We had our 3rd and final reveal of the year.  There were so many awe-inspiring quilts as always.

All Creatures Great and Small

Irish Dragon 10" Circle
by Susan Dunmore

 

Artist Statement:  This is a dragon, a mythical creature.  It was originally started as a stencil, but I changed it a lot.  It was disconnected and I connected it all.  I used fabric, thread and embroidery.  The challenge was stitching all of the scales.

by Sondra Schwartz

Pacific Partnership 28" x 22"
by Tracy Visher

Artist Statement:  The Brown Elfin butterflies depicted qualify as “small creatures”. I have long loved the Pacific Madrone Tree. I camped in Napa in 2019 and there was one of them in my campsite, prompting me to take a few photos. I filed it in my “someday a quilt file”. For the challenge, I researched and learned that this tree is host to the Brown Elfin butterfly, so by including them in the quilt, I could have an excuse to make the tree I’d wanted to. I used Batik, commercial cotton, netting, metallic fabric, flannel, embroidery thread, beads, liquid acrylic paint, inktense block and pencil, wire, fusible, monopoly and cotton threads, Vinyl, acrylic paints.  I utilized trapunto to give a more 3D appearance to the tree branches. I used a woven vinyl sheet that had the body I desired, to create the butterfly bodies. I embroidered the flower stems and beaded them. I used smaller scale beads and butterflies on the right branch, so it would appear to be further away. 

Return to Yellowstone  41" x 25"
by Jan Reed

Artist Statement:  The inspiration was a documentary about re-introduction of wolves to Yellowstone to restore its ecosystem.  I used batiks, fabric inks and colored pencils.  In 1926 in an effort to appease neighboring ranchers, the last of Yellowstone's native wolves were killed.  Unfortunately, the gradual devasting effects to the entire park's ecosystem by the overgrazing elk, whose population then exploded, went unchecked.  Entire species of trees disappeared, as well as beaver, frogs, otter and other wildlife, and damage from erosion to the rivers, whose banks no longer were anchored by trees.  This scene depicts what it must have been like in the first few days after 14 Canadian wolves were released into Yellowstone in 1995.  In the following years, the wolves have thrived and so has the park.

Animalia
by Stephanie Bennett-Strauss

Artist Statement:  I started this when I was trying out the "wool" felt on black - then I asked myself, "What's Next"? All Creatures Great and Small since there were butterflies and bees, dogs and cats, horse and elephants and dinosaurs.  I raided my stash for other animals and complimentary prints and went to work.  The fabric was an experiment.  I like it!

Inspired by a Country

Sawubona 12" x 14"
by Karla Rogers

Artist Statement:  This depicts a Zulu greeting and fabrics from Ghana, Africa.  I used 2 different waxed fabrics from Ghana, rat tail cording, printable fabric sheet for the word, 80/20 batting and a sea shell.  Sawubona is a Zulu greeting that inspires true connection and garners respect. The beautiful fabrics are from Ghana.  I created this small piece as a reminder to practice Sawubona whenever I can.  The challenge was overcoming that little voice that kept telling me that I was not doing enough...its not big enough, complicated enough and so forth.

Kato Mills, Mykonos, Greece 12" x 12"
by Holly Miner

Artist Statement:  The island of Mykonos is one of Greece's most recognized locations.  Built in the 16th century to mill grain, the windmills sit above Chora aka Mykonos Town.  I took this photograph in November 2023 while on a cruise that included a stop at Mykonos, Greece.  I used cotton fabric, cotton batting, 40 wt. King Tut thread, 100 wt. Microquilter thread and inktense pencils.  In addition to the October Challenge, i wanted to make a 12" x 12" piece as per the April challenge.  After selecting the photo and cropping so it was square, I used BeCasso to create an image with contrast.  I was especially pleased with the sky, made from fabric from the 'Earth Views' collection by Karen Nyberg.

Botanicals (Make Up)

Acorn Squash with Passion Fruit 12" x 12"
by Lynda Lasich

Artist Statement:  The inspiration was a still life of vegetables.  I wanted to use fabric weaving as a background.  I used cotton fabric, cotton batting and monofilament thread.  The fabric weaving is not an easy technique, but it is something that I've wanted to do for a long time.

A Moment in Time

Fudgy Joy 14" x 19"
by Julie Berry

 

Artist Statement:  This photo of my granddaughter is 10+ years old and I loved the years my grandchildren were little.  They are all very nice teenagers now.  I was inspired by this photo eating her very first fudgesicle.  I used cotton fabric, silk/bamboo batting and silk, cotton and poly threads.  I also used wax pastels and copic markers.  This was my first face and I found it very challenging from the piecing to the quilting.

Pathway Through Nature 22" x 17"
by Mary Stori

Artist Statement:  The intent is to provide a feeling of time standing still as one feels the peace and serenity in a quiet space surrounded by trees and wild flowers.  My original design idea was for the piece to appear as a close up of a large gelli printed stone space with 2 or 3 dandelions emerging randomly from the cracks.  Clearly it morphed.  I used cotton batiks, gelli printed stones, raw edge applique, machine and hand embroidery and machine quilting.

Late Harvest, Indian Summer  29" x 21"
by Tracy Visher

Artist Statement:  I spent almost 7 years living in Napa. A clear and favorite memory is at the end of the grape harvest. The late afternoon sun in late September where the air is filled with the red dust from the grape gondolas taking the grapes to the winery and the smell of the fermentation taking place. I used Batik, silk, velvet, tulle, commercial cotton, vinyl, beads, embroidery threads, inktense pencils and blocks, liquid and regular acrylic paint, fusible, monopoly and cotton threads. The challenge for always, is in the process that takes an idea or feeling in my head and recreates it with fabric and other media. I like using tulle to diffuse areas in the distance and also feel that the patterns inherent in many batik fabrics offer me great tools with which to recreate texture and shadow. 

Show & Tell

by Stephanie Bennett-Strauss