It’s that time of year again! I’ve been looking back at 2017, reviewing my quilting-related activities and accomplishments.
Making art – I created more than 13 art quilts and other fiber art with a variety of themes and techniques. Many of them are shown below.
Exhibiting my art – I submitted my work to 9 juried shows and challenges, and had at least one artwork accepted into each one. I won 2 awards – both for the same quilt ‘Eclipse’, but at 2 different shows – see this page for details. I also submitted art to 2 SAQA auctions.
I was thrilled to have my work exhibited at several local venues during 2017, so I was able to see my work on display. A few of my favorites were:
Travel – this was a great year for travel for me – some quilting-related, some not.
January – I traveled to Inuvik NWT to teach a 2-day workshop (read about it here)
May – the SAQA Western Canada first ever retreat in Kelowna BC (it was fun, educational and inspiring – but apparently I totally forgot to blog about it!)
June – a week in NYC with my husband, following by a week in Toronto at Quilt Canada (blog post here)
September – the annual Fibre Art Network retreat, this year in Lac Le Jeune BC (read about here)
Overall, 2017 was a busy and fulfilling year for me. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing what I’ve been up to in the past 12 months. I’ll be back in a couple of days with information about my goals plans for 2018.
Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
I have a great-nephew who is getting close to 2 years old, and I’ve been promising a quilt since he was born. I had a few hours with no other commitments, so I thought I would get a start on his quilt. In less than a day, I had it completed!
Okay, I didn’t really start from scratch. I won these blocks more than a year ago in a VMQG block lotto. The X Marks the Improv Tutorial was written by Debbie of A Quilter’s Table.
I sewed several blocks into 3 rows, sewed the 3 rows of blocks together, and the top was done! A quick trip to the local fabric store yielded a cute polka dot fleece in matching colors for the back. I wanted to wrap the fleece around to the front for the binding, so I did some internet research and found 2 helpful tutorials.
As suggested by Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew, in Binding a quilt with the quilt back, I trimmed the batting to the same size as the quilt top – actually about 1/4″ wider. I cut the fleece backing larger, so there was about 3 inches extra on each side.
I quilted an off-center X across the whole quilt. Then in each quadrant, I quilted straight, non-parallel lines about 2-3 inches apart.
I trimmed the backing edges to about 2″ and folded it over to the front as binding. I used the mitering technique described in faux blanket binding by red flannel pantry. I straight-stitched about 1/4″ in from the raw edge of the binding, then zigzag stitched over the raw edge.
It was finished in time to take it to the December meeting of VMQG, where some of the members remembered their blocks from the block lotto. Check out the comments!
Today, I put it through the washer and dryer, and then mailed it off. Here’s a shot of the full quilt.
And here’s a peek at the back.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
I started blogging in 2012, and started posting on Instagram in 2014. I love both platforms.
Instagram is:
visual – I love scrolling through my feed, seeing inspiring photos – I follow modern quilters, art quilters, artists, photographers, and random people who post interesting photos.
fast – I always have my iPhone with me. I take lots more photos than I post on IG, but when I do want to post one, it’s quick and easy.
convenient – I scroll though my feed while traveling on transit. I can easily like posts, make comments and save favorites.
This week, I added a widget to the sidebar that shows my recent Instagram posts. The most recent post is my Instagram 2017 Best Nine. This was generated on this website – https://2017bestnine.com/ You can enter any Instagram ID and it will search all the posts from 2017, find the ones with the most Likes, and create the collage.
Here’s mine. I think it’s a pretty good representation of what I did this year.
Last year, I noticed other people posting ‘monthly markers’ on IG. I loved the concept, and started doing it myself at the beginning of 2017. It’s an easy way to tell when I posted other photos, and I use it to track the changing seasons.
Here are my 2017 monthly markers (I made this collage myself.)
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
I’m taking a short break from the commission art quilt I’m working on (which I can’t show yet, because it’s going to be a surprise) to make some fun tree blocks for this month’s VMQG block lotto. The color scheme is modern bright prints with black & white prints.
The tutorial for constructing the tree blocks was written by Amy at Diary of a Quilter. You can find the tutorial here. This is a quick and easy block to make.
This was a great opportunity for me to use some of the bright modern fabrics I bought in the summer at Quilt Canada. (One of the vendors had fat quarters on sale – 10 for the price of 9. I took that as a personal challenge to see if I could find 10 that I liked – which of course I did.) I’m always collecting black & white prints, and the brown trunks came from my scrap bin.
Here are my tree blocks:
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
My favorite parts of making art quilts are the design process, selecting the fabrics and constructing the quilt top.
My least favorite parts are the finishing – burying threads, applying facings, and attaching the hanging sleeve and label. By the time I get to the finishing stage, I’m eager to start on the next quilt project, so a quick and efficient method of finishing quilts is right up my alley.
Over the past few months, I’ve developed a variety of methods to speed up the finishing process.
1. Fuse the backing fabric after quilting is completed
Recently for my art quilts, I’ve been constructing them differently than more traditional quilts. Instead of quilting through all the layers, I’ve been doing all the quilting before adding the backing fabric. (Note: do not use this method if you are planning to submit your quilt to a show that requires the quilting stitches to be visible on the back. Many juried shows no longer have this requirement for art quilts, but still do for traditional and modern quilts.)
This technique allows me to easily add additional quilting at any time, without any concern of how messy it might look on the back. It also eliminates the need to bury all of the thread ends. When I’m finished quilting, I fuse the backing fabric in place, catching all the thread ends.
I used this method for ‘Bridge of Many Colors‘, ‘Into the Arctic Wilderness‘ and ‘W and the 3 Bridges‘. If you click on the links, you can see photos of the back of these quilts before I fused on the backing fabric. (And it just occurred to me that I used the same technique in 2014 for ‘Baby‘ because I needed different quilting on the front and on the back.)
2. Attach the hanging sleeve and label entirely by machine
It occurred to me that if I am fusing the backing fabric after all the quilting is completed, I should be able to attach the sleeve and label by machine to the backing before fusing it onto the quilt. After a little thought and experimentation, I have a technique I’m happy with. (Note: a machine-applied sleeve would be difficult to remove later. If a different size sleeve or different spacing from the top edge was required for a specific show, I would just hand-sew a temporary sleeve over this one.)
These are the steps I followed for a recently finished art quilt (not yet revealed to the public). The art quilt is 16″ wide, and requires a 2″ finished sleeve, positioned 1″ from each side edge, and 1″ from the top edge.
I cut the backing fabric to the size of the finished quilt – 16″ x 16″ – without any seam allowance, because the facings will cover the raw edges.
The finished size of the sleeve is 14″ long by 2” high, so I cut the sleeve fabric to 15″ x 5.25”.
Turn ends in ¼” and then ¼” again. Sew close to folded edges.
Press sleeve lengthwise, so one section is ½” deeper than the other.
Position the sleeve on the back so it is ¾” from the top edge, and 1” from the side edges (photo 1).
Stitch around the top section as shown in red in photo 2
Fold the bottom edge up to meet the top edge as in photo 3 (there will be a gap to accommodate a hanging rod)
Sew the top edges through all 3 layers as shown in red in photo 4.
The sleeve should look like photo 5. I like my sleeves to be a bit deeper than required, so made it 2 ¼” rather than the required 2”
The top facing will cover the top ¼’ of the sleeve. The side facings will butt up to the side edges of the sleeve.
At this point, you could also machine stitch the label in place.
3. Fuse the edges of the facings to the back of the quilt
I’ve also started fusing the edges of the facings to the back of the quilt, instead of hand-sewing them. (See the post about ‘W and the 3 Bridges‘ for photos of how I do this). This is much easier than hand-sewing through a fused backing fabric, and is much quicker.
So there you have it, my three techniques to speed up the finishing process. I hope that all makes sense. If not, please post a comment and I’ll do my best to answer any questions.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
I’m very excited that Quilt Canada is going to be in Vancouver BC next year – May 31, June 1 and 2, 2018 at The Vancouver Convention Centre.
This week, the details of workshops and lectures were posted on the website. Click here to see all the workshops and lectures. Scroll down, and you will see that I am one of the lecturers! I will be talking about the challenges of interpreting architectural structures with fabric and thread.
I have made quite a few architectural-themed art quilts. Here are 3 of my favorites. I’ll be bringing some of them to the lecture.
“Fly Me to the Moon: an Art Quilt Journey”
In 2015, Susanne Jones put out a call for entry for art quilts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon walk. I submitted ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and it was accepted. Along with 178 other art quilts, it is traveling to a variety of venues for four years (2016 to 2020).
I haven’t had an opportunity to see the show in person, but there’s a great website that shows all the quilts and lists the venues. Click here to see all the quilts. Click here to see a list of venues. Click here to see how I made my art quilt ‘Bad Moon Rising’.
And now there’s a book! My copy of the book “Fly Me to the Moon: an Art Quilt Journey” by Susanne Miller Jones arrived last week. That’s my art quilt on page 124.
I’ve been working on a couple of projects, but I can’t show either of them yet, so that’s all for now.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
The IAD Anonymous Show is over now, so I can post more information about my 3 entries to the show – ‘Jade Sky at Morning’, ‘Jade Sky at Night’ and ‘Mod Dog’.
‘Jade Sky at Morning’ is a photo of a local New Westminster landmark – WOW Westminster – that I digitally enhanced, printed on fabric, fused to felt and machine-quilted.
‘Jade Sky at Night’ is a photo of another local landmark – the Pattullo Bridge – also digitally-enhanced, printed, fused and quilted.
‘Mod Dog’ is a fun fabric collage that I made a few years ago.
One of the requirements of the show was that all entries be on 12” x 12” x 1.5” gallery wrapped canvases or wooden cradles. I bought 3 wrapped canvases, then started researching how to mount an art quilt on wrapped canvas or stretcher bars. There are lots of options, including painting the canvas or covering it with fabric, attaching the art quilt with glue, stitching through the canvas, etc.
As I was debating which method to use, I happened across Susan Carlson’s blog post https://susancarlson.com/2017/08/26/hang-it-up/ which describes several methods of hanging and displaying quilts. Susan’s technique for ‘Stretching onto Stretcher Bars’ seemed the perfect solution to me.
This is what my entries looked like from the back (apologies for the bad lighting).
P.S. both ‘Jade Sky at Morning’ and ‘Jade Sky at Night’ sold at the show!
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
I attended the Gala Opening on Wednesday evening. Here are some photos of the art work on display. All the pieces are 12 x 12 x 1.5 inches, and mounted in a very striking grid formation.
I’m thrilled to say that one of my pieces sold early in the evening, and now I can reveal it here. ‘Jade Sky at Morning’ started with a photo I took of the WOW Westminster installation. Then I digitally enhanced the photo, printed it on fabric, quilted it and mounted it on a canvas-covered frame. I’ll describe my process in more detail in a future post.
There are still lots of wonderful pieces of art on display, including oil and acrylic paintings as well as textile art and mixed media pieces.
Each piece can be purchased for a very reasonable price of $150, with $100 going directly to the artist; and the remainder to Camp Kerry Society to provide art supplies and therapy to bereaved children and families and to cover basic costs of the show.
The art will be on display, and available for purchase, at 100 Braid St Studios, tonight and on Saturday and Sunday.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
Three pieces of my art will be on display, and for sale, at the International Artists Day (IAD) Anonymous Show, at 100 Braid St Studios in New Westminster BC. The events take place from October 25 to 27, 2017, starting with a Gala Opening the evening of Wednesday, October 25th.
Because the art in the show is “anonymous”, I can’t show you the pieces I’ve entered, but here are some glimpses. After I dropped off my 3 pieces to 100 Braid St Studios, Susan posted this photo. I can see 2 of my 3 pieces in her photo!
Here’s a peek at one of my pieces, pictured in gray-scale and hidden behind the AID Anonymous logo.
I will be at the Gala Opening on Wednesday, October 25th at 7pm, at 100 Braid St Studios. If you’d like to attend, you can find more information about the event, and a link to purchase tickets here.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
Welcome to my stop on the Art with Fabric Blog Hop!
I’m participating in the Fall 2017 edition of the Art with Fabric blog hop, organized and hosted by Alida of Tweety Loves Quilting. Alida has lined up 20 quilter-artists, and has asked each of us to create a quilt or fabric project inspired by “traditional” (i.e. non-textile) art – such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, architecture from all countries and all time periods.
The blog hop started on October 9, and many art-inspired quilted pieces have already been posted. Check Alida’s blog for the complete schedule and links to all the participants.
Recently, I’ve been making a lot of art quilts inspired by architecture, especially bridges. The primary purpose of a bridge is to link people and places, by providing safe passage over an obstacle such as a body of water.
Many modern bridges are amazing feats of structural engineering, and the focus is to build a functional structure – not as much on creating a work of art. That said, in my opinion, most bridges are works of art. They appear to defy gravity as they soar over water and empty space.
My inspiration for my art quilt is the architecture of the Skybridge (which is a part of the rapid transit system in Metro Vancouver BC).
Here’s my art quilt “Bridge of Many Colors” – 8 x 10 inches.
‘Bridge of Many Colors’ by Terry Aske
For this project, I used a photo I took several years ago of the Skybridge. The sense of distance and perspective from this point of view really appealed to me, as well as the contrast of the straight, diagonal and curved lines.
In 2014, I made a quilt of the Skybridge using realistic colors. I have always wanted to make one in surreal colors and decided now was the time. I digitally enhanced my original image to change the colors. I tried a few versions, and my favorite was the one below, with a yellow sky and blue-violet bridge.
I printed the enhanced photo on fabric. Then I fused the printed image to felt, and quilted the outlines with black thread. I did all the quilting before adding the backing fabric, eliminating the need to bury all of the thread ends. After quilting, I fused the backing fabric place, catching all the thread ends under the back.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
