u-woman

yes, what amy said (r.i.p.)

2012-02-04T12:27:00.000+01:00

falling into black holes

2012-01-14T10:19:00.000+01:00

thinking about friends from the past

2012-01-04T08:51:00.000+01:00

numb

2011-12-18T11:04:00.002+01:00

exorcism

2011-12-08T20:10:00.009+01:00

"Never again", you promised me on 04/29/07. You turned 40 that day, remember?

I believed you, and then I married you.

And now look where and how you left me.

I still love you and I probably always will, no matter what, but I cannot forgive what you did to me. It was cruel, it was heartless, it was humiliating. But you've shown those tendencies before. I swallowed the bitter pill and loved you anyway.

I didn't know myself anymore and left him for you. For the last six years I've known that my punishment would come. Now it's here.

I wish you luck and that no one will ever do to you what you did to me.

And nevermind, Adele's "Someone like you" will help me exorcise you.

You can and did break my heart, but you cannot break me.

yesterday a heart broke

2011-12-04T23:42:00.003+01:00

score

2011-11-15T12:28:00.003+01:00

at the caritas thrift store, 12 books €12...I like when that happens.

silkmood and color

2011-11-11T12:08:00.001+01:00

twas a good day for dyeing

2011-11-10T00:34:00.001+01:00

messenger bag

2011-11-08T17:33:00.003+01:00

A few days ago I bought The Uptown Messenger Tote pattern from Yards and Yards, and after getting a pile of fabrics at Ikea yesterday, I immediately had to make one. The instructions are very clear and easy to understand, even for a bag sewing newbie like me. It sews up very quickly, I think I finished it in a little more than an hour (not counting the cutting). Anna even includes a commercial license when you purchase the pattern.

swedish therapy

2011-11-07T22:46:00.001+01:00

work in progress - if in doubt, scream, I and II

2011-11-04T12:16:00.001+01:00

2 fabric wallhangings, shapes fused to background fabric, next up, stitching

what could have been

2011-10-13T20:50:00.001+02:00

acrylic collage on stretched canvas, 60 cm x 80 cm / ~ 24" x 32"

new paintings

2011-08-30T15:52:00.001+02:00

watercolor, charcoal and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 15 x 23 cm / 6 x 9″

watercolor, charcoal and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 15 x 23 cm / 6 x 9"

watercolor, charcoal and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 15 x 23 cm / 6 x 9″

new paintings

2011-08-18T18:34:00.004+02:00

Some of these are "found" paintings, things found on mindlessly painted backgrounds.

all are ATC size (2.5 x 3.5"), or slightly smaller, watercolor, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, ink

watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

watercolor, colored pencils and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

watercolor, colored pencils and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

colored pencils and ink on 220 g/100 lbs drawing paper, 14.8 x 21 cm / ~ 5.75 x 8.25″

acrylic on stretched canvas

acrylic and charcoal on watercolor paper

acrylic on stretched canvas

watercolor on stretched canvas

new paintings

2011-07-25T10:14:00.000+02:00

Most of these are "found" paintings, things found on mindlessly painted backgrounds.

Found 2
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Columns
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Creation
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Encounter
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Found 1
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Found 7
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Found 3
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Found 4
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Found 5
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Found 6
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

People
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Found 8
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Freddie
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

King
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Lisa
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Wrong Words
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Scribble Girl
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Thinker
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Watch 1
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

Watch 2
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / 5 x 7″

new paintings

2011-07-19T18:51:00.001+02:00

From the Sky
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Almost Home
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Fab
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Face On
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Friends
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Two
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Sunday's Finest
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Sunset Town
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Trippy
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

new paintings

2011-07-18T12:19:00.005+02:00

Heat
watercolor and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

A Summer Dream
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

City
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Dream Gone Bad
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Guardian Angel
watercolor and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

Small Things
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

July
watercolor and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

Marrakesh
watercolor on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Mr. Wild
watercolor and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

Seasons
watercolor and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

The Waterghost
watercolor and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

The Egg Gatherer
watercolor and ink on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 12.5 x 18 cm / ~ 5 x 7″

Watertown
watercolor on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 24 x 32 cm / ~ 9.5 x 12.5″

Status Quo
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 24 x 32 cm / ~ 9.5 x 12.5″

The Village
watercolor and graphite on 300 g/140 lbs watercolor paper, 24 x 32 cm / ~ 9.5 x 12.5″

Out Of The Blue
acrylic and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

Are We There Yet?
watercolor and ink on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

It's All Relative
acrylic and graphite on 300 g / 140 lbs watercolor paper, 21 x 28.5 cm / ~ 8.3 x 11.2"

new paintings

2011-05-11T15:02:00.001+02:00

A series of small paintings, they're on torn watercolor paper, so it's difficult to give exact sizes. They're from around 8 x 12 cm / ~ 3.2 x 4.7" to about 12 x 12 cm / ~ 4.7 x 4.7", and I used watercolor, acrylic and graphite pencil.

The series of three paintings on the bottom of this post is called "Urban Summer", acrylic and charcoal on 300 g/140 lb watercolor paper, 17 x 24 cm /~ 6.7 x 9.5".

on the table

2011-04-28T15:43:00.001+02:00

Finally something is happening on the art table again. Sometimes it’s really tough to wait it out. Watercolor on watercolor paper, torn up, drawing, then working on it with acrylics.

wallhanging pogress

2011-03-10T22:04:00.000+01:00

This is the current state of the wallhanging from my last post. I sewed down all the fabric and batting pieces with black cotton thread, then embroidered with various cotton and rayon threads and washed away the stabilizer.

new wip

2011-03-09T11:53:00.000+01:00

The background fabric is a half yard of "hopelessly-losing-the-glitter" fabric, folded in half, right sides together. On that I laid down heavy layers of scrap batting and fabric. I topped it with wash-away stabilizer and now I'm trying to free-motion all over the surface. Not easy, I just broke the second needle.

still crazy after all these quilts, finished

2011-03-04T15:08:00.001+01:00

free pieced, machine quilted

crossing

2011-03-03T10:17:00.001+01:00

For this small wallhanging I raw edge appliquilted the fabric pieces.

the rage and the madness

2011-02-26T14:59:00.000+01:00

4 small strip pieced blocks, backed with water soluble stabilizer, heavily embroidered with cotton and rayon thread, that will somehow end up in one wallhanging. I think I will applique them to a background fabric.

i miss the city

2011-02-23T12:19:00.000+01:00

Another small one that will be mounted to stretched canvas. I layed out all the pieces on the sandwiched quilt, then the raw edges were machine "appliquilted". The quilt edges were blanket stitched by hand, with 6 strands of variegated embroidery floss.

looking deeper

2011-02-19T16:28:00.001+01:00

A collaged (fabric, leftover yarn and threads, sandwiched between background fabric and watersoluble stabilizer), heavily embroidered, quilted with invisible thread quilt (27 x 42 cm/~10.5 x 16.5") mounted (with gel medium) on a stretched canvas (40 x 50cm/~16 x 20"). I blanket stitched the edges of the quilt with 6 strands of variegated embroidery floss. I really, really like the process of machine embroidery, as it comes very close to the "spaced out" feeling I get when I paint.

life weaving

2011-02-17T12:57:00.000+01:00

A small collaged, heavily embroidered, quilted with invisible thread quilt (26 x 30 cm/~10 x 12") mounted (with gel medium) to a stretched canvas (40 x 50cm/~16 x 20").

top done and thread and fabric collages

2011-02-15T10:24:00.000+01:00

I finished my free pieced quilt top and it's already sandwiched with batting and backing. Now to get it quilted. Not today, I can't face wrestling with a big quilt so soon after finishing my last one.

I started two small collages. For the one on the left I just took fabric scraps and "dot-glued" them to a piece of muslin, for the one on the right I put threads and fabric scraps between muslin and water soluble stabilizer. I then set my sewing machine for free-motion stitching and had a go at them. They are far from done, but I wanted to show you what I've been working on.

and it keeps growing...

2011-02-12T15:15:00.000+01:00

still crazy after all these quilts

2011-02-09T16:19:00.001+01:00

That's what this quilt will be called, once it's done. Often people ask me how I come up with the names for my paintings and all I can reply is that they just "arrive" in my head. It works everytime for me. And it seems that it's the same with my quilts. Last night while happily piecing and cutting, I suddenly knew it.

This is where I'm at right now, 24 small blocks, 2 big ones.

yesterday's progress

2011-02-07T10:36:00.003+01:00

I pieced and cut, then pieced and cut some more and at the end of the day I had eighteen 8 1/2" blocks (plus one 16 1/2") on the table. Since I worked with the same fabrics for the last quilt I made, I'm getting a little tired of seeing them. But I promised myself not to cut into any yardage, until I have used up at least some of those strips and scraps.

free piecing again

2011-02-06T11:08:00.001+01:00

I started to piece again. Nothing complicated, I just grab strips and scraps from my pile and piece them together randomly until the fabric looks right to me. Then I cut blocks. So far I have one 16 1/2" block and four 8 1/2" blocks. I might cut those up diagonally and then join those triangles to make new blocks. We'll see. In the photos you can also see some of the strata I made to cut my blocks from. Can you tell I'm having fun? :)

I feel a quilt coming

2011-01-28T20:58:00.001+01:00

finished

2011-01-24T17:18:00.000+01:00

"says who?" construction

2011-01-23T15:42:00.002+01:00

I was asked to show some in progress photos of how I pieced the quilt top, so here they are. It was the first time I made a quilt without instructions or a pattern. Click on the photos to see them at full size.

"says who?" gets quilted

2011-01-21T00:53:00.003+01:00

Well I hid it in the closet for a year (shame on me), but today my guilt finally got the better of me, I set up my machine, and I've been meandering my way along the quilt. It actually surprised me that my body still remembers what to do, it's been so long since I freemotion quilted. Maybe "Says Who?" will finally be completed afterall. Note to self: try to not *ever* forget again how good it felt to touch fabric and baby girl (sewing machine) after such a long time.

in progress

2011-01-19T16:52:00.002+01:00

says who
In early December 2009 I joined the Lib-Quilters group on Yahoo and this quilt top developed. It's been sitting in the closet, sandwiched and ready for machine quilting, for a year.

some of my quilts

2011-01-19T16:11:00.003+01:00

Quilts I've made over the years...

string quilt
batiks and hand-dyeds, 2007

mystery quilt
I don't know where it is, I seem to have "lost" a few quilts along the way. I think it was one of the Inspector Clue-sew mysteries.

machine applique wallhanging
And again, I have no idea where it is.

my ex-husband's 40th birthday quilt
I'm kinda proud of this one, alas it isn't in my possession anymore, for obvious reasons. LOL! My own design after reading Margaret Miller's Blockbender Quilts.

fantasy landscape
a small wallhanging, completely by machine, except for some beading

small bowties
small wallhanging, it was a way to make bowties without a set-in seam....now I can't remember how they were done anymore

mystery quilt
A mystery quilt I found on the Internet many moons ago. I was soooo happy how it turned out, for once I really liked my fabric choices for a mystery quilt.

when pigs fly
Named after one of the fabrics in it, featuring, you guessed it, flying pigs. I have no idea where this quilt is now. I also wish I knew where the sampler is, as it was my first quilt *after* getting a few books and decent quilting cottons.

black and white
made for my brother, late 80's

funky stars
I loved making this one! I only found the hole in one of the stars when I quilt-tacked it for machine quilting. That hole still makes me smile when I look at the quilt.

bargello wallhanging
I loved making bargellos. I think it had something to do with raising my autistic son. Amongst all the chaos and heartbreak, I needed order at that time. The bargello technique gave me some of that.

my summer quilt
It may very well be the simplest quilt I have ever made.....and also the one I use the most. I sleep under it during the summers, I believe I have been doing so for close to 20 years. I used a very, very low-loft poly batting and it has one machine quilted line down the center and one across the center. I just wrapped the top to the back, and machine sewed it to the back, with the raw edges turned under. The Quilt Police has still "Wanted" signs out to get me for this quilt. LOL!

paper pieced wallhanging
heavily machine quilted with rayon threads

southwestern landscape
small wallhanging from a pattern a friend sent on to me, machine pieced and appliqued

optical illusion wallhanging

penguins
Made for a friend's child sometimes in the 90's, I *think* it was a pattern from Quiltmaker Magazine.

eruption
I let go and created eruption sometimes in the 90's. And once more I have no idea where it is. I wish I did know though, as I like it. It was a first "sign" (for myself) that yes, I could do non-traditional quilts.

my first projects
ca. 1986/87, nothing survived, they all fell apart after a few years, as I was quilting without ever having seen instructions, my sewing machine was below dirt etc. The Log Cabin was my very first quilting project, I figured out the pattern after having seen a similar quilt on TV. It was a rerun of a 70's patchwork show from England, if I remember correctly. I remember that I suddenly found myself right in front of the TV, my nose practically glued to the screen. The next day I went out and searched for any books, fabrics etc. and so the journey began.