tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80780774548203249882024-03-05T09:17:53.279-05:00DEsigned By Diane EvansDiane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-4425502897638192922015-12-04T14:50:00.001-05:002016-07-22T21:25:36.742-04:00How To Release Your Inner Happy . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Like so many other people, I have been bitten by the Adult Coloring Book phenomenon (For those of you who may be new to this, the name does NOT indicate that the coloring books contain adult content . . .). There are hundreds of books now on the market with pages of beautiful designs for adults to color, and pictured above are my three current favorites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tangled-Treasures-Coloring-Book-techniques/dp/1589238958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449256589&sr=8-1&keywords=tangled+treasures" target="_blank">Tangled Treasures by Jane Monk</a> contains 52 whimsical designs, featuring flowers, animals, houses, leaves, mandalas, and wallpaper motifs. Jane's information on basic color principles, techniques, and coloring utensils is invaluable, and the designs are printed on heavy-duty card stock pages that are perforated for easy removal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Balance-Angies-Extreme-Stress-Menders/dp/1508582211/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449256944&sr=8-1&keywords=balance+angie+grace" target="_blank">Balance by Angie Grace</a> (Volume 1) is filled with amazing mandalas, which I personally find to be very calming and centering to color because of their symmetry and, well, <u>balance</u>. I found that I was able to use more water-based mediums on these designs if I first copied them to card stock; below is my work-in-progress on one of her drawings.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjuCFcyyVG0FiGR4vK69jbYZsHfKRrISOxzfylaM-V7PjbxN2RIeSsiLLboRVBoek7VSIcnmRIaDiOiRRMJ-AuYhKNYtYXZs2i4kF00leZTGrv9iXiiXGXL3RmmhRWa4VA_eKCUq8W1A/s1600/BalanceMandala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjuCFcyyVG0FiGR4vK69jbYZsHfKRrISOxzfylaM-V7PjbxN2RIeSsiLLboRVBoek7VSIcnmRIaDiOiRRMJ-AuYhKNYtYXZs2i4kF00leZTGrv9iXiiXGXL3RmmhRWa4VA_eKCUq8W1A/s320/BalanceMandala.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Color-Me-Stress-Free-Coloring-Templates/dp/1631061607/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449257505&sr=1-1&keywords=color+me+stress+free" target="_blank">Color Me Stress Free by Angela Porter</a> is divided into chapters based on some of life's biggest stressors, each with an introduction by the author explaining why these aspects of daily living can add to our stress and how the designs in that chapter were chosen to specifically address those situations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All three publications are available from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, and you'll find the link by clicking on each title above. Also worth noting: The drawings in all three books are printed on one side of the page only, so there's no bleed-through of your color.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And, if you need more coloring inspiration, visit the blog of my dear cyber-friend Jill Buckley -- she has been offering free downloads of pages to color. Here's the beginning of my version of one of her designs:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1uX80Ou00fARxVHRP5SUftY9UChK_VfXU0pYvCn9DcwW8qnYSVMZRp5vS81ECDUXHmrRsiE5cF5sX2ktO55vApvyJ-H7kJvSJrbKhELyjj-hryAUeebNtFpjlMCDNTWh7t3hV-Eg-uWo/s1600/JillBuckleyMandala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1uX80Ou00fARxVHRP5SUftY9UChK_VfXU0pYvCn9DcwW8qnYSVMZRp5vS81ECDUXHmrRsiE5cF5sX2ktO55vApvyJ-H7kJvSJrbKhELyjj-hryAUeebNtFpjlMCDNTWh7t3hV-Eg-uWo/s320/JillBuckleyMandala.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Click <a href="http://thequiltrat.blogspot.com/2015/07/colouring.html" target="_blank">here</a> for Coloring Page #1, and visit her entire blog <a href="http://thequiltrat.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a> -- you will be amazed and inspired.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And, once you start adding color to these designs, don't be surprised if you find yourself melting into the child you once were.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: red; font-family: "lucida calligraphy"; font-size: 21.3333px;">Diane</span></div>
Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-3111189860463381122015-11-02T22:47:00.000-05:002015-11-02T22:49:41.280-05:00Put Your Suspenders On!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's been a long time since I last posted, I know -- so many things going on all at once, just like everyone else, I'm sure. We did a renovation on the house over the past 9 months, and I think we can call it "done." We added on a larger garage and converted the existing garage into a new studio -- I couldn't be happier. But, as many of you can attest to, it was a l-o-o-o-n-g process (did you know that there are real estate agents who offer the services of a professional marriage counselor to couples who are buying or renovating a house because of the stress it can cause? I swear I'm not making this up.). Happily, Hubby Fran and I still love each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, back to the joy of quilting -- and it's SUCH a joy to be quilting, isn't it? I've recently found some neat accessories that are changing my quilting life, and I wanted to share.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">These are quilt suspenders, and they can save your arms, your shoulders, and your back from the pain that comes from struggling with the weight of the quilt as you're stitching. I first learned about them from Patsy Thompson (you simply must visit her blog <a href="http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a> -- she's an <u>amazing</u> quilt artist), who constructed her own system. I chose to purchase mine from <a href="http://www.jennoop.com/suspenders.html" target="_blank">Jenoop Quilt Suspenders</a>, and they have not only saved my aching body; they've helped me improve my quilting by preventing drag on the quilt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The system consists of furniture-grade PVC piping, which can be configured several ways to accommodate your quilt table, and two adjustable suspenders attached to large, adjustable clamps to hold the quilt above the table. Visit their web site <a href="http://www.jennoop.com/suspenders.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> to see the many different arrangements that can be created -- this is truly an incredible "support system" in every way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And thank you, dear readers, for still being out there -- I love connecting with you.</span></div>
Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-66579967792593778172015-02-22T13:07:00.001-05:002015-02-22T13:07:37.884-05:00Do You Long To Be A Long-Arm-er?<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are you like me in that you love your domestic sewing machine for free motion quilting, but you lack the space to own a long-arm machine and you wish you could do so many of the cool things that long-arm quilters can do? Then help has arrived in the form of Westalee Design of Australia. I recently had the extreme pleasure of speaking with Bill and Leonie West, the owners and creators of this company, and they are one of the most engaging and dedicated couples I've had the pleasure to know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had ordered one of their brand new quilting feet (pictured above) that can be fitted to a domestic machine and which will enable you to use straight-edge and curved rulers for quilting; I then went through their on-line catalogue to order some specialty rulers. I had a question about one of the rulers, so I emailed the company. Within a few hours, Bill phoned me (!) to answer my question and help me place the order -- how's THAT for service? I also spoke to Leonie, who gave me invaluable advice on using the foot and the rulers with my machine -- I own a Bernina 1530, a really old work-horse of a machine, and Bill and Leonie told me that this new foot would open up a whole world of possibilities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do check out their website, Westalee Design, by clicking <a href="http://www.westalee.com.au/" target="_blank">here</a>, to learn more about these great new feet; the Wests have a beautifully designed catalogue for all their products, plus some wonderful videos showing you how to use the templates on both domestic and long-arm machines. Regardless of your type of quilting machine, you'll find something wonderful to help you enhance and improve your machine quilting experience.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-16071785862622525352014-10-12T13:04:00.005-04:002014-10-12T13:04:48.067-04:00Hello Again, Dear Readers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbjOzUkuAEE_0lxKiYPARIyl5DVVsBWzeghvAKfzdKc0DnN8EIK4SzVxoNZC1J96AuHOI_iIWzNTkefNgAKv7tkW-kry1YoNvQMGfuIVfO8wARMSXirvsVP263q1pZ1Gk_ZEy9NtrhnA/s1600/Pretty1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbjOzUkuAEE_0lxKiYPARIyl5DVVsBWzeghvAKfzdKc0DnN8EIK4SzVxoNZC1J96AuHOI_iIWzNTkefNgAKv7tkW-kry1YoNvQMGfuIVfO8wARMSXirvsVP263q1pZ1Gk_ZEy9NtrhnA/s1600/Pretty1.jpg" height="317" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/181554843714?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D181554843714%26_rdc%3D1" target="_blank">"Pretty in Pink"</a> © Diane Evans</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If any of you are still following my blog after all this time, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Life has been full and a bit crazy and wonderful, and I've been plugging away at new work and learning new techniques. My intention is to keep the brain in constant forward motion for as long as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To help inaugurate these new directions, I decided to have a sale of much of my current inventory of quilted works. With the help of my dear friend and eBay guru, Ellen, many of my pieces are now available on eBay at nicely reduced prices. I'm posting photos here of the pieces that have recently been listed; just click on the title beneath the picture (including the photo above), and you'll be connected to the sale page. If you have any questions, please email me <a href="mailto:artquiltsbydiane@gmail.com" target="_blank">here</a>. There will be more works available in the coming weeks, so check back on eBay or this blog, if you're interested. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY7bpMIe3ulAmXuZ-qt_cElh1fGug6OA9gZBTr0uI7vb73sGFUfrSAmKfKWUYkDg1j-vR2xMWSTDQ4r2WJ95JWkcnr3Wl-zgHJ_IbjhpAeiqBsK6GIoFe5dmcxirFAMcRB-6XX_xv91s/s1600/CyclesBohemian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY7bpMIe3ulAmXuZ-qt_cElh1fGug6OA9gZBTr0uI7vb73sGFUfrSAmKfKWUYkDg1j-vR2xMWSTDQ4r2WJ95JWkcnr3Wl-zgHJ_IbjhpAeiqBsK6GIoFe5dmcxirFAMcRB-6XX_xv91s/s1600/CyclesBohemian.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/181554841924?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D181554841924%26_rdc%3D1" target="_blank">"Bohemian Rhapsody"</a>© Diane Evans</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nvUVCny6UL41ZtOZFkwtYO3Pkt6zWEi33dES-8WK8rJZ9MUq7tN8gzxL7qircxQHbofFipow6pGyHA1_f4C3grxv2q2AjKDq5n0_8PQJDAVExGeC6umuxpa9sMublW66yOkz9AZzHiI/s1600/CyclesMidnightBlue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nvUVCny6UL41ZtOZFkwtYO3Pkt6zWEi33dES-8WK8rJZ9MUq7tN8gzxL7qircxQHbofFipow6pGyHA1_f4C3grxv2q2AjKDq5n0_8PQJDAVExGeC6umuxpa9sMublW66yOkz9AZzHiI/s1600/CyclesMidnightBlue.jpg" height="318" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/181554841925?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D181554841925%26_rdc%3D1" target="_blank">"Midnight Blue"</a> © Diane Evans</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPklKyVy-32MpLSmmpNgDN1J8h1Ci7nBq6mwiq0etBrtz-tEaem7WknIRtCo8f8xNiNRTrtYqV2QA-KNFVU_8rf32d1sAdNwcenpAKiW7VNDdE7w0gAYlIkY3Xeyq58l0BPIUpjwr4HR8/s1600/GardenParty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPklKyVy-32MpLSmmpNgDN1J8h1Ci7nBq6mwiq0etBrtz-tEaem7WknIRtCo8f8xNiNRTrtYqV2QA-KNFVU_8rf32d1sAdNwcenpAKiW7VNDdE7w0gAYlIkY3Xeyq58l0BPIUpjwr4HR8/s1600/GardenParty.jpg" height="320" width="306" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/251674188812?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D251674188812%26_rdc%3D1" target="_blank">"Garden Party"</a> © Diane Evans</i></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjy7pKe2D3-Rh7g1S6qv7_-VadFFBzKNY8eTahV5aFlHQEOTnEd-wNv4A13_uplzQnLWoJ0K88wjdtbwIfu6YLT9htxuC946o95N6q0Pz_F7Y3V0_j5Dq_nlF8HV5t2w0WxRIeuSsgPs/s1600/DSC00527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjy7pKe2D3-Rh7g1S6qv7_-VadFFBzKNY8eTahV5aFlHQEOTnEd-wNv4A13_uplzQnLWoJ0K88wjdtbwIfu6YLT9htxuC946o95N6q0Pz_F7Y3V0_j5Dq_nlF8HV5t2w0WxRIeuSsgPs/s1600/DSC00527.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/251674181510?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D251674181510%26_rdc%3D1" target="_blank">"Ornamentals: #4"</a> © Diane Evans</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEIXyop7_jTuho7vqtU0jdmqmKMPBiE112bzCCXGzg5sxzqW5_2vDunc2P7AeepV0HFmUxwnD1I4Hp1hatJJvVnnUzh20c_ePAQ8a9MPX8PCZJ5wBdpdPpIBU44wXTJNMwoE2EkWMCP8/s1600/DSCN1293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEIXyop7_jTuho7vqtU0jdmqmKMPBiE112bzCCXGzg5sxzqW5_2vDunc2P7AeepV0HFmUxwnD1I4Hp1hatJJvVnnUzh20c_ePAQ8a9MPX8PCZJ5wBdpdPpIBU44wXTJNMwoE2EkWMCP8/s1600/DSCN1293.JPG" height="320" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/251674181506?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D251674181506%26_rdc%3D1" target="_blank">"Ornamentals: #5"</a> © Diane Evans</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcbOB-qS6Y6LUZiFfxD8BAd_0gk3VswdIqu8LnCrmozEx3Q7N1WoXXJWzbtJGMMwKDyOgx7Jzs-LBuEXOEuj7bORT3kfvFk_kGdzKi5HD2Wf3FxNp3sV_YXqbanymtHTB1obAW0w2miA/s1600/DSC00523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcbOB-qS6Y6LUZiFfxD8BAd_0gk3VswdIqu8LnCrmozEx3Q7N1WoXXJWzbtJGMMwKDyOgx7Jzs-LBuEXOEuj7bORT3kfvFk_kGdzKi5HD2Wf3FxNp3sV_YXqbanymtHTB1obAW0w2miA/s1600/DSC00523.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/181554841923?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D181554841923%26_rdc%3D1" target="_blank">"Ornamentals: #6</a> © Diane Evans</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope you're all happy, healthy, and artfully busy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Lucida Handwriting"; font-size: 24.0pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-28947817116108650932012-05-10T12:11:00.000-04:002012-05-10T12:11:54.710-04:00"Ink-A-Dink-A-Do"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLsN_2E2_m1ZhfDrBGnfMVFY5pKbvPlUoTbM41yVIu7GQfyt_eg0_RVhbHFu6U3m2Gduv764WTiCPba1IASvljB-etbYpK-pP6M-9O8KM83ylClaLAB3gcnVd0FX_QBl2lpk9BC53Dgg/s1600/Ink1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLsN_2E2_m1ZhfDrBGnfMVFY5pKbvPlUoTbM41yVIu7GQfyt_eg0_RVhbHFu6U3m2Gduv764WTiCPba1IASvljB-etbYpK-pP6M-9O8KM83ylClaLAB3gcnVd0FX_QBl2lpk9BC53Dgg/s320/Ink1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><i>"Ink-A-Dink-A-Do" Diane Evans ©2012</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you love coloring inside the lines, you’re really going
to enjoy <a href="http://www.sewfarsewgood.org/">Sherry Rogers-Harrison’s</a> technique for creating art quilts with
intricate color. In her book,
“Ink-liqué,” Sherry explains how to quilt the design first and then add the
color; I couldn’t wait to try this – turns out it’s both artistic and
meditative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRt_-Cpvpv6Voo98Oj7FhiPhXSPWRs9ZITCJM-Wm89P-_HWwKmBbTtaH3ZghX2_ioyu56-pQM1IQrPw5lXJ3JQgKFbhU0dz0wM-XHi9XKBfVqdvFpvaDOWH0mMqVXyeGsFilQXlTq1qM8/s1600/Ink2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRt_-Cpvpv6Voo98Oj7FhiPhXSPWRs9ZITCJM-Wm89P-_HWwKmBbTtaH3ZghX2_ioyu56-pQM1IQrPw5lXJ3JQgKFbhU0dz0wM-XHi9XKBfVqdvFpvaDOWH0mMqVXyeGsFilQXlTq1qM8/s320/Ink2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I drew an original design onto paper and traced it to a
piece of Hoffman PFD fabric that had been starched to within an inch of its
life – the fabric felt crisp, like paper.
The piece was then layered with cotton batting and backing, and the
free-motion quilting began; every motif was outlined using So Fine 50-weight
thread and a size 65/9 needle. The idea
is to create the smallest holes possible in the sandwich so that no ink will
migrate through to the back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwk70dikeqT5tHS1QyWCmhub8z-M4Xpet1b1Kwas_58-Whyphenhyphen8EoyY1NoI9yDmRkwvWt8ijmkJIaYmtZY2g4TjvoHgbnvFSXUHIZo6gxmyZ75pnV1cLLLMjSYCLMahEUV0ue0sveWS9d1Ko/s1600/Ink3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwk70dikeqT5tHS1QyWCmhub8z-M4Xpet1b1Kwas_58-Whyphenhyphen8EoyY1NoI9yDmRkwvWt8ijmkJIaYmtZY2g4TjvoHgbnvFSXUHIZo6gxmyZ75pnV1cLLLMjSYCLMahEUV0ue0sveWS9d1Ko/s320/Ink3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then the next stage of the fun began. Color was added using Sakura Gelly Roll pens
for the outlines, along with Identi-Pens and Tsukineko Fabrico Ink Pens to fill
in the shapes. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsws5OptAyQ9v8MP42rJywQSBs_nePOblg2dIoMSHp-qMwYE-w0XukYM2x2UWV4nFgWQ60FdYQ9A0jKzxKKpQyEVDDIpO02T-2J_inB40QCHFQyoB7_aMw4mETRlzblEW19SWGaBZ_hg/s1600/Ink4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsws5OptAyQ9v8MP42rJywQSBs_nePOblg2dIoMSHp-qMwYE-w0XukYM2x2UWV4nFgWQ60FdYQ9A0jKzxKKpQyEVDDIpO02T-2J_inB40QCHFQyoB7_aMw4mETRlzblEW19SWGaBZ_hg/s320/Ink4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sulky rayon thread was used in the machine quilting, and the postcard was inserted into a raised white mat. It's now available for sale in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/98648114/quilted-wall-art-ink-a-dink-a-do">Etsy shop</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And if you found yourself humming the title's</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> tune by the late Jimmy Durante, you're probably as old as I am . . .</span></div>
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<span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-31771827702286022582012-04-28T13:19:00.001-04:002012-04-28T13:22:09.595-04:00"Feelin' Groovy"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguM5Rn0CAZnEdVong_TYckl35MhLxW8un_RM1DjtHRA2EFNnsrwH0wxbr7GOGZgZvarS9EZOwVUbOehWT1rXWODqykLNGxJ0vHpO-0gAEuZpX-YGupxY1YLXdSkmBpdwM4HR66gmfPzz0/s1600/Feelin4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguM5Rn0CAZnEdVong_TYckl35MhLxW8un_RM1DjtHRA2EFNnsrwH0wxbr7GOGZgZvarS9EZOwVUbOehWT1rXWODqykLNGxJ0vHpO-0gAEuZpX-YGupxY1YLXdSkmBpdwM4HR66gmfPzz0/s320/Feelin4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><i>"Feelin' Groovy" Diane Evans </i></b></span><b style="color: #674ea7; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>©2012 </i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The latest “To-Do” project has now become a “Ta-Da!” Many, many moons ago, I used a design from
one of my copyright-free sources, altered it somewhat, and printed it out on
fabric. Thanks to the experimentation of
fellow blogger Jill Buckley at <a href="http://thequiltrat.blogspot.com/">The Quilt Rat</a>, I learned that aloe vera gel
makes a wonderful medium for fixing fabric ink; it’s easily available and very
inexpensive. Since “available” and
“inexpensive” are two of my favorite words, I bought the All-Purpose Giant Economy-Sized
tube and went to work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VxaBnJJ4JwhDdPI_glViFpsiMg6XNbHScZmr3CnCsGo4xQx4MyjQGxPl9jXIXZuuwqM0TtEaHS1HnIh27Q1nmo85nFHus6fUoOE6FVWpDPdnP6XbCFlQIhesDtf9pAYaBAuG1EvXEGI/s1600/Feelin2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VxaBnJJ4JwhDdPI_glViFpsiMg6XNbHScZmr3CnCsGo4xQx4MyjQGxPl9jXIXZuuwqM0TtEaHS1HnIh27Q1nmo85nFHus6fUoOE6FVWpDPdnP6XbCFlQIhesDtf9pAYaBAuG1EvXEGI/s320/Feelin2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I ironed the fabric to a piece of freezer paper to give it
stability.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The gel was spread over the
entire drawing with a paintbrush and left to dry.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I then applied the color using Tsukineko
Fabrico ink pens and used an iron to heat set it.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aorf8sMAj3PE6cimhOkP2kPeqswMVgYqCvwDqzArUfkvOMCTXXZ6QX7-wSA_-nkjC6lGbC-R6B8r-yqAgkIYlQzBszTbjhllrceXCsc2GVzRR7YqcBAoET4XmGj6YUtQ5tC7BQr57Dw/s1600/Feelin3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aorf8sMAj3PE6cimhOkP2kPeqswMVgYqCvwDqzArUfkvOMCTXXZ6QX7-wSA_-nkjC6lGbC-R6B8r-yqAgkIYlQzBszTbjhllrceXCsc2GVzRR7YqcBAoET4XmGj6YUtQ5tC7BQr57Dw/s320/Feelin3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sulky rayon thread was used in the machine
quilting, and French knots were added for texture.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZWy7SZOLL1lHxxQP3yFAovi22Ym2GOfHIaxo4D2kNCTSJvnWaVNmKQmj9G17P-y2CxW1aKQYMu6j4qP14uSgivhL1TjY9n_3SdJUWiZNPzNOYEOUXRgH2eQ54PKw-zEGKa2jI4u1acU/s1600/Feelin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZWy7SZOLL1lHxxQP3yFAovi22Ym2GOfHIaxo4D2kNCTSJvnWaVNmKQmj9G17P-y2CxW1aKQYMu6j4qP14uSgivhL1TjY9n_3SdJUWiZNPzNOYEOUXRgH2eQ54PKw-zEGKa2jI4u1acU/s320/Feelin1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The postcard was inserted into a raised, white mat and is available for sale in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/98618960/quilted-wall-art-feelin-groovy">Etsy shop</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jill has also had great results using the aloe vera as a
medium for blending watercolor pencils, and the next project is already
percolating away. I think this gel could
be the next baking soda of our time – one simple product, so many uses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks, Jill! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-1712551177909431402012-03-20T21:15:00.006-04:002012-03-20T21:28:19.120-04:00"It Might As Well Be Spring"<div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEnPU_nLZWpQTCcSINNyrWNbHTkrkZmXikJ2mUQKkhGGRGedj6L61FFEwKEPQDexUitmxCLwbolVM8k20UhG1OEicTgQyNUIvDNhy8kt4grORH6PYT9Ipbl_hjgAPBTC-cHTy_WI-q0M/s1600/Spring6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFEnPU_nLZWpQTCcSINNyrWNbHTkrkZmXikJ2mUQKkhGGRGedj6L61FFEwKEPQDexUitmxCLwbolVM8k20UhG1OEicTgQyNUIvDNhy8kt4grORH6PYT9Ipbl_hjgAPBTC-cHTy_WI-q0M/s320/Spring6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"It Might As Well Be Spring" ©2012 Diane Evans</span></i></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I learned a new word a few weeks ago while working on the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle: “grok,” a synonym for “see,” “get,” or “understand.” I love this word – it sounds like the name of a character from “The Lord of the Rings.” Say it three times fast; it makes you giggle.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I decided that I would use an altered version of my new favorite word as an acronym – in my little world, G.R.O.C. now stands for Get Rid Of Clutter. You could let the “c” stand for “chaos” or “calories” or “cellulite” – whatever your heart desires on any particular day (actually, my heart desires getting rid of all three of those things, but that’s another post entirely).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Notice that my desire to GROC meshes nicely with my goal of changing my “To Do” list into a “Ta Da!” list, since I will undoubtedly be “GROC-ing” as I finish up my languishing projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFpNYpQCHQQDkxn10G-Sepjt4p27GyP_5NAJTXRSPWzD6Te_TfIkM2ED1iexfxDokTnLEVzq44GWz1UNXpyGGsFPpUrFVVlidDbEh1RxQ0BpCITe3oYb_tiLnCjTzmcwKR-eASTzK-xU/s1600/Spring1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFpNYpQCHQQDkxn10G-Sepjt4p27GyP_5NAJTXRSPWzD6Te_TfIkM2ED1iexfxDokTnLEVzq44GWz1UNXpyGGsFPpUrFVVlidDbEh1RxQ0BpCITe3oYb_tiLnCjTzmcwKR-eASTzK-xU/s320/Spring1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The design was traced onto fabric from an original sketch I had done many moons ago; the piece was then outline-quilted with black rayon thread and stippled with green rayon thread.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFz1nSQsNBghHHkB51al8W_ndcpJGoNsDgJhQf3sEIu-3y6hozpTzGgqfotio01xB2YKArXD3QmX1WBrZ3dj6tpZ48fqxQ6Ls1lj96j0aj8soMkMaJDuOt5zinwO4QPtbGCVmytEZ73Ew/s1600/Spring3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFz1nSQsNBghHHkB51al8W_ndcpJGoNsDgJhQf3sEIu-3y6hozpTzGgqfotio01xB2YKArXD3QmX1WBrZ3dj6tpZ48fqxQ6Ls1lj96j0aj8soMkMaJDuOt5zinwO4QPtbGCVmytEZ73Ew/s320/Spring3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I gathered together my Derwent watercolor pencils and Plaid Folk Art Textile Medium.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvHJw1P7jL_r8kAA9TmbRBUJ8FDRBt56DfxT303h6WmngkpPbg0HlFlvHb4LfrqwskJCEtUBAGIQ4467zjvVghFw6HKG_KP_r89rKjv0ldv_aEjmcjOgaJJADfr4IeWlLBU2bheAKNdM/s1600/Spring2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvHJw1P7jL_r8kAA9TmbRBUJ8FDRBt56DfxT303h6WmngkpPbg0HlFlvHb4LfrqwskJCEtUBAGIQ4467zjvVghFw6HKG_KP_r89rKjv0ldv_aEjmcjOgaJJADfr4IeWlLBU2bheAKNdM/s320/Spring2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The medium was painted onto one section at a time; pencil was added while the fabric was still wet. I learned to apply the color heavily to the edges of the motif first and then to fill in the design with a light touch to achieve a shaded look (my inner child was unleashed at this point -- gosh, how I love to color things . . .).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIurrbAx-q71lyQuB5m0A1UsMLom4kz-GSA_weP3UWNJS9eHNHv4qztR1rN7ZvoU40Eaq80wcdPy5uEfkg6L4Yp_nX2ZGy-2q4EAlxBAd0iHcLrZonmsOVxzgmp3ZF_-aLLiJ9suj0FU/s1600/Spring8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIurrbAx-q71lyQuB5m0A1UsMLom4kz-GSA_weP3UWNJS9eHNHv4qztR1rN7ZvoU40Eaq80wcdPy5uEfkg6L4Yp_nX2ZGy-2q4EAlxBAd0iHcLrZonmsOVxzgmp3ZF_-aLLiJ9suj0FU/s320/Spring8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After completing the coloring . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLK0MnoLw3xFxZRcN8PDV2PBvP3UBR8e_1QIJFKAeh_eJmuIwo93XstiPksPHjYpkoNNHKe2sUEtoQpEfuthaDmDuxDPWQ8xR0isV0OoS1nfhyphenhyphenuZQ_J8RW64jMi7ELRzY4_0xVPZjo0w/s1600/Spring6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLK0MnoLw3xFxZRcN8PDV2PBvP3UBR8e_1QIJFKAeh_eJmuIwo93XstiPksPHjYpkoNNHKe2sUEtoQpEfuthaDmDuxDPWQ8xR0isV0OoS1nfhyphenhyphenuZQ_J8RW64jMi7ELRzY4_0xVPZjo0w/s320/Spring6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. . . I fused the composition to Timtex and backing fabric, zigzagged the edges with more rayon thread . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVSu4CJuXBXydDnsGBiTsHmYliITUNqTTisr0oD7zEuU4wp85vVyF6foIo_eIG18J_X7GG1eNvbU5yGZWVic2Z3ajfR09TIageUNMPVeLEtOyyNTx_w6NoFClkagQzbyF8Zr5cgVxGGE/s1600/Spring5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVSu4CJuXBXydDnsGBiTsHmYliITUNqTTisr0oD7zEuU4wp85vVyF6foIo_eIG18J_X7GG1eNvbU5yGZWVic2Z3ajfR09TIageUNMPVeLEtOyyNTx_w6NoFClkagQzbyF8Zr5cgVxGGE/s320/Spring5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. . . and inserted it into a mat, suitable for framing. (This piece is now available in my Etsy shop; click <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/95758638/quilted-wall-art-it-might-as-well-be">here</a> for more details.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And, in keeping with the spirit of GROC-ing, I’ve added a few more books to my page of “Books For Sale.” Click on <a href="http://designedbydianeevans.blogspot.com/p/shop.html">this link</a> and see if you can find a great bargain for yourself – or for someone else who doesn’t currently have the need to GROC . . .</span><o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-14125629957476332012012-02-29T13:16:00.000-05:002012-02-29T13:18:37.444-05:00Ta Da!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmGKZjoos62QJ6rVhgIQ2Z-2Y8yCt25QWHCl2Y9MlEiTjotrop6wWG7LE51DWM7ZbYEAKItEaRWTf2Xfq5S1TLUdXV3OKHXCTplui79pAjs2xn3urhQp2wWNPobSww_KftIw3y1avS-E/s1600/Cover1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmGKZjoos62QJ6rVhgIQ2Z-2Y8yCt25QWHCl2Y9MlEiTjotrop6wWG7LE51DWM7ZbYEAKItEaRWTf2Xfq5S1TLUdXV3OKHXCTplui79pAjs2xn3urhQp2wWNPobSww_KftIw3y1avS-E/s320/Cover1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently read an article which stated that this is the time of year when many of our New Year's resolutions begin to fade and dissolve into the universe. The article suggested that we gently prod ourselves with smaller goals on our way to reaching the ultimate goal that we had set for ourselves way back in January (seems like years ago, doesn't it??). So, I went to the Land of Unfinished Pieces and Percolating Ideas and decided to choose just one of them to bring to life; my plan is to slowly complete a <span style="color: red;">"To Do" </span>project and turn it into a <span style="color: red;">"Ta Da!"</span> piece.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will begin by stating that I am being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century; our son, Sean, teases me because I still use a phone book to look up telephone numbers. Therefore, it should not surprise you to see that my first "Ta Da!" project is a legal pad cover; in this age of electronic note-taking devices, I'm hoping that some of you will remember legal pads. Please humor me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8-Q9LZdsyKRynG_vzsdIQ4YxugAHcQ8qksdaZtDTW6c1FP2NAzJ7W6NRkjYIpP2TeJsVJB8EZ9GL_Wci8xPG5ndgDnI67l3u91dmGXsj_gYzdc31ImTd7rK2LtBuKbjrYohnzBQj8bs/s1600/Cover6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8-Q9LZdsyKRynG_vzsdIQ4YxugAHcQ8qksdaZtDTW6c1FP2NAzJ7W6NRkjYIpP2TeJsVJB8EZ9GL_Wci8xPG5ndgDnI67l3u91dmGXsj_gYzdc31ImTd7rK2LtBuKbjrYohnzBQj8bs/s320/Cover6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank goodness there is a company out there who makes a pattern for these covers; this one is designed by <a href="http://www.batiks.com/">Cotton Dreams</a> and was purchased through <a href="http://www.fabricsnquilts.com/">Fabrics 'N' Quilts</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPFyc3-LCiU0_RzbbT4JEHims-njRbsPIxJuEBhSOUQWS2huZ6obU3N27WTjLCc40wCFTe7svJyzGnVMQkljqHmu1_fNNSer7zqV2V6NGcYrabwjKgwftwxU9D0ol7qCWTU-D29wggoQ/s1600/Cover2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPFyc3-LCiU0_RzbbT4JEHims-njRbsPIxJuEBhSOUQWS2huZ6obU3N27WTjLCc40wCFTe7svJyzGnVMQkljqHmu1_fNNSer7zqV2V6NGcYrabwjKgwftwxU9D0ol7qCWTU-D29wggoQ/s320/Cover2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I chose a <a href="http://www.janesassaman.com/">Jane Sassaman</a> fabric for the outside cover and coordinated it with other fabrics for the lining, pockets, and binding. After fusing the cover pieces together with Timtex, I used one of Jane's ideas and created a cardboard template to use in quilting a wavy design over the entire cover (I actually drew a sine curve onto graph paper to use as the shape -- math teachers never completely retire . . .).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgd4BohqbEv3N72PqJ9VCz0D3usjqeyxOZdF0D5DfRhlKs_j7tR_dKgZQwNyd24nYnek7QEtLwXSYt96XSg5Qu5MuHYkWwi-nKgkrh4KKHh335luySm1PmdsifYYAPt5guusG8ciAvQg/s1600/Cover3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgd4BohqbEv3N72PqJ9VCz0D3usjqeyxOZdF0D5DfRhlKs_j7tR_dKgZQwNyd24nYnek7QEtLwXSYt96XSg5Qu5MuHYkWwi-nKgkrh4KKHh335luySm1PmdsifYYAPt5guusG8ciAvQg/s320/Cover3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After inserting the pockets, the binding was added by machine and hand-stitched to the inside.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6TiXP_asOb6awO2Jvzemeo-Wg81FOaklU5bMkoxbTRmnJqSiEHe2F2cT3P8u24wLnxzBNItxG5UWT3uGWrybVxkgjFAAREaAT_uJqR5Jv77B_1btVPCIbRvwx1RLnv0jGd45t2IFuVs/s1600/Cover5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6TiXP_asOb6awO2Jvzemeo-Wg81FOaklU5bMkoxbTRmnJqSiEHe2F2cT3P8u24wLnxzBNItxG5UWT3uGWrybVxkgjFAAREaAT_uJqR5Jv77B_1btVPCIbRvwx1RLnv0jGd45t2IFuVs/s320/Cover5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And because I wanted to make the folded cover lie a little flatter, I found an even better use for the phone book; Sean should be pleased.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Diane</span><span style="color: #7e38c4;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-74185540642743101482012-02-12T12:24:00.000-05:002012-02-12T12:28:08.656-05:00What To Do During A 12-Hour Hospital Wait . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAhP8J9TabLT-zia3fP7tyRnIf4ArMP6LtvjtqJXJi0I1sZQOriiZO_0FFw614uiWgRMZDhnL7v4vqx_D7Yz8-XmywQ6Lp3sWbpbiDPhmAWPV2WkuMS2z7BXXtIybU6tF4qGsUwtauOc/s1600/ZenMandala1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAhP8J9TabLT-zia3fP7tyRnIf4ArMP6LtvjtqJXJi0I1sZQOriiZO_0FFw614uiWgRMZDhnL7v4vqx_D7Yz8-XmywQ6Lp3sWbpbiDPhmAWPV2WkuMS2z7BXXtIybU6tF4qGsUwtauOc/s400/ZenMandala1.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You may remember that our son, Sean, suffered a broken arm (among other injuries) in an accident over a year ago. Two surgeries weren't able to repair it correctly, so we finally found a third doctor in NYC who operated on him four weeks ago (he's doing extremely well as I write this -- we're hoping that the third time was the charm). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Needless to say, husband Fran and I had a looooong period of waiting at the hospital before, during, and after the surgery, so I brought lots of play things with me to occupy the time, including the book,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/5367-Zen-Mandalas-Suzanne-McNeill/dp/1574216961/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329067642&sr=8-1"> "Zen Mandalas," by Suzanne McNeill</a>; this is an exciting collection of Zentangle®-filled, circular designs by several talented artists, complete with guidelines for creating your own mandelas. Since they're basically round and divided into 5, 6, 8, or 12 equal segments, it's easier to design one if you have a compass, a protractor, and a ruler. I had brought exactly <u>none</u> of these with me, so I followed the suggestion given in the book: I made a snowflake.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9MOj4drSn-BNEe9WVLdAxcpxuzMos20uFTp-33jx5j4S8zk8e_wyGrZQGqiIV-G4pWo1d27iOdUAPZkck4vaTjEgPS8J9D-aWYKnkaI_ru5q2K4Wj1zFPQ883DcGn2h1Rt5qHNNlyMY/s1600/PaperTemplate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9MOj4drSn-BNEe9WVLdAxcpxuzMos20uFTp-33jx5j4S8zk8e_wyGrZQGqiIV-G4pWo1d27iOdUAPZkck4vaTjEgPS8J9D-aWYKnkaI_ru5q2K4Wj1zFPQ883DcGn2h1Rt5qHNNlyMY/s320/PaperTemplate.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I folded a piece of paper into eighths and made a few holes in the folds by tearing away the paper, since I also didn't have scissors. Then I traced the cut areas onto my art paper and used them as guidelines. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I followed some of the examples in the book, and the mandala pictured at the top emerged. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Everything that has been said about Zentangles was true for me that day: I felt an amazing sense of well being; the process helped to both calm me and foster my creative spirit; and I experienced a much-needed feeling of timelessness. This was just what the doctor ordered.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Diane</span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-84304651579245406252011-12-16T19:04:00.000-05:002012-01-13T17:14:08.888-05:00It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNZFQgCqEez52IJHpjFfPZnnXuSnVbx7W3Ag-T1_gtPwlSKM_uS53FrnQgmjWp937z54mJe65aJSTWC0e-BLXRaROHOope8qUOJhLeSxyXqur1PdSSiNu_4aqzsCLv94LdUSsLPQmRQ0/s1600/BannisterAll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNZFQgCqEez52IJHpjFfPZnnXuSnVbx7W3Ag-T1_gtPwlSKM_uS53FrnQgmjWp937z54mJe65aJSTWC0e-BLXRaROHOope8qUOJhLeSxyXqur1PdSSiNu_4aqzsCLv94LdUSsLPQmRQ0/s320/BannisterAll.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I absolutely love Christmas. I know it's because of the wonderful Christmases my mom and dad gave to me while I was growing up. My mother was the consummate baker; she created hundreds of beautiful cookies every year in her tiny kitchen -- our neighbors and relatives eagerly looked forward to the boxes filled with delicious treasures that Mary would take to their homes during the holidays. My dad and I were in charge of picking out the tree from the grocer's lot next door and hauling it back to the house for decorating with hand-made ornaments. I remember helping Mom wrap the presents when I was very young and then taking over the whole job when she convinced me that I was better at making bows than she was (clever woman). I loved doing it, though -- it was my favorite part of our annual preparations.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Over the past few years, I've been continually making decorations to place in every part of our home that space will allow, including the garland on our bannister. Some of these ornaments came from patterns, and others were my own creations.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxycZdCoLnBdkKR0VKBPdTGlW8d3CGtms_fT8wCIZT3Fo06JDBCTouM3u50okNwgRIleZtT-McTU8fRkTfIvHLf-gKQwuIdYkjP8oVcQALjJZStZau4tcftrr2xY4X6XW-HpLTLJFJBjg/s1600/BannisterBall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxycZdCoLnBdkKR0VKBPdTGlW8d3CGtms_fT8wCIZT3Fo06JDBCTouM3u50okNwgRIleZtT-McTU8fRkTfIvHLf-gKQwuIdYkjP8oVcQALjJZStZau4tcftrr2xY4X6XW-HpLTLJFJBjg/s320/BannisterBall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The balls are styrofoam shapes covered in gingham and dotted Swiss fabric and trimmed in rick rack, ribbon, and buttons.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaNBOj3qlF5gmCP9oMGIe0R7RjR6RG8MMqa4Fiqb4meLgiL71H_3vNiIrDZIU9yC60lhkkMZ89J2lBlOrjzjJyGQKLatAhGEkOcNTzZvefUFIgC2WOc7mPJ1lz0zlnX7BSKz59vVUxsQ/s1600/BannisterStocking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaNBOj3qlF5gmCP9oMGIe0R7RjR6RG8MMqa4Fiqb4meLgiL71H_3vNiIrDZIU9yC60lhkkMZ89J2lBlOrjzjJyGQKLatAhGEkOcNTzZvefUFIgC2WOc7mPJ1lz0zlnX7BSKz59vVUxsQ/s320/BannisterStocking.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Duv21EYr-zgtZy3dwx3VFkPwY_98EwDy6FE5lQmvG0nkEoajR2AAsWC8JdN8h-2-SH8LGVvHO52k0KOCisfeDQn4A5n9q1VScZGntGTyrpWJ4qzDcI0yb0DzyNOAPk7e0gKzlZw9SqU/s1600/BannisterHeart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Duv21EYr-zgtZy3dwx3VFkPwY_98EwDy6FE5lQmvG0nkEoajR2AAsWC8JdN8h-2-SH8LGVvHO52k0KOCisfeDQn4A5n9q1VScZGntGTyrpWJ4qzDcI0yb0DzyNOAPk7e0gKzlZw9SqU/s320/BannisterHeart.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are stuffed ornaments in different shapes (heart, stocking, bird, star, and bell) made with more of the dotted Swiss fabric and rick rack and trimmed in gingham.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gTYfXun5SoB8sxunic2_6MC5_q3NhJJx5diFEFcO_uEFWxHNmq7uDTpvnEbeACWGdBpVef7YwDI-R8LXwOWUdhEQNNLiyKogkTR1oMuSXWyOhkkJMR0GSeDFdIroGw6vREhkHLulR2U/s1600/BannisterMouse2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gTYfXun5SoB8sxunic2_6MC5_q3NhJJx5diFEFcO_uEFWxHNmq7uDTpvnEbeACWGdBpVef7YwDI-R8LXwOWUdhEQNNLiyKogkTR1oMuSXWyOhkkJMR0GSeDFdIroGw6vREhkHLulR2U/s320/BannisterMouse2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The mice are egg-shaped styrofoam pieces, cut in half, and covered with felt, then trimmed with button eyes, beaded noses, and curled-wire tails.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8l_1mTApuD2-O29egpWv7UrDiGe5KYOx4Uvr4tmXqv7rpj5bbQknisCOfv_uySkwMxD9Y44VbiYuIJUn-JSgeWwEYchKdWBn1V0Hu0Ry4LlUHvS_tQksqNfOs3Fgu8zXsvq61sMVPB2U/s1600/BannisterMushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8l_1mTApuD2-O29egpWv7UrDiGe5KYOx4Uvr4tmXqv7rpj5bbQknisCOfv_uySkwMxD9Y44VbiYuIJUn-JSgeWwEYchKdWBn1V0Hu0Ry4LlUHvS_tQksqNfOs3Fgu8zXsvq61sMVPB2U/s320/BannisterMushroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The mushrooms are wooden spools and half-spheres, painted and glue together . . .</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghI3GG1pxtki1KGRfcrFq3uTROyHARruLTZClps6iEo6hQXWrFqgjuaslc4mHR6OL522iY8swLahbSZasazfpPZKixqdaUbf5e4P4NoLKDPDqIOSEXkABjIgwPzzB_b5SL65VV4CwMFY/s1600/BannisterBow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghI3GG1pxtki1KGRfcrFq3uTROyHARruLTZClps6iEo6hQXWrFqgjuaslc4mHR6OL522iY8swLahbSZasazfpPZKixqdaUbf5e4P4NoLKDPDqIOSEXkABjIgwPzzB_b5SL65VV4CwMFY/s320/BannisterBow.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and it's all accented with a hand-made gingham bow.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There's a warm, comfortable feeling that seems to arrive in our home this time of year, made even more special for me by the presence of all things created by hand. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May this holiday season bring that same warmth to you and to your home.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-79671474493931693962011-11-30T11:01:00.001-05:002011-11-30T14:08:46.212-05:00A Haiku For Doyle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkqMqKFVeEfPBA5MVNaT4JAxjkwOK-pN5ud2A6YI1ieEckJBKblnb2Kh7ARxfE_Nb3_kXPnlqh5G7ZQUTfTVZanNv-oEXPdnDlMXnE58-rwCo9qpY2S0NOf3c95IBwVQzwXIhMg7RmHo/s1600/DoyleHaiku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkqMqKFVeEfPBA5MVNaT4JAxjkwOK-pN5ud2A6YI1ieEckJBKblnb2Kh7ARxfE_Nb3_kXPnlqh5G7ZQUTfTVZanNv-oEXPdnDlMXnE58-rwCo9qpY2S0NOf3c95IBwVQzwXIhMg7RmHo/s320/DoyleHaiku.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recently, I purchased a most inspiring book by artist Quinn McDonald, entitled "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Art-Journaling-Quinn-McDonald/dp/1440308551">Raw Art Journaling: Making Meaning, Making Art</a>." One of her many ideas to help bring forth the creative juices involves composing a haiku (a Japanese form of poetry consisting of three lines, each of which contains 5, 7, and 5 syllables) and doodling imaginatively around the perimeter of it. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On an unusually warm October day, I sat on the front porch with our dog, Doyle, and this little tribute spilled out in a matter of minutes. (The second line is a phrase borrowed from my dear friend, Ellen.) Adding Zentangles around the poem turned into a meditative endeavor that I thoroughly enjoyed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some of you already know that Doyle was diagnosed with lymphoma back in January, and about two weeks ago we said "goodbye" to our beloved friend and constant companion. We have consoled ourselves with the belief that he had a great life while he was here; he brought us boundless joy and unconditional love, and we will be forever grateful that he came into our lives.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And I will miss him more than I can say.</span></div>
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<br />Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-31290925014635727052011-10-28T16:19:00.000-04:002011-10-28T16:19:15.630-04:00It's the Bloggers' Quilt Festival!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYooCA-VhPaYD6t76ThzM8TKf0-KFWvftGeH1OpjakaEj1qrAhO1hL5-XuD2kHJPdH4sxYLAd6weLJ-ndJrghL78xSwHxjLIDLjjKLtRdqovpDI2i6dHK4lhuXa3AUXuxFg1B-08FdHA/s1600/PiecesOfDreams%2528Full%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYooCA-VhPaYD6t76ThzM8TKf0-KFWvftGeH1OpjakaEj1qrAhO1hL5-XuD2kHJPdH4sxYLAd6weLJ-ndJrghL78xSwHxjLIDLjjKLtRdqovpDI2i6dHK4lhuXa3AUXuxFg1B-08FdHA/s320/PiecesOfDreams%2528Full%2529.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><i>"Pieces of Dreams" 57" by 57" ©2008 Diane Evans</i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once again, Amy from <a href="http://amyscreativeside.com/2011/10/28/bloggers-quilt-festival-fall-2011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+amyscreativeside+%28Amy%27s+Creative+Side%29">Amy's Creative Side</a> is sponsoring the semi-annual Bloggers' Quilt Festival, and it promises to be a visual delight, as always. We quilters have the opportunity to view each others' favorite creations and to share one of our own.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time around, I've chosen "Pieces of Dreams." This is the
second in a series of medallion-style quilts, using Ricky Tims' method of drawing a motif on a
piece of paper that has been folded into eighths and then reflecting that motif
eight times to create what is known mathematically as radial symmetry – a
pattern of design that appeals to my left-brained sense of order.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUbzPvgjaXqPGLLUiK40Z30x577IietTzLFjPgAh0VIj6FAKvG8QAGX_BbrlCDAPOuG87E1tymIpO4iH7GGyjL9GXPlXI8ZNNYnVDD9MKX-TRZhyefeoZcX11ZON_BSkX6BRyjTr_S5k/s1600/PiecesOfDreams%2528Detail%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUbzPvgjaXqPGLLUiK40Z30x577IietTzLFjPgAh0VIj6FAKvG8QAGX_BbrlCDAPOuG87E1tymIpO4iH7GGyjL9GXPlXI8ZNNYnVDD9MKX-TRZhyefeoZcX11ZON_BSkX6BRyjTr_S5k/s320/PiecesOfDreams%2528Detail%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hand-dyed fabrics from <a href="http://www.joysfabrics.com/index.html">Joy's Fabrics</a> were used in this quilt; it is both machine-pieced and machine appliquéd, and the original quilting designs were completed with Sulky 40-weight rayon and metallic threads.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The quilt was named for a much-loved
song written by Michel LeGrand, particularly fitting since the sketch was drawn
in the middle of a sleepless night.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do head on over to Amy's blog and enjoy the treats on display -- how perfect for this time of year!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-20782368830719809492011-10-22T22:19:00.002-04:002011-10-22T23:03:14.430-04:00Love Letters: Amaryllis<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;">Once upon
a time, in a small kingdom far away, a self-professed art quilt blogger wrote
about a terrific new book she had purchased, titled “Appliqué Art,” by Stewart
Merrett.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;">This book was a visual
feast, with beautiful projects created from sumptuous velvets, silks, and moiré
fabrics.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;">The little blogger
promised herself that she would one day tackle one of these enticing projects,
and, finally, after a LONG, LONG time, she did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">She
gathered together a collection of decorator fabrics . . .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyssZ198ARefbZ-oq4eIAvmhweTT286FoxH1bZGBpgsxtg3SJKGyVpN5D6vruJC9iV0gg4i3FW8Bpx8A_ymkitbPa3jNbmPbQ_HehTtRv6idmwp8-A8blC22oX02L0CJ0UDAMM9nBNijk/s1600/Love+Letter+Fabric+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyssZ198ARefbZ-oq4eIAvmhweTT286FoxH1bZGBpgsxtg3SJKGyVpN5D6vruJC9iV0gg4i3FW8Bpx8A_ymkitbPa3jNbmPbQ_HehTtRv6idmwp8-A8blC22oX02L0CJ0UDAMM9nBNijk/s320/Love+Letter+Fabric+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">and,
using instructions from the beautiful book, she designed a letter “E” to place
behind the lovely floral pattern.
She used a satin stitch and 40-weight Sulky rayon thread to appliqué the
pieces to the velvet background. The piece was then outline-quilted with
30-weight rayon . . .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">She trimmed it
with a velvet border . . .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNJUNB2Q1hfeqpJ0dRO5gX0zox1jm59uqmR1GHYK6XPm_Aukq6TykI5zEdBqwkq_0ghA_BK5E_OUio7WI9QVhamDsNMhmWJJ0YpHJuyVdcG9WGGTOSg8CoT63Sfq5aVoFLh4hfTIQnL8/s1600/Love+Letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNJUNB2Q1hfeqpJ0dRO5gX0zox1jm59uqmR1GHYK6XPm_Aukq6TykI5zEdBqwkq_0ghA_BK5E_OUio7WI9QVhamDsNMhmWJJ0YpHJuyVdcG9WGGTOSg8CoT63Sfq5aVoFLh4hfTIQnL8/s320/Love+Letter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;"><i>"Love Letters: Amaryllis" ©2011 Diane Evans</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">and
brought it to her local A.C. Moore shop to have them place it in a gilded
frame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">Her
husband (a prince of a man) was so pleased with the little wall quilt that he hung it in a place of
honor in the castle, which pleased the blogger very much, since it had taken
her SO LONG to finish the piece that she was certain it would languish in her
pile of QuIPs (“Quilts In Progress”). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">The moral
of this tale? You can finish
anything you set out to do if you have enough determination and a 65%-off
coupon from your local frame shop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-42264564530675150532011-10-02T19:37:00.000-04:002011-10-05T14:35:06.575-04:00Has Anybody Seen My Mojo??<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;">Talented artist and friend Joanna
Monroe gave me sage advice the other day, when I bemoaned to her the fact that
my get-up-and-go probably got up and went somewhere; she suggested that I try
to make something small, such as an art card, so that I would feel as though I
was creating <i>something</i> instead of simply wishing I were. I turned to one of my
Zentangle® books by Suzanne McNeill for some inspiration, took out my drawing
tools and scissors, and traveled back to kindergarten with my muse in tow.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlZJ3NDEh40_kU6G52sLVLh1sxmYlyZ2NQazTeNwu3vX2EAB9uNGNb_QZ7Busd9dzL2GLMHVQcGM5uuD5Zv0dZi9AGJoctCUtCRhK6vTo6RPr8XKWcGHUyDnEFYQSLLRd94-d8Ab2UY0/s1600/zencard1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlZJ3NDEh40_kU6G52sLVLh1sxmYlyZ2NQazTeNwu3vX2EAB9uNGNb_QZ7Busd9dzL2GLMHVQcGM5uuD5Zv0dZi9AGJoctCUtCRhK6vTo6RPr8XKWcGHUyDnEFYQSLLRd94-d8Ab2UY0/s320/zencard1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">I drafted a flower shape with
leaves and enlarged it on my printer to a size appropriate for filling with
tangles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGr90RRSQhE3AKw5rRHnqCK_I6aOl38lc0_H4XcjBUQwrXSl8GDOKy2Tu-DL7qWbXDzySVe6eSzUh48mM_HhpaNnUffVTEo4CK_gSE97sgH8B5MjFh7ROLLfNqDJqufkFVUgeil3VGtfk/s1600/zencard2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGr90RRSQhE3AKw5rRHnqCK_I6aOl38lc0_H4XcjBUQwrXSl8GDOKy2Tu-DL7qWbXDzySVe6eSzUh48mM_HhpaNnUffVTEo4CK_gSE97sgH8B5MjFh7ROLLfNqDJqufkFVUgeil3VGtfk/s320/zencard2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">Using a Micron pen (and a pencil
for shading), I drew some of my favorite designs in each petal. I copied the flower onto white card
stock and cut it out; the leaves were drawn onto green card stock and cut out
as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lRMwkgY1jBlf-s-Of_0Azv23APKw3PJizk8_3uLGor03nQXXgPGPz78LROh7iB9xZ4PwfKF93SqdUl5YFFLN_4P7zvIOFm6rOH0arpSc_zND9ylMiG1ie6PhCzFj5l8gJcuW_CnCHWE/s1600/zencard3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lRMwkgY1jBlf-s-Of_0Azv23APKw3PJizk8_3uLGor03nQXXgPGPz78LROh7iB9xZ4PwfKF93SqdUl5YFFLN_4P7zvIOFm6rOH0arpSc_zND9ylMiG1ie6PhCzFj5l8gJcuW_CnCHWE/s320/zencard3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">I then cut three pieces of white
and black card stock in graduated sizes, ranging from 4” by 6” to 4.5” by 6.5”,
and glued them together to form a bordered background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">I backed a piece of black-and-white dotted fabric with
Wonder-Under® and ironed it to a larger piece of card stock; after trimming,
this was glued to the bordered background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rKuV1PYcC0lDLDHhCiRqo-dc-BnWt6t7TeMSVyYoTni8EjQKrOpmfQB5_wiOCbHESjreMsyf5QxpqqGZ_kS7J2mSjqMFIAmYgrrvTuR9S4zSuXzIEUAnfJmQgFZVkdSVHpnUvqbxjOg/s1600/zencard4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rKuV1PYcC0lDLDHhCiRqo-dc-BnWt6t7TeMSVyYoTni8EjQKrOpmfQB5_wiOCbHESjreMsyf5QxpqqGZ_kS7J2mSjqMFIAmYgrrvTuR9S4zSuXzIEUAnfJmQgFZVkdSVHpnUvqbxjOg/s320/zencard4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;">I assembled the flower and leaves
and glued them in place, adding some hand-drawn tendrils to the empty spaces
(the flower looked lonely . . .).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">Some beads were sewn to a
decorative button, and this was glued in place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">My little creation made me smile
and seemed to wake up my sleeping muse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">Joanna, you are a wise woman – and
a good friend. Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #339966; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-89217312612284592942011-09-18T18:57:00.000-04:002011-09-18T19:09:51.538-04:00"Wind Beneath My Wings" -- Fini!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><i>"Wind Beneath My Wings" Diane Evans ©2011</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">What began as a watercolor
exercise is now a finished art quilt.
Here’s “Wind Beneath My Wings,” all grown up and ready to go out into
the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">The interior machine quilting was
done with 40-weight rayon thread; motifs were outlined with 12-weight cotton
thread to add presence to the flowers and butterfly wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">The hand embroidery was inspired
by Laura Wasilowski’s latest book, “<a href="http://artfabrik.com/store/book.html">Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts</a>,” which
features dozens of examples of wonderful hand stitches that add color and
texture to any fiber art piece (Be sure to check out Laura's terrific blog <a href="http://artfabrik.blogspot.com/">here</a>). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">I
used straight stitches to accent the purple blooms and to create stamens on the
central flower, and French knots were added in various places throughout the
quilt. As a finishing touch, white
beads were sewn on –- after all, even a butterfly needs a little bling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">The kite-shaped quilt has been
sewn onto a quilted blue background and is poised to fly away with its
fabric-knotted tail. It will
travel to various exhibit spaces with other works by fellow artists in ARTAA,
our fiber art group, during the coming year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">Thanks for sharing the journey of
this art quilt with me – you, dear readers, are truly the “Wind Beneath My
Wings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-13842751448242431772011-09-11T22:16:00.002-04:002011-09-11T22:17:14.473-04:00Thank you, Amy!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A huge "thank you" to Amy at <a href="http://amyscreativeside.com/">Amy's Creative Side</a> for inviting me to be a guest blogger on her site. Amy is responsible for the creation of the Bloggers' Quilt Festival, an on-line sharing of quilts by hundreds of fabric artists, held twice a year on Amy's blog. She continues to work hard to promote and support the on-line quilting community, and I know we're all grateful for her tremendous efforts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hope you'll stop by to read our interview <a href="http://amyscreativeside.com/">here</a> and check out all the wonderful things Amy has to offer. She has a terrific blog -- you'll be glad you visited.</span></div>
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</span>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-23647049786183579272011-08-29T15:20:00.001-04:002011-08-29T15:22:04.503-04:00Peeking Inside My Sketchbook<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's a prayer that those of you who share the East Coast with me were able to come through Irene's visit unscathed. She was quite the unwelcome guest, and we've spent the day cleaning up after her mess -- however, we still have our home and our health, and we're grateful.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In between the urges to sew, I've spent time during the past months learning and practicing watercolor and journal techniques, inspired by Alisa Burke's workshops and the encouragement of so many of you, dear readers. Here's a peek:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3C4HPdXuyYJVAiT0g7dgWKdGbAzmGCycuxjJxsDpqywEI4Naxfh7pCmJJRpQCVy0I4F1fWmIsqldQVJp74FNO0P4G3t50DhJUXgqvfHgDgEkZvav8Lr-6k5kmT17cEXSIw2k2WHlZ1M/s1600/Paisleys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3C4HPdXuyYJVAiT0g7dgWKdGbAzmGCycuxjJxsDpqywEI4Naxfh7pCmJJRpQCVy0I4F1fWmIsqldQVJp74FNO0P4G3t50DhJUXgqvfHgDgEkZvav8Lr-6k5kmT17cEXSIw2k2WHlZ1M/s320/Paisleys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I loved Alisa's whimsical paisleys, so I tried a few of my own . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCRblj1AyQAiBUS2oVgaumf5p5KfseqofYV770ULSl3I46Gcb5jxAs-u0H1FG-RHD6oGeOPpgU1qEWhn0vFw_cy4LVjFgxvrP_G5JCV2PTcNkgCwUmV983N5UGleyO4pDJWE78wCLbVw/s1600/Three+Flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCRblj1AyQAiBUS2oVgaumf5p5KfseqofYV770ULSl3I46Gcb5jxAs-u0H1FG-RHD6oGeOPpgU1qEWhn0vFw_cy4LVjFgxvrP_G5JCV2PTcNkgCwUmV983N5UGleyO4pDJWE78wCLbVw/s320/Three+Flowers.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In this sketch, I tried my hand at shading with watercolor pencils -- I used so much water in one spot that the background paper just melted away, and I had to glue on another piece (the fact that I didn't throw the drawing away shows that I'm learning to embrace imperfection, don't you think?) . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAZ_EfWbXv_a11NAy30cwkOnJBZ95gcS7GkaBSCGAMHblYcY6m9obPpI5l5Tu6Qhj3v8WPCh7V-MUxpIzojKyCyGN1S5c8SGxVfz1s3uvsyAZxM2nxm73AVlNMrWxLbnwoR6dTZPuPqM/s1600/Dancing+Flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAZ_EfWbXv_a11NAy30cwkOnJBZ95gcS7GkaBSCGAMHblYcY6m9obPpI5l5Tu6Qhj3v8WPCh7V-MUxpIzojKyCyGN1S5c8SGxVfz1s3uvsyAZxM2nxm73AVlNMrWxLbnwoR6dTZPuPqM/s320/Dancing+Flower.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here, I learned how to mix the color chartreuse (it was a bit like cooking: a little of this, a little more of that -- and then remembering what I did so I could repeat it) . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiab3q-ZQByEC8cw418P-1CK7UaAywyMN4hWzEsV7rOVzpLMqqKEjTJnDkGXgZ0iNwC8yPZ7rcNOfZ34_QZiWKI4mE44itydAyGlQWkM5F7yFijTglVoofjgdb-mVxyzRidOavWheyNzEI/s1600/Tree+of+Flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiab3q-ZQByEC8cw418P-1CK7UaAywyMN4hWzEsV7rOVzpLMqqKEjTJnDkGXgZ0iNwC8yPZ7rcNOfZ34_QZiWKI4mE44itydAyGlQWkM5F7yFijTglVoofjgdb-mVxyzRidOavWheyNzEI/s320/Tree+of+Flowers.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I decided to try the watercolor pencils again and had better luck with my Tree of Flowers (I am nothing if not persistent . . .)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NCnvu1wo2OYChrWxO8jobkLrTG63HfsaEKKjOE9TiVI-5Tyh8qI6megzfihHtIxI9_f7yDBg2Ljj6WzEC1VtrS_lJTzc8vPgfP8719FhNZ6IIL5lyiqDkFP3jmhjwpooBx7HUgJWVIE/s1600/Tree+of+Flowers+Detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NCnvu1wo2OYChrWxO8jobkLrTG63HfsaEKKjOE9TiVI-5Tyh8qI6megzfihHtIxI9_f7yDBg2Ljj6WzEC1VtrS_lJTzc8vPgfP8719FhNZ6IIL5lyiqDkFP3jmhjwpooBx7HUgJWVIE/s320/Tree+of+Flowers+Detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The bottom of the page awaits some inspirational journaling -- with luck, that may happen on a future sleepless night.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My thanks to all of you for being there on the other end of my computer . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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</span>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-15137572567906545972011-07-26T15:17:00.002-04:002011-07-27T11:22:54.248-04:00"Wind Beneath My Wings" Progresses<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A while back, in <a href="http://designedbydianeevans.blogspot.com/2011/04/alisa-burkes-fabulous-sketchbook.html">this post</a>, I shared with you the beginnings of a new art quilt based on a watercolor painting I had done. I've finally had some time to continue playing with it, and it has progressed to the machine- and hand-stitching stages.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Vac2BLTCU-OAfX-2CmrLIFIi0HqsicxOjzFqauxaNDLWzmDVspx8Flz9wItkHGcbynsKME_fGEePsDG-f13o3B_-Dll9fQbuuW1n0vrPRGEBABR6tVqtMHBO2PUQTRCL_s4ecQGjomA/s1600/Wind1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Vac2BLTCU-OAfX-2CmrLIFIi0HqsicxOjzFqauxaNDLWzmDVspx8Flz9wItkHGcbynsKME_fGEePsDG-f13o3B_-Dll9fQbuuW1n0vrPRGEBABR6tVqtMHBO2PUQTRCL_s4ecQGjomA/s320/Wind1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I began attaching the pieces, using machine appliqué, starting with the lowest layer of the motifs and working to the uppermost layer. I like using a slightly open, flat zigzag stitch, so the color of the fabric will show through the thread.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGZGqBC2MDrjgcN0hhaOB4bcdmDMUiXyUgixg6QG1Ax5KqBJhbk-hGkWx-es2_tRQteV2guuv-sGLXYLDqMk0mzYDs5RNoBt_lzF3A96WB8FKQqcsyPE96oUg9QQJSAEX0HdSpeem8K8/s1600/Wind2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGZGqBC2MDrjgcN0hhaOB4bcdmDMUiXyUgixg6QG1Ax5KqBJhbk-hGkWx-es2_tRQteV2guuv-sGLXYLDqMk0mzYDs5RNoBt_lzF3A96WB8FKQqcsyPE96oUg9QQJSAEX0HdSpeem8K8/s320/Wind2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here, the entire right half of the butterfly has been appliquéd; the triangles and decorative stitching stitching around the purple center were embroidered by machine. The black background fabric behind each piece has been cut away for two reasons: (1) to prevent build-up of the layers, and (2) to keep the color of the motifs from being dulled by the presence of black behind them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyKqqbAie33lSNzvCEgM6CjRFff5e0Prb8jT9ypawR_KmsliSfbfpZTfMXouizTnKkJSx-vB2ePUqn3l1D0s8TpIPmyA_GYCyFbOdv3jNlwTXtJHogP8Nbes-cfqX5O5xqxi59mnCQEE/s1600/Wind4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyKqqbAie33lSNzvCEgM6CjRFff5e0Prb8jT9ypawR_KmsliSfbfpZTfMXouizTnKkJSx-vB2ePUqn3l1D0s8TpIPmyA_GYCyFbOdv3jNlwTXtJHogP8Nbes-cfqX5O5xqxi59mnCQEE/s320/Wind4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I auditioned beads at this stage; I liked the white ones and nixed the red ones -- French knots seemed the better way to go, so . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0_Qz7B7KTfEXSqu3Bna58YGEXr58O0PPseNJemIJxLhNez5oUUO4Bc8Ajg7PXgMRL6OVM40CQ9B9v28VAErzq9TgKajW6SnV2CqmgDOkcIh3kgAocR3_1ekGfVQ-z2Wa4KntC3gVGvc/s1600/Wind5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0_Qz7B7KTfEXSqu3Bna58YGEXr58O0PPseNJemIJxLhNez5oUUO4Bc8Ajg7PXgMRL6OVM40CQ9B9v28VAErzq9TgKajW6SnV2CqmgDOkcIh3kgAocR3_1ekGfVQ-z2Wa4KntC3gVGvc/s320/Wind5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. . . I decided to embroider them at this stage, before the backing was attached, so that the knots on the back would be buried within the batting. (Full disclosure: I later learned that the type of knot I make is really an Italian knot because I wind the thread around the needle the wrong way . . .)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePpTe6cxJ04evQ0BrHsTi7axeTB2WA22674Doc8NZdT0Sl5v4Y05uNhB_BtK2PTbwMV4TWeBQ-8qRPyP4HllpzuVPCTwNUamdYvsLvWKYF2qeUmzOipLzELwacVcn3TRpBa44XUgdhOo/s1600/Wind6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePpTe6cxJ04evQ0BrHsTi7axeTB2WA22674Doc8NZdT0Sl5v4Y05uNhB_BtK2PTbwMV4TWeBQ-8qRPyP4HllpzuVPCTwNUamdYvsLvWKYF2qeUmzOipLzELwacVcn3TRpBa44XUgdhOo/s320/Wind6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I then embroidered the black lines using a back stitch; to keep the stitches even, I placed a piece of masking tape, marked at regular intervals, next to the line I was stitching as a guide. White perle cotton accents were added to the violet flowers at the top.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's on to the machine quilting at this point -- hope you'll stay tuned!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
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</span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-47365690887642927562011-06-18T20:47:00.001-04:002011-06-18T20:49:52.282-04:00A Peek Inside My Sketchbook<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been plugging away at my latest quilt, "Wind Beneath My Wings," and the progress is steady and slow, so I don't have any exciting pictures to share yet. In the meantime, I've been playing in my sketchbook and taking a new watercolor class from Alisa Burke -- loving every minute of it. If you're interested, you can join in anytime -- here's the <a href="http://www.alisaburke.com/onlineworkshops/newwatercolorbliss.html">link</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I thought I'd share more of my experiments with you -- some were hits and some were misses, and just being able to put that last part in writing is a big step forward for me, since I usually agonize over the things I've made that didn't please me (and then I throw them out). So here's to the Likes and Dislikes and the learning that came with each of them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplqPJp-WeyhZQ6IiX4gwUPgqxObGW5W0NTc6fsuS7YXsHK-F5FhvyafkxD_v8AaNEAM6GavuYv9P8rOrdB0KEDSDvdRI3FrpZElggpZ0FSalrwd1S7cJZOexaNuUZ2ErHMBpEPmY6QiA/s1600/DSC00976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplqPJp-WeyhZQ6IiX4gwUPgqxObGW5W0NTc6fsuS7YXsHK-F5FhvyafkxD_v8AaNEAM6GavuYv9P8rOrdB0KEDSDvdRI3FrpZElggpZ0FSalrwd1S7cJZOexaNuUZ2ErHMBpEPmY6QiA/s320/DSC00976.jpg" width="313" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(I folded a piece of tracing paper into eighths, drew a design on one-eighth of the page, and then traced it by reflecting it around a point onto the journal page; it was colored in with paints and markers. There may be a future quilt hiding in here . . .)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw05VvPic26SVnxAEzTQ1qJOwx5vDazvHy4O3nHfI0lpd52cxQEyiUivoddlyFwVczyoHsODi3Q-RPLKEjm4h3JPHifM4Xe0YQZUGsfIsJBvhVP6Ye7s7ycUUkPeq6xkH_cz7RiBeXLI/s1600/DSC00992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw05VvPic26SVnxAEzTQ1qJOwx5vDazvHy4O3nHfI0lpd52cxQEyiUivoddlyFwVczyoHsODi3Q-RPLKEjm4h3JPHifM4Xe0YQZUGsfIsJBvhVP6Ye7s7ycUUkPeq6xkH_cz7RiBeXLI/s320/DSC00992.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(My effort at limiting the palette to two colors -- this was difficult for a person whose motto has always been: "If you can't decide what color to wear, wear 'em all.")</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZNE9SA77DmIrqwRjoW4rXe_3EOquZxfLYSnL6kqtE23RV6fHH_rXyHunvUMoaZLuO7tIvbxWqi7a5ufA7LryXmNjJz8xCspjiW3dbBdQe3n2bK7fxlf7OqPOE02LAS7P85wneEXOBUA/s1600/DSC00985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZNE9SA77DmIrqwRjoW4rXe_3EOquZxfLYSnL6kqtE23RV6fHH_rXyHunvUMoaZLuO7tIvbxWqi7a5ufA7LryXmNjJz8xCspjiW3dbBdQe3n2bK7fxlf7OqPOE02LAS7P85wneEXOBUA/s320/DSC00985.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Filling the page and learning to add depth to the image)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yoFCi0cD6kykH6f2vdd_jAgvdo1sduJgNPPRckVi_cXCUHSRePiz5CLJFPPm7rDbTfFXwxGZjcldMgBVJzluBJLctbLjbdEdJGFUoKEkz9yNUqMFXa1emGaB5PLckvIayFEy0c51bZ0/s1600/DSC00980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yoFCi0cD6kykH6f2vdd_jAgvdo1sduJgNPPRckVi_cXCUHSRePiz5CLJFPPm7rDbTfFXwxGZjcldMgBVJzluBJLctbLjbdEdJGFUoKEkz9yNUqMFXa1emGaB5PLckvIayFEy0c51bZ0/s320/DSC00980.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Just plain having fun)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As always, thanks for sharing this journey with me -- it's really great to know you're out there. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane</span> </span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-57753981359805894722011-06-04T12:40:00.007-04:002011-06-04T12:45:41.870-04:00It's A Spring Cleaning Sale!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHxZXwzVTp_5n0OY7Sm_tVd4OYCqLftpbBSlnJmstRQS91cVy5I91TWhfvqK_RzWPTETBGRAgnkqlZyOmLM8S9aD4pT9nLzi50OzSkEKa4lU2h3wnW3Nm4KuEhOFSheTpAzIlQKE0h4Y/s1600/Masquarade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHxZXwzVTp_5n0OY7Sm_tVd4OYCqLftpbBSlnJmstRQS91cVy5I91TWhfvqK_RzWPTETBGRAgnkqlZyOmLM8S9aD4pT9nLzi50OzSkEKa4lU2h3wnW3Nm4KuEhOFSheTpAzIlQKE0h4Y/s320/Masquarade.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">"Masquerade" 20" x 20" © Diane Evans (Private Collection)</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Granted, it IS a little late in coming, considering that it's almost summer; however, I seem to be a little late in getting <u>many</u> things off the ground this year. Anyway, I cleaned out all the quilting and design books that I realized I was no longer using, and I thought I'd offer them to you, dear readers, at really great prices. Just click on the page title above, <b>"Books For Sale!"</b>, and see if anything strikes your fancy. These books are in great condition -- many look brand new. Browse, and then treat yourself -- there's a "Pay Now" button installed for your convenience on the page.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 21px;">Diane</span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-47410158191790040062011-05-14T09:39:00.003-04:002011-06-04T12:22:39.993-04:00The Blogger's Quilt Festival Is On!<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rLIPfiY3dwltg8C0M0DBm0dkog97M3E0B8NV8fnxG522QVmLe-fGLcEovuLbj-Aj8HelN-pa3VkfM2LePRyCcWVaKVzK-qPBGHNbpIZg4Zr8kHWpfzvzLiGHNb3RZ2aRmmmPjeVLM1s/s1600/AutumnInNy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rLIPfiY3dwltg8C0M0DBm0dkog97M3E0B8NV8fnxG522QVmLe-fGLcEovuLbj-Aj8HelN-pa3VkfM2LePRyCcWVaKVzK-qPBGHNbpIZg4Zr8kHWpfzvzLiGHNb3RZ2aRmmmPjeVLM1s/s320/AutumnInNy_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">"Autumn In New York" 17" by 14" ©2009 Diane Evans</span></i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;">It’s that time of year when Amy of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://amyscreativeside.com/" style="color: #993383;">Amy’s Creative Side</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;">begins her Blogger’s Quilt Festival. This event is always so much fun – we all have the chance to view each other's favorite pieces and to share the stories behind our creations.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;">This time around, I'm sharing a special favorite; it's entitled "Autumn In New York," and it makes me happy to think of this art quilt because it's in the collection of a very special family.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;">There's a tree in our neighborhood that produces spherical pods each fall; it always reminds me of an illustration from a Dr. Seuss story. I have seen paintings where the artist used round daubs of paint to represent leaves, and I wanted to achieve that same effect in fabric.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAWHTL34pswyraHZ58ee4Nsr-ten8b0jCb7AQ5inXLRXfG1EzrfNoY8IqUHMzagQWs-fhS6PyRA1XjtexSOwl-CpdMzgWncjcWxfU14viRvhyW5AGA_Lcu2xnSt4AKtb5484GZrGh0II/s1600/DSC00417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAWHTL34pswyraHZ58ee4Nsr-ten8b0jCb7AQ5inXLRXfG1EzrfNoY8IqUHMzagQWs-fhS6PyRA1XjtexSOwl-CpdMzgWncjcWxfU14viRvhyW5AGA_Lcu2xnSt4AKtb5484GZrGh0II/s320/DSC00417.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;">So I began cutting out circles from scraps of fusible hand-dyed fabrics, and I discovered it was a very meditative process (I was much better at this than when I tried sitting still and chanting "ohm" . . .). I fused the circles to a beautiful piece of fabric from Caryl Fallert's Gradations line for Benartex, and I quilted the whole piece with Madeira and Sulky 40-weight rayon thread.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;">The entire effect is reminiscent of our view of the Helderberg Mountains as we drive to the apple orchards each October for cider doughnuts (this is making me hungry . . .).</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;">Hope you enjoy the Festival, and, thank you, Amy, for providing us an opportunity to attend this virtual quilt show and enjoy each others' work!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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</span></div></span>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com60tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-7806645323165470332011-05-07T13:58:00.004-04:002011-05-07T14:08:01.483-04:00More "Sketchbook Delight" . . .<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am continually captivated by the inspiration that has poured forth from Alisa Burke's online class, "Sketchbook Delight." Here's a peek inside my journal:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR49rom70Tmw66p_eZlcd5OsPK-13cdHPoZH7GkHM82B9aHMSlRG64Kb-yfpZ8RLgxVQjgwa270hFgJj_HJp6Z74ehCAQbfTWe1ge5AIHqnjK-Oo7rYBafMO7z5-BTxHiQk7gD-KX8lfg/s1600/DSC00964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR49rom70Tmw66p_eZlcd5OsPK-13cdHPoZH7GkHM82B9aHMSlRG64Kb-yfpZ8RLgxVQjgwa270hFgJj_HJp6Z74ehCAQbfTWe1ge5AIHqnjK-Oo7rYBafMO7z5-BTxHiQk7gD-KX8lfg/s320/DSC00964.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More fantasy flowers emerged after an evening of play . . .</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dcwtBFD6HlY8KrF5xtc22RJ5lKhyvAmO8JGJS1WcIimwg3yYRJDuLDGDr5h9foAbBBrB0mmRp5ekyF90m5Vbp7PkzrEuIuoAWKoex92cOG_z3RDYfXOT-hfoUobfzDVcGS3UWuSw1Ik/s1600/DSC00968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dcwtBFD6HlY8KrF5xtc22RJ5lKhyvAmO8JGJS1WcIimwg3yYRJDuLDGDr5h9foAbBBrB0mmRp5ekyF90m5Vbp7PkzrEuIuoAWKoex92cOG_z3RDYfXOT-hfoUobfzDVcGS3UWuSw1Ik/s320/DSC00968.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The watercolor page above was inspired by a haunting ballad titled "When October Goes." Its origin was a set of unfinished lyrics written by renowned lyricist Johnny Mercer and given to Barry Manilow after Mercer's death. Mercer's widow hoped that Manilow could develop these lyrics into a complete song, and he did so in 1984.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4i3Myb5vEIScdJr0JJQTgCmk7unHOOGtfMrfVGovULeL7x2G-ZuWyI0TztrtTqBtllJ1ugLt3hFxFYrXRC-nQ5h7ogc2gLPiwaqA09zwcGcBjLu-ie0ZUer1umKjWJ8mK-4MJ_aq_xQk/s1600/DSC00970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4i3Myb5vEIScdJr0JJQTgCmk7unHOOGtfMrfVGovULeL7x2G-ZuWyI0TztrtTqBtllJ1ugLt3hFxFYrXRC-nQ5h7ogc2gLPiwaqA09zwcGcBjLu-ie0ZUer1umKjWJ8mK-4MJ_aq_xQk/s320/DSC00970.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyOGf1Zqtr2cjqRBkDKl2Wps674itmgTeS6inmeBxUr4MWQgQiO09zjxSvCRC81ZIIGmXIIWeeF9l85vqEa4bFEhSfeBGZYqxL8b7l_Atm-iyvY2aVXC5yrXvJmXGruEFtMSu6sxrywk/s1600/DSC00971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyOGf1Zqtr2cjqRBkDKl2Wps674itmgTeS6inmeBxUr4MWQgQiO09zjxSvCRC81ZIIGmXIIWeeF9l85vqEa4bFEhSfeBGZYqxL8b7l_Atm-iyvY2aVXC5yrXvJmXGruEFtMSu6sxrywk/s320/DSC00971.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Alisa also posted a wonderful <a href="http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/2010/03/butterfly-wreath-tutorial.html">tutorial</a> on her blog, showing us how to create butterflies using pages from old books as the foundation. My dear friend and talented artist, <a href="http://joannamonroe.blogspot.com/">Joanna Monroe</a>, had given me a stack of pages from a very old math book (what else??), and if you look very closely, you can see polynomial equations peeking out from behind these creatures . . .</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And maybe, just maybe, spring is finally here . . .</span><br />
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Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-46594572177003317842011-04-24T21:25:00.003-04:002011-04-26T08:38:13.928-04:00A Tribute To My Father<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaa41whYhZISh1WAJJ1u-6gxCNxUFPndNAlBN068udO9l5Q-zmVjk0R1w_08yvu2vLn1M47vjnEoiFl9UTodmdQ4659IBc8zWpYxmtOEwaUbOAkY9ogi-Ox7JlHrMODjzeUdpmjIx764Q/s1600/DSC00977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaa41whYhZISh1WAJJ1u-6gxCNxUFPndNAlBN068udO9l5Q-zmVjk0R1w_08yvu2vLn1M47vjnEoiFl9UTodmdQ4659IBc8zWpYxmtOEwaUbOAkY9ogi-Ox7JlHrMODjzeUdpmjIx764Q/s320/DSC00977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On February 21, my dearly beloved dad passed away at the wonderful age of 88. Even so, his passing was quite unexpected; we called him our Energizer Bunny -- he always seemed to bounce back from each new malady that befell him as he grew older. He was very much like the late Will Rogers: He never met a man he didn't like, and everyone who knew him adored him.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went through the requisite emptying of his apartment at the senior living facility where he spent his last few years, and we brought home many of his things, including several boxes of facial tissue he had stashed away (he was always afraid he'd run out). I became intrigued by a rendering of irises on one of the boxes; because they're such tall flowers, they were drawn winding their way around three sides of the container. So I tried my hand at depicting them the way I thought they should look, using watercolor paints and black and white pens, and this picture poured forth. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0ObP588VftyljI282eSP6wtCuhXpECiTB06Hy48ryVSpsFKs0cP0nfQaRpxEAnDQvkEvxE0jMFkF7U4_QfncJP5mbRhymYb6ha4TJMZMfCzUKAoHh9Lv_UZTl6iUmQPaeQzkfRktlCc/s1600/DSC00979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0ObP588VftyljI282eSP6wtCuhXpECiTB06Hy48ryVSpsFKs0cP0nfQaRpxEAnDQvkEvxE0jMFkF7U4_QfncJP5mbRhymYb6ha4TJMZMfCzUKAoHh9Lv_UZTl6iUmQPaeQzkfRktlCc/s320/DSC00979.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd like to think that love guided me through the process; I know that love was the inspiration.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We're going to miss you, Dad.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting';"> <span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Love, </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting';"><span style="color: #7e38c4; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane</span> </span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-4351500385978039802011-04-10T21:55:00.002-04:002011-04-10T21:59:26.182-04:00"Wind Beneath My Wings"<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/">Alisa Burke</a>’s fabulous Sketchbook Delight class has inspired me to try designing my latest quilt with the help of watercolors. My usual modus operandi involves scanning a pencil sketch of my design into the computer and then auditioning different color palettes using Photoshop Elements. This time, I drew the design on heavy paper and used Sakura Koi watercolors and a paintbrush – risky business for me, since I was pretty much committed to my color choices each time the brush hit the paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkdUevAU1Fyhx_WNq9z_Y0nLgYsZiswswb0YGzGZABftXI1o9qFPvkwtHeM-Ap5lC6nG-dambvfoNjC00RB9uXufb5UdxnLghT7rkCqWfRAWAgn0k9dAxqH2PLYsh4d0HJVuuFWvkTsU/s1600/DSC00998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkdUevAU1Fyhx_WNq9z_Y0nLgYsZiswswb0YGzGZABftXI1o9qFPvkwtHeM-Ap5lC6nG-dambvfoNjC00RB9uXufb5UdxnLghT7rkCqWfRAWAgn0k9dAxqH2PLYsh4d0HJVuuFWvkTsU/s320/DSC00998.JPG" width="246" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The theme for this art quilt came from our two latest challenges in ARTAA, my fiber art group: “Bugs” and “Kites.” In a never-ending effort to complete my projects before the deadlines, I decided to combine the two themes into one.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJx_zUo2FkOvWnqfPgCA0mNFhQKgTYtg4rZzuc4W1zOBlQbT2iD6IEUltoWVb9kYdEH6GpvIN7R2A1umb_VGk36zOKyNLypkcaAmQkj2lYPFWFl7TrCQ_5pDO3s7xV8udcRYZm8j4NEPI/s1600/DSC00997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJx_zUo2FkOvWnqfPgCA0mNFhQKgTYtg4rZzuc4W1zOBlQbT2iD6IEUltoWVb9kYdEH6GpvIN7R2A1umb_VGk36zOKyNLypkcaAmQkj2lYPFWFl7TrCQ_5pDO3s7xV8udcRYZm8j4NEPI/s320/DSC00997.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I had already chosen the background fabric, so I did my best to mimic its color gradation with the paints. White and gold marking pens added the elements that I planned to incorporate with thread.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The cartoon of the design was copied onto acetate, and my trusty overhead projector was used to enlarge the acetate drawing to its full size on newsprint. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbs3-u91ghNgZLUvxF6YQXlmmuBuNAAC30BKnk_L_Fn5k6a-C-zq1nVWg-KeGwNIDtwzDqR72Q_yqG6D6m_1Lv2cCjJtZptT8WqGuGrF_Sihzaxq-KeNLGbMQRuU-y96L_vp2vDkdFcig/s1600/DSC00995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbs3-u91ghNgZLUvxF6YQXlmmuBuNAAC30BKnk_L_Fn5k6a-C-zq1nVWg-KeGwNIDtwzDqR72Q_yqG6D6m_1Lv2cCjJtZptT8WqGuGrF_Sihzaxq-KeNLGbMQRuU-y96L_vp2vDkdFcig/s320/DSC00995.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Here’s the quilt in progress; I always grow more excited at this stage, because I love the task of choosing the fabric that will do my bidding. I also know that the machine embroidery portion of the show is coming soon, and I’ll share more photos as I travel through that phase. As always, thank you all for joining in the creative journey with me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <span style="color: magenta; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane</span> </span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078077454820324988.post-80435313472217181292011-03-16T19:27:00.002-04:002011-03-16T19:44:43.689-04:00"Coming Out Of The Dark"<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 17px;">(I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the many expressions of support, encouragement, and optimism you sent along after my last post. I am blessed to have you in my life.)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">Several months ago, Dawn Browning of <a href="http://beesfiberart.blogspot.com/">Bee’s Fiber Art</a> (check out her blog -- she's doing some wonderful things) posted a link to artist <a href="http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/">Alisa Burke’s blog</a>, and that link has sent me on a soul-enlightening path along my creative journey. I fell in love with Alisa’s incredible artistic expressions, especially her journals. I immediately purchased the Koi Sakura watercolor paint set pictured in her article, gathered up pens and pencils similar to those she used, and sat down to follow her tutorial. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTIlJBKTazJ7ZCv3LbMpeKUqV0wO4VA4nxhCVCB3btF4Ip0TNkl78KTCZYS9W8yTrW-8B8d3d2qO9npJFcDtUEh47a7_IUOEdMzLsMdoGZdrb7kpOfxXCuRXTbt6wI4BALid7jvKC1Ak/s1600/seashell.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTIlJBKTazJ7ZCv3LbMpeKUqV0wO4VA4nxhCVCB3btF4Ip0TNkl78KTCZYS9W8yTrW-8B8d3d2qO9npJFcDtUEh47a7_IUOEdMzLsMdoGZdrb7kpOfxXCuRXTbt6wI4BALid7jvKC1Ak/s320/seashell.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">My first attempt at depicting a seashell looked more like the top of a Dairy Queen ice cream cone; it didn’t matter to me – I was hooked on watercolors.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhncrslWQi2jrS3iEZG0b4bTHgYrd0Z6eyKpSYmg2NWGxH0njh00K2GZIQMPgv_m0SBuGadSP_K8-_a_Km-b_w5oNRKjhaWI_ifs2LbaIYQJ0RiK2XS0u2FlluhxJQ-iigBD6M5kfWl4/s1600/Flowers+In+Vase.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhncrslWQi2jrS3iEZG0b4bTHgYrd0Z6eyKpSYmg2NWGxH0njh00K2GZIQMPgv_m0SBuGadSP_K8-_a_Km-b_w5oNRKjhaWI_ifs2LbaIYQJ0RiK2XS0u2FlluhxJQ-iigBD6M5kfWl4/s320/Flowers+In+Vase.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">I then took inspiration from a greeting card I had kept, and the results tickled my heart. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSk0zzZRLG5FwexYlIlBa47qqd1xLNx6ATd4qD6z4bmDxkC_gEJhUfWbVDM1HEZKbrTmTrUUuQnhfwqa0FLZiF4UoeSLT5wvQ03xTlpB4teZrSyt4PKdl7TyvW7vUU4wgmwvGU5xjEpc/s1600/Fantasy+Flowers+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSk0zzZRLG5FwexYlIlBa47qqd1xLNx6ATd4qD6z4bmDxkC_gEJhUfWbVDM1HEZKbrTmTrUUuQnhfwqa0FLZiF4UoeSLT5wvQ03xTlpB4teZrSyt4PKdl7TyvW7vUU4wgmwvGU5xjEpc/s320/Fantasy+Flowers+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">Emboldened by my tiny successes, I branched out to try my hand at fantasy flowers, using Alisa's techniques.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0p6fbo9xbeJ1VpMz8XJXC0anO9_Wz3aBMYntrxg7K-VO3MReCBxZp1c6fjH_qjC5IQZKzFHg0OqfAlbz1JJ3bb6XRcC2yHAsXhxaEo32PxyD4AaRnWfjAXthAtr4yNwa0f36cTN6qcQ/s1600/Xmas+Ornaments.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0p6fbo9xbeJ1VpMz8XJXC0anO9_Wz3aBMYntrxg7K-VO3MReCBxZp1c6fjH_qjC5IQZKzFHg0OqfAlbz1JJ3bb6XRcC2yHAsXhxaEo32PxyD4AaRnWfjAXthAtr4yNwa0f36cTN6qcQ/s320/Xmas+Ornaments.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">And then it was Christmas, and these ornaments came forth in the spirit of the season; a few Zentangles worked their way into the scene as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13pt;">I am now finishing an online class with Alisa, called "Sketchbook Delight," and I am learning SO much and enjoying it tremendously; you can sign up for this class at any time. Do check out her blog; her lessons and her inspiration have truly lit up my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #339966; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; font-size: 16pt;">Diane<o:p></o:p></span></div>Diane J. Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12538136961022564014noreply@blogger.com9