Great Class with Laura Wasilowski

Friday I took a class at the Quilting on the Waterfront event in Duluth, MN and the teacher was the entertaining Laura Wasilowski. If you've never seen or had a class with Laura....I highly recommend it. She is a bit of a singer with an fun routine. The class was aptly named "Garden of Eden". We learned her method of free cutting and fusing with a taste of her hand embroidery stitching. It was a fun class project that I was able to finish the next day at home. It was a perfect project to make with friends on a beautiful day along the shore of Lake Superior.

Face Painting in Portland with Bonnie

This is the piece I painted today in a class I took with Bonnie Lyn McCaffery. It was a long but wonderful day. The fashion show was great to watch, and I can't wait to get closer to them tomorrow on the show floor.

I highly recommend Bonnie as a teacher. She is methodical and easy to follow.

Wednesday's Floating fiber layering class was great fun. Everyone finished quilting their art quilts, some did a little beading, and some almost finished their bindings. I think by the end of the show many will be totally finished with embellishing a little in between classes. The ladies in the class had smiles on their faces when they left and I hope they go home to try this again and made a super layered art quilt and make it their own. That is the fun of this technique.

Thank you all for a great class, you were great students. Fearless!

It's still not too late to sign up for the longarm Floating Art Quilt class for Friday. Saturday is a demo/trunk show from 12-2pm. I also give great door prizes. Are you intrigued?

Getting ready for Portland

Today was a day of quilting some last minute easier customer quilts with allovers so I could have some things finished for pickups after I get back from the MQX show the 16th. Gotta keep the work flow flowing, and prevent the work list from getting out of hand.

Next I'll be packing my bags with kits, sewing machine, supplies, and all my layered art quilts. I really enjoy being able to touch each of the art quilts as I pack them. It always bring back the joy I felt as I was making them. Of course I need to pack my clothes too. I remember not so long ago almost forgetting to pack my personal bag for a retreat. I did have my priorities straight though. All my sewing projects, machine, and supplies were packed and in the truck, when I realized something was missing. Have you ever done that?

I might get to post again before I leave. If not, try to have a great sewing time without me.

Awesome Layering for Lorraine

These are some great pictures of the art quilt layering that I did for Lorraine's quilt top. She had a convergence type quilt that she did some ribbon thread play stitching, then she said she was "stuck". She gave me total control to make it more exciting. I really love how this turned out and I hope she and I collaborate on another soon. The layering was done only with tulle and organza. For this project, I did not add any other fibers.

Dye Just A Little

A couple of days ago in a fit of energy, I picked some leaves, ferns, and pine bows from my yard to use for spray dying. The pictures are the pieces I made while playing in between quilting a customer quilt. The dye I used is a water washup, heat settable spray dye that is ultra easy to use and clean up after using. Now I need to use these little lovelies in a project. Any ideas?

Amulet Exchange

I participated in an amulet exchange with a few members of the surface design group on yahoo that I joined this past year. Today I received an amulet from a member living in Kentucky and I had to chuckle....the one she made for me was also red like the one I sent her. I guess we both love red.

To make my amulets, I started with a fiber layered piece of fabric I quilted specifically for the project. Then I cut my pieces to business card size and paired it with a cut of ultra-suede and stitched with a satin stitch to make the pouch. I then made an attached beaded necklace for each. It all sounds very simple, and was. As any cool thing, it just took a little time.

I really enjoyed the process and I hope the ladies that are getting them like them too.