Crooked Gulley Art Quilts

I just finished this table runner using the pattern/directions  in a previous post a week ago.  The backing and border is one long hunk of  fabric 1/2 yard wide. This pattern is so very easy. The basic design is to sew a long tube and then finish the ends. The picture below shows how I used one of the many machine decorative stitches  to outline the picture/border I backed the blue fabric with a fusible interfacing to stabilize the fabric  for the Free-Motion quilting process. I did not do any stitching on the blue - just the FMQing on the koi.  When I use a metallic thread I use a metallic thread needle. The eye is larger and the thread feeds smoothly. The soft pink blotches were created by using Ink Tense Colored Pencils and a water color brush. The pattern for the koi is from Java House Quilts  .  Remember... Keep Stitchin' For the Ones You Love! Hugs from Mary

Well, as you can see in the previous post, I have donated the oak tree quilt and now have a bare wall above my old treadle machine. Here is the replacement.  We have so many Great Blue Herons and Great White Egrets that inhabit our coastal salt marshes. We even have a large rookery where both types of birds nest high in the pine trees surrounding a pond. It is not unusual to see six to eight nests in a single tree. It is real apartment living! I tried some new skills on this hanging. I wanted the full moon to have texture so I did areas of small circles.  To the left of the moon I made a large nest in the dead tree by using a technique called needle lace.  It is not a heron nest, they prefer pines.  This is a typical Osprey nest which can be found everywhere in our neighborhood. Right now the females are sitting on eggs. The chicks usually hatch late May into June. The picture below shows marsh grass. Rather than stitching it down flat on the edges