It's been so long since I've posted on this blog, I had to reset the password!!

The little beauty above is approximately 8 1/2" x 11" and was the door prize at the quilt guild in Lafayette, Indiana last night.

They had a cancellation in their program and invited me to share the Altered Photo Artistry trunk show with their members. What a delightful group of quilters! I'm just sorry they didn't book the workshop, too. They would have loved it!

The door prize quiltie is the first I've cut along the outline of the petal. It took a bit more time to satin-stitch the edges, but the result was well worth two trips around the periphery.

Speaking of workshop quilts, the example above (detail below) is from Pat Iannone. She started this quilt last month in a workshop and sent the photo at the beginning of April.

Hand-stitched beads in the center really add to the texture. Great job Pat!

Sylvia Polk started this beautiful piece of persimmon leaves at the California Association of Machine Embroiders in Santa Maria March 12th. In spite of her busy schedule, Sylvia finished this and e-mailed a photo to me.

Her piece really emphasizes the importance of the outlining step to control the emphasis of the image.

Thanks for sharing, ladies!

I'm usually a woman of few words, but the California Association of Machine Embroiders seminar in Santa Maria, California has me bubbling with enthusiasm!

What an incredibly talented and prolific group of ladies! The photo above shows 10 from the Altered Photo Artistry workshop. They each sent a photo to me before the workshop. I altered the photo, enlarged it, and printed it on fabric. So, when everyone arrived in the classroom, they were ready to start stitching!

This is Barbara. She took the Altered Photo Artistry workshop on Friday and then taught a workshop on needle-felting with an embellishing machine on Saturday. Very fun!

Betty (immediate past president of CAME) is working on a photo of the famous California poppy. The weather was just warming up during the seminar and the poppies were, well, "popping" out everywhere.

The back of Carol’s piece really shows the outlining she's completed on the blossom and stem …

and it's even more striking from the front!

Diane (president elect) was co-chair of the 2010 seminar, but took the time out of the hectic schedule to take the Altered Photo Artistry workshop!

Isabel is working on a Gerbera daisy. BTW: CAME has a tradition of making and giving favors at lunch each day. Isabel and Judy made adorable pincushions in the shape of cupcakes for everyone!

Here's Judy working on an altered daffodil. She later invited me to her beautiful home, where I got to see some of her award-winning art quilts!

Rhoda is wearing a kimono from the surface design workshop "Tattoo Your Style," but she participated in the Altered Photo Artistry workshop also. Rhoda is the one responsible for making it possible for me to attend the CAME seminar—and I hope it isn't the last!

Isn't Ruth's calla lily awesome? We altered the lily's color a bit, but the striking feature is the water droplets! The way she outlined them really made them stand out. Can't wait to see it mounted and framed!

Sharon is the other seminar co-chair. Her energy and stamina was amazing. What a shining example of grace and love. She is working on a kaleidoscope, which we discovered is probably not a good subject for a first-time project. All the CAME members are accomplished in free-motion work, but the Altered Photo Artistry technique is best experienced the first time on a single blossom. Now we know!

You've probably seen Sylvia's work in various quilt magazines and on the runway of the prestigious Fairfield (or is it Bernina) Fashion Show. Here she has outlined leaves on a branch to emphasize the depth and dimension of the branch.

Zerita's hollyhock pops out of the background because of the way she has outlined the flower. Next, she'll begin to fill with color to accent highlights, deepen shadows, and saturate midtones.

This row of cypress trees was photographed in a cute little town, not far from Santa Maria. They indicate the visit is over—for this time. I hope to return to the California Association of Machine Embroiders (CAME) seminar next year. What a delightful group of ladies. They sure know how to have a good time!

I'm so excite to announce, I am a faculty member of CraftEdu.com! Beginning in April, several of my Photoshop Elements, Altered Photo Artistry, rust-dyeing, and needle-felting classes will be available. Here's a link to my faculty gallery. Let me know what you think! http://craftedu.faculte.com/bp/MzA0ODMyOTQ5NA

“CraftEdu is a creative powerhouse of talent covering many art and craft media. Faculty members have been selected based on their expertise and ability to instruct and inspire students. Together, they are a team of the best and the brightest the art and craft world have to offer.

On its state-of-the-art platform, CraftEdu brings this considerable talent and their expertise into the homes of students worldwide. Created and designed by Faculte, this powerful, browser based platform provides a unique alternative to conventional pdf-based class presentations and creates a near in-person teaching environment.

CraftEdu will launch in beta in March 2010 and anticipates an official launch in April 2010.”

CraftEdu is the brainchild of polymer clay artist Donna Kato, her husband Vernon, and a creative team. This creative powerhouse has worked tirelessly for more than two years. to put the platform and software together. It is like no other online education experience!

BTW: I’ll be at the California Association of Machine Embroiders in Santa Maria next week. So, watch for new photos of workshops in Altered Photo Artistry, Rust-Dyeing, and a Surface Design technique known as graffiti or tattooing!

I've been enjoying the photos of snow-dyed fabrics from various quilters on the Artquilt list and just had to try it myself!

My results, however, are not as fabulous as those others have created. The bin above produced the fabric in the photo above and the two immediately below.

It's OK, but not as dramatic as I had hoped—and this is the better of the two bins.

This does NOT mean I am defeated, though. This was merely the first trial. Maybe the snow layer was too thick. There was a lot of liquid in the bin after the snow finally melted.

The second bin (above) had two shades of blue and two green.

This is the piece of fabric from that bin. There is a lot of space with little or nothing on it.

I really do like this texture, but it's like a little island in the ocean. Only an occasional spot of color.

One artist did the dyeing on a screen, rather than in a bin, so the fabric didn't sit in liquid. Maybe that's the secret.

Any suggestions?

This is a padfolio I made for Tote Tuesday. It will be in the auction to benefit the American Cancer Society on February 23 and is in the tote called Color Me Bright.

The padfolio is made of a base of rust-dyed fabric with photographs of trees printed on it to represent a woods. The fairy is from a Dover clip art collection, and the ancient writing (Tamil) is from a photograph of the text cut into stone.

Sorry about the unlined text. I accidentally hit a keyboard command and don't know how to turn the darned thing off!

I've stitched on the trees to give them definition and texture.

The photo doesn't show the gold paint on the words and around the fairy's head very well, but it is WAY COOL! I made the gold fabric paint from Earth Safe Finishes gold metallic powder + Colorant + Fabric Magic!

This is something I've been experimenting with the past couple of weeks. I mix the paint and pour it into a shell or small container to dry into a cake and then rehydrate it, like watercolor cakes/pans. If I use water alone to rehydrate the paint it is gorgeous on paper. If I use water and Fabric Magic, it is permanent on fabric!

It's true! I'm so excited!!!!

The proportions in the cake still need a little finessing to eliminate cracking as it dries, but the recipe should be ready for revealing in a few weeks. So, stay tuned!

The closure is a drilled beach stone with Velcro underneath to hold the flap in place when it's inside your purse or tote.

I am so grateful to Virginia Spiegel for giving us the opportunity to help the ACA! It is so comforting to know you are able to contribute in this manner.

We've all been touched by cancer in some manner or other. How many times have we felt powerless to personally fight cancer? This is very empowering for those who contribute the artwork and for those who bid and purchase the totes.

I hope you will visit Virginia's blog to see the wonderful totes and bid on the totes—especially Color Me Bright tote on Tuesday, February 23!

You can see and read more about Tote Tuesday on Virginia's blog. Here's a link http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/

Wisconsin Quilters Inc. was amazing! What an interesting group of quilters. They run the gamut from traditional to art quilters and many in between. The group has been in existence for more than 20 years. At one time they had 800 members. Now, with fewer than 200 members, they are disbanding at the end of 2010.

This is designated as a year of celebration as they look back at the adventure they have shared—and toward wherever their new path may take them! I am honored to have met them and shared Altered Photo Quilts.

Here are a few photos from the workshop on Sunday (in reverse alphabetical order).

Linda Southgate had never done free-motion quilting before. After a few challenges with her sewing machine, she outlined the sunflower photo and is looking forward to adding color.

Kristine Slamka, shown here with white mums printed on inkjet fabric, not only did a great job with the sewing machine, but offered support during a technology issue that defied even my magic wand!

Linda Schubert had a lot of outlining to do on this Scottish Thistle, but was able to add definition to the bulb and color to the blue blossom during the workshop.

Bob Ignaszak used a photo he had taken of a piano keyboard with a reflection of the keys in the lid of the baby grand. He took this photo some time ago, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to incorporate it in his artwork. I can't wait to see it finished!

Linda Horne did a great job of outlining all the petals of this zinnia (I think it's a zinnia). Outlining can be tedious—especially when you want to get to adding the color, but all the work really pays off when the defined image practically pops off the fabric!

Karen Hendrickson, co-president of WQI, is a hand quilter and wasn't sure she was going to enjoy free-motion quilting on the machine. But she did a great job on those tulips and her smile says she might consider trying it again soon!

Carol Hay also had a lot of outlining to do on this dahlia, but Carol, look at the depth the outlining creates. It is awesome—and I can't wait to see these pieces finished.

There were 12 in the workshop Sunday and everyone went home with a smile. Thank you WQI for inviting Lori and I to share our work. We sincerely hope you had a good time, and found something that you will incorporate into your own work!

I've been experimenting with digital collage, combining photographs and line art. What a fun challenge it is to find images that compliment each other and then add color with paint and thread! Of course they are all on rust-dyed fabric.

This piece is a door prize to be given away at the Wisconsin Quilters Inc. this weekend. Can' t wait to meet them and spend a fabulous Superbowl Sunday introducing them to Altered Photo Artistry.

The colors in this piece are painted on with Earth Safe Finishes Colorant and Fabric Magic as a binder. I'm not really a painter (at all), but I'm mesmerized by the way the colors flow and blend. Stitching on top to outline and define the image is great fun.

This is the beginning of a series that will debut at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana in April.