Weekend Workshop

Last weekend I had fun being the student instead of the teacher. Our local Embroiderers' Guild invited Sherril Kahn of California to teach a three day workshop. I've always admired Sherrils work and wanted to see how she approaches her designs, what products she uses and her techniques.

She was very giving and sharing with her methods and I learned a great deal. I do have her books and while she did repeat much of what she had written, it is a whole different thing to see it done rather than just seeing the pictures.

I will be posting some of my work over the next little while to show how I interpreted the class assignments. In the meantime here's sample of the pictures I took in the class.

Flames Abound

This is my first piece for art cloth that I've sent away! Everything else I have a hard time letting go! But this little baby is going to the Surface Design Association online auction that begins Oct. 1st. Check it out at http://www.surfacedesign.org/ and go to the OnLine Auction page, keep visiting as more items get added.

My piece measures 30" x 60" and is made with soy wax batik, silk screened images (including some from my previous post about Scratch a Print) and could be used as whole cloth, cut for piecing or embellishment.

Visit often and bid high!

Easy, Peasy Screenprinting!

This screen printing is about the easiest that you can get! I found the product online at http://www.dickblick.com/ and thought it might be worth a try for the price (less than $10.00).
When the package arrived I put it away with the intention of trying it later. I hauled it out yesterday to see what it could it and was pleasantly surprised. Its not high tech, falls apart after 10-12 uses, but its simple, simple to use.

I began by drawing a line sketch on the plastic sheet (words etc. should be reversed) that then transfers the blue ink onto a paper (keep the paper for later reference or collage). My pen line opened the screen (removed the blue ink) and the screen was ready to use. I used a a textile paint and a little scraper to pull the paint across the screen, though the instructions suggest a foam brush.

Remove the screen and replace in another section of fabric and repeat as desired.

The image came through quite clearly and I made enough repeats before the paper fell apart.

I would definitely use this product again when I want quick results and don't really want to preserve the image for later screening.

More Fabric Collage Boxes

On Saturday I taught a class on making terrific little boxes from scraps and embellishments! It was a lot of fun! If you'd like to find out how, check out my blog post of July 28, 2008. You won't need much in supplies and its a neat way to try new techniques, special stitches on your machine and fun embellishments. Try it out!

Kathie and Cindy did so well with theirs I'm sure there'll be lots more in the works!

Here Fishy, Fishy!

A couple of different approaches to catching dinner for the table tonight! The fishing boat is a familiar but diminishing sight on the west coast of Canada as our fish stocks are rapidly being depleted. However our friend, the heron, is patiently waiting for diiner to come close! I guess he really practises the "100 Mile Diet" (http://100milediet.org/).

You say Madrona, we say Arbutus!

One of my favourite trees is the beautiful Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), a native species to the west coast and particularly to Vancouver Island, where I live. It is unique as a broadleaf evergreen (it has leaves, but doesn't drop them in the autumn) but I think its oustanding feature is the red bark that peels off and leaves a satiny smooth surface. It often clings to high cliffs and overhangs and is always close by the ocean. If you'd like further information about the arbutus have a look at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Madrone

AQS Classes

I taught 5 different classes in Nashville last week and they were all so much fun! The first picture shows students working hard on their "Mystery Blocks", they were finished in record time! In this class I give each student 5 kits for 5 different blocks, all with the same shapes but different colour variations. After each block is completed they try to guess what the quilt looks like and then I show them the completed quilt. At the end of the class they get the instructions to make all 5 quilts. Lots of fun and very low stress!

In the next two pictures students are creating their own "Give and Take Applique" designs, first from paper cut outs and then from fabric. We play with design mirrors to see what repeat shapes will look like and modify or change the designs. Its a very creative class and students learn that they CAN make their own unique designs. A VERY good class for the budding designer.

Nashville Visit

Last week Daphne Greig (my business partner) and I went to Nashville, Tennessee to visit and teach at the AQS show there. We had a wonderful time, made many new friends and saw some friends from previous visits to other AQS shows.

We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel which is a just complex all under glass with over 2000 hotel rooms, several restaurants and a large convention centre.


It was all climate controlled which was a good thing because the weather was hot and steamy outside! there were many walking paths, rivers and fountains as well as lots of water falls, very picturesque.

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of classroom work!

A Visit to the Cowichan Valley

I was back in the Cowichan Valley last Monday, visiting the Cowichan Valley Heritage Quilters guild at the home of my friend, Gloria Daly. I grew up in that area and many of the quilters remember the area as I do, without the moderizations and growth. I remember that I couldn't wait to leave after high school, it was too small a community to hold me back! Now I look at the area and think that it would be a lovely place to raise a family or settle down. How times and our perceptions change!

Gloria has a lovely back deck and patio set on 3 acres on rolling land just at the foot of Mount Prevost. A few months ago she had each guild member draw a card from a deck of playing cards and create a small quilt inspired by "their" card. The results are stunning and the quilts will be auctioned or displayed at a local seniors care centre. You can see the quilts hanging on display from a clothesline strung around the deck. Aren't they great?

Some of the ladies tried some discharge on black fabric with bleach pens....so much fun!

I also showed quilts from my most recent Fat Quarter Frenzy Two book and well as patterns and some quilts in an upcoming book due out this fall. It was a great visit, the temperature was perfect and the sun shone brightly. A perfect day!

All is Revealed!

The picture from last week of the beautiful sky was taken over Okanogan Lake in the interior of BC when we were camping.
I am always surprised at how much we can assume from all sorts of media because "they tell the truth"! We know that's not accurate, but we seldom take the time to find out for ourselves. Is that because there are many variations of the truth?
Anyway, we were camping on the west side of the lake and I turned the camera towards the east....so what was it?