I   am not Traditional?

Hi everyone:

Well it's been a while since I posted.   It has been a very busy spring and summer.

  I found something out about myself-- everybody can't believe it. I found out that I am not a classic quilter; I am not a modern quilter; I am a classic- modern- Art quilter.   I am a classic- modern- art quilter with emphasis on the art quilting. 

I have found that I like to use fabric in creating art quilts. I like to use fabric in creating cards, and I like to use fabric to create quilts, tablerunners and potholders.   I bet you're wondering how all this came about.  Are you wondering how this self-realization surfaced. Well, it's surfaced quite easily because I was working on a quilt and got an idea for a card.  I was in the middle of an UFO table runner and what I found was that I enjoyed working on all those projects a little at a time.  I love doing something a little artsy every day by using paints, using charcoals, using fabric, using stamps, ink and using thread. It's becoming of a bit of an obsession.   Now, I ask myself should everything be usable or should I have a reason for what I create.  Truthfully, I really don't have an answer to that question.  But, what I do know is that I get a lot of personal satisfaction from working with my hands.  I get a lot of personal satisfaction from using the artsy side of my nature.

I have no real goals for my my art quilting because I find quilting to be satisfying and stress free.  But, the one thing that I'm doing is trying to make a card or painting or Zen tangle or practice my machine quilting everyday.  There is so much more to this quilting lifestyle and it just does not have to be piecing and it doesn't have to be appliqué and it doesn't have to be putting borders and binding on your project.  One can use the decorative stitches on his or her sewing machine to complete an Art project or a piecing block.  I'm enjoying the vastness of quilting.

Doodling - Who would have known?

By the way,  I have been learning and/or teaching myself how to Zentangle  I find it relaxing and it is stress reducing, but most of all ZenT (as I call it) really opens up my creative side.  I wasn't really sure this type of art work was within me. Zentangling is doodling and it's really a lot of fun as well as creative. I've been doodling for years and now it has a purpose-- I can use it in my art quilts and my machine quilting.

Take a look at one of my ZenTs and machine quilting practice sheets.  :

Note:  practicing machine quilting  by practicing Zen tangles can only enhanced your projects and add the basics of machine embroidery to your tool bag for quilting

Check out this video: 

Check out a small practice art quilt:

Please note: that this is pretty rough. In this piece, I'm practicing Stippling. I'm practicing following lines and trying to make a flower.   Also,  I am using paint as highlighters to practice using color in a project without the mess of paint.  It is a good start!!

See  you later!!!

EL