Out of Asia Peak

I am finally jumping in here with a peak at my first contribution.

 I am actually almost done - as you get to know me know, you will realize that I have a fairly crazy travel schedule so I jump to anything with a deadline with plenty of lead time.

I was delighted that the first challenge I am involved with has an Asian influence. I have been practicing aikido for 26 years and traveled to Kyoto a few years back. I love Japanese fabrics and culture.

Looking forward to completely this challenge and focusing upon the next. Quite honestly, I have no idea what to do that that one and will be traveling at least 4 of the 8 weeks. 

Sneak peak from Robbie P

Yep...my sneak peak at Out of Asia....we just got back from our winter in Florida this past weekend...so it's purge and cleaning time for me!

But I'll do my best!



Robbie P from Michigan

Out of Asia - Hint 1- Fleur

I have been trolling the internet for pictures for ideas and inspiration to create my Out of Asia challenge.
This is one such image, but not the one I am going to use - this is a teaser right?
Not giving anything away. 

Out of Asia hint - Marianne Bos

Here is my "Out of Asia" hint.......

Marianne

Out of Asia Teaser-Jay

     I have seen so many of the really intriguing  "teasers" that I thought I would add mine to the mix!  Two weeks ago, Andrea, my husband/her dad and I went to Hawaii...thanks to her for taking us!!!  We had a great time...visited three unique fabric shops...as well as a whole bunch of other great places.  And the resort where we stayed was totally decorated with the theme of Asia!!!! Talk about inspiring!!

 And here is some of the fabric I purchased with "Out of Asia" in mind!  Now to decide what to do with it all!!!!

My Out of Asia Inspiration - Chris Daly

As a child I spent every trip to my grandmother's home marveling over the beautiful artwork she collected from Japan. I especially admired the intricate wood carving of this piece.  I plan to use some aspect of this design in my next quilt.

I wish I could get a clearer photo through the glass.  The detail in the pagoda is phenomenal. For reference the pagoda is about the size of a nickel.

Out of Asia hint-Ineke

I planned to show another picture but I think that was mean. Just a sneak peak.

Out of Asia teaser

I wonder what possessed me to make a small run of Chinese coins .....

Monique's 'out of Asia' hint

Look who isn't leaving this challenge to the last minute?!

and I'm even playing with some fun and shiny fabrics too!

Wheeeeeee!

"Out of Asia" Hint from Lynn Cohen

I really enjoyed creating this art quilt from a days worth of adventure with my grandkids! More details on reveal day!

Out of Asia - A Teaser

Just a little teaser for the Out of Asia challenge.
Very plain and straightforward this time.
Finally started working on it today and now up to the quilting.
How is everyone else going?

Thread Painting Play

The joy of working on a really big project I've learned is that you must build in a long preparation time. I had hoped for more help on this project, but many that were asked had a plane to catch south or seemed overwhelmed by the whole idea.

It left me with another challenge and challenges are what allows me to stretch.

Take for instance the various parts and pieces of the Smithers 2013 Centennial Quilt. I wanted more flora, fauna and landscapes that really make Smithers stand out from the rest of many great places in Northern BC.

This is the scene that inspired the "Forest Crazy Block" I did for the Centennial Quilt.

The Babine Range needed to be in this auspicious quilt because many think of only the Hudson Bay Mountain as the image of Smithers, but we are blessed with glacier topped mountains in every direction.

We live rugged.

We live in God's country, really we do!

We live, love and play in wilderness.

 I've realized that I've  been thread painting for many years and didn't realize it. I'm now onto the quilting of the Smithers Centennial Quilt.

Here's a peak at the progress so far!

Chez Aitkin - Carnival Challenge - Venus in Venice

Chez Aitkin - Carnival Challenge - Venus in Venice

Hi,
Sorry this posting is so late, but I have had a couple of health scares! Everything is back to normal now, thank goodness!
I recently did a course with Helen Godden using Lumiere paints, so I decided to try the technique that I learnt with Helen on the Carnival quilt. I drew the image with the mask and headdress, traced it onto black homespun (quilter's muslin) and then painted and quilted Venus. I was drawn to the images I saw online of the Venice Carnival, so that was my inspiration. I believe Helen is teaching some classes in the US this year. Thank you all for being so patient. Chez

Carnival-Jay

     I am loving the quilts everyone has done for our challenge "Carnival"!!  This was a fun quilt to do also.  When thinking of Carnival my thoughts went to Mardi Gras..and from Mardi Gras to the symbols and celebrations of Mardi Gras.  As I researched the subject I came up with a recipe for King Cake and the symbolism behind it.  Then I made a King Cake for my art group, the Creative Crones, as it was my turn to host our meeting.  Then I decided I wanted to make a fabric King Cake with beading for the sprinkles.  The more I worked on it, the more ideas came to add to it...and it became "Mardi Gras Gaudy"!!!  Gobs of glitter and beads!!!!!

My Fabric Cake

Mardi Gras Gaudy-finished

Cake I baked (recipe below)

Close up of Final Challenge

Here is some info about the tradition of King Cakes:

As part of New Orleans' Christian faith, the coming of the wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child is celebrated twelve days after Christmas. We refer to this as the Feast of the Epiphany, or Little Christmas on the Twelfth Night. This is a time of celebration, exchanging gifts and feasting. Today, the tradition continues as people all over the world gather for festive Twelfth Night celebrations. A popular custom was and still is the baking of a special cake in honor of the three kings, called "A King's Cake."

Inside every cake is a tiny baby (generally plastic now, but sometimes this baby might be made of porcelain or even gold). The tradition of having King Cake Parties has evolved through time, and the person who receives the slice of cake with the baby is asked to continue the festivities by hosting the next King Cake party.

Originally, King Cakes were a simple ring of dough with a small amount of decoration. Today's King Cakes are much more festive. After the rich Danish dough is braided and baked, the "baby" is inserted. The top of the ring or oval cake is then covered with delicious sugar toppings in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.

In more recent years, some bakeries have been creative with stuffing and topping their cakes with different flavors of cream cheese and fruit fillings.

January 6, the Twelfth Night after Christmas, is also the day our Mardi Gras season begins. Mardi Gras Day is always 47 days prior to Easter Sunday (Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday).

So, in Louisiana especially, Mardi Gras season and King Cakes go hand in hand with literally hundreds of thousands of King Cakes consumed at parties and office lunch rooms every year.

And here is the recipe I used....I found the filling to be a little too sweet...I think a fruit filling...cherries, apples, peaches....might be better!

KING CAKE RECIPE 

This method is a common one for making filled coffee cakes or Danish pastry rings. Here it is adapted to make an easy King Cake for Mardi Gras with its traditional purple (denoting justice), green (faith), and yellow (power) wide stripes of color. However, you will want to keep this simple method on file for a fast and easy filled coffee cake at any time of the year. Simply omit the colored sugar (perhaps use different colors). You may also substitute canned pie filling for the cream cheese filling used here. If you cannot picture the procedure, take a look at the step-by-step photos. It really is easy.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• Filling:
• 4 ounces (half of a large block) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained, and patted dry on paper towels
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• .
• Cake:
• 2 rolls (total of 12 individual crescent rolls) refrigerated crescent rolls in the can
• .
• Icing:
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
• 3 to 4 Tablespoon (about) milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Purple, green, and yellow colored sugar crystals or food coloring

Preparation:

Place cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until combined. Add pecan halves and pulse until pecans are chopped to about 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a pizza pan or baking sheet with butter-flavored vegetable oil. 

Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into triangles. Position triangles next to each other with the points toward the center, overlapping the long sides about 1/4-inch, forming a large round. Where the pieces overlap, press the seams together only in the center of each seam, leaving either ends of the seams unsealed so you can fold them up over the filling. 

Spread the filling around in a ring covering the center sealed seam of each triangle. 

Place a small plastic baby or dried bean somewhere in the filling. (The person who gets this piece will have good luck for the year.) 

Fold the short side of each triangle toward the center just to the edge of the filling to cover. Then pull the point end of the triangles toward the outer rim of the pan to fully enclose the filling, tucking under the points. Lightly press the seams. 

Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature. 

Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla until smooth. The consistency should be fairly thick, but still thin enough to slowly drip down the sides. Add more milk as necessary. Spoon the icing in a ring over the top of the King Cake and allow it to slowly drip down the sides. 

To decorate for Mardi Gras, sprinkle wide stripes of purple, green, and yellow colored sugar crystals. 

Carnival Challenge-Laura

Finally, here is my Carnival challenge piece (my camera batteries died yesterday after taking one picture of it, and I didn't have any extras on hand--and the nearest store is just too far away to run there just for some batteries).

I used some fabric scraps in mostly pinks & purples, cut them up like confetti, then covered with tulle and sewed it all down.  Then I cut these cut with a curved ruler and fused down on a piece of batting, along with some pieces of a black & white fabric from my stash.

Then I zig-zagged some eyelash yarn down the sides of the confetti pieces.  Easy, simple, and fun!

Denise Griffiths Quilt Journey Etc: Denise's Carnival Challenge Quilt

Denise Griffiths Quilt Journey Etc: Denise's Carnival Challenge Quilt: Carnivale. This is my Carnival quilt I have finished. I decided to do a Carnivale type quilt,although it is a bit cliche I know, but I ...

Carnival Lynn Cohen

 

I have never attended a Mardi Gras Carnival! But I have always been drawn by the color, excitement and music when seen in a movie or TV show! I love the costumes, and especially liked the men in the TV show Treme sitting around creating their costumes together.

I had a lot of fun piecing the colorful headdress of my Carnival Woman in confetti style, cutting up bits of colorful fabrics, sewing them down by  machine over lapping one another, then hand sewing on sequins and beads. I find that part of creating very relaxing and meditative. I drew the outline of her face on the cloth and cut it out and sewed it down.

 

[The backing that looks so white in the photo is batting, but in actuality with the orange chiffon over it it does not look white at all. But I can't seem to photograph it to look orange as it is!] 

I also LOVE hand stitching. My background fabric is a piece of fine chiffon (orange), the face is black with a lighter black leafy print cotton, the mask is a bright yellow hand-dyed fabric I got from our own Chris Daley's Dye Candy ETSY shop, the beads and sequins and other fabrics all gleaned from garage sales or thrift store finds; as was the embroidery floss used for the rows of hand stitched lines radiating out from the face to the bottom row of more confetti and beads.

My backing is a lovely batik piece I found in my stash that sang Carnival to me too! So pretty in the back as well as the front! ;-)

 

I am enjoying the excitement elicited in all of the art quilts I've seen so far for Carnival!

Carnival - Lizz

 

                                      
Carnival was fun - bringing out boxes and searching for trims and doodads to embellish masks. I'm a doll dresser so I have plenty of glitz to call upon but have never been to Carnival myself (or Mardi Gras!) For my smaller art quilts I use a stiff batting to hold it's shape under heavy embellishments (like PelTex) and this time I used a wired ribbon to bind my edges. It made for a nice tight binding! I know masks were a bit obvious for Carnival but they were fun to do and I'm hoping in the end that's what we're here for - Having fun!!

Lizz Ploppert - Georgia, USA

Gone to the Dogz - Karen S

"Party Animalz"

Hand-dyed background, inked and machine thread-painted dogs, metallic paints, beading, free-motion quilted with cotton threads, fused hand-dyed hats.

I  was inspired by a news story about people who dressed up their pets (mostly dogs) for a parade at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro this year.  

I did the dogs separately with inks and thread on wool batting and Decor-bond stabilizer, then attached them to the background with more thread.

Rosie's mask is a piece of a color-catcher fused onto a piece of heavy stabilizer and painted with metallic paints then embellished with sequins, feathers, and ribbons.  I painted a disposable chopstick for the mask handle.

The Jack Russell terriers have fused, beaded and machine thread-work hats.  I chose them because Rosie needed some friends to keep her company and these terriers seemed like such fun dogs.  I challenged myself to use only stuff that I had in my stash.  I was happy to have quilting thread in my stash that perfectly complements the hand-dyed background.

Carnival - Susan T

As soon as Carnival was announced as our next theme, I went to the quilt shop and found these bright fabrics.  They seemed to dictate a simple design.  I wish I hadn't listened.  When I was about 3/4 of the way through I realized how juvenile it was but really didn't want to start over so finished it.
I'm so impressed with some of the beautiful interpretations shown this time and my goal (after Out of Asia, which I've already started) is going to be to lighten up and work more towards abstract/conceptual designs!

I'm planning to use one fabric from the previous challenge in each piece and this time it's the road.  That fabric was the mountains last time. 

I got the "hub caps" and ferris wheel "gear" at a bead fair in Pasadena several weeks ago.

Carnival ~ Marty

Oh, my, what fun!  When the theme 'carnival' was posted, being from Louisiana, I immediately thought of Mardi Gras.  It's the season beginning on the "thirteenth" day of Christmas - January 6 - and ending at midnight Fat Tuesday.   Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten Season. 

The season is filled with parties, parades, masquerades and dancing in the street, not only in New Orleans and it's surrounding towns, but all across the state and around the world.  We have the Crewe of Janus here in Monroe.

Enough said....here is my Carnival art quilt.  I was so lucky to have just the right fabric on hand, so just fused and cut and stitched and free motion quilted.  I thought these fabrics just screamed 'carnival' when all the layers were added. 

 

 

Next came the mask template in white with an oversized purple and gold template under.    I painted on the lips and tear drops on the mask but decided I could stitch in the nose.  Added silk ribbon I found on my last visit to Italy....in keeping with the Carnival theme since they have a huge carnival season too. 

 

 

 

The  banner.  Man, was this part  touch-and-go!  None of my letters turned out the same size...not to mention that I was running out of space on my navy blue background fabric.  I was sweating Carnival tears. 

 

 

 

And the grand Carnival Finale -  Mardi Gras Parade

 

 

 

 

The Carnival is Over - Christine

The Carnival is Over, inspired by The Seekers.

A Carnival from Florida! - Robbie

I chose to create a 'Carnival' from the south!  Seemed appropriate with the months of Feb. - March (e.g. Fat Tuesday celebration). 

Hand dyed background, stenciled with oil pastels and free motion quilted.

My mask was bead embroidered on to batting separately then attached to the background after I finished the quilting. 

There are two smaller masks that I created by taking a picture of my beaded mask, printing that pic onto organza, stitched to background and excess organza cut away...of course had to add a few beads on each small mask too! 

Hope you enjoy my contribution to Carnival!