Morning In The Garden, AP # 89

| Cindy Anderson

Who doesn’t enjoy the loveliness of a morning in the garden with the sunshine dancing on the dew drops. I know I do! It is my favorite time of day.

I have always loved flowers. In my younger days my yard was filled with gardens overflowing with their beauty. Their colorful faces added a delight to my yard that thrilled me immensely.

Now that I’ve experienced more years that I have left my huge garden days are over. I still enjoy the beauty of flowers and their wonderful scent but I have adjusted my expectations. Rather that spending hours tending to my gardens, inhaling the many fragrances, feeling the soil between my fingers, soaking in the eye-popping colors and the warmth of the sun’s rays I experience those joys through my portfolio of photos and my occasional plantings.

With my days of prolific gardening behind me I have made attempts to recreate my love of flowers through my art and my surroundings. The art piece I am about to share with you today is the second addition to my layered quilt portfolio. My most recent completion is titled Morning In The Garden, AP # 89. Let’s explore it’s beauty through photographs. Click on the photos, in each grouping, to see them in greater detail

  • Label for Morning In The Garden
  • Sun Rising Over Morning In The Garden
  • Western Corner of Morning In The Garden
  • Southwest Corner of Morning In the Garden
  • More Flowers In The Southwest Corner of The Garden
  • Northern Area of The Garden
  • Northeast Corner of the Garden
  • Another Northeast Section of the Garden
  • Southeast Corner of the Garden
  • A Three Dimensional View Of A Flower
Morning In The Garden

Photos say more than words can. I hope that you have enjoyed this tour and that you have the opportunity to click on and explore the photos in detail.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Wild Flowers, AP # 73

| Cindy Anderson

2018 was the year I first took Heidi Parke’s class Layered Quilt. What is a layered quilt you might ask?

A layered quilt has four layers

  • a bottom layer of muslin
  • batting for the second layer
  • miscellaneous fabrics for the third layer and
  • a top layer of a transparent material such as silk organza.

The two most important layers are

  • layer three because that’s where your design resides and
  • layer four because it’s degree of transparency determines how visible your design layer will be.

Once the four layers have been assembled it is time to begin stitching.

I can’t tell you how much fun I had making my first layered quilt. After sandwiching my muslin and batting I pulled out my bags of fabric scraps and discarded threads. From the bags of scraps I pulled handfuls of fabric and began dumping them on top of the batting. No special effort was made to arrange them in a particular order. Also added were leftover scraps of thread. To top that all off I added a few strategically placed floral shaped remnants. This is how my layered quilt looked when I was finished.

Wild Flowers Ready For Stitching

With my four layers all in place it was time to start stitching. I gathered together my stockpile of decorative threads, my needles and my stitchery books and began the explorative process of adding the quilting. This was a great opportunity to try stitches that I had never used before. Learning the new stitches and watching them take shape was so amazing. The more I stitched the more I enjoyed the process.

Part of the joy was documenting my daily progress through photographs and now that my art piece is finished I am so glad that I did. While I would love to share all of the photos with you I’ve decided to share just a few.

Wild Flower Stitch Beginnings
Wild Flowers, A Closeup
Wild Flowers All Finished
Wild Flowers All Finished

The journey to create and finish this art quilt was one that I will always remember. I am so pleased with the final outcome and so happy to be able to share it with you.

Thank You for spending this time with me!

Painted Fibers, AP # 86

| Cindy Anderson

I have truly been blessed to attend numerous classes at the Woodland Ridge Retreat. If it were not for the continued employment of my husband the opportunities would never have occurred. Today’s story is about another one of my excursions.

Last summer I participated in the Judy Coates Perez, Paint and Print Palooza. I had a wonderful time learning how to dye, print and silk screen fabric.

I Had A Handful

Watching the applications go from start to finish was entertaining.

Folded Fabric Waiting to Dry
All Dried and Opened Up

I even designed and cut out my own foam stamp.

My Own Foam Stamp
The First Print Using My Foam Stamp

I created a minimum of 12 new blocks of fabric. These are two of my favorites.

  • Block 1
  • Block 2

Rather than point out all of the quilt’s wonderful features I’m going to share them with you through photos. Enjoy!

My First Block Arrangement

Eight of my favorite blocks. Click on any photo to watch a slide show of the gallery.

  • Block 1
  • Block 2
  • Block 3
  • Block 4
  • Block 5
  • Block 6
  • Block 7
  • Block 8 & 9

Last but not least, here is the finished art quilt.

Painted Fibers, AP # 86

I am so pleased with the final version of my art piece. My finished art quilt measures 64 x 47”. Hidden inside this family of blocks are oodles of special features. Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the many details.

Thank You for stopping by!