I have lots of projects on the go, but not a lot of progress to show.
It’s a good thing I have a 2-sided design wall – on one side is the beginning of a low-volume equilateral triangle baby quilt.
One the other side is the project I’m collaborating on with my sister – no progress on that.
I’m preparing for a trunk show and workshop I’ll be doing next week for the Blue Mountain Quilters Guild. There are still spaces available in the workshop if you live nearby and are interested in attending, here’s the information.
Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
I just got back late last night from QuiltCon in Austin Texas.
There were hundreds of amazing quilts. You can see a small sample of them here, including the award winners. And Luana Rubin’s Flickr page gives a good idea of what the quilts looked like hanging in the show.
It was a wonderful opportunity to see the quilts ‘up close and in person’, attend inspiring lectures, spend time with friends and fellow quilters, enjoy great food, buy fabric, etc.
I took lots of photos. Here are just a few of my favorites, starting with me standing in front of my quilt.
This was my pick for Viewers Choice, GLITCH by Susan Strong (another Canadian!).
Here’s a rusty metal armadillo I spotted on our way to dinner one night. I wonder what’s in the grass?
We had to stop at Gourdough’s Big Fat Donuts food truck, even though the temperature had dropped to almost freezing – I’m talking about eating donuts outside in 3 degree Fahrenheit weather! They were worth it!
Yesterday, we had to wait a few hours in the Austin airport for our flight home. We found a wonderful place to relax and enjoy some great wine and food – Vino Volo – very civilized!
The second quilt in my new Tree Series is completed. I think I’ll call it Foggy Winter Day.
This is what it looked like three weeks ago, when I last posted about it. I was debating whether to cover the background trees with white tulle, but I decided against that. I think my choice of fabrics and values gives the impression of fog behind the main tree, without needing to use the tulle. There is a circle of tulle over the sun, which I think works well.
Here’s the finished quilt. It’s 16 x 36 inches. The sun is fused and stitched. The background trees have folded-under seam allowances, and are top-stitched to the background. The main tree is lined with a layer of thin batting to give it more dimension.
I’m not sure if two quilts meets the definition of a series, but as I already have a plan for the third (and intend to make twelve by the end of the year) – here are the first 2 quilts of my Tree Series.
Anne did some more work on our collaborative quilt – she added more foil and sewed the pieces together into 3 main sections. Then she packaged it up and sent it to me. Here it is on my design wall. I’m probably going to add a few more small pieces of our fabrics as accents, then I’ll layer it and start the quilting. This will likely be the first of a series, as we already have plans for our next project.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
It feels good to be back in the studio and getting things done.
On the weekend, I created my starter block for the VMQG Round Robin project. Last year, we had 8 participants, and had some fabulous quilts at the end of the project – you can see 5 of them here. And below you can see my starting block, and the finished quilt.
This year, I’m going for a wonky look, so I made my starting block non-square. I hope the other participants will add some wonky borders. I won’t see my block or the progress on my quilt top for the next 12 months, until we have the big reveal.
The block lotto this month is a cute little block called Raspberry Kiss. Finishing at only 4 1/4 inches, the blocks are a little smaller than I prefer, but they go together quickly and they’re cute, so I made 4 of them. If I win the lotto, I would make some larger versions of the block.
I have lots more projects on the go, and if you come back on Friday you’ll see what I’ve accomplished this week.
Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
I really hadn’t intended to go almost 3 weeks without posting. I was immersed in a couple of projects, but now I can come up for air and share what I’ve been doing.
I mentioned in early January that I would be visiting my fiber artist sister Anne to spend a few days in her studio to start working together on a collaborative fiber art project. At the end of January, I spent 4 fun-filled days with Anne, experimenting with a variety of surface design techniques and planning our collaborative project(s).
A cheerful mixed media sign welcomes you to Anne’s studio, which is well-stocked with many surface design supplies and tools.
We had decided to focus on a limited color palette – various shades of red with accents of chartreuse (we both love that color!) We each brought a supply of fabrics to share. The first day, we made a plan of the techniques we would experiment with – dyeing, painting, stamping, printing, discharging, foiling, piecing. We agreed to dive in without a pre-determined outcome, and see where it led us.
Our dyeing project was intended to produce a variety of red fabrics, but most of the fabrics came out pink. But that happy accident provided each of us with inspiration and fabric for pieces we plan to create for the upcoming Cherry Blossoms fiber art show.
After 4 days of experimenting, we had a collection of fabrics with a variety of surface-design techniques. We selected some of them for our collaborative project (see initial layout in the bottom left corner below). Anne will piece the fabrics, and add some more stamping or foiling. She will then send the quilt to me to add a border, layer and start the quilting. I’ll send it back to her to finish the quilting.
The fabrics that weren’t used in the joint project will most likely show up in future work of either (or both) of us. We’re both really excited about our collaborative process, and plan to do another with a different color palette.
When I returned from my visit with Anne, I turned my attention back to the workshop I facilitated yesterday for the Grouse Mountain guild – Creating Architectural Art Quilts from Photos. It was a new workshop that I developed at the request of the Grouse Mountain guild, so I needed to put my thoughts together on paper for a class handout. Also, each participant had submitted their inspiration photo to me, to create a full-size pattern for the class.
We had 18 people in attendance, and had an interesting variety of subjects for their art quilts. I talked about and showed examples of my architectural quilts, and the various techniques I have used. Then the participants got down to work on their own art quilts – making decisions about construction techniques and auditioning their fabric selections. We all had a great time, and each person left the workshop with a planned and partially completed project. You can see some of the projects below.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
The tree quilt is progressing well. Here it is with the trees pinned in place. They will probably get repositioned as I sew them onto the background. I’m debating whether to cover the background trees with white tulle, but will decide after I sew them all on.
On Monday night, I attended the January meeting of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild. Because it was the first meeting of the year, we did a show-and-tell of our first quilts – lot’s of fun stories about making our first quilts!
I also showed off a mug rug I made for a swap with a group of quilters who sell on Etsy – the Quiltsy Team. My partner in the swap said she liked “bright or black and red combo or pandas, turtles, tree frogs” I didn’t have any of the critters she likes, but I do have bright and red and black. I had an idea for bright, and an idea for red and black, so I made a two-sided mug rug!
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
Earlier in the week, I pulled all of my quilts out of storage, decided which to bring to the trunk show and organized them into groups – early quilts, art quilts, modern quilts, portrait quilts, etc. I rolled each group of quilts onto a pool noodle then placed the roll in a garment bag. The rolls go into a folding cart for easy transport. I took about 45 quilts with me. Here they are displayed on tables after my presentation.
I’ll be facilitating a workshop on February 7th for the Grouse Mountain guild. It will cover the techniques I’ve developed to create an architectural art quilt from a photo – most of which I’ve shared previously in this blog. (The workshop theme was the idea of the Grouse Mountain guild, and I’m so happy they suggested it. It’s going to be a lot of fun!)
I’ve offered to print out full-size patterns for the workshop participants from their photos – so that’s been keeping me busy, too. Here’s one I did for Trish, the workshop organizer.
And, I’m working on the next tree quilt. I was inspired by the foggy weather we had earlier this week. While driving the other day, I noticed the ghostly shapes of trees in the fog, and knew I had to try to reproduce the effect in an art quilt. Here’s what’s on my design wall.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
Coincidentally, the theme for the first challenge of season 6 season at Project Quilting is – Trees! So I’m entering this quilt in this week’s challenge. I’m creating in New Westminster, BC, Canada.
I used a variety of black & white fabrics for the background. I thought the dark fabric at the top looked like abstract leaves. Then when I was looking for a dark fabric for the bottom, I decided it also looked like roots – so I used it there too. I pieced the background, then layered it and quilted it with a loose grid pattern. The horizontal quilting lines are about 2 inches apart, and the vertical lines are 2.5 to 3 inches apart. I didn’t worry about making them absolutely straight, in keeping with the abstract concept of the quilt.
I cut the tree shapes from freezer paper and pressed them to the back of the multicolored fabric. I cut the tree shapes with seam allowances, which I pressed to the back. I lined the tree shapes with a layer of very thin batting – which added some dimension and ensured the black and white background wouldn’t show through. I appliqued the trees to the quilted background with black thread stitched along the edges.
It finished at 16 x 36 inches. I’m calling it ‘Exuberant Trees’.
Check out the other entries in the Project Quilting challenge, and note that starting tomorrow you can vote for your favorite.
I’m also linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
I’ve been contemplating my plans for 2015, and was delighted to come across this blog post by Jane – it made me think about my goals in a different way! It was hard to pick just one word, but the word Explore really resonated with me.
I’m going to explore new exhibit opportunities to enter and show my work – although I’m not sure which ones yet.
I’m exploring new workshop ideas – although admittedly the next one was suggested by the guild, not by me. In February, I’ll be teaching ‘Architectural Art Quilts from Photos’ for the Grouse Mountain Day Quilters Guild. It has also been suggested that I should develop a workshop on my techniques for making circle quilts.
I’m going to explore new techniques. I have decided to start a new series of tree quilts. The new series will be more abstract than my previous series. Each quilt will be 36 inches long and widths will vary from 14 to 18 inches. They will all feature a tree or two, but each one will have different techniques. My goal is to make one a month during 2015.
The trees will be based on one of the photos below, or possibly even more abstract like this quilt.
For the first quilt, I’m using non-realistic colors to force myself towards the abstract concept. I had a fabulous multicolored piece of fabric in my stash that I used for the tree, and I’m going to use black & white fabrics for the background. Here’s a sneak peak at my fabric selections.
I’m also going to explore a new working relationship. I’m really excited about this! My fiber artist sister Anne and I have decided we’re going to collaborate on one or more fiber art projects. In 2013 (has it really been that long!?), we collaborated on a pair of fiber art pieces for the ‘Abstracted’ exhibit by members of the Fibre Art Network. I’ll be visiting Anne later this month, and we’ll spend a few days in her studio exploring and creating. Anne is much more into surface design than I am, so I’ll also learn and explore some new-to-me material and techniques.
Do you have one word that describes your goals and plans for 2015? I hope your goals – whatever they may be – bring you fun and satisfaction. And I wish you all a happy and creative year!
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
It’s that time of year again! An opportunity to review accomplishments in the past year, and set goals for the new year.
During 2014, I created more than 25 quilts, which I think is my most prolific year so far! Here are some of the quilts I made during 2014:
I had 14 quilts accepted into quilt shows (and a few rejected). I was thrilled when I won an award at the Canadian National Juried Show!
I did 3 trunk show presentations for local guilds, and taught one very fun workshop.
My work was published in 3 magazines during 2014.
I was notified that some of my quilts will be published in a book that will be published early in 2015 – and one of my Rainy Day People quilts is on the cover!
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing what I’ve been up to in the past 12 months. I’ll be back in a couple of days with information about my plans for 2015.
. This was so much fun! My lower mainland fibre art group meets once a month. In January our activity was making a fibre version of a ‘paper doll’. We were each given a 24 inch high doll shape made of interfacing. We were paired with another member and instructed to each make a ‘paper doll’ of the other person. I was paired with Jennie @jenniecole_artandquilts She made a doll representing me and I made one representing her.
There were almost 30 dolls displayed at our February meeting. I didn’t get photos of all of them but this is a good representation.
. Went for a walk today on the Pattullo Bridge. It has been closed to traffic as its replacement is now fully open. This weekend the old bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists. After that it will be permanently closed, and will be demolished over the next 2 years.
I will be sad to see it go and I’m glad I got to say goodbye today....
