I have Craft in America saved on my Tivo – both as a search so as a show comes on, it gets recorded and also one episode that I can watch it over and over. Recently another episode came on with the theme of family. I watched it, but was still drawn to the Beth Lipman section in the first episode.
Beth Lipman is a glass artist. Many of the pieces that she makes have every day objects as her subject. She makes parts that belong on a table and then puts a lot of the parts on a table so there is a plethora of plates, cups, vases, fruit on a table all made of glass. Her pieces are so entrancing to me. I have watched this segment over and over. Her work is fabulous.
Some of her work reminds me of the pieces in one of my favorite museums, Hofsilber und Tafelkammer in Vienna, especially her piece La Seduction de la Belle et la Bete, 2011. One of the things the two have in common is that they deal with tableware, plates, cups, wine glasses, etc. The other thing they have in common is that there is so much to look at in the installations.
Something she said in the interview struck a nerve with me. She took some time getting to it, but she ultimately implied that she was driven by death. I have danced around that thought in my mind as well. I think that, to some extent, we all want to leave something behind – to not be forgotten.
I think the fact that quilts have traditionally been every day objects is one of the reasons I like them and enjoy making them.
I hope you can find Craft in America at your library. It appears you can watch them online or via an iPad/iPhone app. Look at the Craft in America website for further information.
Please check Sarah’s blog for details of her lost quilts. One is Fields of Gold (left). If you hear about it, see it posted on another blog or have any news, please contact Sarah via her blog, Art and Quilting in Camden.
To those of you who live in places that require you to jump in the car and drive for 20 minutes every time you want an ice cream, a loaf of bread or some fabric, my idea of a trek probably has you rolling your eyes. I drive about 2 miles a day and then spend the rest of the day’s transportation allotment on a train with some buses and streetcars thrown in for good measure. I also walk a lot.
Today was a bit different as I was heading to C&T Publishing to return a quilt from the Primal Green Show, go to lunch and do some other errands that were out that way. It was a long haul, but a good day in general. Drivers weren’t too idiotic, people did not zoom through the Fastrak lane and then try and swerve to the cash lane at the last minute, the rain didn’t pour down while I was driving or while I was walking around without a hood or umbrella: all in all a good day.
Where the Magic Happens
First stop: C&T Publishing
This unassuming industrial type building, in an industrial neighborhood, hides a lot of colorful goodness! I walked into the building and saw the most beautiful C&T commemorative quilt. I am sorry I didn’t take a picture of it. It was really gorgeous!
I also liked the wall of tear sheets they had opposite the reception desk advertising their current titles. It was a great decoration/advertising idea.
Lisa was kind enough to show me all of the different departments. It was funny to think that I have a mystical, awe inspired idea of working in a quilt publishing house, but the people there were just working. I am sure they enjoy their work, but I am also sure that it is a job to them. She took me out into the warehouse where I saw a lot of palettes covered in industrial strength Saran Wrap! I also got a peek inside the photo shoot studio, which is also in the warehouse. Very interesting!
Slightly damaged
I was allowed to pick out some books from their slightly damaged shelf. I didn’t have much time so I just grabbed books. These look interesting, don’t you think?
We went to lunch and, afterwards, I showed Lisa Kissy Fish, which I had in the trunk.
Talking with Lisa reminded me that I have been wanting to try TAP, so I decided that that would be my excuse to go to Thimble Creek, which is just a mile or so up the road from the C&T headquarters.
I hadn’t been to their ‘new’ location. They moved at least 3 years ago. There was a theme a few years ago of quilt stores moving to industrial or office park areas, because of less expensive rent. It worked for some stores not for others. I was nervous about going, because I don’t know the area and I was afraid I would have trouble finding it. Sometimes the stores that have moved to these industrial areas have been hard to find. Silly, I know, but there you have it.
I walked in and there was a feeling of comfort and light in a country/shabby chic sort of way. The place wasn’t as large as their last location, but they had a lot of fabric The arrangement by color, mostly, but also by style/type. There was a section of large florals including Kaffe Fassett, Philip Jacobs, etc. There was a section of reproductions (some Civil War?) and the choices were very appealing. I didn’t buy any, but loved some of the colors – some of the pinks and blues, especially. There was also a section of dots,and another with fabric that looked like the forthcoming Malka Dubrowski fabrics. There was a section of wools. They had a small section of notions, quite a lot of thread and a nice selection of specialty rulers, but not many Creative Grids.
Kissy Fish Framing
Third stop: Framing
Kissy Fish is finished – my part at least. The back looked unfinished, because I stitched through to the back. I originally thought I would put an additional back on. As I got near to finishing I decided that I would frame it. It is an art piece and I want it to be considered art.
A few years ago, I had a number of different types of art pieces framed. The frame shop to which my mom took the pieces did a really great job. Unfortunately, that outlet closed. Fortunately, I found that they had a second shop near C&T, so I went there. I was really pleased to find the shop and added it to my list of tasks for yesterday. I was really pleased the the service. The above mats and frame color are what I chose. It will be ready in a few weeks and I’ll let you know if I like the final result.
Whole Foods was right across the street so I was able to get the gluten free pie crusts I need for Thanksgiving and then I headed home. I thought about stopping at The Cotton Patch and getting the TAP, but I decided just to head home. I’ll get it another time.
Finally: I decided to stop by the Young Man’s school and see if I could find him and if he needed a ride. Boy, was I lucky! He was right out front and ready to go.
I want to make another Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote.
“But, Jaye,” you say “you have so many works in progress, don’t you want to finish them before you start something new?”
I did finish something!!!!
Stars for San Bruno #3 Top
The top for the Stars for San Bruno #3 is pieced, the back is pieced, the binding is made. All the parts are hung up and waiting to go to the quilter.
I feel like I have made a significant step in the Stars for San Bruno Project. it feels SOOOO good to say: All of the piecing for all of the quilts in this project is COMPLETE!! Yes, I finished the piecing for Stars for San Bruno #3 on Sunday. I also made the back and binding.
Stars for San Bruno #3 Back
The back took a lot of time. I have mostly used up the value of blue fabric that I planned to use in all of these quilts, so I spent a lot of time piecing bits of fabric together. It was soothing in a way, but as you can see, some of the fabrics are not blue. They were in the blue bin, so I counted them as available to use.
Also, a note on the photos. My quilt hanger’s wingspan is smaller than the quilt, so the photos aren’t terrific. Hopefully, you get the idea and will come back and continue to read and not be horrified by my terrible photography skills.
I received the following in my inbox this morning and thought I would pass it along. I bought a grab bag and will give them as gifts, if I don’t want to keep the books. I have to say that the hardest part of the transaction was entering my credit card number! It went so quickly and smoothly. The text below is copied and pasted directly from Judy Martin’s email.
No affiliation and I am not getting paid to post this!
“Greetings quilters,
Just in time for Christmas, we’re bringing back the Grab Bag Quilt Book Surprise. We haven’t done it for a few years, so it seemed like a good idea. Here’s a summary of the details. Please read all the way to the bottom before clicking through.
First off, this offer will expire at 4:00 PM Central Standard Time on November 16, 2011. If the latest winter storm knocked out your power, and you didn’t get this newsletter until the 17th, sorry. Or if your spam filter delayed this newsletter until it was too late, sorry again. These things are always a ton of hard work, and we have to have a firm cut-off date so we can get back to things like working on new books.
The price is $25 plus shipping and handling. For that you will get 3 books with a total current retail value of at least $40.85, but it might be as much as $83.85! In practical terms, it means you are guaranteed to get at least one of our full-price books (Scraps, Judy Martin’s Log Cabin Quilt Book, Stellar Quilts, or Patchwork Among Friends). You are guaranteed a savings of at least $15.85. All 8 of my current books will be made available for this deal. And we will send out at least one order that has all 3 of our $27.95 books. At least one lucky quilter is going to hit the quilt book jackpot!
Specific requests will not be honored. Every book shipped will be randomly selected. We can’t promise you won’t get a book you already own. If you do, you now have an inexpensive Christmas present for your best quilting friend!
We can’t promise that you will get different titles. You might get 3 of the same book or 3 different books or 2 of one title and 1 of another. If you receive duplicate books, you can give them away as gifts to your quilting friends. After all, giving is as much fun as receiving, and it’s more emotionally satisfying.
This offer is open to customers all over the globe. We are limiting it to 1 order per customer.
Special shipping rates will apply on orders outside the US. We sometimes lose money on foreign shipping, but we make enough on the books that we can ignore that fact. At this greatly discounted price, we can’t afford to lose money on the shipping.
In the United States shipping for the 3 books by Media Mail is $7, plus $1 for any additional books ordered. Shipping by Priority Mail is $10, plus $1 for any additional books ordered.
In Canada shipping for the 3 books is $16. We cannot ship any additional books with a Grab Bag Quilt Book Surprise when we ship to Canada because it would push the weight over 4 pounds and cause the shipping rate to go sky high.
For all other countries shipping for the 3 books is $30. We cannot ship any additional books with a Grab Bag Quilt Book Surprise when we ship to foreign addresses because it would push the weight over 4 pounds and cause the shipping rate to go sky high.
We normally ship within 24 hours of receiving your order. Because of the volume of orders, it will take us several days to get all the Grab Bag Quilt Book Surprises out the door. Needless to say, we’re going to work as hard as we can to get all the orders shipped as quickly as possible. If the volume of orders is particularly heavy, some orders may not be shipped until after Thanksgiving weekend (November 24-27).
This is meant to be fun, so have some fun. Let the joy of receiving a surprise sweep over you. Anyone who wishes to complain about getting 3 good quilt books for $25 plus shipping will be repelled at the gates!
If you think this sounds like fun, share it with your quilting friends. And be sure to tell them you were in on this info first because you subscribe to my newsletter. Encourage them to join the “in crowd” by signing up for the newsletter themselves.
I worked all Sunday and a couple of hours on Monday afternoon on the Stars for San Bruno #3. I am too small, so I asked the Young Man to hold it up to me, which, as you can see, didn’t work out very well.
The way I asked him to hold it is actually sideways. The plan was to make a row quilt with vertical rows of stars. If I would actually measure on occasion, I would have known that it would come out weirdly wide. Looking at it like this gives me a chance to see whether it will look ok with horizontal rows.
It definitely needs some kind of spacer on the [current] sides. I want something to separate the pieced stars from the embroidered stars I plan to use for the border.
I finally started the Stars for San Bruno #3 quilt. The picture is lame, I know. It looks like nothing and you can’s see the squares I put on point or squared up. I wanted those of you who participated to know I am not being completely lame.
Stars for San Bruno #2 is almost ready. #2 and #3 go to the same family, so I need to finish #3 before I can get #2 out of the house. I plan to work on it soon so you can see some real progress.
Last week, I spent Wednesday night and Thursday all day at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara. This is the first time in several years I have not rented a hotel room and stayed down there with TFQ. I stayed over Wednesday night with a friend who lives nearby so I wouldn’t have to drive back and forth, but I came straight home after the show closed on Thursday. As you read this I am presenting at a conference, so I had a lot to do on Friday and Saturday to get ready for the conference.
The Zig Zaggy quilt was part of the New Quilts for Northern California and I was pleased to see how well it was hung. It really hangs straight, too, which is always a thrill.
Angela's Kona Challenge
I didn’t hang around my quilt for hours, but the few times I passed by, I saw people studying it and taking photos, which is also always a thrill. I was with my mom and Julie part of the time. When we visited my quilt they gave me lots of kudos and told everyone within hearing distance that it was my quilt. I was embarrassed, but also a bit happy.
Angela’s Kona Challenge quilt, Kona Color Waves, was hung nearby, also as part of the challenge. It was so great to see it well hung. The color choices she made really work well. I hope she hangs it up in her house so she can admire it. I also hope other people are inspired by it.
World Quilt ExhibitionKathleen's Sunflower
BAMQG was well represented at the show as Kathleen’s sunflower quilt was hung there also.
I really enjoyed the World Quilt Exhibition this year. There was lots of good imagery, many, many Israeli quilts and great designs.
CQFAers were represented as well. Caroline had her landscape quilt in the show, prominently displayed at the end of an aisle. Marie had two, yes TWO quilts in the show. One was a Pineapple made from Hawaiian fabrics and the other used hand dyed fabrics. We helped Marie at her first meeting figure out how to proceed with the hand dyed quilt.
Some trends I noticed were: surface design appropriate to the quilt, lots of amazing quilting and stitching, again appropriate to the design and not over the top. I also lots and lots of portrait quilts. It was interesting to compare the different face techniques. There were also a lot of landscape quilts. I got the impression that people are no longer exploring their machines, but know what they can do and are doing those techniques well.
Faye's Quilt
For a long time, I didn’t get to see my friend Faye, but I would get to see her quilts in the World Quilt Exhibition. Then, as her husband became more ill, she wasn’t able to enter quilts in the show either. Her husband, sadly, died a few years ago after a long illness and I have gotten to see her as she spends about 2 months near me every year now. I was also pleased to see her quilt, Stars, Curves and a Touch of Yellow, in this show.
The Quilt Show has a video up of various quilts. If my link doesn’t work check the Quilt Show’s Daily Blog for October 14, 2011.
My purchase downfall was Tsukineko inks and Perl Cotton. There was a booth at the show selling inks with tons of colors and I couldn’t resist adding to my collection.
I do like these various and sundry posts. I feel a sense of freedom when I write them. I don’t have be terribly organized, magnificently coherent or make all the words relate to each other. I can’t point you in various directions and send you off on journeys, hoping you will return and tell me what you think.
The weekend of the 6th saw a huge event in NYC to support the Alliance for American Quilts. they are having an event called Quilters Take Manhattan. I think all of the unexpected hoopla surrounding Infinite Variety gave new life to quilts as art. All of the quilting glitterati were there and I followed the action as best I could from 3k miles away. Some blog posts I saw about this were:
In the course of following the events, I was pointed to Marianne Fons blog. I like her writing style and hearing about her family. She is a sensitive writer who records her observations in a delightful way. In a way, she reminds me of Rosamunde Pilcher, my personal gold standard for descriptive writing. She writes about her personal life and family, but doesn’t give too much away, but she does write about her daughter, Mary’s, illness a bit, which I had only heard about in passing. I was curious, of course, but such a thing is none of my business, so I wouldn’t ask, even if I had someone to ask.
Marianne, in turn, pointed me to Mary Fons blog, which I will look at and, perhaps, add to my blog reader.
Media
I saw that a show called Why Quilts Matter will be coming to PBS in the Fall. I am looking forward to watching it. The website has a video trailer. It is 9 part documentary in which Shelly Zegart is heavily involved. A lot of the people in the trailer are from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I wonder if Frances will be able to take advantage of any lectures or anything? 😉 There are a lot of other contributors as well. I checked my Tivo and the show isn’t yet listed, but I have a ‘quilts’ keyword search, so, hopefully, it will come up in that search.
Stitched, the movie, came out a few months ago and I still haven’t seen that. My libraries don’t have it yet and I am not a Netflix member.
I think there is something to be said for quilt companies to be small businesses, well any companies really. I am not enamored with large companies right at the moment. Small businesses seem to care more about their customers, though that is a generalization and a stereotype and I know it is not always true. The ones that have been taken over by larger companies, such as Fons & Porter, have become impersonal and don’t really seem to care about their customers. Fons & Porter is now owned by New Track Media LLC, which is further owned by a person and a private equity firm. They also own Quilter’s Club of America, Keepsake Quilting, QNM and others. What is their interest in quiltmaking? Money, I am guessing.
I watched one of the Fons & Porter episodes #1201 on the Spin Wheel quilt project (definitely a repeat), which said that the updated directions for using the hexagon ruler and their pyramid ruler to make the Spin Wheel with these tools would be available on their website. I bought the DVD with the pattern from the magazines, both rulers and went looking for the adjunct instructions. They weren’t on the website. I searched over and over to no avail, so I contacted customer service. The customer service people (called Answer54) were diligent, but supremely unhelpful. They had canned responses and I became more frustrated as it became clear that my question did not fit into their list of responses. Somehow I was transferred to Keepsake Quilting and the person contacted me and responded to me several times, but ultimately didn’t have the instructions. I also posted on their FB fan page. No response. I can make the block without that adjunct sheet of instructions, but it just seems so lame of them not to be able to find a sheet of instructions. I guess New Track thinks of their quilting properties as cash cows. This seemed like a simple request: M&L said the adjunct instructions were on the website, they are not on the website, please send them to me. I guess New Track Media thinks their brands are so awesome that they don’t have to provide customer service. Customer Service is everything, New Track. Get with the program.
SeamedUp is having a fundraiser (you, too, can be a venture capitalist!) to get more server space and a bunch of other stuff. They are a small, women owned company. Only one person has contributed, as of this writing, which is kind of sad. If all of the almost 2000 people who are members contributed $5 that would be $10,000, which is much more than their goal. Go for it and if you are not a member, join up! You can read more about their plans, the campaign and everything SeamedUp on their blog
Tools, Books and Supplies
I bought a new iron when I was out shopping for the Young Man’s school uniform parts. It is the most expensive iron I have ever bought – $29.99. I figured I should splurge since I have two in the closet downstairs that were cheap and, clearly, not up to my pressing needs once I got them out of the box and heated up. It is really nice to have steam again. I also like this iron, because it doesn’t beep at me all the time. I need many fewer irritating beeps in my life.
Did you enter the book giveaway I announced earlier this week? Check it out!
Are you interested in how thread is made? Coats & Clark made a video which I saw on AllPeopleQuilt.com.
BryeLynn of SeamedUp and Sew~Stitch~Create did a review of the Frixion pen. It is really nice when someone else does the heavy lifting for you!
Learning
As I have mentioned a few times, I have helped to organize a class at Always Quilting on August 27, 2011, 10-4. It will be taught by Lynn Koolish of C&T fame. It is open to everyone though the BAMQG and CQFA folks have had a headstart on sign ups. The class is now on the shop’s website. You can register via the website or by calling their shop at (650) 458-8580. Hope to see you there!
ArtQuilt Tahoe is coming around again. There are still some great teachers available. If you are able to attend and haven’t taken a class from Libby Lehman, sign up immediately. She is a wonderful teacher – giving, not stuck up, a great presenter, personable. I’d like to go sometime, but this isn’t the year. I’d love to hear about it, if you attend.
Projects
Hooded towels are very popular in our house. The Young Man thinks about things in the show and likes to tell me about them when he emerges from bathing. They are great to wrap up in on cold bath/shower nights when bathrobes are too fussy. The hooded towels have the added bonus of drying the hair with very little effort. They are harder to find as children get taller. I saw a tutorial for a hooded towel. For larger children, I would use two towels. Use a very sharp needle when sewing the two towels together, so you don’t break a needled or jam up your machine. Since you may be having the same issue, I thought I would share.
Yesterday, I posted about the gift I made for Grama. I took it to show a friend visiting from New Zealand and realized I hadn’t done the topstitching from the top hem to the bottom corners. DUH!. It would really help if I read the directions once in a while!
Due to my ongoing machine issues, I am working on easy projects, or projects that don’t require complicated piecing. The Jem just can’t handle it. I bought some more of the Tufted Tweets chair fabric when I went to New Pieces the other week and cut out a pillowcase to go with the purple quilt. I sewed the whopping 3 seams it took to put the thing together and will send it off this week, hopefully.
Other Artists
I had heard about Claudia’s blog, Machen und Tun from Frances, but had never gone to look at it until I saw one of her quilts in the Quilting….for the Rest of us Flickr group. She is a working on the Attack of the Hexies project and is doing a wonderful red and white color scheme. Why didn’t I think of that? I went to her most recent post (8/4/2011) and was thrilled to see a, mostly, aqua and red sampler quilt. If you scroll down she shows some more blocks and the whole effect is quite wonderful. She talks about looking at the Fresh Lemons Summer Sampler Series blocks inspiring her, but also encouraging her to go off in her own direction. She might select different blocks that weren’t as difficult or required no paper piecing. She also talks about making the blocks a little differently to make them her own. What a great idea for inspiration! I noticed a circle tutorial, which looks very similar to the Dale Fleming method. The other thing about her blog is that she writes in English and German. This is great practice for me. Thanks, Claudia! Her blog is definitely worth looking at.
Angela has posted over 240 photos of quilts from the UK Festival of Quilts. She posted the photos in a Smilebox format on Creating the Hive, so you can scroll through them fairly easily.
Life
Really good reminder of how the inner ambivalence can affect outer life.
Art therapy? How do you connect your anti-passions to your passions? And when you are talking about passion you must talk about Jesus at some point anyway. Look, Jesus didn’t know what magazines were so lets cut him some slack here. Lots of people’s coffee tables are cluttered, so maybe that was a lucky guess. But her violent reaction to it mirrored her real frustration with her job situation. Her inner and outer, as far as she understood them were the same – even though it was hidden to her. What I offered her gave her a chance to actually take the advice from Jesus above and expand her vision of herself and experience entry into a new kingdom.
Save 20% this week from Cafe Press using the code TA0802. You can buy from any shop, but especially the Artquiltmaker Store. 😉
Learning
Everyone on the web seems to be way better at Photoshop Elements than I am. My friend, La, tries to give me little tips, but I forget by the time I get home. As result, I have helped to organize a class at Always Quilting on August 27, 2011, 10-4 and is taught by Lynn Koolish of C&T fame. It is open to everyone though the BAMQG and CQFA folks have had a two week headstart on sign ups. The class is now on the shop’s website. You can register via the website or by calling their shop at (650) 458-8580. Hope to see you there!
I was listening to an episode of Creative Mojo the other day (via podcast) and Mark was interviewing Patrick Doughty, an artist whose medium is sticks. I wasn’t terribly interested in the work, but find that I can always learn something. He said something really profound in response to a question about getting stuck. He said (paraphrasing) that it takes time to get into the groove of creating. He creates every day or only takes short breaks. this helps him not to have to get back into the groove, because he is already in the groove. This is a really important part of how I work. I think, write or read about quiltmaking every day I cannot be at the sewing machine. I cut, press, fold and organize fabric when I can’t sew (like last week when my machine was getting services). Every other time, I sew. I am always in the groove, because my work is in the forefront of my mind. I do get stuck on projects, but then I move to another project or cut, press, fold and organize my fabric.
Quilt-a-Longs
I think I talked about the Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-Long. There are a lot of blog posts, discussions and projects blooming out of it. I saw on the ModaLissa site that the United Notions people are having a Hen Party (go read the post) that also has to do with FWQAL. Perhaps I do need to jump in…meaning ‘need’ in the broadest and most non-committal sense of the word.
Camille Roskelley of the gorgeous red dotted chair blog, ok the Simplify blog, has posted another group of her Farmer’s Wife blocks. I love them! Perhaps I do like grey after all. I think I have get out my Ultimate 3-in-1 color tool and see what I can learn from her color scheme.
How about my Block-a-Long? Have you made any blocks? Let’s see them? Are they boring?
Color
I am reading a book (review soon-ish) and I realized the author was not doing complicated piecing, but was creating complex color stories to tell in the form of a quilt. I am intrigued by this concept, especially after working on FOTY 2011. I ran across the Michael Miller site, which is doing color stories every week also. During the week of July 20 they had an aqua and red color way, which you know I love.
Media
I am feeling like Miss (Ms?) Popularity lately. I never was one of the cool kids at school so I am not quite sure how to handle it. I was recently interviewed on episode 2 of the SeamedUp podcast. It was fun to talk to the SeamedUp ‘girls’ and get to talk about design a little bit, my blog and life a little bit. They produce their podcast in a very professional way, I think, but laugh a lot along the way.
I was listening to a recent Annie Smith episode and heard about Cori Blunt. I took a look at her website and blog. Her drawings are really sweet, I especially like her bike pillow. Of course, I probably wouldn’t do any of those quilts, but I can admire them. I do like the way she did the sashing around the star blocks in the Cherry Tweets quilt. Very clever.
In conjunction with her episode #166, Amy of Creative Mom Podcast post GORGEOUS pictures of stairs with mosaics on the risers. Even if you don’t listen to her podcast (which you should!), go take a look at these photos. They are wonderful and make me want to do some mosaic work on my stairs.
I think I heard about GenerationQ magazine from Adrianne at some point in the not so distant past. I was reintroduced to it last week via an article they did on smartphone quilting apps. There are two that are interesting to me. One is block pattern app similar in concept to Around the Block, one of the most useful books in my library. The other, which constantly made me think of TFQ is the Fabric Stash by Blueshift Software app. She needs this app. This one does not get high marks, but the writers say that the portion where you can document your fabric stash works really well. It seems easy to photograph your fabric and keep it handy on your phone when I go shopping, especially for projects like the Food Quilt where I am trying to get one piece of many different fabrics. it is on the pricey side for apps, but it may be worth trying out. Now to get Blueshift together with SeamedUp so I can zap my fabric from my phone straight into SeamedUp. That would be awesome (at least in my head).
Other Artists
Lil Sissy passed on a good blog post from Kelly Rae Roberts. I think it worth reading and keeping in mind. Short version: there is a time to dream and a time to savor.
Vicki posted an Art Saves story on Crescendoh. I didn’t know about those stories until I saw a link on Vicki’s site and happened to click on it. Very interesting. I like the stories.
Fabric
Last week, Julie of The Intrepid Thread post some photos of new fabrics in her shop. She posted:
Sweet Treats http://fb.me/16eeAMWIt
Licorice Cloud http://fb.me/SdMcvn79
Cotton Candy http://fb.me/wwGp0deq
Sapphire http://fb.me/Ez55AJPA
Ruby http://fb.me/TwMwQ24o
Citrine http://fb.me/160LGuNQ8
They were some fabrics I saw when I was on my quilt journey a few weeks ago. When I saw them at New Pieces I thought that I couldn’t possibly use such fabrics, but when I saw the pictures Julie posted, I thought they might be fine if I cut them up. Is there a meeting point between fussy cutting and strip piecing that would allow the beauty of some of the larger motifs to come through? What do you think?
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog, and how your work relates to the other responses.
The Creative Prompt Project has a Flickr Group, which you can join and to which you can post your responses. Have fun and link to your responses! Ask a friend to join, too! You can respond to the prompts together. I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted. Post yours and get kudos!
Definition: –noun 1. the act, manner, or power of flying. 2. the distance covered or the course taken by a flying object: a 500-mile flight; the flight of the ball. 3. a trip by an airplane, glider, etc.
Did you go and see the show? This is the last week to see it. Primal Green is a show of environmental art quilts at the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library.
The Wallace Stegner Environmental Center is one of the special collections at the Main Branch and, after a year of work with the Library, CQFA has over 20 quilts and other fiber art on display. The quilts all have an environmental theme. The show will hang until this coming Saturday July 30 and be available to viewers during the Library’s normal open hours. Don’t wait until the last minute! Oops! It is the last minute. Go TODAY!
I was looking through my Flickr Feed when I came across this quilt of Lorajean’s. Remember my Flickr trick from ResearchBuzz? My eyes nearly popped out of my head for a couple of reasons.
this is one of the layouts I am thinking about for my FOTY 2011 quilt with the triangles. While she is making it look more scrappy than I would, she has the idea.
this is a fresh and fun piece
the red really moves your eye around the quilt
I was thinking this morning that, perhaps I would lay the quilt out in a similar way to Lorajean’s, but focus each row on a different part of the color wheel and then within the row, I would colorwash the colors. I want to use Kona white or Kona Snow in this piece to give the fabrics some space. I’ll have to look at that and see if it works. Seeing Lorajean’s piece above makes me think it might. I know I have many more pieces to include than she has included in her quilt.
I also thought of making a two sided row with a thin strip in between so that some of the triangles are pointing and some are pointing down like Lorajean has done.
You can see Lorajean’s blog and this particular post about this top. The site has a very nice tone and some great posts. Aside from the pennant quilt posts, I really liked a post in which Lorajean talks about making a Harry Potter themed doll for her daughter. She does a lot of different crafts and the photos on her blog are well presented. Take a look at her site, leave her a comment and let her know you saw her top featured here at Artquiltmaker!
Friendship Stars and Sawtooth Stars are both easy and relatively fast to make.
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8? finished (8.5? unfinished) or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Hexagons
I saw a hexagon cushion pattern by Lori Holt after listening to one of Annie Smith’s podcasts. The fabric choices are appealing – lots of dots – but I also like the red plaid (gingham?). I am not sure about pompoms, though.
Be*mused has a lovely hexagon with a striking black path between the Grandmother’s Flower Garden arrangement of hexagons.
Making Blocks
There has been a lot of talk in my quilt circles recently about making blocks – challenge via BAMQG, Farmer’s Wife Sampler, Lovey blocks, etc. Last month at BAMQG we talked about our obsessions and I mentioned that blocks are my obsession. Frankly, I couldn’t think of what quilt obsession I had and that seemed to be a good one. That resulted in a number of people asking me about block dictionaries and other books about blocks. I am really surprised that more people don’t know about books like Around the Block or have EQ software. I guess I shouldn’t be, but Around the Block is my go to block book when I need to make some quilt blocks. It has a number of blocks and tells me, in clear instructions how to make each block in a number of different sizes. The publisher has compiled this book and its two sequels into one large book called 501 Rotary Cut Quilt Blocks. I would highly recommend this book (or the three that preceded it) for those of you who make blocks frequently.
Alternatively the Electric Quilt software is great. Yes, you will have to shell out some dollars, but the capabilities for this consumer software are great. You can take any of the included blocks, modify them and print out rotary or template directions. The capabilities are so vast. Plus, the technical support is really great. They are nice and friendly and will sometimes even draw blocks for you. 😉
I talked about the Farmer’s Wife Sampler that some at the BAMQG are doing. Pam, from Hip to Be a Square podcast, turned me on to the Farmer’s Wife Sampler Yahoogroup. I was giving her a bit of a hard time about paper piecing all those blocks and she said she couldn’t do it without that group. I am not a member of that group, but perhaps it is a group that will help you with your questions about the Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-Long.
And just so you are reminded that I am obsessed with blocks and Camille Roskelly’s life in my imagination, I have to say that I love LOVE love her color choices for the Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-long.
In addition to Jinny Beyer’s new-ish book, The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, Piecemeal Quilts has a new post in their Skillbuilder series on block grids and drafting. they also include some info on copyright. I am suspicious of anyone posting copyright information who is not a lawyer, but I will reserve judgement as the explanation seems fairly basic and practical. Consult a lawyer (e.g. Lawyers for the Arts) if you get into trouble or have questions. Seriously. You can find the whole list of posts in the Skillbuilder Series on a separate tab. There are many ways to talk about learning quiltmaking and these women have a done a good job in explaining different skills.
The Skillbuilder ladies also have a button you can put in your sidebar. I thought I would spice things up on this text heavy post for you!
More on Market
Apparently Riley Blake designers did a paper doll quilt that was available for people visiting Market to win. There is a blog with block patterns at All Dolled Up. I have always loved paper dolls. I had a friend in grammar school who drew manga-like dolls before manga was even a word, which we made into paper dolls. I love the designs these designers have provided, but it is probably too much applique for me.
Doing Good
I guess I don’t get around the quilt world as much as I thought, because I didn’t see anything about this project over at Moda, Just One Star. They have just posted some process photos about receiving quilt blocks, squaring them up and sending the blocks back out to be made into quilts. The project is related to Quilts of Valor. They made their goal of 100 quilts in 100 days.
Fabric and Supplies
I saw this ‘color story‘ on a blog yesterday and thought I would share it. What do you think influences people’s color choices?
I was looking for the Fons & Porter Quilt Shop in Winterset, Iowa and found this cool quilt shop graphic of quilt shops in Iowa.
Lecien has an update to its Flower Sugar group, which I saw on the Hawthorne Threads site. I am not as fond of the colors as I was of the first group. They got rid of the bright blue I really liked.
I am really disappointed in the hardware available to use in making bags. Hardware on bags available to purchase is much nicer. I am particularly enamored of the hardware Sherpani uses. It is gorgeous. I want to be able to buy lovely hardware for my bags. Do you have a source?
Business
I have made a half-hearted attempt to make some money off of quiltmaking without selling my quilts or quitting my day job. Part of that was linking Amazon books and such that I liked. As you may have noticed, I removed that widget, because Amazon has kicked all Californians out of their Amazon Associates program. It has to do with collecting sales tax and reporting it to the state. You can read about it in the LA Times. I just don’t want to give them space on my blog, if they aren’t going to pay me for referrals. I may make a list of books I really like, but you can also click on the Book Reviews tag in the idea cloud and read all about exactly what I think of books I read.
Nota bene: I know I added a lot of links. Hope you have time to take a look. JL
