Published!!

 Whew!  I'm very excited to announce that I (Sue) have been published for the first time!  A small 8x10 quilt I made for a Quilting Arts Reader's Challenge was selected for publication in the Dec-Jan issue, which is just beginning to arrive in shops and subscribers homes.  I believe the newsstand release date is Dec. 2.  The theme of the challenge was "Changing Seasons" but not just the obvious seasons of the year - also seasons of your life; transitions, transformations, changes that we all go through.  My interpretation was the life change of retirement, against a backdrop of riding off on a motorcycle trip the day after I left work for the last time. 

I started with this photo and used Photoshop Elements to turn it into a black and white image, the same process I use to make an image for a thermofax screen.  Instead of making a screen however, I printed the black & white image onto an inkjet fabric sheet.

Then I used water soluble pastel crayons to  color the image.  I have both Reeves and Derwent colors, but mostly used the Reeves.  

After coloring, I used the Fantastix brushes in the photo with water to blend the colors.  Then I made a thermofax screen of the word "retired" and printed it.

Next was quilting; a variegated thread was used for the trees and leaves, and red around the word "retired".  The binding is fused, a separate piece on each side and then satin stitched through all layers on the inside edge.  Here's the final piece and a close-up.

There's lots of stitching but it really blends in. If you click the picture to enlarge it you might be able to see it better.