Design Challenge

A few months ago, I was looking around the house for something to applique.  I have plenty of projects started but nothing I was in the mood for.  So I decided I was going to put to good use some of the beautiful hand dyed and batik fabrics that my friend Julie www.jaybirdquilts.com sent to me.  

I am using Marbleous Jacquard in Black by Robert Kaufman.   I can find a good picture of the black but her it is in Cactus...

... but the black....I just eat it up.

This piece is about 40" square at this point.  I took a whole piece of the black fabric and using a paper circle template, traced a circle with a chalk marker.  Then I did freehand drawing with the chalk to make each shape.  I basted a piece of fabric to the back a bit larger than the circle and then used reverse appliqué to create each design.  So... yep its all hand appliquéd and very fun.

Now I am trying to figure out how to set it.

My friend Sharla www.softexpressions.com  suggested that maybe it doesn't need a border which could be why I and struggling a bit with it.  Hmmmm...this suggestion may win out...

I used my Snagit Program to cut and paste some different options.

I tried just making black strips and continuing into a wider border with strips of the applique.

cutting it into piece.....oh my stars... this is scary.

 A suggestion from my friend Eileen http://eileenwintemute.blogspot.com, some simple but offset borders.  I added the shadow in my program but will most likely not add the shadow.

I probably won't get a chance to work on it for about a month, so if you have any suggestions, no matter how wild or simple,  or if you like one of the ones you see, I would love to hear it. Right now the first one and the last one are looking the best to me.

Hope you get to sew this weekend.

Love Aunti Nicole

Zentangle Classes

Hi All,

Just completed two class of Zentangle with Sharla Hicks at Soft Expressions.  She is a great teacher and truly an artist.  If you would like to get into it, Sharla will be doing the beginning class again.   http://www.softexpressions.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CQMEASE&Product_Code=001&Category_Code=

So why Zentangle when you have so many quilt project and work projects going on?  Basically its a form of meditation for me.  It allows me to focus on one thing, which I don't do very often.  It opens my creative synapses.   The pieces I have done so far are very small so you can complete them in a sitting. I just love how each design takes you somewhere new.

The class was two days with a week in between.  We had 7 very creative people in the class and it was fun seeing how different people have a naturally different interpretation of what was presented.

So here are the pieces I made during and after the class.  Remember these are only 3.5'










I have a Zentangle Flickr group if you would like to see the before and after samples.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1604567@N20/

I think my next class needs to be a photography class ;] but all in time....



Hope you all get to sew this weekend!

Love
Aunti Nicole