It's getting harder to keep up but I sort of did. I managed to forget to post on Friday (although I was sure that I had but didn't check...) Oh well, it's not really going to make any difference in anyone's life so I guess it's fine.😊 For those of you who haven't been following along, the #AtoZchallenge2021Quilt (Art) is hosted by Frédérique as part of the larger #AtoZchallenge2021. For 26 days in April, with Sunday's off, we post about our subject - mine is art quilts. So every day I post the letter of the day on Instagram and them link up to Frédérique's linking party. So, here are my posts of the week, from J to O.

J is for Journal

I posted my big Stitcher's Journal that I had created from old embroidery pieces that I had done when I took up embroidery after at least 20 years off!

These are samplers made from the book, Beginner's Guide to Freestyle Embroidery by Christina Marsh. If you are beginning to embroider and like simple books with lots of projects, I highly recommend this one!

Nature Lover's Journal

I've also made many, many more journals since taking the workshop with Ali Ferguson through the Stitch Club at TextileArtist.org. These are so easy to make and can hold all kinds of fun things, from stitchy treasures to your thoughts of gratitude.

Gratitude Journal

K is for Knots, French

You may remember this piece from last summer when I made "Ça va bien aller" for my daughter. It’s based on a workshop with Haf Weighton through TextileArtist.org. If you look at the center of the daisies, they are full of French Knots. You can read the story behind it in the original post whose link is in Related links below.

"Ça va bien aller"

L is for Leaves

The piece is called Swirling Leaves and was made for the Hello Fall Blog Hop hosted by Carla of Creatin' in the sticks. The leaves are all hand-dyed fabrics and I had a great time FMQ it.

Swirling Leaves

Using variegated threads for the leaves

Photo shoot in the garden

M is for Mark Making

Marks and Stitches was made following Gregory Todd Wilkins' workshop with TextileArtist.org. We started by painting panels with various colours, stencils etc. From there, I chose one panel to embroider and bead. It was a wonderfully portable project that I took while we did a mini trip last summer.

Marks and Stitches

Eight painted panels

A great way to play with different embroidery stitches

N is for Nature

Clover at Dusk was created without a workshop or challenge. It was pure inspiration. As I was walking at dusk with Chevy, we went by a sea of clover in the grass. Behind it were wonderful changing leaves cascading from the fence and a few blinking fireflies to add to the scene. When I got home, I sketched it from memory and went back the next day to see it in daylight. It's a good thing that I went the next day because by that evening, the owner had mowed the law and all of the clover flowers were gone!

Clover at Dusk art quilt

O is for Old (reuse and recycle)

This is a Flower sampler embroidered with plastic strips from plastic grocery bags. It was made following a workshop with Susie Vickery through TextileArtist.org. The background is an old chenille throw that has had many different uses, including the most comfortable pillows on the couch. The chenille was perfect to stitch through.

Flower sampler embroidered with plastic strips

Embroidering on chenille with plastic
required a hoop

What I learned

As I've been going through my posts, I've seen a few interesting patterns.

I use the word "more" too often in post titles.
I often forget to take pictures while I'm making projects.
At the beginning, a large number of my art quilts were created in blog hops and challenges.
Once I started taking workshops through TextileArtist.org, most of the art quilts originated from there.

I am very glad that last weekend I got ahead of planning my posts. It was too lovely not to work in the garden this weekend and I am exhausted!

6 comments:

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué19 April 2021 at 04:11
It's a great idea to gather all the week's posts in one blog post! Du coup je me rends compte que j'ai raté le N. Tes créations sont magnifiques, bravo !
For the love of geese21 April 2021 at 12:07
So many beautiful projects but I am still in love with the Swirling Leaves quilt. I remember several of these but having them all together in a single post confirms my opinion that you are one talented lady. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down, I look forward to many more of your shares.
Miaismine22 April 2021 at 10:59
Wow...those journals are so pretty! And your Mark's and Stitches dances with color and cheer! Just lovely!