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Wednesday, June 27, 2018

“Drawn to the Light”

“Drawn to the Light”
Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2018
30" x 50"
This is my latest work, “Drawn to the Light,” which was recently juried in to the Best of Dinner@8 Artists’ exhibition. It will debut at International Quilt Festival in the fall. This is a whole cloth painted quilt (which means it was painted on white fabric) and then free-motion machine quilted. 

It features 13 moth species:

Row one, from top left:
Rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) – pink and yellow; upper left
Comet moth (Argema mittrei) or Madagascan moon moth – yellow with brown spots; upper middle
Emperor moth (Saturnia pavonia) – orange and pink; upper right

Row two, from left:
Atlas two column (Attacus atlas) – orange and yellow with white spots; left
Luna moth (Actias luna) – green; middle
Garden tiger moth (Arctia caja) – orange, brown and white; right

Row three, from left:
Blue tiger moth (Dysphania percota) - blue with some yellow; left
Spanish moon moth (Graellsia isabellae)– green with chocolate brown and black; right

Row four, from left:
Oleander hawk moth (Daphnis nerii– green camouflage pattern; left
Giant leopard moth  (Hypercompe scribonia)– black, white and light blue; right

Row five:
Spiny oakworm moth (Anisota stigma) – rusty orange and yellow; left
Green carpet moth (Colostygia pectinataria) – greens; middle
Io moth (Automeris io) – yellow and orange with black spots; right

Here are a few photos of the piece in progress. I drew the moths from specimen photos, then scanned my line drawings and digitally positioned them within the 30x50" space. I printed out the design full size, and stretched fine cotton fabric on top, and painted the moths. For detailed information about my process, see my blog post “FAQs: Wholecloth Painting” here: https://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/2014/01/faqs-wholecloth-painting.html





This is the first piece I free-motion machine quilted on my new BERNINA 770 QE machine. The extra space (10 inches to the right of the needle!) and the bobbin, which holds 70% more thread  than a normal bobbin, really come in handy on a large piece like this. 



The background is densely quilted in a pattern to suggest cross-hatching. I chose it because it looks a bit like screen, and I am used to seeing moths on my screen doors in the summer. 







A catalog of the exhibition will be available later this summer. I’ve already seen a number of the pieces that were juried in on social media, and it’s going to be a fabulous show!

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Florabunda Blog Hop

“Ups and Downs” by Susan Brubaker Knapp
40" square
Hello! I’m today’s stop on the Florabunda! Blog Hop to celebrate Melanie Testa’s new fabric line for RJR Fabrics. If you are just joining the hop, make sure to go back and check out the other posts (see the list of participating hoppers below) so you won’t miss anything. 




My first impression of Florabunda was that it looks hand printed and hand crafted, and I absolutely adore that look. You don’t see fabrics with that kind of vibe come around very often, at least not in quilt shops and fabric stores. These fabrics are rich in detail, and the colors are saturated and vibrant. This is a fabric collection happy and full of life. It makes for a very joyful baby quilt!

Because of their large scale and high level of detail, these fabrics really shine when you can use them in big, uncut pieces. So I designed my baby quilt to use mostly larger strips of fabric. For the same reason, I think all the Florabunda fabrics would make really wonderful quilt backings. And what about a big tablecloth or pillow made in one of the Blowsy Rose fabrics, with their big, loose roses?

My quilt is 40" square, a great size for a baby. It’s called “Ups and Downs.” I used three of Melanie’s Florabunda! fabrics in the “Bengal Rose” color way (pinky-purple):


3344-001 Tendrils-Bengal Rose
3342-001 Blowsy Rose-Bengal Rose
3345-001 Ivy-Bengal Rose

To complement Melanie’s Florabunda fabrics and give them a little breathing room in my baby quilt, I chose polka dot fabrics with white backgrounds from the “Darling Dots” line by Flaurie & Finch for RJR Fabrics. I also used other purple dot fabrics from the same line.

My cat Wicked is always trying to slow me down when I quilt! I had to stop here to avoid sewing over her tail. 


But it’s hard to stay mad at her when she looks this beautiful; the color of these Florabunda! fabrics really complement her green eyes, don’t you think?



About the hop:

RJR will be highlighting some of the blog hop participants and will host a 5-day-long giveaway through Instagram. (Follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rjrfabrics/). 

Quilty Box , a company that sells and ships specially selected fabrics, tools and other exciting products for quilters by subscription, will also have special offers for those who follow Florabunda! Blog Hoppers on Instagram (don’t forget @RJRFabrics, @QuiltyBox and @MellyTesta) to increase your chances for winning the give-aways).

There are 12 quilt makers and artists participating, and all of us have made quilts and usable items showcasing Florabunda! Join us each day through June 16. 

June 7: Tiffany Hayes 
@needleinahaystackdesigns

June 8: Deborah Boschert
@deborahboschert

June 9: Sara Mika
@mockpiestudio

June 10: Lyric Kinard
@lyrickinard

June 11: Kathy York
@kakiyork

June 11: Teri Lucas
Facebook: @terificreations 
Instagram: @terilucas

June 12: Susan Brubaker Knapp
Facebook: @susanbrubakerknappfiberartist
Instagram:@susanbrubakerknapp

June 12: Leslie Tucker Jenison
Facebook: @lesliejenison 
Intagram: @leslietuckerjenison

June 13: Tiffany Hayes 
@needleinahaystackdesigns

June 13: Jamie Fingal
@jamiefingal

June 14: Debby Brown
@debbybrownquilts

June 14: Heidi Kelly
@hkellydesigns

June 15: David Gillieland
@vectorquilts

June 15: Melanie Testa
Facebook: @MelanieTestaArtist
@mellytesta

June 16: Melanie Testa
Facebook: @MelanieTestaArtist
@mellytesta

Thursday, June 7, 2018

It's a Blog Hop!


Let’s start hopping! I'll be participating in a Blog Hop to celebrate Melanie Testa’s new fabric line for RJR Fabrics, Florabunda!, that starts today. RJR will be highlighting some of the blog hop participants and will host a 5-day-long giveaway through Instagram. (Follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rjrfabrics/). 

Quilty Box , a company that sells and ships specially selected fabrics, tools and other exciting products for quilters by subscription, will also have special offers for those who follow Florabunda! Blog Hoppers on Instagram (don’t forget @RJRFabrics, @QuiltyBox and @MellyTesta) to increase your chances for winning the give-aways).

There are 12 quilt makers and artists participating, and all of us have made quilts and usable items showcasing Florabunda! Join us each day, today through June 16. The hop starts with Tiffany Hayes, who is featuring a lovely quilt called “Blue Without You” made with lots of blue fabrics from Melanie’s line. 


June 7: Tiffany Hayes 
@needleinahaystackdesigns

June 8: Deborah Boschert
@deborahboschert

June 9: Sara Mika
@mockpiestudio

June 10: Lyric Kinard
@lyrickinard

June 11: Kathy York
@kakiyork

June 11: Teri Lucas
Facebook: @terificreations 
Instagram: @terilucas

June 12: Susan Brubaker Knapp
Facebook: @susanbrubakerknappfiberartist
Instagram:@susanbrubakerknapp

June 12: Leslie Tucker Jenison
Facebook: @lesliejenison 
Intagram: @leslietuckerjenison

June 13: Tiffany Hayes 
@needleinahaystackdesigns

June 13: Jamie Fingal
@jamiefingal

June 14: Debby Brown
@debbybrownquilts

June 14: Heidi Kelly
@hkellydesigns

June 15: David Gillieland
@vectorquilts

June 15: Melanie Testa
Facebook: @MelanieTestaArtist
@mellytesta

June 16: Melanie Testa
Facebook: @MelanieTestaArtist
@mellytesta