New Work to Show
This is the latest in my on going series called Weezie's Wildflowers.  You can see a few others I've added to my Portfolio of New Art work here.

Improvising from my scraps of fused fabrics is my favorite way of creating small art quilts. Those little pieces of fabrics are like dabs of paint for me. You trim up the color shape a little bit, slap it down on a collaged background and build up a design as you go. Stitching the quilt just adds the icing to the cake. Its so much fun being an artist!

Berea Quilt Extravaganza
Did you know that beautiful  Berea, Kentucky is the Folk Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky? And its one of the nation's top 25 arts destinations. I must go there!

And so I will. You can find me there during their Quilt Extravaganza where I'll be teaching 2 classes August 4 - 6. There's the 2 day Fusing Fun class where you make lots of original fused art quilts and the 1 day Color Chip Collage class where you create a lovely art quilt from fused collages like Betty's Bloomers above. We have go to go see this town!  All the information about the classes is here. Please join me!

Thread-u-cation Thursday: Chain Stitch

Thread-u-cation Thursdays: Chain Stitch
If you want to draw a really thick line on your quilt top with thread, the fastest way is to use the Chain Stitch. This linked stitch starts out like the Lazy Daisy stitch but attaches to the previous stitch to form a line or chain of stitches. Here you see the Chain Stitch forming bulky cumulus clouds above the tree tops on a stormy day.

Here's how I make my Chain Stitch: Bring the thread up at point A and re-insert the tip of the needle into the fabric at that same point A. Slide the needle under the fabric about 1/4" up from point A to point B. Slip the thread coming out of A under the tip of the needle and draw the needle and thread through the fabric to form a loop.

Point B now becomes point A. Repeat the above directions creating a chain of stitches. If you look closely you'll see a line etched on to the fabric with the tip of the needle. I use the line to guide the placement of the stitches.

After you do a lot of Chain Stitches you can become a member of the Chain Gang. This is a group of embroiderers who are doing time for letting their knots show on the back of their work.

Thread-u-cation Thursday: Needle Weaving

Thread-u-cation Thursdays: Needle Weaving
In Needle Weaving, the idea is to create a thread structure that screens or creates a mesh across the background fabric and sits on the surface as a bold texture. It acts as a grid pattern to emulated window panes or tile or even cobble stones on a small quilt like the detail above.

 

Here's how I make my Needle Weaving: make a row of vertical straight stitches about 3/4" long and about 1/8" apart on the fabric. These are the "warp" for your Needle Weaving. Make sure it is an odd number of warp threads like 5, 7, or 9.  Bring the needle and thread up at point A about 1/8" down and to the right of the warp. Weave the needle across the warp threads by placing it over and under and over and under the vertical threads. Insert the needle at point B and draw the needle and thread through the fabric.

Next bring the needle and thread up at point C which is about 1/8" down from point B. Weave the needle across the warp threads starting at the left side going under and over and under and over the vertical threads. Insert the needle and thread at point D (about 1/8" down from point A) and draw the thread through the fabric. Repeat weaving horizontally across the warp threads until filled in.

As you can see Needle Weaving combines 2 art forms: the embroidery stitch and weaving. That must make it a "cross over" art form. Cross over, get it? (But, I amuse myself.)

SAQA Store
An excellent organization I belong to is SAQA, the Studio Art Quilt Associates. If you visit their web site you'll see that they have a store selling art quilts including my Nice Neighborhood above. This quilt is part of a traveling exhibit called SAQA @ 20 Art and Excellence 2009.
If you have a chance, you can see the exhibit at the following venues:

• National Quilt Museum, Paducah, Kentucky, May 28 - July 6, 2010
• International Quilt Festival, Long Beach, CA, July 23 - 25, 2010
• Bloomingdale Park District Museum, Bloomingdale, IL, Sept. 11 – October 23, 2010
• Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Massachusetts, Nov. 16, 2010 – Jan. 16, 2011

Inspiration
Often people ask where I get inspiration for the work I make. Here is a good example, a set of birdhouses in my garden on the back fences waiting for residents to move in. This line up of birdhouses has triggered many a quilt including this one below, Birdhouse #8 :
It is a cheerful little home for all your feathered friends (or at least those not afraid of color). True it has only 1 room but I'm sure they'll like the neighborhood.

Thread-u-cation Thursday: Ermine Stitch

Thread-u-cation Thursday: Ermine Stitch
Ermine Stitches look like tiny stars dancing across the sky to me. If placed correctly, they could form constellations like my favorite (and only one I can find in the night sky) the Big Dipper. Ermine Stitches are made with 2 really simple stitches: the Straight Stitch and the Cross Stitch.

Here's I make my Ermine Stitches: Make a Straight Stitch from A to B and bring the needle up at point C which is a little down and to the left of point A. Draw the needle and thread through the fabric.
Cross over the AB line and insert the needle to the right and a little up from point B at point D. Bring the needle under the fabric and emerge at point E with is to the left and a little up from B. Draw the needle and thread through the fabric.
Insert the needle at point F which is to the right and a little down from point A and draw the thread through the fabric.
This patterning stitch can also form shapes too like this wreath above made with the Ermine Stitch. It's a charming stitch for all your charming uses.

Curvy Quilts
If you haven't received a June/July 2010 edition of Quilting Arts Magazine, rush out to your local book store to pick up a copy. There are lots of great articles examining hand stitching on the surface of textiles and an article on page 82 called Small Circular Quilts by moi which also includes hand stitching.

In the article, you'll find directions for creating round quilts like Pretty Planet #5 above. These circular quilts are from my latest series of hand stitched quilts. It's not just about the circle shape for me, its about the idea of loving our planet and how joyous a place it can be!