Meet Jann...

 I'd like to introduce you to one of the ladies who attended the retreat

last weekend. Her name is Jann, and she belongs to the Peace River

Guild, located in Punta Gorda, FL. She's in that guild with Susan 

Slaton. (Susan also belongs to the Disconnected Piecers Quilt Guild.)

Jann sat across from where I was set up with my machine, so I caught 

glimpses of her work. I was instantly intrigued, and had to ask about it.

 One of the coolest things about Susan's retreats is that we can work

 on whatever we want to. I had decided to work on the "group" project

(Purple Mountains Majesty, in my case), but Jann was hard at work on

something completely different. She was working on an art quilt piece she's

entering in an upcoming show in Manatee (in only a couple of weeks!).

When I asked about it, she graciously showed me her inspiration, her

concept and her design work. I had a hard time concentrating on my

own projects the rest of the weekend, because I didn't want to miss each

step as she built her quilt. It's comprised of piecework, embroidery and

applique'...and if you keep track, you know how I love those pursuits.

 Jann began with the concept of flowers and her garden grew from there...

 She pieced batiks for the background of her quilt, and then she 

added machine-appliqued' coneflowers. When she was showing

the group her finished flowers, the light coming through the back
of her fabric made it look just like a stained glass window!

 What really got my attention was the center for her sunflower.

Hundreds of French knots were stitched using 3-ply cotton floss onto

a ground batik fabric that she hand-dyed herself. When I looked at the

fabric from a distance, I initially thought she was stitching on wool.

 While we were talking about her needlework, Jann explained that her

next step was to add more knots using 5 weight pearl cotton thread.

She wanted to create a different texture, so I suggested colonial knots.

After a quick tutorial from me, Jann was stitching away making knot

after knot. Her colonial knots in the pearl cotton were a perfect choice.

 This will give you an idea of what her next floral block will look like. She 

appliqued' her hand-dyed fabric to create the petals, stitched a chocolate
brown ruffle for a clever center accent, added fabric tabs which will be
embellished further and inserted the center motif. When Jann is finished,
the center will be entirely stitched in French and colonial knots. That same
center will be hand-appliqued' to the background when the embroidery is done.

I'm sure as I write this, Jann is working feverishly to complete it in time for

the take-in portion of the quilt show. I know she's going to make her deadline.

The girl knows "Focus".

Thank you, Jann, for allowing me to shadow you during retreat. Thanks 

also for your sharing spirit. Not only did you cheerfully answer my

questions, you also graciously allowed me to photograph your work. 

I'm planning to attend the quilt show where you'll be competing this

piece, and I could already see that it's going to be a stunning art quilt.

I'll be showing up to cheer your fabulous work. Good luck!