An optical illusion with Gradual Gradations 4

Gradual Gradations 4 uses that pink again but this time I've combined it with blue for a very different look.
This optical illusion effect has the light value of each color in the middle. I hope it gives you the effect that it is bulging.
I did this with strip piecing but if you were to ask me how I did it I really don't remember exactly how I did it. I am sure I did draft this one on graph paper before I executed it and probably made "notes to self" about what I thought I should do to make this happen.
This fabric has allowed me to do a lot of create a lot of different effects in my work. This is not the last you will see of creations using where my mirror image hand dyed gradation fabric.
The very simple machine quilting on this piece enhances what is happening with the optical illusion.

I thought it would be fun to play with Corel Photo Paint and create a more extreme bulging effect. This effect could NOT be created with strip piecing!

And of course Gradual Gradtion 4 is the puzzle this time.

Gradual Gradations 6 & who has the prettiest peonies?

Gradual Gradations 6 uses exactly the same fabrics as I used in Gradual Gradations 5.
You can see how the gray shades one way and the pink the opposite.
I did some creative things with the borders, partially neccesitated by the amount of fabric I had available.
I think you will be able to see what I did and better appreciate the way I used the fabrics in the border if you click on this to enlarge it.

This quilt is what I call an Origami Bow Tie. It does not require sewing into corners or Y seams.

You may have noticed many of my quilts are not a regular shape. Although this is a perfect square it hangs on the diagonal and was designed to hang this way. To hang an irregular shape quilt I put a pocket on the top half of the back of a double layer of fabric. It is attached to the quilt when I attach the binding. I put two small buttonholes near the top of the pocket. I cut a piece of foam core board to the exact size and shape of the pocket. I put two small holes in the foam core in the exact same place as the bottonholes. When the foam core is inserted in the pocket it can be hung on 2 nails or hooks.

Tip: If you make a square quilt and are not satisfied with the composition try hanging it on the diagonal. Often this is just enough to make a so so quilt a stunner.


So many of us are enjoying peonies and lilacs in different parts of the country right now. When they did our most recent landscaping they planted peonies without asking us what color we would like. I was so disappointed when they planted white and pink. Red or rose peonies have always been my favorites. Since these grow on the side of our house without windows this is only about the 3rd time in 10 years I have been able to pick a bouquest before they wilted. I forget they are there. I will have to admit they are lovely and make a beautiful bouquet.
If I want to see rose and red peonies all we have to do is look across the street at our neighbors yard. They have an ever changing show of different flowers from earliest spring through fall.

I hope you enjoy tonight's puzzle. I don't think this one is too hard. We'll see though when "I" try to do it!

Gradual Gradations 7

This is the quilt you saw in the background on the Christmas Eve photos.
It was done with fabric I dyed with a special method I developed. It was cut into strips and then manipulated.

Here is another view of the same quilt. It is hanging in the Anderson Arts Center during my previous solo exhibition. It uses the "tool" of intersecting fields of color.

This is a closeup of the quilting. You can click on it to enlarge it. The quilting was designed to enhance the curves created by the manipulation of the colors. I had to do a lot of starting and stopping when I quilted this. I tried to come up with a design that would require less starting and stopping but nothing else was appropriate for the design. This photo also is closest to the true colors of the quilt.
Today's puzzle is my other favorite Bella. She belongs to my friend Tommy Fitzsimmons.

Classes are over and I'm tired - a good tired

Today was the last day of Jan's class.
I really enjoyed the class and learned so much and accomplished so much.
We had a great group of ladies in the class along with our top notch instructor.
It was after 5 when I left the Barn.
The last thing we did today was share our work with the rest of the class and talk about it.
I would like to share some of my work with you.

These three small pieces were underpainted and shibori dyed over the painting. I have an idea how I will use these. (But don't hold your breath waiting to see the finished piece as my priority will be working on the quilts for my solo show in January)

This piece is also underpainted and shibori dyed over it. At this point I have no idea how I will use it.

These 24 pieces started out as a dark to light orange gradation. Each set of 4 was overdyed with a different color with the same patterning. I also have an idea how I will use these.

For this group of fabrics I split a one and one half yard piece of my Gradual Gradation Fabric into five equal pieces. Each piece was shibori dyed with a different color.
The Gradual Gradation fabric shades from dark to light and back to dark. It has been folded so that the dark and light are next to each other in the photo.
Almost all of the fabrics I worked with started as a color rather than starting with plain white fabric as most class members did.
I wasn't trying to be the maverick of the group, I just had some solid hand dyes that I thought I could enhance with some shibori dyeing.
I'm pleased with them and I hope you enjoyed looking at them.