I started this quilt in WI with my "forever friend" Kim.  It sat as an UFO in my closet for a couple years.  I finished it for our quilt show in 2012.

It was fun to make and I love the colors. I have enough squares left over to make another quilt!

Pinto Ponies in the Aspens

21"x21"

The theme for this Fiberaction Challenge was "neutrals".  Ugg, I thought, I'm not a neutral person--I like COLOR! When I was a child, I remember seeing a painting by Bev Doolittle with lots of aspen trees and pinto ponies camouflaged in the background.  That painting popped into my head when I started this challenge.  I started with five fabrics for the background, then began planting trees in the distance and made my way to the foreground.

 The branches are made with threadwork. I happened to have several fabrics that made great trunks.

I googled pictures of pinto ponies, traced them onto fabric then colored them in with markers.

Since we are moving into our log home in Montana soon, I thought I would make this challenge more rustic/Western.

H1N1

I made a similar wallhanging like this during the H1N1 flu outbreak.  These are all viruses and the yellow spikey ones are H1N1  One of my patient's admires it in my office each month when she comes in for her B-12 shot. Her birthday was in August so I made this for her.

Fiberaction challenge 5

FANTANGO

20"x20"

This is the 5th fiberaction challenge piece.  We were to use a triad, which means to use 3 colors evenly spaced on the color wheel.  I chose red, blue, and spring green.

I had no preconceived thoughts in my head when I started this. It was fun to make it up as I went along.  The process reminded me of a round robin.  I may add embellishing like crystals or beads or not....I'll just have to live with it awhile.....although where.......the colors really don't go in my house!?!

Fiberaction Challenge 4

13"x20"

It was my turn to post the challenge for our Fiberaction group.  Not sure if people will like it, but it is supposed to be a challenge right?

We were to use our first and last name to pick 2 colors and then add the color black. 

For Susan I chose saffron.  For Freund I chose french blue.

I had no idea what to do, but I knew I wanted to use the new Big Shot Cutter I got for Mother's Day. It is so cool-love it!

I just started cutting, sewing, fusing, layering, looking at google images for butterflies.......and this is what I ended up with.

There are lots of crystals added, but they don't show up too well in the photo.

My S.F. quilt amongst the coreopsis.

Hmmmm...."S" for sunflower....saffron....Susan????

 For our third Fiberaction Challenge we were to use split-complementary colors on the color wheel.  As you can see, I used purple, yellow and greens.  I've titled this piece "Dancing in the Moonlight".

 I quilted the background before I started adding the leaves and critters. This was a good piece to practice different designs, threads, templates, and marking tools. I need a LOT more practice.

 Carl the caterpillar was discovered from a rolled piece of scrap fabric found on the floor. I stiched him up and added a wire to make him more bendable.  I had sewn on two glass seed beads for eyes, but they made him look too evil so I removed them.

 Freddy the tree frog was fun to make. The purple balls are fuzzy beads.

Tina the turtle is doing a little jig.  I've had the green flat beads for a long time and thought they  were perfect for this project.

Three fireflies add to the magic of the moonlit night.  They are made out of 3 beads for the body and clear beads for the wings. Angelina fibers add a bit of glow. This was a fun project to work on.

Monochromatic challenge

Our second Fiberaction Challenge was to use a monochromatic theme.  I decided to use blues and had no pre-planned idea in my head when I started.  Before I knew it a formal garden had evolved with a pool in the center.

I used  hundreds of beads, embroidery, and yarn to embellish the quilt.

Inchies

Inchie O's

Our guild had an Inchie swap. The Inchie idea came from Nadine Ruggles' book Inchie Quilts.  It was so much fun to go to the mailbox and have an envelope with an Inchie in it.  I chose the colors to match a newly purchased chair and ottoman.

I chose lots of batiks and different sized circles to compose a quilt to display the Inchies on.

Pin Cushions

 I made these sweet little pin cushions for friends for Christmas. I love working with wool and they were a good hand project while watching TV with hubby. They each measure about 2"x 2".  I recycled bottle caps for the base and put strips of magnet in the bottom to add weight.  They are embellished with beads, yarn and charms.

Secret Valentine

Our guild has a Secret Valentine exchange every year.  The fun part is secretly delivering the goods and also hearing all the hillarious stories when we  reveal our Valentines at the guild meeting. I used batiks for the background and wool for the applique.  I love the ease and forgiveness of the wool along with the rich colors.

I cross hatched the background first, then machine appliqued the rest. I embellished with beads and embroidery.

The little bird is carrying a beaded heart for his Valentine.

Fiberaction Challenge

I have joined a group of women from all over the country who are interested in fiber arts.  The creations this year are based on the color wheel.  We have two months to complete a piece.  For this first challege we were asked to use a color we normally don't use.  After looking at my newly organized stash, I noticed that I have very little orange so I decided that would be my challenge color.  I added aqua greens and purples after looking at the triadic partners on the color wheel. The fabric pile sat on my sewing room floor for days until poppies popped into my mind.

I embelished with swarovski crystals, beads, a black fuzzy yarn.

I felt the black window that the poppies were popping out of made the piece unbalanced so I added the Chinese symbols for poppies in the lower left side which represent rest, beauty, and success.

Five guild friends and I participated in a Christmas Row Robin. I connected the rows with the back and white sashing and bordered it with the random red strips. It is now hanging in my kitchen adding cheer and whimsy for the holiday season.