I was recently approached to take one of my art quilt wall hanging designs, In the Forest, and enlarge it to 52″ x 43″. The buyer debated the size for a long time and ultimately, many emails later, decided she wanted the design to be double the size of the original. That’s not so hard, right? Wrong. The design has a 3-dimensional quality, which I needed to maintain while doubling the size. The challenge was that now she wanted the quilt to be longer than it is wide, exactly the opposite of the original orientation.
The Dec / Jan issue of Quilting Arts Magazine features the Pet Peeves Challenge. The magazine accepted many of the small quilts that were sent in for the challenge and printed photos of the quilts. I am pleased to share this link to the magazine, which shows the table of contents of this issue.
Quilting Arts Dec / Jan Table of Contents
And some photos…
Cat in Fridge. W: 8.5 in x H: 11 in. 2011.
Israel’s national flower is the poppy. In the spring, fields are carpeted with these amazing wild flowers of red petals with black centers. I had this in mind when I composed me latest needle felt design, which I call ” Field of Poppies”.
It’s made of a medley of wool fibers sculpted together in a soothing composition. I hope you like it.
It’s available on my Etsy shop. So, come visit.
The staff of Quilting Arts Magazine decided to include many of the quilts they received for the “Greatest Pet Peeve” Reader Challenge” in the Dec/Jan 2011 issue. So, I am happily mailing my quilt off to the magazine. I’ll keep you posted. I’m very excited at the prospect of seeing my work in print. Friskers, the main character of my cat-scape was thrilled as well. She was rewarded with some tuna. She didn’t ask why, she just ate it all…
It’s done! Bound, sewn and delivered. I hope it’s a finalist. It was really fun to do.
I tried to bring out the three-dimensional quality of the scene. I wanted you, the viewer, to understand that you and a cat are looking at a fridge with lots of stuff on the shelves.
The closeup view shows the cat and her long white whiskers peering and sniffing at the contents of the fridge. 
I used cotton fabric, cotton thread, some synthetic fabric, some stabilizer and tulle. (The door is meant to be a little fuzzy because of the plastic shelving, which I made with tulle.)
The batting is Warm and Natural, cotton batting. The final size is 8.5″ x 11″.
Did I mention I plan to enter this miniature quilt into a challenge? It’s due next week. Quilting Arts Magazine is running the “Greatest Pet Peeve” Reader Challenge”. I thought it would be fun, since I live in a “cat house” and there are more than a few feline antics to choose from. I debated whether a cat in the fridge would be more amusing than a cat drinking from a coffee mug. My faithful audience, aka my family, told me that the cat in the fridge was clearly the choice!
So, here are the next stages I’ve worked up of my cat-scape. The first is before quilting. I’ve made real strides to show the depth into the fridge.
The second shot is after quilting. I chose not to do an enormous amount of thread painting, because I wanted the items in the fridge to be recognizable. They are not artistic images; they are bottles of juice, containers of milk and pots.
I’d be glad to hear what you think! Do you see the three-dimensional quality of this work? Our fridge really looks this way. You can’t see the back!
0 In Contests & Exhibits/ Israel / Holyland/ Landscapes/ Quilting Guilds
“100 Years of Kibbutz” Quilt exhibit in Israel
The Israel Quilters Association recently held a quilt exhibit featuring the theme “100 Years of Kibbutz”. Each quilt had to be 1.3 m x .9m (51″ x 35″) and had to touch on some aspect of kibbutz life. The quilts were judged and there were several winners. Although not all the submissions were shown, 56 quilts were shown for the month of May at Beit Gavriel, a lovely hall on the south shore of the Kinneret.
Kibbutz Shluhot and Mt. Gilboa
I submitted a quilt for this exhibit and my work was exhibited. I based the quilt on a view of the fields of Kibbutz Shluhot, showing Mt. Gilboa in the background in Emek Beit Shean. I think the view from Kibbutz Shluhot is beautiful and it reminded me of almost 30 years ago when I volunteered on the carrot factory on Kibbutz Shluhot and lived on Kibbutz Maaleh Gilboa. I tried to convey the quiet and serenity of the scene in my quilt.The quilt has a three-dimensional quality, that makes you feel you are entering the scene.
A journalist visited the exhibit and did a short video about some of the quilts that were exhibited and won prizes. The video also discusses the Israel Quilters Association. It’s very nicely done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWghctfSqig&feature=share
The exhibit may be shown again in another locality in Israel. I will keep you posted!
There is a path in the town where I live in Beit Shemesh, Israel that runs quite a long way. This time of year it is very pretty with lots of blooming, particularly almond blossoms. I was inspired while strolling there and decided to work something up with that path in mind. This is still a work in progress, but it’s a nice beginning, I think.
I am thinking about how to best quilt it: maybe cobblestones? maybe ridges? I’m not sure. Also I’ve asked my friend Phyllis Cullen what she thinks about the shadows on the path. In a class I took with Phyllis last year, I remember she said the bottom of the path should be darker than the top so the path doesn’t appear to stand up.
More to come! Meanwhile, what do you think?
Scenes from the Holy Land: Sea of Galilee is my rendition of the shores of lake Kinneret, located in the Galilee in Northern Israel. The Sea of Galilee is our main source of water and due to a severe drought water levels have been a great concern over the past few years.
This is the first of a series of Kinneret quilts I am planning. I think this part of the country is beautiful and I have tried to convey this in my quilt. I hope you too can appreciate the countryside by peering into the waters of my work. I used numerous fabrics to depict the rocks and mountains.
Dimensions: 19″w x 15″h / 48cm x 38.5cm
Available at my Etsy shop. Visit soon!