Quilted Reflections: January 2014

Sunday, 12 January 2014

First one of 2014

I can officially say that I have completed my first free motion piece of this year. It was so much fun to do. Between folding laundry loads I managed to put in the last few stitches today. I can say I am very pleased with the way that this piece turned out.

On my way home the other day I quickly stopped by the lake to snap a photo because the sky was so beautiful. Unfortunately I did not have my camera so I had to resort to using my phone camera. Definitely not the same quality, especially when you try to zoom in….

Peachland, BC
© All rights reserved by Coleen Adderley

I decided to reverse the image for my version I preferred the bench looking the other way.

Serenity
© All rights reserved by Coleen Adderley

Here is a close up of the stitching…

Serenity
© All rights reserved by Coleen Adderley

For this piece I painted my own water and sky, then added fabric layers to create the look I was after. Upon completion I heavily stitched the sky and water.

I think I will do this image again at some point however change up the colours in the sky to be very vibrant.

Have you started any projects this year? Please feel free to share pictures with us. If you have any questions you are welcome to send me an email and I will do my best to answer.

Till next time…

Happy sewing,

Coleen

Sunday, 5 January 2014

Fibre Art and More

I love weekends, time to relax, enjoy the kids and let the creative juices flow. I thought I would share with you a few pieces that I have completed recently. Each one unique, and so much fun to make.

Remember in one of my previous posts how I had talked about stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new. Well, before Christmas I started to play with wool roving, oh my what fun!! The sky truly is the limit with what you can create. Here is one of my pieces..

I have since created 10 pieces and all but 2 have sold. So exciting. If you are wanting to take a class on this please see my class calendar.

Not only can you create pictures using wool roving, but you can also incorporate wool into a quilted picture. I had a piece of fabric lying around that had these two eagles on it so I thought I would try to incorporate wool into the body of the eagle and on the branches of the tree. Here is what I have done so far, I still have several more hours of quilting to go but it will be beautiful when complete.

Here is one of my thread play pieces. I have so much fun thread painting that hours can pass by and I don't even notice it. One of the volunteers at the cancer clinic where I work shared with me a picture he took when he and his wive went on a trip. Here is my reproduction of the image. Thanks Fred!

In two weeks I will be going for surgery which will then take approximately 3 months for me to recover. I hope that during that 3 months I will have the opportunity to get lots of thread painting done. I have been trying to get out as much as possible and snap photos so that I will have lots of images to inspire me. In the past couple of weeks the sunsets have been so incredible that I thought I would share with you some pics I have taken.

Both of these photos have been completely unedited. It is truly amazing the photos you can take if you happen to be outside at the right time.

Please feel free to share pictures of some of your work or ask questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

Till next time, keep creating!
Coleen

Thursday, 2 January 2014

New Year, New Creations!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope each of you had a wonderful New Years Eve and even better New Years Day.

Craig (my husband) and I took our girls up the mountain tobogganing yesterday. We are fortunate enough to live a 7 minute drive from the BEST toboggan hill ever. So we spent the day sledding, and roasting hotdogs and marshmallows on the bonfire we lit. Like usual I pull our my camera and snap photos like crazy. For Christmas my husband bought me a new DSLR camera. I LOVE IT!! Check out some of the photos I snapped…

While the girls were sledding I took the opportunity to hike up the mountain and came across natures snow roses. At some point snow started to fall down the hill and created these beautiful flowers. I was completely amazed at the beauty and wanted to capture this to share with my fellow friends.

As we drove up the mountain there was a thick fog everywhere making the forest look so magical. However as we approached the top of the mountain the fog broke and we were in clear blue sky. It felt as if we were on top of the world.

I often use pictures I have taken as a jumping point when I start to create my fibre art. So I thought I would share with you the beginning of my next large piece…

Summerland, BC
© All Rights Reserved by Coleen Adderley

Unfortunately the day I went out to snap some beautiful fall photos there was a horrible smoky haze from a fire burning in the U.S. but I couldn't resist as I was not going to be able to get out again for a couple of weeks.

This is just the beginning many more hours, lots more fabric, and loads of thread will eventually bring me to my end result. I will keep you posted with my progress.

I hope this inspires you to get out there and start to create something new!

Happy quilting!

Coleen

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Newest Landscape creations...

Another year has quickly flown by, so as we celebrate the end of 2013 and welcome in 2014 I challenge each of you out there to remember this…

There are 3 simple rules to live by. (written by Greg S Reid)

Rule 1 - A dream written down with a date it becomes a goal.

Rule 2 - A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan.

Rule 3 - A plan backed by action will make your dreams come true.

For as long as I can remember I have had aspired to be a successful artist. In the past 2 years I have been blessed to sell so many of my landscape fibre art that I have lost count. To each of you out there that purchased my art Thank You! To those of you that have encouraged, supported, and believed in me I owe much thanks to you!

Do you have a dream? How about a goal? Is there anything you have ever aspired to do, be , or how about learn. Never let fear hold you back from what you want to do. If you have always wanted to learn how to venture out into a different medium but didn't know how, or event where to start, I challenge you to find a way to do it. Remember where this is a will there is a way!

This year I have decided to accomplish yet another dream. I have always wanted to have my very own art show, so… I have decided that this summer will be it. In order to do this I will apply the three simple steps I wrote about earlier. Step 1 is now taken care of. Step 2, my plan. In the next 6 months I want to accomplish a minimum of 12 new pieces of fibre art. To do this I will need to complete a minimum of 1 piece every 2 weeks. Step 3, Action… that now means I must get my butt into gear start snapping photos and ensure that I spend lots of time in my studio creating.

So I will now sign off but I wish you all a Happy New Year. May this year be the year that your creative juices flow and your quilting/fibre art passion shifts to a whole new level!