Paint Nite

Paint Nite is a lot of fun. I signed up for one on a whim more as a social gathering with some friends (many who didn't actually show up!), and never anticipating the door it would open. It wasn't the finished product that I was proud of, but it was the feeling I got from brushing color onto a surface, slowly spreading it, watching how it created an image from my mind. I found a form of meditation I never knew existed, and fell in love. What's even more incredible is, I work for the largest art supply distributor in Oregon, so my access and choices of paints, brushes and canvas is within easy reach. Don't mind the rosy cheeks, I did have a healthy glass of Merlot.

The blue scrap quilt finished

She is finally done. 

http://www.kerriannjohnson.com/2013/01/blue-scraps-handquilting.html

Groovy Sunset

My oldest child is a gorgeous, sophisticated and also a creative person. Her paintings and drawings are abstract and so brilliant. I made her a children's quilt years ago, but it was time to upgrade to something that was more expressive of her personality. I chose the pattern "Groovy" using warm colors of her choosing. It turned out stunning, just like her.

Revival of my creative journeys

Recently a pen pal friend from a land far far away asked me what my blog domain was in her last letter to me. It got me thinking how I have abandoned my online journal displaying my projects. It has been well over 30 months since I had posted anything, and so much has happened in those 30 months. Life is so completely different from April 2013 in the way of where I live, my family structure, my day job and my long term goals. All of that craziness has not deterred the creative spirit inside however. Creativity has been my saving grace, my therapy through some turmoil I experienced in these past couple of years, and it has led me to new avenues of my creative expression. 

So today I log into this blog, ready to freshen it up. It used to be named "The Joy of Quilting" because I wanted a space dedicated to this traditional form of American art that I have indulged in for the past 10 years. Now, I am experimenting with drawing and painting, deciding to keep the title simple and real by using my birth name. 

In honor of the inspiration my pen pal gave me, please visit her blog at http://sewchicken.blogspot.com/ . Her art is incredible, and I admire her ability to span many forms of creative expression.

School auction quilt 2013

When I received the email from the PTC organization for my daughter's school about help with the auction, I almost disregarded it. I try to read most of these mass emails, but sometimes it get to be a little too much.

This particular email was asking parents to help with a project for the school auction that came from the class. Projects, such as 'wine baskets', 'gift certificates', and 'quilt' were suggested. When I saw that a quilt had been suggested, I thought, I can do this! I have a quilt nearly done that I could donate!

Quickly, I emailed the organizer back saying I had a quilt ready for the auction-but she stopped me dead in my tracks and reminded me that this had to be a quilt that the children made. Since I had already reached out to volunteer, I was on the hook for this quilt.

I will be honest, I wasn't too thrilled about starting another quilting project with the busy schedule I already had, but kept a positive attitude about this. This would be the first time I had ever really participated in my child's school functions, maybe I would enjoy it?

Within a few days of accepting this project, I received an email from another parent of my child's class offering her help in sewing. How fortunate I felt in suddenly having extra help with this! Now it was time to make a plan in how this quilt would be made.

The next challenge would be to figure how to integrate children into making a quilt. Initially the email suggested 'hand-stamping' on the the quilt from the kids. Being that I work for an art supply distributor, I receive generous discounts on paints and crafty supplies. Hand-stamping seemed like a possible option, but what if a child was allergic to the paint? What if the children drew on the fabric instead? Aha! My employer sells fabric markers that are meant to not fade or run when the fabric is washed. Problem solved!

That weekend, I purchased all of my supplies-markers, fabric, and batting-to make a lap size quilt. I chose bold pastel colors, and got as much of a variety of markers as possible. Normally, these markers cost about $3 each, and I purchased 18 of them! I paid less than $20 with my great employee discount. I used coupons from Joann's to buy the fabric and batting.

Now, the fun would begin. Each child would receive a fabric block that measured 8.5" X 8.5" to draw on, and sign their name. The drawing from the special markers then would be set by a low heat iron, and my partner would sew up the blocks.

I had already scheduled a few days off from work around spring break, so I was able to come into my child's classroom to help guide the kids on drawing what they wanted. This was a huge moment of joy for me, to see the children happily drawing on the fabric and being a part of something really cool.

We did this project on the last hour before spring break, so it was a nice way for the children to start their time off. I left with 30 blocks, including one from the teacher, to have my partner sew up into a quilt top. She then returned the top to me for quilting, and within a few days we had a finished product for the school auction!

I am so glad that I volunteered for this project. It was so rewarding to see the children get so excited about quilting!

19th Annual Airing of the Quilts in Milwaukie Oregon

Finally did it-I entered my Double Wedding Ring quilt into a quilt show. Technically not a 'judging' show, most of the quilts in this show were top notch.

The show was held Friday March 22nd and Saturday March 23rd. I went down on Saturday to see my quilt on display for hundreds of admirers to see. You can only imagine the gratification I felt standing several feet away fidgeting with my camera when I heard a woman admiring my work say, "This quilt is gorgeous".

Moments later as I kept touring the show, I came across the Oregon Quilt Project table. I inquired about quilt documentation and mentioned my quilt was in the show. One of the hosts asked me which quilt was mine, and after describing it, she knew exactly which one it was. There were only two wedding ring quilts in the show, so it's not a wonder she recalled which was mine.

There were over 100 quilts in this show, and so many were beautiful. This one was super 'scrappy', and I have a fondness for this type.

Another challenging pattern I will attempt to tackle in my lifetime is the Lone Star. I think this one would be more challenging then the Double Wedding Ring.

Now that I have my first show down, I hope to continue making textile works of art for more shows!

Wedding Ring Quilt

The current quilt on my frame is on hold temporarily so that I may prepare another piece of work to enter into an upcoming show. Technically not a judging show, the Airing of the Quilts is a show of local quilt owners and artists displaying their prized possessions. This year will be my first attempt to have my wedding ring quilt accepted for display. 

The past few days I have spent repairing any small flaws, ironing the quilt, and trying to get out some dreaded chalk marks when the quilt was hand-quilted. I am trying the Mr. Clean Magic Erase to get these orange marks out, but it isn't working as miraculously as I had hoped. I do have a few more methods to try getting them out. For future reference, don't use Dritz quilter's chalk, especially in orange!

The next goal for this quilt is to have it documented by the Oregon Quilt Project. Quilts are inspected and logged into the Oregon Quilt Index. I can truthfully say that this is a quilt made with fabric that was purchased in an exclusive Oregon fabric store, made in Oregon, by an Oregonian. I chose the wedding ring pattern to give myself a challenge, and the first quilt I ever fell in love with was a wedding ring quilt. Although blue isn't my top favorite color, I chose it because it is my husband's favorite color. The blues remind me of the summer sky and ocean as we were married in July at the beach.

This quilt was meant to be a queen size for our bed. Unfortunately, it is better suited for a full size. I didn't purchase enough fabric initially to make that extra row of rings. It is currently kept in an airtight bag to preserve the color from fading now.

I love this pattern, and hope to make it again with black as the background and bright colors for the rings. It is a challenging pattern, this particular quilt has heard a few four letter words that I don't repeat in front of kids! But like a solid marriage, it is a work of patience, tears, and love.