Quilts! Sewing! Books! Life!
This is a quilt series inspired by tree bark. Each quilt represents a differnt type of tree bark. Click through to see which one you like.
The modern quilt craze has hit Japan ! Here are some spectacular results from Japanese quilt artists. When the Sunset Crowns Mt. Fuji in ...
"He Heard The Surf Roar" by Ana Buzzalino was inspired by a photo of Lawrencetown Beach in Nova Scotia.
Spotlight at 40 Quilt
I'm teaching a Free Motion Quilting class starting in April at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. I finished up the class sample over the weekend. In the class the students will do larger samples, but I needed a small book of designs to advertise the class. As you can see in the above end view, I used three different types of batting for my sample book - Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton, Hobbs 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester), and a 100% wool. I used a tutorial from a recent Quilting Arts Magazine issue (the February/March 2014 issue) to make my little book. The instructions involved drawing some lines on a piece of fabric, then sewing on the lines with a walking foot to make a larger sheet and baste the layers together. Then you quilt your designs and cut the "pages" apart. The tutorial in the magazine was very good. If you are interested in making a book like mine, I suggest you get a copy of the magazine. Below is a collage of designs I plan to cover in the class. Along the top of each page I wrote the name of the design, the batting type and page number from the book I will be using for the class. In case you are interested, I'm using the book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. It has become my go-to book for quilting ideas as of late.
We were really excited to see this piece by artist Leslie Gabriëlse at the 2014 AQS show . Featured in the SAQA Masters II exhibit , Woma...
Happy Day After Easter to you all!!! My weekend started off with a horrible headache. I did everything, soaked in a hot bath, applied therapeutic oils, did my best to rest, all with no luck. I had a list a mile long of all I wanted to accomplish, but I gave in, rested and read a book that was quite inspirational. More on that at a later date. Although the headache was still with me yesterday, it was not as painful, so I was able to enjoy the afternoon with my niece, her fiance, and her parents. What an incredible lunch they made! Great food, and great conversation, just the perfect Easter Sunday :) So many of you were very generous with your suggestions last week when I put out a plea for help. Wow!!!, did you ever come through with some great ideas. Rather than allow them all to be buried in the comment section of last week's post, I thought I would share some of the ideas with all of you. First, I found this, Pretty amazing. It's from the same Schiaparelli collection that the coat below which I shared last week is from. I too thought that the coat below might be matelasse, but now I'm wondering if it really was quilted. Charade sent in this idea, a vintage Lilli Ann coat from the 1950's. The quilting is trapunto and the collar can be worn up or down. Beautiful piece. I am a huge fan of President Abraham Lincoln. If you have never read, Lincoln The Unknown, by all means, please do. It is probably the most inspirational book I have ever read. Craft Alchemy sent a link to the picture below. It's the coat that he was wearing the night he was killed. Yes, the coat represents a very sad period in the history of America, but the surprise of the incredible quilting is quite inspiring. Carol In Denver suggested incorporating a little fabric manipulating into the quilting of a garment. There are a number of books, all of which I'm sure are available at your local library. Here's a list of some at Amazon. I own the book below, so I'm off to a great start :) The Sewing Loft suggested some work with dragonflies. Just for the fun of it, I googled "dragonfly quilting," and found this picture of a piece in progress. Just the intricacy of the design is great inspiration. Sue from A Colorful Canvas shared her amazing coat that she recently finished. Be sure to pop over to her blog and see the rest of the coat. Ruth commented on the subtle but beautiful hem of the Ralph Rucci dress that I shared a few weeks ago. I really like the idea of quilting not only being an accent, or design aspect of a garment, but also serving a purpose as it does with this hem. A number of you suggested using Alabama Chanin as a source of inspiration. Cynthiacc also suggested Alabama Chanin, but using different fabrics, possibly boiled wool. Using the concept, but making it your own. Elizabeth K suggested getting some books that show fabrics and designs through the different decades. I do have a couple of books in my collection. A great idea. E McAfee talked about the picture below on the left being a fencing costume. I was making a joke about feeling tied in knots, but she really came up with a great idea. The piece on the right is really amazing. Martha said, "You have great instincts, you know." And Mary said, "You have all the skills and savvy that you need." A few others also offered some words of encouragement as well. Sometimes the best source of inspiration is being told that someone else believes in you. Thank you :) With new found inspiration, I wish you a wonderful week! Rhonda
Create impressive geometric quilting patterns with these straight line quilting designs and foolproof walking foot quilting designs.
Happy New Year! Despite the long pause in postings, I did actually complete a few more sewing projects in 2014. January 2014 - Drawstring book bags for Allie and Cate's birthdays February 2014 - Robert Hughes baby quilt (I really need to consider taking a "how to photograph your quilts" workshop:) quilted with stars and spirals May 2014 - Amy Becker's HS graduation lap quilt Amy picked out fabrics at Fabric Depot during her Portland visit, Christmas 2013. I supplemented with a few fabrics I found at The Stitching Post and at Kapaia Stitchery during a trip to Kauai (always looking for an excuse to fabric shop). The blue batik with butterflies was the first fabric Amy chose. Other colors were built around that. quilted with vining flowers and leaves Now Amy has this nice warm lap quilt - perfect for her college years at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She assures me that it does get cold there, especially when the air conditioner is running. November 2014 - New curtains and duvet set for the Sisters house After 20 years, Stefanie and I decided it was time for a change in the upstairs bedroom in our Sisters house. We found some curtain fabric at IKEA (seen below in the medium-sized pillows). After a futile search for a coordinating duvet cover I decided we just needed to make our own. Not as cheap, but so much more fun! On the bed in Anna's old room at our house (tempted to keep it here, but...) Had to add a border piece as it was just a bit too small. Found a fun coordinating fabric at The Stitching' Post. Shams and throw pillows. The quilting in the shams mimics the print in the curtain fabric. All set up in its new home. On to 2015... January 2015 - Jeanne's lap quilt This quilt was made for my good friend and fellow swimmer, Jeanne. She will be out of the water for a bit, recuperating from surgery, so of course this called for a quilt! My daughter, Anna, suggested the colors - perfect for a swimmer. Another swimmer friend, Jenn, joined me for a shopping trip to Fabric Depot and also helped with part of the sewing. Sandi and Jeanne The design incorporates over 60 small blocks with names of some of Jeanne's friends. Next Up???? cityscape art quilt based on a photo of Roussillon, France art quilt based on our Croatia travels last September flower/plant themed art quilt for the Hardy Plant Society Hortlandia Plant Sale in April hopefully taking Hilde Morin's Bowl Art class
I don't know if I've told you before, but I learned how to quilt while I lived in Japan in 2002. Japanese housewife culture, including their approach to quilting, has always fascenated me. I should have been an anthropologist and studied that more intensely, I know, but I got caught up in trying to communicate and became an ESL teacher instead. Anyway.. I discovered flickr in 2006 and the quilts I saw there lead me to start blogging about quilting. Tonight I want to share a handful of my favorite quilt photos from the Tokyo International Quilt festivals held each year in January. One year I'll make it there myself, but until then, I will live vicariously through Jennifer and Jan. Be*mused Tokyo Quilt Fest 2011 Set Be*mused Tokyo Quilt Fest 2010 Set Be*mused Tokyo Quilt Fest 2009 Set Movinghands Tokyo Quilt Fest 2008 Set Movinghands Tokyo Quilt Fest 2007 Set Movinghands Tokyo Quilt Fest 2006 Set (one of my all-time favorites is the 9th quilt in the set-- the blue one) All photos in this post were taken by Jan of Be*mused, used with permission. (*I hate to post quilt photos without information about the makers, but sadly most of these pics don't include any. Apparently the quilter info is only printed in Japanese at the show. If you have any information for any of these quilts, please comment and I will give them proper credit.)
knick knacks & ric rac » Blog Archive » crazy quilt stitches
Neroli Henderson is an Australian textile artist living in St Kilda, Melbourne. Often described as an Artivist she creates feminist, political and other
We have begun our ambitious crazy quilting class with seven lovely and talented ladies. As we mentioned in a previous post, Crazy Quilting—Start to Finish, we have created a six-month crazy quilting class that teaches our students how to piece their blocks, stitch and embellish them, and finally put them together in the format of their choice. Taking photos of the class models for reference All our ladies had been eagerly awaiting this class and were ready to get started. Each student was instructed to bring at least 24 different fabrics, which could include cottons, silks, satins, or any other fabric they liked. We did have some fancy fabrics for sale to help their collection, but some of our ladies had been collecting fabrics over time, just for a future crazy quilt. A rainbow assortment of silks, satins, and velvets Many of these fabrics were sourced from thrift stores. One student's collection Each lady received four different patterns, as well as a fabric Little Red Riding Hood vintage postcard print to use as a center for one of their blocks. Most of the patterns were put together the same way, by having a center piece and then sewing each section around that center piece. We had the ladies bring in four 9" squares of flannel to be used as a base for the block, and Teri demonstrated how to construct the block with the flannel base. The flannel base provides a great support for the future block embroidery, and it also helps manage some of those slippery fabrics. The first piece is centered on the base. The second piece attached. As each piece is added, the excess underneath is trimmed away. Ready for embroidery After the demonstration, the ladies got to it and began constructing their blocks. Getting ready to choose fabrics Going around the center block with the next piece Checking if this fabric is a good fit This block is ready to be trimmed to its finished size. Such beautiful, bright colors We designed the patterns to be 8.5" finished, so having 9" base allowed for a little wiggle room as we pieced. An 8.5" square ruler was used to bring the pieced blocks down to their finished size. Trimmed and ready to go After the block was finished, the ladies basted around all four sides, and their blocks are ready for next month's embroidery session. Some of our students' finished blocks: The silver fabric in this block is a lacy overlay. Most of these fabrics were found at local thrift stores. As an unexpected treat, one of our students brought in some antique crazy quilt blocks that she had purchased. The blocks were in various stages of completion, absolutely beautiful, and she has more of them to bring to the next session. We can't wait to see them, and we will be sure to share them with you as well. Such lovely embroidery This unfinished, basted block is mostly made of silk. Another block a little further along in regard to the stitching Everyone was able to complete one block and will have the other three ready for our February meeting, where we will be focusing on motif selection, transferring design, and stitching the motifs. Thank you for joining us as we build these crazy quilts, and please come back to see the outcome of our next session.
I know I walked the entire QuiltCon show this year, but even with two more days, I’m not sure I would have been able to take in all of the quilts in the way that they truly deserved. The qual…
In this new showcase I present you Marla Varner, Paola Machetta, Irina Malyukova and Iva Steiner enjoy their stories and amazing quilts.
peggydolane: Carol Taylor, Moonglow
Cristina Arcenegui Bono discovered that she preferred the machine quilting to piecing quilts that opened a world of art to her.
One of the goals I set for myself this year is to invite curators and other artists to my studio to show my work. I've spent about two months recording, measuring and carefully storing the quilts that I have done in the past 10 years. I'm running out of closets and storage materials. So the question
Quilts came to Japan at the end of 1970 as a new hobby from America. Since then, the Japanese quilters have developed their own style using...
Custom Quilting is determined by how complex and dense the quilting is. I hope that these photos and descriptions can help you to determin...
Quilters, feast your eyes on a gallery of stunning quilts from the 2017 Pacific International Quilt Festival. #PIQF2017, #quiltshow
How to Design a Simple Art Quilt. Create an image and make it into an Art Quilt. Fabric scrap and fusible web will make it simple and quick
Quilt detail
This patch of coneflowers is on one our morning walk routes....and I've been watching it progress. I absolutely love that all the stages of the blooms that are on display....there is something about the spindly way these flowers begin that make them look a little cartoony and whimsical. Christine let me know that the inspiration photo for my "swoop of color" project was done by Ellen Lindner. Christine and I took an online fabric collage class from Ellen several years ago...and I've been following her ever since. She's one of my inspiration artists. http://adventurequilter.com/ You can read about my "Sticky Fingers" class project here: http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search/label/glued%20fabric%20collage It makes perfect sense that this is her work. It's called Florida Native #2 and you can read about it here on Ellen's blog. http://adventurequilter.com/quilt-gallery/around-the-neighborhood-gallery-partial/florida-native-2/ Although I'm practicing the skills from Isobel's class....as I look at Ellen's imagine again I love the simplicity of it. I'll go simple next time....I certainly didn't this time. I prepared my background as directed in Isobel's class. I stitched a "stem" line as a reference and fused down some Kaffe Fassett stripes to give me some guidelines for petal placement. Then I started adding fabric pieces.... ...and decorative machine stitches. I was reminded that contrasting colors are better. The purple stitching stands out...but the green under the yellow petal gets lost. This is why I practice. Time for fibers.... ...and hand stitching. This is where I stopped....and probably not in time. There are things I like....and things I would do differently next time. I will likely do another piece inspired by Ellen's organic leaf shape....but keep it WAY more simple....leave more breathing space and do less stitching and embellishing. But It's all a learning curve....and that's how I roll. Practice, practice, practice. It's time to move on. The day was way too bright to take photos....so the coloring is yellowed and off....and I know I say this all the time...but it does look better in person.
Explore setters4's 1244 photos on Flickr!
The People and Portraits exhibit celebrates the expressiveness of the human face in stunning quilts created by an international array of ar...
Explore Old Chum's 2804 photos on Flickr!
Sweet Surrender by Sue Cody, pieced by Beth and quilted by Judi Madsen
British artist Mandy Pattullo creates gorgeous pieces of stitched and pieced textiles using vintage fabrics and embroideries.
Customer Quilts Quilt by Noelle Powers Quilt by Noelle Powers Quilt by Heather Bostic Quilt by Jenny Redwig Quilt by Jenny Redwig Quilt by Julianna Gasiorowska Quilt by Julianna Gasiorowska Quilt by Michelle @Ilikeorangetoo Quilt by Penny Layman Quilt by Cindy Wiens Quilt by Cindy Wiens Customer Quilt Quilt by Angela Pingel Quilt by Katie Pedersen Quilt by Katie Pedersen Quilt by Krista Fleckenstein Quilt by Krista Fleckenstein Quilt by Sonja Callaghan Quilt by Sonja Callaghan Quilt by Jenny Redwig Quilt by Krista Fleckensten Quilt by Alison Robins Amanda's Value Quilt Personal Quilts
Claude Monet was one of the best loved Impressionist painters of the late 19th-early 20th century. He painted many scenes of his gardens at ...
Authentic Boro is an historical textile art, but its techniques are plenty relevant today. Here's info and ideas for making your own boro-inspired art.
Ro Bruhn’s handmade journals are incredibly beautiful inside and out. Touchable. Inviting. Desirable. This particular journal already is sold; but you can watch her develop new journals on he…
Here’s a way to stop the endless news dipping. Turn off the Instagram pages, close your ears to news anchors, take out the sketch book, scribble, then stitch. I had to stop thinking this week. I had to disappear from day in day out headlines and distractions. It started with a What If? What if I o
I've been busy sewing blue scraps together to make small blocks of 4" and 6" squares. Tomorrow, if there's time, I'll begin making some 8" squares, but I also have to take Jolie to Lafayette for new ballet shoes and then to JoAnn Fabrics for enough black backing to finish the Harley Davidson quilt. I thought I could do it using pieces from the stash, but no. It can't be done. There's just not enough black solid, even if I were to piece together all of what I have. Since I was playing with blue scraps, I thought it might be nice to look for some inspiration for those blocks. Here's what I found. "Paulitiks" by Preeti Harris of Sew Preeti Quilts Made for her husband, Paul. Guess how I found out... Have a wonderful week! I hope to see you in the studio, Mary
How to Design a Simple Art Quilt. Create an image and make it into an Art Quilt. Fabric scrap and fusible web will make it simple and quick
May is here and finally is is nice to be outside. Our weather has gone from 40's to 70's in a matter of 2 weeks. It's pretty nice out the...
Finally, I get a moment to start to add some new quilts to my pages. The first one is "mountain, tree and sun". At 40x40" it represents a perfect day on the meadow as the colors almost dance against the sky. At least that is how I see it. mountain, tree and sun--40x40"--copyright Ann Brauer 2017--image by John Polak Here are some other quilts. The first is called "two suns". I love the imaginary world and great colors it creates. two suns--quilt--ann brauer--2016 Then there is "prairie sun." Can you guess I grew up on a farm in the Midwest. prairie sun--quilt--ann brauer--2016 And there is also the ocean with the sun reflecting on the water. ocean sunrise--quilt--ann brauer--2016 Another newer quilt is "abstractions on the night." Perhaps the moon above the horizon? abstractions on the night--quilt--40x40 inches--ann brauer--2016 This quilt is already sold. "Desert days." Desert days--37x47 inches--quilt--ann brauer--2016 Then there are some slightly earlier "Flames". Don't you love the organic curves in this quilt. scenes from the beach--quilt--24x40"--Ann Brauer red flame--13x60"--quilt--Ann Brauer autumn splendor--45x45"--quilt--Ann Brauer--SOLD pluto is a planet--40x40 inches--Ann Brauer--2015 sunrise--30x80 inches--Ann Brauer 2015 distant fire--37.5x80 inches--quilt--Ann Brauer--2015--SOLD blood moon--40x40inches--SOLD--Ann Brauer moon rays--40x40"--Ann Brauer--2015 blood moon rays--40x80"--Ann Brauer--2015 Another new quilt is red sun. Aren't the colors wonderful? red sun--40x40"--Ann Brauer--2015 This is one of my new circles. I call it--"green circle". It is 40x40 inches. green circle--40x40 inches--quilt--Ann Brauer--$1800 And a detail. detail--green circle--quilt--Ann Brauer And the red circle which is available at the Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls. red circle--40x40 inches--quilt--Ann Brauer--SOLD Isn't the "blue circle" stunning? I framed this one for a more formal look. blue circle--40x40"--quilt--Ann Brauer Three new "flames". These could be table runners or they could be used as wall art either sold separately or as an arrangement. At 12 x 60 inches there are lots of places they will fit. three flames--each 12 x 60 inches--quilt--Ann Brauer And of course they can be hung the other direction also. three flames--each 12 x 60"--quilt--Ann Brauer This one is "blue flame." It is about 38x100 inches long. Don't you love how the flames waft and spire into wonderful delicate wisps? All images are by my wonderful photographer John Polak. blue dream--quilt--38x100"--Ann Brauer SOLD And a detail. blue dream--quilt--Ann Brauer 2015 This wonderful triptych is called "carnivale". It is about 40x40 inches although the size can vary depending on the arrangement you use. carnivale--40x40 inches--quilt--Ann Brauer SOLD This lovely quilt is "rhubarb fire." It already has a wonderful home. It was about 38 x 42 inches. rhubarb fire--38x42"--Ann Brauer--2015--$1200 Another long blue hanging. This one is 13 x 80". Don't you love how it is almost a mirror image? long blue hanging--13x80"--quilt--Ann Brauer $700 This one is "summer skies". summer skies--42x38"--Ann Brauer--SOLD
The SAQA show, Earth Stories , has opened at the Michigan State University Museum. My entry, Stream of Consequences , honors the work being done by the Wolf River Conservancy.The show is an invitational devoted to good things happening on the earth. The statement for the piece is below the images.
Quilters, feast your eyes on a gallery of stunning quilts from the 2017 Pacific International Quilt Festival. #PIQF2017, #quiltshow
The section around M3's dragon on my Dragon Vest chloesplace.blogspot.com/2007/05/dragon-vest-continues.html
On Saturday, June 2, we attended the Wine Country Quilt Show , sponsored by the local quilt guilds from Petaluma, Sonoma and Santa Rosa, C...
Check out these picture quilt patterns and projects from the Bluprint community to inspire you to plan your first picture quilt.
