Nature at its Best

Last week my DH and I spent a week on Pender Island. After rebuilding the deck we got the kayaks out and have a couple of wonderful paddles around the island, exploring some areas. On the last morning of our holiday we paddled out to Razor Point and passed some interesting spots.

We see lots of colour when we're out, the starfish are often wonderfully surprising purples and oranges. Mr. Seal is dappled greys and browns.

The water was so calm the reflections were almost perfect. We kept on paddling and saw an eagle in the distance. I paddled closer.......

and closer, kept taking pictures and paddling closer. Until I got within 25 feet, he just kept staring at me. I took this last picture and paddled away. He eventually flew off after I had left. Life is full of wonderful memories, especially when we can get off the roads and sidewalks..................

One Word Wednesday

Counting!

Screenprinting Class

We had a small class but great fun for two days of screenprinting at Quilting in the Trees. The first day we spent using printing inks, regular screens, leaves and thermofax screens. On Day Two we used thickened dyes and began with waxed screens and then moved onto masking tape, stencils, string and more!

Leaves were great fun to use with the screens.

Laura and Hennie using their waxed screens and thickened dyes.

Quilting in the Trees

Last week I ventured out to my guild -- Victoria Quilters Guild http://www.victoriaquiltersguild.org/ for our annual retreat. I taught two classes in an idyllic setting at Pearson College http://www.pearsoncollege.ca/  and the weather cooperated!

On Friday I taught my Photo Illusions class, using digital images printed onto both cotton and silk organza fabric sheets. Students brought their images and we spent the morning selecting and printing and then the afternoon was spent designing their own quilts. Students had a great time, learned lots and created some wonderful work.

Teresa used images of English Bay and the freighters waiting to load.

Kathy's quilt used images of an angel. Any idea where you might find this statue?

Sharon used photos from her garden.

Laine's trip to Newfoundland was her inspiration.

More pictures tomorrow from the Screen Printing class.

Patchwork Pattern Maker

Someone pointed me in the direction of a Patchwork Pattern maker at the Victoria and Albert Museum site. It can take a photo and turn it into a gridded design for half square trinagles and full squares. its an interesting bit of fun to play with.

Here's my original photo and then the design that it made. If you squint, you can see the designI'm not sure I'd ever make the quilt but it might be useful for portraits.

Check it out at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/patchwork

Quilting Design

Next week I'm teaching Quilting Design at http://www.quiltuniversity.com/  We'll be spending some time looking at design sources and how we can be inspired by those designs  around us.

• Look at corners of rooms, places where there might be some picture moldings, where there are joins of walls and floors.
• Look at the sidewalks downtown. Thank goodness city planners in many places are being more creative these days and we see interesting manhole covers, grating around trees and cement paths that have designs stamped into them.
• Try to see your environment in a slightly different perspective, while riding the bus or waiting in line for lunch. Look around and find curves of interest, straight or crossing lines. Think of repetition, pattern, sequence wherever it can happen. 
• Pay particular attention to advertising in magazines and on billboards. It is all around us as we are too often aware. Ask your self how advertisers use design to get their message across? Think of the golden arches, car hood ornaments, the back pockets of your favourite jeans or the make up counter at the mall. Good design is fundamental to the object.

Take rubbings of windows, there is wonderful inspiration as close as your local church or temple. Stained glass looks wonderful as a technique, but think of the designs as quilting lines, too!

• Kid’s colouring books. Pick up a couple at the grocery store
• Post Cards. Who says you have to be on vacation to buy them?
• Sidewalks. Look down around you
• Your front door, the neighbour's front door
• Hub caps. They are neat, take a look
• Gift Wrap
• Birthday, seasonal and all purpose cards

Scrapbooking has become popular and there are hundreds of different ideas for quilting designs. If you do not scrapbook, you probably know someone who does. Ask them for ideas and resources. Consider using:

• different stamps (stamp a dark colour on paper and enlarge to the desired size)
• precut border templates for tracing
• die cuts for gluing on pages (simple little motifs to enlarge)
• stickers for motif ideas

What other places could you find ideas for design? Send me in a picture and I'll post them on my blog! You can register for the class anytime before June 12th. Just go to http://www.quiltuniversity.com/  

See you in class!

Iron Quilter---North Carolina!

I'm heading home today after two wonderful days teaching at the North Carolina Quilt Symposium in Charlotte, NC. I met some wonderful, gracious warm and friendly people who made me feel so welcome. I hope to return and teach again.

Last night we were treated to the Iron Quilter event, where famous quilters worked under a time limit to prepare three "entrees" for the judges. It was a delightfully entertaining evening for all! Since the Symposium was held at the Johnson and Wales University that has a large culinary department, there was a demonstration kitchen in the auditorium.

The audience was decked out in their chef hats and ready!

Chef Daisy Blade (Karen Stone) and her sous chef were quickly at work! the secret ingredients at that each chef were required to use were a frilly lacey type fabric and one with flourishes.

Chef Goddess of the Last Minute (Robbi Joy Eklow) and her sous chef prepare tasty appetizers with a snazzy fish fabric.

Another part of the contest is complete and ready for judging!

 The judges, David Taylor, Elin Waterston and Laura Wasilowski, had a hard time choosing the winner and decide to call the contest a draw.The evening was great fun and a delightful way to end a very successful event!

Splashed!

One of the most popular patterns that we have proiduced through our design company http://www.patchworkstudio.com/ is Splashed! that uses our give and Take Applique technique. This technique plays with positive and negative design in fused applique with a very unique approach. I teach this class as a design--then--sew class where students are guided through design exercises and then create their own Give and Take designs in fabric. Its become one of my most popular workshops.

Heather from Alberta made our pattern using a wonderful combination of blues and cream fabrics and then had the quilt displayed in her local quilt shop.

I'm sure you'll agree its a stunning quilt.

Thanks Heather!

Geophysical Show-Fibre Art Network of western Canada

My Fibre Art Network group of western Canada recently participated as an Invitational Show in Quilt Canada in Calgary, AB. The theme of the show was Geophysical and was stated as: ‘GeoPhysical’, pays tribute to geology, and the scenic and economic riches it provides to western Canada. FAN members were challenged to interpret, in cloth and thread, “the earth and the forces that shape it” without reference to subjects man-made or currently living.
Only pieces relevant to this theme were accepted, and the exhibition was widely praised both for its cohesiveness and for the variety of subjects chosen and techniques employed as artists expressed their own interpretations of the theme.
My piece is entitled FaultLines and can be viewed (with the other pieces) here: http://fibreartnetwork.com/exhibitions/GeoPhysical/19

I would say that once I had seen the other pieces I wasn't very happy with mine, so it has had the binding removed, a painting of thickened dye over the front, more heavily quilted and will be undergoing some more processes! I will be blogging it a bit later, once finished and will show all the steps I took. Lets hope that there's an improvement!

Off to my Stamping Class!

I'm getting ready to teach my Stamp It Up class at the North Carolina Quilt Symposium this weekend. My bags and boxes are packed and I'm off tomorrow!

Here's my smiling face and I hope to see some of yours!