Up and Away!

For the past two days, I’ve been painting grass. Lots and lots of grass. It is for a new piece I’m doing for an exhibition called “Meadowood Stitched” by Fiber Art Options at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden that opens October 1.

I used lots of muted shades of green and brown, working from a traced line drawing underneath PFD (Prepared For Dyeing) fabric. I added additional strands of grass to make it a little more full and lush.  

This is the first time I’ve used PROfab Textile Paints in a wholecloth painted piece, and I must say that I am extremely happy with the results. I used the Transparent paints. They were a nice, consistent texture, even the white and black, which can be lumpy in other brands. The containers are very easy to use, and the paint pours nicely from them. The shape makes it easy to get the last little bit of paint out.

I have never used extenders much before, but I played with them a bit this time, and found they did a good job of keeping the paints from drying out as I worked. (And since I painted over several days this weekend, that was important.) If you use a lot of the extender, you get a paler color; I just used a bit. Using a plastic palette with multiple compartments and a snap-on lid helped, too. You can see this palette in the first photo.

When it came time for the background, which I wanted to look like blue sky, I added Paint Thinner to the shade of blue I had mixed. I sponged it over the entire surface, and rubbed it in with my hand and a sponge. This had the effect of muting the grass colors down a bit, which was initially a little scary, but I like the results. When I was done, this is how the 24" x 36" piece looked:

For this exhibition, the pieces have to be either 24" x 36", or 24" square. Initially, I had envisioned the piece in the vertical format. But once I put the butterfly down, I wasn’t liking it so much. (I had already constructed the butterfly; it is three-dimensional, and will be positioned on the piece after I finish and quilt the background.) There was too much “negative space” (the blue sky), and the butterfly seemed to small:

What to do, what to do? I played with the idea of adding some taller strands of grass, or some some other plant stalks. I had taken some photos of the meadow with these kinds of stalks, and thought this might work. I also considered adding a line of trees in the background, but I really wanted the piece to emphasize the flight of the butterfly, and thought these options might be distracting. Right now, I am playing with something like this, in the square format, with part of one wing extending out beyond the edge:

I’m thinking about calling this piece Up and Away! I am going to go back in and paint some of the grass strands in the foreground a bit darker and more saturated color, leaving the strands in the background more muted, as if they were out of focus in the photo. Right now the butterfly is standing out a bit too much, and I think it is because the values are stronger in the butterfly than they are in the grass.

On the Pro Chemical and Dye website, here are today’s prices for the products I mentioned in this post:
PROfab Transparent Textile Paint: $2.35 for 3 oz., $5.50 for 8 oz.
PROfab Transparent Base Extender: $4.95 for 8 oz.
PROfab Paint Thinner: $2.25 for 8 oz.

This is cheaper than the Jacquard Textile Color I’ve been using, and the consistency of the white and black is much better.

Pilot Frixion Erasable Gel Pen

My friend Joyce Mullis told me about FriXion Erasable Gel Pens by Pilot some time ago, but I only recently got some and tried them out. WOW! These pens use a new type of ink technology that is really interesting.

They are called FriXion (pronounced “friction”) because the ink can be erased using friction. On paper, you simply use the end of the pen, which has a gray plastic nub, rather than an eraser, to rub out the ink. The eraser completely and easily removes the ink. Unlike regular erasers, they don’t sand away the surface of the paper when they are removing the ink, so the paper is not damaged at all. And the gel ink is very smooth and leaves a nice clean, dark line.

As if this isn’t wonderful enough, the pens also have the added advantage of having ink that disappears when it is exposed to heat in excess of 140 degrees F. Because they are gel pens, they write very smoothly on fabric, leaving a very dark line. Here’s how the royal blue one looks on white fabric when I signed my name, using normal pressure:

Iron the fabric, and the ink disappears, very quickly, and very completely, like magic!

Now here’s where it gets interesting. When I first heard about these pens, I thought, “Cool! There are all sorts of applications for quilting and fiber art here. I can trace applique shapes with these pens, and after I’ve stitched, I’ll just iron them and the ink will disappear. Or I could mark lines for embroidery!” Well… no. If you put the fabric in the freezer, below 14 degrees F, in a few seconds, the ink is back! So the heat doesn’t actually remove the ink, it just makes it transparent.

So now the wheels in my head are turning again on how I could use these nifty pens on fabric. My first idea is to do my quilt labels with them. You know how you have to cover up your labels when you turn in your quilts for a show, so the judge can’t see your name? Before the show, you could just iron the labels to make them invisible, and when they come home, you could chill them (maybe by sitting that part of the quilt on an ice pack) and the type would be back! 


The only problem would be if you lived in Minnesota and the quilt show was in the winter, and your quilts were transported from the drop-off location to the judging location in a car in frigid weather. Hmmmm.... wheels are still turning. Ideas, anyone?

Right now, FriXion Erasable Gel Pens only come in the colors shown above: purple, blue, orange, pink, red and black. There are also FriXion highlighters in orange, red and yellow.

My second piece for Meadowood Stitched

Okay, I know I'm cutting it close. There are just three weeks until the opening of Meadowood Stitched, the exhibition by the members of Fiber Art Options at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. I have finished one piece, and have just started the second. Well not really, part of it has been done for years. I think I made this butterfly about five years ago. It is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. 

Clarification: The photo above is of a three-dimensional butterfly made from fabric and thread, positioned on impatiens. (I remember sending this photo to my mom, and she thought it was a real butterfly, until I pointed out the scale, and told her, “If you saw a butterfly this big on your impatiens, you’d be running for your life!” But I was really pleased that it looked that realistic to her.)

My idea is to position this three-dimensional butterfly on a painted background, soaring up into a bright blue sky, with grass at the bottom. Something like this grass:

I took this photo at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden’s meadow area that they are calling Meadowood, which will officially open this fall. This afternoon, I started the piece I am planning by tracing this grass:

It is going to be about 24" x 36". I am going to have to “hustle my bustle” to complete this piece by the deadline. But hey, I love deadlines! Stay tuned. 

IQA Silent Auction piece: Green Butterfly

“Green Butterfly” by Susan Brubaker Knapp

I have been working on a piece I will be donating to the International Quilt Association’s 2011 Silent Auction. I was invited to participate in this event because I am teaching at International Quilt Festival (two of my classes have filled up, but there are still a few spots open in “Start With a Photo” on Friday, Nov. 4). It is a nice way to give back to an organization that has done so much for the quilting world. This is a pretty small piece (about 8" x 6"); I don't have the exact dimensions because I have not finished the edges yet. It is going to get a facing. 

If this looks familiar, that’s because it is based on the same photo I used on the piece called Papillon that graces the cover of my book, Point, Click, Quilt! It is  made with fused fabric, heavily thread sketched, then quilted:

 

In Green Butterfly, I painted the image on white fabric, then thread sketched it and quilted it. It is interesting to look at the similarities and differences in these two pieces.

Matthews Alive!

I’m all set up for Matthews Alive!

Matthews Alive, one of the biggest festivals in North Carolina, and one that boasts the biggest Labor Day Parade in the Southeast, is this weekend. I’m the featured artist at the Quilt Show, which contains work by lots of local quilters. The show encompasses beginners and experts, and many types of quilting; I got a preview, and it is just terrific!

Carnival midway, rides, corn dogs and cotton candy, music, arts and crafts – it’s all here. There’s music, too, everything from rock and pop, alternative, beach music, and a Beatles tribute band. The festivities start tomorrow and run through Monday.

One of the coolest things about the festival is reflected in its motto: “Good times funding good works.” The celebration is dedicated to the support of non-profit organizations through music, arts and community involvement.  Nearly 1,000 volunteers – including Megan Shein (who organizes the quilt show) and her husband — put in more than 2,000 hours of volunteer time to run the three-day festival.  One hundred percent of profits go to local non-profits; to date, that is more than $750,000! Everything from marching bands, scout troops, adult day care centers, and charitable groups all benefit. 

Quilt Show organizer Megan Shein with one of her beautiful quilts

The online map shows you where I'll be; in the Community Center, just off the main drag. It is a beautifully restored school building. I’ve been warned to expect a lot of traffic. Last year, the quilt show got more than 2,500 visitors! I wonder how much of it has to do with the fact that we are indoors, and the air conditioning in the Community Center is excellent! I’ll have my books, DVDs and patterns for sale, and will be working on new work and demonstrating the whole time I’m there. Come and see!

They even gave me a VIP all-access pass, which I am wearing around the house this evening so that the kids don’t mess with me. Hey, I’m a VIP!

Come and join me tomorrow. The parade starts at 10!

Project Threads of Hope

Here’s a way to help survivors of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami: Project Threads of Hope. This is the information from an e-mail I recently received from a woman I met when I spoke in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, earlier this year:

Quilts for Japan, a group based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a group of quilters and caring individuals dedicated to bringing hope and comfort to the people of Japan’s Tohoku disaster. Their shipment of more than 1,700 quilts has arrived in Japan and is being distributed by CRASH Japan.
 
According to Jonathan Wilson of CRASH, “With the continued long and difficult days the survivors face with no jobs to go or homes to run, depression and feelings of hopelessness are starting to overwhelm them. Their diminishing sense of well-being is of grave concern.”

To help provide something meaningful for the survivors to do and in an effort to try and uplift their spirits, CRASH is going to have its volunteers teach the survivors how to quilt. To make this happen, CRASH needs our help.

Quilters are asked to donate pre-cut quilting kits (as specified on www.quiltsforjapan.ca) as well as sewing and embroidery supplies required for the survivors to complete quilt, sewing, and embroidery projects the group is making available to them.

Whether or not you have ever quilted, sewed or embroidered, you can choose to donate any of various sewing and embroidery supplies which will serve to bring hope and a sense of purpose to a survivor’s day.
 
Help by spreading word of our efforts to your friends, family members, colleagues, local churches, quilt guilds and friends on Twitter, Facebook (Quilts for Japan Facebook group) other social networking sites.

For more information, please contact:

Bev Rogan
Quilts for Japan
Project Threads of Hope
info@quiltsforjapan.ca

Quilting Arts TV Series 900

With Pokey Bolton on the set of Quilting Arts TV

This week, I was in Cleveland, Ohio, to shoot three segments for Quilting Arts TV. It was SO much fun, and it was great to see some old friends and make some new ones. 

My segments will be in episodes 901, 904 and 907, which will air in late 2011 or early 2012 on many public television stations. This is the third August I’ve headed to Cleveland to shoot segments – the previous ones were featured in 2009-10 (series 500) and 2010-11 (series 700). 

I took lot of photos to share with you, since I know how much I like a behind-the-scenes peek at things. 

Here is Karen, a fabulous makeup artist, touching up Pokey Bolton’s makeup:

Karen does Pokey’s makeup before the shoot

Candy Glendening shows off some of her amazing hand-dyed fabrics in the Green Room (where you get organized, and wait to go on set):

Here’s an up-close look at one of her masterpieces (check out lots more at Candied Fabrics and make sure to read her blog, too):

Helen Gregory (below, left) is managing editor for Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines. Helen helps things run smoothly in the Green Room, manages the production of the Quilting Arts DVDs, and is also a calming, positive presence when the artists start to freak out from the stress. She’s great at talking guests down off the ledge. Thanks, Helen!

When you walk onto the set, you are in a big, cavernous room, with the set at one end. Cameras and lights take up most of the space in front:

This is what it looks like when you are sitting at the table about to start shooting. Very bright lights, three or four cameras, and kind of intimidating:

I’ve admired Debra Gabel’s graphic style for years. Now we are both C&T authors; her new book is Quilt Blocks Across America; a world version is coming along later this year. Don’t we look great together in our jewel-tone blouses?

Pokey and I snuggle up with the Bernina 550 QE on set. Bernina is a sponsor of the show, which makes me very happy, since I use a Bernina at home, and love it!

This is a shot I took of the TV in the Green Room, showing Judy Coates Perez and Pokey shooting a segment demonstrating ways to use RIT products. Judy has developed some techniques for using these products in very interesting ways, and you will not believe the amazing results she gets. I was glued to the screen.

This is Jo Leichte, Bernina USA’s Education Department Editor. Jo made sure I had the right machine, the right needle, and was all set up to stitch with ease while on set. Jo and I were excited to get a sneak peek at the new issue of Quilting Arts Gifts.

One wall in the set has been painted the most wonderful peachy color since the last time I saw it:

This sunlit window looks so realistic! But it is actually fake; we were hermetically sealed in that studio!

I found my little birthday cake and candles postcard gift (celebrating Quilting Arts’ 10th birthday) on the bulletin board on the peachy wall. That’s it right in the center.

A wall on one side of the set

The door to the Green Room has lots of little  photos of Pokey in different outfits, and the number of the episodes she will wear them. This helps everyone remember how she should be dressed when she shoots the segments, since they are often shot out of order.

Want to know what Pokey will wear in episodes 905 and 906? Now you do!

Here are some additional photos Judy took and sent to me:

Me with Elin Waterston, Judy Coates-Perez and Candy Glendening, after dinner on Monday night in Cleveland

On set with Pokey (this shot was taken of the TV in the Green Room while I was shooting a segment)

With Helen Gregory in the Green Room

One of the crew arranging my nametag holders on the table before the shoot

Working out the details with Pokey and the crew before the shoot

Talking over a segment with Pokey and the producers

Whew! It was fun, but it is great to be home!

Quilting Arts Gifts 2011/2012

Fire and Ice Candle Wraps by Susan Brubaker Knapp
Photo by Quilting Arts/Interweave

I have two projects in the 2011/2012 issue of Quilting Arts Gifts, including the “Fire and Ice Candle Wraps” shown above. They are made from Lutradur that is stenciled, painted and stitched.  

Quilting Arts Gifts is a special issue of Quilting Arts Magazine devoted to the art of gift-giving. The issue features more than 20 seasonal projects that would make terrific gifts. It is available for preorder now on the Interweave Store website, and will ship in September. The price is $14.99.

Win my book!

 

Kelly Jackson of I Have A Notion is giving away a copy of my book, Point, Click, Quilt: Turn Your Photo into Fabulous Fabric Art, on her blog! So hop on over there and leave a comment on that post by Friday, August 26 for a chance to win! Don’t forget to check out Kelly’s online store at I Have A Notion; she has all sorts of wonderful notions, and her customer service can’t be beat!

“Synchronized Synchronous Fireflies” is finished!

“Synchronized Synchronous Fireflies” (24" x 24") by Susan Brubaker Knapp

I finished “Synchronized Synchrnous Fireflies” last night. Now I have to decide how to hang it. Grass on the top and bottom, or grass on the left and right? Cast your vote, please!

“Synchronized Synchronous Fireflies” (Detail)

“Synchronized Synchronous Fireflies” (Detail)

Synchronized Synchronous Fireflies, Part 2

“Synchronized Synchronous Fireflies” by Susan Brubaker Knapp. (Work in progress)

My latest piece, “Synchronized Synchronous Fireflies,” is coming along nicely. I have added some synchronized grass – regular grass would have looked weird, I decided — and started the threadwork. The shot above shows it pinned to interfacing (Pellon 910), with a bit of the thread sketching done. I have also added smaller circles of lime green Angelina on top of the green Crystalina fibers that make up the fireflies’ glow. They were not showing up quite as much as I wanted with just the Crystalina.

I am having fun with this piece, but it is very different from what I’ve been doing in the past year or so. More playful perhaps, and definitely less realistic. I added the grass to give the piece some more luminous color, and I love the way it glows against the blue twilight fabric, and how it plays off the fireflies’ glow. 

But there is something somewhat sinister in the way everything is perfectly aligned. It gives me the same chill up the spine that much of Jane Sassaman’s work does. I think it has to do with taking the marvelous chaos that is nature, and making it mechanical, clinical — more perfect, and at the same time, less perfect. Messing with the work of the Creator. The Stepford Wives effect. There is some malevolent intent here. This may go back to my childhood battle with poison ivy. I am incredibly allergic to poison ivy, and had many very bad cases of it when I was young – so bad that I had to have monthly shots as a child, and that I missed several weeks of school. But that is enough psychoanalysis for today.

This is one of two pieces I am doing for Fiber Art Options’ exhibition called “Meadowood Stitched,” which will premiere this fall at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden near Charlotte. All the pieces will be based on meadow life, to celebrate the opening of a new section of the garden that includes meadow and woodland.

I have a good idea for my second piece; I will be using (or as they say in the crafting world, “repurposing”) a three-dimensional Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly that I made about 5 years ago. He has a wingspan of about 20" (the photo below shows him sitting on my impatiens. Stay tuned!

Once In A Blue Moon Retreat

I have been wanting to teach at my own retreat for a while, so I’m very excited to announce that the very first “Once In a Blue Moon Fiber Art Retreat” will take place October 4-7, 2012 in Black Mountain, NC. Please make plans to come, and immerse yourself in a creative environment of learning and fun amidst the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. This retreat is limited to only 25 students, so you’ll get lots of one-on-one time with me. There is also time to relax and renew the spirit in a beautiful setting.

I’m working with my friend Joyce Mullis, who has years of organizing retreats, to put on this event. Joyce is also an excellent cook, and she will be handling our breakfasts and lunches, and keeping everything running smoothly.

Workshops and lodging will both take place in the same spacious facility, Barnhardt Lodge at the historic Blue Ridge Assembly YMCA conference center in Black Mountain, NC. The accommodations are contemporary, clean and spacious. We will have the whole lodge to ourselves. Sleep is not a requirement, and you may spend the day in your pajamas, if you wish! We have lots of fun activities planned for the three evenings we will be together.

Enjoy tasty and filling breakfasts and lunches at the lodge. Dinners are your chance to sample the many wonderful restaurants in nearby Black Mountain or Asheville – towns known for their eclectic mix of arty shops and diverse restaurants. Don’t want to drive? You can arrange to eat dinner at Blue Ridge’s dining hall for a small fee.

The workshop is based on the techniques in my new book. You’ll learn the skills you need to go home, take your favorite photo, and interpret it in fabric using fusible appliqué and thread sketching. Choose from one of two brand-new projects I am designing specifically for this retreat – pumpkins and passionflower — based on the photos shown here:

We will spend the first day constructing a small fused applique art quilt, and the second day thread sketching it. Basic free-motion machine stitching experience is helpful, but not essential. You’ll learn how to:

• create a pattern from a photo
• make a positioning overlay
• create patterns on fusible adhesive
• cut out your fabric pieces and fuse them
• choose the right threads, needles and
• stabilizers for thread sketching
• adjust tension for the correct stitch
• use thread to “sketch” on top of your fabric to add detail, color and texture.

The cost is $385 for a shared room, and $445 for a private room (limited number available). Some handicap-accessible rooms are also available. This includes three nights lodging, linens and towels, three breakfasts, two lunches, and two full days of workshops.

To download a retreat flier with more details and a registration form, click here.