Ooh! Pretty Colors

Winter Blooms

2012-02-09T11:29:00.001-05:00

Winter has been so mild that our Autumn Blooming Higan has bloomed nonstop this year.


I took this earlier this week

Yesterday winter visited briefly, bringing a little sparkle.

Let There Be Light

2012-02-08T11:00:00.002-05:00

As you may know I quilt in a ~~cave~~ ~~lair~~ basement. My studio has wonderful overhead lighting, but my primary sewing machine is quite aged, and even before the bulb burned out the light was inadequate. Luckily, my friend Floris is looking out for me. Two times she's let me know about wonderful lighting that has really made my life easier. Here are three photos illustrating the difference that this lighting makes.

My trusty Bernina 1130. Note the shadow beneath the arm.

Here the machine is on, but the machine's light is not working. The Bendable Bright Light, however, is making a *huge* difference in visibility.

This photo shows both the Bendable Bright Light and the White LED strip light. The strip light helps to improve visibility and even out the light beneath the arm.

I've been using the Bendable Bright Light for several years, and wholeheartedly endorse it (with no affiliation whatsoever). The bendable aspect of it is particularly nice, as you can adjust where the light is as much as you want. I just got the White LED Strip Light a few months ago, but love it too (again, no affiliation). Neither light is cheap, but I absolutely prefer them to lights that sit on the table, or stand lights, both of which I've used in the past. They don't make me sweat, they're closer to the work, and they're bright! In my book, more light + better light = better quilting.

In other news, I'm so pleased that my good friend Debra Gabel kindly posted an interview of me on her blog today - check it out!

Foto/Fiber 2012, A Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society

2012-02-02T07:22:00.003-05:00

Welcome to what is a very special blog post for me. Today I’m being featured on VirginiaSpiegel’s blog due to my participation in this year’s Fiber Art For A Cause fundraiser. Over the last several years Virginia has spear headed a fund raising effort for the American Cancer Society. With the help of the fiber art community more than $200,000 has been donated to the ACS!!

Virginia came up with a wonderful twist this year. By donating on February 15 or 16, 2012, you will receive a gorgeous mounted photo by Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, or Cynthia Wenslow, PLUS a “fiber bonus” by one of 36 participating artists.

ALL the details are here.

To whet your appetite, here’s peek at the three fiber bonuses that I’m donating.

Each bonus will contain one of these fabric postcards:

Each postcard is a digital collage, printed on fabric and machine quilted


A closeup of the center postcard

I’m also including a rainbow of fabric I've created.

Three hand dyes!

The top two pieces are 1/3 yard each, the blue one is 11"x13"

A piece I designed in photoshop, using numerous layers of paintings and photographs, printed on fabric by Spoonflower:

This vibrant piece is about 14"x17"

And two of my all time favorite screen printed pieces. I love these two so much, I've been saving them for something special - and this is it!

Hand painted, with two layers of screen printing

A small hand dyed and screen printed piece (about 7"x10"), seen in my inspiration photo on Virginia's blog. The locust leaves are one of my signature design elements

Over a yard of hand painted, hand dyed, screen printed and collaged fabric!

I'm sure as I'm mailing the envelopes that a little something else will also sneak in.

We’ve all been touched by cancer in some way. However, three years ago the fight against cancer became much more deeply personal for me. My younger sister, Karin, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 42.

Karin is an amazing person, and I’m not just saying that because she’s my sister. Wife, mother, friend, scientist/engineer, black belt in Taekwondo, artist, photographer, coach – she is so many things to so many people. She is such a health conscious person, and obviously in good shape, that her diagnosis came as a huge surprise. She handled her diagnosis and treatment with amazing humor and grace – what a wonderful example for all of us. This past October she had her second surgery, and luckily her prognosis is very good. However, the impact of cancer is so much more vivid to me since I stayed with her just after her first surgery. I want to help help prevent others from having to go through such a struggle, or even worse, and hope you’ll join me in this fight.

Check out the Foto/Fiber webpage here, and join me February 15 &16, 2012, to help beat cancer!

New & Improved Filler Finesse

2012-02-01T09:44:00.001-05:00

I've had quite a bit of fun writing the Filler Finesse column for Machine Quilting Unlimited. It's been an interesting challenge to try and come up with several new fills for each column. Last year Kit, MQU's managing editor, upped the ante a little. For 2012 she asked me to come up with three fillers per column, instead of two, and to combine all three in an additional sample. Here's a peek at the January/February result:

I love how Jonathan, MQU's graphic designer, used an image of one of my hand dyed fabrics as a background.

One of the more interesting aspects of this is trying to design three fills that will work together. If you read the article let me know how you think I'm doing!

Folio Sighting!

2012-01-31T11:05:00.001-05:00

Back in December I posted links to tutorials I've written or various projects. My lovely sister, Karin, then emailed me photos of *11* teacher gifts she made from the junior legal pad folio project I designed for Quilting Arts! Here they are -

She personalized this one with machine embroidered monograms

I love how she used a variety of commercial fabrics to make each one unique, and tailored to the giftee. A special touch (not pictured here) is that she wrote a note to each teacher on the top most sheet of paper. Thank you, Karin, for sharing these!

Foto/Fiber 2012 Sneak Peek

2012-01-24T08:13:00.001-05:00

Happy Belated New Year! A major computer crash and some deadlines temporarily sidelined me, but I'm back with a tiny sneak peek of part of what I'll be donating for Foto/Fiber 2012, February 15 and 16.

Soon to be quilted!

Foto/Fiber 2012 is a Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. It's part of Fiberart For A Cause, which has already donated over $215,000 to the American Cancer Society through the generosity of fiber artists and their patrons. See more details at

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/FotoFiberHowItWorks.html

I Like Glitter

2011-12-15T09:50:00.000-05:00

The lids have come off the glitter jars.

When my children were younger they loved to make pancakes with my husband. Standing on a chair, their chubby toddler bellies sticking out, they particularly enjoyed that my husband would add a variety of sweeteners to the batter. While stirring (and testing) the ingredients one child famously said, with a Jack Nicholson kind of gleam in his eyes, "I LIKE sugar!!"

And, at the risk of tainting my reputation as an artist, that's kind of how I feel about glitter.

Dyeing to Stitch DVD Winner!

2011-11-29T07:06:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Gina of Clay and Fiber - she is our lucky winner of Candy Glendening's DVD, Dyeing to Stitch!

If you didn't win, you can check out these blogs for other opportunities:

· Friday, 11/11 – Victoria Gertenbach of The Silly BooDilly

· Monday, 11/14 – Susan Brubaker Knapp of Blue Moon River

· Wednesday, 11/16 – Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio

· Friday, 11/18 – Melody Johnson of Fibermania

· Monday, 11/21 – Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side

· Wednesday, 11/23 – Diane Doran of Ooh! Pretty Colors

· Friday, 11/25 – Vicki Welsh of Field Trips in Fiber

· Monday, 11/28/11 – Brenda Gael Smith of Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

· Wednesday, 11/30 – Amy Webb of Amy Lou Who Sews

· Friday, 12/2 – Robin Ferrier of Simply Robin

· Tuesday, 12/6 – Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt

· Thursday, 12/8 – Beth and the gang from Sew Mama Sew

Time to Sew! (and Craft)

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

1/24/12 Edited to Add:

This post has links to tutorials I've written. I'll add to the list as new tutorials are available - enjoy!

OK, it's Black Friday, and you're not going to see me at a mall. As the holidays approach my first instinct is not to figure out what I can buy, but what I can make. Luckily there are several people in my life (most notably my sister) who truly appreciate it when I make a gift for them.

I find myself perusing the internet to find holiday sewing and crafting ideas, and this year it occurred to me that I've never put the links to all the projects I've designed (that are available free) in one place. So here they are!

1. Fast & Easy Fabric Bookmarks - from Quilting Arts Gifts 2009/2010 (The link is to an ebook that also includes several additional free projects from other designers.) If you've ever made an ATC or fabric postcard, you can easily make these adjustable bookmarks. Try customizing them by printing a photograph of the recipient on fabric to use as the main design. In the samples below I used a small portion of an old "experiment", as well as the leftovers from trimming the border of a quilt before I bound it.

2. Junior Legal Pad Cover/Folio - also from Quilting Arts Gifts 2009/2010 and Quilting Arts TV Episode 805 - I've made this gift for a variety of people, and keep one in my purse at all times. The cover and flap provide just enough room for you to try out a little surface design or applique.

3. Personalized Tote - Shown on Quilting Arts TV Episode 810
I had a great time designing this little tote/purse using designs I created using Kaleidoscope Kreator . Of course you could use any fabric, commercial or of your own design, for the flap. On one of the samples I even went crazy and did some hand embroidery - uncharacteristic for me, but fun!

4. Esther's Tote - My basic, go to tote design. I've made it in a variety of fabrics, from sophisticated to girly, and get complements every time.

If you make any projects from these tutorials I'd love to see pictures of them!

So are you going to be sewing today, or shopping?

Happy sewing!

Dyeing to Stitch DVD Giveaway!

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'm simply delighted that Candy Glendening asked me to be part of her DVD blog tour. As you may recall Candy filmed her DVD, Dyeing to Stitch, the day before I filmed my DVD in Cleveland in early September.

Candy sent me her DVD a few weeks ago and I watched it right away. Candy is a very personable, high energy person, and I noticed immediately that her personality shines through in the DVD.

I've been dyeing fabric for about twenty years now, having learned how by reading various articles and books (and dyeing hundreds of yards of fabric). I was therefore quite happy when Candy's DVD taught me several new things, especially with regards to folding the fabric to achieve different patterning. I only wish that a DVD like this had been available when I first started dyeing fabric - she covers all the basics, and then keeps building on that foundation. As a fellow scientist I literally applauded when she explained the tests she did to figure out how to make her dyeing both consistent and easy - she's done all the work so that all you need to do is follow her directions to successfully dye fabric from the start.

So now for the really good part - I get to give away one of her DVDs! Just leave me a comment for a chance to win. If you follow my blog you'll get another chance. I'll draw a name bright and early Tuesday, November 29. (Please be sure that your email address is accessible from your comment, as I will be emailing the winner to get their snail mail address.)

If you just can't wait, the DVD is available on Candy's website, or from Interweave (where there's also a download available).

Don't miss the rest of the blog tour for additional chances to win:

· Friday, 11/11 – Victoria Gertenbach of The Silly BooDilly

· Monday, 11/14 – Susan Brubaker Knapp of Blue Moon River

· Wednesday, 11/16 – Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio

· Friday, 11/18 – Melody Johnson of Fibermania

· Monday, 11/21 – Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side

· Wednesday, 11/23 – Diane Doran of Ooh! Pretty Colors

· Friday, 11/25 – Vicki Welsh of Field Trips in Fiber

· Monday, 11/28/11 – Brenda Gael Smith of Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

· Wednesday, 11/30 – Amy Webb of Amy Lou Who Sews

· Friday, 12/2 – Robin Ferrier of Simply Robin

· Tuesday, 12/6 – Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt

· Thursday, 12/8 – Beth and the gang from Sew Mama Sew

Branching Out - Again!

2011-11-18T14:51:00.001-05:00

Turns out an old dog can learn new tricks. My Machine Quilting Unlimited column, Filler Finesse, is expanded in 2012 - 3 fills per issue instead of two, and an additional stitched out sample using all three fills in one composition. I've decided to use the "three fills in one" compositions to try out some techniques that I haven't really used before. Back in September I shared an experiment I made using thread painting - something new to me. For the March issue I tried something else.

I can't show you the whole sample, as that would give away the quilting fills, but wanted to focus on this flower. I've used fusible applique many times in the past, but generally satin stitch the edges down. In this sample I quilted the entire background first, then fused on the flowers. OK, not terribly exciting. However, the real departure for me was that I did not trace the flower parts at all. I looked at a bunch of crocus photographs, made some very rough sketches, then applied fusible web to my hand dyed fabrics. I then cut out all the applique pieces free hand, just looking at my little sketches. I think I could have done a little better with the shading of the fabrics, but for someone who has always done applique in a very preplanned and precise manner, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Have you tried anything new lately?

Featured Artist

2011-11-15T10:45:00.001-05:00

The concert at St. John's church was excellent, and here's a photo of me with my quilts.

Can you tell the photographer is taller than me ;) ?

I really enjoyed discussing my work with a variety of concert goers. Many thanks to my friend Debra for lending me the grid system and lights to hang my quilts.

In other news, check out Pokey's blog today!

Music & Art

2011-11-12T17:00:00.001-05:00

Join me tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 at St. John's Episcopal Church, 9120 Frederick Road, Ellicott City, Maryland. The Orchestra of St. John's is having their inaugural concert of the season - The Splendor of Organ and Trumpet. I'll be there as the featured artist with several of my quilts.

Hope to see you there!

Back From Houston

2011-11-10T15:06:00.001-05:00

Still getting back in the swing of things after returning from the Houston Quilt Festival. There's been lots of real life happening, including the third family birthday in 15 days!

I had a wonderful time and met lots of talented artists. One of the highlights of the trip was spending time in the Machine Quilting Unlimited booth with Kit Robinson (managing editor) and Vicki Anderson (owner and publisher). We were so busy that I completely forgot to take any pictures! However, Vicki did interview me about my column, and here it is:

There's an MQUMag channel on youtube with lots of other interviews from the quilt festival, including one with Best of Show winner Sue McCarty - be sure and check those out.

Houston Quilt Festival 2011

2011-11-01T08:52:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that in just two days I'll be heading to Houston for the International Quilt Festival. I don't have an hour by hour schedule, but I will absolutely be spending time in the Machine Quilting Unlimited booth, #204. I'm also hoping to attend the SAQA meet up at 5:30 on Thursday. I'll be at the show on Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday, so if you see me be sure and say hello!

This year I have a smallish quilt in the IQA show. It's a little more abstract than most of my recent pieces, and I had a great time making it. I was much freer with my construction techniques this time around, and added some paint to emphasize some of the vertical elements.And I really love those blues.

Jamestown, 2011

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T10:32:00.001-05:00


From our Halloween Archives ...

November/December Machine Quilting Unlimited

2011-10-31T06:25:00.003-05:00

Last week I received my preview copy of the November/December issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited. Wow! Look at this cover -

The cover image is just a taste of the wonderful photography inside. They always have lots of beautiful quilts, but this issue has even more than usual.

In addition to my Filler Finesse column, I also wrote an article about using decorative stitches for quilting. In it there are photos of quilts by Carol Ann Waugh, Cathy Jeffrey, Jane Sassaman, Karen Linduska, and Mary Vaneecke. They are all lovely quilts, and really helped to show the many effects that can be produced by various styles of decorative stitches - thanks ladies!

And speaking of MQU, I better go get my next filler article done before I leave for Houston later this week!

Doodle All the Day

2011-10-27T09:47:00.002-05:00

There's been a lot of buzz lately about sketchbooks amongst art quilters. I really enjoy checking out all the posts related to the sketchbook challenge. I admire all those artists who do journal, and love to see how their journaling eventually translates into other work.

Yesterday I received my copy of the latest SAQA Journal, and lo and behold there was even an article about sketchbooks/journals by Vivien Zepf.It made me feel much better! I don't journal, or even have a sketchbook. I use the computer as what I like to call my "virtual design wall". I do sketch out ideas occasionally, and have a folder full of sketches I've made over the years, but it's not something that I feel compelled to do. The one exception is when I'm considering new quilting designs (as in the actual stitching, not the overall quilt). Here are two pages of sketches, or doodles, that I made while thinking about upcoming "Filler Finesse" columns for Machine Quilting Unlimited.


OK, the number line at the top is not a potential quilting design - it was an illustration of negative numbers for my youngest son

Designing quilting motifs or fillers for an article is an iterative process for me. I go back and forth between sketching, stitching, and then making a clean diagram in Illustrator. I skip the illustrator step if I'm working on a quilt and not writing an article.

So do you have a sketchbook or journal? How does it fit in to your design process?

Farewell Old Friend

2011-10-26T08:01:00.000-05:00

When it comes to electronics, my husband and I are never people who buy "the latest thing". For instance, I'm pretty sure we were the last people in our neighborhood to get a flat screen TV. We (okay, Vince) carefully research the item in question, then use it as long as we can.

I don't know how long ago we bought our Canon PowerShot Pro1, but it was the first digital camera that we bought. We both had SLRs, but did not hop on the digital photo bandwagon quickly, so borrowed digital cameras before that. (My family had plenty of them.) And now, sadly, my beloved Canon bit the dust.

If you embiggen this, you'll see how well worn the exterior is

If you zoom with it at all, the exposure is totally off - basically a white picture results. This was a lovely camera, perfect for me in so many ways. Whether I wanted to take a macro of a flower, a portrait of a child, or a photo for a quilt article, I could get the picture I wanted in no time flat. It had its limitations, of course, but for the most part it felt like an extension of me. Nearly every picture on this blog, save those marked as cell phone pictures, was taken with the old Canon. Also, if you've read any of my magazine articles, all the photos in my Machine Quilting Unlimited articles, as well as some in process ones for Quilting Arts, were taken with it. So can you tell yet that I really liked it :) ?

Now I'm adjusting to a new camera. It's better, fancier, has more megapixels, and an amazing range. And I must say that I'm impressed that I was able to take these two pictures of our woods and capture some of the magic of this time of year, which I never could quite manage with the old camera.

Stay tuned for more of my "test" pictures.

And the Winner is ...

2011-10-24T06:03:00.002-05:00

Angela Grasse! Angela's name was selected by using a random number generator. Congratulations, Angela, I hope you enjoy your DVD.

Last Chance - DVD Giveaway

2011-10-21T07:17:00.000-05:00

What an exciting couple of weeks it's been! I've been celebrating the release of my instructional DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design, with a blog hop, and today I'm the last stop.

Many, many thanks to my friends Gerrie, Vivika, Debra, Candy, and Deborah for helping me celebrate. And many thanks also to everyone who entered - your comments have really been wonderful!

Digital collage has been my primary means of designing quilts for over 10 years. If you check out my gallery on my website and the tab on the blog labeled recent quilts you'll see what I mean. And those designs are just the tip of the iceberg. I have many more quilts designed or in work on my computer, and several printed out and ready to quilt. I feel so blessed to be living in this time of technological wonder. When printing on fabric with a home computer and printer became possible it was like I'd been waiting for that my whole life, and didn't even know it.

Bayou Reflections

Under the Rainbow

Bog Lilies

So, to win a copy of the DVD, leave a comment here. I'd love to hear about how you'd like to use digital collages in your own work. For an additional chance to win become a follower of my blog or sign up for my email newsletter and tell me you've done so in the comments. Please remember to leave an email address so that I can contact you if you're the big winner! I'll choose a winner Monday morning, October 24, and announce the winner that morning.

Good luck, and thanks for joining in the celebration!

Edited 10/24/11 - Contest now closed - thanks for joining in the fun!

DVD Blog Hop - On to Deborah Boschert

2011-10-19T06:35:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it - we're already on Day 5 of my blog hop to celebrate the release of my DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design!

Today's hostess is someone whose blog I've followed for years. First she lived in Maine, then Texas. When I learned she was moving to Maryland I immediately contacted her to let her know about some local art quilt groups with the hopes that she'd join them. And she did! I'm so happy today to include my friend Deborah Boschert in our celebration.

Deborah's work has a unique and instantly recognizable style that I love. She is well known for the many articles she's written and publications her work has appeared in, and also for being a part of the 12 By 12 International Art Quilt Challenge. Here's her work "In Light Of" from their colorplay challenge.


"In Light Of" by Deborah Boschert

The 12x12 Collection will be in a special exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Festival, November 3-6. Most of the members of the 12x12 group will be there too, so be sure to check out their exhibit, and say hi to them if you see them.

So know that you know a little more about Deborah, hop on over to her blog for a chance to win!

Some of the other ladies are still accepting comments for chances to win on their blogs:

Debra Gabel is picking a winner on or before Oct. 31 (post date Oct. 13)

Candy Glendening is picking a winner Oct. 21 (post dated Oct 17)

Be sure to hop back here on October 21 for a chance to win a DVD from me.

DVD Giveaway :Next Stop - Candy Glendening

2011-10-17T01:00:00.000-05:00

As you enter the green room where Quilting Arts TV is filmed, you pass through a door that has the taping schedule on it. In September I looked at the door and was disappointed to see that Candy Glendening had filmed the day before - darn it! I'd hoped to meet her. However, it turned out to be my lucky day. She returned to the studio to retrieve some things so I got to meet her after all.

If you look behind Candy, you can see the schedule on the door

Candy is a woman of many talents. She teaches biology at the university level, while also creating lots of colorful art including her yummy hand dyed fabrics - Candied Fabrics. She's been on QATV, been published a number of times, and has a DVD of her own being released at the same time as mine. I think her energy and cheerfulness are readily apparent in the picture above!

I'm delighted that Candy is our next stop on the blog hop, so head on over to her blog for another chance to win my DVD! Also, a big thank you to all of our blog hop hostesses and the many people who've left such wonderful comments - it is great to see your enthusiasm.

Here's the remainder of the schedule:

October 14 Debra Gabel ( there's still time to enter at Debra's blog - see the 10/13 entry)

October 17 Candy Glendening

October 19 Deborah Boschert

October 21 Diane Doran

Good luck to everyone!

Blog Hop - Day 3 of DVD Giveaway

2011-10-14T06:20:00.001-05:00

Today my good friend Debra Gabel is giving away a copy of my new DVD on her blog.

Debra is many things - an amazing designer, an award winning art quilter, author of several books, an energetic teacher and lecturer, and the owner of a thriving pattern business, Zebra Patterns. She's very well known for her series of city and state "stamps". I'm sure that if you've seen her work you'll remember it! Here's one of her art quilts "St. Francis of Assisi".

St. Francis of Assisi by Debra Gabel

Thank you, Debra, for being a part of the celebration!

Here's the remainder of the giveaway schedule:

October 14 Debra Gabel

October 17 Candy Glendening

October 19 Deborah Boschert

October 21 Diane Doran

As a reminder, Vivika will be drawing a name on October 19, so you still have a chance to win there, too.

Red Birds

2011-10-13T11:43:00.001-05:00

I finished up the little quilt I showed last Friday, Red Birds. I made it as a donation to the fundraiser for the Texas Quilt Museum.

It's about 10"x10".

As usual, I quilted the dickens out of it.

Instead of a sleeve, I added tabs for hanging it. I fastened them down at the bottom, so they wouldn't poke up above the top edge when hanging.

There are still several chances to win a copy of my new DVD - you can head over to Vivika's now, or to Debra's tomorrow.

Ooh! Pretty Colors

Winter Blooms

Let There Be Light

Foto/Fiber 2012, A Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society

*New & Improved* Filler Finesse

Folio Sighting!

Foto/Fiber 2012 Sneak Peek

I *Like* Glitter

Dyeing to Stitch DVD Winner!

Time to Sew! (and Craft)

Dyeing to Stitch DVD Giveaway!

Branching Out - Again!

Featured Artist

Music & Art

Back From Houston

Houston Quilt Festival 2011

Happy Halloween!

November/December Machine Quilting Unlimited

Doodle All the Day

Farewell Old Friend

And the Winner is ...

Last Chance - DVD Giveaway

DVD Blog Hop - On to Deborah Boschert

DVD Giveaway :Next Stop - Candy Glendening

Blog Hop - Day 3 of DVD Giveaway

Red Birds

New & Improved Filler Finesse

I Like Glitter