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Friday, November 5, 2010

Felted ball bracelet

I just finished making this cute bracelet, using a kit by Handbehg Felts I purchased at International Quilt Market last week. You can buy a kit just like it on their Etsy shop here. It retails for $39. Kinda pricey, but it includes all the beads, findings and the 50 wool felted balls, which are pretty expensive on their own.

The kits come in four finishes (silver, gold, antique copper, or gun metal). If you want a bracelet with a specific color of felt balls, you can buy the findings separately from the felt balls. 

It was pretty easy to put together, but you do need to know some basic jewelry skills, such as how to open and close a jump ring, and how to roll the wire at the ends of the beads. And you need small jewelry pliers. The bracelet is surprisingly light to wear, but makes a big fashion statement!

International Quilt Festival, Part 2

“New York Jazz” by Patricia Mayer & Karen Watts won first place in the Traditional Pieced category


Here are more beauties from the 2010 International Quilt Festival in Houston!


“Dancing Granny” by Neva Waldt
http://www.artdollsbyneva.com/
“Time for a Nap” by Pearl Gonzalez
“Metropolis in Bloom” by Kathryn Botsford
“Are They Real?” by Jan Campbell
From the ArtBra exhibition
http://www.artbra.org/
“The Bayeax — Tapestry to Quilt — Sample” by Pam Holland
http://web.mac.com/pamholland3/Pam_Holland_Designs/About_Me_1.html
“The Bayeax — Tapestry to Quilt — Sample” (detail) by Pam Holland

Here is info from Pam about this piece, as listed on the card next to it: "The Bayeux Tapestry has been my passion for the past 5 years. I am in the process of creating the entire tapestry as a quilt. It is 238 feet long. This piece is my sample to work out the technicalities of making a quilt from a tapestry. I have illustrated with pigment ink to create dimension in the quilt. Techniques: Satin stitch appliqué, free motion quilting. Materials: Cotton fabric, batting, backing. Design source: Illustrations by Pam Holland from the Bayeux Tapestry, 1066."
“Dream Story” byYoshimi Umemoto
“Last Chance, Last Dance” by Moira Cannata won third place in the Traditional Pieced category
“Last Chance, Last Dance” (detail) by Moira Cannata
“Orphan Blossoms” by Timna Tarr
http://www.qtailoredquilts.com
“Facade” byMelissa Sobotka won a Judges’s Choice award
http://msfiberart.com/
“Tiny Dancer” by Margo Fiddes
http://www.margoquilts.com/
“Heron Happiness” by Kathy McNeil
http://www.kathymcneilquilts.com/

Turn-a-Tie Flowers


As they say on Monty Python, “And now, for something completely different…”

I’ve been posting like mad about Quilt Market and International Quilt Festival (and there is lots more to come) but I thought I’d take a break for a moment, because this is my 500th post! Wow. 

This is Amy Barickman’s new design for Indygo Junction. It is called Turn-a-Tie Flowers, and I bought it at Market because I have about a million old men’s ties in my attic right now. My mom had been collecting them, and had gotten the collections from my dad, and a bunch of his friends after they retired. 

You can use either old ties or regular fabric. I made the one pictured above last night, and the directions are very clear and easy to follow. They were fast and fun to make. 

I’m going to make some flower brooches to give as gifts, and some for embellishing wearables, and some for pretty pins for holiday gifts. And don’t you think this would be darling to do for men’s boutonierres at a wedding, instead of traditional flower ones? 

If you don’t have a huge bag of old ties in your attic like I do, they are very easy (and cheap!) to find at thrift stores. 

GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment on this post before noon EST on Saturday, November 13. Tell me if you have old ties hanging around your house. If so, what you were planning to do with them? Or maybe you have already made a cool project with them; if that’s the case, tell me about it!

There’s still a bit more Quilt Market loot to give away in my next few posts, so please come back for a chance to win! 

WE HAVE A WINNER: Melinda wins the Turn-a-Tie pattern!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

2010 International Quilt Festival, Part 1

“Ruffled Feathers” by Roxanne Nelson
Viewing the quilts at International Quilt Festival is always a terribly humbling experience. The range of styles, techniques and materials is incredible. The quality of the work is astounding. It truly is an honor just to be accepted into this show. I took these photos of some of my favorites while attending International Quilt Market, since all of the displays are up. It is a great chance to take photos when not very many people are huddled around them, like they are during Festival. (Most of the people who go to Market are either manning their booths, or working their way through and purchasing goods for their shops, and don’t have time to look at all the quilts; such a pity!) While those in this post are all art quilts, I did take photos of pieced traditional quilts and appliqué quilts, too, and will be sharing more photos with you in the next few days.
“Ruffled Feathers” (detail) by Roxanne Nelson
“Ruffled Feathers” (detail) by Roxanne Nelson
“Peony” by Noriko Endo


“Peony” (detail) by Noriko Endo

Read about Noriko Endo’s new book here: http://www.dragonthreads.com/
“Group of Pansies” by Melinda Bula
 “Group of Pansies” (detail) by Melinda Bula

See more of Melinda’s work here: http://www.melindabula.com/
“The Girls of Tyrone Farm” by Beth Miller
See more of Beth Miller’s work here: http://bethmillerquilts.com/about.html
“Portugal (Minho region) Fokloric Dancers” by Leslie Gabrielse of The Netherlands

“Portugal (Minho region) Fokloric Dancers” (detail) by Leslie Gabrielse of The Netherlands

See more of Leslie’s work on his website: http://www.gabrielse.com/

“The Geisha and the Serving Girl” by Claudia Clark Myers & Marilyn Badger
Won first place in the Art-Painted Surface category

See more work by Claudia Clark Myers at http://www.nightowlquilter.com/
Learn more about Marilyn Badger here: http://www.apqs.com/artists_marilynb.php
“That’s Graphic!” by Diana Sharkey
Won an Honorable Mention in the Art-Abstract, Small category
“Madonna” by Laurie Tigner
Won an honorable mention in the Art-Painted Surface category
Learn more about Laurie Tigner here: http://laurietignerdesigns.com
“Innocence” by Hollis Chatelain
“Innocence” (detail) by Hollis Chatelain
See more of Hollis’ work here: http://www.hollisart.com/
“Square Dance” by Jamie Fingal
Jamie’s website is: http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/
“Stone II” by Jean Wells Keenan
Won second place in the Art-Abstract, Small category
See more of Jean’s work here: http://www.jeanwellsquilts.com/
“Freedom” by Helen Godden
“Freedom” by Helen Godden
See more of Helen’s work here: http://www.helengodden.com
”EIEIO” by Nancy Brown
Won an honorable mention in the Art-Pictoral category
Nancy’s website is: http://www.nancybrownquilts.com/
“Port of Cassis” by Lenore Crawford
Won second place in the Art-Pictoral category
Lenore’s website is: http://www.lenorecrawford.com/
“My Rhino” by Pam Holland
Pam’s website is http://web.mac.com/pamholland3/Pam_Holland_Designs/Welcome.html
“Rare Catch” by Diane Steffen

See more of Diane’s work at http://www.dianesteffenartquilts.com/
Note: At International Quilt Festival, the photo policy allows viewers to take photos and to share them with friends (which I consider all my viewers to be!) as long as they are identified with the name of the quilt artist and noted to have been taken at Festival. To protect the artists, I also reduce the resolution so that these images are only usable on the internet, and could not be printed on products like t-shirts or coffee mugs. Many of the exhibits at Festival do not permit photography, and I never take photos where it is not permitted.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

2010 Fall Quilt Market, Part 6

Marcia Derse with her newest fabric line
Of all the fabric lines I saw at Market, the new one by Marcia Derse called “The Third in Line” for Troy comes the closest to looking like it was hand printed, stamped and painted. If you love surface designed fabric but can’t do this stuff yourself (or don’t want to), this is the line for you! It is spectacular. I wanted a yard of each one!



Marcia had small pieces of her fabric pinned to a backdrop of one of her more neutral fabrics, which made for a striking, yet very simple display. 



And she had yardage of each of them hanging from clips on a rod, inviting attendees to touch, feel and savor the hand and quality of the fabrics.  

Susan Walton of Rubber Stamp Tapestry
Rubber Stamp Tapestry is a company based in Seagrove, North Carolina that was new to me. Susan Walton and her husband Don are potters (the Seagrove area is very famous for ceramics) who started designing “peg stamp sets” — rubber stamps mounted at the end of wooden pegs — in 2002. 



Susan stamped this design using several peg stamps – the leaf, the twig, and the berry – while I watched and talked to her. She uses Speedball inks on a small sponge when she stamps. (Speedball, by the way, is another North Carolina company; it is based in Statesville, just 20 minutes from me!) They sell the inks on their website in 1.5 oz bottles. But other some other brands of ink and acrylic paint – including Liquitex — work well, too. You can see lots of details of their process here.



All their peg stamps have placement lines so you can see exactly which part of the design is up when you are stamping. I thought it was cool the way they had them stored in their booth. They are primarily botanical designs. After stamping, you wait 72 hours, then heat set with an iron. After that, you can use the designs in quilts or other projects that can be laundered. 

A creation by the folks at HandBehg Felts
The Handbehg Felts booth is always abuzz with creativity! They sell nifty wool felt and felted wool balls, and a bunch of kits to help you use them. Their kits include pincushions, necklaces, eyeglass holders, brooches and bracelets. If you want to purchase their products retail, check out their Etsy shop.


That’s my “Magical Mistletoe” — which I made for the 2010 Quilting Arts Gifts issue — hanging in their booth. They said I helped them sell several thousand of the little white felt balls I used as mistletoe berries! Quilting Arts Gifts has 148 pages of great handmade projects you can make for holiday gift-giving, and it is available online or at Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide. Time to get hopping on those gifts if you haven’t started yet!

Ellen Medlock with some of her new designs
I met Ellen Medlock last year at Quilt Market. She designs innovative bag and purse designs, and is back this year with a darling, girly new fabric line with butterflies called “Flight Pattern.” And some new, super cute bags — the ones she is holding in the photo — that are fabric wrapped around metal frames with clasps (they are called “DIY Minaudiere Bag Kits,” and will be available soon).

Pam Goecke Dinndorf of Aardvark Quilts
Aardvark Quilts’ booth caught my eye because it was filled with quilts that used color in such an innovative way. Pamela Goecke Dinndorf’s patterns are bold and modern, and many use large blocks that would be very easy for beginning quilters. Yet they are very sophisticated because of the fabrics she uses. You can see more of her patterns here.


Angie Steveson of Lunchbox Quilts


“About Trout” is one of Angie Steveson’s new patterns for Fall Market. She designs for Lunchbox Quilts and many of her patterns include CDs with embroidery designs.  Angie has a pretty breast cancer awareness pattern called Pink Ribbon Quilt that is available for free on her website; it also comes with embroidery designs.


On Saturday, I posted this photo of me with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims at the launch of Accuquilt’s Go! Baby, a smaller version of their wildly popular die cutting system. It retails for $139, and will be shipping in late November. 

Well, wouldn’t you like to have a pink t-shirt to match Alex and Ricky? I scored one thrown into the crowd by Ricky, and you can have a chance to win it — and the tote bag shown below.



GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment on this post before noon EST on Friday, November 12. Tell me if you have an Accuquilt cutter, and what you think of it, OR if you think you might like one, and why. I'll pull one name at random and send that person the t-shirt and the tote bag. (Note: the t-shirt is size large.)

There’s still a bit more Quilt Market loot to give away in my next few posts, so please come back for a chance to win! 

WE HAVE A WINNER! Carol Hansen won this give-away. Thanks!