My weekly Journal Quilt! Here is what I have written, printed out onto fabric & attached to the back . . . . . .

May 22nd, 2007 * Journal Quilt Number 19 *

*Enjoy Life’s Moments*

It is so lush and green here in Connecticut right now. This is the peak of the re-growth of things and also where the inspiration for this week’s journal quilt comes from. We’ve noticed this lushness grow week by week, especially when we walk on the trails at Huckleberry Hill. I have been watching it change bit by bit over the past month or so and now it is to the point where it is just bursting with aliveness. It feels rather magical. (see photo below - click on it for a larger photo)

For my quiltie I choose a piece of batik fabric full of leaves. I simply love working with batiks these days. It’s a wonderful thing that Sew Inspired Quilt shop is nearby and carries a lot of them! The first thing I did was use an open ‘Fern’ stamp by Stamp Zia and over-stamped the printed fabric with a light green ink; you can barely see it but it adds texture. Then I added a square of batting to the back and sewed “shoots of grass’ by using my sewing machine to shape them. Next I took a dark green oil pastel stick and tried filling the shoots in, later adding a bit of gold and metallic pens to give them more depth & interest. I chose a small enchanted picture of a woman walking in the woods from the Mini Chix sheet by ARTchix Studio and glued it in the lower corner with Tacky Glue; it was just the right size. Then I stamped a skeleton leaf from the Moon Rose in the upper corner with dark green VersaCraft ink and found a saying I liked from Hero Arts; stamped that with Black VersaCraft ink and then heat set the whole thing with a hot iron.

Creating these every week is sometimes a push for me but I always feel better when I do. I look forward to seeing the collection grow and the challenge and joy of putting them together at the end of the year!