Summer Quilty Goodness ~

Leslie McNeil Art and Collage Quilts, Patterns 5 Comments

Hi there!  Summer is going by so fast… as always… as life always does!  And so goes my quilting days, too.  The time just speeds by for me in pure pleasure {even with a ripper in my hands at times!}… , and I LOVE LOVE IT! There’s just something about summer that motivates me and adds  energy to my days… …

More Feather Quilting Practice ~

Leslie McNeil Art and Collage Quilts, Sewing Loves Leave a Comment

Wow.  It’s already {Happy} November! And it brings more luscious hand dyed fabrics as I’ve been thumbing through the stash and trying to decide which one to put under my quilting needle ~ yay!  I have to say, I’m a little rough around the edges in my feather work, and have a couple mis-starts in quilting.  Oh how quickly skills seem to …

autumn paisley ~ a stenciled, quilted runner ~ giveaway

MarveLes Art Studios Art and Collage Quilts, Blogs 25 Comments

hello everyone ~ i’ve been happily ensconced, practicing a basic feather, warming up for more!  the piece below is a large, runner-sized piece of hand dyed gradient from vicki welsh.  it’s called “navajo” and i love this color way .. perfect for our autumn holiday, and i thin this piece is a great beginning to setting a dining table for thanksgiving, and beyond! …

autumn splendor ~ a hand painted quilt

MarveLes Art Studios Art and Collage Quilts, Blogs 11 Comments

good day ~ leaves… leaves… leaves!  always a fun, artistic motif to play with, especially this time of year.  and i have a gorgeous view in my imagination!this is how it plays out: first, i hand-painted the leaves with silks acrylic glaze paints. and i added free motion quilting in two motifs, tiny stippling and miniature feathers.  a bit of bobbin …

blue bayou beginnings ~ choosing colors {and a winner}

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs, Sewing Loves 5 Comments

hi there everyone ~speaking of blues… {!} for most of the past week i’ve been coping with the flu + cold bug! wowzers, what a rough week. despite our montana wintery weather {to be expected} and chilly 15-20 degrees with a fresh couple inches of new snow… our spring will get here on it’s own time, and in it’s very. own. …

the stenciled, feathered, {brown eyed queen?} finished ~

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs 4 Comments

hi there ~ i don’t know why, but i just couldn’t make a decision on binding for this piece.  i guess because it was difficult to choose a color, and fabric style for this binding, but i finally said, “just do it!  and so i chose a multi-colored binding, one of the first fabrics i grabbed. this little quilt sample has risen up …

ponderosa pine ~ quilted

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs, Sewing Loves 9 Comments

hi there ~  it’s more feathers! this time a new hand-dyed fabric in my studio, dyed by vicki welsh ~ she calls it the “woodlands” gradient.  and i called it ‘mine!’ {at least for the time being!} lol  i used this quilting opportunity try a different type of meandering feather, quilting continuous ‘branches’ and hopefully… achieving a kind of ‘flowing out’ …

Midnight Autumn ~ Winner

MarveLes Art Studios Art and Collage Quilts, Blogs 10 Comments

hello and a super snowy autumn day it is here in montana ~ so i’m calling this runner “autumn’s midnight” which reminds me of those shorter days and nights of autumn into winter…   i chose the following threads, as seen below, to begin the quilting on this piece of hand dyed fabric by vicki. and i began with my newest thread-fave, …

dye dye miss american pie ~

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs 5 Comments

greetings on a monday ~ well.  there’s nothing new under the sun ~ including those catchy tunes that play in my head! ya know ~ i love to play with color, for sure. and since i was cleaning and tidying the studio {well not a serious clean, just a ‘what have we here?’ kind of clean… and found we had saved …

new thread ~ magnifico!

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs, Tutorial 7 Comments

hi ~  and magnifico friday to you all! i just ordered this new thread from superior thread company.  it is just gorgeous! and i love quilting with it!!!this is what superiorthreads.com says about it:“After many years in development, we now have a polyester thread that has the high sheen of trilobal and the strength of filament polyester. It is a high …

montana sunset ~

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs, Photography 7 Comments

hi there  ~thank you for your sweet comments, and encouragement … i so appreciate it!!   so here’s another beauty… from vicki welsh.  you all know {by now?} how i feel about hand-dyed fabrics and the people who make them!  they are incredible talents.  what they do… the labor they provide, all to produce these incredibly colored fabrics, with care.  i know …

harvest feathers ~

MarveLes Art Studios Art and Collage Quilts, Blogs, Mixing It Up 6 Comments

good morning!!happy friday, and wonderful holiday weekend to you all! my sewing machine is revving up and we’re good and warm!  vacation time… equals sewing time!   i put some petal to the metal on this gorgeous hand-dyed, finished this piece, diving head-first into my handy-dandy ‘hand-dyed’ stash!  isn’t this fabric ‘to dye for?’ {apologize for the overused cliche}  but it …

feathering my nest ~

MarveLes Art Studios Art and Collage Quilts, Blogs, Mixing It Up 15 Comments

hi there oh luscious happy summer days!!! it’s been a little cool weather-wise so far ~ but i’m warmin’ up!  and i’m also warming up with a little quilting on my free motion feathers, too.  a little out of practice, and it’s time to get tuned up again… {oh how i have missed you ~ feathers} i do adore the look of …

super summer sunday with vicki welsh giveaway winners ~

MarveLes Art Studios Art and Collage Quilts, Blogs, Mixing It Up 6 Comments

hello all and happy summer sunday ~ winners!  we’ve got winners!  well, it’s about time, huh!!!  long wait, i know.   i so appreciate all the comments, and your coming alongside in seeing my projects made with vicki welsh’s hand-dyed fabrics!  she’s such a talent!  don’t you agree?  and… guess what i found in my stash?  a yard of some fabric …