Dye party 2009!

My friend Grace Howes has hosted a dye party at her house every summer for the past few years. She does a lot of dyeing, and is great at guiding newbies through the process. We work in her garage, which was pretty steamy today (we got a huge thunderstorm overnight and there was a lot of moisture in the air). She has a utility sink and three big tables she sets up where the cars usually are.

When you work with Procion dyes, you have to don a dust mask and safety goggles while you mix up the dye solution. I hate that part. But with a lot of people, you can share the task and it goes much faster.

Here’s Alisan pouring some soda ash solution on a piece of fabric:


These are Grace’s. She added some dye to one end of the fabric and put it in a bucket (on hte left side) and then put some darker dye in the other bucket (on the right) and let it seep up into the other color:


Not sure who was working on this piece, but it sure looks pretty in that blue bucket:


Trish loved those hot, steamy rubber gloves!


I was all about the blue-purple today. Here are my containers steeping in the sun:


This is my piece of cotton/linen drying on Grace’s yard:


I’m very pleased with how it turned out. Here’s a closeup of that same fabric:


Grace is so wonderful to host this party. I had to duck out a bit early to pick up one of my kids at a day camp, and didn’t do much in the way of clean up this time. (I owe you, Grace!) Here she is man-handling a table into storage:

The Village Quilters of Loudon, Tenn.

I just got back from presenting and teaching at The Village Quilters of Loudon, Tennessee. Wow! What a great guild! My mother helped found The Village Quilters about 12 years ago when she moved to this community south of Knoxville. They started out with 10 members and now have 257 members, making it the largest in the Knoxville area. In the past few years, they’ve brought in some world-renowned speakers, so I was really flattered that they wanted me.

Originally, they asked me to speak and then teach my “Start with a Photo” workshop in the afternoon. Apparently it filled up quickly, and my mother found herself on the waiting list! (Pretty funny, I thought.) So I got a call asking if I could teach it again the next day. What a fantastic group. Everyone was so friendly, interested and enthusiastic. The program chair, Sharon Clayton, even invited me to dinner at her beautiful home on Friday evening, where I got a chance to get to know some of the members better and feast on their contributions to the dinner. Quilters are so great!

Here are some shots taken during the classes, held in a spacious, well-lit and wonderfully furnished classroom in one of the community’s two recreation centers:















This is Pam George, who brought in some of her needle-felted creations to show me:







They are the cutest critters! She has quite the menagerie. Pam is going to teach a class later this year (and gee, I wish I were a member of their guild so I could take her class!)

Lots of The Village Quilters are going to be volunteering at AQS Knoxville Quilt Expo July 22-25, so you might meet some of them if you are going (I am!). A group of their members also made a drop-dead gorgeous quilt featuring Tennessee symbols and landmarks that has been added to the convention center’s permanent art collection. I saw photos of it at the meeting and I’m going to make sure I see it in person when I go.

Many thanks to The Village Quilters for making my trip so enjoyable.

Orchid #1, continued

I made a lot of progress today on my first orchid piece for the Fiber Art Options’ project we are hoping to turn into a traveling exhibition. After heat setting the paint with an iron, I trimmed out the painted orchid and hand appliqued it to a black background. I then layered it with batting (wool/poly) and an upholstery-weight backing, and pin basted it. You can see all the layers here:


Then I started machine quilting it, using 50 weight Aurifil Cotton Mako thread, which I love for this kind of work.

I added a slight suggestion of leaves in the background, but left it pretty much alone. I’m trying to decide if this is enough detail in the background. If I get up tomorrow morning and it still looks okay to me, I’ll finish it up and face it.

Here’s how it looks now:


This last photo was taken outside, so the colors are pretty true.

My first orchid piece for FAO

This is the start of a new piece I am working on for a group exhibition with Fiber Art Options, a group of fiber artists from the Charlotte, NC, area. All the pieces will feature orchids. We are hoping to turn this into a travelling exhibition when we finish early next year.

Several of us in the group took hundreds of orchid photos at several locations, and shared them with the group. Together, we picked this photo to use as inspiration or a jumping-off point for each of us to create one 12x18" piece:



I chose to zoom in tight on the amazing color and pattern on the orchid’s petals. I started by cropping a photo that showed the petals from a more straight-on angle on my computer, then sizing it to the required 12x18", printing it out on paper, and putting it on my light board. A piece of white Kona Cotton fabric went on top, and then I lightly traced the lines (using very soft lead in a mechanical pencil) from the photo onto the fabric.

Next, I taped it to my kitchen countertop (which is ancient laminate and can be easily scrubbed clean) and painted with Jacquard Textile Color, brushing the lines in with thick paint, and then with a brush loaded with lots of water to create the bleeding out and blotchiness. I used the same hot pink color on everything, but watered down in some spots, except for the tiniest bit of yellow on the edge of the lip.

The open areas will be another color, something dark. I’m very eager to get this under my sewing machine needle and thread paint it!

I have always loved orchids for their exotic looks. They seema curious mix of exquisite beauty and delicacy and something darker, more dangerous. Don’t the mouth parts look like they could open up and chomp you? (Well, maybe I watched “Little Shop of Horrors” too many times!) But I stopped having them in my house after a beloved cat ate some of the bark chips that they grow in, and developed Histoplasmosis, an infection caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum that can live in decaying plant matter. By the time we discovered what was wrong, it was too late, and I had to have him put down.

When I work on a piece based on something in the natural world, I usually do some research on it, so I can understand it better. It makes the whole creative process more meaningful. According to a great website called Beautiful Orchids, the orchid family has 35,000 species and 60,000 registered hybrids, and has “far more diversity and specialized pollination methods than any other flowering plant.” Vanilla is made from the seed pods of one variety.

Quilting Arts TV!

I’ve been invited to tape a short segment for an episode of the Quilting Arts TV show! Pokey Bolton, editor of Quilting Arts magazine, is the host. I’ll be going to Cleveland, Ohio, to tape my segment in early September; it will air in late 2009 or early 2010. Should be really fun!

Citrus wedge

My instructions for creating these cute citrus wedges is featured in today’s Embellishments e-mail from Quilting Arts Magazine! They are made from fabric and Angelina fibers, and are similar to the ones I used in the piece that was selected to go on the cover of the 2010 Quilting Arts Calendar.

Here is a detail shot:


To receive Embellishments e-mails, which contain great art quilt tips and projects, go to the Quilting Arts website. The calendar is available on the website’s online store.

Almost done

I think I am almost done with the embroidery on this piece. I have really enjoyed working on it, and it was the perfect thing for me to take to the beach; very portable and small. I have decided to call it “Petri Dish Promenade,” because the circles are starting to look more and more like the circular petri dishes used to cultivate bacteria in the lab.


The photo above shows one of the spots where I added silk fibers instead of the cotton used everywhere else. The silk is the medium blue fuzzy stuff stitched down in the lower right corner.


Stitches include French knots, short and long running stitches, and “chicken scratches” and Xs. It’s not at all planned, and very random.


I’m stitching around some of the dots and blots left by stray drips of the soy wax used to create the batik fabric.



In some spots, I’m not going to stitch on the white circles at all. I’m almost ready to take the next step and decide how I’m going to use this. I’m considering using other hand-dyed fabrics in some sort of pieced frame, and then quilting the whole thing. Perhaps extending the embroidery out into the frame in a few places. I have not entirely abandoned the idea of cutting it up into chunks and using them in a larger pieced work. Ideas, anyone?

2010 N.C. Quilt Symposium in Charlotte

The Charlotte Quilters Guild will host the 2010 North Carolina Quilt Symposium at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte June 4-6, 2010. I designed the raffle quilt shown above; the proceeds benefit the symposium, helping to pay for the venues, teachers, and other associated costs. The pattern and fabric kits will also be available for sale at symposium, with all profits going to the symposium fund. The pattern includes this 82x84" quilt, and a smaller wallhanging (I’m working on finishing it now).

North Carolina Quilt Symposium is a 3-day quilt conference that includes lectures and classes taught by nationally-known teachers, a participants’ quilt show and fashion show, special exhibits and vendors.

I’m really excited that it is in my backyard next year!

“The Art of Cloth” opens in Lincolnton

Five fiber artists I know celebrated the opening of their group exhibition, “The Art of Cloth,” in Lincolnton, N.C., tonight. The show includes work by Jean H. Funderburk, K. Grace Howes, DeLane Rosenau, Christine Scholtz and Judy Whitehead, who all live in the Lake Norman area north of Charlotte. Together, they call themselves the FABs. The gallery at the Lincoln Cultural Center is very nice (especially for a small town), beautifully lit and was a great setting for this exhibition.


Grace Howes was colorfully attired and in high spirits. That’s some of her work behind her.


“Summer Daze” by K. Grace Howes


The show included two-dimensional work hung on the gallery walls, as well as three-dimenstional notebooks, wearables, fabric boxes and dolls, such as this piece, “Water Fairy,” by K. Grace Howes.


A beautiful beaded button embellishes a felted wool clutch handbag by DeLane Rosenau.


“Self Portrait” by DeLane Rosenau


“Birds of a Feather” jacket by DeLane Rosenau. DeLane received the bird-themed panels made by all the members of the FABs in a challenge. She was challenged, since all of them had fairly different color schemes. Instead of putting them into a two-dimensional piece, she incorporated the pieces into this jacket, using other fabrics to integrate them into this fabulous wearable.


DeLane Rosenau with “Cold Foot Contest”


The FABs started this large piece by hand dyeing 40 yards of fabric, splitting it up between them, and creating separate panels that were then arranged and stitched together. It is a lot of fun to look at this piece and try to figure out who did what, if you know the signature styles of each of the FAB artists. There are a ton of techniques in this piece.


Judy Whitehead is a fiber artist and a fabulous machine quilter.


“Sunflower” by Judy Whitehead has very intricate textural machine quilting.


Jean H. Funderburk in front of “Seahorse Tank”


“Octagon Soap” by Jean H. Funderburk


“Wild Flower Path” by Jean H. Funderburk


“Floise” includes images of Jean’s grandmother at Myrtle Beach, decades ago. Jean said she thinks her grandmother would be none too pleased to see this piece if she were alive today … but then probably not too many of us want to be remembered in our bathing suits!


Christine Scholtz is another wonderful machine quilter and quilt artist.


“Weasel on My Mind” celebrates Christine Scholtz’s “very special cat.”


“Above the Ocean and Below” (detail) by Christine Scholtz

The Art of Cloth
runs through July 4 at the Lincoln Cultural Center
403 E. Main Street, Lincolnton, NC

Artists:
Jean H. Funderburk, Lincolnton, NC
K. Grace Howes, Huntersville NC
DeLane Rosenau, Denver, NC
Christine Scholz, Stanley, NC
Judy Whitehead, Cleveland, NC

What I’m working on today

I started working on this yesterday, and I’m completely hooked. I think it is because I’ve been doing way too much computer work, and I needed to do something by hand, something tactile and fluid. Something where my brain could mellow and the work would take me where it wanted to go.

This started out as white fabric that was partially transformed in a soy wax batik class with Janet Lasher (see previous post). Here’s what it looked like after that class, but before the wax was removed and before it was washed:

Here are some more shots of what it looks like now. I’m embroidering it with lots of different kinds of floss and thread, and couching down bits of thready fluff that came off fabric yardage after I washed it.

ooooh, this is highly addictive.

Charm swap

I participated in a charm swap sponsored by Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. In March, I made a bunch of charms with several friends (you can read about it in my blog post by clicking here) using an article in the January/February 2009 issue of the magazine by Elin Waterston. I sent a few of mine in to the magazine for the swap. Today, I got these charms back! Aren’t they wonderful? The creators are Sue Clark (domino with flowers), Sharoon Lidz (bottlecap), Margaret Applin (pink “joy” square), Marlene Lucero (green circle with copper bell), and Christine Hansen (purple wool felt ball). If this is any indication of the magazine’s readership, there are some mighty creative people out there!

Her “Heart’s Desire”

A woman named Charlotte Soutullo (left) came to the Lake Norman Quilters meeting last week with this quilt she just finished … it is my “Heart’s Desire” design! How fun to see it and to meet her. She made it through a block-of-the-month program at Rene’s Quilt Shop in Mooresville NC, using hand-dyed fabrics for all the appliqué. That’s my friend Nancy Taylor, on the right, helping her hold it up.

DeLane wins!

My good friend, DeLane Rosenau, won first place in the small wall hanging category for her quilt “Cold Foot Contest” at the North Carolina Quilt Symposium show last week!

DeLane based this quilt on a photo she took of her husband and children’s bare feet. More than a year ago, the Pandoras (a small group of art quilters from the Lake Norman area) decided to try doing a portrait quilt. (Three of us chose faces, and DeLane chose feet!) I think DeLane is the only one of the four of us to complete our project. This piece has hundreds, if not thousands of tiny pieces of fabric fused down and threadpainted. DeLane persevered, even when she was frustrated and tired of working on this piece, and I am so proud of her!

NCQSI is a state event, including a quilt show and classes, held each spring by a different N.C. guild. This year it was held at Peace College in Raleigh, and hosted by the Capital Quilters Guild. In 2010 it will be in Charlotte.

Needle-felted bag

I just finished the outside of this needle-felted bag. I took a thin layer of a silk hankie, and felted it down before adding swirls of beautiful varigated wool yarn. I bought the bag from the Artgirlz about a year ago, and now I don’t see this particular style still available. Then I stitched it with some spectacular hand-dyed cotton embroidery thread called “Painter’s Threads” by Tentakulum. They are distributed in the U.S. through YLI. This color is called Rousseau.



If you’ve never done needlefelting, here’s a little information about it: You work with a very heavy-duty felting needle, which is extremely sharp and has little barbs on it. You place a piece of heavy foam (like the kind for seat cushions) underneath, and repeatedly stab it until the fibers mesh together. You can use wool roving or yarn, or silk hankies (thin layers of silk roving) to create your designs.

I also stitched and attached some Artgirlz felt balls to the top.



I don’t own an embellishing machine, which allows you to needlefelt much more quickly. (A machine like this has been on my wishlist for more than a year!) I did this project with a single felting needle. It took a long time, but it is very fun and relaxing, as long as you avoid stabbing yourself with the needle.

Next I’m going to make a lining with some interior pockets.

Connecting Threads catalog offering my Tulip Bag pattern

Connecting Threads catalog is selling my pattern “The Tulip Bag” and they made it up in some of their fabulous fabrics. The collection they used in these photos from the catalog is called “Impressions of Kyoto.” Love that chocolate brown and spa blue together!

The Art of Cloth

Some local fiber artists I know in a group called The FAB are having their first exhibition, “The Art of Cloth,” June 4 through July 4. It is sponsored by the Arts Council of Lincoln County. These are wonderfully talented women, and I’m very eager to see their show.

Opening reception
Lincoln Cultural Center
403 E. Main Street, Lincolnton
Friday, June 12
6:30 p.m.

Artists:
Jean H. Funderburk, Lincolnton, NC
K. Grace Howes, Huntersville NC
DeLane Rosenau, Denver, NC
Christine Scholz, Stanley, NC
Judy Whitehead, Cleveland, NC

My big news!

Here it is, my big news … C&T Publishing is releasing my first title in October 2009!

It is called Appliqué Petal Party: A bouquet of 16 blocks & flowering border. It will include full-size patterns for all 16 of the 12-1/2" blocks and the scalloped floral border in the quilt shown below, plus a booklet with my needle turn applique basics and step-by-step instructions for the quilt, which is 73" square. Everything is packaged in an envelope, so the patterns are easy to pull out and use. It will retail for $17.95.







I’m very grateful to some of my appliqué friends who contributed to the book by doing some of the blocks in their own color combinations (as hard as it is for me to believe, some people are not as crazy about pink as I am!). I also offer a big thank-you to all the wonderful people at C&T Publishing who have helped me.

I’ll be posting details about the book as I find out more.

If you want to pre-order an autographed copy, just e-mail me at susan@bluemoonriver.com, and I'll put you on a list to contact in October with more information!

2010 Quilting Arts Calendar pre-order

Well, lookeee here! The 2010 Quilting Arts Calendar is already available for pre-order through Interweave’s online store. They are pretty darn speedy. That is my piece, “Citrus Slices,” on the front cover!

Quilt Market, Part II

This is the second installment of news from Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh.

Now, here are two women who know how to have fun! You can tell from their smiles. Jane Davila (left) and Elin Waterston are the authors of two art quilt surface design books (Art Quilt Workbook and Art Quilts at Play, from C&T Publishing). I took a workshop from Jane at Market and got to see all the marvelous projects from the latest book up close. This is a terrific book for people who want to learn a ton of techniques (see my review in a previous post).

A few months ago, Elin and I discovered through Facebook that we have some friends in common. Some of my old high school buddies met her in the 80s, and she even knows the guy who played Rolf to my Liesl in my high school production of The Sound of Music! She is also a Pittsburgh native. Small world.

Here is Della Quimby of Della Q in her booth. Della sells beautiful fabrics, including drop-dead silk taffeta, and patterns for handbags and bags to hold knitting needles and yarn. Della also donates a portion of her profits to Vietnam Quilts, a non-profit Vietnam women’s organization, to provide equipment purchases, fabric donations and industry education.


This is Pearl P. Pereira (below), owner of P3 Designs standing in front of her incredibly cute “Baltimore Halloween” quilt. I had been seeing and hearing great things about this design from one of the appliqué Yahoo groups to which I belong, so it was neat to see the actual quilt and meet its designer.

One of the things I like to do at Market is to meet and talk with other designers who make patterns like mine (in this case, block-of-the-month patterns). I try to get a sense of whether I am pricing my patterns correctly, whether I should be laying out and printing them differently, and if my marketing techniques are good. While a few designers refuse to share this information, most of them (including Pearl) were wonderfully helpful. Thanks, Pearl!

This is Lesley Riley, author of the newly released book Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur by C&T Publishing. I took Lesley’s 1-1/2 hour class at Market. I had never worked with Lutradur and was eager to test it out. What fun!

Lutrafur is a Pellon fabric designed for roofing and furniture applications that looks like semi-transparent paper. You can paint it, dye it, stamp it, fold it, cut it, burn it, stitch it, run it through an inkjet printer and use it for photo transfer … needless to say it is very versatile, and offers a multitude of possibilities for art quilters, book makers and crafters. We had a lot of fun in Lesley’s class, and when I’m completely done with the project we started in class, I’ll post it on the blog. I also bought Lesley’s book, so you might see some of my work with her techniques showing up here!


I just had to swing by and introduce myself to Karen Kay Buckley (below, at right, with Bonnie McCaffery), because I think I’ve sold about a million people on her product called “Perfect Circles” that has revolutionized the way I applique circles. Bonnie has just created a DVD for Karen called “Applique The Karen Kay Buckley Way.”


I absolutely adore Kaari Meng’s new line for Moda called “French General,” based on her collection of vintage French linens. Oooh la la! They are to die for. She has a wonderful book out, too, (French General Home Sewn) which features these fabrics in delightful projects for every room in the house. This is Kaari modeling a bag made with French General Fabrics that is available through Moda/United Notions:




Linda Teufel (right) is publisher of Dragon Threads, which has books by some top-notch fiber artists. We first met last year at the Spring Quilt Market in Portland, in an airport gift shop! It was great to see her again in the booth of Libas Limited, purveyors of fine fabrics and luscious silks, with Barbara Wing (left). Barbara’s work is featured in the book Silk Unraveled by Lorna Moffat.


And this is Susan Knapp (below). No, really! Susan Knapp and I have been corresponding for a while, once we realized that we had a double in the quilt pattern design world. Susan designs under the name The Quilt Branch in Magnolia, Illinois. She’s part of the reason I use my maiden name, Brubaker, as my middle name. It was fun to finally meet her in person.

Oh, wait! What is that little blue ribbon on my nametag, you ask? Come back for tomorrow’s post to find out! (Yes, this is a blatant tease.)

Quilt Market, Part I

I had planned to blog and post photos and video from Quilt Market, but alas, it was not meant to be. No internet access in my hotel room, and I was running around from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day. Now I’m back at home, but there is so much to tell that I’ve decided to post it in chunks. Here’s today’s installment:

For those who don’t know about Quilt Market, it is a trade show (not open to the public) for everyone who makes a living through quilting: fabric companies and designers, pattern designers, book publishers and authors, magazine companies, thread companies, and anyone who makes and sells stuff to quilters. It is organized by Quilts, Inc., the same folks who bring us International Quilt Festival and its sister shows. Every fall, it is held right before International Quilt Festival in Houston. Every spring, it is held in a different U.S. city. This year it was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I am a proud Pittsburgh native, and it was wonderful to see my hometown again! I have not lived in the Burgh since 1985. A lot of the steel mills are gone, and while it is very sad to think of all the industry and jobs that have departed, Pittsburgh is re-inventing itself, and there are many new commercial buildings and condos lining the riverbanks where the steel mills used to stand.

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is very impressive, with clean, modern architecture and skylights that beautifully illuminate the convention exhibition hall with natural light. Large windows on the exterior look out on historic structures and new buildings.


On the ground floor, a road runs right through the center, below the exhibition hall. There’s a beautiful fountain flowing down the middle, echoing the three rivers that flow through Pittsburgh.


These great little shuttle buses schlepped Market-goers from hotels to the convention center. They are modeled after the trolleys my dad used to take from our home in Mt. Lebanon, a southern suburb, to his workplace downtown. Remember the trolley from Mister Roger’s Neighborhood? Ding, ding! Mister Roger’s was a Presbyterian minister, and his show was created and filmed in Pittsburgh. I actually got to meet and sit in his lap when I was a very young child. I’m still a fan today.


Thursday is very busy with the “Schoolhouse Series,” where you can learn about new products and hear from designers, industry leaders and book authors on a range of topics. Lots of things are offered simultaneously and you get to pick where you want to go. Lots of great little give-aways, too! Here’s a shot of the crowd charging toward their next session:


My friend, fellow fiber artist, and traveling companion Janet A. Lasher was excited to discover her gorgeous Bernina Fashion Show garment on display (they rotated new ones in each day). It is the rust-colored one with the embellished bodice, directly behind her. There were several exhibits from the International Quilt Association on display at the center of the convention center floor, and it was nice to take a breather from the hustle and bustle of commerce and visit them every now and then.


Nothing but Heinz (a Pittsburgh company) for condiment choices inside the convention center!


On the top level, there is a walkway that connects the two sides of the convention center. Here’s the view in one direction on Thursday, during set-up, when only exhibitors are permitted inside:


And here is a shot looking the other way (needless to say, it is a bit overwhelming, and you had to wear sensible walking shoes!):


My “Bohemian Bouquet” pattern was displayed in the Moda booth. I had been hand quilting like a fiend for several weeks beforehand, but it still wasn’t completely done!


Here are quilt shop owners talking to Moda/United Notions sales reps about the new Moda fabric lines:


Here’s the warm and helpful crew in the Aurifil thread booth (from left:) Davide Moro, Alex Veronelli, and Elena Gregotti. Somehow I managed to get Alex with his eyes shut in both the photos I took! (Sorry, Alex!)


Lovely Aurifil wool threads in luscious colors:


My quilt “Lepidoptera” was hung front and center in the Aurifil booth. Aurifil has the most beautiful display racks; they are like works of modern art.


At Schoolhouse, Janet and I were walking past a room and saw a gigantic pile of tote bags waiting for the Andover attendees. I spotted Loni Rossi’s fabric right away and was commenting on how much I love her stuff when I heard a voice say “Thank you!” right behind me, and it was her!


Loni has had a line of Geisha quilt designs out for a while, but is launching a smaller size panel with three smaller Geishas on it. They come as black line drawings on white fabric, and you apply fused fabric on top. Beautiful!


Susan Nelson (left) is a quilt pattern designer and owner of Prairie Sky Quilting. Many of her patterns feature a very cool technique she calls “Fun and done!” Her friend, Shelli Ricci from Apple Valley MN, (right) is Miss September in the 2010 Quilting Arts calendar with her piece called “The Garden of Eva.”


Kay Mackenzie (left, below) is the author of Easy Applique Blocks, which came out this spring. Kathy Mack (center, below) is a pattern designer who has authored several things for Quilting Arts Gifts magazine. She is also the owner of Pink Chalk Studio, a neato-keeno online quilting store. This is the second spring Market where I’ve met up with Kathy, but the first time I’d met Kay face to face. It is amazing how FaceBook and Twitter and other social networking sites and Yahoo groups have changed the way quilt designers are interacting.


Iris Karp was demonstrating how to use Mistyfuse, a fabulous lightweight fusible product:


Janet and I met with Bonnie McCaffery (center) on Sunday morning to be videotaped for a VidCast she will feature on her website later this year. Bonnie got me started in art quilting in 2005, when I took her “Painted Faces” workshop, and I owe her a huge debt of gratitude. (I had been doing only traditional quilting until then, and taking her class really changed my life.) Bonnie is a busy author and teacher, but she also works as a videographer, producing DVDs for other quilters.


Cheep, cheep!! P&B Textiles had the cutest fabric birds everywhere in their booth, all made from some of their wonderful new fabric lines. I got to bring one home with me. I really enjoy looking at all the creative displays and merchandising at Market. They give out awards and ribbons for the best booths, and I witnessed one excited designer finding out she had won when Karey Bresenhan (president of Quilts, Inc.) presented it to her.


Make sure to check back tomorrow, because there is lots more to come!

I’m in the 2010 Quilting Arts Calendar!

I was at Quilt Market last week and found out there that two of my pieces will be featured in the 2010 Quilting Arts calendar! I’m on the cover and October. Pokey Bolton, the editor of Quilting Arts, made the announcement today on her blog, with a video shot at Market (by my friend and fellow fiber artist, Janet Lasher).

Videos!

I got a Flip video recorder for Mother’s Day. Check it out!

Make one of my evening bags

If you missed last year’s issue of Quilting Arts Gifts, which contained my designs for three different evening bags, you can now download the patterns and instructions for free! It’s in a new ebook called “7 Quilted Bag Patterns: Handmade Quilt Bags from Quilting Arts.” My bags are #2, 3 and 4. Just go to the Quilting Arts website by clicking here. If you make up one of my bags, I’d love to see photos and hear about it!

Lepidoptera finished and off to Quilt Market

Lepidoptera
by Susan Brubaker Knapp (2009)
Cotton fabric, wool/polyester batting, fabric paint, cotton thread. 39" x 39"

I finished this piece, “Lepidoptera,” a while ago, but we’ve had so much rain here lately that I couldn’t find a good time to take nice photos. I usually shoot them outside. This aftternoon, after a day of much fog and gloom, the clouds parted and I ran outside to take a few detail shots. Here they are:



Lepidoptera is the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths.
Can you tell that it started with this photo I took in my garden a few years ago?

This is a Painted Lady butterfly. It has wonderful patterns on its wings, but it is not very brightly colored. I used the patterns and completely changed the colors. My quilt is a bit psychedelic in comparison to the butterfly!

Besides being the first wholecloth painted quilt I’ve ever done, it is the first quilt I faced, rather than bound, and the first quilt I made using batting made of wool and polyester (recommended by my friend Nancy G. Cook, who uses it in all her work). I liked it a lot.


“Lepidoptera” is also the first piece I have quilted with Aurifil threads. I had heard many quilters raving about Aurifil, and purchased some thread from them specifically to try on this piece.

I had used Aurifil Cotton Mako 50 thread for needleturn appliqué, but never for quilting or threadpainting. And I must say that I absolutely LOVED using it on this piece. It is very strong, so it didn’t break or shred, unlike other threads I’ve used. Even when my needle was flying.

I also tried piecing with Aurifil Cotton Mako 50 thread, and I love it for that, too. It is so fine that your seams lie nice and flat. I’m eager to try the Cotton Mako 40, which is a little heavier, and good for places you want your quilting to show up more. That’s my next experiment.

I had heard other quilters say that Aurifil thread leaves little to no lint in your machine, and this is definitely true. I made a point of checking every now and then inside my machine, and there’s no comparison between Aurifil and other brands of thread I’ve used (and I’ve pretty much used them all!) I think I’m hooked!

Aurifil noticed I was using their thread, and asked if they could display “Lepidoptera” in the Aurifil threads booth at Quilt Market next week. I was thrilled. If you are going, check it out there!

Mom’s Tulip Bag

My mom, Ellie Brubaker, just finished making up her version of my Tulip Bag pattern, and it is so cute! The colors are so spring-y and fun. She tends to like smaller bags as purses, and is planning to use hers as a tote bag. (It is 14" high x 14" wide x 6" deep.)

Mom meets Quilt Man

My mother and her friend, Carole Spahn (shown above on the left), went to Paducah for the AQS show last week and met a superhero! It was “Quilt Man,” a.k.a. Fowler Black, who is group sales director for the Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Mom says he was riding around town on a Segway, dressed in a quilted cape and mask, promoting Paducah, Quilt City, U.S.A.

What a fun job!


Photo by Carole Spahn

A new online community at QuiltingArts.com

Have you heard the news? Quilting Arts magazine has created a wonderful online community for fiber artists on their website. It’s a place to learn, show off your art, and make friends with other art quilters. It’s very easy to sign up and use. To find out more, go to www.quiltingarts.com and click the JOIN button. There is also a link to the place where you can watch videos that show you how to use the site.

And here’s some more exciting news: The finalists for the 2010 Quilting Arts Calendar competition, including my two entries, are posted on the site! At the end of the month, Quilting Arts will select 13 of these pieces to include in the calendar. They are all really wonderful. You can see all the finalists, and rate the entries and comment on them, by clicking here. I’d love to see what you think of mine, so please comment! (I’m not supposed to post my entries before the calendar competition, which is why I’m not including the photos with this post. If you want to see them, you’ll need to go to the QA Community site.) I’ll see you there!

Funny cat photos

Max with “Harbinger’s Hope,” in progress.

A new Facebook friend, Pepper Cory, is running a funny series of posts on her blog she calls “Cats at Work.” Pepper is a fabulous quilter who has written books and articles on quilting, designed fabric, and owned a quilt shop. She has lived in North Carolina since 1996. Today, Pepper is featuring my crazy cat, Max. So I thought I’d share with you some of my best shots of him. There are a few shots of my other cats thrown in for good measure. We all need a good laugh these days. Enjoy.


Riding the wild vacuum cleaner.


Feeling wizardly.


Sleeping with the fishes (“Running Deep”).


I just wanted to look out the window!


Trouble, the scaredy-cat.


I used to be able to fit in this box, honest! Maybe I've been eating too many kibbles...


How nice of you to make me this comfy pillow.


Stretched out.


Deep asleep.


Max snuggling with Trouble.


Guarding the door.


Napping in a shady spot.


Hogging the bed.


Now this box fits me a bit better.


A perfectly shaped basket.


Okay, where are the fish?

Art in the cards

Three of my friends are featured in the newly-released Charlotte “Art in Hand” deck of playing cards: Betsy Birkner, Nancy G. Cook and Janet A. Lasher. That’s Nancy’s card featured on the promotional postcard above (it’s the yellow seedpod, fourth from the left). Each artist chose the card she/he wanted, and created a piece of art a certain size that contained the number and suit. Each of the works were photographed and printed on playing cards. Cool.

Even cooler, you can purchase the original artwork starting May 16 at the Creative Art Exhange in Cornelius.

I’m going to buy a deck soon, and I’ll post more photos when I do.

Tyvek class on Joggles this summer

I’m going to be teaching my online Tyvek class again this summer through Joggles. I took an online course last summer, learned a ton and got completely hooked on the concept. No matter where you live, now you can take a course to learn something new or improve your technique, via the internet.

If you’ve never taken an online course, here’s how it works: You sign up and pay the class fee. A few weeks before the class starts, they send you a supply list. On the first day of the class, you get an e-mail that gives you information and passwords for signing up to participate in the class forums. Here, you can write messages to the instructor, share your thoughts, progress and photos of your work with your fellow students.

You don't have to participate in the forums, or you can just lurk and read your fellow students’s comments, so it is perfect for people who are a little introverted, too!

Each week of the class, you receive an e-mail with the lesson in PDF format. When I took an online course, I learned a ton from the teacher and my fellow students, and made some wonderful online friends, too. There is lots of fun and sharing that goes on.

My class, Tyvek Explorations, starts July 28. Four lessons cost $40.

The photos in this post show some of the projects and techniques I’ll be covering in the class.

Happy Earth Day!

“Home Planet” by Susan Brubaker Knapp
2009 Quilting Arts Calendar selection for the month of April

My Earth Day resolutions for the coming year:
Buy more locally-grown produce.
Take reusable bags to the grocery store.
Turn off lights when not needed.
Use less water.
Combine errands to save gas and reduce emissions.
Recycle glass, plastic, metal and paper.

I’m all a-twitter!

Okay, I’m trying out this Twitter thing. Everyone else is doing it. If you twitter, too, you can find me under BlueMoonRiver. Please be patient; it might take me a while to get the hang of this!

Ardea’s Nest

There’s a brief profile of me and a photo of my “Gossamer” on the Ardea’s Nest, the blog of Melissa Haren, today. Melissa has done something pretty interesting. She’s contacting artists whose work she admires, and asking if she can post about them and their work. Today’s post is the first in what looks to be a series of posts with little profiles, photos and links.

Soy wax batik class with Janet Lasher

I took a wonderful soy wax batik class today from Janet Lasher. Soy wax is considered more environmentally friendly than beeswax, and it is much easier to remove from the fabric once the batik and dyeing process is finished.

Here, Janet talks to Grace Howes (left) about stamping on her silk charmeuse:



Here is one of Grace’s pieces in progress in Janet’s wet studio:


Here is one of mine, from the front (the side to which I applied the wax):

and from the back:


DeLane Rosenau made a bunch of silk scarves in similar colors and motifs to use in a belly-dancing costume:


Linda Stegall started with a piece of fabric that had already been batiked (and that is her yellow and green piece hanging on the line behind her):

She drew big circles on the fabric, then brushed on blue dye in some areas:

It was gorgeous!

Here are some of mine:



Here’s another set of front and back photos:



You can see how different the two sides look. I’ll be curious to see if there is still this much difference after the wax is washed out. I’ll post more photos in a few days so you can see how they turned out.

What a fun day!

I’m a finalist!

I was thrilled to find out that both of my entries for the 2010 Quilting Arts Calendar made the list of finalists! You can read the details on editor Pokey Bolton’s blog. I can’t show you the quilts yet, because everything is secret until the calendar comes out.

I was pleased to see that a woman I met when I made a presentation to the Shelby NC guild last year, Leah Day, is also on the list. The pieces that get into the calendar will be announced on Friday, May 22. My piece “Home Planet” made the 2009 calendar, and is featured this month. Hey, I guess that makes me a calendar girl! :-)

Welcome to my studio!

This weekend, I’m participating in a virtual studio tour hosted by a group of blogging quilt designers. In this post, I’m giving you a peek inside my studio. To see more studios, simply click “Next” in the “Blog Tour” icon in my sidebar on the right-hand side of my blog. The tour officially starts Friday, April 10.

So... Let’s get started! Here is the door into my studio. Antique quilts (including some made by my grandmother and great-grandmother, and some purchased on eBay) are displayed on a ladder outside my door. My studio is located in what used to be the guest bedroom in my house. We live in a 1916 Queen Anne/Craftsman cottage, with a very long central hall that is painted green.



My studio is painted bright cherry red, with white trim on the original wainscotting. That’s a buffet-height dining table I purchased for $99 on sale at Pier One in the center. It’s the perfect height for working and cutting, and for accommodating a lot of storage containers underneath. I got the wire units (a total of 12 squares, six on each side) for about $30 at Target. Great for storing fabric and plastic containers for batting, fusibles, fibers and other necessary stuff.



I’m very big on light, and don’t like curtains much, but I made cute little valences to dress things up a bit. The green checkered bulletin board is made from sheathing (a lightweight building material available at Home Depot) with fabric wrapped around and staple-gunned to the back. It holds lots of projects in progress, and show ribbons.



Here’s where I sew. I love my Horn sewing machine cabinet! I almost always have it fully extended for maximum work area. The old dresser to the right of my sewing cabinet holds more projects in various stages of completion, and the top of the dresser displays threads and other fun stuff I’ve made or collected.



I wasn’t all that thrilled about the utilitarian-looking black computer chair I bought at Staples to use at my sewing machine. But it was cheap, functional and comfortable. I made it a flirty skirt and cover, and now it looks right at home.



I have a huge design wall (made from the same sheathing material as my bulletin board, but covered with white flannel) on the wall above my sewing machine. I use it to keep works in progress right in front of me, to encourage me to finish them up.



Every bit of space is used. These beads (stored in old spice containers) glow in the light on my windowsill.



I have a closet full of my batiks and hand-dyeds, but I like to sort my commercial print fabrics by color. They are stored on a bookshelf, with lots of other stuff to inspire. The apple pastel is by a former co-worker, Kathy Crowe. The blue paper doll to the right of it is by my friend Grace Howes. I purchased the yellow piece on the bottom shelf by Michelle Verbeek through FiberArt for a Cause.



I love and collect old and new stuff with nostalgic, old-fashioned graphics.



My style is a mix of contemporary and folksy. I collect buttons in Ball and Atlas glass canning jars.





An old wire sieve displays wool yarn and a funny heart-shaped face made of paper mache.



Finger puppets from my children’s early years (I couldn’t bear to give them away!) now sit atop paintbrushes.



Bowls, baskets and biscuit jars hold perle cotton, felt balls, and the threads pulled off yardage as it comes out of the dryer. (Yes, I have used it in some of my work!)



I wish I had the time to make more of the wonderful things created by my favorite designers! The pillow is a Sue Spargo design, the doll design is by Gail Wilson, and the heart pincushion is by Vickie Clontz.



A storage unit on my cutting table holds brushes, pens, pencils, rulers, notebooks, etc.



An angel doll I made from a pattern by Vickie Clontz perches atop an old school desk bench. I made the rag rug behind her.



I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of my studio. Don’t forget to check out the other quilt designers’ studios on the tour!

Jan’s “Flora Bag”

I got an e-mail last week from Jan Savu, a woman who used to be in my local quilt guild, Lake Norman Quilters, but moved to Arkansas a few months ago. She wrote to say that she had made a bag using my “Flora Bag” pattern:

“I finished it up at our quilting guild retreat here in Arkansas and what a hit it was, one of the girls called you right from the retreat to order more patterns. I remember you carrying it to a guild meeting and loved the bag but I don't remember it being so tall, my solution was to just fold down the finished top about 2 inches, kind of made a finished look to the inside, you might be able to see it in the picture. I added some hanging beads to the flap and love it, of course I've already had lots of compliments. Enjoy your blog; keeps me up on all the happenings there. Thanks for a great pattern and easy to follow instructions.”

It was so sweet of Jan to send the photo and nice note. I love seeing how people take my designs and make them their own. Isn’t her bag gorgeous?

Do we find luck … or make it?

I found this four-leaf clover this morning while out for my daily walk with my dog, Sophie.

Four-leaf clovers always make me happy. “Look at me!” they shout. “I’m different!” Botanists might describe them as mutants, but to me, they are a happy accident. Not so different from lots of the people I know, who don’t exactly fit the mold.

Last year, I found 14 four-leaf clovers without trying very hard. Granted, I spent a lot of time walking the dog and hanging around soccer fields while my daughter played or practiced. But I’ve always had a knack for being able to spot things like this. I once found my grandmother’s earring in our 1/2 acre front yard. It is one of my special gifts.

I’ve never been one for believing in luck. The whole concept rubs me the wrong way. Why should one person with “luck” have an easy life, others have to work for what they need, and still others work really hard and still not get what they need? I try to value hard work, perseverance and creativity. I’m making my own luck!

NOTE: I found ANOTHER four-leaf clover the next day! I’m on a roll!

Win this book: “Easy Appliqué Blocks” by Kay Mackenzie

Appliquér Kay Mackenzie has a great new book just out! It features 50 darling applique designs to mix and match, each in 5 different sizes. All the blocks are on a CD that comes with the book (PC and Mac compatible), so it is easy to find the size you need and print it out from your computer.

When I saw the cat-and-fish block on the cover of Kay’s book, I knew it was the first one I’d do. My black cat, Trouble, LOVES our goldfish (a little too much, methinks), and spends time every evening watching the fish, drinking from the fishbowl, and occassionally dipping her paw in to terrorize the goldfish.

Here’s Trouble spending time with her favorite finned friend last night:



Yum! That fishy water is delicious!


And here is my block. I added the bowl (which is actually a large glass canister), but kept Kay’s graceful cat tail, which, alas, Trouble does not have. We adopted her at six months from a shelter, and were told that she had been attacked by dogs as a kitten, and they broke her tail. It has several kinks in it. I’m going to add details (the rim of the bowl, the waterline, and the glass pebbles at the bottom) when I quilt this block.



Here are some of the things I like best about Kay’s book:

1. The blocks are very simple, so they are perfect for beginners. In fact, I told my beginning applique class about this book when I taught Friday at my local quilt shop. The pieces are big, and the shapes are easy, so it’s the perfect way to learn (and learn to love) appliqué.

2. Kay shares her techniques in a reassuring, friendly writing style.

3. There are both hand- and machine-appliqué methods described in detail. Want to do maching appliqué? Choose from a raw-edge machine appliqué or a method using paper-backed fusible web. Want to do hand applique? Try either the freezer-paper-on-top technique or back basting. (I’ve never done either of these hand methods … yet!)

4. Lots of cute, cute, CUTE blocks – baskets, birds, flowers, hearts, cats, dogs, teapots, chickens – that can be used on lots of things, like wall quilts, aprons, dresser runners, sweatshirts, and totes.

5. These are versatile designs to have on hand if you belong to a guild that does block raffles or swaps with a theme. You’re sure to find a design you can use and whip up in a jiffy.

6. Kay offers tons of tips on the importance of addressing vision issues (“Gentle quilter, it’s time to go the drugstore and get some of those groovy granny glasses”), lighting, fabric selection and preparation, tools and notions, and ways to add fine details with embroidery, beading or buttons.

7. Her hand applique instructions are concise and have detailed diagrams on stitching pointy points and smooth curves.

8. The CD makes it easy to print out the blocks you need, and to scale them to the size you want. And the book also includes line drawings you can enlarge on a photocopier, if you don’t have a computer.

But I think my favorite part is the “Little Gallery of Ideas” at the end. Here, Kay showcases darling little quilts made by mixing and matching blocks from the book.

You can win a copy of this book!
Leave me a post today (Saturday, March 28) before 7 p.m. EST, telling me what method you use to appliqué (or if you haven’t tried it yet), and your name will go into the drawing. Check back later Saturday evening, and I’ll post the winner at the bottom of this post.

If you really want to win a book and don’t win my copy, you can go to each blogger’s post on their day and put your name in the hat for their book. Kay’s blog, All About Appliqué, has a list of the bloggers participating.

To purchase the book, ask for it at your favorite quilt shop. It is also available from Martingale & Company and from Amazon. If you want an autographed copy, go directly to the source and order your copy signed by Kay at Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs.

We have a winner!
Kathie H. won the book! Kay Mackenzie will be contacting you to get your address.

Thanks so much to everyone who posted; it was great to hear about your applique techniques!

Quilters by the Sea Guild in Wilmington

Spring was just arriving in beautiful Wilmington, NC, when I visited there on Monday and Tuesday to speak and do a workshop for the friendly Quilters by the Sea Guild.


I arrived in historic Wilmington a few hours before my presentation, so I strolled through a residential part of the older part of the city, which boasts spectacular turn-of-the-century (and older) houses.


Love those Christmas snowflake lights and the charming red door.


A beautiful door and transom. Check out the little metal Daschund to the left of the door ... perhaps a boot scraper?


Here’s part of the talented group that took my “Surface Design Madness” workshop on Tuesday. What a nice bunch.


We stamped and stenciled on fabric with Lumiere fabric paint.


We made beads from Tyvek and wrapped them in wire and beads.


We melted Tyvek to make embellishments.


This student really went to town with her Lumiere! Isn’t this gorgeous?


One student made this by stamping Lumiere with a regular kitchen sponge. Great texture!


More fun with Lumiere.


This is Lumiere sponged through sequin waste.


We also stamped and embossed Angelina.

It is always so interesting to me that each student finds something different that “floats her boat.” I try to offer many different techniques and materials in this class. We cover a lot of ground in six hours.

Many thanks to Mary Ann, and all the Quilters by the Sea!

Charlotte Quilters Guild 2009 show

The Charlotte Quilters Guild’s 2009 quilt show opened today. I am so proud of the Pandoras! We won a second place ribbon in the “Group” category for our quilt, “Motherhood” (above), and a Judge’s Choice ribbon from Joanne Arntsen! The panels are by (from left:) Grace K. Howes, Lushorn Millsaps, me, and DeLane Rosenau.


Nancy G. Cook won the Best of Show-Small for “Southern Hospitality,” which features a magnolia tree.


Cynthia Page’s “Illusion” won a Judge’s Choice award from Kathlyn Sulivan.


Christine Scholz won a Best Machine Quilting ribbon for “Oriental Dreams.”


Pattie Bethune’s “Fire Fern” won the Best Use of Color ribbon.


Joan Roeder’s charming “Joansborough” won the Best Hand Quilting ribbon. I love how she used textured fabrics and hand embroidery to create this lovely village scene. Here’s a detail shot:


Joan says, “My village was inspired by my love of the history of the Middle Ages, and my inability to pass by any fabric of architectural design.”


Kimberly Profitt’s “Sandhills Beauty” (above) won Best of Show-Large.


Kay Horn’s elegant “Garden Path.”


Elizabeth Miller dedicated “Room to Breathe” to her friend Joan Colvin (1933-2007), “a gentle and talented artist who only wanted ‘room to breathe.’”


Elizabeth’s “Linens and Things” features work by Elizabeth as well as various unknown quilters and embroiderers. She collects vintage linens (runners, doileys, quilts, tablecloths and hankies) and uses them in her quilts to preserve this wonderful “women’s work.”


My “Round Red Barn.”


Elinor Washington’s “Rose Appliqué” was so sweet, soft and feminine. She started it in 1940, and finished it in 2008!


P.J. Howard’s “Hands On!”


June Alston’s “Colonial Star” (based on a pattern by Jacquline de Jonge)


Cary Langhorne Caldwell ’s “Old Bay.” Cary is a very talented up-and-coming young art quilter, and I love her work.


“Under the Watchful Eye of Queen Charlotte II” by Deborah Langsam contains “people and places that have shaped Charlotte” in a mosaic of tiny photographs printed on fabric. Here’s a detail shot:



Cary Langhorne Caldwell’s “Cousin Fredrick.”


Melanie Paul won a first place ribbon for her “Well, Shut My Mouth,” which includes one of her mother’s favorite quotes by Abraham Lincoln.


One thing I always enjoy at the Charlotte quilt show is the exhibit of dolls by the Flights of Fantasy Doll Guild. “Aurora” by Lee Williams looks as though she is soaring!


Aren’t these chicken stitchers funny? They are by Cindy Page.


This lovely doll is by Margaret Williams (pattern by Christine Shiveley).


Nancy G. Cook’s “Winter Confection III.”


P.J. Howard’s “Dragon Bag.”


My “Home Planet.”


My “Purple Evening Bag.”

Nancy G. Cook’s “Crepe Myrtle: Homage to Klimt”

Linda Stegall’s “Losing Serengeti” points out that “the Serengeti plains are one of the world’s largest animial habitats, containing the greatest variety of animals in the world. They … are rapidly diminshing due to our indifference.”

Announcing the Fiber Art Options blog

I belong to a group of marvelously talented fiber artists from the Charlotte area. I was very honored to have been asked to join this group about two years ago. It includes Nancy G. Cook, P.J. Howard, Janet A. Lasher and Linda Stegall. Elizabeth Miller was an active member until recently (she is now an honorary member, too busy to attend most meetings, but welcome to come if she wants!).

One of our goals for the coming year is to create work individually that could be used in group exhibitions. We decided that it would be good to have a group portfolio, so that we could easily and professionally present ourselves to potential curators. This morning, we officially launched our blog, www.fiberartoptions.blogspot.com.

We have included posts from our members, as well as links to our current exhibitions, where we have been published, and a short bio and portfolio for each member. We’ll be sharing our works in progress, as well as our techniques and ideas. We invite you to view our blog, and to follow us (just go to the bottom of the sidebar on the right and click the “follow” button).

Lake Norman Quilters quilt show donation quilt

Lake Norman Quilters will hold its second quilt show, “Sailing Under the Harvest Moon,” on Oct. 30 and 31, 2009, at East Mooresville Intermediate School. Our first show was a great success. We were very proud to have more than 200 quilts, including traditional quilts, art quilts, and challenge quilts. Our guild was small then (about 30 members), but we have some excellent quilters in our group and we put on a show! You can see photos of us and some of the winning quilts on our web page here. We have now grown to about 50 members, and we are convinced that our 2009 show will be even bigger and better!

For our 2009 donation quilt, the group used my pattern “Three Cheers.”



A whole bunch of us met several times to piece it (it’s a big baby, king size, 105" square!), and then Judy Whitehead, one of our members who is an art quilter and runs a long-arm business called Goneaway Quilting, quilted it for us. She did a beautiful job! Check out these wonderful feathers in the border; they add another design element:




All the fabric in this quilt are from Minick & Simpson’s “Prairie Paisley” line, which is wonderfully nostalgic looking, I think. You can’t beat a red, white and blue quilt!

I tried to make the label look old-fashioned, too:

We are extremely fortunate to have two wonderful quilt shops in our small town, and both are very supportive of our guild. Many thanks to Quilters Loft Company for supplying the fabric at a discount, and to Rene’s Quilt Shop for supplying the batting at a discount.

I just love the fabric we used on the back:

If you live nearby, please mark your calendar now and plan to join us on Halloween weekend. It’s going to be great!

“Charlotte in Wonderland” quilt show this weekend

Charlotte Quilters’ Guild will hold its annual quilt show this weekend, March 20 - 22.

I’ll be there most of the day Friday with the Lake Norman Quilters donation quilt based on my “Three Cheers” pattern and beautifully quilted by Judy Whitehead. And on Sunday at 1 p.m. I’ll be doing a demonstration of machine quilting and thread painting.

Besides the quilts, there will be food, vendors and demonstrations. Make sure to buy a raffle ticket and try to win a Grand Quilter sewing machine, donated by the Quilters Loft Co. in Mooresville. All proceeds benefit the Charlotte guild, and help us with next year’s show.

Want to go?
The Fletcher School
8500 Sardis Road
Charlotte NC 28270
Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

“Easy Appliqué Blocks” give-away coming March 28

My friend, Kay Mackenzie, has a great new book just out! And to help her spread the news, I’ll be participating in her “Book-a-Round,” where 10 different quilting bloggers will share something different about the book. To make this even more fun, Kay’s giving each of us a book to give away the day we post.

So mark your calendar, and check my blog on March 28. If you leave me a post that day, your name will go into the drawing for this great book, which features 50 darling applique designs to mix and match, each in 5 different sizes. I’ll tell you all about the book and share the block I’m making using one of her designs.

If you really want to win a book, you can go to each blogger’s post on their day and put your name in the hat for their book. Kay’s blog, All About Appliqué, has a list of the bloggers participating.

It’s gonna be fun!

Book Review: Art Quilts at Play

Art Quilts at Play: Ignite Your Inner Artist – Experiment with Surface Design Techniques by Jane Davila & Elin Waterston
C&T Publishing. 111 pages. $29.95

Mixed-media and fiber artists Jane Dávila and Elin Waterston, the team that brought us Art Quilt Workbook in 2007, have another hit on their hands, I think. This book encourages quilters to explore new techniques, materials and processes. It offers straightforward directions, concise supply lists, numerous illustrations and ample encouragement for beginners as well as those who already have their feet wet. It’s an excellent introduction for beginners, or a handy reference for the more experienced.

Section 1 includes chapters on:
1. fabric creation (mixing color, fabric dyeing, simple screen printing, nature printing, found object printing, stamp making, fabric painting with water-based resists, bleach discharging, and images on fabric)

2. special effects (paintstiks, fabric inks, water soluble pastels, painted fusible web, gel medium, expandable paint medium, shrink film, metalic foil and leafing, PearlEx powders, art glitter, and Angelina heat-bondable fiber)

3. a student gallery.

I had already played with most of these materials and techniques, so I didn't really need the first section. But as a teacher of surface design techniques for quilters, this is definitely a book I'll recommend, and refer to in class. Those without formal art training will also appreciate the glossary.

The second part of the book is what takes this beyond a mere how-to or reference book. Here are fun and interesting ways to push yourself out of your box, share your work, learn from others, and collaborate with other artists in a group.

Section 2 includes chapters on:
1. challenges (subject challenges, word challenges, process challenges)

2. collaborative projects (fabric art journals, surprise package, exquisite corpse, mixed media art)

3. art to trade (artist trading cards, fiber art postcards, small art swaps)

4. connections (online groups and the Internet, small in-person groups, critique groups)

5. collaborating artists gallery.

All in all, this is a great book with lots of practical exercises, as well as loads of inspiration, encouragement and energy.

You can order an autographed copy on Jane or Elin’s website.

The mermaid returns!

“Teach Me to Hear Mermaids Singing” is back home, safe and sound. She’s been traveling the world for the past 2-1/2 years. I made this quilt in 2006. It was the second art quilt I’d ever made. I started it after painting the face in a class taught by Bonnie McCaffery. The rest of the quilt is made up of tiny fabric pieces (some as small as 1/4") positioned under tulle, then heavily embellished with thread painting. You can see this in the detail shots below.

This quilt was selected as one of 50 finalists in the 2006 Husqvarna Viking competition “MasterPieces: Imagine That!” It was exhibited first at the 2006 International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston, and then toured to Sweden, Great Britain, Chicago, Finland, Australia and Denmark. I am happy to have her home!

Copyright craziness

I belong to several online groups of art quilters and pattern desginers who have been struggling with copyright issues. Most people just don't understand copyright law (and there is a LOT that is complex about it.) But this part is simple. If you photocopy a copyrighted quilt pattern (one that says “copyright” on it, or has the copyright symbol, the little circle with the c inside it), you are violating American copyright law. You are breaking the law. You are stealing someone else’s work. I know a lot of quilters who share patterns; after they've made the item, they give the pattern to someone else. (This is not illegal, but it is unethical, in my opinion, because it deprives the designer of any income.) Or they make photocopies of a pattern and give it to a friend. (This is illegal under copyright law.) Most of them are not bad people. They just don't think about what they are doing.

Most pattern designers don’t make much money. They are like the rest of us: just trying to pay their mortgages, pay their kids' dentist bills, and heat their homes. After making color copies, photocopies and/or paying a printer to print … and then calculating in the time for collating, stuffing and putting the patterns in polybags, the profit margin is not big. Believe me. And then … if you sell your patterns to a quilt shop directly, you get about half the retail price. If you sell your patterns to a distributor, they usually want an additional 30% knocked off the wholesale price.

I'm not outraged, I'm not angry. I don't think I can control the world, and I don't think the problem will ever go away. I just think that the quilting industry needs to educate consumers about copyright. With that goal, I'm going to start including this orange copyright logo on all my patterns. If you are a pattern designer, and would like to use this logo, contact me and I'll send you a copy. Or pull it off my blog and use it. It is NOT copyrighted. If we all start talking about the issues, maybe people will understand it better and start doing the right thing.

Charmed, I’m sure…

My local art quilt group, the Pandoras, met today to make charms. We followed directions in the January/February 2009 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine by Elin Waterston to make charms from wood, polymer clay, and shrink film. We had a ball, and got some great results.

The blue and green charms in the photo above are polymer clay rolled on a texture plate, and then highlighted with Pearl Ex powder. Below are charms made from shrink film (similar to the ShrinkyDinks I made as a kid) stamped with StazOn, Fabrico ink and Sharpie markers:


This is a wooden disc, with a drilled hole, painted with Lumiere, and then stamped:

More polymer clay charms:

Wooden discs painted, stamped and colored with a Sharpie pen (left), and one with bits of fabric stuck on with gel medium (right):


Some of these charms are headed for Cloth Paper Scissors‘ ”Charm & Be Charmed“ swap. You can send in five charms by April 13, and get five back in June. Fun!

Serendipity I

This is a small piece I made this weekend for the silent auction at the Charlotte Quilters Guild quilt show (March 20-22). I started with one of the prints I made in Janet’s open mesh screen printing workshop. It has machine quilting and hand embroidery on top. The embellishments are polymer clay.