One Word Wednesday

Hanging Out

Happy 4th Blog-versary!

I just realized that its been four years since I began to blog....so many ideas and inspiration. Creativity and design have been a huge part of my life and I love to share with others through teaching, writing and more.
This is what I wrote four years ago:

Hi everyone,
I've become a blogger...its true! My children would say "about time, Mum!" I hope this is going to be easy...I'm not much of a techie/computer savvy person, so we'll see how this goes.
Welcome to my page and let's get started..... I'm hoping to post every couple of days, keeps me on track and focused. I'm hoping for lots of pictures to put up, its good to read stuff, but much more fun to "see". Just have to figure out how to do that!

Well, hasn't technology changed even in that short a space of time, now I use Facebook and YouTube as well, who would have thought?

So to celebrate I'm offering 15% off anything (before shipping) in my store at http://www.fabricimagery.com/ Just enter code QC11 and you'll automatically get that 15% off at the checkout. How amazing is that??? Act now, because the sale ends on February 29th!

Online Quilt Expo!

If you can't get to a quilt conference or want to try an event as close as your computer, how about joining hundreds of others and attend the "Inspired To Quilt" Online Quilt Expo March 7-10th!!!
Lots of great teachers and events to check out, you do need to register tho!

Why not join me and see what fun it can be!

One Word Wednesday

Blue Tail Lizzie

More about Sketchbooks

Size is important to think about if you work in a variety of styles, media and locations. I like the large 16" x 20" for working in the studio. I can paint the papers, move pages from book to book and more. for that size I like the coil bound ones, and Aqua Bee are my favourite with rich, firm 93 lb. paper.
Check these out here: http://www.beepaper.com/paper/classic-super-deluxe.asp

But I also like a 6" x 9" or so for carrying around from place to place....very portable and the pages are large enough to get lots down. For that size then a hard cover is important to take lots of punishment. I prefer a bound book with a heavy weight paper so it can take water media as I tend to use my watercolour pencils a lot with that size.
These are yummy! http://www.dickblick.com/products/hand-book-artist-journals/

Then there's the little ones, perfect for fitting into my purse, pulling out in restuarants or on the bus, easy to take notes or make a quick little sketch....and I love the Moleskine three pack that are about 4" x 6", some have a pocket at the back for keeping love letters and more.... paper quality isnt as important as I'm using mostly pen and markers, but Moleskine does have good quality paper in their books.
Here's some to tempt you: http://www.moleskine.com/catalogue/classic/cahier/

Learn All About Quilting Design

On February 24 my class on Quilting Design will open at http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ and its a class I always love to teach. There are limitless ways to design the quilting part of our work and its often overlooked as an important design element. Here's a little taster to get started.......

Keep a Design File
Now is a good time to begin collecting and organizing those design ideas. Have a couple of manila folders handy to put magazine clippings, photos and anything that can suggest a design possibility to you. Take pictures at quilt shows of designs and quilts you admire. Remember that you can pick elements out of several designs and combine them for your own. Of course, you must be careful of copyright infringements. The border treatment in one quilt could combine well with the corner and setting triangles of another.

Some of the items which might be included in your design folio

Start collecting quilting designs and stencils when you shop. I think dollar-wise, they are one of the best deals around. We will be talking about sources for these and other non-quilting ideas for your designs in the  class. there's still time to register.

Shattered Angles - Victoria Style!

Did you know how much I love to teach? Students around the world are the best part about teaching and I spent Saturday teaching in my own home town for friends in my guild....Victoria Quilters Guild!
I also taught my favourite class: Shattered Angles!!

Here are some pictures from the class, students had a blast playing with strips, sets and blocks and they came up with lovely combinations.

Bev chose vibrant reds and lime for her colours.

Karen is our Guild President and although she says hot pink is not her favourite colours....I wonder?

Lynn used a wonderful rainbow of colours from rich reds through to vibrant purples. You can see that all combinations work well!

Shelley is working with an autumn palette, not her usual combination.

Grace said she had a baby quilt in mind for her Shattered Angles quilt. ande her white insertions strips will work well here!

Loius chose black and white for her strip sets with bright pastels for the insertion strips, yummy!

Here's the gang with some of their completed blocks! Thank you so much ladies! Don't forget that you can order the book Accent on Angles from my shop http://www.fabricimagery.com/

One Word Wednesday

Alley in Curacao

Design Decisions

Yesterday I had a wonderful time in my wet studio playing with plain and coloured discharge paste. I'm preparing more samples for my workshops at Quilters Dream in Edmonton next month. I made some fat quarter sized circles on black:

I then layered them on top of one another, cut them into quarters and schuffled the quarters around.

I pulled out every thread I could find that would work on the discharged circles and quilted one of them heavily all over:

The other one awaits the sandwiching and quilting. Now, here's my dilemma---I like the uneven outer edges, maybe trimmed down a little bit. I'm thinking of leaving the edges like that, perhaps putting the piece on a deeper red or purple backing, perhaps quite narrow. What do you think?

I like this technique and could see doing lots more of these, perhaps larger and smaller blocks in a "sort of" mosaic. Options?

Books on Sunday

I belong to a couple of online groups and have met Robbi through those. She has a wonderful sense of fun and humour that definitely entertains and enlightens us. I love her art work for her use of colour and design and think this book is sure to be a hit with any quilter.

A funny thing happened on the way to the quilt show. . . .

So the story invariably goes, because, where Robbi Joy Eklow (a.k.a. The Goddess of the Last Minute) goes, something funny is bound to happen--or simply to occur to her. As colorful and surprising as the quilts Robbi is famous for, the stories and reflections gathered here create an irresistible picture of an irrepressible character quilting and quipping her way through life. Filled with the kind of gems that have made her Quilting Arts Magazine column so popular, this book includes Robbi’s musings on creativity and color, as well as on the trials and tribulations that every quilter faces. The Goddess of the Last Minute invites readers to take a wry look at those trials--and, with Robbi’s wit and insight, turn them into the sort of crazy quilt that warms and brightens daily life. The story of how she became a Goddess, anecdotes of life on the road, encounters with fellow quilters: these and other often hilarious tales of a not-quite-charmed life make this quilter’s compendium a delightful patchwork to contemplate, and to treasure.
ISBN 978-0760334294

What is Pinterest and Why Would I Want to Know?

My daughter introduced me to Pinterest, she told me that she uses it for her blog, toorganize sites that she visits, to bookmark pictures she wants to use as references. I think of it as a "virtual bulletinboard" and on the website, the Pinterest folks say:

Lots of people use Pinterest to get inspiration for the most important projects in their life. People use Pinterest to plan their vacations, redecorate their homes, and create menus for holiday dinners.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.
You can set up a board and invite people to view the images instead of emailing or sending them to visit various websites.

Right now I belong to a group that shares images on different elements of design, we "pin" the images and then other members can see what we have done.
Here are some recent images that I've "pinned" on my boards. Check out my boards at: http://pinterest.com/susanpmark/

AQS - Are You a Member?

I just renewed my membership and wondered if any of you are AQS fans like me? I think its vitally important to support the organizations that support our interests and give us such incredible learning opportunities.

You can visit their site at http://www.americanquilter.com/ , sign up for their news letter and become a fan on Facebook.

I'll be teaching at the AQS show in Grand Rapids, MI, August 26-28th. I've just sent in my final workshop edits and am looking forward to three exciting days. I hope you can join me.
I'll be teaching Heart of My Heart, plus three more workshops.

I hope I'll see you in Grand Rapids!

One Word Wednesday

A three Hour Tour!

A Special Quilt for Your Sweetie!

I love Valentines Day and its coming soon.....so how about a special quilt for someone special? Heart of My Heart uses my Give and Take Applique method and has a companion stencil set for tracing. In the DVD you get three different applique designs, plus additional layout options and and the designs as EQ projects to create even more quilt layouts.

You can order this set for only $40.00, that's a 15% savings  off the items separately. Go to http://fabricimagery.com/2011/12/31/give-take-applique-dvd/ to place your order. I'm ready to ship right away.
You can see a short demo on my Give and Take Applique technique on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bARsRdfj6aA

Books on Sunday

There are just a few books that I would say no quilter, artist or designer should be without and today's book is one of them.
These books (they're actually a series) are an essential part of my library and they have become my go-to resource for design inspiration on many occasions. 4000 Flower & Plant Motifs is full of beautifully rendered drawings (black only) of every possible plant and flower, both real and imaginary. The books is divided into sections such as Art Deco or Primitive and designs are copyright free.
Truly, I suggest that you really must own this books, and all the rest in the series! They are available from most booksellers and online through Amazon.com

Here's the blurb:

With more than 5000 floral and plant motifs to choose from, this resource is a perfect source of inspiration for all kinds of creative workers-graphic designers, stitchers, woodworkers, ceramists, or tattooists. Artist Graham McCallum's hand-drawn designs include many historical styles, border motifs, and simple and elaborate plant compositions. All are available on an accompanying CD.

ISBN 978-1906388928

 

Shattered Angles Table Runner Kit

I've just added this table runner kit to my website at http://fabricimagery.com/2012/01/29/accent-on-angles-and-table-runner-kit/ The fabric is Stonghenge by Northcott and the runner measures 54" x 18". The kit includes my Accent on Angles book and all fabric to complete the top of the runner for $35.00.

Shattered Angles in Florida

Last week I had the good fortune to visit the Lake County Quilt guild in Tavares Florida. They are an enthusiastic and supportive group of quilters (can't say ladies as they have men in the guild too!) who meet every week and have an annual quilt show, they are busy, busy, busy!
I lectured on the first morning "Show Us Your Fat Quarters - Canadian Style" and there were many Canadian snowbirds in the guild! In the afternoon I taught Heart of My Heart from my DVD and they had great success with Give & Take Applique.

Here's Lynn with some of her hearts. Lynn was also my hostess and arranged my accomodation at the local golf resort. This was they view from my bedroom! Pretty nice!

The next day 19 ladies and Stewart (one brave fellow!) had great fun and lots of success making their Shattered Angles blocks.

Thanks to everyone for making my visit so memorable!



At the Seaside

Some students work from a recent class about painting of fabrics other than cotton. Students used evenweave linens and heavier fabrics and planned their stitching for further embellishment and emphasis.

Students worked from photos or other inspiration using Dyna-Flow paints and then played with threads, beads, fibres and such for the stichery part. Lots of fun and a great day with so many new friends.