It's Fall and There Was a Quilt Show!

I found this great little tutorial for the cutest cloth pumpkins ever. Check them out.

You can find the tutorial here. The littlest pumpkins would make great place markers for a nice fall dinner (i.e. Thanksgiving). Just lean paper name tags against the stems--ADORABLE!

I had the opportunity to go to a quilt show put on by the Raintree Quilt Guild this past weekend. Since I'm in a fall kind of mood, I'll show you the fall quilts first. These first three quilts are by Karen Hampton. They are all for sale. Check out her website here.

Fall Trio

Pebble and Leaf

Northern Lights

This next quilt is called Autumn Vines and was pieced by Darlene Robinett and quilted by Linda Bolen. It was a block-of-the-month quilt at a local quilt shop.

Since I'm on a "fall kick"...today was SO beautiful that my husband and I felt like we just HAD to get outside. We decided to make a trip to the Huber Family Farm in southern Indiana. Here is a pic of my husband with lots of big, beautiful pumpkins. I LOVE the orange of those pumpkins!

Back to the quilt show...this next quilt was meticulously pieced by Karen Long Miller and BEAUTIFULLY machine quilted by Rita English. I think if you click the picture you can get a close up look at the quilt.

I have a soft spot in my heart for antique quilts. This quilt is a Boston Commons and was HAND pieced and HAND quilted by Minnie Boekenhoff; it was made in the 1930s. The granddaughter, Linda Bolen, (who owns the quilt) was told by her mother that this was a quilt kit. There is A LOT of quilting on this quilt. It was interesting to see the edge finishing. The edges are turned under and whip stitched shut with TINY little stitches.

It just looked so soft and cuddly. I REALLY wanted to touch it but refrained. I DID take a close up so you could see the beautiful hand quilting on this one.

I love a good quilt show, and I love fall. I'm a happy gal!

 

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Studio Tour--Peggy Brown

A group of artists from SAQA Indiana went to the Nashville, Indiana, home of fiber artist extraordinaire Peggy Brown this past weekend. It was wonderful to meet some new people and see Peggy's beautiful home and studio. Peggy was a wonderful hostess. (She even served us sherbet and cookies while we were there.)

Peggy was kind enough to share several pieces of her art with us. We saw finished quilts and paintings and even got to see some work in progress. We saw how she uses her watercolor paintings in her quilts. She currently has a piece in Quilt National (2013). If you aren't familiar with Peggy's work (or if you'd like to refresh your memory), check out her website here. Peggy told us she began her career as a watercolor artist. In the quilts we got to see, she used watercolor paints on silk and digital photography of her watercolor paintings (along with a lot of other things) to make her artistic visions come to life. Peggy was VERY generous about sharing her process with us. I loved the transparency and "glow" in the layers of her work. Here are a few pictures.

This picture shows Peggy speaking with us about her process.

In the photo above, Peggy points out the real leaves she has used in the piece.

Here, Peggy speaks about how she constructs her pieces.

I LOVE the "glow" that seems to come from within this piece.

Here Peggy shows us what she will be using for a background on one of her new pieces. She has used watercolor paints to create the background she wants. She also showed us pieces of painted tissue paper, painted interfacing, and a soywax batik piece that might be incorporated into the new work.

I might have trouble getting ANY work done if I had this view out of MY living room window!

Thank you, Peggy, for sharing with us.

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Text on Textiles--Jane LaFazio

I just got back from my first Create workshop in Chicago (well, they call it that, but it really is located in Lisle, Illinois). The only class I took was Jane LaFazio's Text on Textiles class. I enjoyed it very much as text on textiles is right up my alley. I'd like to steer you to Jane's blog and website. Check out what she says about the class I took on her website here. Jane's take on Chicago Create is here.

Here are some of the pictures I took during my class. This first one is a picture of Jane showing us how she adds some color to the small fiber collages we were working on. You can see her class samples on the table.

This next picture is a sampling of some of the student work from the class. (Mine is the bottom right.) I don't think anyone got finished, but we did make a lot of progress toward a finished project. I know my piece has a lot of embellishment to be done yet, which would make it a good take-along project. I'm always looking for some needlework I can do while I travel.

I have some ideas about how I might use some of the techniques in my own work. My class project will be a good way for me to remember the techniques I learned in the class. For me, a successful workshop is one where I learn something I can actually use in the work I do. How about you? What does it take for you to feel like you got your money's worth from a class or workshop?

 

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Terrific Tutorial Tuesday--A Day Late (EPP Tutorials)

I was surfing late on Tuesday evening and ran across a great series of tutorials on English Paper Piecing. I think it is always good to have some handwork ready for a trip of any kind, and English Paper Piecing is a good way to do this. The third entry in this series even has a pattern for an English Paper Piecing travel kit (and it is way cool). I haven't had a chance to make the travel kit, but I'm planning on making one. I'll blog about it when I do. Head on over to The Zen of Making and check out the hexie tutorials there. Let me know how you like them. Also, it is always nice to leave a comment on blogs you enjoy. Leave a comment on The Zen blog if you like the tutorials you find there. (I know from experience they are a lot of work to write!)

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Another View on Blocking a Quilt

If you are interested in another view on blocking, check out this blog post--Wavy Edges of Wall Quilts--over at Alison Schwabe's blog. Evidently, wavy quilt edges bother her as much as me. She thinks blocking is a waste of time (and I agree in a lot of cases). For wall quilts, especially those that might be displayed in humid regions, her suggestions make a lot of sense.

One of my good friends who was a LONG-time quilter used the "gathering stitch" method. I once had a quilt that had a really wavy border. Since she was the local quilt authority (as far as I was concerned), I asked her what I could do. She "made" me take off the binding and take some "gathering stitches" in the very far edges of the quilt. She had me pull the gathering stitches ever so slightly where the waves were the worst. When I reapplied my binding, I was SHOCKED at the amount of binding I had left over. I had gathered in SEVERAL inches of the quilt! The quilt was flat and I was pleased. (Thanks LaVerne!) You DO have to be careful not to gather so much on the edges, though, that you make the center of the quilt "puff" up. You might give this method a try if wavy edges are a problem for you.

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Great Fiber Art in Southern Indiana

If you are close to southern Indiana (or making a trip in that direction) and are a fiber lover, you are in for a treat. Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists (LAFTA) has its annual juried group exhibition at The Carnegie Center for Art & History in New Albany, Indiana, from July 26-October 5, 2013. For a more traditional view of quilts, visit the Patoka Valley Quilt Guild exhibit at the Krempp Gallery in Jasper, IN. That exhibit runs from August 2-August 29, 2013. See this blog post for more information on that exhibit.

Now...back to the LAFTA exhibit...LAFTA, founded in 1995, is an organization of local visual artists whose work encompasses many surface design and construction techniques. LAFTA members are a very diverse group who share a deep appreciation and passion for a wide range of fiber arts. To find out more about LAFTA (including how to join) visit their website: LAFTA.

The juror for this exhibit (Beverly Glascock) said, "The selected entries are the ones that I felt succeeded the most in showing the incredible range of innovation that exists in fiber and textile art today. They include examples of hand and machine embroidery; beading; netting; dyeing; and screen-printing; mixed collage and assemblage."

I had the chance to take a few pictures at the LAFTA exhibit and thought I'd post some for you to enjoy. You really need to see the exhibit in person!

This piece is called New York, New York and was made by Felice Sachs. It has a pieced background and includes photographs, photo-transfer, machine quilting, and fabric collage. Felice says, "The architecture, crush of people, jumble of sights and images of New York City are overwhelming at times and always visually exciting...I wanted to capture a sense of that energy and visual stimulation using fabrics, photographs, paint and stitches." I had the opportunity to see this piece in various stages along its path to being finished. It was such fun to see the development of the piece from the idea to a finished product. I love the colors and how "busy" the piece is. That "busyness" truly gives me the sense of being in New York where my senses are often overstimulated!

A Touch of the Sea, 2012, was made by Lisa Leigh Payne. It is made with embroidery gimp, felt, beads, and ribbon. She says, "My fascination with embroidery begins with the simplicity of the needle, thread, and cloth. Through my work, these familiar materials transform the cloth's surface into a complex and organic design." I love Leigh's work because of the colors, textures, and the hand work involved. I truly LOVE hand work and can appreciate the time and love that goes into each of Leigh's pieces.

If you'd like to see more of Leigh's work, she currently has a solo exhibit called "Touching Your Inner Peace" at the Wayside Christian Mission's Wayside Expressions Gallery. You can see a demonstration of how she works on Sunday, August 11, 2013, from 12-4 pm (Eastern time). There will be a reception on August 18 from 2-4 pm. The exhibition will be on display through September 3. The gallery is open Monday through Friday 11-1:30 or by appointment. Wayside Expressions Gallery is located in the Hotel Louisville, 120 West Broadway, SE Corner of 2nd and Broadway Streets in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information, you can call the Wayside Christian Mission at 502-836-7661 or 502-584-3711.

Lisa Leigh Payne at the Wayside Expressions Gallery with her piece Tree of the Mother II.

Closeup of Tree of the Mother II.

This next piece is called Zion Sunset and was made by Marti Plager. It is made of cotton fabric which has been dyed, overdyed, and painted. She has also used flour paste and soy wax resist along with screen printing on the piece. The piece is machine quilted. Marti says, "I love to sew. The hum of my machine is like music as I bring to life the texture that I so love on the surface of the quilt. I derive great pleasure in exploring the variety of techniques that can turn white cotton fabric into color and pattern. Some of those explorations can be quite frustrating or lead to new ideas." This piece is already sold; so if you'd like to see it in person, you need to get on it!

This really is a good show, and the Carnegie is such a nice facility. Take in the exhibit if you get a chance. Make an afternoon of it; New Albany has some nice little restaurants and interesting shops to visit while you are in town.

 

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