Fist Full of Threads Give Away Tomorrow!

It's not often you wake up to find a large razorback hog in your back yard. In fact, I'm guessing it's pretty rare. And that's why I'm hiding in my studio today and preparing to reveal another project from my new book Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts tomorrow. Here's a little hint about tomorrow's project from the book: even in a Nice Neighborhood razorback hogs can turn up unexpectedly.
And hog or not, I'll be giving away another Fist Full of Thread tomorrow!

Guest Artists: Inspired to Stitch

Another of our winners of the Fist Full of Threads joins us to show a small quilt she hand embroidered with her thread winnings. Karen embellished this sweet little heart with the size 8 thread and great stitch combinations. Thank you Karen, for sharing your work with us!

And you must check out Sherri Spangler's work too. This is her bunny "lavishly stitched" with what looks to be our Rainbow Medium thread. Thanks Sherri!
If you've made something with Artfabrik fabric, threads, or patterns, I would love to see it and possibly include it on Guest Artist Sunday. Please send your images to me at laura@artfabrik.com.

America Celebrates

If you are in the Longmont, Colorado early next year, please check out the exhibit America Celebrates: Quilts of Joy and Remembrance at the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center. The show runs January 15 - March 13, 2011. I'm proud to be a part of this exhibit organized by Judith Traeger, Quilt artist extraordinaire.

My quilt, Arbor Day, celebrates the beauty of trees and all they give us like shelter, shade, warmth, food, and even clean air. Along with 56 other art quilts, the America Celebrates exhibit opens in Longmont then travels nationally for a few years. Hope you have the opportunity to see it.

Thread-u-cation Thursdays: French Knot Video

Following is a movie on how to make a French Knot. The actress in this video is not up for an Academy Award but the Foreign Film Societies are sure to give it some sort of recognition. Maybe best short film featuring an embroidery stitch and a fused art quilt?

French Knots from Laura Wasilowski on Vimeo.

Fist Full of Thread! Winner for Week 8

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments about the Bird House quilt from Fanciful Stitches. Here we have our watch dog guarding the Fist Full of Threads for this week's lucky winner: Dotti.  Congratulations Dotti!

And for those of you longing for Spring I give you a Morning Glory seed packet pattern. Please be judicious where you plant them. They spread like crazy! And please join me next week for another project from Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts and another Fist Full of Threads giveaway!

Fanciful Stitches: Bird House

One of my hobbies is to collect bird houses for my garden. So far no one has actually lived in one of my bird houses. (Well there was that family of squirrels, but they don't count.) But, if a bird were to move into my birdhouse, she would be a Yellow Bellied Leaf Hopper. You can find her and her house in my new book, Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts.

Here's what my bird house collection looks like now. No wonder no one lives there!

Fortunately, the Yellow Bellied Leaf Hopper is very adventuresome and has an eye for a fine looking abode. She is also a fancy dresser. See the lovely French Knots on her wing and Pistol Stitch hairdo. That Outline Stitch really sets her apart. Must be the stitch instructions in Fanciful Stitches that makes her attire so fetching. Ah, to be a Yellow Bellied Leaf Hopper!
If you are feeling fetching and would like to win a Fist Full of Thread! to stitch your bird, please leave a comment here today. Tomorrow I'll announce the winner so please stay tuned!

Fanciful Stitches Give Away on Tuesday!

Having recently returned from teaching at the Hot Rock School of Fusing, I am now preparing for the reveal of tomorrow's project from my new book, Fanciful Stitches. The Hot Rock School of Fusing was established by a group of environmentally aware fusers who eschew the use of electricity to power their irons. Instead they use the power of the sun.
It was a long day.
Please join me tomorrow!

Guest Artist: Inspired to Stitch

Remember Liesbeth our friend from the Netherlands and winner of a Fist Full of Thread a few weeks ago? Look at what she has stitched with her bundle of thread. This is a little card she made with  hand and machine stitching. What a lovely little bird!
If you've made something with Artfabrik fabric, threads, or patterns, I would love to see it and possibly include it on Guest Artist Sunday. Please send your images to me at laura@artfabrik.com.

Conversations in Stitch at the Anderson Art Center

 

Please join me in visiting Conversations in Stitch, an exhibition of fiber art by members of the Fiber Artists Coalition. It will be on view at the Anderson Art Center in Kenosha, Wisconsin, January 23 to March 20, 2011. An Opening Reception is scheduled from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on January 23. Three of my quilts, including Artfabrik above, will be on exhibit.

The Fiber Artists Coalition is made up of Professional Artist Members of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) from the upper Midwestern United States. FAC curates traveling exhibits of its members' works. The other fifteen members whose works are included in this show are Frieda Anderson, Astrid Hilger Bennett, Kathie Briggs, Shelley Brucar, Jennifer Conrad, Cheryl Dineen Ferrin, Clairan Ferrono, Linda Witte Henke, Kasia, Peg Keeney, Pat Kroth, Casey Puetz, Gwyned Trefethen, Maggie Weiss, and Trish Williams.

The show extends through March 20, 2011 so you have lots of time to make the journey to this wonderful exhibit space in Kenosha. Hope to see you there!

Thread-u-cation Thursday: Do Not Twist While Driving

This is a public service announcement. Do not twist and drive!
In an attempt to get all my hand-dyed thread twisted into skeins and labeled before leaving town again, I tried to twist the thread while driving down the block. Thankfully, no one was injured. (But a squirrel was badly shaken up in the incident.)
Don't do it. Twisting while drive is dangerous. If you must twist, pull over into a designated twisting area.

Fist Full of Thread! Winner for Week 7

The countdown continues! We are in week 7 of our Fist Full of Threads! give-away and boy are my fists tired. I want to thank you all for visiting yesterday and commenting on the Windmill quilt from my new book Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts. Our lucky commenter this week is: Beth from Maine. Congratulations Beth!

And for those of you who may feel a little sad about not winning the thread, I would like to give you a new best friend, Spot. He's a great companion and comes without fleas or any preconceived notions. Please visit our free pattern page on the Artfabrik site to download Spot's pattern.
And please return next Tuesday when I'll reveal another fascinating quilt from Fanciful Stitches and I give away another Fist Full of Thread! I'll give you an hint: Spot is very interested in what lives in this house.

Fanciful Stitches: The Windmill

This quilt was inspired by a windmill painting by Vincent Van Gogh called Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre: La Butte Montmartre. Someday I would like to meet Vincent. I just love his work.

Like Vincent, I too enjoy a good vegetable garden. But next to the windmill where I live we grow tulips for their beautiful color and for that wonderful tulip smell that perfumes the air in Spring. It's good to be a tulip grower.

Think of the Windmill project from Fanciful Stitches as a canvas for using all your favorite embroidery stitches. Pattern the blades with Straight Stitches. Trim the Windmill structure with Stem Stitches, Blanket Stitches, and Needle Weaving. Plant your gardens with French Knots, Pistol Stitches, Scattered Seed, and Running Stitches. As the song says: There's a Whole Lot of Stitching to Do!

And now my fellow glee club members, if you leave a comment on this blog today, a lucky singer will win a Fist Full of Threads! Everybody sing!

More Fanciful Stitches Thread

Tomorrow I'll reveal another project from my new book Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts. Meanwhile, back in the dye studio, I must prepare more thread for tomorrow's Fist Full of Threads give-away. All those gorgeous threads given away are hand washed in buckets and buckets of water. Here you see the thread bundles soaking in their baths. It's like they're at a little spa for hand-dyed threads. Next I'll give them a facial.

A Woman Packing Iron

 You may think I am a mild manner quilt maker from Illinois. But at the Quilt Fest of New Jersey March 3 - 6 I will be A Woman Packing Iron!  This is an exhibit of 12 of my quilts, including Pressing Matters (above).

I'll also be teaching 3 classes: Folk Art Fusing, Four Little Landscapes, and Stitch after Fusing. A trio of fun classes that guarantee you walk away with a small art quilt.What could be finer that to be in New Jersey in March?

Thread-u-cation: Pincushions!

Without knowing it, I have become a pincushion collector. (It sort of crept up on me like weight gain in winter.) There is always a pincushion close at hand when I'm sewing whether at the machine or while doing embroidery. Here you see a small gathering of my pincushions. The cup of hot cocoa on the right is from my friend, Frieda. It's made with felted sweaters. Others came from Spain, Scotland, and South Carolina.

Celebrating the everyday object is a common theme for many of my quilts and I've made a few pincushion quilts in my day. (The pattern for this quilt can be found in Fuse and Tell Journal Quilts.)

I love the idea of a functional tool that can be whimsical as well. Pincushions range from your typical tomato to chickens, to space vehicles. I wonder if there is a name for someone who collects pincushions. Anybody know?

Fist Full of Thread! Winner for Week 6

Thank you for visiting my blog yesterday and for all the delightful comments about the Bridge Keepers Cottage project from my new book, Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts. Our week 6 winner of a Fist Full of Thread! (as predicted by a chilly random number generator) is: Michele, also known as the Textile Traveler.

Although you didn't win the thread, I want to give you a gift for joining me in celebrating my new book, Fanciful Stitches. Please visit my free pattern page for a new pattern addition, Birdhouse in the Country. Next Tuesday you'll see another new project. And you'll be able to enter another Fist Full of Thread! give-away. Thanks for visiting!

Fanciful Stitches: Bridge Keepers Cottage

This quilt was inspired by my dream job- to be a bridge keeper. From whence does this dream stem, you ask? I'll tell you. On the Chicago River there are charming little bridge keeper buildings that line the river where the major streets cross. From April to November, these massive bridges raise up and stop traffic so sailboats can travel the river. It's a big deal! (You can read more on the Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum site. Wonder if there are any job openings?)

Of course in my dream job, I'm working for the local castle and the bridge is made of stone so I really don't have much to do. Here in this detail of my home, you'll see that the quilt is chalk full of stitchery. See the French Knots, Buttonhole, Scattered Seed, Fly, Running, and Straight Stitches? If you elongate buttonhole stitch you can make ripples in the river. Luckily in Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts there are complete directions for making your own cottage. Then you can join the Chicago Union of Bridge Keepers (CUBK) like me.

And now my fellow union members I'm giving away a Fist Full of Threads! to a random reader who leaves a comment on this blog today.  (Please note: if you win, I have to get your shipping address somehow, so  you may have to leave your email address.)

Fanciful Stitches Give Away Again!

Look what greeted me at the front door on Friday, beautiful azaleas and a card full of good wishes from the friendly folks at C&T. A preview copy of my new book Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts also arrived. They are the best publisher ever! (I just don't know how to tell them that the plant is doomed. Try as I might, house plants expire quickly at my house.)
But in celebration, I'd like to offer another Fist Full of Thread! to a lucky person that leaves a comment on my blog Tuesday. I figure if I give away enough thread, I'll convert everyone to the Joy of Stitching!

Fusing Inspired in NH

This cute little cat quilt is made by our guest artist today, Jodi from New Hampshire. Jodi was in one of my classes somewhere in the universe. And her friend gave her one of my patterns for her birthday last year. Because she is arty, Jodi decided to make it her own by modifying it a bit. She says, "I really liked working on this pattern and hope to enter it in my guild show this spring". Thank you for sharing your work with us Jodi, I just love the 3-D elements that you've added to this quilt. 

 If you've been inspired or are using our fabrics, threads, or patterns in your projects, please send me a photo. Then, with your permission, I'd love to post it on this blog and share it with everyone.

Material Ways Exhibit at the Fine Line

Seedpods

Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles. IL will host “Material Ways,” an exhibit of art quilts created by our Illinois and Wisconsin regional members of SAQA,  Studio Art Quilters Alliance. The show will take place in Fine Line’s Kavanagh Gallery from January 8 – February 19, 2011 with the opening reception scheduled for Saturday, January 8th from 1:30pm – 4pm. Gallery hours are Monday through Sunday from 10am until 5pm.

You can see my quilt, Seedpods, along with art work from: Frieda Anderson, Gail Baar, Patricia Bergh, Pat Bishop, Kathy Downie, Deborah Fell, Mary Ellen Heus, Nancy Kimpel, Pat Kroth, Barbara Lardon, Karen Linduska, Stephanie Nordlin, BJ Parady,, Jeanne, Pfister, Casey Puetz, Jill Robinson, Katherine Sands, Virginia Spiegle, Sue Spurlock, and Tracy McCabe Stewart.

The Fine Line Creative Arts Center is where I taught my first classes many years ago. It is an educational center devoted to helping individuals nurture their creative energies. It provides year-round classes in a wide range of media including weaving, knitting, crochet, machine knitting, dyeing, jewelry, glass, blacksmithing, pottery, painting, drawing, printmaking and papermaking. Check it out and nurture your creative energies!

ACES Again!

The quest for stitch serenity continues for a fellow ACES member! ACES, the Association for Combining Embroidery Stitches, uniting stitches and stitchers around the world. With ACES your stitches have friends.

In today's episode of ACES we find our intrepid stitcher at home in her palatial estate contemplating her palatial place. But alas, something is missing. It's a lovely abode, but in need of a little landscaping. No matter. It's ACES to the rescue!

By adding a few stitch combinations here and there (plus the oft needed hedge prune) our stitcher creates an lovely landscape that any pruner would admire. She makes inviting vegetative stuff lining the walkway with a stitch combo of Lazy Daisy and Straight Stitches. Then she repeats those same stitches on the tree trunks and tree tops. It is horticultural bliss.

Her home is now complete thanks to ACES! ACES friend of gardeners and tree trimmers everywhere.

Fist Full of Thread! Winner for Week 5

Thank you for visiting my blog yesterday and for all the fun comments about the Light House project from my new book, Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts. Our week 5 winner of a Fist Full of Thread! (as predicted by a random number generator located in a warehouse far, far away) is: Marlene! Also known as Madam Quilter! (Now what's that all about?)

My gift to the rest of you for joining me in celebrating my new book, Fanciful Stitches, etc.etc. is a free pattern. Please visit my free pattern page for a new pattern addition, Berry Basket. Next Tuesday you'll see a new project and be able to enter another Fist Full of Thread! give-away. Thanks for visiting!

Fanciful Stitches: Light House

This quilt was inspired by my idea of the perfect ending to a colorful day. Imagine being on a quiet island in the evening. The seas are calm, stars are twinkling, your blue cozy little house snuggles next to the light house as it spreads it's warm glow across the sea. And all the boats are parked in their parking spots.

The only thing slightly scary about this scene is the Herringbone Stitch that makes up the stylized trees on the shore. Yikes! Fortunately, there are directions in Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts on how to make this embroidery stitch. Friendlier stitches to embellish the quilt are also in the book. (Please, no letters about my lambasting of the Herringbone Stitch. I'm just saying its scares me.)

And now for my fellow lambasters! I'm giving away a Fist Full of Threads! to a random reader who leaves a comment on this blog today.  (Please note: if you win, I have to get your shipping address somehow, so  you may have to leave your email address.)

Fanciful Stitches Give Away Anon!

Can there ever be too much of a good thing? Yes. Two weeks of loafing around the house will eventually catch up with you. But I shall now buckle down and prepare for another preview of a project from my new book, Fanciful Stitches: Colorful Quilts tomorrow. It's called the Light House.
I will also gather my wits and a Fist Full of Thread! to give away to some lucky reader leaving a comment on this blog tomorrow. But first, another nap.

Fusing Inspired in NYC

In a recent visit to the Empire Quilt Guild in New York City I met our featured artist today, Nicole. This is her delightful quilt Snacktime in the City that Never Sleeps. She made it for the Guild's biennial quilt show in March with the theme of Landmarks of New York. Nicole says that after my presentation at the Guild, she was inspired to try fusing for the first time and made this quilt. Wow! I think she's a natural fuser!

If you've been inspired or are using our fabrics, threads, or patterns in your projects, please send me a photo. Then, with your permission, I'd love to post it on this blog and share it with everyone.

Formerly Artistic

My resolution for this year is to transfer my artistic self to new ownership. This way maybe I can get something done. And so, I now hereby state this resolution for 2011: Make Art Everyday! Even if it means artfully rearranging the mash potatoes on my plate, I shall create something new on a daily basis. Do you have a resolution regarding art or potatoes? Let me know. I'd love to hear it.

Happy New Year!