Carli The Quilter

The Bulkley Valley is an awesome place to live. Really, I'm not just saying this because I am making this quilt that commemorates the 100 years it took to become the lively and industrious town today. Our valley is full of musicians and astists, hence, we sometimes call it the "Nelson North" and only those who live in the Kootenay area of BC would know what I'm talking about! Festivals happen year round in the Bulkley Valley. Music, art and cultural festival are ongoing! When I began to represent the choices of flora and fauna from my facebook page when asked what did people think of the most important areas. I took this to  heart and began trying to vision what my skills and descriptive artwork of floral began in my head. I tried to think of the colors to choose for one area of color, in respect to the other interesting and vibrantly colored blocks that the Centennial quilt displays. Artists from my home valley contributed to this qu

Sometimes a few words can say more. These are the words that will be on the top of the Smithers 2013 Centennial Quilt. Left alone, as is these words are quite  boring, so of course I had to play with them and I have these photos for you to see where or what could come of this 'play' The sketch above is par of the beginning of this quilt. Many parts have evolved and adapted into a different version as you'll see in the remaining two photos. I wanted a dark, maybe even black background, but as time went on, with numerous shifting and moving, I realised that black was just too  black. What I was really going for was a darker background to make all the artist scapes pop. This was taken a few months ago when I began playing with how to get acrylic paintings into the quilt. I've had some really positive comments and helpful tips on transferring artwork to fabric and I thank you all for those insightful comments. Learning new stuff is what q

Every time the new year comes by, I hear resolutions that often go by the wayside. I didn't make any, nor do I have any unfulfilled resolutions from last year, to be guilty about.   You know what I mean? I'm cruising the path my life is on and that's very cool. I acknowledge all my actions to be truthful, kind and dedicated to peace. I work and I play. I play to the music of good blues players, swaying to the beat while cutting out fabric or sewing blocks. But the main thing is I live in the moment of the experience. I let go and drink a glass wine or two. I believe I may as well have fun while quilting.  How would you describe feeling in the moment? As you all know who faithfully read my  blog, know that I like to reuse and I like to experiment with different ways of reusing.   Hence, I make do with many things before buying new stuff. Because after all, its stuff. I can't TAKE any of it with me when I die, so I intend to have fun with my stash. Here

I tried  how to take an acrylic painting and put it directly into the quilt. This one to be exact. My poor little Janome was beside herself with my request. First the walking foot didn't like it under foot.  It stuck, snagged and generally didn't want to move with the the surface of the painting. I stopped. I pondered the consequences of loosing my machine. I didn't like that image in my mind. So then I trimmed this next painting that my friend Martha painted and is holding, to more the size of the block I needed. My trimming allowed the opportunity to play with the 'trimmings' from Alpine Al  block that Martha depicts in her acrylic painting. I tried placing voile between my walking foot and the surface of the painting strip. Its sputtered and created an uneven kind of gait in my machine. Then I noticed my needle. I was too aghast to grab a photo of it. I immediately realized my folly was not with the foot,, but rather I was gu

My blog now has 50 members!! Unbelievable to a 50-something female who hardly understood what the Internet was until about 1997! Now, look at me, I'm growing, I'm learning and interacting with my world. I decided that what I write about, others could make use and its kind of like being a teacher of a digital craft gathering. Where I set the agenda, my goals, how they relate to my world and why what I say matters.  Who would have known we'd hang around and listen to each other. So welcome my fifty follower's!  Sit back and listen to my ramblings and we'll see who else wants to know what I say in my blog. I'm singing in the rain.  Writing this while listening to Michael Jerome Brown, Canadian Blues Singer who satisfies my musical groove. My old man in the pale yellow is singing and playing with his good friend Derek. Grooving this past summer, in the warm summer nights when the sunlight lingers across the north later into the day. I th

I am alone with the creative urgency that brews inside of me. Its a spark that keeps coming back. Much like the new growth of springtime after a long cold winter. The creation of the Smithers 2013 Centennial Quilt has been and continues to be the most promising of all my work so far! A challenge that may have scared off some, but for me its a rise to the occasion kind of moment. I don't want to be one who would say, "I should have done this or that?"  I believe that I make my own future and all the quilts that have yet to come are inside me still. I intend to stitch and quilt until my last breath. I am an independant quilter for sure! I rarely use a pattern. I rarely seek consultation with others about colors. I rarely ask for help.  But this project was an asking, taking and a giving experience with the 7 other artists collaborating on this vision.  Its one that I'll not forget, ever! I thank Perry Rath, Linda Stringfellow, Ma

Hello and so glad you dropped by! I'm so thrilled that people still keep reading and following me. I can't than you enough for being interested in what I do. As you may know I've been a busy quilter working pretty steady on the donation quilt for Town of Smithers to help commerate the 100th Birthday of Smithers, B.C. Part One can be found here. As the summer progressed and I bit off finger nails in my preoccupied state of creative madness. I waited for the blocks submitted by seven other artists who made a piece art for the Centennial Quilt. I fretted, started a new job, had new work schedules, pretty soon I was embroidering at midnight and the wee hours of the morning. Part Two can be found here. My good friend Nola, whipped up three blocks made with crazy piecing and then I started onto the hand embroidery embellishment for these blocks. I began with open landscapes in my brain, but as you know, if you are a crazy quilter, the blocks