Rising from the Depths

Here's my latest. A tribute to New Orleans and the wonders of Mardi Gras. Spiral quilting depicts the hurricanes fury other quilting depicts the many buildings that are damaged. I hope you will enjoy it at Houston.

8th Deadly Sin - Ignorance is NOT Bliss

Ignorance is my choice for the 8th deadly sin, a challenge created in the QuiltArt quilt list. The whole exhibit is now touring the Mancuso shows and I've been told the exhibit is drawing large crowds who study these messages in cloth. That was exactly my hope when I created my quilt. The fact my quilt is on tour is good for the ego, but even more, it allows me to express my ideals and, hopefully, make the viewer think and learn.

Ignorance detail

Details cite war, the holocaust, poverty, racism, discrimination and more...

Who have we here?

This is a piece I was working on for the Quilting Arts Portrait Challenge. It didn't start out like this... Why does a white woman make a black face? I felt it delved into the mystery of who I am... Not sure it worked, so I continue to search for who I am.

A great accomplishment of which I am justifiedly proud is the gathering of $1200.00 in donations for victims of the Katrina hurricane by conducting a raffle of one of my quilts (see below). Congratulations Genie Becker for winning the quilt! Donations went to Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. Then I shipped 3 boxes of quilts to Houston to Karey's Operation Comfort! It is a great feeling to be able to help in some small way as we are so far removed geographically.

An aside, have you updated your emergency supplies? Go to the Red Cross web site for a comprehensive list to guide you.

And then a possible reward and ego booster as I had three quilts juried into the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts exhibit in October!

The three more quilts submitted to the Sebastopol Center for the Arts Botanical Challenge. I have SO much to learn about entering these exhibits... stay tuned.

Purple rain

A chance of rain this weekend has me freaking out. No more lazy days languishing by the pool Right....
This piece is from an Xtremes Art Quilt group color challenge. Of course I drew purple. The "Prince of Purple Rain" came into my mind. Detail of the top of the piece in the post below. Detail of the bottom of the piece on the right. Hand-dyed and beaded velvet base anchors the piece. Hand made beads "rain" down onto the base and splash into the velvet. It is one of my "Rock Stars" series.
Katrina donations are doing great. So far $400.00! (See raffle post below) Pass the word and send the checks! Don't forget to comment -- it is easy!

Purple Rain

Oh no! It is too soon to rain. It is only September and we haven't even had an Indian Summer yet. We haven't even had much of summer yet. This is a detail of a color challenge I participated in my Xtremes Art Quilt group. It is painted pdf cotton with an organza/velvet ovelay.
Just a note that the Katrina raffle is going strong and the dollars are coming in from my friends, family and co-workers. Thank you all! Wait to you hear what is next!

hurricane relief ongoing

This is another watercolor crayon wall quilt done with the Caran d'Ache neocolors. But my main reason for posting is to note that I have raised over $200.00 so far with my quilt raffle (see below). Habitat for Humanity and Red Cross will be the recipients of the donations. You too can help!

Marin quilt show

This is just one of the wonderful quilts Diana Roberts entered and placed in the Marin Quilt Show. Congratulations to Diana who got at least 2 first places. Geri Congdon won the "5'" challenge with her wonderful beaded fish quilt. You go girls! I was amazed at the work of April Sproule, although, I shouldn't have been. I have followed her progress for several years. She is amazingly talented. And to the woman who made the carousel horse that was phenomenal from the back as well as the front... well, I'm sure she won the Viewer's Choice. I certainly voted for her (although I cheated and put an entry in for one of April's works also.) Don't forget to purchase a raffle ticket to aid the hurricane victims (see below).

Katrina raffle

This 57 " square quilt has been made as a raffle item to help the victims of hurricane Katrina. I was able to raise almost $500.00 for the tsunami relief effort by raffling a quilt. That is WAY more than I could have afforded to give on my own. So, even though I contributed money to the Red Cross, I decided to make a quilt specifically to help the Americans in southeast USA. This is a large lap quilt, oriental fabrics in the lavender-purple range with many different flowers depicted. The quilt is machine pieced and machine quilted and I added a hanging sleeve in case someone would want to use it as a wall hanging. Raffle tickets are $2.00 each, 10 tickets for $15.00. Please help if you can. Make checks to The Red Cross. Each donation will be matched by Karey Bresenhan of International Quilt Festival up to the amount of $10, 000. That doubles your donation! Send checks to Cathy Ortelle, 50 Old Courthouse Square, Suite 200, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. And I thank you!

Petaluma Quilt show challenge

The quilts entered in the Petaluma Quilt Show
Challenge are going to go on tour. This is my entry.
These soldiers epitimize the African culture of hunting and protecting. The center panel was purchased from the Quilt Show organizers. Those entering the challenge were to interpret their panels as they saw fit. I, of course, purchased the last panel available, but was determined to enter this challenge. I heavily quilted the panel, added curved piecing of African fabrics on both side and mimicked the quilting of the circles on the black borders. Although it didn't win, I received many wonderful compliments. And I entered it and got it in on time!