Ooh! Pretty Colors

Headed to Houston

2012-10-31T10:07:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I'll be headed to Houston for the International Quilt Festival. If you're there, stop by and see me in the Meander Publishing Booth, #1832 - I would love to see you!

Some of the fall color we had in this neck of the woods

We were very fortunate and weathered Sandy with only 16 hours without power. (This was quite a relief after the massive tree damage we had from the derecho.) My heart goes out to all those folks who were not so lucky, and suffered tremendous losses of all kinds. All my best wishes go to those facing cleanup and rebuilding.

Melanie's Breast Pockets

2012-10-18T07:36:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, well known fiber artist Melanie Testa is raising awareness about women who choose to remain flat after breast cancer surgery. She's hoping to collect 1,000 breast pockets to symbolically represent women who have chosen to forgo reconstruction.

I made 5 pockets to represent women I've known who've chosen to remain flat.

The top two are for Melanie.

This one is for Gerrie.

The two blue ones are for a relative who's story I don't fully know, but they could just as well represent two other Ladies (the capital L is deliberate) I've known. All three of them hark from a different era - the one who is still with us just turned 103. No nonsense women who took great pride in their appearance, I did not know them before their surgeries. From what I could tell, though, they were all confident in the decision they'd made.

I put a little note in the pockets, and a blue bird to wish them each happiness.

If you'd like to participate go to Melanie's blog post for more information, and be sure to watch her Pinterest page to see more pockets.

Fun With Reston Quilters Unlimited

2012-10-03T11:35:00.002-05:00

Last week I had the great pleasure of visiting with the lovely ladies of Reston Quilters Unlimited twice! On Tuesday night I gave a lecture, then I went back on Saturday for my workshop "Feathers, Fronds, and Ferns". I forgot to take pictures until half of the class had already left, but here are six of them with some samples of their work.

You can see that everyone made good progress during the day - I was so proud of them for working so hard!

Here are two samples of the work done in class by Susan (shown 3rd from the right in the picture above).

Susan did beautiful work that shows up wonderfully due to the contrast of the white thread on the green background.

Many thanks to the whole guild, and especially Jamie Sculley and Susanne Jones, for two fun visits!

Kaleidoscope Fun Part 3

2012-08-02T12:36:00.000-05:00

Last week I shared some fun ways that I use kaleidoscopes in quilt designs. In Part 1 I showed how I create kaleidoscopes using Kaleidoscope Kreator, then import them back into the program to create a new look. In Part 2 I showed how to use a kaleidoscope with a simple layer to create a medallion center for a quilt.

As easy and fun as those two techniques are, what I most enjoy is using kaleidoscopes as part of digital collages. When I made my DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design, the one thing that I most wanted folks to take away from it was that you can use any image - photo, scanned documents or objects, drawings, paintings etc. - as part of a digital collage. If you look at my quilts (here and here) you'll see that I certainly use photographs in my collages, but also a variety of other image types.

Using a variety of image types in your digital collages can add texture, depth, and a more painterly looking result. It's really a way to personalize your art! In all the examples below I imported the kaleidoscopes into Photoshop and combined them with other images.

So how have I used kaleidoscopes in digital collages? Let's see

This background was created by heavily manipulating a feathered kaleidoscope, then copying it three times and arranging the images in a square.

Here the kaleidoscope has been cropped and used as a background for a silhouette. It's a very graphic look.

Again, a heavily manipulated kaleidoscope used as a background. Doesn't it remind you of a batik?

Using various transparencies for the kaleidoscope layers creates a fill for the butterfly, as well as the "frame" of feathers.

The "fancy" part of the background kaleidoscope was selectively removed, leaving a graphic, sun like design.

Yet another heavily manipulated kaleidoscope forms the background.

The "sprig" layer is placed on a kaleidoscope background. Because of the transparency of the "sprig" layer the background acts as a fill for the buds. I could easily extract the black background and use this design element on a different composition.

I love symmetry, but for my collages my focal point is generally not the kaleidoscope. As you can see I instead use them as background elements, fills, or textures. The framing effect a kaleidoscope can add to a composition is particularly appealing to me.

I hope you've enjoyed this series of posts - they were certainly fun for me! I'd love to hear how you use kaleidoscopes in your quilts too.

Kaleidoscope Fun Part 2

2012-07-27T07:30:00.002-05:00

In my last post I shared a simple technique for creating a kaleidoscope in Kaleidoscope Kreator, then importing the saved Kaleidoscope back into the program for further manipulation. Today I'll show an easy digital layering technique for creating the center of a medallion quilt. (If you are not familiar with the Kaliedoscope Kreator program, which I'll call KK from now on, you can refer to my original post, or go to the KALcollections website for more information.)

I'm lucky to write a column called Filler Finesse for Machine Quilting Unlimited. Each issue I show how to quilt three filler designs, including a written description, diagrams, and stitch outs of each filler. I also create a composition where I use all three fillers. In every issue I try to make the composition a little different. The first three issues of this year I made pictorial compositions (see an example here), but I wanted to switch things up a little for the next three. Here's the example from the July/August issue:

When I first started quilting the part I loved the most was the piecing. I've pieced many a sharp point in my day, but honestly didn't want to do that for this design. OK, this may seem like cheating, but for this little wall hanging I decided to use a couple of different software programs to create the look I wanted. It was much faster than piecing!

First I used Electric Quilt to create the blue rays. Briefly, I modified the block "Dean's Sunflower Sun", found in the Contemporary Pieced, Sun Compasses library. I simplified the block so that it consisted only of the rays, and then used the block by itself in a quilt layout. Then I exported that image as a jpeg. I originally saved the "quilt" with black rays, and later changed the background to red and the rays to blue in Photoshop.

The compass as it appeared when exported out of Electric Quilt

I used the magic wand tool in Photoshop to change the color of the rays and background

The next step was to use KK to create the feathered star in the center. I started with a photograph of a sunset that has a lovely gradation of oranges in the sky. Using a feathered star template it was a snap to create the star that I wanted, then save the star as a jpeg.

I imported the feathered star into Photoshop and created a duplicate of the background layer. I used the magic wand tool to select and then clear the white background from the duplicate layer, leaving me with just the feathered star. I then dragged the star over the red, white, and blue compass.

I resized the star to fit the center circle, adjusted my colors a little, and voila, my cheater panel was complete! I printed it as large as I could (13"x13" on my printer), then added the blue borders. All of those solid colors provided a great canvas to show off my fillers.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series on ways I use Kaleidoscope Kreator in my work, where I'll show how I've used kaleidoscopes in digital collages for art quilts.

Kaleidoscope Fun Part 1

2012-07-25T08:37:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to write a post about Kaleidoscope Kreator for a long time. It's a very fun, and very easy to use, software program that creates beautiful kaleidoscopes from your images. The more I thought about it, I realized that I really need to write three separate posts to show some of the ways I use it for my digital art.

Kaleidoscope Kreator is a very simple program to use. Basically you open the program, import an image from your computer, then select shapes from a template library to use in creating the kaleidoscope. There are videos on the Kaleidoscope Kreations website that show how to do this.

Once your image is open the fun begins. By simply moving the image around the kaleidoscope changes, just as turning the outside of a real kaleidoscope changes what you see. Mesmerizing and fun! Though beautiful straight out of the program, the images can also be used in creative ways in conjunction with other software programs to create a wide variety of images.

In this post, Part 1, I'll show how I create kaleidoscopes, then import them back into the program to create a new look. Part 2 will show how to use a kaleidoscope with a simple layer to create a medallion center for a quilt, while in Part 3 I'll share how I've used kaleidoscopes as layers in digital collages for art quilts.

Obviously I love to play with digital images (as you can see in my DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design From Start to Finish). As I started to use Kaleidoscope Kreator (from here on out I'll call it KK) I wondered what would happen if I created a kaleidoscope, then brought it back into the program and played with it some more? Well, let's see!!

Here's a digital collage that I created in Photoshop. It has many layers, and I didn't keep track of what they all are, but I do know that the grid part is from a photo of duct tape residue, and the circle is a dome inside the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

I love this image on its own, but decided to play with it some in KK. Of course, photographs produce beautiful kaleidoscopic designs, but what can I say, I love to experiment!

I imported my image into KK, and chose a feather template. (If you wish to see a larger image, just click on the photo for a clearer view.)

This is a screen shot of my image in the program. I added the red ellipse to highlight where the feather is since the contrast is low here. In this instance I used the eyedropper tool to change the background of the kaleidoscope from the default (white) to a color that was already in my image.

Here is the resulting kaleidoscope, which is visible in the top right corner of the screenshot above. Pretty, right?

When I'm planning on using this process of reimporting a kaleidoscope for further manipulation, I like to choose one of the more lacy templates for my initial shape, as shown below:

(These templates are add-ons to the initial program.)

I saved this kaleidoscope, then opened the saved file in the program, as seen below.

Here I used a simpler, more solid template shape. And here's the resulting kaleidoscope:

A whole different look, and wouldn't this look great as yardage, or a note card? By reimporting the image a whole new world of designs is possible.

For one of my Quilting Arts TV projects (directions for which are available here) I designed a simple purse with a kaleidoscope flap.

(For this kaleidoscope I imported the digital design for this quilt, and the original template I chose was one of the filigrees.)

As with anything digital, the options are endless! Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of this series, where I'll show some other ways I've used Kaleidoscope Kreator.

Full disclosure: Back in early 2011 I was given the opportunity to use Kaleidoscope Kreator to design a project for QATV (episode 810). I was given a copy of the software, and add-on templates, to use, and compensated for making the project. However, Kaleidoscope Kreator was on my list of things to try out, so eventually I would have tried it out on my own. I'm simply writing these posts to share some fun ways I've used the program.

Happy Fourth of July!!

2012-07-04T13:08:00.004-05:00

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Skinny Strip Tips

2012-06-13T07:53:00.001-05:00

Yesterday it rained all day. This blew my plans for lap swimming, but gave me the perfect excuse to stay inside and sew.

Lots and lots of skinny strips.

Here are some tips for sewing skinny strips:
- Starch the fabric - it really helps to keep the strips from growing.
- Extra fabric is your friend. Cut the pieces longer than you think you need, then trim them up after you piece them together.
- If the strips are made up of more than one piece of fabric, sew the strips in units, then sub cut them to avoid lots of short seams. Again, leave yourself a little extra width so that you don't end up short in the end.
- Don't iron the sewn strips, press them to keep them in shape.

What tips do you have for sewing skinny strips?

Good Intentions

2012-05-31T12:23:00.001-05:00

Well, we all know what road is paved with good intentions. This week I missed two deadlines, but I'm OK with it. One was for the IQA World of Beauty show, which is my favorite show to enter, but the world won't end if I miss entering for one year. (And I've made a great start for next year!) The other was for the SAQA auction. I've been thinking about what to make for it for some time, but nothing seemed quite right.

I think that part of the issue is that I've been examining my process. I'm a perfectionist by nature, which has served me well in the world of quilt shows, but quilting heavily with many, many thread colors is not as appealing to me as it used to be. Don't get me wrong - the look is appealing, the labor involved is not. At the same time I've been fascinated by how some other artists quilt, particularly my friends Cathy Kleeman and Deborah Boschert. A while back I played around with something that I've seen both of them do (in very different ways), namely quilt and then paint over it. I liked the results but didn't do anything with the small samples I made.

Yesterday I pulled out the samples and combined them with some small screen printed pieces. Here's a peek at the in process piece:

Obviously, the two blue pieces are just laying on top. What you might not be able to tell is that the background is quilted. The left hand side was then screen printed, while the right side had paint brushed over the top, leaving the furrows in the quilting unpainted. This photo has a layer of tulle over the background, which I think I'll remove in the final piece. The two blue rectangles will be trimmed, and quilted after they're put on top. What do you think?

I also have a stack of (gasp!) commercial fabrics waiting to be cut.

They're not all for one piece, but I do think they look pretty together. I'm making a sample for the premiere issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited, and looking forward to some straight forward piecing.

Catching Up

2012-05-04T08:29:00.001-05:00

I'm very excited that I'm now Associate Editor of a wonderful new magazine, Modern Quilts Unlimited!

We're working on the premiere issue now, and it's going to be great - the enthusiasm of everyone involved, from the contributors to the staff, is just amazing. Look for the website to go live May 18.

The last month has flown by. I've done *lots* of quilting, but it has all been for publication or potential exhibition so unfortunately I can't share it yet.

Since I can't show the quilting, I'll show some pretty pictures:

Finally I'd like to give a big shout out to Ann Shayne of Mason-Dixon Knitting. Ann wrote a soon to be released book, Bowling Avenue, and I had the pleasure of reading a pre-release copy. I couldn't put it down! It has something for everyone - romance, mystery, natural disaster, and lots of witty banter. The book is worth reading for the witty banter alone. Thank you, Ann, for this fun read!

Happy Easter!

2012-04-08T10:58:00.004-05:00

Guest Blogging & Spring Break Trip

2012-04-05T13:12:00.004-05:00

Check out my guest blog over at Machine Quilting Unlimited!

We're just back from a 4 day trip to NYC. Though I've visited several times in the past, I've only spent the night once before (way back in 9th grade when our Jr. High chorus sang at St. Pat's). This trip was a very different experience than a day trip to say the least.

We hit many of the "must see" sights - the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Mama Mia!, and the Museum of Natural History. I went to Mood Fabrics, was overwhelmed, and left pretty quickly. I'd definitely go again if I had a specific project in mind, but otherwise it was just too much to take in.

I took many family photos, and *many* photos of reflections. Here's one of my favorites (blogger is not letting me upload more photos at the moment):

It was a great trip, but I'm happy to be back in the green grass of home!

Little Pink Bird

2012-03-27T13:51:00.001-05:00

This ~~weird~~ phenomenal Spring just keeps on amazing me. The other morning I ventured outside to find this:

The driveway has been carpeted in leaves many times, but not in maple blossoms! They all seemed to fall simultaneously the night before.

Here's a little bird that I'm using to try out some quilting ideas. I didn't want the quilting to be realistic, and also wanted the wash of colors on the bird to remain visible. What do you think?

Spring Overload

2012-03-21T10:52:00.003-05:00

At the risk of becoming a flower/weather blog, boy howdy - how about this spring! There have been years when our first daffodil hasn't bloomed until March 17, and here we are March 21st and some things are already finished blooming.

These pictures (along with probably a hundred others) were taken in my yard on St. Patrick's Day -

To keep it quilt related, they all inspire me with their color and form. And who knows - maybe they'll end up in a quilt someday?

Down in my lair I've been quilting birds and branches (maybe a little hard to see here - this is the back of the quilt). I'm hoping to make slow but steady progress.

Normally this is the ideal season to photograph birds in silhouette on the beautiful sculptures the branches create. This year I'm afraid the leaf out will be too fast to get many good pictures. Oh well, at least what winter we had is over!

MQU News

2012-03-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

I've been happily busy in the last few weeks. Last Monday I gave a lecture in Woodbridge, Virginia at the wonderful Cabin Branch Quilters guild. They are a very energetic and enthusiastic group! Many thanks for their warm welcome.

Arriving just in time for me to pass out at the meeting were copies of the latest sample issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited. If MQU has a booth at a show, they have copies of the sample issue in their booth, so be sure to check it out. It has a variety of articles from previous issues to give you a taste of the magazine.

Do you recognize the cover quilt ;).

Since then I've been finishing up my Filler Finesse article for the July issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited, and I'm just a wee bit too excited about a new ruler I recently found. After I try it out I'll report back.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-22T20:58:00.002-05:00

Today's the Day - FFAC Foto/Fiber 2012!!

2012-02-15T07:29:00.000-05:00

Today's the big day!

A quick reminder that Foto/Fiber 2012, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, opens *today*, February 15, at 10 a.m. Central.

I am honored to be part of this event and hope you will support our efforts to fight cancer. Last week I gave details about my fiber bonuses on this blog post.

Here are photos of the fabric and postcards that will be included in my bonuses:

Fabric Postcards - one will be in each bonus

Fabrics I've created - dyed, screen printed, painted, and/or digitally created

I'll also be adding a surprise thermofax screen with a design I created expressly for this fundraiser.

There are 4 ways to win with this fundraiser - one of which is that 100% of the funds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. The other three are detailed here today:

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/7355

Interview With Debra Gabel of Zebra Patterns

2012-02-13T11:46:00.001-05:00

Last week my friend Debra Gabel interviewed me on her blog, and today I have the pleasure of interviewing her! When I think of Debra for some reason the letter "E" always comes to mind. I think it's because she's enthusiastic, entrepreneurial, energetic, and strives for excellence in everything she does. Whenever I spend time with her I come away amazed by her latest accomplishments. I hope you find her as inspiring as I do!

Artist’s Bio:

Debra Gabel is the owner and designer of Zebra Patterns, as well as author, teacher, lecturer, mom and wife. Debra was born and raised in Middletown New York and currently resides in Clarksville, Maryland with her family. Gabel is a mother of three boys ages 20, 17,15 and married to Gary who is VP of Sales/Marketing for Tulsack, a paper handled shopping bag company in Tulsa, OK.

Professional Profile and Publications

Owner and designer of Zebra Patterns, a raw edged based applique pattern design company with over 200 patterns. www.zebrapatterns.com

Author of Quilt Blocks Across America by C&T Publishing in 2010.

Author of Quilt Blocks Around the World by C&T Publishing in 2011.

Contributor to Quilt Label Collective CD by C&T Publishing in 2011

Website: www.zebrapatterns.com

Blog: on website or zebrapatterns.wordpress.com

Interview:

DIANE: Briefly, please give us an overview of how quilting and fiber came into your life and became your passion.

DG: I worked for a neighbor of two small children when I was 13 years old babysitting. She was a quilter that started a raw edge applique craft business in the 70’s. She discovered I was artistic and I started working for her cutting and laying out raw edge applique patterns that would become pillows and totes that she sold on the professional craft circuit.

DIANE: When did you start quilting professionally?

DG: I attended college earning a BFA in Graphic design in 1984 and went to work as an art director at Champion International in Walden, NY where I met my husband. After being an Art Director for many years in the paper bag and giftwrap industry we started a family in 1992. Upon the arrival of our first-born, I took up quilting again. A local quilt shop admired the baby quilts and projects I would bring by and asked me to start teaching and making patterns for the projects I had shown them. That was the start of my first teaching experience and pattern-making venture. I started teaching locally and had a few patterns. That was the beginning, the seed. I loved it.

DIANE: When did you feel that you wanted to devote your career to quilting and/or fiber arts?

DG: In 2003 I was diagnosed with late staged Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. It was a shock. After 6 months of intense chemo at Johns Hopkins, followed up with a stem cell transplant in 2004 and another 6 months of recovery it became very clear that I should be following my passion, as one never knows what tomorrow will bring. One of the days that I was hospitalized and bed bound, Oprah was on the TV and simply stated that we should all “find our passion and make it our life’s work.” That was my AH HAH moment! I promised myself if I recovered, and that was truly a big “if”, I would pursue a career teaching, lecturing and designing that would take me around the world! That was the moment I devoted my career to quilt patterning/designing/teaching and 6 months later I made a one-year, a 5-year and a ten-year plan. My one-year plan was to get a line of 12-15 patterns and start teaching locally, which I did. My 5-year plan was to go national with a pattern line and continue to teach regionally, which I did. Now at year 7 my patterns are being sold around the world and I am teaching/lecturing farther and farther across the country. My ten year plan is to experience and travel the world through my business.

DIANE: Most quilters love to know what products and supplies professionals use. I am going to make a list and you can just fill in the blanks:

Thread: DG: Maderia, Wonderfil, Sulky, YLI

Batting: DG: Warm and Natural

Fusible: DG: Lite Steam a Seam 2

Basting: DG: Mistyfuse

Fabrics: DG: I love Hoffman Batiks they are so dense and rich – yummy!

Tools: DG: I do not use many tools. I use a good sharp rotary cutter, sharp professional scissors, two well marked 24 x 6” rulers and my Mac Computer with Adobe Creative Suite to scan my sketches, draw and create my patterns on. I do love the Attached Company’s “Fat Goddess Pressing Sheet.”

Machine: DG: Bernina. I have a Bernina 153, and a Bernina 730

Favorite Feet: DG: I use the open toe foot #20, the #57 edge guide foot and an open free motion foot most of the time. I use a couching foot when I free motion couch.

Favorite Needles: DG: Microtex needles – all sizes, and jeans needles for heavy specialty threads.

Techniques: DG: raw edge applique, piecing, couching, embellishment, and fabric paint/coloring

Inspirational Fiber Artists: DG: Susan Shie, Diane Rusin Doran, Susan Brubaker Knapp, Jane Sassaman

DIANE: Quilters also love to know what inspires you and your designs?

DG: That answer is two fold for me. I have two sides to my artistic output. The one side is for Zebra Patterns, my pattern company. When I design for Zebra my intention is to create designs that appeal to the traditional quilter. My style is realistic and graphic. My palette is often bold with a strong emphasis on clear jewel tones. My inspiration for these designs is “what traditional quilters as a whole generally like.” That answer is flowers, birds, butterflies and home identity.

The other side is my art quilts. The inspiration for my art quilts is usually an outlet for something I want to say. I have made several political quilts, gift quilts and other clearly defined message quilts.

In general inspiration is everywhere. I do try to go to art museums and art fairs as much as possible. I started a Contemporary Art Guild, of sorts, called Metrothreads. It is a group where artists can get together in my studio and have live critique quarterly. I say it is a guild of sorts, as it has no dues, or newsletter, or meetings. It is a meet and greet and sharing time. Artists do not want all the “Typical Guild Stuff.” We recently put together a traveling show. It is a collection of over 75 pieces of 8x8 art quilts in 12 x 12 frames that goes out to any member of the group as a traveling show. All pieces are for sale at 125.00. It is a great, easy way to get our art out there.

DIANE: You have a blog. When, why and how did you start your blog?

DG: I started my blog in 2008; just before the frenzy of everyone blogging took place. My blog is called “Shoot for the Moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars!” The blog was a way for me to journal the experience of building a quilt pattern business from the ground up single handedly. It is great to go back and read postings about how scared I was the first time I went to market and my experience of writing a book. I found the professional quilters that had “made it” a bit tight lipped about building a brand. That said, I do remember Libby Lehman and Jane Sassaman being very open. Libby sat with me several times and answered anything I wanted to know. She is fabulous. The best advice came from Jane Sassaman in 2006…”just work.”

The intention of my blog is to track my journey as I shoot for the moon, especially for other potential pattern designers and teachers. I think there is room enough for all of us and I would be happy to share any and all that I learn with others.

DIANE: What is the best and worst part about teaching/lecturing?

DG: The worst part about teaching/lecturing is schlepping all the stuff needed. Sometimes I feel more like a pack mule than a teacher/designer.

The best part is subtle for me is when I sit down to guide a student and we engage in one on one conversation and they say to me that they were inspired by my lecture. It is renewing and rewarding. Not to get too “new age” on anyone but what is better that to give positive uplifting energy to someone? That is what it is all about for me. Sharing and helping others by teaching or more importantly by listening is the key!

I was in Syracuse NY last summer and I sat with a student. She told me this was the first time in several months that she felt hopeful. You see, several months earlier she lost her husband to a scuba accident while on her honeymoon. Wow! That was powerful. I have had many conversations, not quite as extreme, but equally as eye opening with students. That is what it is all about for me. The profit, books, patterns and designing are secondary. The moments I seek are those that I make a human connection. The real reward is hearing testimony that I brought a bright spot to their life if only for a moment.

I am known to be high energy and engaging. I wish I could say it was well thought out and planned – but no it is really just harnessed OCD and ADD! I have never been formally diagnosed, but I am as sure as the sun coming up in the morning, that is my cross to bear. I try to turn those hyperactive lemons to refreshing lemonade.

I make a conscious choice each morning to get out of bed a have a productive day. If I accomplish a few things and have some quiet alone time contentment usually follows. I also take time to think about and appreciate all that I have been through and the potential of what might come. I know that if I can get up in the morning by myself, go to the bathroom and shower by myself I can accomplish almost anything. I make that choice, as there were many mornings that those tasks were not a remote option for me.

DIANE: If your life had a slogan or a motto what would it be?

DG: I try to live with intention. Being sick and close to death in 2004 made it clear to me that I needed to wake up and pay attention to my life. Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements is my adopted motto for life. The four agreements are:

ALWAYS do your best.

NEVER take anything personally.

Be impeccable with your word.

Don’t make assumptions.

It is my intention to try to live with these things in mind.

Many thanks, Debra!

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.