Pokey : Techniques

International Quilt Festival/ Houston Recap!

Pokey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Brace yourselves! I think I'm about to set a world record in the Blogosphere for the number of photos in a single blog entry. I took nearly 250 shots at International Quilt Festival/Houston, but I cut the lot down to 49. (The ones I don’t post in this blog entry, I’ll put in the photo files on the QA site.)

I’m still feeling a little aphasic while I catch up on sleep, so let the pictures do the talking!

International Quilt Association (IQA) Awards Ceremony

The upper ballrooms at the George Brown Convention Center were packed with attendees and quilt lovers eager to learn who was going to win awards for this year's International Quilt Association's fall judged show, "A World of Beauty."

Coincidentally, this was the ceremony where our new publication, International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene made its debut. Featuring eight of the top award-winning IQA quilts, I repeatedly (incessentaly?!) reminded everyone who worked on this publication that this issue could not see the light of day until after this ceremony took place. Thanks to the hard work of those involved in keeping this issue under lock and key, it remained a surprise (and I didn't have a coronary).

When Brenda Groelz from Handi-Quilter awarded Caryl Byrer Fallert with Best in Show, Caryl flew onto the stage...

Caryl's quilt, "On the Wings of a Dream," is a self-portrait and tells the story of her personal evolution over the past several years. Her journey is a poignant and inspiring one, and we were happy to see her win.

Below people take a closer look at all of the quilts that won awards. (To view them all, check out the IQA site, then join IQA!)

Here I'm posing with Sue McCarty who won the Pfaff Master Award for Machine Artistry with her quilt, "Tribute to Tolkien." This quilt also won the Viewers' Choice award at Quilt Festival. It's gorgeous...

Denise Havlin of Illinois won the Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Artistry with "Snapshot: Shannon's Bantam." This quilt took Denise four years to construct, and at the IQA luncheon the following afternoon, she shared her biggest design challenge: that while working on it, Shannon kept growing up!

SAQA@20: Art & Excellence

To celebrate SAQA's 20th anniversary, I was honored with being the juror for this special exhibit. Selecting just 35 quilts from SAQA members was one of the hardest tasks I've done, but in the end I think the exhibit looked absolutely incredible! (The exhibit will be traveling to Chicago and Long Beach, and we'll have a small sampling of images from this exhibit in the December/January issue of Quilting Arts.)

Preview Night at Festival

Our booth was rather busy during the show. Thanks to all for stopping by!

Below I'm posing with one of the sweetest (and most talented) people on the planet: Maggie Winfield. She always decks herself out with her signature couture. (You may remember her from my Long Beach post.)

Love the back of her jacket:

I was very excited to meet Lexus Estes in person. Last year when Lexus was eight, she submitted her very first quilt to the fall IQA judged show. It didn't win an award, but I got to interview her for an article in Quilt Scene about what it was like to make her first quilt. Here she is signing copies of her piece.

She and her grandmother stayed through Saturday of the show, and she got some Very Important People to sign her copy, too. Below Karey Bresenhan meets Lexus and signs her copy.

As did Nancy O'Bryant Puentes...

I got to pose with Lexus, too. Funny story: on the airplane home while working with these images on my computer, a passenger sitting next to me said, "Your daughter looks just like you!" I clarified that I wasn't so lucky and she wasn't my daughter, but told him her mother should be very proud of her. She's poised, energetic, and possesses a budding passion for quilting. Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot of Lexus in the years to come!

Artist Trading Card (ATC) Wall

The ATC wall buzzed with activity during the entire show.

This little girl (below) is an award-winning watercolor artist; those who got to trade with her were pretty fortunate!

Sandie (below) made a bagful of ATCs and stopped by often to trade. She broke her leg a while ago, but that didn't stop her from coming to Festival...

Open Studios

We had a number of art quilt and mixed-media rock stars who were on hand demonstrating their art in Open Studios. Below is the very talented (and articulate) Susan Brubaker Knapp demonstrating fabric painting and sharing her finished, thread-painted pieces. Her Quilting Arts Workshop made its debut at Festival (and Susan is also the cover girl for our 2010 calendar). Susan has some wonderful shots of quilts at the show so be sure to check out her blog.

Jane Davila was a hot ticket, too. Here she's stitching on a Bernina 440. (Many thanks to Bernina for lending us a machine!)

The very talented Lyric Kinard was on hand to offer art and design advice, share her techniques, and to sign her new book, Art + Quilt.

And Melanie Testa (author of Inspired to Quilt) dazzled attendees with her machine stitching, her artistry, and her humorous demeanor. (When Melly chuckles, you can hear it 10 aisles away...she has the best laugh.)

Sharon Tomlinson (a gifted Cloth Paper Scissors artist) demonstrated how easy it is to make faces...

Below Michele Muska of Wrights shared a variety of her artwork and mixed media. (Be sure to check out her pin cushion article in the upcoming Winter issue of Studios magazine. These pin cushions are adorable.)

Frances Holliday Alford is a brave girl and will stitch through anything. Here she's stitching through bits of plastic and other alternative surfaces.

I participated in Open Studios, too, and demonstrated my graffiti-style, fabric-collaged ATCs that I shared in Quilt Scene. (On a personal note, I'm looking especially tan in this shot. No, I haven't hit the tanning salon! My husband and I took a week's vacation in late September to the Caribbean and I'm still sporting some color...wont last much longer.)

Workshops at Make It University!(TM)

The Workshops were a real hit this year, thanks to the teachers. When the show opened each morning, people ran down the aisles to come to MIU and put their names in the jars where we drew names for each Workshop.

Jane Davila teaching her workshop:

Kathy York (sitting)--who's been in Quilting Arts a few times and has a quilt in the upcoming December/January issue--shows her lighter side with Jamie Fingal. Jamie's teaching her Traveling Art Box Workshop.

Aren't they cute? These two girls just met in MIU in Jamie Fingal's Workshop. Festival just keeps bringing people together...

Below Luana Rubin of eQuilter poses with her daughter, Sophie, who took Lesley Riley's Mini-Fragments Fabric Collage Workshop.

This little cutie shows off the brooch her mother made in Liz Kettle's workshop.

QUILT SCENE!

Quilt Scene was a real hit at the show. We completely sold out of the issues we brought! There were a few photo ops with this special issue, and although the picture below accurately describes how excited we are about this magazine, the expressions still crack me up...

Funny coincidence: The woman standing just right of me is another Patricia Bolton. Someone saw her name tag at the show and said, "You've gotta go meet Pokey!" When she came up to me, we both looked at each others' name badges and burst out laughing. (She's technically Patricia Bolton-Legg, but close enough.)

Surviving the Runway: Celebrating 35 Years of Quilt Festival

And no MIU is complete without a musical party/ spoof on Saturday night! For this particular Surviving the Runway, "designers" were instructed to make a couture outfit commemorating the last 35 years in fashion. Their supplies were limited and consisted of pipe cleaners, fabric scraps, feathers, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, and fun foam. The stakes were high as I had a lot of loot to divvy out to the winning designers.

We sang the "Brady Bunch" and "Flinstones" tunes, danced down Main Street to Van Halen, did the Michael Jackson moonwalk (albiet poorly!), and felt the Festival love as we sang along to Pete Townsend's "Let My Love Open the Door" (a personal favorite).

Look at the devious expression on Barb Forrister's face (sitting far right). Ironically enough, she won!

We had "Tim Gunns" assisting the Runway and helping designers make their outfits. From left to right: Melly Testa, Leslie Jenison, Jamie Fingal, Judy Perez, and me.

Gala on the Green (a.k.a. PARTY TIME!)

The 35th anniversary festivities culminated in an outdoor party on Discovery Green complete with a live cover band that played tunes from the past 35 years. It was a total blast, and the Quilting Arts team did not hesitate to shake it on the dance floor! (I'm a firm believer that those who dance together, stay together.) Below Lyric Kinard and our own Helen Gregory ham it up.

You may notice I'm wearing a Bruce Springsteen shirt (below). That's because Bruce has a 35th celebration, too, with his exhibit at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame: "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land," celebrating 35 years of Bruce and the E Street. (See how I think about this stuff?)

Below Lesley Riley showed me how it's done...

We danced...

and danced...

(Helen with Rhianna White of Quilts, Inc.)

and danced some more...

And had a great time!

After-Hours Party at the Hilton...

Jamie Fingal and Leslie Jenison invited the QA Crew (Barb Delaney, Helen and me) to join their art party in their hotel room--something they do every night at Festival. Only requirement was to come in your PJs...

When we opened the door, I was worried something had exploded on the floor, but nope, it's a wholecloth painting the group is collectively working on. (They tell me they're going to cut it up and later stitch it back together.)

Barbara Delaney sat right down and painted alongside Leslie and Frances.

And I think this video sums up the experiences and friendships at Festival. Rachel Parris and Jamie Fingal lead everyone in a toast:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

**October 23 Update! Bonus Videos!**

Thanks to Judy Coates Perez for sending me this!

(Please visit the site to view this media)

And to Helen Gregory, Barbara Delaney, and Larissa Davis for devising this video spoof. Kudos to Barb and Helen for taping this in the rain!

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Thanks to everyone for participating, to sponsors who donated product, to our Workshop teachers, and Open Studios artists, and all that attended!

Until we meet again. Hope to see everyone in Chicago...

It's a Wrap! QA TV Series 500 just completed taping...

Pokey — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:44:00 GMT

I've just returned home from Cleveland where we taped our next series of QA TV (airing end of December). This new season promises to be a strong one! Not only did we tape some fabulous segments at International Quilt Festival/Chicago this past April, but we had some rather talented guests joining us on the set this past week.

Some pictures:

No, this is not the new host of Quilting Arts (despite her perfect teeth and colorful disposition). This is a piece by Susan Else, entitled "Nothing to Fear." It's part of the current Quilt National exhibit, and we were fortunate enough to have Kathleen Dawson of the Dairy Barn Arts Center come and bring along some pieces to share.

Kathleen Dawson and I in front of Kathy York's Quilt National quilt: "Little Fishes in the Big City."

Artist (and newest board member to SAQA) Carol Taylor and I pose in front of one of her quilts featuring her narrow piecing technique. Carol also taped a QA Workshop with us.

Jeanne Delpit of Bernina joined me for two segments and she was on hand all week to help artists unfamiliar with Bernina machines to sew on them. Jeanne was such a great help and I am so glad Bernina is the show's sewing machine sponsor! Those babies simply purr...

Beryl Taylor appeared in Season One and I was so glad to have her back! She also taped a workshop, the first in our series of Cloth Paper Scissors workshops. Her mixed-media and creative embroidery work were dazzling (as usual).

Liz DeBellis and I pose before taping her collograph printing segment. Liz is an elementary school art teacher and Quilt National artist, too. Pretty nifty accomplishment for someone under the age of 25!

Another Quilt National artist, Sue Cavanaugh joined me to demonstrate several shibori techniques. (She'll also be featured in an upcoming issue of Quilting Arts.)

Amy Milne of The Alliance for American Quilts, Liz DeBellis, and Michele Muska of Wrights chumming it up in the green room.

Paula Prass, fabric designer for Michael Miller fabrics, came to show us how she makes her framed art quilts. (No, it was not intentional that we coordinate so well with the fabrics in front of us!)

Sometimes I make funny faces on QA TV...and after we finish a segment the director likes to leave those stills on the green room tv to poke fun at me!

Luana Rubin, founder of eQuilter and managing editor extraordinaire, Helen Gregory, smile for me in the green room. Luana taped two very interesting segments with us.

My friend Natalya Aikens came back to tape not just a QA TV segment but a really fabulous workshop, too. Little known fact: She worked on the set as a costume designer for HBO's "Sex and the City."

And yes, I did return to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to see "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land," the special Springsteen exhibit. If you are in the Cleveland area anytime soon, you really must go see this exhibit. And it may look like I'm making an obscene gesture, but I'm actually giving my "hang loose" sign. (What cracks me up about this picture is the woman to the right laughing at me...)

I am afraid those are all the pictures I have of this taping from my camera, but there were many more talented guests! I want to give a special thanks to the show sponsors who make QA TV possible: Interweave, Bernina, Sulky of America, Michael Miller Fabrics, Alexander Henry, Art Gallery Fabrics, eQuilter, Wrights, Electric Quilt Company, Kaleidoscope Collections, Cedar Canyon Textiles, The Warm Company, JT Trading, Hinterberg Designs, and Rowenta. Also a heartfelt thank you to producer Kathie Stull and her assistant, Katherine Lamencusa!!

Other guests who blogged about their experience taping QA TV:

Alma de la Melena Cox

Recap of International Quilt Festival/ Long Beach

Pokey — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:34:00 GMT

Oh, I am so sad. Someone slip me a happy pill, please. It's actually over. 2009 International Quilt Festival/ Long Beach is now past, but what an indelible memory it left!

International Quilt Festival/Long Beach, second year in the running, is, well, perfect. It has a lot of things going for it. For starters, it takes place in California in July; it's easy to fly to (thank you JetBlue for that Boston/Long Beach leg); the ocean is close by and equipped with a running path (I ran every morning, sometimes all the way to the pier when I was feeling ambitious); there are great eats just steps from the convention center (might I recommend the Pacific Papaya Roll at Gladstones); it's a top notch quilt show with the most beautiful quilts; and with the beach, restaurants, and afterhours entertainment within a two-three-block radius, there was no need for a cab all week (which of course meant more money spent replenishing the fat quarter stash).

Let the pictures do the talking...

Above from left to right: Jamie Fingal, Judy Coates Perez, Leslie Jenison, me, Melanie "Melly Mells" Testa, and Jane LaFazio. A very special thanks to Jamie (and assistant Leslie) for buying, dyeing, and painting these super groovy flower power aprons!

A ton of fun was had in the Open Studios portion of Make It University!(TM)

Above: Artists Alisa Burke and Melly Mells. I don't think they had met in person before, but they quickly hammed it up like old chums.

Melly was a popular attraction at Open Studios (all the artists were). Here she is demonstrating how she machine stitches the layers of her collaged quilts together.

Artist Linda Blinn was on hand in Open Studios much of Friday showing people how they can apply mixed-media techniques to home decor. (Thanks, Linda!)

Prior to the show, Melly encouraged folks coming to Long Beach to arm themselves with ATCs inspired by techniques in her book, Inspired to Quilt. Above are some of JoJo's ATCs to trade on our ATC wall. Aren't they dee-lish?

Judy brought her 19-year-old daughter, Nina, who shared with me her felted and stitched treats: a cupcake and hostess. We have a budding fiber artist in the family!

My luncheon lecture on Thursday, "Surviving the Runway; The Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know" took place, and to entice people to stay awake in case I bored them to death was to periodically give stuff away, including a very generous prize of an entire suitcase of cotton threads from Aurifil. This budding quilter is set for life! (Thank you so much, Aurifil!)

Above David Charity shares his quilt, "Fossibilities" at Karey Bresenhan's Quilt Art/SAQA reception. This reception is always a fun time, which involves tasty food, wine, and Show & Tell (thank you, Karey!). David picked up quilting just a couple of years ago, and he and his wife now quilt together in their downtime (when they're not working long hours in the tech. industry). Nice going, David!

Above Maggie Winfield shares her latest wearable creation at the Quilt Art/ SAQA reception. Maggie is one of my all-time favorite, spirited people, and she shared with me the inspiration and development for this ensemble:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Make It University!(TM)

Our Make It University! Workshops were again very popular with attendees. Above Laura West Kong with her daughter took one of Jamie Fingal's workshops.

A second mother-daughter set got into another of Jamie's workshops. I think Jamie's affiliation with Girl Scouts of America made her a real hit with little (and big) kids alike!

Above: My sister-in-law, Sally, and her daughter, Lindsey (both ran the Quilting Arts booth) were able to take Alisa Burke's graffiti painting workshop Sunday afternoon just before the show closed. They both swore they could never paint and were leery to take her Workshop, but once finished, they were preening with their success and eager to turn their pieces into purses. (They have been converted. Yes!)

Saturday Night: Surviving the Runway '60s Style

Once again, we took the house down with Surviving the Runway, a challenge I facilitate every Saturday night at the shows. This time we went back to the '60's and created flower power couture. I haven't laughed so hard all summer, and I think everyone had a total blast. We had excellent prizes for the top designers (a suitcase of Aurifil thread, Jacquard paints, magazines, etc.). People were equipped with a sheet of fun foam, pipe cleaners, plastic flowers, stencils, and other tacky bits to create their couture, and of course we played music from the '60s throughout.

The Playlist:

L.A. Woman ~ The Doors

With a Little Help From My Friends ~ The Beatles

Truckin' ~ Grateful Dead

I Got You Babe ~ Sonny and Cher... and two brave students who sang along in MIU

Mustang Sally ~ Wilson Pickett

Lola ~ The Kinks

Build Me Up Buttercup ~ The Foundations

California Girls ~ The Beach Boys

In true '60s fashion, people helped their brethren, but someone watching the festivities shook her head in chagrin and remarked, "These people are creating bras and panties. If they really wanted to be representing the 60's, they'd be burning them!"

This California Girl made sure the Finale Runway Strut had a Beach Boys' flair:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Above I'm giving Trudy, our first place winner, her prize of Aurifil Threads. Her smile says it all...a joyous time.

My Own Quilt in a Show

For the first time I had a quilt exhibited at International Quilt Festival. I am a die-hard, dissect-every-episode-to-death "Sopranos" fan, and for the Silver Screen exhibit I had a quilt on display called "This Thing of Ours." Making this quilt was something rather personal, something important I needed to see through.

Above: My sister-in-law Sally and I pose alongside my quilt.

The accompanying narrative for my piece:

Those who’ve watched HBO’s “The Sopranos” know this isn’t just a television show about wise guys.

There’s a little bit of Tony in all of us: impulsive and selfish; concerned our friends will rat us out; living with the guilt of whacking others (so to speak); distrustful of those who are supposed to have our backs; and deep down, a little panicked that in the end––and despite our best efforts––the ones we love most will fly away.

Not only were such heavy issues and ensuing plot lines handled so masterfully by David Chase and his posse of writers and actors, but also the show was hands-down funny. It’s no wonder millions of people waiting patiently––sometimes for years––between seasons to find out what would happen to the Don and his crew next.

I can only hope that the intensely disappointing, anticlimactic last minute of the series finale was conceived for one reason, and that is…the movie’s getting made! Here’s to “The Sopranos” making it to the silver screen.

In Closing

I had a total blast at this show and admit at the close during breakdown I went into my usual teary funk, which I dub PPQSD (read this post to learn more about this yet-to-be recognized DSM IV disorder). My solace is that Houston is a mere 10 weeks away! It can't come soon enough.

A special thanks to my sister-in-law, Sally Murray, and my niece, Lindsey Murray, for helping me during this show, and for making sure that Sunday night after we broke the booth down my PPQSD didn't get the best of me!

And Lastly, My Quandary...

My 20th high school reunion is (finally) taking place Saturday, October 17 in San Francisco. I have yet to make a high school reunion of mine, and with the onset of Facebook, I have reconnected (and laughed) with old friends I've lost touch with over the last 20 years. I have spent the last few months waffling, seriously considering leaving Houston early during Festival to fly to my hometown to attend my reunion, but in the end...I think... Houston wins. I just can't imagine missing any part of it. I hope you'll join me in making it a really joyous time!

**** 7/31 UPDATE

Judy Coates Perez wrote a few blog entries on Long Beach and posted some videos too! Click here to read her blog!

Quilting Arts Uncensored and Make It University! at International Quilt Festival/Long Beach

Pokey — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:13:00 GMT

OK, Everybody! It's time to take the “Quilting Arts Uncensored: The Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know” Quiz!

Are you ready? Which of the following statements is true?

A. For the very first Quilting Arts calendar we published in 2001, the printer mistakenly flipped a couple of the images for the months, so that the Thanksgiving turkey for November ended up appearing on the month of March. When I pointed out the error to the printer, they first argued that, indeed, turkeys are around during the month of March, and so therefore it wasn't really necessary to reprint all 5,000 copies.

B. Back in the day when it was just my sister-in-law, Sally, and me, and Quilting Arts was run out of my house, Sally was so upset after fielding her first disgruntled subscriber call, she burst into tears and sobbed, "But she was so mean to me!" (You've come a long way, Sally!)

C. After 9/11, instead of flying from Boston to Houston for the International Quilt Festival, my other sister-in-law, Ann-Marie and I thought a more prudent option was to drive a Winnebago down to Texas. While driving along the Interstate in Tennessee, we ignored the weather advisory on the radio warning about tornadoes in the area, and with tornado-force winds and golf-ball-sized hail pounding the Winnebago, we hugged each other, called our husbands, and told them we were going to die. Minutes later when the storm passed, we drove to Wal•Mart, bought Abba's Greatest Hits, a 12-pack of Smirnoff Ice, and spent the night in the parking lot.

D. Someone called me once to tell me they were stopping their magazine subscription because Quilting Arts had become too pagan.

E. I got a letter from a viewer of Quilting Arts TV, telling me that her hair looks better when she rolls out of bed in the morning than my hair does on set.

F. All of the above are true.

If you picked F, congratulations, you are right! To hear more whacky stories about what it was like to launch Quilting Arts Magazine® and Cloth Paper Scissors®, and to be in the running for some great door prizes, come join me for my luncheon in Long Beach at the International Quilt Festival on Thursday, July 23. Details can be found on the Quilts, Inc., website.

*****

Below is the list of Make It University!™ Workshops with Cloth Paper Scissors being offered at International Quilt Festival/ Long Beach. We have a fabulous lineup of artists so I hope you'll come and join us Friday, July 24–Sunday, July 26.

Above: Stamps by Alisa Burke

Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors® Workshops

These workshops will be taught by exhibitors and artists in the Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors pavilion, with a maximum of 25 people per session. The fee for each workshop is $10, and workshop participation will be determined by lottery. Each workshop will have its own lottery. The lottery will open for each workshop the day the workshop is given, and people may put their name in each workshop lottery jar from the time the show opens that day up until 15 minutes prior to the start of the workshop. Participants may put their name in each workshop lottery only once, but may put their name in as many different workshop lotteries as they choose. People must be physically present 15 minutes prior to the start of the workshop to hear if their name is called. If the person isn’t present, unfortunately their spot will be forfeited and another name will be called.

Thursday (Preview Night)

5:30–6:30 Metal Meanders

Create a unique card with soft metal. Emboss, paint, distress, and hand-stitch.

—Beryl Taylor, Cloth Paper Scissors®

7:00–7:30 Make It University!™ Mixed-media and Fiber Art Raffle

Stop by and put your name in the raffle for free mixed-media and fiber supplies!

––Hosted by Pokey Bolton, Cloth Paper Scissors®

8:00–9:00 Hand-carved Stamps
Why purchase all of your stamps when you can make some yourself! Learn a variety of unique ways to make your very own handmade stamps with easy-to-use materials.

—Alisa Burke, Cloth Paper Scissors®

Friday

10:30–11:30 Ficklestick Jewelry

Create a daisy necklace or bracelet of choice using a variety of fabrics and wire.

Diana Taylor, Stickball–Home of Ficklesticks

12:00–1:00 Mixed-media Scroll

Create a small wall hanging with fabric, felt, screening, and more. Paint, stamp, stitch, and then add sleeves and chop sticks, top and bottom, for fun.

—Jamie Fingal, Cloth Paper Scissors®

1:30–2:30 “Wish You Were Here” Mixed-media Postcard

Combine cloth, paper, Lutradur®, and a variety of mark-making tools to create a keepsake from Long Beach.

—Leslie Jenison, Cloth Paper Scissors®

3:00–4:00 ATCs, Organza, ATCs: Oh my!

Create artist trading cards with freezer paper and silk organza. Learn about resists, paints, and glues while making some awesome ATCs.

—Melanie Testa, Cloth Paper Scissors®

4:30–5:30 Fanciful Felted Fruits

Create felted wool balls and then transform them into colorful decorative fruit ornaments using scraps of wool felt and colorful embroidery floss.

—Judy Coates Perez, Cloth Paper Scissors®

6:00–7:00 Resin Jewelry and Much More

Embed quilt art or interesting fabrics, paper, buttons, or beads to create resin pieces that can be used for pins, magnets, and more.

—Fran Valera, Little Windows™

Saturday

10:15–11:15 “Treasure Heart”

Create a greeting card or a small wall hanging with fabric, a padded silk heart, hand stitching, and beads.

— Beryl Taylor, Cloth Paper Scissors®

11:45–12:45 Living Postcards
Make it simple or make it rich; create a postcard-sized tableau. Scratch, draw, and carve into the surface, apply fabrics, stamps, and collage for texture.

—Rebecca Stuart, Stuart Gill, Ltd

1:15–2:15 Playing with Zap Cloth

Create a base for embellishment. Learn to use pure pigment dyes, layer metallic paints, and adhere zap cloth to a velvet base.

—Barbara Matthiessen, Earth Safe Finishes

2:45–3:45 Creative Cuff
Create a cuff bracelet from painted fabric, buttons, canvas, and an assortment of non-traditional, recycled materials.

—Alisa Burke, Cloth Paper Scissors®

4:00–5:00 Metal Magic: You Can Stitch Through Metal!

Work with Grungeboard™, metal, transfers, paints, and stitch to create fun, little pieces of art.

—Judy Coates Perez, Cloth Paper Scissors®

5:30–7:00 Surviving the Runway, ‘60s Style: The Ultimate Creative Challenge with Cloth Paper Scissors®. Join Pokey as we go back to the days of The Beatles and The Beach Boys and participate in a Flower Power mixed-media challenge that will leave you in stitches. Wonderful assortment of prizes, including art quilting and collage books, DVDs, threads, and tools given to those who survive the runway!

— Pokey Bolton, Cloth Paper Scissors®

Sunday

10:30–11:30 Traveling Art Box

Decorate a small tin box, fill it with accordion-folded paper, and be ready to create art on-the-go, or have your art samples at the ready.

—Jamie Fingal, Cloth Paper Scissors®

12:00–1:00 Easy Graffiti!

Learn about graffiti and tons of graffiti-inspired techniques that can be applied to fabric, paper, and mixed-media projects.

—Alisa Burke, Cloth Paper Scissors®

Brief SAQA Conference/ Quilt National Recap

Pokey — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:24:00 GMT

I recently returned from the annual SAQA conference that took place in Athens, Ohio on the Ohio University campus, and what an incredible time! For those who are unfamiliar with SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates), it is the non-profit organization to belong to if you are an art quilter (or aspire to be an art quilter). I am honored to be a Board member of SAQA, and strongly encourage you to join if you aren’t already a member.

Every year SAQA holds a conference that is geared towards art quilters who want to hone their marketing skills, further their professional development (such as web marketing, pricing of quilts, etc.), critique works-in-progress, share successes, and get to know one another better. There is also a pre-conference component where you can partake in intensive, hands-on workshops on art quilting techniques.

Quilt National 2009 debuted simultaneously at the Dairy Barn and the 87 quilts chosen for this year’s exhibit were exquisite. This was the 30th anniversary of Quilt National, a biennial juried show and traveling exhibit and it is considered one of the most prestigious contemporary quilt exhibits in the world.

An unusual and unexpected quilt entry. Below is a picture of Susan Else with her colorful, quilted skeleton, “Nothing to Fear.”

Sing along with me now: The hip bone's connected to the....leg bone...

My friend and fellow SAQA board member, Lind Colsh poses with her Quilt National quilt, “Twisting the Plot.”

Kathy York's three-dimensional entry, "Little Fish in a Big City" certainly drew crowds. (You may remember her "Little Fishes" quilt that appeared in Quilting Arts a couple of years ago.) Here's a detail shot of her Quilt National entry:

Quilters try for years (if not decades) to get into this show, and that was why it was so remarkable and exciting to see fresh faces (such as Liz DeBellis, a 24-year-old elementary school art teacher) in this year’s show. Below is a picture of her quilt in the new Quilt National 2009 book (published by Lark).

I sat with Liz and her family at the Quilt National/SAQA banquet, and got to ask her a few questions:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

The next annual SAQA conference will be co-facilitated with the Surface Design Association and take place in San Francisco in March 2010. My colleague, Marci McDade, editor of Fiberarts will be speaking, and you wont want to miss it! More information on this conference forthcoming.

Quilting Arts TV Series 400 Taping Pt. II

Pokey — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:18:00 GMT

Quilting Arts TV taping for Series 400 has officially completed, and over the course of this week I will be posting photos and short videos to give you a flavor of what transpired on and off camera. I have more than 200 pictures and I'll also be loading them in a separate picture album since I can't possibly place them all in the blog. Many thanks to Helen Gregory for taking most of these pictures!

The boisterous bunch from our first day of taping...
Maria Elkins, Susan Jackson, Loralie, Julie Fei-Fan Balzar, Pokey, Laura Wasilowski, Yvonne Porcella, and Frieda Anderson.

My art quilting mentor and friend Yvonne Porcella demonstrated some of her embellishment techniques.

You can tell by my outfit that Laura Wasilowski (with me below) and Yvonne appear in the same episode together. Actually now that I think of it, they launch the season since they both appear in Episode 401. They set the tone for a very colorful season!

Laura and Frieda ham it up (as usual) in the green room by giving their best Wallace and Gromit impressions: O(Please visit the site to view this media)ur early morning ritual and a behind-the-scenes look at the studio. Warning, this is not an extraterrestrial on the set. It's me; you're getting a candid view of what it takes to get me to look the way I do on set. (Lots of spackle and shellac!) (Please visit the site to view this media)

Quilting Arts Sneak Peek

Pokey — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:05:40 GMT

Want to see a sneak peek of the cover for the February/March issue of Quilting Arts (on sale February 3rd)?

This art quilt is by Kathy York (who some may remember from this particular Saturday night event). Doesn't it make you wish for spring? Kathy hasn't seen the cover yet, so hopefully she will mosey on over here and have a look!

This just in…

Quilting Arts contributor Amy Ropple will be teaching a quilting class entitled "Expressive Quilting" this semester at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Here's the course description:

Experiment with using a variety of quilt techniques as expressive fiber art forms. Learn traditional techniques and then explore their expressive potential through working on a series of artistic challenges using mixed media. Approaches to piecing, collaging, embellishing, and quilting will be taught, with an emphasis on using traditional techniques in experimental, original and personally meaningful ways. Wednesdays, 6:30-10pm.

For more information contact the Continuing Education office at MCAD at (617) 879-7200, or email Amy at aropple@aol.com.

More reader challenge opportunities..

We just posted a new Cloth Paper Scissors challenge on our website called "Life's a Beach!"

Help us celebrate summer in the July/August issue of Cloth Paper Scissors by taking our “Life’s a Beach!” reader challenge. Just make a piece of mixed-media art that’s in keeping with the “Life’s a Beach!” theme. The piece may be two- or three-dimensional; it may be one piece, such as a mixed-media sand castle; two or more pieces, like an altered bikini; or it may portray a scene. You may use text or beachy elements like sand, shells, salt, stones, etc. You may be inspired to use some of the techniques in the January/February issue, such as Patricia Gaignat’s encaustic books, Anne Quinlan’s narrative collages, or Chrysti Hydeck’s digitally altered photos. Or, show us something completely different. It’s your choice, so long as you adhere to the basic beachy rules.

And don't forget about our Quilting Arts Rock On! Reader Challenge! Only three weeks left before your quilted tributes to Def Leppard, AC/D C, Bob Seger, Debbie Harry (or Debbie Gibson) pieces are due!

100th Blog Post & Happy New Year!

Pokey — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:58:27 GMT

Not only are we celebrating a new year, but also coincidentally this is our 100th post here on the Quilting Arts blog! I never thought I’d have the perseverance to make it to 100 blog entries. Case in point: the fact that I have one diary I got in the ‘70s, and it’s the only diary I have written in from time to time over the last 30 (+) years.

I got this diary in (I believe) 1978 at the ripe age of seven:

Instead of offering a dedication in the opening pages, I issue a threat:

(Confession to blog readers: I don’t have a big brother.)

A few entries for your amusement:

New Years Day, 1979 (I think):

Ironic how I have fashioned a successful career about people making things. (Take that, Lisa and Trina!)

My first (and you’ll understand why it was my last) musical review (c. 1978):

A few years later; I think I’m 11. (And Heather, if you are reading this, I sincerely apologize for the pun on your last name!)

I have a number of entries over the years comprised of highs and lows, from the ones I wrote the morning I found out my parents were divorcing to boy angst in high school and fun times in Manhattan during college. I imagine I’ll probably keep writing in this thing from time to time over the years when the mood strikes, and in the end, this little diary might be the most amusing relic I leave behind to others when it’s my time to depart on that great journey to the sky.

This is a bit Old Lang Syne of me, but some of the more memorable Quilting Arts blog posts:

Most popular (according to the stats):
Thermofax Screen Printing

One of the posts that elicited the most comments (me thinks people love free stuff):
Dog Days of Summer

A post that came from a very raw place (and I hesitated bringing this up again, but Virginia Spiegel is embarking on her last Fiber Arts for a Cause venture this year):
Bye Dad...

My proudest collaboration:
Why The Sopranos Quilt Didn't Get Made

The sweetest thing that ever happened to me as an editor:
Will, the kid who stole my heart

2009 Resolutions, and yes, a Giveaway!

Today while cleaning closets I discovered materials such as my Quilting Arts TV Series 300 TV segment items I never unpacked from last August. I have fabrics, books, and ephemera to give away to you!

To throw your name in the lottery for these random items, I am asking the cliché of all clichés: What’s your New Year’s Resolution? I invite you to post goals, too. Post your responses in the comments area. Comments close Monday, January 5, at 5:00 PM EST, and I will announce 10 winners on Tuesday.

My resolution for 2009 is easy: Keep it simple. That’s it, my lofty resolution for 2009. If I make my Sopranos quilt and other things come to fruition, that’s just icing on the cake, but those three simple words will be my mantra this next year.

What Else to Expect on the QA Blog in 2009

In 2009 you will see more frequent blog posts with upcoming fiber and collage events, call for entries for contests and exhibitions, quilting and collage techniques and projects, behind-the-scenes action at QA headquarters, guest interviews and guest bloggers, and breaking news at Quilting Arts. If there is something in particular you would like to see on the blog, please email me.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Talkin' Turkey (From Photo to Mini Quilt)

Pokey — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:42:38 GMT

The other morning while putting on a pot of jo', I spotted this surprising sight out of my kitchen window:

Twelve hours later, same skyline:

And the following morning when I tried to go to work:
A gaggle of wild turkeys on my street stopped me in my tracks.

They are so goth looking, don't you think? Like something straight out of Mordor.

I stopped the car of course, and watched as they ambled up the barn driveway. One even posed for me on a fence:

Later that evening I played with this image in Photoshop by converting it to a black and white sketch, and placed six turkeys up on a page:

I could then use the above images as a map for stencils, screens, hand-carved stamps, fabric images, even free-motion motifs––all of which I used to create these:

If you're coming to Houston next week, I'll be demonstrating the techniques I used to make the above pieces of fiber art during my Open Studios time slot in Make It University-- Thursday, October 30 from 2:30 - 4:30. Please stop by and see me!

And if you'd like to use my black and white gaggle of turkeys, feel free to right-click and download it. (And if you create something with them, please let me know!)

Tricks and Treats

Pokey — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:22:15 GMT

What's that saying: When the cat's away the mice will play? My husband's been out of town for the past week, and while he was gone, play I did…

A few things have been on my mind lately: my beautiful hometown of San Francisco, the Grateful Dead (who have a new CD set out), and of course Halloween so I had a lot fun combining imagery inspired by all three to create ATCs for the upcoming trade in Houston at Make It University!™.

ATCs with Freezer Paper Motifs
Freezer paper stencils have of course been around for a while, but I was truly captivated by Melanie Testa's snowflake freezer paper stencils in Quilting Arts. (In case you missed it, her article will also appear in the upcoming Quilting Arts Book, and Melanie will also have her own book published with us next spring!) I am a huge fan of Melanie Testa's work and ever since she shared her freezer paper process, I have been addicted to making motifs for stenciling and resists. Below I modified slightly to suit my Halloween ATC needs.

Materials
• Iron
•Freezer paper
•Scissors
•Marking pen
•Masking tape
•Fabric
•Fabric paint, thickened dyes, or coloring agent of choice
•Foam brush, sponge or dauber to apply paint

1. Draw or print a motif you'd like to stencil. You could choose simple geometric patterns such as circles, dots, squares, etc., or a motif like a spider or jack-o-lantern. Cut the stenc/ motifout. (I chose to use the freezer paper motif as a resist.)
2. Secure freezer paper to your work surface with masking tape. Make sure the wax side is facing down and the paper side is up.
3. Trace the motif onto freezer paper. Cut the motif out.
4. Place the fabric you want to stencil onto your work surface.
5. Place your freezer paper motif or stencil on top of your fabric and iron with the wax side down. Be careful ironing; you want to secure the stencil to the fabric with enough heat, while being careful not to scorch your fabric.

Motifs made of freezer paper. The reason they are colored is that I have used them as resists a few times already.

6. Now the fun begins--time to paint your fabric! I used fabric paints, Shiva Paintstiks, and thickened dyes. Be sure to paint right over your motifs, while being careful not to oversaturate the fabric. (You don't want the paint or dye to accidentally seep underneath the freezer paper.)
7. Allow the fabric to dry, then gently peel the freezer paper motifs off and save them for later to use again.

Voila: You have some beautiful fabric that you can layer with more imagery and use for quilts, totes, home dec, fabric postcards, or ATCs.

Make It University!™ in Houston

It's hard to believe Make It University!™ is just three short weeks away! I am really looking forward to seeing everyone again and we have a very exciting line up of artists who will be joining us in Open Studios. For more information on the International Quilt Festival/Houston, click here.

Collage & Quilt Opportunities Abound (and Meet the Joneses)

Pokey — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:21:28 GMT

Virginia Spiegel’s e-newsletter popped into my in-box earlier this week, letting me know that another Collage Mania auction to raise funds for the American Cancer Society will be taking place. Virginia’s efforts to raise funds and rally artists for ACS are unparalleled; she has raised more than $165,000 thus far. I’m always a bit contemplative this time of year as it marks the anniversary of my dad’s losing battle to cancer, so I’m thankful for Virginia and everyone in the quilting and collage communities who have donated and purchased art to benefit ACS. So all of you collage folks, if you are looking for an opportunity to create small pieces of art that can be auctioned off next year, I hope you get busy! To encourage some of you who feel your stash is lacking, I’ll be giving some screen-printed printed papers and fabric scraps as a giveaway the end of this month to help build your stashes.

In quilting news, Ami Simms is once again leading an online auction for the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. It runs through September 10, so here’s an opportunity to bid on some quilts!

Below as promised is a sneak peek of the Rock On Art Quilt Challenge. This is not even on our website yet so you are seeing it here first.

Whether it was Elvis, the Yardbirds, the Bee Gees, or the Boss, rock ‘n’ roll has played a major role in our lives, inspired us to get footloose, play a little air guitar, and even harbor a few crushes on rock idols during our wonder years.

Show us with fabric and stitch what your favorite musicians and/or lyrics have meant to you. Does a particular melody inspire you to sing into your hairbrush? Do certain guitar riffs help you get in the zone for free-motion quilting? Is there a song that evokes a favorite memory such as that special dance at the prom? Here’s your chance to celebrate your favorite rock ‘n’ roll musicians, songs, and lyrics as they have inspired you.

We will show some of our favorites in future issues of Quilting Arts Magazine and exhibit some in upcoming national quilt shows in 2009.

Here’s how to enter:
1. Make an 8 1/2" x 11" art quilt of vertical orientation that celebrates your love of rock ‘n’ roll.
Please note: The musical genre for this particular challenge is rock ‘n’ roll, so for instance Beethoven or Handel wouldn’t make the cut.
2. The entire quilt, including binding, must measure 8 1/2" x 11". It must be three layers and quilted, either by hand or machine or both; it must be bound or zigzag stitched closed and have a sleeve on the back.
3. Any embellishments must not protrude more than 1/2" from the quilt.
4. The entire quilt must weigh no more than 1 lb.
5. The quilt may be made of alternative fabrics (such as paper), but it must be quilted, consist of three layers, and either bound or closed along the edges.
6. Your entry must be free of any text or images that are protected by copyright, unless you have the expressed written permission from the person or institution that holds the copyright and you provide that written permission with your submission. For example, this means that artwork from an album cover that is scanned and printed on fabric (or lyrics for that matter) could be a violation of copyright unless you have the expressed permission from the parties that hold the copyright. Therefore it’s a good idea to steer clear of commercial imagery and verses of lyrics, and rather show us on a more personal level what these songs, bands, and lyrics have meant to you.
7. Enclose a brief narrative telling how you created your quilt, including the inspiration (name of the band, song, etc.) and the materials and techniques used.
8. Include a label with your full name, street address, email address, and phone number sewn, fused, glued, or written (as appropriate to you art) on the back of your quilt. Please print clearly.
9. Be sure to include a photo of your finished quilt with your name, street address, email address, and phone number printed clearly on the back.
10. Include an entry fee of $15 (for U.S. and Canadian residents) or $25 (for all other international residents). This fee, which must be paid in U.S. dollars, covers the shipping, packing materials, and handling for the return of your “Rock On!” art quilt. Challenge participants, including international residents, may charge their entry fee to their credit card. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. Please include the necessary information, including the expiration date and CVV code. The entry fee covers up to three entries. You may submit up to three entries, provided they are all sent together in one padded mailer or envelope.
11. You must mail your “Rock On!” Art Quilt in a padded mailer or envelope (no boxes).
12. Do not send your quilt via registered or certified mail. If you wish to know if your quilt arrived safely, please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard that we can check off and return to you. No phone calls or emails regarding your project’s arrival, please.
13. Projects will be returned via UPS or U.S. mail per our discretion. They will be shipped from our office during the week of October 26, 2009.

Note: It is your responsibility to notify us if any of your contact information changes.

Deadline: Your “Rock On!” Art Quilt must arrive in our offices by Monday, February 2, 2009. Please note that we must receive your quilt on or before this date, no later.
Mail your entry to:
Quilting Arts Magazine
ATTN: “Rock On!” Art Quilt Challenge
23 Gleasondale Road
P.O. Box 685
Stow, MA 01775
By submitting your “Rock On!” Art Quilt you are authorizing Interweave Press LLC to publish your project in upcoming publications and promotional materials, and on our website. Interweave Press LLC will not be held responsible for loss or damage due to circumstances beyond our control.

Please note: We reserve the right to keep and display your “Rock On!” Art Quilt until the week of October 26, 2009.
If you have any questions about the “Rock On!” Art Quilt challenge, email us at info@quiltingarts.com.

Have fun and good luck!

Meet The Joneses

Lastly, I got news that my father-in-law’s YouTube Video of his alpacas was on the front page of Boston.com today:

My retired in-laws now raise alpacas here in Stow at their Springbrook Farm. The male ones you see in this video are right at the bottom of my driveway. I wave to them every morning on my way to work. What can I say; I have interesting neighbors and a fun commute!

Thermofax Screen Printing

Pokey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:28:46 GMT

A sample of my hand-dyed and screen-printed fabrics.

What would you do if you had a month off and could do any one activity? If I could take this kind of time, I'd scamper off to some secret destination (preferably a small creekside cottage in Sedona), and shlep plenty of Procion dyes, Jacquard and Golden paints, squeegees, rags, and my thermal imaging machine, one of my new favorite toys.

An alternative to traditional silk screening, Thermofax screens can be made quite easily with images that have been copied using a copier machine. (You need the ink from a copier machine to successfully make the screen.) There are new thermal imagers on the market, or you can buy a refurbished Thermofax machine from Welsh products or go on eBay and bid against tattoo artists who use them for transferring tattoo designs. If you don't want to buy a Thermofax machine but want to have something transferred to a screen, there are also people who will provide that service for you.

Claire Fenton gave me a brief, impromptu lesson on how to make Thermofax screens ths past January at the last QA TV taping, and I've made about 100 since. It's so simple, and I am utterly addicted.

Since I've gotten this machine, I've become more aware of patterns around me that I want to use to transfer to fabrics. For instance while sorting through my drawer of quilts in progress, I found one quilt block that I had free-motioned with an interesting pattern. I flipped the quilt block over on my copier machine so the back side of the free-motion work would copy, and here's the resulting printout:

To make the Thermofax screen from the copy, you need a carrier to securely feed the screen and the photocopy through the Thermofax machine. Put the copy on the bottom, facing up, then with the smooth side of the screen facing down on top of the copy, run them through the machine. It's the heat from the Thermofax machine that impresses the image onto the screen.

Isn't this exciting?

To find out if it worked, carefully lift one corner to see if the Thermofax machine heated the photocopy enough to make an impression on the screen. If not, run it through one more time.

Above you can see the impression on the screen as I peel it away from the copy. Now the only thing left to do is secure the screen to a frame or place duct tape all around the sides so the screen doesn't curl, and it's ready for use!

Thick fabric paints work really well for this process, and I simply slap on some fabric paint along the top edge of the screen. (To make sure I've got the right side of the screen facing up, I put an arrow on the top--another trick Claire taught me.)

Here's what the screen looks like after you pull the paint down with a squeegee:

And here's a yard of fabric created from my free-motion screen, using white fabric paint.

I used this fabric for the base to create some fabric ATCs with a musical theme for the upcoming Long Beach show:

I hope this post demsytified the thermofax screen process a bit. As you can see, I'm having a lot fun with it!

2009 Quilting Arts Calendar Finalists

Pokey — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:51:10 GMT

Okay, dear blog readers, it’s that time of year again to announce our Quilting Arts Calendar finalists. (I know it seems a little early to be thinking about 2009, but welcome to my world!)

With this year’s theme, “Celebrating Home,” we received 243 entries from around the globe, and many of these entries were very colorful and extremely personal. We loved admiring all of the entries and reading your stories of home, hearth, and childhood. And there were a number of them that had us laughing (we got a fair amount of cute pets at home this year). We thank everyone so much for participating, and hope—even if you are not a finalist—that you enjoyed the process and will display your quilt proudly.

People may wonder how in the world we are able to winnow the lot to a group of finalists. There are a few things the team considers when choosing the quilts:
1. Innovation and creative interpretation of the calendar theme we give you.
2. Mastery of art and design principles, use of surface design, embellishment, color, and quilting techniques.
3. As we are choosing the finalists, we are mindful of how many we have selected that correlate with a certain time of year. (For instance, we don’t want to have 20 entries depicting The Day of the Dead or Flag Day on our hands.)
4. And this is just as important as the above three: Is this quilt something that someone can stare at for an entire month?

One of the reasons I love our reader challenges is I discover new talent. There have been a number of entries from past years that may not have been a good fit for our calendar, but I have filed away for my own reference to follow up for articles and to check artists’ websites and blogs to see what else they are up to.

We ask that the following artists ship their quilt(s) to our offices so they arrive on or by Monday May 5, 2008. We strongly advise that you ship your work via FedEx or UPS to our street address, rather than USPS to our post office address. If you choose to ship via USPS, be sure to send with tracking so you can track your package, and please note they do not deliver to our street address. The address label on the box must have our post office box number—PO Box 685—on the package.

By sending your quilt(s) to us you agree per the challenge entry rules that we may hold onto your quilt(s) through December 31, 2009. (We usually send them back much earlier but we like the right to hold onto them so they can travel with us to national shows.)

Please ship your quilt(s) to:

Quilting Arts
ATTN: 2009 Calendar Contest
23 Gleasondale Rd
PO Box 685 (if using USPS)
Stow, MA
01775

The 2009 Calendar finalists are:

Linda Aavedal
Natalya Aikens (both quilts)
Judy Alexander
Christine Alexiou
Polly Bean (“Home: Nest is Best!”)
Marianne Bettinger
Donna Clauer
Susan Conaway
Michelle Dobrin (both quilts)
Janet Davis
Cait Gordon
Tone Haugen-Cogburn
Linda Johnson
Susan B. Knapp (“Home Planet”)
Marisa Landa-Love
Susan Mayfield
Sylvia Naylor (both quilts)
Deb Nichol
Wen Redmond (both quilts)
Linda Weinstein

Congratulations!

Pokey — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:16:37 GMT

Go Green Quilt by Frances Holliday Alford

Opportunities Knock

Wanted! We have some very exciting publicity and publishing opportunities that I wanted you, dear blog reader, to find out about first. (Many of these aren’t even on the submissions pages yet on our website.)

1. Quilting Arts is actively seeking submissions for embellishment, mixed-media quilting, stitching, and anything related to art quilts “going green.” These could be quilts made of recycled materials, quilts related to preserving our environment, or quilts made of eco-friendly materials. If you have a submission idea and have pictures of your work, please email low-resolution GIF or JPEGs along with a query letter to us ASAP. If you are an art quilter who would like to be profiled, if you have surface design, embellishment ideas, stitching (machine, hand, long arm) to share, we also want to hear from you ASAP.

2. Have you had a chance to get your hands on the Cloth Paper Scissors Studios issue yet? (Probably not as it’s not supposed to be available on the stands until April 1st, but some stores are putting it out early.) We want to hear your thoughts on this issue—and being the nosey bunch we are—also take a peek into your studio space. If you want us to see your space, have a studio storage tip to share, ideas for studio articles, or have an extreme studio makeover story, by all means spill to us.

3. We will soon begin working on our Quilting Arts GIFTS issue available in September. We are actively seeking submissions that relate to the following: fabric art for home décor, quilted items that celebrate the season, art quilts with patterns, ideas for fabric stash and parties and quilt gatherings among friends, stitched or quilted gift ideas, stitched journals, holiday cards, needle-felted gifts, wearable art with a seasonal twist…you get the idea. If you would like to be published in our GIFTS issue, send us your ideas and pictures.

4. Watch out soon for our Cloth Paper Scissors Tea Party challenge. Okay, that was a teaser. There’s no link. I’m just checking to see if you’re still paying attention.

5. Cloth Paper Scissors is currently looking for the following: techniques for sketchbook keeping, ideas for handmade books, working with texture gels, recycling clothing and everyday items into art, thoughts on art and business, and mixed-media jewelry.

6. If you are an artist that has been published in Cloth Paper Scissors and would be interested in being a part of our Open Studios at Make It University! at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, please email Barbara Delaney. If you are a mixed-media business that wants to apply for a vendor booth at Make It University!(TM), please let Quilts Inc. know.

7. Lastly, don’t forget about our Go Green Quilt Challenge, deadline May 1st. Above is a Go Green entry we received from Frances Holliday Alford. Who knew dryer lint, candy wrappers, and Tyvek envelopes could be transformed into something so beautiful? (Frances has a knack for making beautiful things. Be sure to see her article in the June/July issue of Quilting Arts.)

If you plan on coming to Chicago for Make It University, please let me know in the comments area. You're hearing it here first, but we'll be taping segments for Quilting Arts TV on Saturday at the show. It will certainly be an exciting time, and we have some wonderful segments with guest artists planned. See you soon…

QA TV Series 200 Taping Complete

Pokey — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:09:59 GMT

The winner of the award of Guests Traveling the Farthest for the Series 200 QA TV Taping goes to... The Kemshalls! For those unfamiliar with this dynamic mother-daughter team, Linda (beautiful mother) and Laura (adorable daughter who's only 29!) hail from Design Matters in the U.K., their distance-learning program of City & Guilds, and are two of the most talented and gifted quilt artists around (in my very humble opinion). If the idea of flying over an ocean isn't daunting enough, the thought of braving the Newark Airport (and U.S. Customs with paints and brayers in your bags) for a connection sure is. Once they arrived in Cleveland, they said they were pretty tired (they'd been up for nearly 24 hours) but you would never have known it by looking at this picture taken in the green room. They masked their exhaustion with humor and smiles, and were even gracious enough to accept a dinner invitation with our crew that night.

Here they are (below) after a good night's sleep and seconds before the camera lights went on. Just wait until you see the quilts they brought for the show--truly amazing works of art.We kick off this season with one of their five segments as well as a feature with Katie Pasquini-Masopust. A pretty darn good start if I do say so myself.

All done taping... They say they were nervous, but I don't buy it. They were utterly relaxed, natural, and articulate on set.

Jamie Fingal was another wonderful guest. She taped a colorful and fun segment showcasing her fabric collaged zipper quilts. (Trust me, if you haven't seen Jamie's quilts yet, you are in for quite a treat!)

Susan (Lucky) Shie was back to tape a ten-minute segment on air brushing. I was a little worried how her mike would work while wearing a respirator as she air brushed, but the control room said they could hear her just fine!

Below, assistant editor, Barbara Delaney, proves she's not only a talented editor, but a true team player. How many editors do you know are willing to help you pack your bags? Barbara's one of those rare souls who has the gift for organization and creative use of space--especially in a suitcase. I'm afraid organization does not come naturally to me :::cough::: and you have no idea how wonderful it was to come home and open such a well-organized suitcase where I could find everything. Thank you, Barb! (Be sure to see Barb's article on organization in our Studios issue, coming out in April.)

A special thanks to Kathie Stull (owner/producer) for making the taping go so smoothly and a joyful experience for all involved. A thanks also to Katherine Lamancusa, all of the talented guests who came to tape, Patty Jo, Sue Hausman, and the rest of the Husqvarna-Viking crew for their support and time.

Other people who are blogging about Series 200 (that I know of):

NEWS:

We are gearing up for Make It University in Chicago, and we have a special surprise on the Saturday of the show. If you are a mixed-media or fiber artist that has been published in Quilting Arts or Cloth Paper Scissors and are to coming to Chicago, we'd like to know ASAP. If you are interested in being a part of Open Studios please email us and let us know what you are interested in doing and your availability. If you are a vendor that sells mixed-media supplies and would like to vend in Chicago at the Quilt Festival, please email Quilts. Inc. and let them know! Space is filling up!

Next blog entry I'll share a couple of tips and techniques I've found helpful in preparing to making a large, collage-style quilt.