Thank you!

I'm up to ten backers on my kickstarter.com project!  Only six more days to go to make this dream a reality!  Today I'd like to thank those who have backed the project so far:

you_will_succeed

Dawn Wampler

William Martin

Anthony Vilgiate

Xaver Wilhelmy

Sara Homeyer

Kim Scales

Melissa Chonka

Dawn 

Wendi Dunlap 

You all are my ANGELS!

 I'm working on quilting this one today.  I don't know what it will look like when I'm finished.

 These two before I quilted them...

 Became:  "Set Aside" and...

 Buttoned.  It really makes a difference when I've finished the quilting...

...put them through the laundry and them framed and embellished them. 

As you might imagine, sometimes it's tough just to choose which side is up!

I can't tell you how much I love what I do, and to have others partner with me

in the process is a genuine privilege and honor!

Thanks to those who have pledged to the project!

Would you like to get in on the fun?

My Kickstarter.com Project is here, go check out the video 

that explains the whole thing and then choose what you'd like from the cool pledge options! 

Thank you so much!

-Carmen Rose

Quilt Design

I am enjoying a bit of time in the quilt studio from time to time.  It doesn't seem like I get nearly as much time there as I'd like, but when I get the chance... I sure do enjoy it!

When I saw this image of a stained glass window, I knew I had to try it in fabric.

So I played a bit with the drawing to explore some other color options.

You'd think it would be a simple exercise to put this one together in no time flat?

Not so much!

But I am pleased with how the pieced top turned out!

Hand dyed cottons and un-dyed white.

Happy creating,

Carmen Rose

Quilt Auction

A recent trip to old stomping grounds was multi-purpose.  Mostly I soaked up some quality time with dear friends.  I also sang in a friend's wedding and attended the Michiana Mennonite Relief sale where a quilt I designed (about 250 quilts/afghans/comforters were sold that day) was sold to benefit MCC.

Here it is in line to be sold.  The black, pink and white one.

Here it is waiting to be the next one on the display.

Difficult to fit a King size quilt on such a small display piece, but they did what they could.

They stretched it up high enough to cover the auctioneer... (Still not showing the whole diamond in the center) clearly that wasn't going to work!!

I was disappointed to note that it sold for only $550.  I guess it's the economy, of course it's a size that most people can't use and it's feminine... but I thought it was a pretty quilt.  It sold at 9:05 am.  Shortly after that they got an auctioneer that was much higher energy and then people started to focus a little better, I sure wish he'd been the auctioneer just a bit earlier!

Here are some of the other 250 pieces auctioned off.  From small wall hangings to the large ones.  There were some really pretty ones in the mix but mostly ultra traditional stuff in very federal colors.  (Not exactly my thing.)

The front row showed some of the quilts unfolded, this was an especially pretty one.

Lots of time and detail in these two!

I was pretty amazed with how low things were going, people bidding that morning were getting bargains.  But it's all for charity and every bit helps.  I designed and cut the the fabric as we went along, my mother-in-law pieced it and I don't remember who worked with us at the ironing board.  It was hand quilted by a group of Mennonite women from her church with help from the sewing circle at another Mennonite church nearby.  I never did actually get to study the quilting, things just went by a little too quickly for that.  I wish I had a good photo of the whole thing, but it was a little big to get good photos.  I also wish I knew who bought it, but like I said... it just went by a little too quick for that.     

I'd like to do this again some year, a smaller quilt that is less gender specific and hopefully in a season when money isn't so tight for everyone and it can go for a little more money.  I would use hand dyed fabrics this time, no commercial fabrics.  I don't have any interest in hand quilting it though, which may explain why I have so many unquilted quilt tops in storage.  So maybe some day I'll find sewing and quilting buddies once more that can make projects like this possible once more.

Time will tell.   

Happy Quilting,
Carmen Rose

Featured Artist Display May/June

I'm the featured artist at Oasis Gallery in Harrisonburg, Virginia for the months of May and June.  I've shown lots of pieces of the display, here's your chance to get back and take a look at the whole thing.

There are art quilts on the wall, some framed and some unframed.

Hanging on the wall I also have colorful hand dyed scarves in a variety of styles, cut velvet, cut satin and lovely silk scarves in a rich variety of colors.

And lots and lots of glazed art glass!

I'm pleased with how it all came together!

Happy Colors, Happy Creating,

Carmen Rose

Floral Quilts in Full Color

Here's another series of quilts from my show that is currently up at Oasis Gallery in Harrisonburg, Virginia:

The top piece is called
"Dance of the Periwinkle"

Hand dyed cotton, buttons

Hand Embellished

Fused and machine quilted

17 x 15

$245

The Long Narrow one on the right below that:

"Windswept"

Hand dyed cotton

Hand Embellished

Fused and Machine quilted

$170

The smallest one on the left:

"Petit Four"

Hand dyed linen & commercial batiks

Machine pieced and quilted

Hand embellished

8 x 8

$79

And finally, the one on the pedestal with the art glass is this one:

"Buttoned Down Wreath"

Hand dyed cotton

Machine pieced & quilted

Hand quilted, fused and embellished

12 x 12 on gallery canvas

$235

Here is another shot so you can see how dimensional the flowers are on the surface of this quilt.

I hope you are liking these little snippets of photos from the exhibit.  

I'm kind of enjoying spreading it all out like this.  

Of course your comments are welcome.

Happy Creating

-Carmen Rose

These Orchids are just showing off!

My Mom knows I love orchids and gave me this one while I was in the hospital two weeks ago.  It's just blooming it's heart out, showing off like nobody's business.  I popped them out on the porch rail to photograph and managed to catch my two border collies in the photo.  I guess they were keeping watch on the golf course, looking for something/someone to bark at.  I'm winding up my little medical vacation.  I feel good, I just keep being reminded that I'm not back to full strength yet.  But time heals, so I'll try to be patient.  I'm featured artist at the Oasis Gallery in Harrisonburg for May and June, so I really need to be getting my work together for that.  I haven't done a one woman show for some time, it's not that I don't have the inventory.  It's more about putting things out there that are representative of me now, rather than things I've done ages ago.  And some of the projects I've worked on in the last year or so are ones I don't want to sell... so there is no point in putting that work out if the goal is to make it count financially.  Ha ha, we'll see what happens.  I have fabrics pulled out for a new small quilt, it will be good to get back to work on Monday.  Until then I will continue to be a slacker!  =)

Happy Creating with a big dose of floral inspiration,
-Carmen Rose

The Art of a Woman (and more)

I just came across this photo today. I got it from one of the models for "The Art of a Woman" project, it had been given to her by the photographer.

This event was back in March, but it's cool to still be getting photos and things from participants. At the end of the evening, all of us got in the display window for a finale. Up to that point there was one model per picture frame, this time we did the "birds of a feather" together in the front corner, the four seasons (I'm Spring on the left) in the large frame and then the other two in their own frames. It was fun to look out and see some familiar faces in the crowd on the street.

The recovery process is coming along nicely. I'm in absolutely no pain, just struggling to get my strength back.  I'm struggling with the anemia and today was a busy one, so I'm feeling it tonight.  I'm also finding myself more and more irritated by the "no driving for four weeks" rule and I'm only two weeks out. I'm thinking tomorrow might find me behind the wheel. The hubs is always gone, and I have cabin fever. So... maybe tomorrow.

I feel like I missed Easter this year.  Spring time seems strange without an Easter service, a meal, something special.  I had just gotten out of the hospital and wasn't up to going to church. I like watching the children at church, all dressed up in fluffy confections and mini suits.  I like the somber candlelight service on Good Friday contrasted with the bright flowers and joyful qualities of the celebration on Sunday morning. A friend had these Easter Lilies dropped by yesterday, so today it felt like a little bit of Easter had come to my house. What a blessing!

Finally, I wanted to show some of the thank you notes I've made.

 

They are really easy, just a bit of gauze, a band-aid and some red card stock. It turns out looking a bit like a bow, only medical looking. I made enough of these to thank the folks who brought meals. I think that's the coolest thing, to take a meal to someone who is recovering. What a blessing!

I finished taxes today, what a chore!  So glad to have that done!  And I picked out fabric for a small quilt, that was fun.  I need to get back in the studio if I can get my body to cooperate.  I have a one person show at the end of the month and so I need to get crackin!  So... I think my vacation is coming to a close.  It was fun though.  I especially enjoyed reading, it's been years since I read for pleasure.  One wonders why we allow some of those small pleasures to slip through our fingers from time to time.  It's a good reminder of the need to slow down and enjoy a book from time to time.  That's a good thing.   

Happy Creating,

-Carmen Rose

Today's Guest Blogger: Chris Daly: "Finding My Creative Place"

Greetings from Southwestern Wisconsin! I love to learn and explore new media.   I try to challenge myself and learn new techniques whenever I can.   Working outside of my comfort zone helps me to grow as an artist.

  

 I found my way back to art and creativity through a set of stained glass classes that I took with my husband in the 1990’s. I had put myself aside to be a wife and then a mother.  It was this class that made me realize how much of me was missing from my life.  Once that door was opened, it led the way to so many more opportunities.  I just follow where I am led…

My husband and I have always had a strong connection with nature.  After 5 years of searching for a new place to call home we landed on a small farm in rural Wisconsin.  Waking up here every day is like a dream come true.  I see inspiration everywhere I look.  Most of my original designs are abstracted from nature.

Our move introduced me to a huge community of quilters.  These women and men have enriched my life like I never would have believed possible.  We teach each other and share our ideas.  Small sparks become big ideas when we bring our creative energy together.

I love bold, bright colors.  I dye many of the fabrics I use.  Dyeing fabric allows me to work with color pallets not available at the local quilt shop.  I still work in stained glass, but fiber arts have really taken center stage.  These two loves were combined when I started making my miniature quilt block jewelry.  Each piece of jewelry includes a machine pieced quilt block made from my hand dyed fabrics.  I sell my jewelry and hand dyed fabrics on the internet and at local quilt shows.  I also belong to two internet art quilt challenge groups.  I like the idea of working from a theme or keyword and then letting your imagination interpret the design.  I usually start with a concrete idea in mind and end up with something completely different by the time I finish.   I just follow my intuition to see where it leads.

 You can read more about my rural life at: www.shadygrovestudios.blogspot.com
I maintain a second blog that is related to fabric dyeing with tips and tutorials and show and tell: www.dyecandy.blogspot.com  
Warm regards from Southwestern Wisconsin.  I am home and this is my creative place.
Carmen, thank you for sharing yours with me.