What Am I Afraid Of?

Or maybe it should read "what I am afraid of".....a little like confession but it's been 3 months since my last blog post. It's not that I've not had anything to say, or that I didn't think of or I forgot to write any blog posts, but its more that I just kept putting it off....and off...and off until it became an embarrassment to even come to my blog and start writing.
But I'm back and ready to get to work, my goal it to write consistently and share my current work with you and hopefully keep myself accountable!

Last week I sent entries into the National Juried Show for the Canadian Quilters Association, this time I had three quilts to enter, a record for me. I missed last years entry by 2 days so I made certain that these were sent in plenty of time.

"Burrard" is one of them, I can publish this photo because its already been in a US show....

 Another quilt just got finished in time to take the photos, so I'll only show a little detail.

This one took a lot of quilting so I had time to think about ideas for my next piece. I'd already decided to continue with my "Structures" series and chose a photo to work on:

I like to get started right away on new work and on this one I saw a lot of sky behind the ironwork, almost 2/3 of the picture. I wanted to use a collage of pieced fabrics for the sky and made this:

who says sky has to be blue?

I thought I'd audition some of the iron work in bright colours:

And I put the photos on Facebook, asking if anyone thought the sky was a little intense....:)

Some suggested putting tulle over top to calm it down a bit, but that's not really practical as its about 36" square. I though I'd try painting a dilute white wash over top so I made a small sample and auditioned it in a couple places:

I like the texture of the paint roller and that it's a less than even application. So I think it's a go to paint over it and I think I might make this piece more of  monochromatic with black/grey ironwork and touches of bright.....

Now....as for the Desert Island Designs in the previous blogpost from so long ago...... it's still going ahead, I'm going to be planning it for March, care to join me?

Canadian Quilt Talk

I hope you can take a few minutes to day and listen to my interview with Brandy Maslowski, the producer of Canadian Quilt Talk, a new internet podcast that she has started for quilters! It has just opened this month and already Brandy has so many devoted followers looking forward to each episode on Thursdays at 4pm PDT.
You can listen by visiting the Explore Fibre blog at:http://www.brandylynndesigns.blogspot.ca/
 Brandy is a well respected quilting teacher, author, pattern designer and apprentice judge. She is full of energy and talent. Don't miss out!
You can also "like" Canadian Quilt Talk on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CanadianQuiltTalk

Meet Kathy Wylie

I know you'll be as excited as I am to meet Kathy Wylie, a fellow Canadian, a certified quilt judge and an incredibly talented and award winning quilter. I asked her a few questions:

Tell us a bit about how you began quilting:

It was the spring of 1994 when a friend asked if I would join her in taking a beginner sampler quilting class. I had just resigned from my job at IBM to stay home with my two young sons and thought I could use a few nights out. I had been sewing since I was a kid and enjoyed all kinds of different needle arts, so I agreed to take the class. Little did I know how that decision would change my life!

Where does your inspiration come from for your designs?

Inspiration comes from all over. When I discovered papercut appliqué - a technique that is similar to making paper snowflakes - I found great inspiration in the names of patchwork blocks. The Bear Paw block inspired teddy bear snowflakes; Lady of the Lake suggested a series of cottage-themed snowflakes; the Card Trick block led me to design snowflakes of hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. Designing snowflake-style blocks led to the publication of my first book called Sewflakes: Papercut Appliqué Quilts with C&T Publishing.

I am also inspired by verses and passages in the Bible. The 23rd Psalm was the basis for the quilt The Lord is my Shepherd; Psalm 150 inspired Instruments of Praise; and my most recent quilt Flourish on the Vine depicts the words of John 15:5.

Do you have a favourite technique? Any tips you can share with others?

My favourite technique is probably needle-turn appliqué. It is relaxing, portable, and produces beautiful results. My tip is to mark the appliqué design on the background fabric as well as on the patches themselves. This ensures that all the appliqué patches are accurately positioned.

A close second would have to be machine quilting and I am currently sharing my ideas and tips on my blog at http://www.kathykwylie.com/blog/category/machine-quilting-2

You also travel and teach, what classes are your favourite?

That’s a tough question, actually. I love teaching my Sewflakes: Papercut Appliqué technique - it is so fun to see students design their own one-of-a-kind snowflakes and turn them into quilt blocks! I also really enjoy teaching EQ7 quilt design software - I guess I still have an affinity for anything “techie”, back from my IBM days.

I see you have patterns and books for sale on your website, is there anything else that you are planning?

Two new patterns are in the works, for the award-winning quilts Instruments of Praise - which now resides at the National Quilt Museum as part of their permanent collection - and Flourish on the Vine, winner of the IQA Founders’ Award. I am planning to develop a new lecture on The Art of Appliqué as well as some new workshops to go along with the patterns as well.

Tell us how it felt to win the big award in Houston?

It was amazing!! Quilts that are accepted into the IQA show are judged months in advance and the winners are notified. I knew that Flourish on the Vine was going to win an award, but not which one. I also knew that it would be in the top eight because part of my prize was the trip to Houston! The awards ceremony was held on the Tuesday night before the show, beautifully set up in one of the ballrooms at the convention centre. I waited and waited as each award was announced, right up until there were only two prizes left. It was such an honour to receive the Founders Award and to have my quilt chosen for the cover of the April/May 2012 issue of Quilters Newsletter!

Check out Kathy's website and her blog and signup for her newsletter here:

http://www.kathykwylie.com/