Celebrating Collage Making!

My friend Jenny has graciously lent me this photo of her quilt created in my Color Chip Collage class at Quilt University in Ann Arbor a while back.  In class you make several versions of fused collages like strip fusing (above), bias fusing, patterning, and even weaving. Then use the collages to create your own design of a still life, landscape, portrait, or abstract construction. I never know what students will come up with; my favorite kind of class. Thanks for sharing your work with us Jenny!

Irish Patchwork Society Visit

Soon you will find me in the lovely land of Ireland (see above)! I'm so happy to report I'll be visiting with members of the Irish Patchwork Society for their show, Q is for Quilt, in Cork. Check out this blog at The Woolly Way of Ireland for more information.
The exhibition of quilts takes place at the Cork Institute of Technology in Bishopstown, Cork.  The opening is on Saturday the 4th September at 5:00 and the exhibition will run for one week. I'll be giving a talk (Art Quilts: the Musical) on Saturday afternoon (at 3:00) followed by the official opening. You'll find me teaching the lovely Irish quilters on Sunday and Monday. Wish me luck!

Round the Quilting World

Round the Quilting World

Look what my friend Denise made! She saw my recent Quilting Arts article about my round Pretty Planet quilts and decided to give it a go. She did a great job making her own version along with hand stitching and beautiful color choices.

And here's her quilt with the first page of the article. Its always fun to see what people are making. Thanks for sharing your work with us Denise!

My friend Barbara from British Columbia also made a Pretty Planet quilt. This is her version depicting all that is great about the Pacific Northwest. I love the addition of 3-D elements. Yikes! Is that a bear?  Thank you Barbara!

Vale Craft Gallery

If you are in Chicago this summer, don't forget to visit the wonderful River North Gallery District. There you will find the Vale Craft Gallery, where several of my art quilts are on exhibit including Young Forest (above). This terrific gallery has always been fiber friendly, but it also has exciting jewelry, glass, metal, and mixed media work. This particular show only runs through September 4 so hurry on in!

Thread-u-cation Thursdays: T-Stitch

There is probably a proper name for this stitch but I'm calling it the T-Stitch. Simple to do and perfect for indicating veins on leaves, I've used it on this pineapple top. (Looks a little like a bad hair day on a Muppet.) Pineapple is from my new pattern series called Folk Art Fusing.

Here's how I make my T-Stitches: Bring the needle and thread up at point A and re-insert the needle into the fabric at point B which is about 1/4" up from point A. Now bring the needle and thread up at point C, about 1/4" to the left of point B.  Reinsert the needle at point B and scoot the needle under the fabric to point D, 1/4" to the right of B.

Draw the needle and thread through point D and re-insert the needle back into point B. When you draw the thread through the fabric you have a T!  These T's are also perfect to indicated cobbles on cobblestone street like that in House on the Road also a new pattern.

Festival of Quilts, UK

Anybody out there going to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England? Frieda and I will again be schlepping all our worldly quilt goods to Stall B4 (see above). That's B4, as in, see us B4 seeing anyone else!
This is my favorite show because we get to meet with our European friends and see some wonderful art as well.  If you're there, please stop in and say "hi".  

Thread-u-cation Thursdays: Thimbles and Fingers

 When I was just a girl (sometime prior to the dark ages) I learned to hand stitch using a thimble. It became such a habit that my finger feels naked if I'm not wearing a thimble when I pick up a needle.

The thimble habit is a good one to get into. Not only do thimbles protect your finger tip but they also allow you to stitch longer. Here you see me with my favorite thimble, a tailor's thimble, with an open end. I like to think of it as a thimble with air conditioning. I also like thimbles because they have dimples and you can play Monopoly with them. Are you a digitabulist?

Baskets o' Thread

This week is known as the Twisting o' the Threads! Its a festive week of taking all those rinsed and dried skeins of dyed thread and twisting them in colorful hanks. This is followed by the joyous Labeling o' the Threads! where I attach a printed label to the threads to help identify them.
My friend, Frieda, recently coined a new term for these skeins and hanks of threads. She calls them "skanks".

Laura's Flower Garden on the Quilt Show

Meet my friend Laura. And congratulate her as well. Today, she's the featured artist on The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson. This charming little quilt above was created during a workshop I taught in Wisconsin. Laura is really talented and she's charming too! Thanks for sharing your work, Laura!

Thread-u-cation Thursdays: Crown Stitch

To me the Crown Stitch looks like a little person turning cart wheels. That's why I've chosen the Crown Stitch for this particular place on the hill of my little quilt, Small World #7. It looks like a group of agile gymnasts ready to cart wheel down the hill.

Here's how I make my Crown Stitches: Bring the needle and thread up at point A, then draw them through the fabric at point B which is about 1/4" to the right and 1/4" down from point A. Next bring the needle and thread up at point C (about 1/4" straight up from B). Plunge the needle back into point B and draw the thread through. Now bring the needle and thread up at point D which is 1/4" to the right of C (on that same line of A and C). Re-insert the needle at B to make a W shape.

Now bring the needle up at point E which is about 1/2" due south of point A. Slide the needle under the 3 straight stitches above.

Your next step is to again plunge the needle into the fabric, this time at point F which is about 1/2" due south of point D.  Now leap about. You have completed the crown and you are a princess!

Cat Class Completed

One of my lovely hostesses during my trip to South Carolina this year was Marolyn.  She is a sweet lady and not only took good care of me, but she completed the quilt above. I taught this class in Newberry with cats and dogs. I mean, the participants were human but the class was based upon my cats and dogs patterns. Ah! Such fond memories I have of my South Carolina visit. Thanks for sharing your work with us Marolyn!