Quilting on the Edge

New Work for Sale on Etsy

I've just posted several of my summer art quilts on my etsy site for sale, so take a look, even if just to browse a bit. http://www.chrispredd.etsy.com./ Seems I've been all over the place this summer, tried some new techniques, even hand quilted two large quilts for a few friends here in Indiana.  So take a look, maybe you'll be inspired to make art quilts yourself!   Now I'm thinking about purchasing the Pfaff Grand Quilter machine, doing my research, and I'm heavily leaning in that direction.    Enjoy!

Wildfire: What a bag of scraps and a few free hours can do

In an effort to reduce the amount of stuff I keep for my quilt art, I sifted through the box of red/orange scraps and cut what I could into two inch squares.  This piece I call Wildfire is the result...... its a foot square, there are 64 two inch squares of fabric carefully arranged one by one to create the background.  When I finished rearranging the squares, and saw what I had, immediately I thought of a fiery scene with bare trees.  That was the inspiration for this piece, and here it is.  It is one of my favorites, and it is for sale on my etsy site. 

Art Quilts XII: Current at Chandler Center for the Arts Chandler Arizona

I am fortunate to hear that my quilt "River Rush" has been juried into the Art Quilts XII:  Current  exhibit to be held at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Chandler Arizona.  Go to this link to see the list of all the accepted quilt artists:   http:/www.members.aol.com/sdihowell/artquilts.htm

Art Quilt about Moving Forward

This piece is called "A Way Out".  I worked on it while remembering the events of 9/11.  I didn't realize it until it was finished, but I placed the two wavy strips to symbolize the twin towers.  Finally the suede light colored strips were added, which symbolized to me a ladder of steps showing the way out of the pain and rubble. 

Remembering 9/11

It's always such a melancholy day, isn't it?  Right after my shower today I clicked on tv and say Fox's video summarizing the events of that day, and I cried and felt such sadness and pain again.  I'm in Indiana, so I wasn't personally affected, yet felt so personally affected, even today.  One of my sons' birthday is today, I remember worrying about him that day working in Chicago. Another son was in graduate school at Princeton that day and I remember calling him and waking him up and telling him what was going on.  He helped with a phone bank later that day at the university.   I am one who likes to experience the grief, not hide from it.  Oprah had a show today with children who lost parents on that day.  Still today, they too were crying and all looked like they had broken hearts, which of course, they did, and maybe still do.  Seems I couldn't concentrate much on my quilt art today, altho I made a small piece which I'm not sure what it means, but I'm going to say it means moving forward.  I'll post when it's done.  I am relieved that six years later, I still have not forgotten, the pain is still there, I still cry easily, and I am sorry for all those whose pain is worse than mine.     Be at peace,    Chris

Going in Circles

This is my latest art quilt...... all the fabrics have a circular pattern of some sort.  The focal point circles are made of angelina fibers.  There's lots of interesting stitching on this piece.  I kept thinking of expressions with the word circles....like going in circles, circular reasoning, circle of life, circular file.... and more I'm sure.  It's about 14 by 17 inches, and for sale on my etsy site at www.chrispredd.etsy.com.

Fireflies in the Weeds

                      This piece was made for my September Art Quilt challenge.  The fabrics for the background were painted with fabric paint.  I first wet a piece of white fabric with water, than plopped onto it randomly with glops of red, black, green, and yellow paints.  I then squeezed the fabric to form a ball, secured it with rubber bands, and let it dry in the sun.  Then I ironed it, cut it into strips, which I then sewed, three strips together.  These strip sets were then cut into squares, which were sewn together to make the background.  Whew...... more to write about than to actually do!!!  Anyway, my immediate reaction to the piece was that it looked like something lighting up in the weeds, hence the name Fireflies in the Weeds.    I stitched a pattern of a firefly in the background, and ran strands of yarn through the stitched channels to make the firefly stand out.  I also quilted patterns of leaves and stems around the firefly, these I painted over with a green acrylic paint so they were more prominent as well.  This whole thing was an experiment really......... do you think it was successful?   Chris

Monoprint Attempt 2

Here's my second attempt at monoprinting..... I used different shapes, stencilled them with fabric paint unto the plexiglass, then printed them onto white fabric.  It seems I ended up with a lot of overlapping colors which gives this sample a nice effect.

Balancing Act Exhibit: List of artists and awards

: http://fibraartysta.blogspot.com/.  This is the website to read about The Balancing Act exhibit, a regional exhibit of SAQA.  The participating artists are listed, and award winners are identified.  I am pleased to say the one of my pieces, S.O.S., was one of two juror's choice awards at this exhibit.   Chris