Not to be morbid, but I check several of those “susceptible to Covid” boxes so I decided to do some downsizing and distributing. I have collected pincushions for several decades but don’t have room to display them all so most of them are packed away in boxes. I thought if they’re packed away in boxes so I don’t see them, I might as well try to find them a good home. And I did…I found the newly opened Missouri Quilt Museum in Hamilton, Missouri.
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I admit it: I am opinionated. And I like to print out my opinions onto fabric using my computer printer and Bubble Jet Set. One of my favorite color combinations is black and white and pink. I have two 50 lb. paper boxes full of black and white prints so it was no trouble to pull out several dozen to combine with Fan Hexagon blocks using pink prints. (more…)
I got interested in Negative Space when I encountered the artwork of Coles Phillips. He was an early 20th century American artist and illustrator who created many magazine covers using negative space. By using one color for both the background and large parts of the rest of the composition he could keep down the number of ink colors which greatly saved on printing costs (and made him popular with magazine editors). His compositions are intricate and appealing. But what IS negative space?
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This is my latest interweaving quilt design; I call it Just Squares V as it is the fifth in a series. I realized why I like these interweaving designs: they are kind of peaceful to cut all the different fabrics and arranging them weaving over and under. Kind of like doing a crossword puzzle. I have a vast fabric stash and I like to paw through it to find just the perfect print. This one measures 45″ square. It’s off to my long arm quilter for her to do her magic! I do love that gray Quilters Linen fabric by Robert Kaufman.
This is my interweaving design called Sixteen Strips. It appeared in the November issue of American Quilter magazine. In this version I used a multicolored confetti background fabric and pulled sixteen solid Kona cottons for the strips that weave over and under each other. This project is 50″ square.
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This is my second small suffrage quilt in the travelling display. When I got done with the first one I got to wondering when did other countries give women the vote? The dates and names of the countries are listed vertically on the left and right of the quilt. Four early 20th century political cartoons (two for suffrage and two against) are in the center of the quilt. And yes, I did correct the slightly tilted strip piecing in the center of the quilt. (more…)
So how many small suffrage quilts did we get? At first they trickled in slowly, giving us time to worry. Then a rush of them were received right before the deadline and we ended up with 36 in the display. A manageable number, featuring many styles and techniques.
The peach one above is one of my designs (I also did a purple one). Hopefully you can read the text.
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I’ll be teaching in Birmingham, England this August 8-9 at the Festival of Quilts. I’m teaching two classes and giving one lecture.
Later in 2017 I have been asked to judge a miniature quilt show (another part of the Legacy Grant). That should be an interesting experience and, probably, an uncomfortable one for me. I am much less impressed by physical perfection in quilts and more impressed by visual impact and innovation. Like most quilters, when I go to a show I am sometimes befuddled by why a certain quilt won and another one didn’t even get an honorable mention. This may be my first and last attempt at judging.
In early 2017 I participated in a Legacy Grant program with the Evening Star Quilters of Red Wing. What is a Legacy Grant?
In 2008 (yes, in the middle of the economic downturn), Minnesota voters took a bold and historic action by imposing a three-eighths of one percent tax on themselves for 25 years, until 2034, in the name of cleaner water, healthier habitat, better parks and trails and sustaining our arts and cultural heritage. The funds raised by this tax have funded numerous grants and programs, including ones for the arts. (more…)
