Designing Fabric

Our Quilt Guild was blessed by a visit from Moda fabric designer Deb Strain.  One of our members had suggested we invite her to speak and it was a real treat!  Deb has a delightful personality and that is evident from the moment she steps out of her car.

Deb showing the detailed work, including the color key, for one of her new designs.

I'd never really thought too much about what goes into developing those wonderful designs that end up on fabric.  Deb talked about the process - her sources of inspiration (nature and the many things she sees around her), the way she designs (paper, pen and paint, although she mentioned several designers now use computer graphics to design their fabric lines), the types of designs she loves to create (very detailed), the amount of time it takes her to develop the ideas for a possible line of fabric (lots and lots - 6-8 weeks or so).  It was also interesting to know that for some fabric manufacturers she can use up to 19 colors but some are only able to accept 13 colors.  Once she develops an idea into a drawing, she then reproduces that drawing with a variety of color palettes, painting each one using the colors for that particular palette.  While Moda likes 3 alternatives, Deb said she often submits 5 or 6 or 9 as the color possibilities just seem to flow.

What followed was a trunk show of quilts Deb owns that were made out of her fabric lines or that have inspired her.  As much fun as it was to look at the quilts, the stories behind the quilts brought them to life.  I should have given someone my camera as I was one of the quilt holders!  Oh, well...

Guild members enjoyed shopping among the various items Deb has designed.  Calendars, note pads, and books are just a few of the things with her artwork.

Alice brought a wonderful tote she made using fabrics that Deb designed. 

Deb also talked about what a wonderful company Moda is and mentioned that one of her daughters was able to snag an intern position with Moda last summer.  She had a wonderful learning experience.  And how fun it must be for Deb to be working with her daughters on designing a new fabric line for the coming year.

If your guild is looking for a superb program, I can highly recommend Deb Strain.  Entertaining and enriching!

Cheers!
Margaret

Rising Sun

The last few days have been consumed getting my latest quilt top ready to enter in the Rising Sun Quilt Fest.  I delivered it this morning at 11 a.m. - the last day to deliver completed quilts.  And it was close!  It was a gorgeous drive to Rising Sun, a very picturesque town on the Ohio River.  The redbud trees were in full bloom and added a wonderful touch of color to the woods that are starting to leaf out this time of year.

BIQR Star - finished at last!

 I had completed the quilt top at last September's Beaver Island Quilt Retreat (BIQR) so named the quilt BIQR Star.  I'm not terribly creative in the naming of my quilts, am I?  I struggled for months trying to decide how to quilt it.  I was really thinking about more elaborate quilting on the black around the star but when I was practicing (yes - I practiced before loading the real quilt!), it turned out there wasn't as much space as I pictured in my mind's eye and - probably more to the point - my quilting is not yet good enough to do the smaller feathers in a manner that would be pleasing to the eye.  I debated about using black thread in the black areas or a contrasting thread.  Contrasting thread won out.  But I may try this design again and use black thread next time.  Other suggestions?

My first ever attempt at piping.  Turned out very nicely, if I do say so myself.

This was also the first time I've ever added piping to any quilt.  I used Susan Cleveland's Groovin' Piping Trimming Tool.  I watched one of the free programs on The Quilt Show last weekend and thought I could try this out.  I found the Piping Trimming Tool as well as her booklet Piping Hot Binding that I had purchased last year and it is a terrific tool - well worth the money.  It took quite a long time and this is a rather small wall quilt (47 x 47) so on a larger quilt it would add quite a bit of time.  Of course, the time I spent on this included doing a practice run of adding the piping and binding on my practice quilting piece, too.

I love the effect of piping so perhaps more of my quilts in the future will include this distinctive technique.

Cheers!
Margaret

International Quilting Day

I've enjoyed a sewing and quilting day today, working on some applique for a quilt top using a technique learned from Sue Nickels last year at IHQS and making pillowcases for the Columbus Star Quilters upcoming Quilt Show.  No rush on the pillowcases since the show isn't until October but I thought I'd get a jump on them and use up some of the bright fabrics I've had laying around.

Dinosaurs and outer space fabrics - a delightful mix!

After working on those items, I went outside and enjoyed the beautiful summery weather we're having here - rode my bicycle and enjoyed seeing all of the families out along the People Trail that winds through the city of Columbus.  Wonderful day.

Cheers!
Margaret

The Everchanging River

Deb and I went to the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show this year.  Kathy would have gone with us but she managed to injure her foot earlier in the week so missed the trip.  We missed her.

The Everchanging River was a special exhibit that was the result of a challenge by Warren Carpenter, owner of "The Gallery" at the Arts Company in Seneca, S.C.  The challenge was to make a quilt that would flow around the walls of the gallery.  Each participating quilt artist was given the common fabric and told the size that the river would enter the quilt on the left side and exit on the right side.  The width of each panel was the same but the length could be from 14" - 23".  It is this variation in length as well as the placement of the entrance and exit of the river on each individual piece that creates the undulating flow of the river.

Deb's looking at a section of the river.

 This exhibit was also shown at the NQA June 2009 show.  I wonder how many other quilt shows have been honored with this exhibit.

Each piece was unique in its composition and the embellishments.  I loved this froggie hanging from a limb over the river with the moon in the sky.  Wish I'd take more pictures of the individual pieces.  There was an area with a rocky shoals, a waterfall, and several other unique treatments.  What a great way to exhibit the variety of talents in a group.

Now, if I could only get my quilt guild interested in this type of challenge.  Somehow, the idea of using State Route 46 from Batesville to Nashville as our unifying theme just doesn't excite people.  But think of how unique it would be!

Cheers!
Margaret

Family Treasures

My parents are in the process of thinking about downsizing.  After living in their home for 54 years, the task is somewhat daunting.  So, being the good daughter that I am, the last two times I visited, I scouted around for some quilts that I remembered from my childhood.  I managed to bring one quilt home from each of those 2 visits - quite a feat since I had flown home and didn't have much spare room in my carry on luggage.

My Dad's grandmother, Maggie May McDowell Kepler, made over 100 quilts during her lifetime and this is one of them.  It wasn't until I took this picture that I really noticed exactly how much hand quilting there was on the quilt.   In talking with my sister, I found out she wanted this quilt.  It has nine blocks, each with the same cross stitch design pre-printed on the fabric.  The binding was frayed so after talking with my friend Carol who now has a quilt restoration and preservation business (Threads and Pieces - contact her at carol.walp@hotmail.com), I put a new binding on to help stabilize the border.  

When I first looked at the cross stitch work, it almost looked like some of the stitching was never completed.  Even after all these years, you can see the printed markings despite having been washed many times, I'm sure.  But in looking further, I think it was all completed but has just worn away over the years.  There's actually another circle of yellow stitches inside the blue circle but most of the yellow stitches are gone.  Would that color have been weaker than the blue?

So this quilt is now on it's way to Helen.  I know she'll treasure it as a fond childhood memory as well as a gift from the past.

Cheers!
Margaret

Bluhming Feathers

Rosie asked me to quilt her gorgeous quilt.  The fabrics are beautiful, coordinate well and her applique was executed so perfectly.  After studying the quilt for a few days, I came up with a quilting design that I thought would enhance the quilt.  Long stemmed roses are in the piano key border and mimic the roses in the floral fabric.  The tulips and vases are outlined with stitch in the ditch and a version of McTavishing is in the cream areas to help them stand out.

Rosie's Floral Garden  - truly a beautiful creation

But the really exciting part of the quilting for me are the feathers in the set in triangles and the floral border.  I saw these in Irena  Bluhm's book, Whimsical and Funky Feathers, that I received for Christmas.  I had taken a class from Irena two years ago and enjoy her quilts with their bright colors and extensive quilting.  So this book is a treat.  Page 102 had the perfect combination of feathers for these triangles and the long expanse of the inner border.

This whimsical and funky feather looks perfect in this large triangle.

Best of all was Rosie's reaction when she saw the quilt.  "I love it.  I do. I do!"  How gratifying it is to have that kind of reaction .  And how lucky I am to have friends like Rosie who trust me with their quilts.

Cheers!

Margaret

Longarm Retreat

 Earlier this month I had a wonderful weekend.  It started with a visit with my niece who is attending Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia.  She gave me a tour of the campus and I met one of her roommates.  Her dorm room is way cool (can I use that term?) and includes a fireplace on which they had hung their Christmas stockings.  Their dorm has dark wood paneling in the hallways and rooms - no built in closets so that tells you the age of the dorm.  But it was a spacious room and they had the beds, wardrobes and desks arranged so there was plenty of room for everyone.

Marian in front of her dorm room's fireplace.  Santa found them!
What you can't really see is that the mantel has the inscription
"Sans Souci" carved into it.  Not sure how that pertains to
college life that I equate to alot of worries about classes and
other stuff - but it's there nevertheless.

We then went to the Philadelphia Art Museum and saw the Van Gogh exhibit there.  For me it was eye opening as several of the works on display were ones I wouldn't have associated with his style.  In particular some of his early still life paintings were ones I'd never seen before.  I loved them - the colors and composition.

We followed that with a visit to Reading Station for dinner.  It's the old train station converted into a Farmer's Market atmosphere.  It was an enormous space with a wide variety of vendors selling everything you could possibly want.  Too bad we didn't have more time to explore.

We drove back to her dorm so she had time to get ready for the party scheduled for that evening and I headed over to Lancaster, PA for the longarm retreat sponsored by Virginia Longarm.  As I was checking in, I could hear the humming of sewing machines.  The Saturday evening activity was making pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer, an organization dedicated to making cheerful pillowcases for seriously ill children.  Cindy Kerr, founder of ConKerr Cancer, spoke to the group that evening - about her son who was the inspiration for the pillowcase project and about the progress made towards the goal of giving each of the 44,000 children diagnosed with cancer each year a cheerful pillowcase.  They also introduced "The Bird" - a Gammill Premier with a Peacock-like paint job.  They are running a contest that will support the ConKerr Cancer project with participants being entered in a drawing for "The Bird."  Want a new longarm?  Check out Virginia Longarm's site (www.virginialongarm.com) for the details.

Just one sample of Jamie's "fancy schmancy" quilting  (his term, not mine).
Metallic thread adds quite a bit of contrast.

Here's one of his dragonflies.  He uses  Marabout yarns for the bodies.

Sunday, I took some classes from Jamie Wallen.  I had taken classes from him a few years ago and was intrigued with his quilting.  His Threadfusion technique results in beautiful quilting motifs.  It helps that he uses beautiful threads.  He covered a variety of topics before getting to the discussion of actual quilting - things that will help make the quilting smoother and more effortless.  Topics like bobbin & top tension (always of interest to longarm quilters), ergonomic quilting positions (different than most people are currently set up - his way makes alot of sense), thread types and needle sizes, and, of course, cleaning (with Expo Dry Erase cleaner!) and waxing your rails to make the machine glide as it quilts.  I picked up quite a few tips that will make a big difference in how I prepare to quilt and how I execute some of the designs.  Thanks, Jamie!

Thanks to Virginia Longarm for sponsoring the retreat - on a weekend during which I was in the area!

Cheers!
Margaret