Various & Sundry 2020 #10

Fabric, Notions, Supplies & Tools

Have you heard of a Glowforge? I hadn’t until the other day. It looks like a Cricut, Accuquilt and a 3D printer all rolled into one. I have to investigate more to see what it can do. I hope it will be terrible so I won’t want one.

I really like the new Prism fabrics by Guicy Guice. I like the art swatches as well as the splatter prints.

I know some of you like to knit. I signed up for the Maker’s Mercantile newsletter because of Franklin Habit. He is really funny. Now I enjoy looking at the yarns and projects. I am NOT buying, but I thought the Gradient yarns by Schoppel-Wolle were gorgeous. Maker’s Mercantile has fabric and super fun buttons as well.

Mary C (not my mom) turned me on to British bagmaker Mrs. H. I went wandering around the web the other day and found her Companion Carpet Bag. I am sorely tempted, but have another carpet bag pattern AND the frame, so I need to make that one first before purchasing another pattern. After going to her website, I found that she has a book called The Complete Bag Making Masterclass**. It isn’t yet available in the US, apparently, but is available for pre-order. I am not pre-ordering YET. 🙂

Projects, Patterns & Tutorials

Jessica House has a series of small patterns.

Sharon from Color Girl quilts has a series of sampler block videos up on her site. These might be a good way to improve your skills.

Art Gallery has a lot of interesting free projects. I particularly like Clear Reflections.

Face Masks

  • Need a Face Mask with matching ears so you can pretend you are at Disneyland? Check out an Etsy Shop.
  • Creative Grids has a template for face masks ~$14. You can also buy it on Amazon.
  • Need a fun face mask? These animal masks will bring a smile to people who see you. (Thanks, La!)
  • Owl Bee Crafting has a face mask pattern. This is a similar shape to some of the other patterns, but one thing I liked about the tutorial is that she shows some edges are pinked. Genius! Why didn’t I think of that to keep edges from unraveling?
  • Jen Carlton Bailly has posted a tutorial using the templates that she sells when she gives workshops. She also includes templates, so you are not forced to buy her templates. C’mon, though, you know you want them. She first posted about it on IG, which made me happy but also say DUH! Why didn’t I think of using them? Perfect idea. And another good use for those templates. There are other templates you can use as well, such as Drunkard’s Path templates. The size is the issue.

Other Artists

Vanilla Beane just turned 100 and is still making hats, which are more accurately called works of art.

My foot doctor is also an artist! I get to see nice art when I go get my foot worked on. Amazing, right? Another site where you can see a few of his paintings.

Media, Exhibitions, Lectures & Collections

Jeff Rutherford has started a podcast! It is called “Quilting Stories.” The first episode, an interview with Timna Tarr, is already up. Listen and let me know what you think.

Brandon Mably posted about a re-highlighting of an exhibit of Kaffe’s work at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. There are other interesting exhibits you can view from the comfiness of your pajamas. Included was a few pictures from the exhibit. I really like the black and white stripes with the pink and am thinking about how I can use the combination. There is an Orla Kiely exhibit, as well as The Secret Lives of Scissors, Josef Frank, The Art of Pattern, Liberty in Fashion, and many others in their Archived Exhibit section.

Someone from my art quilt guild directed me to Quilt Fever, a short film on PBS. I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but will.

Last time I talked about the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit at the Berkeley Art Museum. After I finished the last V&S post, I saw a blog post by Barbara Brackman discussing the exhibit with some of her friends. The points are really apt. I especially like the comments about one quote and Julie Silber’s comments about it: “These quilts are great because they are almost like paintings” a statement she described as
“demeaning, condescending, dismissive (even contradictory.)”

Julie’s opinion:

“Quilts are not great because they look like other forms. They stand on their own—and the makers who excelled (reaching aesthetic heights) need to be acknowledged as ‘masters’ (‘mistresses)?’ ”

Read the blog post, because it is interesting, but because it also touches on  inherent mysogeny in newspapers and the lack of respect for quiltmaking.

The International Quilt Study Center has a number of virtual experiences:

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Check your local public library for access if you don’t have a subscription

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.