Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2015 i Quilting Arts Magazine

New England summers always are ablaze with flowers. We’re so excited to share our flower-themed Reader Challenge with you (p. 46) and know you’ll love the blossoms and blooms as much as we did. Thisquilt, “Black-Eyed Susans” by Susan Price of Springfield, Virginia, reminds me of the wildflowers that border the highways in Vermont. WELCOME SUMMER. That’s all I can say. After a never-ending winter that overstayed its welcome followed by a half-hearted spring, it is finally time to celebrate all that is right in the world. Let vacation season begin! Most years, my family piles into the minivan for a few long weekends in Maine and a trip or two to the Green Mountains in Vermont. We enjoy taking family photos at waterfalls, browsing antique stores for vintage records,…

guatemalan artist Priscilla Bianchi’s work is a study in vibrant colors, challenging patterns, and pure joy. As a quilt artist, designer, and international teacher, Priscilla creates one-of-a-kind quilts that meld the richness and ethnic appeal of her homeland with the tradition of American quilt making. In her work, brightly colored textiles and Mayan symbolism are intertwined with contemporary quilt designs and high contrast. Once known for using primarily handmade Guatemalan ikats, Priscilla’s newer work combines rich colors, bold contrasts, and a variety of commercial fabrics along with traditional textiles. This evolution in artistic style makes for a fascinating story. Vivika: You come from a country with a rich textile tradition, but not a history of quilting, per se. I think of Guatemalan textiles as being mostly woven, with saturated colors…

Making time Will you do it? Will you turn down one invitation this week to go to the studio instead? Will you forgo one errand in order to work on your art? Give up one day of strength training at the gym in order to strength train in the studio? If you answer no to the above questions, it’s ok. There is no right answer. There is only your answer. Accept your answer, whatever it is. Your studio practice should revolve around that answer. Because a major life goal— not just an artist’s goal—is to make peace with choices. Acknowledge your choices and make peace with them now. The key to eliminating internal conflict is to know thyself. Strategies for making Identify what is needed to support practice—whether a few…

MATERIALS • Small pieces of cloth, paper, and trim (This project is an excellent way to use remnants. Consider including sheers, art paper, and ephemera.) • Embroidery threads • Embroidery needle • Scissors • Water-soluble stabilizer • Monofilament thread • Warm water and container to dissolve the stabilizer Optional • Buttons, beads, or other embellishments we artists are always fiddling around with something— our hands need to be busy! Like me, you may need something artistic to do when you travel. “Sweet Little Somethings” are small collaged bits of cloth, paper, and trim that are stitched together by machine, by hand, or both. These assemblages are perfect to take when traveling or anywhere that you might have a little time to do a bit of stitchery. I carry two small…

often overlooked by many fiber artists as too traditional, folksy, or whimsical, the blanket stitch—a variation of the buttonhole stitch—can add delightful texture to fiber art. It can be a versatile addition to your mark-making vocabulary of stitches, as it offers much more variety than appears at first glance. Historically, the blanket stitch existed as a way to finish the edges of blankets, hence the name. Over the edge of a thick, sturdy blanket of wool or linen, it looks the same on the front and the back, and stops an edge from raveling. As a hand embroidery stitch, it is often used for appliqué. Many hand embroidery stitches have a typical style, the one we are used to seeing. In the case of the blanket stitch, that is usually…

i’ve always loved quotes. Starting in my childhood, I collected them in journals, copied them into photo albums as commentary on the photos, and sent them in cards and letters. When I considered using quotes as the focus for art quilts, the main problem was how to render them at a small size. I use textile paint in a lot of my work, but it is difficult to do fine lines in paint. Acrylic ink fit the bill. Acrylic inks are actually extremely fluid acrylic paint. Most inks are dye-based, but acrylic inks are pigment-based. They are billed as being water resistant (but not waterproof), and more resistant to fading than dye-based inks. They can be diluted to achieve watercolor effects, and are fluid enough to be used in airbrushes,…

OUR QUILTING LEGACY Staring blankly at piles of my quilts while packing for a trunk show, I realized there was no great cosmic connection between these sewn together pieces of fabric and me. Yes, they had all been published over my quilting career, which gives them some veneer of value, but to me they were missing soul. It’s not that each of these quilts hadn’t been beautifully pieced, thoughtfully designed, and replicated by quilters around the globe. It’s just that my stacks of quilts felt empty and, frankly, like just a bunch of—God forbid—blankets. Nothing in this hoard excited me or would tell future generations who I was, what was going on in the world when I designed them, or even why they were made. These were simply quilts that…

Dear QUILTING ARTS, I very much enjoy your Reader Challenges and find them a great place to start developing ideas for larger works. When my magazine arrives these are the first pages I head to—it is fascinating to see how others interpret the theme. Many thanks for including this feature. Claire Passmore, Cape Town, South Africa Dear QUILTING ARTS, Thank you for explaining how the magazine cover is chosen in the Editor’s Note. I always wondered about the process. I still remember the first issue of Quilting Arts I read—I was waiting in line at the fabric store and I picked it up because I saw a magazine with an interesting cover. It was a face and I was intrigued by it. I am an art quilter now! Margarita Korioth…

all right, we’ll admit it—flowers make us happy! We can’t resist the first crocus of spring or a field of poppies in summer, the lone majestic orchid on a side table or a giant bouquet of fragrant lilies. And our readers love them, too! Flowers are cheerful, comforting, just plain lovely, and enjoyed by just about everyone. In the December 2014/January 2015 issue, we challenged readers—some of them quite winter weary!—to represent their favorite blossom, bud, or bloom in a 10" x 10" art quilt and we received almost 150 entries. We hope you enjoy this gallery of our readers’ work. “Giant Russian” DEBORAH WIRSU MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA “A few years ago I grew a crop of Giant Russian sunflowers in my garden in Melbourne. Their dinner-plate-sized blooms greeted me every…

1000 QUILT INSPIRATIONS COLORFUL AND CREATIVE DESIGNS FOR TRADITIONAL, MODERN, AND ART QUILTS Sandra Sider Quarry Books, 2015 320 pp., Paperback $24.99 Separated into four sections— traditional designs, modern designs, pictorial art designs, and abstract and conceptual art quilt designs—this book will envelope readers in fiber art made by over 300 quilt makers from around the world. All of the sections provide page after page of inspirational art; plus, the traditional section includes two mini galleries of antique quilts, one from the collection of International Quilt Festival (mostly 19th and early 20th century examples) and the other of the Gundersheimer Collection (mostly 20th century). Sandra Sider’s thoughtful introduction provides most of the words contained in this book. The remaining pages contain quilt after innovative quilt, expertly photographed, each page more…

text on fabric makes me swoon. It doesn’t matter if it’s a word or a single letter; I am drawn to take a closer look. Adding text to your art quilts directs the viewer to a particular focal point and helps them understand your underlying theme. You can invoke a mood or feeling with one meaningful word intended to make the viewer stop and think for a moment or use illegible text to add an air of mystery. Write with craft syringes Craft syringes come with curved or straight tips—I prefer the curved tip ones—and using them is one of my favorite ways to add text to fabric. The organic, uneven nature of the writing appeals to me. Fabric preparation is important when writing with paint—you need to stabilize the…

Sue Bleiweiss is a full-time fiber artist living in Massachusetts. Working with her own hand-dyed cotton, she creates vibrant, colorful art quilts intended to delight the eye of the viewer and make them smile. Sue has appeared on “Quilting Arts TV” and has a new Quilting Arts Workshop™ video, “Coloring Book Fabric Collage: Dyeing, Fusing, Designing, and Quilting.” Her latest book, Fusible Fabric Collage, is now available. suebleiweiss.com Julia C. Wood is the president and founder of Hexie Love, the digital magazine for hexagon quilt lovers, and the author of three quilting books—two of them on hexagons. In the evenings, you’ll find her in a recliner with dogs and hexies in her lap. Julia lives with her husband of 30 years, Mark, in Auburn, Alabama. hexielove.com Jane Dávila is a…

BOOK EXCERPT colorful fabric collage Basic Techniques FOR FUSING FABRICS When cutting out shapes to appliqué to a quilt, everyone reaches for fusible web. But if you use a lightweight web, you can use it for all aspects of your art quilt. You can make interfacing for delicate fabrics, baste a quilt without getting poked by sharp quilting pins, and even add subtle shading effects with delicate fabrics. I use Mistyfuse, a particularly lightweight, solvent-free fusible web, for all of these techniques (and more). It stays soft and creates a strong bond. (If you use a different brand of fusible web, then your results may differ from mine.) Because I use fusible web in almost every step of making a quilt, I apply it to my fabrics before I embark…

How can it be that QUILTING ARTS MAGAZINE is about to celebrate a milestone birthday? This December marks the 15th year of this wonderful publication. From the very first issue, QA has encouraged quilt artists to push the boundaries of creativity, learn new techniques, and embellish with abandon. From dyeing to discharge, from beading to binding, and from free motion to felting, we’ve covered it. This has been quite an “artful adventure”! You are invited to join us in marking this festive occasion by creating a small art quilt depicting your own artful adventures inspired by the magazine. The subject matter and implementation are up to you, but we encourage you to use at least three different techniques you’ve learned from QUILTING ARTS in the making of your quilt. mark…

“Upward and Onward” 67" x 35" BONNIE SMITH San Jose, California “The good is always worth celebrating. SAQA’s 25th anniversary is definitely one of those occasions. I wish our organization the best, and may we move upward and onward!” Cotton, acetate, and wool fabrics; machine appliquéd and stitched. the quilting community has benefitted this last quarter century from Studio Art Quilt Associates, the nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of art quilts and those who create them. As part of SAQA’s 25th anniversary, the organization is “celebrating silver.” Silver is indispensable. From industrial use to decoration, technology, photography, and medicine, its unique properties of strength, malleability, reflectivity, and conductivity make it an irreplaceable force in the global market. In addition to its physical properties, silver is recognized as a symbol…

ireally enjoy making felted soap. It’s easy and meditative, yet creative and useful—completed bars make great gifts. The felted soap is lovely, long-lasting, and makes a great exfoliator for the shower. When I saw that a boutique store was charging $14 a bar, I thought it would be worth making my own. MATERIALS • Glycerin bar soap • Wool roving, 2–4 colors (I used merino wool from New England Felting Supply.) • Hot water A few years ago, I made 15 bars of felted soap as gifts for a group of my students. As I was making them, I thought it would be nice if my husband helped. I pictured him and I standing at our kitchen sink together, chatting warmly and lathering soap. Not so much. It seems he…