Happy Winter Solstice!

Happy Winter Solstice! I've been busy drawing mittens. These are done in black ink and then colored with watercolors. I knit, and I’ve made some Aran mittens (a long time ago when I lived in Scotland), but never patterns like these Norwegian mittens.

Infinite Voices

"Infinite Voices" (21"x21") Copyright 2016 by Susan Brubaker Knapp.
Cotton fabric, cotton thread, cotton batting, polyester interfacing.
Raw-edge appliqué, free-motion machine quilted.

I've been playing with circles lately. The piece above is called “Infinite Voices,” and is inspired by this quote by Malala Yousafzai: “We must tell girls their voices are important.” I envisioned the circles as individuals, and the circular stitching as female voices, all shouting out to be heard. Many beautiful voices, all different.

Here is a detail shot showing the stitching:

This photo shows the piece in progress, shooting down from above my sewing machine:

I also made this three-dimensional piece, using acrylic felt as a base, then melting away some of the stitched circles.

Quilting Arts TV Series 1900 is coming in January!

Quilting Arts TV Series 1900 will start airing on Public TV stations across the country in January 2017. The DVD of all the shows in this Series is now available here for pre-order (it will ship Jan. 15, 2017).  Guests include Leni Levenson Wiener, Joann Sharpe, Ana Buzzalino, Susan Lenz, Mary Lou Donahue-Weidman, Heidi Lund, Wendy Butler Berns, Ann Loveless, Jane Davila, Kristine Lundblad, Teresa Shippy, Grace Errea, Melissa Averinos and Ellen Lindner.

I just realized that I haven’t posted photos from the QATV Series 1900 shoot in September. I’ll do that soon. In the meantime, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and Happy Kwanzaa!

I'll be on the cover of Quilting Arts!

I just learned that my work “Crystalline” will be featured on the cover of the December 2016/January 2017 issue of Quilting Arts magazine! I’m so honored. The issue features quilts (including mine) from the Dinner at Eight Artists exhibition, “Pattern,” which will debut at International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston later this month. Jamie Fingal and Leslie Tucker Jenison curated the exhibition. The issue should hit newsstands and subscribers’ mailboxes in about a month.

Vote! (for the next Quilting Arts cover)

I’m honored that my snowflake piece, “Crystalline,” is being considered for the December/January cover of Quilting Arts. But I love Sarah Ann Smith's Queen Anne’s Lace piece (cover 2), and voted for it! Cast your vote here: https://www.facebook.com/QuiltingDaily/posts/1116754995039676?pnref=story

Teaching at MISA

What a wonderful week I had at Madeline Island School of the Arts! MISA is one of the top art and craft schools in the country, and if you take a class there, you’ll find out why. A spectacular location. Tasty food, spacious classrooms, lovely housing, accommodating staff.

This building houses the dining room downstairs and a classroom upstairs.

 

This large building has two spacious classrooms.

The students in my five-day “Paint and Stitch” class did some outstanding work based on their own photos:
 

You take the ferry from Bayfield to Madeline Island.

The state park on Madeline Island has gorgeous walking trails with amazing views of Lake Superior. 

LaPointe, the smalll town on the island, is funky and arty, with restaurants, pubs and shops featuring local art and craft.
 

One of the highlights of the week was a cruise out to see the Apostle Islands. It was set up for a photography class offered the same week, and we were lucky enough to go along. I get seasick easily, but I was so glad I had gone. What views!

“Art Quilt Collage” review and giveaway

My friend, artist Deborah Bochert has a great new book out called Art Quilt Collage: A Creative Journey in Fabric, Paint and Stitch, and to celebrate, she’s hosting a book release blog hop with video chats! There’s a chance to win the book at each blog hop stop.

Deborah’s book focuses on her interesting collage technique, combining fabric elements with surface design and stitch (both hand work and machine stitching). If you are looking for good basic information about art quilt design, this book has it. It has tons of photos with specific examples, practical advice, and exercises to help you get started or take your work in another direction. It’s a fun read and a valuable resource. I especially enjoyed the section on finding and working with your personal symbols. (One of Deborah’s is the ladder.)

You can get a copy through C&T Publishing here:
http://www.ctpub.com/art-quilt-collage/

Through Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Quilt-Collage-Creative-Journey/dp/161745284X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473552342&sr=8-1&keywords=deborah+boschert

and Deborah has signed copies in her Etsy shop (buy one of the first 50 copies and you’ll get a bonus of original surface designed fabric she made!)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/474377211/pre-order-autographed-copy-of-my-book?ref=shop_home_feat_2

Here’s my video chat with Deborah:

Here’s a chance to win a copy of the book. Leave a comment after this post before noon EST September 30. Tell me if you have a personal symbol. If so, what is it? And if you don't have one (yet), what would it be? One of mine is the moon… constant and comforting, yet changeable; mysterious, and sometimes spooky; far away and unreachable, yet ever present in the night sky.

I’ll pick a comment at random. Make sure you include a way for me to reach you in case you win.

If you live in the USA, you’ll get a paper copy of the book. International winners will receive a e-book version.

Don’t forget to check out the other blog stops for more chances to win!

Art Quilt Collage: A Creative Journey in Fabric, Paint and Stitch
Book Release Blog Hop with Video Chats!

September 20: Teri Lucas, Generation Q Magazine
http://generationqmagazine.com

September 21: Susan Brubaker Knapp
http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com

September 22: Sue Bleiweiss
http://suebleiweiss.com/blog/blog.html

September 23: Lyric Kinard
http://lyrickinard.com/lyric-kinard-blog/

September 26: Lori Kennedy
http://theinboxjaunt.com

September 27: Maria Shell
https://talesofastitcher.com

September 28: Jane LaFazio
http://janeville.blogspot.com

September 29: Judy Coates Perez
http://www.judycoatesperez.com

September 30: Melanie Testa
http://melanietesta.com/blog/


UPDATE: We have a winner! Shilsenbeck has won the book. Thanks, everyone!

“Ione”

A week ago, I was in Cleveland, shooting my sixth series of “Quilting Arts TV” – Series 1900. (I’ll post photos from the shoot later this week!) One of our guests was Teresa Shippy, who is well known for her Cool Classic Rides series, featuring wonderful old cars, buses and campers. They are absolutely fabulous. She demonstrated how she makes these art quilts in a segment, and I came home dying to try it.

Me, with Teresa Shippy, and some of her groovy VW vans!

I’ve been wanting to make a piece for my Dad, based on an old photo he took of his car, Ione (named this because it was the first car he owned: I OWN!)

My dad has dementia/Alzheimer’s, and his memories of things far in the past are much better than those of what he had for breakfast. He loves looking at old photos, and for his eightieth birthday, I made him an album filled with photos from his life, from birth to the present.

My Dad, in 1956, with an earlier family car.

For this piece, I used Teresa’s techniques, working on a piece of painted canvas, and collaging the pieces for the car from cotton fabrics, canvas, and some specialty fabric (the tires are a fake leather). I’m really thrilled with how it turned out. Thanks, Teresa! I’m excited to share Teresa’s techniques with our QATV viewers. Series 1900 will air this winter. 

I hope Dad likes this piece, and it brings back good memories.

Little birdies

Here’s my latest needleturn applique project, some sweet little songbirds. The background newsprint fabric is by Tim Holtz, and I think it sets the birds off really nicely; it’s a neutral, but with enough interest that it’s not boring. I’m creating simple patterns from photos. These are very small 4" blocks, so I can’t add too much detail or it gets too intricate to stitch.

I’m not sure what project I’ll make with these. I’d love to do enough for a small art quilt, maybe about 24x36". I’m using some funky textured sequins, trimmed to size, for the pupils of the eyes. Have you seen all the amazing sequins that are available these days? Check them out on Cartwright’s Sequins.

I’m getting some requests for a pattern for this, but I’m hesitant. I haven’t done patterns in ages! Would you be interested in a pattern for these little birdies?

“Fly”

I’m getting my ducks all in a row this week to shoot Series 1900 of “Quilting Arts TV.” Unfortunately, one of our guests had to cancel due to medical issues. (But she’s being rescheduled for Series 2000.) That meant filling her spots in the lineup. So I’ve been hopping here!

Here’s another piece that will be featured in an episode. It’s based on this sketch of a feather:

And here’s a detail shot so you can see the stitching better:

I’ll explain how I transferred the basic outline of the feather and spine, and then free-motion stitched the feather onto a piece of hand-dyed fabric.

Want to see all the behind-the-scenes photos from the set of “Quilting Arts TV”? I’ll be posting some each day. Follow me on Facebook here (Susan Brubaker Knapp, fiber artist): https://www.facebook.com/SusanBrubakerKnappFiberArtist/

… or on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/susanbrubakerknapp/