Exhilaration!!!
This is my most recent quilt. I've joined the Castle Rock Art Guild and was inspired to create this for my first monthly meeting. The theme for this month is EXHILARATION. I was finding it hard to capture an emotion such as this in a quilt. I took my colored pencils and drafting paper with me when my daughter had her ACL surgery. I had plenty of time to think about the design as I waited. The attached pictures show my completed design. The rays on the yellow background are coming from the heart of the person in the center of the quilt. The different colors of the rays are achieved by quilting/stippling the background with different colored thread. My person is so excited, so EXHILARATED, that they are throwing their emotion to the world. I've quilted the different red lines to show the motion of the confetti pieces being tossed. The confetti are attached to the quilt using different methods. Some of the confetti are supported with small beads underneath them to lift them even higher off the quilt. 
I've bound this in a way I've never used before. I cut the edge of the quilt and then using a special foot for cording, zig-zagged a bright red cord on the very edge of the quilt. It finishes the edge nicely and helps to keep the quilt flat and blocked. Much faster, easier, and prettier than if I had used a standard binding. I think the art guild is going to inspire my art in a much different way than a quilt guild will and I'm very excited to joining this guild! Laura Marie
Never Before and Never Again
Oh this quilt drove me nuts! This quilt was created for the 1996 Great American Quilt Store Challenge. Each artist was given a stack of 400 or so die cut triangles. There are certain tricks that quilters use when sewing triangles together that are quick and easy. I had never before sewn triangles already cut out together. There is this little thing called bias in fabric. Fabric stretches and distorts when sewn on the bias. ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!! I have never before sewn trianges together this way and I never will again, hence the name of my quilt. There is a special technique called Trapunto used on this quilt. An additional layer of batting is added in specific areas to puff up the quilt and make the detail even more dramatic. I will try to get a close up shot of the detail to share with you soon! Laura Marie
The Sound of Kaleiding Stars
This quilt was designed for the Great American Quilt Shops 1995 quilt challenge. The fabric faded from one color to another like a rainbow. There are 20 stars total, and all were designed by me. The 20th star is on the back.
It was a challenge to line the star on the back up perfectly centered with the ones on the front. The star on the bottom is the label for my quilt. (ALWAYS label your quilts. It helps you remember when you made it, what for, why, for whom. If I can't remember these things several years later, my family will never know!)
My first blog. Thanks to my sister who inspired me to give it a try! This will be the place where I showcase my art. I'm a fabric artist. A what??? Well, I can't say I'm a quilter, because I do so much more than quilt. I can't say I'm a seamstress, cause I do so much more than make clothing. Not a knitter, not a crocheter.... There is something about manipulating textiles. The feel of the fabric, the intensity of the color. Taking something flat and creating something with fluidity, motion and depth. The only way to explain it is to say I'm a fabric artist! Hope you all like what you see! Laura Marie
