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. 

“Orange Milkweed with Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle”

 

“Orange Milkweed with Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle.” 

Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp 2021. 21.5” x 27.5” 

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

“Drama Queens: Pitcher Plants”

“Drama Queens: Pitcher Plants” 

Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp. Approximately 32x25”. 

White cotton fabric, acrylic textile paint, ink, cotton batting, interfacing, cotton backing fabric, 

cotton thread. Wholecloth painted, free-motion machine quilted. 

 

Persimmon

“Persimmon” Copyright Susan Brubaker Knapp. 21"x16.5” 

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

Intergalactic Pinball

Intergalactic Pinball

15" x  22.5" (Copyright 2020)

Hand-dyed and hand-painted cotton fabric, interfacing, silk sari ribbon, embroidery thread, perle cotton, gift card discs, beads. Free-motion machine quilted, hand embroidered.

I realized today that I never posted about this piece that I made in August 2020. I made it to showcase these balls made from silk sari ribbon, threads and perle cotton. (I demonstrated how to make these in Series 2600 of “Quilting Arts TV,” and in an article for Quilting Arts  magazine. 

 

I have not made very much three-dimensional work, but these little balls called out for something different. I hand-painted the lime green fabric, which is a jacquard napkin given to me by a neighbor; it belonged to her Belgian grandmother! The hot pink/purple piece is fabric that I hand dyed years ago. I used a sturdy interfacing in it so that it would be able to be shaped and have enough body to hold its curves. 

It needed some additional bling, so I added beads, hand stitching, and embellishments I punched out of old Target gift cards. 

“Northern Maidenhair Fern”

Northern Maidenhair Fern
Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp
20.25" x 16.25"

This is another piece in my botanical series. It is based on a photo I took at the North Carolina Botanical Garden of a Northern Maidenhair fern. It is a deciduous perennial fern is native to North Carolina. 

This is a wholecloth painted quilt. I added some visual texture with stenciling before masking with black/dark green, and then adding shading and details on the leaves. 

“Winged Sumac”

“Winged Sumac”
19-1/2" x 25-3/4"
Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp

This is my latest finish, based on a photo I took last fall. I changed the background to suggest that the leaf was in a puddle of water. It is wholecloth painted and free-motion machine quilted. I love the color combination on this piece. 

“Christmas Fern”

 

“Christmas Fern”
Copyright 2021 by Susan Brubaker Knapp
12x12"
Wholecloth painted and stenciled, free-motion machine quilted.

“Christmas Fern” is my donation to the 2021 SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) benefit auction. The donated 12 x 12-inch art quilts support exhibition and outreach programs. This year’s auction will take place online from September 10 through October 3, 2021. 

Christmas Ferns are native throughout much of the eastern U.S. and are so named because they are evergreen, and because the pinnae are shaped a bit like Christmas stockings.

Ravens

I’m hoping to participate in the Orange County Artist’s Guild Open Studio Tour this fall (Nov. 6-7 and 13-14) and I've been thinking about creating some new pieces and some other products (notecards, bookmarks, etc.) that I can sell at a lower price point than my larger, more complex work. 

These ravens are an experiment. I drew the raven first, and then scanned it in and sent it off to Spoonflower to have it printed on fabric. Then I painted the entire surface, then free-motion quilted them. I’ve made three so far. They are 11" square. It’s been fun to play with different color combinations on the feathers.