Please note: the photos in this post are a bit fuzzy because of the program I used to upload my blog post from my iPad. You can click on each photo for a clearer view. 
On Tuesday, I left home, and today, Thursday morning, I am waking up in South Africa. That should give you some idea of how long my flight was (about 18 hours from Washington, D.C.). In the Johannesburg airport, we were greeted by this amazing beaded elephant:





Then escorted by the organizers of International Quilt Convention - Africa to the Emperor's Palace, a huge resort complex and casino. Here are some photos of the area that contains many restaurants and the casino:











Yes, believe it or not, there is a Hooters here.





It was decorated with snow and ice because it is winter here in the Southern Hemisphere. The temperatures are expected to range from the high 30s to the low 70s (F), which I am loving after the very high temps in North Carolina lately.














This shot, taken from my room, shows just how close we are to the airport. But I slept great; didn't hear a thing!


Today we are recovering from jet lag and setting up for classes and the start of IQC - Africa tomorrow.

Location:Into Africa: Day 1

A great opportunity on TheQuiltShow.com

Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims have something really exciting cooking on The Quilt Show! Today, quilt teacher Laura Nownes is releasing a six-part Contemporary Quilt Sampler class at TheQuiltShow.com, a fully-produced online television show. 

Laura Nownes

If you are a beginning quilter, Laura’s attention to detail will ensure that you have a good foundation, which will lead you to be more successful as you progress. In the series, she walks you through the process of creating your own contemporary sampler quilt. Learn the basics or brush up on your skills.

And if you are not a beginning quilter, I hope you’ll share this opportunity with someone who is… a daughter, granddaughter or friend! Let’s bring a new generation of quilters into the fold.

Here's the best part: Laura’s classes are free to anyone. So come play along! Just click here. Register for free, and go directly to Laura’s class.

As an added bonus, you can see my show, which originally aired in July 2011, for free! Just click here. I had a blast taping my show; to see more photos and find out more, check out this post. 

One of the projects I did on TheQuiltShow.com

Me (center) with Alex and Ricky

Workshop with the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston

I had a great day with quilters from the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston today. They made some beautiful dragonflies.


The workshop was held in a lovely contemporary church, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. The spectacular windows are the work of Steve Wilson.





Our workshop space looked out into a lush garden.

Stitching up a flurry with the Lakeview Quilters

It was hot outside, but there was a definite chill in the air today at Pinwheels and Posies quilt shop in Dickinson, Texas. Members of the Lakeview Quilters did a fabulous job on their snowflakes in my workshop.























Such a great group. Thanks, y'all!

Circle study for The Sketchbook Challenge

I’m one of the host artists for The Sketchbook Challenge this year. One of my primary goals for working in a sketchbook is to get what I draw out of my sketchbook and onto my medium of choice: fabric. For me, a sketchbook is a way to collect and try out ideas, but it is not the finished art. I usually work very realistically, but I decided to try just doodling some circles in my sketchbook, using a black ink pen. Here is one of the results I liked:

  

I photocopied my doodle, and taped it under a piece of Pimatex PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric. I can see my lines through this fabric, so it’s easy to paint the circles. I used PROfab Transparent Textile Paints and PRObrite Pearlescent Paints from Pro Chemical & Dye. After heat-setting the painted circles, I mixed up a little bit of Liquitex Acrylic Ink with water (to dilute it and tone it down) and painted the background.

After it was dry, it was time to stitch! What motif? Circles, of course! Lots and lots of circles. Here it is after my free-motion machine quilting. I’m thinking about adding some hand stitching. Maybe some little Xs in hand-dyed thread, kind of like my original sketch.

It rather reminds me of algae, or frog spawn.

There is more information about how I created this piece on The Sketchbook Challenge blog. 

Give-Away: Win Jane Sassaman’s new book, and some fabric!

Hey, want to win this book? It is Jane Sassaman’s brand new book, Patchwork Sassaman Style: Recipes for Dazzling Quilts! (Dragon Threads, $29.95)

And this? The top cut is 1/3 yard and bottom cut is 24" square. These are a special give-away from the private stash of Dragon Threads publisher Linda Teufel. 

In this post, we giving away a copy of the book and the fabric! Keep reading for details.

I remember the first time I heard Jane Sassaman’s name. It was 1997, and her quilt “Willow” was featured on the cover of the March issue of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine. I remember staring at the photo, mesmerized, in awe. Isn’t this an incredible quilt? It was later named one of the best 100 American Quilts of the Century.

“Willow” 75"x75" by Jane Sassaman, 1996

Jane’s fabric designs and art quilts feature graphic garden motifs. You can see her sources of inspiration – 19th century Arts & Crafts designer William Morris, Finnish design company Merimekko, Kaffe Fassett – but they are undeniably Jane. There is just a hint of danger: Dandelions with razor-sharp serrated leaves. Flowers that hint at the man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Ferns with fiddleheads that bring to mind tentacles. Beauty and the Beast. Jane’s work glorifies everyday beauty found in the garden, but it is mixed with a little darkness, too. It kind of makes me tingle to look at it.

Jane introducing her fabric line “Feather Your Nest” at Fall Quilt Market 2011

Her fabrics, manufactured by FreeSpirit, are brightly colored, with large-scale motifs, so they are easy to love, but difficult to cut into – and it’s sometimes hard for people to know what to make with them. Her new book is an answer. It includes simple recipes for using “big, bold and beautiful fabrics” inspired by simple traditional quilt patterns.

The instructions show you ways to cut up the fabrics for different effects. Jane points out that it is faster and easier to make large quilts using these kinds of fabrics because “the complexity is in the fabric and how you use it, not in the construction.” Many of the quilts in this book are stunningly simple to piece, but they pack a huge design wallop.

Her recipes would work equally well for other large-scale prints, and not just Jane’s own. 

But why tell you in words when I can show you in photos? Here are some of the quilt examples in the book. Try not to drool.

“Radiating Diamonds”

“Trading Blanket”

“Circus Bars”

“Checkerboard Plaid”

And now, for the give-away!

This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only; sorry. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of Jane’s book, plus the fabrics. I’ll pull one name at random on Friday, July 13 at 7 a.m. EST. Please note that it might take a bit for your comment to appear; I have to moderate/approve comments because I’ve been targeted by Japanese porn spammers! Yes, really. We have a winner! Jean O. has won the book and the fabric. Thanks!

For more chances to win, remember to visit the blogs giving away books on the dates below:

July 2: artfabrik.blogspot.com
July 3: remnantsfiberculture.blogspot.com
July 5: judyperez.blogspot.com
July 6: sassaman.blogspot.com
July 7: Dragonthreadsopenbook.blogspot.com
July 8: gloriahansen.com/weblog
July 9: 100billionstars.com/blog
July 10: wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com
July 11: tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com
July 12: www.craftnectar.com
July 13: sewcalgal.blogspot.com

July 14: twinfibers.blogspot.com 

July 15: www.delrayfabrics.com/blog
July 16: http://www.friestyle.blogspot.com
July 17: patsloan.typepad.com
July 18: jankrentz.com/weblog
July 19: makeitsimpler.blogspot.com
July 20: http://lyrickinard.com/blog/
July 21: www.thequiltshow.com/os/blog.php

July 22: janeville.blogspot.com
July 23: freespiritfabric.blogspot.com

July 24: nancyzieman.com/blog

“Rituals” book available on Blurb

Book cover art (Left to Right) by - Susie Monday, Susan Fletcher King,
Judy Coates Perez, Desiree Habicht, Yvonne Porcella,
Gerrie Congdon, Gayle Simpson

The catalog book for the “Rituals” exhibition by Dinner at Eight Artists is now available through Blurb. It was designed by Loris Bogue, and you can see inside and order it on the Blurb website. This is the first chance I’ve had to see all of the artists’ work, and I have to say that I feel even more honored to have been included than I did before. This is fabulous work.   

My piece, “I See the Moon,” is one of 42 art quilts in the exhibition, which will debut in a few weeks at International Quilt Festival – Long Beach, July 26-29, 2012. It is sponsored by Moore’s Sewing Centers. (Thanks, Moore’s!)

  

RITUALS
An exchange between friends.
A handshake. A kiss before bedtime.
The artist at work. A sun salutation.
The wave before boarding the school bus.
A song, a word, a meditation.
A habit, a custom.
The traditional toast at a gathering.
A rite of passage.
The sacred moments of the ordinary.
Rituals:  What are yours?

"The Sketchbook Challenge" Book Blog Hop giveaway

 

I was thrilled to be asked to participate in Sue Bleiweiss’ new book, The Sketchbook Challenge: Techniques, Prompts and Inspiration for Achieving Your Creative Goals. She’s asked the artists featured in the book (including me!) to help celebrate by giving away stuff from generous sponsors in a Book Blog Hop. More on that later in this post. First, I want to tell you about this great book. 

You may know that I am one of the artist hosts for the 2012 Sketchbook Challenge. (If you don't, run on over to The Sketchbook Challenge blog and join the fun!) I joined up to participate in January 2011, when the whole phenomenon began. Later that year, Sue contacted me and asked if I'd like to be included in her book by the same name.

The Sketchbook Challenge (Potter Craft, $21.99 U.S.; also available as an e-book) is more than a book filled with pretty art work. It is truly inspirational. And it contains solid information about materials and techniques, too. I love the format and the size (7.5" x 9"). There are themes to help motivate you to start – or keep – a sketchbook, tutorials for mixed-media techniques, strategies to take your sketch off the page and into a piece of art, and in-depth profiles of artists who have used The Sketchbook Challenge as a launch pad for their own artwork. This is a great book to curl up with and read cover to cover, or to take with you and read small sections as you have time.

Here’s my sketch, done in February 2011, of my bedroom window, with the bare winter trees outside:

And here is the artwork I created based on that sketch:

It is a small art quilt. You can see that I toned down the colors somewhat to make them more somber and wintery. I love how the stitching makes the glass look wavy. My house was built in 1916, and it has several wonderful windows like this.

 

And now, about the give-away!

In honor of the release of the boo, I am giving away a generous prize from Mistyfuse: A 10-yard combination package of Mistyfuse that includes 6 yards of White and 2 yards each of Black and Ultraviolet and a Goddess Sheet. Total retail value: $48! Wow, thanks, Mistyfuse!

Leave a comment after this post for a chance to win! I will pick a random winner on Monday, July 9 at 7 a.m. EST. Please note that it may take a while for your comment to appear. I have to moderate/approve all the comments, because I got hit with Japanese porn spammers when I wasn’t doing this! 

We have a winner: RoseOfSharonStudio won the Mistyfuse. Thanks, everyone!

The Sketchbook Challenge Book blog hop is sponsored by:
Mistyfuse
My Creative Classroom
ArtPlantae Today
Gelli Arts
Joggles
Sue Pelland Designs
ProChemical and Dye
The Thread Studio
Blue Twig Studio
ArtistCellar

There are still for more chance to win goodies; make sure you check out the blogs listed below on the dates listed:

July 6: 

Diana Trout –  dianatrout.typepad.com

July 9:
Tracie Lyn Huskamp –  www.thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com/
Judi Hurwitt –  www.approachable-art.blogspot.com

July 10:
Jane LaFazio –  http://janeville.blogspot.com/
Kelli Nina Perkins –  http://ephemeralalchemy.blogspot.com/

Want the book? It is available for purchase through:

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble.com

ArtPlantae