Mandala CXLVII and other news

(Above:  Mandala CXLVII.  Custom framed: 30 1/2" x 30 1/2" when hung as a square; 43 1/4" x 43 1/4" when hung as a diamond.  Found objects hand-stitching to a section of a vintage quilt. Found objects include: A full deck of laminated playing cards that were once my mother-in-laws; red checkers; a burgundy coffee K-pod; a gold metal ring that was once the decorative rim of a small dish; grey perm hair rollers; blue and red and white casino chips; dominoes; four gingerbread men cookie cutters; eight, brass touchless door openers; four plastic beverage lids with red dice; eight, butterfly-shaped pieces of thin wood; buttons and beads.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I haven't written a blog post in quite a while.  That's rather unusual for me but the reasons are rather simple.  First, I've been working on a very large art quilt.  It is under my Babylock Tiara and is being very densely stitched.  There are dozens of hours ahead.  Ordinarily, I don't blog "works in progress".  I don't really know why but I don't. Second, I've created two pieces for a special project that is still under wraps.  I have to wait before sharing them.  Third, I'm working on a piece that will become a Christmas present.  Obviously, this one has to wait too!  Finally, it's Christmas time ... which means more custom picture framing than usual.  Still, I had time to add more fiber vessels to my on-line platform ... each one with a female name ... which comes with a silly little "adoption certificate".  CLICK HERE to access!

(Above:  Mandala CXLVII, detail.)

Thankfully, I've also been stitching every evening ... on this Found Object Mandala!  The inspiration for this piece was one of my mother-in-law's deck of playing cards.  Judy was once an avid bridge player and I'm sure she would be absolutely happy that I've used them. It only made sense to surround the cards with casino chips and four, red dice, and some checkers. For this piece, I cut an old quilt that wasn't quite a crazy quilt even though every seam was covered in a neatly hand-plied herringbone stitch as if it were a crazy quilt.

(Above:  Mandala CXLVII, detail.)

In addition to densely machine stitching a large art quilt and hand-stitching in the evenings, I am now trying my best to learn PhotoShop Elements.  My old Photoshop 6 is no longer supported by Windows 10.  I'm grateful for a SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) regional Zoom meeting about photographing art quilts and editing images.  Candace Hackett Shively did a great job on the presentation and let me know that PhotoShop Elements, an affordable, one-time purchased program, was all I really needed ... instead of a monthly subscription to the more costly, new Photoshop.  Yet, I have plenty to learn now (or at least to become more familiar with!)  These images are the first ones I used with my new PhotoShop Elements!  I like them!