Here is just a little bit of the art I have made lately!

Well, after much work and trial and error I think my blog is working again. After my last post, I could not get any of my photos to download and post to the blog and I could not type anything either. I have changed my browser (and alot of other little things) and it looks like that did the trick. I sure hope so, because all this was so frustrating. But I do have lots of new art to show you. I also have opened my Etsy shop... https://www.etsy.com/shop/juliekarsky

Please stop by and see all that is new! Have a great Wednesday!---Julie

I am Back!!!


After taking a long break from blogging I decided to try some new artwork. I haven’t been doing a lot of sewing lately, because I have really started to enjoy working on mixed media art. I will be posting some of the new things I have been making. I am experimenting with different surfaces ranging from stretched canvas to canvas panels. My husband, Joe, picked up some aspen wood, and we cut it into different size blocks. I am really enjoying working with wood, also. So, here we go with my new artwork for 2014! I hope you enjoy it, and please leave comments. I would love to hear what you are thinking!

Sydney’s Baby Quilted

With my newest little granddaughter here, I knew I had to get her baby quilt finished

 

I had some pieces left from another project, and it was just enough to make this darling quilt

 

This fabric was from a Daisy Kingdom line that I got for $1.00 a yard when it went on clearance. It is actually dress fabric for little girls. I cut apart the striped fabric that was meant for the skirt of the dress, and incorporated it into the border.

This little quilt is for Sydney, our latest granddaughter, and since she came into the world early she is very small. I avoided using cotton batting by Warm and Natural, since it would be a little too much weight on her, so I used a polyester batting by Morning Glory. It made the quilt so light and fluffy.

This batting was so nice to hand quilt through. I pieced yellow sashing strips and used a coordinating fabric for the blocks.

Here you can see a close up of the adorable fabric I used. It has little paper dolls all around the border.

The newest addition to our family, little Sydney! She is our tiny angel! What a beautiful gift from God!

Victorian Crazy Quilt – Block 16 Buttonhole Stitch

I am sorry for my long absence, for all my dedicated followers please do enjoy this months Victorian Crazy Quilt block

Well, it is time again to post another block from my Victorian Crazy quilt. This block was named for the buttonhole stitching I did around the outside of all four sides. I just love this stitch. You can do so many other variations as long as you know this simple stitch.

I always try to make the center of the block extra pretty and add something special to it. Here I started with the feather stitch and added long gold bugle beads.

Did you notice when I stitched these blocks I did not color coordinate fabric with threads. By using contrasting colors of embroidery threads, your stitching is going to stand out even more instead of blending into the background.

I embroidered a simple flower in the right hand corner of this block. I wanted to add a yellow stone to the center.  You can see how I had to stitch it on in several places from the center hole in the stone to keep it secured in place.

The cretan stitch is another favorite of mine. By adding 4 long straight stitches to each side in red and cream threads, it really changed the look and made the row suddenly wider and more complex.

I think my favorite part of this block is the yellow and purple flowers. Instead of stitching leaves on the stems, I added silver bugle beads.

Some Fun Time, Art work, mixed media

I have been thinking of making another paper quilt. I finished one this past year, and sent it to Stampington and Company for a magazine submission.  They had a project that called for making a piece of art using the color “aqua” and I made a paper quilt very similar to this one. I designed my little crazy quilt blocks using Acrylic paper by Strathmore. I just love this paper. It is very thick and stands up to all the coloring and inking that I do. I used gel pens to create all the embroidery stitches on the blocks. The quilt was designed on mat board. I added a feathered border and quilting lines in the background. I did a lot of inking with brown ink to the quilting lines before I added the blocks. I coated it with Mod Podge and will be adding rhinestones to make it sparkle.

 

 

So many things to do… I thought I would take a break, and have a little fun drawing and coloring again. I recently put my 2013 Snowman Calendar on my Etsy shop, and just looking at those drawings of silly snowpeople made me want to draw a snowman. I was reading quotes online one day, and came across a saying by Dr. Seuss. It goes like this: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I decided to draw a snowman as he changes shape in the month of April. The spring rains have started and our snowman is melting. His buttons are falling off, along with his carrot nose. Poor guy! His glasses fell to the ground when he lost his nose. I gave him an umbrella to shelter himself from the melting rain.  Even the green grass is starting to show through the snow. His time is almost over, but I know come next winter he will be back! I started with a piece of matt board 8 ½ x 19 ½. I drew my snowman image, and added a one inch grid to the background on the diagonal. When the coloring was done, I inked the background to tone it down a bit. Then I added the quote using some chipboard letters that I inked, and my own lettering and torn papers. I found some epoxy raindrops in a sticker pack, and they seemed very appropriate for this project. It was coated in Mod Podge and sprayed with an acrylic mat spray.

 

 

 

 

Victorian Crazy Quilt, Timeless Treasure, Charmed, Elegant, Elegance, Embroidered Blossoms, Floral Blooms, Beads, embroidery

Charming

 

The tradition of crazy quilting began in the Victorian Age. While this art form first caught on in Europe, here in America crazy quilting was based more on utility and necessity. Wives and mothers needed to cover their families in cold weather, and fancy needlework was not practical.

 

 

When I am piecing my blocks, I think about composition. I try to lay out my fabrics before I start sewing. In this quilt I used a variety of bright and dark fabrics, and also used pastels. I wanted the eye to travel across the block and have lots of interesting areas to view.

 

 

The stitching within this area of pink satin turned out exquisite. The yellow and blue threads I used to create the daisies looked lovely on the pastel satin.  I used the buttonhole stitch with various lengths to make the stems and grass.

 

 

The upper left corner of this block took on a look of its own, as I added the green vines.

 

 

I started with the cretan stitch in baby blue and used the straight stitch in various lengths starting in the center of each cretan stitch. It had a nice soft look and filled in the area nicely.

 

 

Although Victorian quilts are heavily embellished, there are areas where the embroidery thread makes a strong statement by itself. As you can see here, I did not need to add any beads to make this area interesting. The primary thing to remember is that every seam does need to be covered.