Blue Moon River

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

“Four Eyes”

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton thread, cotton batting, interfacing, cotton backing. Digitally manipulated photo, printed and painted.

Beautyberry

“Beautyberry”

Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted.

White fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton thread, interfacing, cotton batting, cotton backing fabric.

“Beautyberry” is the latest piece in my botanicals series. It’s based on several photos I have taken in the past year.

American beautyberry (Calliacarpa americana) is also known as French Mulberry. It is a large shrub native to much of southeastern and central U.S. Recent research suggests that its leaves may repel mosquitoes, and the berries are edible. It is named for its spectacular berries, which start out pale green and ripen to a spectacular rose-purple in the fall. The berries remain into the winter, after the leaves have dropped.

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Cicadas on Yellow

“Cicadas on Yellow” is a piece I finished this week, and am in the process of facing. I loved painting these guys so much that I’d like to do a few more pieces featuring them. These are the annual “dogday” Neotibicen cicadas common in North Carolina. This piece will be about 21 x 24" and I’ll price it once it is faced. White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton batting, cotton thread, cotton backing fabric, interfacing. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted.

Two more smalls

Here are two more small pieces I completed in the last week or so, each about 8 x 11". Both started as ink drawings based on original photos. I scanned the black line drawings and had them printed on fabric at Spoonflower, then painted and free-motion stitched them. I love how all of my cross-hatching shows through the paint on these pieces, so that they have lots of texture. I’m making these pieces to have some original work at lower price points for the Orange County Artists Guild open studio tour this fall.

I'm teaching at Bernina World of Sewing in September!

I’m only teaching two classes this year because of COVID. I’d love to have you in one of them! Bernina World of Sewing in Raleigh has opened up a spacious classroom next to the shop, and we will be able to spread out to work. Questions? Please contact me. To register, please go to the shop’s website, or contact them.

Bernina World of Sewing

Raleigh NC

Sept. 25

Wholecloth Painting: Botanicals

and

Sept. 26

Thread Sketching: Still Life with Three Fruits

Bernina World of Sewing

6013 Glenwood Ave

Oak Park Shopping Center

Raleigh, NC 27612

919-782-2945

info@berninaworldofsewing.com

Sept. 25

Wholecloth Painting: Botanicals

Students will learn the basics of creating wholecloth painted quilts based on photos. Students can choose from the four botanical projects shown above, and will work from line drawings and my photos to recreate the image using acrylic textile paints. Afraid to try this technique? Don’t be! My students get great results. We will cover:

selecting the right photos for great results
which paints and fabrics to use and why
how to transfer your design to fabric
painting and blending techniques
quilting considerations

Sept. 26

Thread Sketching: Still Life with Three Fruits

Learn how to add highlights and shadows, and blend colors using thread sketching to create a realistic still life. Students learn how to:

cut pieces from fusible adhesive and fuse them to the background
stabilize the fabric surface
choose the right threads and needles for thread sketching
adjust tension for the correct stitch
add color, highlights and shadows using thread
quilting considerations

Friday, August 6, 2021

Smalls

Here are two little pieces I made recently. They are both smaller than a piece of paper. Both started as drawings based on original photos. I scanned the black line drawings and had them printed on fabric at Spoonflower, then painted and free-motion stitched them. I love how all of my cross-hatching shows through the paint on these pieces, so that they have lots of texture. I’m making these pieces to have some original work at lower price points for the Orange County Artists Guild open studio tour this fall.

Thursday, August 5, 2021

Three Goldfish

These three goldfish pieces are based on drawings I made years ago. These are small pieces; each is no more than about 11" wide.

Palmetto

I’ve always loved the amazing shadows cast by one frond of palmetto on another. Palmetto is native in North Carolina, but only thrives in our southernmost counties. It is common on Bald Head Island, where my family often vacations.

This piece is wholecloth painted and free-motion machine quilted. White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, pigment ink, cotton batting, interfacing, cotton thread.

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Quilting Arts TV update

Two new Series of QATV – 2700 and 2800 – are out; hooray! And boo! because the last shoot for Quilting Arts TV was in September 2020, and I did not attend because of COVID-19. I have several health conditions that put me at higher risk for complications if I get the Coronavirus, and my daughter caught it the month before the shoot. (She is okay.) Vivika Hansen DeNegre took over as host, and did a great job. I’m listed as co-host for 2700, because we taped some of the segments in the spring of 2020 while shooting Series 2600.

Both Series are available on QuiltingDaily.com as digital downloads.

I hope/plan to be back as host when filming resumes.

Sourwood

Another botanical piece based on one of my photos. This shows sourwood tree leaves in the fall, when they turn brilliant red. We have several in our yard, and they are show stoppers. White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, ink, cotton backing fabric, cotton batting, cotton thread. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted.

I finished quilting it last night, so it only has to be faced now. I quilted around all the leaves and fruit with black thread, which is somewhat different for me, but I think it gives the piece a lot of crispness, and a somewhat graphic look. The background is quilted in a single color: chartreuse.

cotton thread. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted.

Persimmon

“Persimmon” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp. 21"x16.5”

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton thread, cotton batting, interfacing, cotton backing fabric. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted.