Twisted Sister

Foto/Fiber 2012 - My Bonus Pieces

2012-02-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

I made three charming one-of-a-kind house quilts that each measure 4x6, vertical format. They can be framed and hung on your wall.
Foto/Fiber 2012
90 Photos AND 90 BONUS Fiber Surprises
Beauty and Mystery Unite to Fight Cancer

Gold Donor Day - February 15, 2012
Make a minimum donation of $100, choose a photo by
Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, or Cynthia Wenslow
and choose a BONUS Fiber Surprise
by a specific artist from an amazing list of generous fiber artists.

Regular Foto/Fiber - February 16, 2012
Make a minimum donation of $50 and choose a photo by
Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, or Cynthia Wenslow.
Your BONUS Fiber Surprise will be chosen at random for you
from the list of generous fiber artists.

More information on how Foto/Fiber 2012 works:

Our goal – Raise $7,000 for the American Cancer Society
in just ten hours over two days.

Fiberart For A Cause has already donated over $215,000 to the American Cancer Society through the generosity of fiber artists and their patrons.

Surface Design with a Twist and Shout!

2012-02-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

Body Paint Barbie. You know those times when you can't quite think of what you should be doing in your art studio? I reached for a Barbie and decided to paint her body. Think of it as a little sketchbook project.

Don't her long legs look great in front of this watercolor?

Here she is, dashing through the garden, with her blue hands and all. No green thumb to be had. But, she does have an extra eye on her forehead to watch out for Ken.


Being one with nature...a thing of beauty!

A back view

Barbie is hanging out in the stash room with some Hoffman Batiks...which are a nice contrast!

Whimsical Door Sign

2012-02-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

My mom moved to an assisted living club recently. Most of the residents have a seasonal wreath on their door for cheerfulness and identification. I decided that she needed something a little different, so I made her this whimsical house quilt for her door.

In the midst of a long hallway with rows of cream colored doors, she will find her way to her wonderful apartment! I love you, Mom!

Free Motion Quilting...Where to Start?

2012-02-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Free Motion Machine Quilting - where to start? This is a brief overview, but a more thorough lesson is on my DVD 'Rebel Quilting: Thinking Outside the Block.' It also includes how to select fabrics, colors, and design.

I start in the middle, by anchoring my stitches in one place, and I am using a free motion foot.

Then I am choosing to echo some of the round circles, and not perfectly, I might add. I am all about having fun, rather than perfection. Just move the needle around, like it is your pen. My starting thread on top and bottom needs to be cut, so I won't sew over it.

I am using the circles as my guide and then swirl some other stitches nearby, creating movement in the piece.

During this process, I go from straight to zig zag, depending on where I am on the piece.

This piece is made with silk, Batiks, commercial cotton, paper, sheers and fused with Mistyfuse. In the DVD, I show you how to fuse all kinds of fabrics, including sheers with Mistyfuse.

This is the finished art quilt. In the DVD, I show you how to finish the edges without binding, but done the 'rebel way.'

Quilting Arts Workshop - Rebel Quilting; Thinking Outside the Block. Click here to check it out!

Song Share Juliette! You Rock!

2012-02-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

Line drawing of Juliette Low for the Song Share event in Southern California. Be a sister to every Girl Scout!

This is another one of my drawings, with Juliette in a vintage Girl Scout uniform, and she is life size. The organizers of this event did a fabulous job enlarging my artwork and creating amazing 2-sided decorations for this event!

From my drawing...to a beautifully painted Juliette that is life size

Isn't this great? Celebrating 100 years of Girl Scouts. This is a table centerpiece from my drawing!

another table centerpiece - Juliette in her vest!

Sheer Fun with Mistyfuse

2012-01-31T16:32:00.000-08:00

Do no disturb! goddess inside...fusing!

The palette of colors, silks, sheers, and paper. I use a Mistyfuse 'Goddess Sheet' to fuse my fabrics, and they last quite awhile. You could also use parchment paper.

to create a fabric and paper collage using silks and sheers. I used Ultraviolet Mistyfuse for the sheers, and regular white Mistyfuse for the silk, and paper. There is no trace of the fusible, once it is ironed, which is absolutely amazing! The piece just needs a little free motion machine quilting and then it will be done!

Juliette Low and Girl Scouts!

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

A Girl Scout sister of mine asked me to design a logo for an upcoming event to celebrate 25 years of Song Share. Juliette Low is the founder of Girl Scouts. Celebrating 100 Years! She has been the subject of many of my art quilts and custom artwork for Girl Scouts Orange County, California council.
History - This group started with a few Camp Scherman Staff who love to sing. There are about 100 members of Song Share, mainly Alumnae who are all members of the "old" Southern California Ten Councils. They meet once a year and rotate who will host the event, either the last weekend in January or the first weekend in February. It is GS of LA, OC, San Diego, Joshua Tree, Long Beach-----and more.


Small art quilt made in 2006 - for an auction


Logo for Annual Giving Campaign in 2003


Logo for Urban Adventure 2003; she is a lifesize cut-out, mounted on thin board, and painted with watercolors


Logo for Urban Adventure in 2006, and I designed all of the 'adult' themed badges.

Green is in My Nature -partial view - image was made into an ecco-bag by ABC Bakers


Part of the cookie incentive program for 2010


Juliettes -life size girls for the 10 Southern California councils trainers conference in 2004

Happy 100th Birthday Girl Scouts!

More Doodles

2012-01-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

The January theme for the Sketchbook Challenge is "Doodles" and I love to draw them. This is a little departure from my usual one color doodles, because I used Sharpie markers for this visual delight.

This is the back side of the paper. I am contemplating order some fabric on Spoonflower with the top doodle.

In the Studio

2012-01-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

I've had a busy couple of weeks. Did some reorganizing of every room in my studio to make it more efficient. What do they call that? Purging. It felt good to just get all of the fabric that I'll never use, and other things out of my studio. I had my husband add a 6" higher table top extension to my rolling table, making it design height, not back breaking too low.

Here is another view of it. The shelf nearest the top stores the dies for the AccuQuilt machine. One of the best parts of having a table that rolls, is that I can add it to the end of my design table in the other room, to make it even longer, to make way for larger pieces. Yay!

My design table was clean last week, but I have been creating pieces, that I can't share right now. What can I say - I am messy and I want everything out there in front of me so I can see all of the possibilities.

The Girls sit on a shelf above my desk - the 3 muses

This is what I call "My Favorite Things" shelf. Toys, trim, Gumby, Godzilla, cards, skulls and more to inspire me

This is what is coming up. I need to practice free motion machine quilting on my HandiQuilter Avante. I dug out some of the quilt tops that I have collected over the years. This is one (above) that I actually made years ago, for what was going to be a duvet cover, but got bored sewing the seams. Another reason why I became a "rebel" quilter.

This is an old log cabin, one of my favorite traditional quilt patterns. I don't much like the middle brown square, but think I will update it with a small house in each of those squares - fused on. And then I can FMQ it on Big Bessie.

Here is another old quilt, where I bought some antique squares and then added the sashing and sewed them altogether, and frankly, did a terrible job, as there are tucks and big wrinkles in weird places. I think this will need some circles cut on the AccuQuilt machine to jazz this up, and to cover up the "what was I thinking?" errors. Thanks for stopping by!

My Color Palette

2012-01-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 19th - I am honored to be part of a color study on Victoria Findlay Wolfe's blog - Bumble Beans; click HERE to read all about it. This is my color palette, bold, bright and fun.

I often find myself using the same three colors - red, royal blue and lime green in my work. Tea Fairy House - 2011 - Quilting Arts Magazine Oct/Nov 2011 issue "Put a little zip in your art quilts."


Girl, part of a larger work that was made to celebrate the Girl Scouts Orange County's 40th Anniversary. Private Collector.

Sing is part of a collaboration love quilt for a dear friend of mine

Divine Inspiration was made in and traveled with an exhibit "The Indelible Spirit" and then with "Sacred Threads."

Soul Sisters - 2011 - 16x16 - Alliance for American Quilts Grand Prize Winner 2011; owned by a private collector

Molar Eclipse, 26x26; hanging in an orthodontist office in upstate NY

Funky house, part of The Artists Village collaboration in Tactile Architecture, International Quilt Festival - traveling to Cincinnati in April, and Long Beach in July.

Whimsical house quilt based on my first DVD for Interweave

Watercolor flip book of my girl. Polka dots are my favorite pattern

Part of a larger quilt "Bess & George" that is traveling with the exhibit "The Space Between." 36w x 48h

Heavy Metal


The other girl from "Bess & George"

Heirlooms from the Homestead

2012-01-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

This is a twin size quilt, that looks like it is completely hand quilted. A friend said it might be the pattern "Kings Crossing." I love the block with the red in it. Sort of like pin wheels. It has sustained some damage in the blue squares, but it is in pretty good shape. My Grandma Alice was a quilter, and she might have made this. She is the one who taught me how to sew.

This was a great surprise to find this nine patch quilt top, that was never finished. I love the color scheme. The blocks were hand sewn, but the sashing was done on the machine.

It's twin size, I am thinking that a nice addition might be some calico red circles added for fun and motion - bringing the old to the new.

Another view. I am thinking of adding batting and backing and then pinning to my long arm for some fun stitching. I love the fact that when done, it will have hand-stitched blocks, machine sashing, and long arm free motion machine quilting - connecting the years of quilting together!

another detail

Edges of a beautiful tablecloth. Some stains, but overall pretty great.

This is the centerpiece of the tablecloth - could have been made for a marriage.

Fun in the Studio

2012-01-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

On the door for the design room - up to my ears in fusing Batiks

Here's my palette of colors for a background of a future art quilt - and all Hoffman Batiks - my favorite!

Mistyfuse is carefully placed over the top of the wrong side of the fabric. I'm using a 12" roll, that you can buy online directly from Mistyfuse

I am using a FAT Goddess Sheet over the top to secure the Mistyfuse on the fabric

I am cutting these into 5" strips

Now comes the AccuQuilt GO machine, where I have stacked 4 layers of fused fabrics onto the die that cuts 2" squares

The fabric is in between the die and the mat, and I am going to crank them through the machine

Here they are - all nicely cut, and now I have 48 squares of fabric - 8 different blue Batiks

This is what remains, which after awhile of cutting 2" squares, I will have a nice collection of these to make a pretty fun art quilt. Imagine the possibilities!


The is the machine folded up and put back underneath the table

Now I have an interesting and fun background for a future project. How easy was that?

A Visit to the Visions Art Museum

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

The girls take a trip to the Visions Art Museum in San Diego, California

We came to see the member's show "Interpretations" which ends on January 22, 2012, and I would recommend that you go a see it. 37 artists, and a wonderful and diverse group of art quilts - all sizes. The person who hung the show did a fabulous job contributing to the visual effects of the show from every angle.

View of the gallery, where members can display their work for sale

Another view looking toward the back portion of the gallery

The front of the gallery of pieces for sale

The is the beginning of the exhibit "Interpretations" to wet your curiosity. There is no photography in the exhibit. I loved seeing the quilts in person. I was one of the jurors for this show and it was juried on-line. It is fabulous!

The wall of crazy quilts made by members

The girls hanging out with some beautifully made dolls, by Charlotte Bird

Posing in front of the Quilt Visions 2010 exhibit catalog - reminding everyone that the deadline is looming to enter the 2012 show.

The girls in front of an amazing art quilt made by Wen Redmond, that is available to purchase in the gallery store. She also has a piece in the current exhibition.

and this is pretty cool that one of the artists who has work in the exhibit, was featured in San Diego Home/Garden, Gillian Moss. They showcased 11 visual artists in this issue. The writer called me to talk about Gillian's piece in the show for some quotes, since I was one of the jurors, and the only one who actually makes art quilts.

She has a 3-page spread. My quotes read "Gillian is an up and coming San Diego fiber artist who is going to be on the lookout for." "There's a lot of playfulness in her work and i find it very intriguing that she uses a variety of fabrics - linens, flannels, leather, silk organza. It's a challenge to use all those fabrics together. It adds interest and texture."

Her piece in the Interpretations show is in the upper right hand corner "Second Chance." Gillian is also a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) and her website is here

Doodles on The Sketchbook Challenge

2012-01-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

Doodles are the January theme for The Sketchbook Challenge this month. This was done on a butcher paper tablecloth in a restaurant in the Denver Airport. Check out my other drawings here


Doodles in my sketchbook with a Sharpie pen

Doodles with a Pentel pen for fabric, enhanced with free motion machine quilting

Foto/Fiber 90 Fundraiser 2012

2012-01-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

Interview on Virginia Spiegel's blog

Sneak Peek of a portion of one of my bonus pieces, that you could own!

Foto/Fiber 2012
90 Photos AND 90 BONUS Fiber Surprises
Beauty and Mystery Unite to Fight Cancer

Gold Donor Day - February 15, 2012
Make a minimum donation of $100, choose a photo by
Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, or Cynthia Wenslow
and choose a BONUS Fiber Surprise
by a specific artist from an amazing list of generous fiber artists.

Regular Foto/Fiber - February 16, 2012
Make a minimum donation of $50 and choose a photo by
Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, or Cynthia Wenslow.
Your BONUS Fiber Surprise will be chosen at random for you
from the list of generous fiber artists.

Artists donating BONUS fiber surprises include: Natalya Aikens,
Frances Holliday Alford, Pamela Allen, Liz Berg, Sue Bleiweiss, Nancy G. Cook, Jane Davila, Vivika DeNegre, Diane Rusin Doran, Jane Dunnewold, Jamie Fingal,
Leonie Hartley Hoover, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Lyric Kinard, Susan Brubaker Knapp, Lynn Krawzcyk, Jane LaFazio, Susan Lenz, Jeanelle McCall
Linda Teddlie Minton, Karen Musgrave, Gail Myrhorodsky
Karen Stiehl Osborn, BJ Parady, Cate Coulacos Prato, Yvonne Porcella
Wen Redmond, Sue Reno, Lesley Riley, Susan Schrott, Cynthia St. Charles
Lura Schwarz Smith, Sarah Ann Smith, and Terri Stegmiller

Drawings for Fiber Art throughout the event.
All patrons of Foto/Fiber 2012 will also have multiple chances throughout Foto/Fiber to win amazing fiber art donated by:

Leonie Hartley Hoover
Lyric Kinard
Lynn Krawczyk
Yvonne Porcella
Susan Schrott
Mary Ann Van Soest

More information on how Foto/Fiber 2012 works:
http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/FotoFiberHowItWorks.html

Our goal – Raise $7,000 for the American Cancer Society
in just ten hours over two days.

Fiberart For A Cause has already donated over $215,000 to the American Cancer Society through the generosity of fiber artists and their patrons.
Contact
Virginia(at)VirginiaSpiegel.com
for more information.

Scraps used to make 3 pieces of artwork for this fundraiser

Quilting Arts TV - Series 900

2012-01-06T05:41:00.000-08:00


Quilting Arts TV Series 900 - Pre Orders being taken now; Featured artists include: Charlotte Angotti, Margaret Applin, Ana Buzzalino, Diane Rusin Doran, Jamie Fingal, Debra Gabel, Candy Glendening, Helen Gregory, Laura Heine, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Heather Jones, Susan Brubaker Knapp, Barbara Olsen, Judy Coates Perez, Pat Sloan, Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero, Sarah Vedeler, Elin Waterston, and Terry White.

Pokey and me during the filming of my segment at the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati in the Spring of 2011. Episode 906 Add a Signature Touch: Ana Buzzalino demonstrates hand embroidery stitches • Pokey and Helen Gregory share a colorful pillow embellished with designer ribbons • Jamie Fingal discusses collaborative cloth

The Set on location at Festival in Cincinnati

Musical Chairs: A Painted Canvas Adventure - class at Festival that Leslie Tucker Jenison and I taught together! Students change seats when the music starts, so that their painting style is all over the canvas. They are given a variety of colors to start, then white and black are added towards the end, to make the colors POP!

Introducing 8 that create

2012-01-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

Introducing a new group 8 that create

sue bleiweiss
jane davila
jamie fingal
gloria hansen
leslie tucker jenison
liz kettle
carol sloan
kathyanne white

I am so excited to be a part of this group of talented and amazing artists, from Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, New Jersey, Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Arizona. We are all excited about the possibilities - to support each other, learn, grow, to make art and have shows! I hope you will stay tuned by following our blog .

Getting My Mojo Back

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

I've been cleaning out my parents house for a couple of weeks and came upon this old phone, with their original phone number on it. I brought it home to see if it would work on our kitchen wall, where there is a phone connection. After some playing around with it, I determined that the hardware is too old for my wall. I decided to make a piece of lasting art out of it.

Since we have a black and white checked floor in the kitchen, I thought I would follow in that theme.

Added a layer of Gloss Medium to protect the paint. I am quite happy how it turned out!

Family Traditions

2011-12-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve - family portraits - Steve, Jen and me

Portrait of grand kids with Grandma

Being Funny

Singing Christmas Carols, with piano and trumpet

Dinner at one long table

Santa delivering gifts for the cousins!

Opening gifts on Christmas morning

Steve, the chef, cutting the prime rib

Family dinner with tissue crowns on our heads

Family


...and to all a good night!

Trimming the House for Christmas!

2011-12-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Mr. Snowman

Trio of Snowmen

My Christmas gal

The tree decorated with keepsake ornaments

Close up

Christmas Stockings hung by the chimney with care

Lights on the House; Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

The Snowmen

2011-12-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

Three of my favorite winter/Christmas decorations are these snowmen, that are made to look old, which is something that I love.

I painted them with watercolor paint, outlined with a fine point Sharpie. And then made to look vintage, I added silver glitter, and then used Shiva paintsticks on the entire piece and let it dry overnight.

Here is one close up
see the Sketchbook Challenge for more close ups

Peace and Hope Prayer Flags

2011-12-09T16:29:00.001-08:00

For my Sister....May you have God's sweet peace when everyday is done; The flowers are drawn with a Pentel fabric pen, and everything else is drawn with my sewing machine - free motion quilting.


For me...Hope for a brighter outlook, for healing and love, and for my family.

Visit The Prayer Flag Project

Prayer Flags

2011-12-05T10:22:00.001-08:00

Prayer flag for my mom who has lost the love of her life and main caregiver. My prayer for you is for love, compassion and kindness.

For my Dad, who always loved the ocean and to sail. Smooth sailing ahead Dad! May you rest in peace.

Flags hanging in my garden; Check out The Prayer Flag Project

B is for Barbie

2011-12-05T10:05:00.001-08:00

In the past few months I've made a few Barbie themed books and calendars. Call me crazy, but Barbie has always been my muse. I hope I never grow up. And since I've hit a bump in the road lately, I just thought I would cheer myself up by posting some fun pictures that I've taken of the girls. Above is my version of Santa Baby Barbie.

The girls are hanging out with Godzilla, which happens to be the first gift my husband ever gave me. Godzilla lives in my studio and he squeaks. Okay, we're both weird...I admit it.

Embellishment Barbie

I Can Be an Artist Barbie

Forever Friends and alter ego's of Leslie Tucker Jenison and me

Barbie bracelet - a gift from my friend, Leslie! Isn't it the greatest! It's made out of a bicycle tire with grommets and a real Barbie head!

This is from an ABC book that I made for Leslie. Woman Power is from Surviving the Runway in Houston a few years ago, where I was actually a willing participant.

The girls posing by the ABC book, that I made on Shutterfly

"C" is for car trip - get the girls and let's go! A friend of mine let me borrow this fun Barbie camper from the 60's.

"P" is for Pole Dancing and she's grooving to music on my HandiQuilter!


"Q" is for Quilting Arts

Honoring my Dad

2011-12-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

My Dad, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, November 22, 2011. To you, Dad - with love

Dad's 85th Birthday in May

Mom, John and Dad at Justin's rehearsal dinner in Nashville, June

Mom and Dad at Justin's wedding in June

Susie, Mom, John and me at my dad's memorial service

a beautiful bouquet

To You Dad: I will miss your humor, your stories, and how sentimental you were, which in turn I am too. Tears at the end of watching a good Western, The Searchers, and how we could barely get through a dinner prayer without breaking down. Thank you for teaching me how to balance a spoon on my nose and how important a good laugh is. I will miss our talks, disagreements, and making you dinner. Your stories, family history and photography. And the fact that you have always supported me in my love of art. I love you.

My Favorite Tools for Cutting Fabric

2011-11-29T06:35:00.000-08:00

Havel's Sewing Scissors - Pinking Shears, SnipEze, 7" scissors and the Comfort Rotary Cutter are some of my favorite tools, that make my life easier in the creation of my art quilts.

Learn out to make this Kindle Cover on Havel's Sewing website here

Painting, Collage and Stencils

2011-11-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

A small work in progress on 6x6 canvas; the gears are a stencil. See below for information.

Aren't these stencils cool? They are made by artistcellar. Excellent quality, great designs and they are going to get plenty of use. I love the gears and can't wait to use them, but in the meantime, I have used two others in the collage below

Watercolors, collage with Washi paper, Sharpie pens, and stencils using Sharpie's and acrylic paint. I really like the layering of paint and shapes. I can't wait to use more of them in one of my book projects!

Gerald Brommer 2-Day Workshop

2011-11-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

I took a 2-Day workshop at Schroeder Gallery in Old Town Orange, the day after I got back from Festival in Houston. I had no idea what I was getting into, but was excited about the possibilities. Just a little tired and fatigued, I took my bag of supplies to the gallery to meet Gerald Brommer, an amazing watercolor artist, teacher and writer.

This s a piece of watercolor paper, than I used to protect the table that I was working on. Then realizing that it had some great color and texture on it, I decided to add paint and Washi paper to it. I am so pleased with how it came out.

Me in class during the creative process

This is my floral piece, that I made first, just to get my feet wet as to the process of using Washi paper, Matte medium, and watercolors. I loved the way Mr. Brommer taught the class. We learned a technique in which each student incorporated their own personal style. There were no rules, which was right up my alley. He showed us how he works, and then came around to us individually to talk about our pieces.

Day 2 was spent making a landscape. I made this in quite the same way that I make my art quilts - sky first, then houses and flowers, then the greenery. This was quite a fun process. Everything is Washi paper, and a little fabric thrown into the mix. I did add some watercolor paint and some details with a black pen. I am going to have this framed for my studio.

Party Time with Barbie and Pokey

2011-11-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

The MIU Girls and friends put together a little surprise birthday party for Pokey Bolton (her birthday was a month earlier, but we wanted to do something for her). Leslie Tucker Jenison, Melly Testa, Judy Coates Perez, Indigo Perez, Sally Murray, Lindsey Murray, Frances Holliday Alford, Rachel Parris, Jane LaFazio, and me. Kathy York and Lyric Kinard were not able to come, but were part of the gift.

So on Saturday night of Festival in Houston, each of us left Gala on the Green early, so we could set up the room for our celebration. The centerpiece of Barbies...and not just any Barbies

but Barbies that look like us....here is Lindsey and Sally Murray sitting on a couch

The overview of the table. The stage is set for our celebration!

Leslie bought these great party favors and napkins

To the left is Kathy York in her famous "Surviving the Runway" bikini, and Leslie Tucker Jenison on a horse, because she is a cowgirl from Texas

The "Girls" on the left who made their debut in the International Quilt Festival's Quilt Scene magazine this month and in the exhibit "Eye of the Quilter." Also seated are Rachel Parris, standing is Melly Testa and to her right is Judy Coates Perez

Judy on the left, with Indigo Perez's back to the camera and me sitting in my zipper skirt

We made Pokey a personalized calendar with scenes about ourselves/Barbie as quilt artists. I had two pictures on my page, and this is the main one.

Me and my friends, all wearing the apron as personal armor...don't you love those breast plates? My friends are so loyal and fun. What more could a girl ask for?

One of the best parts about this celebration, is that all of us were able to keep a secret for 2 months, and she was totally surprised. Great joy! Pokey, Lindsey Murray and Judy Coates Perez entering the glass room at Spencer's Steakhouse

Such emotion...it is hard to put into words. To have Melly with us! Milestones and celebrations all around. It's good to have friends.

The giving of the calendar, which we all loved making and laughing our heads over while it was being made, as a tribute to our friend who has done so much for us.

Pokey, Melly and Frances

Indigo Perez talking about how she made her doll to look like her, even down to the hair, cap, clothing and camera. She is a great photographer, and some of her pictures are in this post.

Jane LaFazio and her California Barbie, complete with quilt from a drawing that she did.

Lindsey Murray

Rachel Parris talking about her Barbie make-over, and how it's not so easy to give her a haircut and dye job.

Leslie Tucker Jenison and Judy Coates Perez

Sally Murray

me, Leslie and Judy

Pokey looking intently as Leslie's Texas Cowgirl, complete with hand dyed chaps made from Oil of Olay washcloths

The cake - Here's to you, Pokey!

No one can say that we don't know how to have fun! Thank you to Indigo Perez and Frances Holliday Alford for your photos!

The Artists Village in Houston

2011-11-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Artists Village, coordinated by Kathy York for the International Quilt Festival's special exhibit Tactile Architecture, which was just in Houston, will travel onto Cincinnati in the Spring and Long Beach in the Summer of 2012. I hope that you will have the opportunity to see it in person.

The artists are: Susan Else, Frances Holliday Alford, Pamela Allen, Frieda Anderson, Lisa Call, Jane Davila, Naomi Adams, Barb Forrister, Vickie Hallmark, Connie Hudson, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Sherri McCauley, Judy Coates Perez, Melanie Testa, Laura Wasilowski, Kathy York and me.

Looking into the village you can see distinct styles of houses

This is my house and it zips down flat, except for the roof that has to be un-buttoned from the structure

Leslie's house is on the left with the red circles, Vickie Hallmark's to the right

Kathy York, Sherri McCauley, me and Leslie

The village from the back - Kathy's house is the one with the squares on it. Fabulous project and it was great to see it in person at the show.

Teaching in Houston 2011

2011-11-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

Leslie Tucker Jenison's and my dream was to teach at Festival in Houston came true last week, when we taught 2 full day classes. This is Thursday's class - Musical Chairs - A Painted Canvas Adventure. Painting in the morning, and using the canvas to cover a journal, art cards, postcards and ATC's

The collaborative painting progress with the addition of white paint

Canvas #1

Canvas #2; both were cut into sections and given to each student in the class

This is a sampling of artful postcards that were made from the canvas

Friday's class - Dreaming in Canvas - A Painted Quilt; students paint in the morning and then make a 12x12 quilt in the afternoon from their sections

Canvas #2

All of our students hands over the painted canvas - a thing of beauty

The canvas and our enthusiastic students

Quilts made from the canvas

A close up of one of the quilts. More pictures can be seen on the Dinner at Eight Artists blog and Leslie Tucker Jenison's blog.

Pat Sloan's Radio Show

2011-11-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

I will be the first guest on Pat Sloan's Radio Show on Monday, November 14th starting at 1:00pm PST. I hope you will tune in to listen!

Host of American Patchwork & Quilting Radio - http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/radio/index.html

website - http://www.PatSloan.com
Blog - http://blog.patsloan.com
Quilt Group - http://www.quiltmashup.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/PatSloanQuiltFun
Host of Favecrafts.com Crafting Radio show - www.favecrafts.com
All my radio shows and interviews - http://www.creativetalknetwork.com/

The Sketchbook Challenge - BOOK!

2011-11-10T21:03:00.001-08:00

by Sue Bleiweiss, the creator of TSC, and including the works of Jill Berry, Jackie Bowcutt, Laura Cater-Woods, Violette Clark, Jane Davies, Jamie Fingal, Judi Hurwitt, Tracie Lyn Huskamp, Susan Brubaker Knapp, Lynn Krawczyk, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Lyric Kinard, Jane LaFazio, Kim Rae Nugent, Kelli Perkins, Carol Sloan, Carla Sonheim, Kathy Sperino, Diana Trout, and Kathyanne White. My artwork is on the bottom center of the book cover. I can't wait to hold the book in my hands! This is so exciting! The book has a publication date of June of 2012 (hopefully it will come out a little sooner than that) but you can pre-order it on Amazon here.

Spooning

2011-11-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

We have a ritual at Festival, when we dine together, that we balance a spoon on your nose. It may sound silly, but it is really fun and we all enjoy the hilarious laughter and conversation that it creates. This is Kathy York, an award winning quilt artist, creator of the Artists Village and totally fun person.

Cyndi Souder, the inventor of the Power Suit Challenge

Kathy Lincoln

Lisa Ellis (Sacred Threads, and the amazing on-line entry system for quilt shows)

Leslie Tucker Jenison (curator, fun maker, teacher, writer and partner in crime)

Frances Holliday Alford, the embellishment Queen

Rachel Parris, a totally enthusiastic and willing participant in all of our antics, writer, and the woman who begins each dinner at eight with the official "toast"

Judy Coates Perez, award winning mixed media quilt artist, teacher, writer and can always get a spoon to balance on her nose at every dinner. Fellow diners - Kathy and Frances doing the balancing act as well.

Napkin head, sporting a spoon, only to realize that the napkin might have needed some 2-sided tape to get the spoon to stick. LOL


Sue Dennis from Austrailia, who is quite an accomplished art quilter, and teacher. She totally rose to the challenge at dinner.

Friday night - some of the artists from Dinner at Eight Artists - and the exhibit The Space Between all had dinner together at Spencer's. So, the ritual continues with Barb Forrister, Susan Fletcher King and Judy Coates Perez

Susan Brubaker Knapp and Leslie yucking it up

Frances and Susan Brubaker Knapp, while Gerrie Congdon watches in amuzement

Terry Grant! Her first Festival and the spoon!

Rachel Parris

Judy and Sue

Okay, here is Indigo Perez hanging a spoon on her head in the opposite way - super talented

Susan with a fork and spoon mushtache

Evil eye spooner

Friends at Festival

2011-11-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

Dinner on Tuesday, Nov 1st with Lisa Ellis, Kathy Lincoln, Cyndi Souder, Leslie Tucker Jenison

Dinner at Eight - Wednesday, Nov 2nd -Judy Coates Perez, Kathy York, Frances Holliday Alford, me, Rachel Parris, Sherri McCauley, Jane LaFazio, Leslie Tucker Jenison and Indigo Perez

Posed in front of the Artists Village in Tactile Architecture - Kathy York (brainchild of project), Sherri McCauley, me, and Leslie Tucker Jenison

Our traditional pose on the exhibit floor - me, Rachel, Frances, Judy and Leslie

our traditional toast at Dinner - led by Rachel - To strong women - May we raise them, may be know them, may be we be them! Here's to the ultimate sisterhood!

At the Texas Lone Stars reception on Friday night - Frances, Leslie, Rachel, me, Kathy, Sherri and Judy!

The Twelve by Twelve group! Fabulous exhibit!

Indigo, Judy, Sue Dennis and Rachel at dinner on Thursday!

Leslie, Maggie Winfield and me at the end of our class!

The last Surviving the Runway in Make-It-University - me, Cheryl Sleboda, Jane, Melly, Pokey, Judy and Leslie - a great time had by all.

Leslie and Melly on the last day of Festival

Sue Dennis, Melly and Bob Dennis

Melly, Rice Freeman Zachery, Judy, me, and Leslie

Melly!

The Girls at Festival

2011-11-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

The Girls pose next to their photograph in the "Eye of the Quilter" exhibit

This is the side of my 3-D house in the Artists Village, which was coordinated by Kathy York, in Tactile Architecture

The famous carpeting on the sky walk between the Hilton and the convention center

Posing in front of the show bag

Houston - Road Trip and Arrival at Festival

2011-11-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

I flew to San Antonio and Leslie Tucker Jenison and I drove (lucky for us in a van) to Houston. The girls pose on one of my suitcases.

The girls are on the dashboard of the van - downtown Houston is in view!

Arrival - our 2 carts of suitcases, bags, clothes and supplies! Pretty darn impressive.

The Girls have arrived!

So exciting to see our Dinner at Eight Artists exhibit at Festival in Houston!!!

IQF - Quilt Scene 2011

2011-11-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

On Preview Night of Festival in Houston - go straight to the Quilting Arts booth, to pick up the latest issue of "Quilt Scene." This magazine only comes out once a year, and it full of amazing projects and prize winning quilts. If you are not planning to go, you can pre-order the magazine on the Quilting Arts website

The Girls make their debut in this issue and share with you their advice on getting your gal pals together and the adventures that await you at Festival! Autographs! Look for them on the show floor! Also, look for "the girls" in the special exhibit "Eye of the Quilter!"

Houston Bound - My Schedule!

2011-10-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Counting down the days till the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Here is my schedule:

Wednesday, Nov. 2nd

3:00pm - Alliance for American Quilts training

5:00pm - Preview Night;

Go to the Quilting Arts booth and pick up the "hot off the press" issue of the International Quilt Festival's Quilt Scene" magazine (see cover above) - The Girls have an article about all the things to do with your friends at Festival.

Dinner at Eight Artists exhibit "The Space Between"

Thursday, Nov 3rd

Leslie Tucker Jenison and I are happy to be part of the faculty this year. We hope you will join us for a day of pure fun!
9:00am-5:00pm Musical Chairs: A Painted Canvas Adventure

Friday, Nov 4th

Leslie Tucker Jenison and I will be teaching this very fun and innovative class!

9:00am-5:00pm Dreaming in Canvas: The Painted Quilt

8:00pm The Space Between Artists Dinner

Saturday, Nov 5th

Make-It-University - Workshop - Round Robin

1:15-2:15pm with some members from The Sketchbook Challenge

Jane LaFazio, Sue Bleiweiss, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Judi Hurwitt and me!

Students will get this cool bag, filled with all sorts of sketching goodies

My part of the round robin will be drawing these funky houses, and painting with watercolors. It will be really fun! Workshops are by lottery and cost $15/cash - and it is a great deal, considering the things that you will learn!

2:50-4:50 - Open Studios in Make it University

I'll be fusing fabrics and free motion machine quilting - Come by and say hello

5:30-6:30 - Surviving the Runway

6:30pm - Gala on the Green

Visions Art Museum

2011-10-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

My version of a crazy quilt "Heavy Metal" - 12x12, probably because I am such a rebel. It is made out of zippers, ring trim, buttons, safety pin, flange, metal washer, silk, burn-out velvet, hand dyed fabric, sheers, lame, cotton, leather, suede, tulle, photo transfer fabric of metal items, polyester, vinyl, wool felt, and embroidery thread. It will be available for purchase.

Detail of Heavy Metal
The Crazy Quilt Challenge runs in conjunction with "Interpretations" - a juried member exhibition featuring the work of 37 artists - from Nov 4, 2011 to January 22, 2012;
Opening reception is Friday, Nov 4th from 5-8pm
Visions Art Museum, 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92106; Open Tues-Sun - 10am to 4pm. I was one of the jurors for this exhibition!

"Urban Footscape" (11.5 Square) for the Visions Auction on Saturday, November 19th; this is part of my Doc Marten series, in which a similar design was part of the SAQA trunk show "This is a Quilt." It was selected along with work from 49 other artists, out of 268 entries, to be part of Michigan State University Museum's permanent collection.

The Sketchbook Challenge - 2012

2011-10-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

Sue Bleiweiss is the brainchild of The Sketchbook Challenge that began in 2011. Each artist in the challenge selects a theme (one per month), and then the other artists interpret that theme and post to the blog. Artists also contribute tutorials on painting, drawing, collaging, etc as a source of inspiration. Followers can post their works of art on the Flickr site and be eligible for prizes. Instructions on The Sketchbook Challenge blog.

I'm very happy to announce that Susan Brubaker Knapp and Pam Carriker will be joining the Sketchbook Challenge 2012 lineup and you'll be seeing posts from them on the sketchbook blog soon.

Here are your 2012 Sketchbook Challenge host artists:

Jill Berry : blog    / sketchbook profile
Sue Bleiweiss : blog /    sketchbook profile
Pam Carriker : blog   / sketchbook profile

Jane Davies : blog / sketchbook profile

Jamie Fingal : blog / sketchbook profile

Leslie Tucker Jenison : blog / sketchbook profile
Lyric Kinard : blog / sketchbook profile

Susan Brubaker Knapp : blog / sketchbook profile

Jane LaFazio : blog / sketchbook profile

Kelli Nina Perkins : blog /    sketchbook profile
Carol Sloan : blog   / sketchbook profile
Susan Sorrell : blog /    sketchbook profile

Diana Trout : blog / sketchbook profile

Laura Cater Woods : blog / sketchbook profile

And we've got a brand new sketchbook challenge blog badge too!

Directions on how to put the badge on your blog are here.

(if you previously installed the badge on your blog following the copy/insert directions on this page then the badge image on your blog should have already updated automatically. If not, then you will have to re-install it)

2012 promises to be another great year for the sketchbook challenge packed with techniques, tutorials, and of course 12 new themes to inspire your creative muse.

We're all very excited about the continuing the challenge into 2012 and we hope you'll all join us!

Happy 24th Anniverary to Us!

2011-10-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

October 24, 1987 - marrying the love of my life and becoming a step-mom. We had a fabulous day when we said our vows, feeling the love of family and friends, singing, and praying. Life's blessings on our marriage. Experiencing pure joy, laughter, dancing, the cake, and being a family. What could be better than that?

Me and my two loves!

The Power Suit Challenge

2011-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

"Flower Power"
My ultimate power suit is all about the color pink for softness, flowers for happiness and zippers to remind myself to be bold and brave. The hot pink dingle balls are all about having fun in everything that I do.

Close up of the breast plates

Commercial cottons Mistyfused to black wool felt, checked trim, measuring tape trim, zipper trim, dingle balls, rick rack, YKK zipper, silk orange roses and mother of pearl buttons. Free motion machine quilted, hand embroidery.

The Power Suit challenge, over 100 art quilts (18" square) based on the theme “Power Suits” will debut at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, VA. October 22-23. Saturday hours are 4-8pm, including an artists reception. Sunday hours are Noon-5pm. Admission is free.

When a local tailor contacted Cyndi Souder to offer her his outdated fabric swatches, a quilt challenge was born. Teaming with friend and associate Judy Gula (owner, Artistic Artifacts), Souder developed a theme - What does the "Power Suit" mean to you?

The list of participating quilt artists in the Power Suits Art Quilt Challenge ranges from
nationally known names to quilters just starting out, resulting in a variety of techniques and perspectives. The exhibit includes 107 art quilts made by 105 quilt artists from the United States and Canada. According to the Quilting in America 2010 survey, there are over 21 million quilters in the United States. A full list of participating artists can be found here.

To see some pictures from the opening - see Elizabeth Woodford's blog

Look for Power Suit Quilts at these shows:

March 14-17, 2012: Lancaster Spring Quilt Show at the Host Resort in Lancaster, PA
January 24-27, 2013: Road to California in Ontario, California

The Dress Form Project

2011-10-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine had gone to a liquidation sale of some kind and found these dress forms, and they were very similar to the ones from Restoration Hardware selling for $300+ I paid only $60 for this one. It has the look of linen that has been tea stained. I usually have one of my aprons hanging on it.

This is the back side, and you can see that towards the top, I've begun to prep the dress form with Gesso. I have no formal plans on how I am going to paint it. We'll just see what evolves over time. And this is just for fun!

Gesso has been brushed on all over the dress form

First layer of acrylic paint. I used whatever was on hand - cheap stuff from Michael's, Liquitex and Modern Masters. The cheap stuff had the worst coverage. I followed the lines of the linen by mainly the seams.

Stencils were used with red paint. Then I brushed on Liquitex Gloss medium to add another layer, to give the piece more dimension.

I started the next layer of paint with circles and triangles, and nothing was planned as to how I was going to paint it. I just got the brush in my hand and went with it, which is unusual for me.

Front with paint design. It so reminds me of my abstract art quilts. I am always intrigued by how the different mediums that I enjoy, influence each other.

Front with the addition of black paint. I can't say whether or not I am done painting, but I am done for now, because my time is going elsewhere, for other projects that have deadlines

Wearable Art eBook

2011-10-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that my "Apron as Personal Armor" has been included in an eBook about wearable art, from Cloth Paper Scissors. Click here to see link.

Honored, Thrilled and Over-the-Moon!

2011-10-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

"Urban Footscape" 2010; 8x8, and matted to the size of 12x12. My piece is in Group G on the SAQA website.

As part of the planning for This is a Quilt! SAQA arranged for 50 pieces to become part of the permanent collection at the Michigan State University Museum. We engaged gallerist Michael Solomon to select those pieces. The pieces will go to the Michigan State University Museum at the close of the trunk show travels.

Michael Solomon wrote:
When Kris Sazaki first asked me to be the juror for a collection to go to the Michigan State University Museum, I willingly accepted, thinking it would be a piece of cake. After all, I had owned a fine art gallery in Sacramento for over 10 years, and I had certainly chosen art and artists for many gallery exhibits. I faced a slightly greater challenge with group shows as opposed to solo exhibits, but I felt I had a pretty good grasp of the contemporary painting and sculpture we exhibited. I have also juried shows outside of my gallery, as well as my own photography exhibits.

For the SAQA show, I came to realize that my mandate would limit and challenge me when I faced the prospect of selecting just 50 pieces out of 268 submissions. I have spent many hours in art museums around the world, I am an avid collector, and I have formulated some ideas as to what constitutes "great art." While the quality of art may be subjective, great art is simply that which compels one to look at it, again and again and again. This is the truth, if not a truism. And that's the reason museums full of art that visitors repeatedly visit, contain great art. I can't stop looking at and admiring the art on my walls and pedestals; if I do, I end up replacing it with something better, and then repeat the process.

In jurying this show, I looked for aesthetic design, shapes, color, composition, texture, and subject matter. I am somewhat partial to figurative subject matter, so that may have affected my judgment in some respects. All of the work I viewed exhibited high artistic quality, and I found myself initially choosing way more than my allotment of 50. I then faced the agonizing task of deselecting many pieces I appreciated. In any event, I hope you enjoy my selections.

Artists whose trunk show pieces were chosen to become part of the Michigan State University Museum's permanent collection:

1.   Affolter, Regula
2.   Branjord, Sandra
3.   Bruvry, Patricia
4.   Carrigan, Sherry
5.   Chen, Yeu-Chiu
6.   Chuang, Huei-Lan
7.   Clover, Jette
8.   David-Cohen, Yael
9.   Drucker, Tamar
10.   Ecob, Aileyn
11.   Filatoff, Julie
12.   Fingal, Jamie
13.   Fitzsimmons, Micaela
14.   Fricke, Rebecca
15.   Henry, Susan Elaine
16.   Horne, Connie
17.   Huang, Ming-Mei
18.   Jensen, Jill
19.   Jurgenson, Jean Renli
20.   Lachman, Mary F.
21.   Law, Catharina Breedyk
22.   Limmer, Andrea
23.   Lin, Hsin-Chen
24.   Lin, Mei-Mu
25.   McClean, Sarah Louise
26.   McLaughlin, Linda
27.   Milholen, Vivian
28.   Miller, Linda
29.   Ortelle, Cathy
30.   Owoc, Pat
31.   Pal, Mary
32.   Phillips, Margaret A.
33.   Pixeladies
34.   Puetz, Casey
35.   Read, Priscilla
36.   Robertson, Ruan
37.   Robertus, Linda
38.   Rushbrooke, Rose
39.   Simpson, Gayle
40.   Smith, Catherine Whall
41.   Smith, Lura Schwarz
42.   Stegmiller, Terri
43.   Stoltz, Heather G.
44.   Tateo, Tiziana
45.   Themel, Kate
46.   Thomas, Rosalind
47.   Tunnell, Karen Reese
48.   Wambaugh, Debbie
49.   Wanner , Dwayne
50.   Watler, Barbara

Time to Clean Up the Stash Room

2011-10-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

My muse, Barbie is just sitting looking gorgeous while I put all of my fabric away. She is sitting on a tower of Hoffman Batiks.

The girls are guarding the new pile of Alexander Henry fabrics

This girls find some space on this shelf for more commercial cottons

The girls are tired from a morning of modeling in the stash room. Is that Mistyfuse in your hair?

I am being buried alive, but it's a good thing I like Kaffe Fasset fabric. Pink is a good color on me!

One missed step and I am down for the count.

The power of women...now that's a good thing!

Inside Views - Part 1

2011-10-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

Inside Views - painting a cardboard book. The theme for The Sketchbook Challenge this month is "Views." So this is my interpretation. This is a 2-part post.

I used a regular cardboard book, and cut out additional windows on each page. My vision is to have a view through to the next page.

Paint the entire book - page by page with Gesso; even if the book says it is "paint ready"- the Gesso will help give the book more stability during the painting process. I used clothes pins on the tips of the pages to keep them from coming in contact with one another during the entire painting process.

The paint that I used was Craft Smart Acrylic Craft Paint from Michaels (inexpensive). I painted each page a different vibrant color.

After I painted the first two pages, I realized that I should have masked out the windows to keep them white. So use post it notes to protect the windows from the painting process. You will remove them later.

The next step was stenciling each page with a contrasting color and a different stencil design. I used this cool Color Box dual round brush, that I've had forever.

It may look a little messy to you, but I am not aiming for perfection here. It will add to the charm of the book when it is finished.

The 3rd layer of paint needs to be another contrasting color, so that all of the layers show through one another and give your house depth. I used a rubber comb to achieve the designs. Paint, and comb immediately, while the paint is still wet.


Use the comb to make patterns in the paint - swirls, straight lines, curves and just have fun with it. You can use a paper towel to help with the drying process, by laying a single sheet across the page, and then removing it immediately.

Inside Views - Part 2

2011-10-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Inside Views - Part 2 of how to make the book

Scenes and objects were drawn on watercolor paper, painted, and outlined with a Pilot Razor Point pen. These elements were cut out and glued with white glue, with a book on each page, one at a time, until they were all flat on each page. These are a few of my favorite things.

Front of the book - those are 4 cut out windows

Back of the book - cut out window

Using the Pilot Razor Point pen, I carefully outlined some of the stenciling

Each page is different - color, design, layers of paint; upstairs - a purse and a clock; downstairs - a "home sweet home" sign, and a shelf of books to read

I loved the fact that you can see through all three layers of paint

Upstairs - flowers, and tea for two; downstairs - an umbrella and a lamp

A spotted dog upstairs, clothes downstairs and a radio plays music in the green room

I am really happy how it looks!

Do You Moo?

2011-10-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

My new moo cards. Portions of some of my favorite pieces - from the painted canvas classes that Leslie Tucker Jenison and I teach - to abstract, portraits, boots, houses and zippers. It's funny though, in loading these images onto their site, I failed to realize that one of the quilts, third one from the left top - abstract -has small post it notes on it. So, the secret is OUT, I use post it notes to keep track of the sections of my quilts.

Wierd and Unusual Things

2011-10-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

I love taking pictures of weird and unusual things; this is from the ceiling of the Maritime Museum at Fisherman's Wharf. It is a color wheel that changes as you move on the floor below. Really cool.

This is not that weird, but I love the way it looks

a lamp in a hotel in San Francisco

A wall in a hotel dining room, that changed with light. I got a little obsessed with photographing it.

These may end up in one of my art quilts someday

A grate in the street

Orange plastic chairs stacked

Great lines

Really interesting lamps in a hotel. A beautiful lace-like construction in the round.

More Fun with Shipping Tags

2011-09-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Stacked cups and saucers, flowers and leaves; watercolors and outlined with a black Flair pen

Flowers, my mantra, pencils

How Cool is This?

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Quilting Arts Magazine - Oct/Nov Issue - 2012/The Stitch issue, which is loaded with great articles. Just to name a few - stitching with Judy Coates Perez, Paula Chung, and Ellen Anne Eddy. Amazing block printing with Jamie Malden, and resists from the kitchen with Lisa Kerpoe. This is a "must have" issue.

My article "Put a little zip in your art quilts" is on Page 16 - How cool is this? I am totally thrilled to have my work in QA and be able to share my passion for making art quilts with you!

And this is the inside back cover - advertising Leslie Tucker Jenison's and my DVD's - Double the Fun!

Announcing The Sketchbook Challenge - E-Zine

2011-09-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

Extra, Extra - Read All About It! The first Sketchbook Challenge E-zine is now available for purchase!

Available for download right now for only $9.99!

The Sketchbook Challenge E-zine is 83 full color pages of creativity, inspiration and projects!

Click here to peek inside!

By these artists from The Sketchbook Challenge...Jane LaFazio, Kelli Nina Perkins, Jane Davies, Lyric Kinard, Sue Bleiweiss, Carol Sloan, Carla Sonheim, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Susan Sorrell, Judi Hurwitt, Violette, Diana Trout, and me!

The Sketchbook Challenge E-zine is in pdf format and include step-by-step instructions and full-color photo illustrations. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher to be able to open the lessons. Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free software that you can download from the Adobe Website. More about it on the Sketchbook Challenge blog

Garden Inspiration

2011-09-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

These beautiful gardens are located at Park Ave restaurant in Stanton, California. Herbs, veggies, flowers...amazing!

The restaurant has a fabulous menu, and I would highly recommend that you make reservations if you live in Orange County, California. They begin the dinner experience with h their special "Swiss Chard" which is amazing!

il Garage (Italian restaurant) which is a short walk across the lawn, between the two restaurants - opens up onto this lovely view of this garden.

SOLD! SAQA Auction 2011

2011-09-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

I am so honored and thrilled that my art quilt "Chai Tea House" 12x12, sold today in the SAQA on-line auction to a private collector for $350. A big whoohoo!

IQA Auction in Houston at Festival

2011-09-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

Zippy Floral; 11W x 14H; Mistyfused fabrics onto wool felt; free motion machine quilted. Green zipper for stems, and yellow and orange zipper for flower centers. Zippers by YKK, sold through American & Efrid. If you are going to the International Quilt Festival in Houston, you can bid on this piece in the IQA mini quilt auction.

Left top detail; Hoffman Batiks and commercial cottons

Right top detail; hand-sewn buttons and running stitch of red embroidery thread.

Texas Quilt Museum - Donations

2011-09-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Home and House - my two donations to the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, Texas. Each piece is 8-1/2" x 11" in my iconic style. I hope they bring in some money for the museum. They are made the "Rebel Quilting" way - no batting, no pins, no binding - just pure fun!

"Home"

"House"

Dresses to Dye For

2011-09-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

This is a great time of year to pick up a few pieces of clothing in white, because they are all on sale, making way for Fall clothes. And the thought of dyeing them was foremost on my mind. At my local clothing boutique, I bought these two dresses. In California, our hot climate is in September and October, so I am getting ready.

So one sleeveless and one with short sleeves - in linen. The colors that I used were Ocean Blue and Intense Violet. What could be easier? Throw on a dress and go to my studio.

The is the dye that I used. Dylon - a warm water dye, which is available at most big box stores.

To start, add about 4 T salt to a 5-lb bucket, and then add warm water, about a third of the way up from the bottom. Carefully add the dye and stir. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and an apron to protect your clothing from splashes. The directions call for you to pre-wash your fabric, but I prefer the hand-dyed look of imperfection, so I skip that step. Carefully, add your garment to the dye, and stir it around in the bucket. It will take about 30 minutes today in the dye, stirring occasionally. When the buzzer sounds, rinse the dress in cold water, squeeze out excess dye till it is clear.

Here is the purple sleeveless dress, with many imperfections in the dye on the cloth

A close-up shot

The blue dress

Close-up of the blue dress; after I rinsed them both out in cold water, I threw them in the washer with a couple of towels and washed them in the delicate cycle with a tad of detergent, and popped them into the dryer.

SAQA Beneifit Auction - Sept 12th

2011-09-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Chai Tea House (Section 2) for the SAQA 2011 Benefit Auction; commercial cottons and Hoffman Batiks fused onto wool blended felt. Zipper trim on the edges of the landscaping. A zipper door. Buttons hand sewn all the way around the edges. Fun, charming, and would be a great addition to a wall in your house. Click here for details
Reverse Auction begins Monday, September 12th at 2:00pm Eastern; 11:00am Pacific; my piece above will be available to purchase on September 19th

Summer in Ashland, Oregon

2011-09-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Every Summer, we head to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival; the highlights were The Pirates of Penzance, Measure for Measure, The Imaginary Invalid, August: Osage County, Julius Caesar, and Ghostlight. My favorites were Pirates, Imaginary Invalid and Osage County.

The streets are never this clear, except it you are walking to the park at 6:30am, and then stopping at Starbucks on the way back to read.

The Elizabethan Theatre, just before the pirate flag was raised for the start of "The Pirates of Penzance." It was fabulous, by the way, and the first musical to grace this outdoor theatre.

Here's the fam eating at "Amuse" - one of our favorite restaurants

and at Taroko, where Kat Wok used to be. Really good sushi

The annual "serious" Scrabble game; only the brave can play, and I'm not ever going to be sitting at that table

Pelton House - where we have stayed for eight years. It's like coming home!

Quilted Fabric Houses with Pizazz

2011-09-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Quilted Folding Houses; Side 1

Side 2

Detail 1; Mistyfused to wool felt foundations; commercial cottons, washed wool felt, rick rack, silk rose, buttons, embroidery

Over-Dyed fabric, commercial cottons, wool felt, rick rack, buttons, and embroidery

Commercial cottons, Hoffman Batik, rick rack, washed wool felt, buttons

Seeing Friends at Create

2011-08-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

Dinner at Clara's with Cheryl Sleboda, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Jeannie Palmer Moore and me; in hindsight - should have taken more photos with friends.

being funny

"The Girls" hanging out with their Googlie Eyes in our apron class, and on the table with clip art and thread in the Folding Artists Houses class