Detail from "Rain Dance," an original quilt by Sherrie Spangler

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Big bowl

 
I decided to go bigger on the bowl that I made from my wonky log cabin strips, so I unstitched the last few inches and spliced in some more cording.


I kept sewing until I used up all of the cording and most of the scraps. It's my biggest bowl yet!


The spiraling reminded my just a little of this bark pattern on a tree we saw on one of our hikes here in Sedona.

 

 Have a colorful day


p.s. See what other fiber artists have been up to this week at Nina Marie's Off-the-
Wall Fridays:
http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Zooming In


I love zooming into photos to pick out little parts and enlarge them. Sometimes they can become abstract. Sometimes the small things have more impact than the big picture. Other times it just changes the focus. ALL the time, though, zooming in can inspire me in my art.

This first example shows a scenic vista from one of my hikes in Sedona, in northern Arizona. The second photo zooms in on the clouds.



The next example is a yucca, a very common plant along the trails here. I love it just as it is, but I think zooming in on smaller parts has a bigger impact.





This other desert resident spirals out with impressive spikes that are even spikier upon enlargement.


 

This wet sand is interesting either way, zoomed out or in. Great texture.





The greenish-yellow lichen provides great contrast on the orange rock and could be an abstract painting -- Mother Nature's abstract.
 

I love the lines and shadows in the rock overhang, but zooming in gives you a very textural, abstract option.



The photo above is a closeup of the cross section of a log that I found on a trail.


This green bottle of absynthe at the bar of a local eatery is spooky enough as is with the eyes, but zoom in and you have a really interesting eerie picture.





Finally, my embroidery stash is colorfully exciting, but zooming way in on just some of the threads makes them look like a landscape with a blue sky, yellow-orange rock formations, and green trees in the foreground.

 
Have a colorful, inspired day


Thursday, March 20, 2014

Spring and mandala


Happy Spring!

My goal for the trip to Sedona was to make a Spring mandala quilt and finish it on the first day of Spring. Here it is, done enough, although I may add some more stitching and beads tomorrow just because I like working on it.




 

Do you think the prickly pear cactus pad above looks a little like the background?
 

Besides the cacti, I've been taking hundreds of photos of spring desert flowers and light on the red rocks. Here are just a few.


This hummingbird wasn't afraid of me at all.
 


 



Here I am pointing the way! Our friends Duane and Paula spent a few days visiting and we couldn't get enough of the hiking in Sedona. Here are a few more shots from our hikes.






It'll be hard to go home
after views like this.


 Have a colorful spring


Friday, March 14, 2014

Beading the Sedona Spring Mandala

 

I started beading the Sedona, Arizona, spring mandala this week. Gold seemed to be called for, given the golden light that shines down on Sedona's famous red (actually, orange) rocks.


After embroidering blanket stitches with Artfabrik's hand-dyed thread around the sun mandala and the rocks, I sat in the sun and added gold beads. Very meditative.


Here are some of the rock formations whose colors inspired me. The first photo shows Courthouse Rock on the left and Bell Rock on the right. We've hiked the three-hour loop around them several times and the scenery is incredible.


This second photo I took today as we hiked Deadman's Pass and Long Canyon.


Many desert plants remind me of unfolding mandalas, including these two:



The photo above and below show how the oranges and greens of Sedona have influenced my mandala piece.


Most of all, this piece is about the sun! You'd never have these great shadows without sun! I wish I could send some to those of you still in the snow when it's almost spring.


I've linked this to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/, where you can see what other fabric artists have on their design walls this week. Enjoy.

 Have a colorful day!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Prescott quilt shop hop with Tie Dye Judy



Yesterday, I hit the road with blogger friend Tie Dye Judy for a day of fabric shopping in Prescott, Arizona. Can you tell by our clothes that we both like the same colors?


First stop was Cloth Plus, located in an inconspicious warehouse building.


Despite the plain exterior, it was bursting with color inside, the prices were right, and I went a little beserk.



After paying for my first pile of fat quarters and half yards, I noticed a bin of tie dye prints ... back to the cutting board! But I have a good excuse. My son is getting married in July and I'm making colorful table toppers for each table and the bride loves tie dye.



Next stop was the equally colorful Seams Sew Right quilt store. It was hard to contain myself, there was so much color!




They had great colorful bins throughout the store stuffed with more goodies.




By then we were famished and ready for lunch at the very colorful El Gato Azul (The Blue Cat). Good choice, Judy! The food was delicious, but we dove in so fast that I forgot to get a photo of my turkey/avocado/tomato/lettuce wrap.


 

This is the view when I looked up from our patio table. The trees were starting to bud out -- spring in the desert is wonderful.


Then it was time for one last fabric store, Love It Again! This was a resale shop for all things fabric, and I got some good books and yarn. It also had a nice selection of quilt and dressmaker fabric precuts at good prices.


Sated and happily tired, we headed back down the highway under a turquoise sky while the hills rolled by.


Have a colorful day