The Mystical Allure of All Things Fiber

My New Blog Site

2011-10-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

A note to all the 'followers' of this blog. In order to expand my blog and merge it with my website I have switched to another blog host: You can now find me at:

Guila's New Blog and Web Site

(http://guilagreerart.com )
Thanks for all of your support!

A Very Special Shopping Trip

2011-08-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

I got to do something last night that was pretty ordinary for most but deliciously special for me. My oldest granddaughter (14) was complaining that she had no one around to help her with cosmetics – choosing makeup and the like. The immediate issue was that today is picture taking day at her school (entering high school) and she had a big ole blemish developing on the side of her nose. She complained that her mom had no knowledge and no interest in makeup (true – my DIL has rarely used any). I haven’t been using much either for the last few years but there was a time that I was and like riding a bicycle you don’t forget how to apply eyeliner.

Of course, at 14 she doesn’t need any makeup but she’s so keen on it and such a girly girl.

So I took her shopping and we bought everything from Clearasil to liquid eyeliner. And did a lot of talking. I shared little bits of grandmotherly wisdom and we had some laughs too.

Today I will take her to her new school and we will go on the tour. When it’s her turn for the picture taking she will be confident and ready.

You can’t create special times like this – they just happen when they happen.

Haiku Art for August 2011 - Prompt Word is Journey

2011-08-14T00:18:00.000-07:00

I had been thinking about the change that I made a couple of months ago to working full time on developing my art and wondering if this was something I should have done years ago. Since making this decision I have been so energized. Not only is creating art something that I WANT to do but I feel that it's something that I HAVE to do. I feel that I'm really in my element now.

Should I have done this i.e. made the switch - years ago? I could write pages about why not but the short answer is - No. Do I regret all the years spent doing other things? Was the time wasted? Absolutely not.

And here's where the August prompt word makes its appearance in such a timely fashion. The word is "Journey". I thought of Life's Journey. About how EVERYTHING that we do has an impact on us. How everyone we meet leaves their mark. How we may look at some events as distractions or detours from our chosen path but that ultimately all these experiences (positive or negative) contribute to who we are. And often they equip us with the emotional skills that we need to forge ahead. I have confidence now that I didn't have 20 years ago; I have certain practical skills to handle the business side of art; I have a sack full of life experiences to draw upon and I have gained perspective and understanding about what is important to me - especially at this time.

Here is the Haiku - Journey

detours? distractions?
unplanned stops, uneven road
part of the journey

Techniques for "Journey"

color wash
random stamping using household utensils and distress ink
road map collaged on
manila tag painted and overpainted with distress inks
attached to page with ribbon and brad
messages in ink on art paper applied randomly to tag and page.

July Haiku Art

2011-07-20T23:17:00.000-07:00

Balance - what comes into your mind when hearing this prompt word? I thought of my 10 year old granddaughter Abigail balancing on her unicycle and of the determined look on her face as she struggles to maintain her balance on the low wire. I thought of commonly used expressions such as "balance your checkbook" or "eat a balanced diet".

Ultimately - what balance means to me these days is the attempt to put the mind and body into a balanced or integrated state as we do through Yoga practice.

This is the 2nd of a series about Yoga practice. It incorporates the words: "Shanti" which means peace and "so hum" . This is a mantra that we use for focus while doing deep breathing.

The Haiku

close your eyes breathe in

jasmine scented air swirling

find your center - stay

Shanti 2

Drowning

2011-07-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

dreaming of drowning

battling the undertow

sink to the bottom

June Haiku Art: Waterfalls

2011-06-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

My theme for this month seems to be "change" - new directions, new resolve, fresh ideas.

I first thought that I would have to take a pass on the June Haiku project - so much else going on this month. But when presented with the prompt word: Waterways - I knew that I'd have to do something. The Haiku came pretty easily. Having grown up on the Great Lakes and steeped in the history and lore of the St. Lawrence Seaway I immediately thought of Niagara Falls. And a more recent Falls discovery - Minnehaha Falls.

I am currently working on a couple of water related quilt art projects and did not want to start another one right now. So I turned to another art form and designed and made Waterfall earrings. Our Haiku Art project can be in whatever form we wish.

Waterfalls the Haiku

cascading splendor

mists rising torrents swirling

mighty falls thunder

and the Art


Waterfalls

Swarovski Crystals and Sterling Silver

Haiku Art for May 2011

2011-05-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

The prompt word this month is "soft". Now this will be interesting to see - how many directions will the artists go with this word. The possibilities are endless.

This one didn't require too much deliberation on my part. During a trip to Ireland a few years back I latched on to the phrase "soft Irish day". It really captured my imagination.

It rains a lot in Ireland. Sometimes it rains hard; sometimes the rain settles over the earth like a misty blanket. They call this a "soft day".

steady gentle rain

Irish hills shrouded in mist

another soft day

I used fairly vivid commercial quilt cottons for the stylized hills then couched the edges with decorative fibers. Then I quilted the whole thing with 40 wt. variegated cotton in shades of green.

I arranged a piece of tulle over the quilt and tacked it down with vintage buttons. Finally I topped it with a piece of lace (Irish lace?) .

another fun Haiku Art challenge

Haiku Art for April 2011

2011-04-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

The word prompt for April is "procrastination".   Good one.
Process: first thought of "why" we procrastinate - in general. Could be some underlying fear of failure or for some - fear of success. Maybe we don't think that we have the specific skill required or talent needed to complete the task and that we will face ridicule. Maybe we're in conflict about the task at hand and aren't even sure it's something that we want to do. Maybe we're overwhelmed by other demands in our lives and can't give adequate attention to this newer demand. Maybe we don't have a clear enough image of exactly what it is we want to accomplish. Maybe the task is boring compared to some other activity that could substitute.
I considered these ideas and wrote the following Haiku:

      Demands, wants, needs, musts
      I want to..........I don't want to
      Relentless tick - tock

I decided that I would set specific goals for the art work:
1. to complete the work in a set amount of time - time that I alternatively would have spent that evening playing a game online .   I thought that it was not unreasonable to have the main designing and rough assembly done in 45 minutes. I would do the quilting and finishing the following day.
2. I have a plastic storage box full of previously fused cotton scraps - some of which are remnants from previous projects. My challenge was to use ONLY fabrics from that particular box. Believe me there were plenty to choose from.

Done!   The completed piece is approximately 12 inches by 12 inches. It is entitled Fragments of Time. It demonstrates how focus, definition and time limits overcame procrastination in one dedicated to that art.


Fragments of Time

Demands, wants, needs, musts
I want to I don't want to
Relentless tick - tock

2011-03-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

The March word is.....................Sunshine!

I am fascinated by the patterns made by sunshine as it is filtered through dense foliage.

Forest Canopy

Clefts in rain soaked branches

Sunbeams bursting through


Armstrong Redwoods State Park

On My Design Wall

2011-02-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Just took a fresh look at my "design wall" and decided what to finish up this weekend. I'll have the house to myself - no excuses not to finish at least one of these projects.

This is Beach Buddies.

Almost finished the quilting - just the sky and details of the clothing. Then I will bind it and attach a hanging sleeve.

This is an original design based on some photography that I did a few years ago.

I've got mostly handwork left on this watery, fishy piece so it'll be a good one to work on too.

And if I need a break from the stitching I'll pull out my paints and get back to work on KR. He really needs to be finished.

Faultlines of the Heart

2011-02-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

When presented with the February word: "love" I thought of many ways to go with it - parental, romantic, physical, familial - even love of music, nature and so on. But what I really wanted to deal with was loss of love - specifically loss of loved ones. When my Mom passed away last year I had to deal with the sadness of her loss plus the fact that she was the last one. Her passing followed my Dad's (by many years) and my brother and sister's deaths more recently. I reflected on how we all suffer loss of love - or loved ones - then have to face our publics as though everything was completely right in our world.
Here you have a heart that has been fractured into many pieces along the faultlines that were there all along. And floating over the pieces of the heart are a tangle of ribbons attempting to hide the tears underneath.

Letting go of love

Hot salty tears flow freely

Bruised battered heart cracks.

All the red "shards" combine to form one complete heart. The pieces have been attached to the background with a lot of heavy quilting. I used heavy cotton plus metallic. The ribbons are hand tacked. Under the ribbons are tear-shaped beads peeking out. I purposefully left the thread tails and frayed edges alone as they are part of the over all feeling that I wanted to generate.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams_0002.wmv

2011-02-16T00:12:00.000-08:00

Received New Word in Haiku-Art

2011-02-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

As promised we received our inspiration word for February late yesterday. The word is "love". What else for the month of February? I have some ideas spinning around in my head already. They aren't of the lacy heart variety. Stay tuned.

January Haiku-Art Fiber Piece

2011-02-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

My goal was to illustrate nature's propensity to new beginnings in the face of adversity.

A secondary goal was to try some new creative techniques or materials.

Lutradur - burned edges, stamped and painted with pearl-ex
Angelina fibers - stamped
Rosebud photos printed on cotton, appliqued and thread painted.
Purchased leafy vine appliqued
Haiku printed on Extravorganza - edges fringed and painted
Scattered beads
Sheer tulle layered over the piece
Layered and quilted
Edges finished with zigzag stitch

January Word

2011-01-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here is my Haiku for our January word: Beginnings....

Treacherous frost lurks

Tender shoots defy the chill

Hardy rosebuds thrive.

PhotoArt by Guila Greer

Come take a look at all the beautiful art work on our blog: http://haikuart.blogspot.com

I'm working on the fiber art that will accompany this Haiku and will post it within the week.

Goals and Gotta-Dos

2011-01-02T23:45:00.000-08:00

One of the shows that I wanted to submit to has a deadline only 4 days from now. There's no way I'll finish the quilting on the piece that I wanted to submit. Darn. Time just slipped by. And I've been caught up in doing some very mundane quilting. As in items that I promised to people and must get done.

However, all that said, I'm looking forward to receiving the first "challenge word" this week from our Haiku-Art group. It'll be "ready, set, go" with only a week to create and finish the Haiku and the art piece.

So far as my "mundane" work - actually they are 2 quilts that I'll enjoy doing. One is the softy sea for my younger granddaughter and I've got all the elements ready now to put together. It's been a fun designing process. The other is a lap quilt (a wedding gift) and I just finished cutting out the first round of strips.

Some "Green" Holiday Projects

2010-12-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

Our kids in Minneapolis use only cloth napkins and I sewed a set of 6 colorful patchwork napkins for them. I lined them and used a pillowcase finish. I didn't think the fabric had enough body to just give them a rolled hem.

Aren't they pretty?

I love the look of beautifully wrapped gifts but it always gives me a twinge when I see those gorgeous wrappings ripped off and thrown in the garbage. So I decided to make some reusable gift bags. I made a few little triangular shaped pouches and several larger drawstring bags. I expect that the bags will be put to good use - even if it's just to pass along with a gift to someone else. I did some with holiday themed fabric and some that weren't. Then they can be used year round.

I saw the pattern for this online a few months back and haven't been able to find it again. If I do I'll be sure to give proper attribution.

I hope that my little great niece will like this bag as much as the gift inside

I have no particular pattern for these - pretty much custom made them to size considering the gift that was to go inside.

What's Been Keeping Me Busy

2010-12-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everybody! I hope you all are having a good relaxing day - We've been on the go most of the month and it's great to be able to kick back today.
We spent some time visiting our son and his family in Minneapolis. As usual it was wonderful - especially getting to spend some time with our granddaughters. We even had a couple of bonus days because of the BIG SNOW! It was such a heavy snow that they even closed the Mall of America - on a Saturday afternoon 2 weeks before Christmas! And they closed the Minneapolis public schools for a couple of days - unheard of!

Well I got SOME of my special projects finished in time for the holidays-

A while back I may have mentioned that I was knitting fingerless gloves for my daughter-in-law. Well, I've been knitting for many years and have done some complicated patterns but have never done gloves before . All those fingers! She wanted them to come up to her elbows - (remember - they live in Minnesota)

Well, they're not works of art but they're snugly and they're DONE!

Busy Week -

2010-11-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

I didn't make much progress with my Art Quilting projects this week but nevertheless it was a good week.

I did make progress on a quilt that I'm making for my youngest granddaughter. Kind of a cute story - we were talking on the phone a few weeks ago and I was trying to explain the project that I was working on for a class. It is a seascape and has all kinds of embellishments including cellophane. (It was an online class with Linda Schmidt - "creating the elements". Great class!) Granddaughter first asked me who the quilt is for - then commented that it wouldn't be a very "softy" quilt. She proceeded to give me a detailed explanation as to how I could get all the special ocean effects that I wanted just by using fabric and thread. Thus ending up with a quilt that would still be "softy." So I'm making her a special "softy sea" quilt as a special surprise.
My "day job" is real estate and it's getting more important than ever to get a special designation to list and sell so-called "distressed" properties - such as foreclosures and short sales. So I've been busy taking a class that will culminate with the CDPE designation: Certified Distressed Property Expert. It's actually quite interesting and I will be finishing up this weekend.
I am participating in an online group that was formed to bring Haiku and Fiber Art together. The group was established this past week by A. Carole Grant, a Canadian Mixed Media/Fiber Artist that I "met" on the Quilt Art list. I am very excited to be a part of this and am looking forward to some "stretching" and growth as an artist.
We had our Book Club meeting this week and a good discussion on "The House at Riverton". This was a very good read! Kind of Upstairs Downstairs meets The Thirteenth Tale - with a little Remains of the Day thrown in for good measure!

It's supposed to rain here all day tomorrow and I plan to sew, sew, sew!!!

Spring Has Sprung

2010-11-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

Spring Has Sprung?

I know – Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks – so why I am titling this entry Spring Has Sprung?

A little while back I made a little quilt with that title. Do you remember the little ditty….

Spring has sprung,

The grass has riz.

I wonder where the birdies is…?

So, naturally I had to make a “The Grass Has Riz” piece. I just finished the beading last week and got it done!


Spring Has Sprung

The center background is randomly pieced and the design elements are fused. The technique is very improvisational and FUN! I was first introduced to it a couple of years ago at a class taught by Deana Hartman. (http://chameleonquilts.com) One of the best classes I've taken.

I hurried through all the basic construction so that I
could get to the BEADING!
The writing on the quilt is done with a free motion
zigzag stitch.

The Grass Has Riz!

.
And here is.............
The Grass Has Riz!
The pieced green background part looks
vaguely like an egg, don't you think?
I guess the idea of Spring was working
on me subliminally

I'm thinking that I should have done the writing in a more contrasting color. On the other hand, center stage belongs to the grass - and all the BEADS!!!!

I'm thinking that there are some birdies in my near quilting future......

All Things Fiber

2010-11-07T23:34:00.000-08:00

In homage to the title of this blog I'm posting a picture of one of my favorite things -
Aren't these luscious??? A couple of years ago I bought this hank of fibers at a quilt show. I've used a few of them along the way but mostly I use them as decoration and inspiration..... YUM!

Along the way all knitters collect oddballs. Now that I'm involved in making Art Quilts I have another way to use them. THAT was very exciting to realize.

2010-11-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Do you love coffee? I do - especially that first sip in the morning. So what did I do? I made a little art quilt in honour of that AHHHHsome moment: the first sip.

I pieced the background to loosely approximate my kitchen - yellow tile counters - got the grid effect with a paintstick rubbed over a plastic utensil that I found in the kitchen drawer.

I paid homage to my very favorite coffee mug by using its image in this piece - printed then machine appliqued onto the background. Thread painting, acrylic paint touch up here and there added texture and interest.

Added a little glitter just for fun

Glitzed up a few coffee beans for the full effect and free motion stitched my sentiments.

2010-11-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

When I posted here several months ago I mentioned that I was working on a piece that needed some hand embroidery to be added. This was a fun project - something different and incorporating several different techniques.

Here is a photo of my Fish Out Of Water

I collaged several fabrics onto a mottled yellow background. I made a stencil from a fish drawing and when I cut it out I was careful to keep the remaining stencil material intact so that I could use it too.
Then I painted the fish image onto the quilt using the stencil and acrylic paint. When it was dry I thought that more contrast was needed around the fish so I used the "fish" part of the stencil and painted around the outline.

I outlined the collage pieces with perle cotton and added embroidery to the fish. Then I added some beads and a button eye to accent the fish.

Finally I stitched and beaded a spray of coral.

I used a pillowcase type of backing and accented the edges with a perle cotton running stitch.

2010-11-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

I've been doing this blogging thing all wrong - waiting until I have enough time to catch up. Yikes - at the rate it's going that'll be a long wait.
So - here we go - SHORT POSTS!!

I'm itching to get into the other room and sew but first............here are the 2 photos that were accepted into the Eye of the Quilter exhibit in Houston.

Title:	Putting It All Into Perspective
Statement:	Travelling east in late Summer 2009, I found myself not only enthralled by the scenery but somehow comforted. No matter what else fate may have in store, there will be sights to delight and inspire.

Title:	Still Glenwood, Still October
Statement:	I love Autumn and its glorious color but there is also a tinge of sadness at the edge of all the beauty.

And here are the Haiku that will be in the Eye of the Quilter exhibit:

My 92 year old mother-in-law who has severe dementia was recently moved into a board and care from her beloved home of 40 years.

Betty’s Empty House

Her house sits empty

A fog of forgetfulness

Pushes out despair

I wrote this Haiku while I was recovering from foot surgery a couple of months ago. I had very strict instructions to keep the surgical area dry in order to avoid a horrible infection. Taped on plastic bags were useless so that meant SPONGE BATHS!

Post Op Lament

Sloppy sponge baths suck

I long for streams of water

Splashing on my head

2010-03-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

My good intentions (last post in April 2009) went awry last year as life (and death) intervened. Upon reflection I realize that it wasn't just the time spent travelling - it was more the accompanying state of mind that dampened any energy or enthusiasm I had to create art or talk about it here.
Not that things have returned to "normal" - or appear to any time soon. but I'm not waiting for that to happen. Too many ideas and too much to do! Fun stuff.

At the moment I'm in Minnesota helping out while my daughter in law recovers from knee surgery. When I was packing I wanted to make sure that I packed some work to do in my down time. And, as you all know, you feel like doing different kinds of quilting, art or needlework according to the mood you're in.
Here's what I packed (for a 2 wks plus 1 day stay)
knitting - a scarf in progress (easy for the plane)
fingerless gloves (in progress on the needles)
yarn to start a sweater for my oldest granddaughter
assorted fabric to cut out for a lap quilt
an art quilt in progress and needing the hand embroidery to be done
a little kit containing beading tools and beads (to make earrings for youngest granddaughter who just got her ears pierced)

My husband just shook his head when he saw it all go into the suitcase but I know you all understand. Today I actually cut out the fabric for the lap quilt. The scarf grew a little while flying out here; granddaughter's sweater is on the needles; younger granddaughter has 2 new pairs of earrings. The art quilt has a little of the stitching done - the fingerless gloves haven't budged.

Well, it's almost time to take my granddaughter to circus school. The knitting goes with me.

Thanks for letting me ramble on here. Next post will include pics of some new work.

Art Trumps Work

2009-04-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

This Morning, Art Trumps Work!

It's been way too long since I posted anything here. For that matter it's been way too long since I completed a project! I've been very busy with "real life" work since the first of the year which I suppose is a good thing, lol.

A couple of months ago our little quilt art group decided to try our hand at a still life. Here's what I came up with. I started with an arrangement of veggies from the refrigerator and took several pictures. This really helped me decide on which composition I liked the best.

I then printed the photo, enlarged it to the size I wanted and made some templates.

Then came the fun part of selecting my fabrics. For the very first time I decided to use some of my hand dyed fabric for the veggies. Believe me this was a huge step - those hand dyes
have been in the look, don't touch category for a long time. I selected a simple background, something with a grainy look for the cutting board and added some fusible web to the fabrics.

Then it was a matter of cutting, previewing, positioning and finally bonding. A simple quilting treatment added some definition and interest.

Here's the (almost) finished journal quilt. (the edges need to be bound or ?)

Remember to "Eat Your Veggies"

2008-11-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

I love doing these journal quilts - what a wonderful way to try new techniques. For "I've Got Lips" above I first did a pieced background and quilted it. Then I drew and cut out appliques of various "lips" - with a variety of pink and red fabrics. (I had to add paint to get the right color a couple of times) I looked for as many "lip" quotes as I could find and printed them out in various fonts using ExtravOrganza in my inkjet printer. I then cut out the sayings, frayed the edges and painted each one using a fabric marker. I adhered them to the quilt with a clear fabric glue.

2008-06-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

We started our new art quilt group this morning and wow is this going to be wonderful. There were 5 of us at this morning's meeting (2 more couldn't make it) and our purpose was to communicate what we want to achieve with this group. We all agreed that we want to stretch ourselves creatively - to learn and try different things as well as refine the skills already learned. We started a list of topics that we want to be sure to cover.
This is going to be so much fun.
I have several pieces in mind to make - first I really must finish the quilting on my Spring Whispers throw (I'll post a pic of the top) and get busy with my Hollow Cube Wall Quilt quilting.

A few months ago I made a little art quilt for my yoga teacher. It was very hard to part with it and I want to do another one along the same lines - just tweak it a bit.

2008-05-09T15:23:00.001-07:00

I am so loving doing these journal quilts every month. Thank you Eileen (from Quilter's Studio) for the demos and the inspiration!! I'm doing things that I never dreamed I'd do (painting) and have new confidence doing things that I've done before and needed motivation to pull out of my bag of tricks again.

This one is called Energy=Color=Energy and I had fun working improvisationally (is that a word) to create a feeling of energy and movement.

We did one using Angelina fibers - can you find the angelina? This is a little reminder of global warming called "Icecap Melting"

2008-04-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

2008-01-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

So here we are halfway through January and I feel halfway recovered from the holidays. Actually I'm pretty much caught up except I started to really clean my home office (translation = throw out junk) and it looks messier than ever. I picked up a couple of wheeled carts from Staples and they are proving to be very useful for storing all my specialty papers, labels etc.

OK, so here's how I did on the holiday sewing/knitting prep. Most of the sewing got done; very little of the knitting. The cute hat for my great niece was finished but I did something weird and it's not getting on anybody's head - very tight carryover of color change yarn I think.

This is the tote bag that I made for Grandma Betty's caregiver.

I'll post photos of some of the other completed projects.

2007-11-05T22:33:00.000-08:00

So here I am sitting with my laptop instead of with my knitting or at my sewing machine. There is so much to be done over the next month. Maybe if I make a list it will somehow make it more manageable. Or, heaven forbid, it might be too scary.
Let's see: sewing projects: 4 way placemats for DS and his family and for DM; doll dresses (already cut out); finish wall hanging for DDIL; make tote bag for DMIL's caregiver.
Knitting: hoodie for DGD1; sweater for DGD2; doll dress; cute toddler hat for DGNiece.

But what I REALLY want to work on is my journal quilt for this month's demo class. It needs to be completed by a week from Saturday. This month we're incorporating foiling into our journal quilt. Last month it was Shiva paintstiks. I can't wait to see what she'll demo next time.

And I want to finish my wall quilt - a hollow cube arrangement in batiks.
And to get a couple of pair of socks knit up.

Well, time to do some knitting.