out anything like I originally envisioned. That happens a lot.It will be a lap quilt... 56" square.The outside border is not black, but a dark, dark green. Nice and rich. Next step will be quilting, so I am off to get batting tomorrow. The binding will be the same brown stripe as in

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-30157540871876317752009-07-15T20:15:00.000-06:002009-07-15T20:21:50.590-06:00

This post is for Sam.I have been away on a wonderful visit to family and friends in the Kootenays. We began with a lovely family memorial for my Grandma who passed away in April. We went on to Nelson and stayed with my husband's brother and his wife... had a good visit with parents and nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles. We then spent three fun days with our good friends in Salmo. It was nice

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-47399594109126414132009-06-26T16:34:00.000-06:002009-06-26T16:35:34.184-06:00

Dyes arrived! Play time.

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-13229823505910954382009-06-25T09:49:00.000-06:002009-06-26T16:36:05.350-06:00

Good Morning,I thought I would try to blog everyday, but time goes too quickly to keep track of my life that closely. Here it is Thursday and I haven't blogged since Sunday! I have been writing out my pattern directions for my sheep quilts sporadically all week. They are coming along. The quilts themselves are completed and waiting to be photographed for the envelope of the pattern. I'm happy

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-88514541535674792712009-06-21T20:43:00.000-06:002009-06-22T09:36:39.342-06:00

Today is Father's Day. Our children are young adults now and were in no hurry to get up and make their Dad breakfast. Russell and I enjoyed a breakfast out at Denny's all by ourselves... very nice at 8:30 in the morning. I spent the rest of the morning taking photographs of the wild roses native to Alberta. I do have a project in mind, but for now I am just making photographic notes.Of course,

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-59847979358574107742009-06-18T15:23:00.000-06:002009-06-18T15:55:42.050-06:00

This week I started designing my son's graduation quilt. He graduated in 2008, so I am a little behind. I will catch up quickly :-)Trevor described to me the quilt he wanted... "I would like you to capture the first green of spring on the trees". This enticing (and overwhelming) description has been running through my mind for two springs now and I have a large stock of photographs I took in May

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-75769582253345266862009-06-14T12:04:00.000-06:002009-06-14T12:22:51.213-06:00

In April I re-joined the Fibre Art Network. This is a group of Western Canadian art quilters/fibre artists that have joined their efforts to promote quilting as art. They have had many successful exhibitions in the last few years.This week I decided to become part of this group on their web site and today my profile is up on their gallery pages. It is exciting to see my work alongside this

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-36400506994164186722009-06-11T16:46:00.001-06:002009-06-11T16:54:34.384-06:00

Today is a quiet day. I spent several hours in my studio quilting on my sheep quilts. They are getting closer to being finished and I will be free of them :-) It is quiet today because our dog has gone in for surgery on her knee. Normally Rosie follows me everywhere, begs to play and helps continuously by picking up pins off my studio floor, shredding fabric, or trying to steal bits of paper out

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-5752017338084318082009-06-09T12:36:00.000-06:002009-06-11T16:57:11.732-06:00

I know I'm Canadian because the first thing I do in the morning is check the weather. I don't go to the internet, I just look out my window.I can pat myself on the back today! Instead of heading outside into the sunshine, I went downstairs to my studio and worked on my quilts. I will work on them again this afternoon. I am itching to work on other projects, but cannot until I get my patterns up

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-46459990925375217362009-06-08T10:59:00.000-06:002009-06-11T16:57:29.842-06:00

Well, it is Monday morning (a bright, sunny one I might add) and I have not finished developing my patterns. There is a reason for this, of course. The weekend turned out to be reasonably warm and very sunny... so I chose to finish building my gardens, rather than spend the days in my studio.Studio time will not conflict with outside time once I finish my sheep quilt patterns because the next

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-73600820072180353122009-06-06T10:02:00.000-06:002009-06-11T16:57:56.355-06:00

My latest Quilting Arts Magazine arrived yesterday. This magazine is a significant one for me because I advertised my graphic design (www.sunflowerdesign.ca/graphic_design.html) and pattern drafting (www.sunflowerdesign.ca/quilt_designs.html) abilities (see page 61!). I notice that I do have some heavier traffic on my web site, so perhaps this is drawing curious people to have a look. I am truly

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2905849682974422919.post-54766007381093477562009-06-04T13:30:00.000-06:002009-06-11T16:58:18.103-06:00

Welcome to my first blog! I am a quilt artist and would like to share the creative processes I go through to make the things I do. I welcome comments from everyone, but particularly other artists and quilters (and friends and family).Right now I am working on my first quilt pattern to put up for sale. I am almost finished the quilts I will use for the cover photographs of my pattern, and I am

Sunflower Designhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06370889317725909793noreply@blogger.com0