Projects in new Interweave publications

Some of my designs are featured in three new “Craft Tree” publications by Interweave. Each book is a compilation of projects from the pages of Quilting Arts, Quilting Arts Gifts, and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines. They retail for $14.99 each, and can be purchased on the Interweave Store online. 
 Notebook Covers includes my business card case:

 
Evening Bags includes my three Classic Evening Bag designs:

 

 

Fun Home Accessories includes my door organizer:

 

Sketching water for The Sketchbook Challenge

Water lily ink drawing by Susan Brubaker Knapp

This month’s theme on The Sketchbook Challenge was “natural surfaces,”and I decided to try sketching water. The drawing above is about 7.5" x 10", and is based on this photo I took several years ago:

 

I did this drawing in a small sketchbook I take with me when I travel to teach, and worked on it over the past month. I printed out photographs of things I wanted to sketch, and took them with me so that I could work from them on the go. 

I used crosshatching (lines drawn in at different directions) to get at the ripples in the water, and the changes in value. But I don’t think I captured it. I definitely don’t have the darkest values in yet. 

It is helpful to look at the drawing next to the photograph and examine the differences in value. I am also considering adding color to the ink drawing, and using dark shades of color to increase the values where they are needed in the drawing.

One of the tricks with ink drawings is to use different drawing/shading techniques on things that have different textures. The water was rippled; the flower was velvety. To add shading on the flower, I used dots, which look softer than the crosshatching does on the water.

 

Here’s a detail shot of the leaves and the stems, which were underwater. It was tricky to make the stems look like they were underwater, and add just enough shadows. 

 
By the way, if you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen more fiber art and art quilts here, you’ll be glad to know that I am working on some (and I’ve been teaching  a lot!). It’s just that I’ve been working on a few things that I’m not allowed to show you yet! One is for an exhibition, and one is for a magazine article in the works. Stay tuned!

 

“Kick Off Your Heels” fundraiser

 

I just completed a pair of art shoes I am submitting for the Kick Off Your Heels fundraiser. It is a juried invitational with the goal of raising $5,000 for The Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California. They they not only treat women, but also educate and do major research on heart disease with women, exclusively. 

Did you know that more U. S. women die each year from heart disease than from all cancers combined? Organizers Jamie Fingal and Sue Bleiweiss didn’t either. After watching a segment on Katie Couric’s new talk show about this subject, they decided to put together a project to help raise awareness of heart disease in women. The link to the segment is here. All of the heels that are juried in to this fundraiser will be sold in May 2013. They are designed to be works of art, not wearable shoes. As we get closer, I’ll keep you posted on how you can help by buying a pair of shoes.

Here’s how I made my shoes:

I started with blue pumps purchased for $2 at a local thrift shop, sanded them lightly with sandpaper, and painted them with gesso. The shoe in the front is the original color, and the shoe in the back is painted with gesso:

I painted them sky blue with brown tree branches:

I bought the nest, eggs, silk dogwood blooms and the bird at local craft stores, and auditioned them:

The birds did not resemble any I’d ever seen in nature, so I trimmed their feathers and repainted them to look like chickadees, my favorite bird. Then I glued wads of paper inside the shoes, and glued or pinned in the moss, lichens, nest, eggs, birds and dogwood blosssoms. Here they are, all done!

 

Alex and Ricky celebrate International Quilt Day

Me, on the set with Alex and Ricky, to shoot an episode The Quilt Show in 2011.

International Quilt Day is Saturday! To help celebrate, and as a featured artist on a past episode of The Quilt Show, I wanted to let you know about a gift that Alex and Ricky have put together for quilters around the world.  

Beginning today – Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17 – everyone who signs on to The Quilt Show will have free access to over 120 of their internet shows, including my episode, #901. You can watch the shows, check out the great tutorials, browse the gallery of over 19,900 member quilts, visit the forum for answers to the most burning quilt questions and lots, lots more. And if you missed my show, you can see it now.

You can also enter the TQS prize drawing with fantastic prizes from companies like Bernina, Gammill, Superior Threads, AccuQuilt, C&T Publishing, RJR Fabric. Ricky and Alex will have gift baskets to give away, too. The grand prize is a new Bernina 550QE sewing machine!

Charlotte Quilt Show this weekend!

The Charlotte Quilters’ Guild’s 2013 Quilt Show, Through the Garden Gate, is this Friday and Saturday. If you live in the area, don't miss it. There will be more than 250 quilts there! 

I’ll miss it (snif!) since I’ll be teaching in Virginia this weekend.) But four of my quilts will be there.

Here’s a coupon for $1 off admission:

The Charlotte Quilters’ Guild Quilt Show and Vendor Mall
March 8 & 9, 2013
Hours: 9-5 p.m. 
Metrolina Tradeshow Expo
7100 Statesville Road – Charlotte, NC 28269
Easy access from I-77 and I-85. Free parking.
Admission: $6
More information: www.charlottequiltersguild.org