STITCH: Circles in fabric and friends

We were circled with circles at this month's STITCH meeting -- circles in our designs, a circle of chairs, a circle of friends, and even food arranged in circles!

The creative prompt for this month was circles, so I'm going to show you what resulted, in the order that we went around the circle.

First up was Barbara, above, who created a rust sampler. She laid out metal objects that would rust on PFD fabric, sprayed them with a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar, and let it soak for a week before washing it out. It was her first experiment with the process and I was really impressed. Her directions said to let it soak for 24 hours to one week, if you want to try it.

Next up was Delaine, our Queen of Glitz. She created a galaxy with velvet, sparkly tulle, and other fabrics.

Lois created this gorgeous piece with sun-printed leaves. She laid the leaves on freshly painted wet fabric and let it dry in the sun.

I finished this spiraling quilt that I started two years ago to enter into an exhibit but didn't finish in time. I call it "Blissed Out In Bellingham" because my daughter took the photo of my face on a sunny, blissful day in Bellingham. The circle of light on my forehead was created by the late afternoon sun shining through the peephole in her door and hitting a spot on the opposite wall. Originally, I had a circle of sheer black fabric where my face is, but I decided a peaceful face was better.

Anne did these next two pieces. We all saw a VW bug in the top one, although she said it really is just an abstract work. The bottom one is her family when she was a little girl soaking in their big circular washtub in Europe, where she grew up.

Karen created a spectacular quilt called "God Bless Our World," with a detail below.

Carol made the colorful quilt on the left in the photo above. It was inspired by her artist daughter's work shown in the postcards on the right. Carol used leftover fused fabric from a Laura Wasilowski workshop.

Pat showed this quilt, which she quilted in circular patterns using the thick template shown below. The quilt top was actually purchased for $5 at Goodwill, but Pat did the quilting. The templates come in various sizes from www.offtheedgequilting.com, although at this time that website is no longer available. Pat uses double-stick tape to temporarily adhere them to the quilt while she machine quilts around them.

 

Pat also showed these two silver and black older quilts.

Andrea did these next two. She made the bright top one in a Libby Lehman class using the Bernina circular embroidery attachment to stitch circles with decorative stitches.

Andrea also made this gorgeous 3-D flower quilt to exchange with a friend who made her a decorative sink.

And last but not least, Janet, who issued the circle challenge, said her circle is this little ball of fur that was taking up so much of her time that she couldn't meet her own challenge. But we forgive her, because she set out these yummy circles of food:

 And here is a little extra colorful eye candy from the meeting:

I really love getting together with these women. When I started the group less than two years ago, I wasn't sure what direction it would take and I was nervous because I didn't want it to fail. I am totally thrilled with how it has evolved, with so much inspiration, new friends and new learning experiences. And in October we'll have our first STITCH show, at the Gig Harbor Library!
 

 Have a colorful day