Lavender Chook

Lavender Chook 
8.25" x 8.25" (2021)
White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton thread,
interfacing, cotton batting, cotton backing.
Wholecloth painted, free-motion quilted. 

I taught two classes a few weeks ago at Bernina World of Sewing in Raleigh. These were the first (and only) classes I've taught since February 2019, because of COVID! It’s only about a half hour drive from me, and we had postponed the class twice as conditions got worse, better and then worse again because of the Delta variant. They have a new spacious classroom, and everyone was masked up. It's a terrific space, and I’m hoping to teach there again, as conditions improve. 

Anyway… one of the classes was Wholecloth Painting, and while digging through my teaching materials to get ready for the class, I found a half-painted rooster piece that just crowed out to be finished. So I got busy the week after that and finished him up. 

I've done several similar pieces based on a photo of a rooster that I took in Rotarua, New Zealand, when I was there teaching a few years ago. In New Zealand, roosters are often called “chooks,” so I'm calling this one “Lavender Chook.”

For sale: $150

Interested in purchasing one of my art quilts? All pieces for sale are listed on my website at http://www.bluemoonriver.com/fiber-art.html  Just e-mail me to let me know you are interested, or to get additional photos or information, and to arrange payment and shipping. 

Visit me on the OCAG Studio Tour

My studio will be open to the public during the Orange County Artists Guild Studio Tour the first two weekends in November. If you live in the area, please stop by. I'd love to meet you and show you my work. This is a sales event (what a great time to purchase Christmas gifts!) but it's also a chance to see artists in their most personal spaces – their studios. 

Painters, sculptors, mixed media artists, ceramicists, weavers, glass makers, and … even a few fiber artists!

It’s a HUGE tour. There are more than 100 artists participating at 82 locations throughout Orange County – in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. 

Here’s how it works:

First, download the brochure here (at the Orange County Artists Guild website, ocagnc.org) and figure out which studios you want to visit. All the studios are numbered, and there's a handy map. I'm stop 68. 

For a preview of what you can see on the tour, you can visit The Arts Center in Carrboro. It's located at 300 E. Main Street in Carrboro (near concert venue Cat's Cradle). 

The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts will also have a Preview Show Oct. 29 - Nov. 14. It's located at 121 N. Churton Street in Hillsborough. 

Next, grab a friend or two (and a mask, which is required inside all the studios this year), and start your drive. At each location, signs mark a spot. Parking and accessibility varies from location to location, because these are private homes, in most cases. At my house, parking will be on the street, and then there’s a short hike up a steep driveway to the studio entrance that faces the street.  

I'll be selling my work, including small and large pieces, as well as notecards. And when it’s not too busy, I'll be doing demonstrations of how I make my painted and threadsketched work. 

Please come! I’d love to meet you!

 

Let it Be Love

8.75" x 8.75" (Copyright 2021)

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

I've always had a fascination for fingerprints. I changed this one a bit to include a heart at the center. For sale: $150

Interested in purchasing one of my art quilts? All pieces for sale are listed on my website at http://www.bluemoonriver.com/fiber-art.html  Just e-mail me to let me know you are interested, or to get additional photos or information, and to arrange payment and shipping. 

Fern Dance

 

“Fern Dance” 43.5" x  62" (Copyright 2021) White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, cotton threads, cotton batting, cotton backing. Wholecloth painted, stenciled, free-motion quilted.

This is one of the larger art quilts I’ve made recently. It’s part of the botanical series I've been working on for months now. It is stenciled and painted on fabric, then free-motion quilted. I loved playing with transparency in this piece by masking on the painted background, then rubbing away some of the light blue paint to reveal some of the stenciling in the background. 

I will be selling this quilt once I price all of the pieces in my botanical series. Interested in purchasing one of my art quilts? All pieces for sale are listed on my website at http://www.bluemoonriver.com/fiber-art.html

Just e-mail me to let me know you are interested, or to get additional photos or information, and to arrange payment and shipping. 

“Four Eyes”

“Four Eyes”

17 x 17" Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp

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

For sale: $600

Interested in purchasing one of my art quilts? All pieces for sale are listed on my website at http://www.bluemoonriver.com/fiber-art.html  Just e-mail me to let me know you are interested, or to get additional photos or information, and to arrange payment and shipping. 

Beautyberry

“Beautyberry”

20 x 27.5" Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp

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. 

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

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. 

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

“Palmetto”
about 20x15"
Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2021

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. 

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

“Sourwood”
Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2021. 
Approximately  24x17"

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. 

“Pokeweed Berries”

“Pokeweed Berries” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2021. 19.5" x 27.75"

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