The winner of Susan Brubaker Knapp’s georgeous Orchid Notecards is Darlis Johns. Lucky her! The good news for everyone else is you can find them here on Susan’s website.
Thank you to Susan for not only this giveaway but sharing her experience of putting a show together with 6 other members of Fiber Art Options.
If in the area be sure to check out this incredible exhibit that Susan is part of.
“Orchids: Sensuality Stitched”
Feb. 6 through March 14, 2010
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
Belmont, NC 704.825.4490
Look what I made! It’s a quilt for my niece’s little son, Sammy. His parents are dyed-in-the-wool Yankee fans, so I knew it had to have a baseball theme.
As a busy Developmental Editor at C&T, I don’t have lots of spare time, and when I do, I want to work on a project that’s relatively small, simple, and achievable. As luck would have it, I was editing the latest book by M’Liss Rae Hawley—Fast, Fat Quarter Quilts with M’Liss Rae Hawley.
What could be more perfect? From the many fun and simple projects in the book, I chose one that is REALLY easy. It’s the Building Blocks Crib Quilt (there’s also a larger 12-block version). This design is so simple, but it’s fun to play with—you can use those windows to display anything from a fussy cut fabric to embroidery. I used baseball fabric, of course.
The quilting on this is really special—it was done on a longarm by talented Ruthmary Schauer of our Sales Department. She stitched a galaxy of stars, as well as swirls around each bat and ball.
The only problem? I started this quilt when Sammy was born, and I just gave it to him for his second birthday. Because I started and stopped and got distracted by other things, it took me two years to make. Oh, well—better late than never!
We have to wait until May to get THIS book, but believe me, I am already lining up for my copy of City Quilts by Cherri House. I love, love, LOVE the quilts in this book. From the gradations in the color, to the geometric shapes, to the sleek, understated style, to the modern, techie-cool feeling they give me—my new goal in life is to get one of these quilts on to my bed.
The book includes photos of Cherri’s city inspirations to help the aspiring reader understand how Cherri used fabric and thread to bring these urban elements, such as modern city architecture & buildings, city landscapes and city views, to materialize in her quilts.
City Lights, the quilt on the book cover
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Alissa Haight Carlton, a soon-to-be C&T Publishing author, is at it again. Not content with merely working on her first book (along with co-author Kristen Lejinks) while hosting a quilt-along, while holding membership in a variety of block-swaps, and having a full-time job, Alissa is doing what she can to help spread the word about modern quilting. And C&T thinks she is doing a bang-up job!
After successfully starting her own local guild for L.A. area residents interested in modern quilts, Alissa has inspired many other modern quilt guilds to spring up around the globe. If you are interested in joining one, check out this link to TheModernQuiltGuild.com.
If you visit the site and find there isn’t a modern quilt guild in your area, use this resource for starting one yourself. The term ‘modern quilting’ is a tricky one to explain, so the group is inviting guild members to express what modern quilting means to them personally, and describe how it differs from contemporary, traditional, and art quilting.
Here at C&T Publishing, we encourage any and every type of quilting and are excited to see this growing quilting niche attract sewers and quilters, both new and experienced. If Alissa’s modern quilt guild looks like the aesthetic you are interested in and want to learn more about, then join (or start) a modern quilting group today!
On a recent thrift shop trip, I found a fabulous linen dress in a not-so-lovely shade of chartreuse. Think neon yellow. The low price outweighed the hideous color and the style is perfect for our over 95 degree summers. No worries, I thought, I’ll just ask our resident Dye-it-Yourself Diva, Lynn Koolish if she has anything planned for the dye pot and see if my dress could join in the fun for an over-dye.
Lynn was pleased to have me join in her next dyeing project. She had been planning to dye a shirt but her environmentally responsible, water conservationist conscience (not to mention the high prices for water that are inflicted if we go over the mandatory minimums around here) would not let her dye just one lone garment. But two…? You bet!
Lynn hadn’t yet picked out a color and asked for my thoughts. I would have been happy with black, but she, being a little, OK A LOT, more adventurous than I, pulled me out of my comfort zone. After careful consideration of our garments’ original colors as they were, we settled on a lovely shade of what the Dharma Trading catalog called aqua marine.
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C&T author and art quilting phenom Katie Pasquini Masopust is inviting you to spend some of your summer with her at the 2010 Alegre Retreat!
According to Katie, the retreat is comprised of a small group of quilters from all over the world, and a staff of amazing instructors. It all takes place this coming June at the beautiful Colorado resort, Gateway Canyons.
Click here for all the details. We hope you can make it!
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
Dusk descends
And my neighbor’s
Solar lights
Shine through
The rose bushes
Like giant fireflies
Silently glimmering
Australia based quilter Lesley decided to enroll herself in a virtual beginning quilting course based on Harriet Hargrave‘s & Carrie Hargrave’s Quilter’s Academy books. She is starting with Vol. 1–Freshman Year and plans to continue through all 6 volumes.
She built her virtual quilting course around a blog called “Block Head” that she created to show her progress, turn in her assignments, etc.
When I came across her blog, I was (of course, completely & totally) fascinated. I had to know who she was, why she chose Quilter’s Academy and how her progress was going. I asked Lesley if I could interview her, and she said YES!
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I had another opportunity to teach a class using the Liquitex Surface Design Center. This time it was for a retreat at Point Bonita in the beautiful Marin Headlands. Most of the participants were accomplished quilters and many had some experience with paints. I gave them a quick demo of some of the things you can do with the paints including painting washes, using the Acrylic Inks!, and monoprinting, and set them loose.
It was exciting to see all the different ways that people were using the paint, and all the different looks they were creating.
Stevii Graves monoprinting
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Are you searching for ideas for a handmade gift for a friend or sweetie this Valentine’s Day? C&T author and editor Liz Aneloski has converted a Ready-to-Go!® Blank Canvas Book into an adorable purse that doubles as gift packaging. Quite clever really! Slip in a card, poem or something personal & sweet. It is truly darling and will remind the recipient of you as they use it again and again. The final bag has two compartments inside and two pockets on the outside. Plenty of places for hiding surprises!
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The winner of Susan Brubaker Knapp’s georgeous Orchid Notecards is Darlis Johns. Lucky her! The good news for everyone else is you can find them here on Susan’s website.
