Quiet Sunday

The morning was foggy, but not cold, the trees are turning golden now. I have a "bonsai" on my working table, it is an Ivy which I'll try to form into tree shape. Hope it will not leave me like a few more small trees I tried to keep on my balcony. I love trees, but they don't love me.
The reptile quilt is growing steadily.
I have the ambition to finish it without a ruler. I just use tricks like finger measuring and doubling up to find the middle and such methods.

Mail from Cymberrain

Look what was in my mail today! The most wonderfully dyed embroidery threads and an extra goodie -- thank you so much, Diane!
Don't these threads match my project perfectly?
Have a look in Diane's shop, she's offering the most luxurious and delicate velvets in unbelievable colors. I received a little pack of ribbon, too, and I'm curious to try it out, perhaps this is just right for the snake theme.

Today's Progress

This is the second corner of the middle frame (I'm planning intending three concentric frames). Of course the corners don't match (question of honor).

The orange dragon is a leftover from a fabric I painted and ordered from Spoonflower.

And now I would like to introduce you to very special friends of mine: Mr and Mrs Bullfinch. They had breakfast on the ash tree right outside my kitchen window. As I was trying not to disturb them, I did not approach the window closely enough, so the pictures are a bit blurry. 
I used to see a group of them 8 or 9 years ago, up to 4 couples came to these trees. Then, from year to year, there were less individuals. In one year, I just saw a female, giving sad (as it seemed) beeps of search. I was afraid there are less of them, although they are not an endangered species. This couple is healthy and well fed which makes me optimistic.

A Lap Quilt

Either I'm more ambitious than I used to be or I can't make up my mind to forget about right angles altogether. I should accept that skewed is a style. It is a lap quilt, made by a half-blind granny while riding on top of a pioneer waggon (no table, no ruler, no road) who never quilted, before she reached the new world on a ship called "The Inter-Nette".

Dragon border

A manipulated photo, as you may have seen. I removed the parts of the basic fabric because it is puzzling to separate what will be seen and what hidden.
I bought cheap fabric in an interesting color, changing between olive and red. Unfortunately no silk. The hand is -- ahem -- unpleasant. But I like the color.
I never used this palette before. That's the kick.

The Reptile Quilt

The project has a name now. I am happy to use fabrics which have been given to me. I bought only one of these samples. Thanks, girls! Especially the snake skin pattern is a treasure for this quilting adventure.

Quilting as an adventure is my reason to do it at all. The feel of the quilted surface goes nicely with the idea of reptile skin. Wonder if I will end up with a quilt for each class of vertebrates.
Some batiks came from Chris Gray. Chris, I can't reach you! Too bad.

Update on a finished piece in use, here it is: The bird quilt during a nap on the sofa. My husband took the picture, but it is not a snapshot, I admit.

How to carry on?

This time I tried the dragons white on green. I used some of the cloth paint like water color onto the ironed dragons and gave the background a slight shading.

I'm trying some pieced border around the dragons. The quilting has become quite structural as I wanted it to be. I used MEZ and Anchor embroidery cotton this time because I have a stash in colors to suit the dragons. In this light, the quilting seems to dominate over the painting, but this is an effect I wanted to get. I want this piece to have a more aged look than what I usually do. Rust and copper green are the shades I want to prevail.
I'm not sure about the pieced part. Or should I make a quilt entirely out of painted fabric?

Update. The colors are said to be washfast after ironing. I haven't tested them yet, but I trust them.

Started Quilting

"Form Follows Function" was one of the Bauhaus design rules. Hm.
Apart from connecting two layers of fabric and giving the surface a nice, ripply touch, my quilting doesn't have much function. I'll just carry on with it until the piece will whisper in my ear what kind of thing it will become in the end; and most of my pieces make up their minds short before they are finished.
I love the lightness of my bird quilt because it has no batting, it is just 3 layers of fabric, densely quilted. I love to sleep under it because it never becomes too hot. I also love the idea of using 2 or 3 layers of quilts in cold nights, rather than having one winter cover. I have a well-batted "summer" bedcover which I use in coldest winter. Modern fiber technology! It is so light that I hardly feel it. But it is "on" or "off". Nothing in between. It makes me restless. It is much better to have a few layers and to adapt them to your needs.
And: The idea of having a number of quilts is a wonderful excuse to keep on creating.

Sneezing

Have to show you what I did last night. When my husband is asleep, I sneek into my studio and paint. Listening to music, turned low; jazz, mostly; or jefferson airplane. This time I got inspired by a stone carving from China which is at least 3000 years old. I painted it on a cotton/linen fabric.

This morning, I thought of stenciling to multiply my dragons. Lino cutting was very satisfying, but the printing was not. This textile paint is not made for printing, I guess. I cut this stencil and stabilized it by soaking the paper with shellac. The result is a lot more satisfying than printing. The color can be variegated just as well, and the silhouette is nice and crisp. Now I have to put on my clothes, I'm still in my nighty, and get some breakfast.

Fabric in my shop

A.tatzelwurm fabric can be ordered from Spoonflower. I chose the drawings I like best and combined them to a pastel-colored, lovely panel of harmless and serene lightness, just right for halloween. Another may be added.

Autumn walk

The Eurasian jay seems to be looking for something under the chestnut tree -- is it chestnuts?

A quiet walk near the place where we live.
The little lake has the purpose to regulate

the water level of the river Osterbek.

Meadow saffron in one of the gardens
The nights are cold now, close to freezing.

Nightmares

The night before Friday I woke up a few times and I thought: "I spoilt that drawing, and now I hate it" -- I mean the sketch of the tatzel cloth. Too heavy coloring, too many colors. While I'm quilting, I tell myself I have to wait until it is fully quilted and it will be surrounded by something I'm not planning, just having a vision of. But in spite of my working style of past years I will continue to work on one theme to develop the perfect version of the motif.

Got a spam mail today...

HELLO
i am happy to contact you today hope is well with you by name Juliet i know you will be surprise where i got your E-mail...  i decided to drop you message...

HALLO
ich bin glücklich, sich mit Ihnen heute in Verbindung zu setzen, Hoffnung ist gut mit Ihnen namentlich wird Juliet ich kenne Sie, Überraschung sein, wo ich Ihre E-Mail bekam ... ich entschied mich dafür, Sie fallen zu lassen...

"Drop you a message" was translated into German: "I decided to drop you".
Guess she won't give me another chance.

Tatzelquilt

The quilt is painted, ironed and I started quilting. I use another vintage bed sheet as a base.

I applied the paint in the background with a paint knife to get an irregular structure.

Textile Paints

My working place with textile paints and lots of stuff at the tidiest moment in years.

My husband said it looks like a kindergarten. LOL!

Working on fabric again

The time has come to do some fiber art. I made a drawing of the tatzel couple under the moon. The position of the worms shows the shape of Ketu and Rahu, the dragons "who eat the moon" when there is a lunar eclipse. I intend to iron the pencil to fix it, then color the object with fabric paints and quilt it.

It takes two tatzelworms

 

They carried on at night. 

Another Tatzelwurm?

While I was waiting, or: My contribution for Halloween

While my husband was working (Sunday work is an exception), I stayed in the canteen or went for walks. I checked the offers in his company and in the furniture stores in the neighborhood, looking for a nice, small and stable working table, and I guess I found it. Just did not buy it because I wasn't sure if I can still open the balcony door when I put it up in my working corner.
Then I took my sketchbook and worked a little in the canteen until it was time for J to pick me up. He was very tired, but okay, and he will work tomorrow.
When we came home, I took the inch rule and found that there is just enough space for the desired table.

Sketches are digitally colored.

Visitor on our balcony

A brilliant sunny day, and we can't go out much. J is sleeping a lot, fighting a cold, and he will have to work tomorrow. He's the kind of guy who won't let his workmates down.
It's awfully nice of this dragonfly to drop by when we can't go to the lake. His/her name: Aeshna subarcticaAAeshna subarctica elisabethaeeshna subarctica elisabethaeAeshna subarctica elisabethae

just another picture in a story

Look, Darling, a Girl, and She is as Beautiful as You!

While I was painting...

 ... I tried to keep you entertained with other things until this would be finished. Gouache painting, approx. letter format. The sad story of the end of the Tatzelwurms ancestor. George stabbed him to death and became a hero. This scene is painted from the Tatzelwormic view which explains the color of the aura. No Tatzelwurm ever was named George which is easy to understand.

Do you find yourself sometimes involved in your artwork, thinking of blog reactions in advance? Does it influence/inspire/disturb your working progress? I have a serious problem with rising vanity thru blogging, but addicts can't just stop.

This Morning

Something Old

... nothing new.  Our sofa is a museum of modern art. All wool embroidery from the past years. Sorry to be boring for those who found this before.