New Work - Homeward

I've just finished a new piece for the Fibre Art Network http://www.fibreartnetwork.com/ show at Quilt Canada in Halifax, NS this May. The theme of the show is "From Away" a uniquely Maritime term that means a person or people that come to the Maritimes form other places.....as in the phrase " Susan is a quilter that comes from away".
The quilts will all measure 16" x 36', either portrait or landscape and will be part of a travelling exhibit over the next two years.
My quilt is titled "Homeward" which I've interpreted as lines and curves representing the people who have left their homes to work and live in other locations and countries and are now feeling the call of returning to their roots and their beginnings. The piece is discharged and coloured with dense quilting and additional embellishments.

Homeward

Detail

Join Me at Quilt Canada 2012 in Halifax

Are you planning a trip to Halifax in May for Quilt Canada?

Here's some news about Workshop Registration:

Are you waiting for the Conference handbook to arrive in the mail before you register for a workshop at Quilt Canada in Halifax? Please don’t wait any more because the handbook is not being mailed this year! It is on the website at: http://www.canadianquilter.com/events/quilt-canada-2012.php

For a printed copy of the handbook please send $4 and your mailing address to:

Jackie Philpott

Administrative Assistant, CQA/ACC
Registrar, Quilt Canada 2012
6 Spruce Street
Pasadena, NL, Canada A0L 1K0

Registration is now wide open to all quilters, whether you choose to attend as a full delegate or simply want to take a class or two as a day student. There will be quilt shows, great teachers, interesting classes, sewing machines in the classrooms, special events and the Merchant Mall. Please act soon because some classes are filling up. You can see which classes are already full at:

http://www.canadianquilter.com/pdf/2012-CQA-Handbook-13-13.pdf

Dragon Bones and Fish Fingers

I developed this technique after cutting through some blocks by accident! Have you ever had that happen? I didn't clear my cutting table properly and the blocks were tucked under some other fabric....big oooppps! So remember the adage about making "lemonade"?  I joined the blocks back together with a contrast strip and thought the style worked quite well.
So I'm teaching Dragon Bones at the Creativ Festival in Toronto, in Saskatoon next month and at Quilt Canada in Halifax, NS. I've made  lots of samples, because there are SO many different designs you can do with this technique and I've got ideas for many, many more quilts!
Now I need some help naming the quilt, put your thinking caps on and help me with this. My husband will pick the one he likes best. Leave the name in the Comments section or on my Facebook.

Now if you are wondering how to make the blocks there's a couple of cool projects in my Accent on Angles book available here.

More Quilt Canada....

My second class was Screen Printing for Quilters, the organizers of the workshop did a wonderful job of taping painters canvas over all the carpets and good plastic sheeting on the tables. So we were neat and tidy through the entire class, not an easy feat!

On the first day we used screenprinting inks and wooden screens in the morning. Students had been asked to bring their own designs cut into paper stencils. This worked well. In the afternoon they were introduced to thermofax screens and had a wonderful time exploring what the screen could do. I learned how much drier it is in Calgary, even during snowy weather....we had a challenging time getting the screens cleaned before the paint dried!

On the second day the students used thickened dyes, much easier than the paints! They went to town trying new ideas, overlaying designs from the previous day and being creative.

Even the print cloths were beautiful! Seventeen students in a large bright room is my idea of a wonderful time. Thanks to everyone who made it such a success, especially my assistant Eleanor!

That evening we finished up at a special western-style banquest that included a "quick draw" team in a shootout (with blanks)! And the dessert was divine!