Blue Cosmos
Please stop in and visit me and this little quilt, Blue Cosmos, at the Artfabrik booth (#516) at the AQS show in Des Moines. I shall be all by my lonesome as Frieda is teaching most days while I sit in the booth. This means I shall have to talk to myself and twiddle my little thumbs.
And as we all know,there is nothing worse than a mumbling thumb twiddler.

Big Thread 42" x 42"

Stitcher-tunities
As Frieda and I drive across the plains of Illinois to the AQS show in lovely Des Moines, I shall be working on the latest lyrics for Stitcher-tunities, Songs of the Stitcher. I shall be fleshing out that famous song, "Where Have All the Stitchers Gone?" and embarking on anew  little ditty tentatively called: "99 Needles". Here's a preview:
99 needles stuck in a quilt, 99 needles to stitch!
You take one down, you stitch it around,
You've got 98 needles to stitch in a quilt!

That should make Frieda happy.

Housing Department #17   15" x 12"

500 Art Quilts

Like many of my fellow artists, I too will have a quilt in the book 500 Art Quilts published by Lark Books. Housing Department #17 is now in the hands of a collector, Alice from Texas. But I remember how much I enjoyed making it and am happy it will be memorialized in this new book due out in 2010.

Stitching Down the House

If you are a stitch enthusiast like me, you'll enjoy adding hand embroidery stitches to your quilt tops. It makes such a huge difference in the appearance of the quilt.

Here we have a detail shot of a new quilt called Housing Department (you can get the pattern and fabric on the Artfabrik pattern page). After steam setting the fused quilt top to the batt, I begin stitching just through the batting and top layers. I'm using various colorways of Size 8 thread and adding running, seed, straight, cross, blanket, and lazy daisy stitches. French knots make up the dotty textures and hits of color. The sun is a Size 3 thread couched down with 8 in a spiral fashion. 

  It was so much fun stitching this quilt! I must do more.

So Long Houston! Hello Des Moines!
We have returned from a successful International Quilt Festival in Houston where Frieda and I talked our little heads off and my feet expanded 3 sizes in width. Now (because we are crazy quilting gals!) we are packing up for the AQS Quilt Expo in Des Moines, IA.
Frieda will teach while I relax in the booth (#516). Thread was a big seller in Houston as was silk, like this lovely piece above. Don't worry, I'll be adding more from my stock to fill the shelfs at Des Moines. Hope to see you there!

Quilt Premier

An indicator of where I am in my current artistic ventures, is this silk quilt called Coleen's Calling Birds #20.  For me, birds represent freedom, movement, travel, and dance. And free as a bird, I love improvising with fused fabric scraps. The hand stitching adds all those accent marks you can't make with fabric.

You can see the premier of this little bird quilt at the International Quilt Festival. It's on display with my other small art quilts that are for sale in booth #438. Hope to see you there!

Hola Damas!
If you are visiting the International Quilt Festival in Houston this week, you are in for a treat. You must visit the Deseda Mas booth, #1015. They are lovely Spanish women who make lovely, gorgeous, beautiful hand-painted silk panels and fabrics like this one above.
I own this one. So you can't have it. But you can get one at their booth. Please stop in and tell them Laura sent you.

Housing Department

New Patterns Preview

In response to tumultuous demand, I shall be releasing 2 new patterns at the International Quilt Festival this week. Look for Housing Department (with a fabric kit) and Garden Flowers (also with a fabric kit) in the Artfabrik booth #438. (They will be available on the Artfabrik web site upon my return, October 20.)

I hope this stops all that tumultuousness.

Garden Flowers

Thread Rings

Laura, you ask, how do you store those beautiful threads you use in your hand stitched quilts? Here's how.

I place my hand-dyed embroidery threads on metal rings (found at a craft store in the embroidery department). After cutting the skein in half at one end, I loop the center of the skein over the metal ring. Now each strand of thread is about 36" in length. Draw a single strand from the center where it is looped over the ring and stitch away. No tangling!

Birdhouse in the Country

Lucky Laura

Being a darling of fate, I have drawn the most coveted time slot for teaching a class at Houston: Sunday morning at 8 AM. Surprisingly, this exclusive 3 hour time slot still has openings. And even more surprisingly, several people have already sign up for my class: Bird House in the Country!

If you are feeling lucky too, please sign up for the class and join me. A kit is provided and I promise to be chipper and charming...... even if it is 8 AM!

Dyeing Disorder

My dye room has now been declared an official disaster area.
With the International Quilt Festival in Houston coming 2 weeks earlier than normal, my dye schedule for Artfabrik is all amuck. As is my dye room. As are my clothes, shoes, and socks. My feet still hurt and I've developed a tic in my right eye. 
One more week of this and I shall be declared an official disaster area!

Dyeing for Houston
My final push to dye for the Artfabrik booth (#438) at the International Quilt Festival in Houston is in full swing. And my feet are killing me!
Soon cotton fabric, thread, shirts, and cheesecloth will be washed and shipped to Houston. I've come up with some really beautiful silk as well. I dye a little in my basement every day.