Design Wall Monday 2-25-13

After being away for a couple of weeks, I'm getting back into the swing of things with this art quilt piece. The Holiday House I made late last year (shown in an earlier Design Wall Monday posting) has inspired a possible "collection" of houses. This is my take on an Airstream travel trailer. Yet to come will be a beach shack, maybe a log cabin, certainly a haunted house. There are lots of possibilities noodling around in my brain cells. At this point, however, this piece is ready for embellishing, then quilting and finishing. I'm thinking of adding a lounge chair, a grill, a flower pot by the door step, some metal siding features, some tufts of grass. I absolutely love the background batik.

I've also begun playing with fabric painting inspired by a DVD and book by Mickey Lawler - Skyquilts. Both the DVD and book are fabulous. Mickey gives very detailed information about using the fabric paints, mixing colors, achieving certain effects and correcting boo-boo's. Here are my first two pieces. What I learned in the first piece is that the paint colors do, indeed, continue to move and blend and they tend to soften. I used tone-on-tone white fabric that I had in my scrap pile for my first two experimental pieces - once I get a little more time under my belt with fabric painting I'll use the recommended plain white tightly woven broadcloth.

This is try #2. Yep, I have a long way to go ... but it will be a fun journey. Take a few moments to visit Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times to see all the inspiring and awesome projects others are working on.