I'm really blessed to be part of a local fiber art group, Dirty Dozen. We meet monthly to play with fabric, be inspired, and learn from one another. The group is very talented, so there are many creative pieces developed
along the way. Our annual show gives us a chance to reveal those results to our community.

We always have a group challenge as the criteria for participation in the show. This year, we're all using the same photo as the inspiration for a new quilt. These quilts were unveiled at our last meeting, and it was amazing to see how different the twelve quilts were, even though they all originated from the same photo.

A detail shot of my challenge quilt, East Facing Window, is shown at right. The peachy glow of candle flames, a brightly lit window, and the vegetation beyond it served as my points of inspiration. I used a wide variety of materials for the leaves: sheer fabrics, painted paper, painted and melted plastic, and even a little cotton fabric. It was great fun creating the 3D plastic leaves. You can read about it on my blog.

There's more information about the challenge and the inspiration photo on the Dirty Dozen group blog.

Our exhibit will be in Melbourne, Florida, throughout the month of October. Full details here. If you're in the area, I hope you get a chance to stop by!

My new class, Sticky Fingers, is already generating quite a bit of excitement. It's no wonder, because this glued collage technique is tons of fun! (And fast!)

Sticky Fingers: Glued Fabric Collage is a 2-lesson online class which will begin on November 20, 2009. You'll find full details here.

One of the class samples, Cruciform #4, is shown at left.

I really enjoy working with glued collage. Once the design is composed, there's no need to quilt it, add a binding, etc. Plus, it's possible to work with tiny little bits of fabric that would be too small for easy stitching.

I've written about the process of creating this sample piece on my blog. (See August 26th entry and forward.) I'll be adding more entries as I work on additional samples.

My newest quilt features Black Eyed Susans. (Or ar they brown eyed?)

Although this piece is nearly finished, I'm showing it to you at about the half-way point. At this point, I had finished the petals of the two largest flowers and was starting on a third one. The flower centers show folded fabrics which I am auditioning. Could I possibly use dark purple as a center??? Hmm.

I've posted quite a bit about this quilt on my blog: inspiration, design, and lots of in-progress photos. I've even shown what the floor of my studio looks like, in the midst of my process! (Posts start on September 12, 2009)

I'll be adding more in-progress photos over the coming weeks. I hope you'll check them out. (Did you know you can subscribe to my blog posts? Look for the RSS Feed on the top right.)

At a recent Dirty Dozen meeting, Lisa-Marie Sanders gave a very informative program about using (or not using) a flash to improve photographs. I was amazed at the difference this made!

She's been kind enough to write an article on this subject, and to allow me to share it with you. Check out her article here.

Right: Amaryllis Square, copyright 2007 Ellen Lindner

Gee, my students are talented! Although that doesn't surprise me, it definitely delights me.

This is especially true in my class Design Your Own Nature Quilt. In it, the students often need to work outside their comfort zones. They bravely do so, and the results are always wonderful!

The quilt above is one such example. It was made by Kathy Edwards, in the online class just concluded. She calls it View from Cas Cay. In designing this quilt, Kathy had to learn how to be inspired by her photo, rather than "owned" by it. As you can see, she did so to great effect!

You'll find additional new examples of students' work in these galleries:
Design Your Own Nature Quilt Student Gallery
Instant Art Quilt Student Gallery

There are several other new things on the website and blog. Be sure to check the sidebar on the right for the latest updates.

- Melbourne, FL, October 2-31, Dirty Dozen Exposed! 2009 exhibit
- Melbourne, FL, Oct. 3, exhibit reception
- Melbourne, FL, Oct. 22, luncheon presentation, First Baptist Church
- Venice, FL, October 28, Venice Area Quilters' Guild
- New Smyrna Beach, FL, November 18, Pelican Piecemakers' Quilt Guild

See Teaching and Events schedule for more details, and other events. FOUR NEW LISTINGS!

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