Thread Painting

I want to introduce you to an amazing fabric artist I met in one of my treadle groups.  Marilyn Lee makes art quilts and does thread painting on a treadle.  I asked her some questions and wanted to share the answers with you.

Me:  How long have you been quilting?
Marilyn:   I have been quilting for about 8 years and I only do art quilts although I have been sewing since I was a small child...I always tell people that I was sewing before I could walk! LOL. I learned to sew on a treadle machine but had not used one since. Two years ago in June I started using one again and I love it. I do a lot of free motion embroidery and lace making with a treadle. If you like you can see some videos on my YouTube channel where I am using the treadle for lace making and embroidery. A treadle machine is so easy to be in control of and it is quiet and very peaceful to use. It is kind of like therapy to me!

smile emoticonMe: Do you always know what you are going to design before you start a quilt?
Marilyn: No I do not always know what I am going to design when I start a quilt. Yes, there are those that are planned such as some of my recent portrait quilts and then those that start with a plan and end up evolving more as I work on it. My recent landscape scrap quilts are totally unplanned...they completely develop "free form".

Me: How long does one of your quilts normally take?
Marilyn: It depends on the quilt as to how long it will take me to make. The longest was the Obama quilt which took me 900 hours. My recent "Loon Song" landscape took me two weeks to complete start to finish. Some only take a week. It is hard to put an exact amount of time that I will expect to work on a quilt. It also depends on how much thread work that I plan on doing on it.

The frame is also material.

Marilyn is a true artist.  She even decorated her ceiling with a starburst pattern using wood!

Be sure to check out Marilyn's you-tube channel.  She even makes lace on her treadles.
Say hi to Marilyn!

I borrowed all of these pictures from her facebook page with her permission.  She is a true inspiration and I appreciate her sharing all of this inspiration with us!

Have a great day!
Missy

Happy Valentine's Day!

This month's Queen Bee for the Sew Sweet Bee wanted a heart block to make a Valentine quilt.   This is the block I made for her.  It was a super easy tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew.

 Since today is Feline Friday, I had to share a picture of Oreo being super cute on my quilt.

I also have a hint for you today.  These charm lockets are super popular right now.  I have found the knock offs are cheaper then the name brand ones.  You can even buy charms at Hobby Lobby.  The one below is me (I still need to find a sewing machine charm).  I love cats, Route 66, penguins, flamingos, cupcakes, and the Cross stands for God.  

 I call this my teacher themed one.

 To keep the charms in place, just use some of the tiny glue dots.  It works great!  Such a simple solution to keep your charms from falling!

 My husband has bought both of these necklaces for me.

Saturday night we have a Valentine's Day banquet at church.  My husband is giving the message.
Have a great weekend!
Missy

New Attachments!

I was the Queen Bee of the Sew Sweet Bee 2015 last August.  One person accidently did not send me my block, but she sent it to me this week.  It was worth the wait, I love the bumble bees on the blue fabric!

 We went to a huge yard sale at the fairgrounds in Springfield last week.  I found two new attachments for my sewing machines!
The first attachment is a Singer blind stitch attachment.

 I can't wait to test it out and see how it works.

 This one is a White zig-zag attachment.  I don't know if it will fit on any of my machines though.

You can see a zig-zag attachment working here:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2015/10/zig-zag-foot.html

I can't wait to test them out, attachments are so much fun!

Missy