It was really fun to meet people (including lots of Facebook friends that stopped by) during the Open Studios at Make it University. I had planned to demo thread-sketching, free-motion machine quilting and painting on fabric, but there were so many people and I got so many questions that I spent most of the time just talking.
Many thanks to Liz Kettle and Melanie Testa for taking photos of me to show here. Here’s Liz demonstrating needle felting in Open Studios:
After my Open Studios gig, I was lucky to win a spot in one of the Make it University sessions taught by Jamie Fingal.
The family sitting in front of me at Make It University was so cute! They were working hard on their project. It was nice to see some young children looking at the stuff in the vendors' booths and at the quilts in the exhibits.
This is the project we made in Jamie’s class. It is a little art gallery in a box. The outside is an Altoids mint box decorated with paper and coated with gel medium. An accordion-folded paper inside can hold photos of your art. A very fun way to spend an hour (and to get off your feet for a bit!)
While shopping, I saw Maggie Winfield, and had to go up and talk with her. She is an absolute sweetheart and pure creativity in human form. Much of her ensemble was created with recycled thrift-shop finds. Hat? Glittered. Shoes? Painted. Glasses? Rhinestone glitzed.
Here’s a closeup so you can see some of the details on Maggie’s hat, glasses, vest and necklace. And the pure joy in her face that comes from just being herself.
Just before I sped off to meet the shuttlebus for the airport, I snapped this shot with Pokey Bolton, editor of Quilting Arts magazine, on the floor of Make It University.
Here are a few more of the hundreds of spectacular quilts at International Quilt Festival:
“The Endless World II” by Noriko Kido is made from thousands of tiny hexagons. It won an Honorable Mention award in the Handmade category.
“White Dew” by Tsuneko Shimura won first place in the Handmade category.
Detail of “White Dew” by Tsuneko Shimura.
Sue Reno’s “Prickly Sow Thistle.”
Detail from Sue Reno’s “Prickly Sow Thistle.”
“Nuance” by Pat Lapierre features 180 different decorative stitches on Japanese fabrics. It won a second place ribbon in the Art-Abstract, Small category.
Detail of “Nuance” by Pat Lapierre.
“Building Up” by Kathy York won first place in the Small Abstract Art Quilt category. Another of her quilts, “Falling through the Cracks,” won third place in the Embellished category.
“Pup Art” by Nancy Brown won third place in the Art-Whimsical category. Nancy does a lot of quilts about pets and wild animals. This one gives a pop art spin to dog portraits.
“Heart’s Desire” by Deborah Kemball won second place in the Traditional Appliqué category.
“Cinnabar and Indigo” by Judy Mathieson won first place in the Innovative Pieced category. Judy is famous for her Mariner’s Compass quilt designs, and has written several books about them.
Detail from “Cinnabar and Indigo.”
“Zodiak” by Martha Brown features the 12 signs of the Zodiak in the circle, the planets in the center, and the four elements around the outside.
Here’s a detail shot of my sign (Scorpio) and a bit of Libra in “Zodiak” by Martha Brown.
“The Calm After the Storm” by Inge Mardal and Steen Hougs won second place in the Art-People, Portraits and Figures category. This team produces exquisite work with photographic detail year after year.
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