On my design wall – a glitzy circle – 2015.11.02

Posted on November 4, 2015 by TerryAske

Earlier this year, I signed up for the MQG annual Michael Miller challenge.   The fabrics this year are from the Glitz collection – gold or silver designs on black or white backgrounds.  Each participant received 6 of these fabrics.

fabric-challenge_horiz-copy

 

The entry deadline is quickly approaching – November 30th – so it’s time to decide what I will do for this challenge.  I had several design ideas including (of course!) several that incorporated circles.   The fabric was sent in fat-eighth cuts (approximately 9 x 21 inches), and these skinny widths somewhat restricted some of my design ideas.  I decided on a simple circle design, with improv-strip piecing.   Here’s my initial design.

MM Glitz-001

I made freezer paper templates for the circle and background, then randomly cut strips and sewed them together to cover the freezer paper templates.  The seam allowance of the circle has been pressed over the edge of the template, and will be machine appliqued to the background.  Here it is on my design wall.

TerryAske_MM Glitz_inprogress

 

Now I’m debating with myself how to quilt it.  I considered some sort of straight-line stitching, but now I’m thinking a spiral pattern starting from the center of the circle.  I have some gold viscose thread that I think will blend well with all the fabrics.

 

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.

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced     Esther’s Blog   Sew Fresh Quilts

Posted in Modern quilts, On my design wall, WiP Wednesday | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Inspiring others – an oldie but goodie – 2015.10.27

Posted on October 27, 2015 by TerryAske

I’m happy to link up to Kaja’s Sew Slowly blog.  She is coordinating a monthly link-up for people making improv quilts.  She asked if she could use one of my quilts in an inspiration blog post about improv quilts.

This is one of my favorite improv quilts, so I was happy to share it with her.  I made it in 2012.  It’s 34 x 34 inches.  It was accepted into the 2013 QuiltCon show, and I sold it in 2013 through my Etsy shop.  It was fun to think about it again.

TerryAske_KonaModern

 

Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.

   Esther’s Blog

Posted in Modern quilts | Tagged | 8 Comments

Inspiring others – 2015.10.19

Posted on October 19, 2015 by TerryAske

In September, I was approached by a teen librarian at the Philadelphia Free Library, seeking permission to use the image of my graffiti quilt for a flyer.  During November, the library has a program for teens to make a graffiti quilt that will be auctioned off to charity.  I think that’s a really cool idea and I love to think my art can inspire others, so I said yes, they could use my image.

I originally created this quilt in 2013 for a SAQA challenge to create a quilt with the theme of text, containing at least one visible letter or word.

After considering many ideas and concepts about text, I decided to focus on the most colorful and creative form of text I could think of – Graffiti. My graffiti wall is made of fabric, but is intended to replicate the appearance of painted words and images on a concrete block wall. I fused the graffiti elements to the gray background, then machine stitched the block pattern over everything.

I see some similarities between graffiti and quilting. Graffiti reminds me of a scrappy, improve-style quilt – many disparate colors, patterns and styles – while competing with and overlapping each other – can create an eye-catching cohesive whole. Like quilting, graffiti is an emerging and sometimes controversial art form.

The size is 24 by 25 inches.  The quilt was not accepted into the SAQA show, but has since been accepted into two juried shows.

Here’s my quilt ‘The Writing is on the Wall’, and the flyer for the teen program.

TerryAske_TheWritingIsOnTheWall  TeenGraffitiPoster

Posted in Art quilts | Tagged | 3 Comments

An inspiring weekend – 2015.10.18

Posted on October 18, 2015 by TerryAske

Earlier this month I spent an inspiring few days with fellow members of the Fibre Art Network (FAN) at our annual retreat.  This year, it was held at the Edenvale Retreat Centre near Abbotsford BC.   We spent five days sharing our work and inspiration with each other, shopping, touring local galleries, walking in the woods, eating, drinking and talking.  It was an opportunity to re-connect with old friends, and to make new ones.  We shared information, talked about our progress as artists, and made plans for new group exhibitions.

One of the highlights is the art exchange.  We each made a small piece, which we displayed then exchanged.  The theme this year was Reap What You Sow.  Apparently, I didn’t take a photo of my finished piece!  But I can show you the quilt I came home with – this beautiful mixed media piece in my favorite colors –  made by Alison Cowitz.

by Alison Dean Cowitz

 

FAN’s Abstracted exhibit was showing at the ACT Gallery in Maple Ridge.  Here I am with my quilt Solitude, and the abstracted version made by my sister Anne.

FAN Abstracted exhibit at ACT Gallery in Maple Ridge  Terry Aske - FAN Abstracted exhibit at ACT Gallery in Maple Ridge

 

We also visited the Centennial Museum in Fort Langley, where our Canadiana exhibit is showing.  Here I am with my Air of Elegance quilt.

FAN Canadian exhibit at Centennial Museum  Terry Aske - FAN Canadian exhibit at Centennial Museum

 

It was a wonderful five days, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s retreat in Winnipeg.

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.

   Creations by Nina-Marie   Confessions of a Fabric Addict

 

 

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La Conner Quilt Awards!

Posted on October 3, 2015 by TerryAske

The 2015 International Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival in La Conner WA is taking place this weekend.   I attended the festival yesterday, and what a great show it is, with over 135 entries from 6 different countries.  Unfortunately, they don’t allow photography, so I can’t show you any of the quilts.

The best part was seeing that my two entries in the Modern category each won an award!

Exploding Wedges won 2nd place in the Modern category, and Shades of Gray won 3rd place.  You can see all of the award winners here.

TerryAske_ExplodingWedges

TerryAske_ShadesofGray

 

Posted in Modern quilts, Quilt shows | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

A Modern Mini Circle Quilt – 2015.09.06

Posted on September 6, 2015 by TerryAske

I’ve been working on another circle quilt – this one is for the VMQG Modern Mini Showcase at the upcoming Vancouver Quilters’ Guild Quilt Show in October.   Our goal for the display is to put on a beautiful showcase of Modern Mini Quilts. Modern quilting is a new concept for lots of folks and this is a great opportunity to share our work and educate viewers about modern quilting.  All our quilts will be made from solid fabrics only and will have a maximum perimeter of 80 inches.

I used some of my favorite colors in an asymmetrical circle design.   My quilt is 20 x 20 inches.  I stitched it with vertical lines, spaced irregularly.  Some of the quilted lines are very close together – referred to as matchstick quilting – often used by modern quilters.  This gives an interesting texture to the quilt.

TerryAske_Eclipse

 

I used a variety of thread colors, matching them to the fabrics in each circle, which means they are contrasting with the surrounding fabrics.  I pieced the binding, and then machine stitched it with a contrasting color, and stitched 3 rows, in keeping with the matchstick quilting idea.

TerryAske_Eclipse_detail

 

As with my last circle quilt, I had a hard time coming up with a title for this one, so I asked for suggestions on Instagram.  I got lots of fabulous suggestions (and will likely use some of them in the future for other quilts)!  I decided to go with ‘Eclipse’ suggested by Debbie of A Quilter’s Table – thanks Debbie!

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many creative and inspirational projects.

   Creations by Nina-Marie   Confessions of a Fabric Addict

 

Posted in Friday finishes, Modern quilts | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Catchy creative titles for quilts – 2015.08.21

Posted on August 21, 2015 by TerryAske

Sometimes I really struggle to come up with a good title, especially for my abstract art quilts.  I’m often tempted to call them Circle 1, Circle 2, etc. but I love catchy, creative titles, so I spend a lot of time trying to come up with good ones.  I asked an online group of SAQA members how they come up with titles for their art, or if they think a title is even necessary.  

Most people thought titles were important, and there were a lot of great suggestions about how to generate ideas for titles including: asking friends, searching online, referring to a dictionary or thesaurus, using usual words or interesting phrases.  Most of these ideas are things I already do, but they spurred me to do more online research.

I found some great blog posts about titling art, including these ones:

I also found these websites which I’ve bookmarked for future reference:

This is the quilt that I currently need a title for.   There’s no deep meaning or emotion involved with this quilt.  My inspiration was the relationship of straight and curved lines, and some fabrics in colors I thought would work well together.

TerryAske_unnamed circle quilt

 

I think part of my frustration with naming this quilt is that I was quite pleased the name of my previous circle quilt ‘Circular Thinking‘, and I felt the need to come up with an equally good title for this one.  I considered ‘Circular Thinking 2’, but also ‘Circle of Lines and Color’, or ‘Circle of Magenta and Mustard’ (alliteration!).

I also asked readers of my blog and my Instagram followers for suggestions for this quilt, and was very impressed with all the ideas, including:  Missing Moon, Poolside, Reversal of Fortune, Through the Looking Glass, Porthole, Glimpse, Topsy Curvy, Eclipse and Eclipsed.  Many of these have given me ideas for future circle quilts!

I’m still mulling over what title I will give this quilt.   I have to decide soon, because I’m going to submit it to an art quilt show.

So how do you come up with titles for your quilts or other artwork?  Do you think a catchy title is important?  Do you have any tips or suggestions you’d like to share?

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many creative and inspirational projects.

   Creations by Nina-Marie   Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Posted in Art quilts | Tagged | 16 Comments

Off my design wall – another circle quilt – 2015.08.19

Posted on August 19, 2015 by TerryAske

Another week, another circle quilt!

Although it looks finished, this quilt can still be considered a WiP because it doesn’t yet have a label, a hanging sleeve – or a title.  (If you’re interested in titles for quilts – or other artwork, for that matter – come back on Friday for a blog post on that subject.  And if you have an idea for a title for this quilt, please let me know.)

TerryAske-circle quilt

 

This quilt started with a design I made with MS Paint, and some fabrics I thought would work well together.    I decided to offset the vertical seams in the circle, rather than have them line up with the seams in the negative space around the circle.   Because I tend to have smaller pieces of fabric in my collection, I was forced to rearrange the colors from my original design.  For example, I had wanted to use a lot more of the yellow fabric, but I just didn’t have enough of it.   But that’s part of the challenge – working with the fabric I have.  Sometimes I find that frustrating, but in this case, I’m happy with the final result.

Stripes    TerryAske_CirclewithMagenta

 

I quilted straight vertical lines mostly 1/2″ apart, using a variety of thread colors, matching them to the fabrics in the circle section.   I particularly like the effect of the pink thread on the chartreuse fabric.

TerryAske-circle quilt-detail

 

I finished it with a facing, using my usual technique to reduce bulk in the corners.  This time, I planned ahead and before quilting the last couple of inches on each side, I squared and trimmed the quilt, and cut out the corners of the batting.  Then I quilted the last few vertical lines.  This way the quilting went right to the edges and I didn’t have to worry about it when I applied the facings.

TerryAske-reducing bulk in corners

 

Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced     Esther’s Blog   Sew Fresh Quilts

 

 

Posted in Art quilts, Tutorial | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

A finished art quilt and updated tutorial – 2015.08.16

Posted on August 16, 2015 by TerryAske

When I showed the progress on ‘Circular Thinking’ a couple of weeks ago, it was quilted and just waiting to be faced.  I had quilted the right side with horizontal straight lines, and the left side with vertical lines.  I decided to add vertical quilting in the chartreuse portion of the circle, so that section now has a grid of quilting.  I’m really happy with the effect!

I’ve submitted to a show that I’ve never entered before, Quilts=Art=Quilts (QAQ), an international juried quilt exhibition at the Schweinfurth Art Center.

TerryAske_CircularThinking

 

When I was applying the facing to this quilt, I decided to change my technique for reducing bulk in the corners.  I cut a 1″ square out of the batting in each corner.  I’ve updated my facing technique tutorial with this information.

DSCN5043    DSCN5041

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many creative and inspirational projects.

   Creations by Nina-Marie   Confessions of a Fabric Addict

 

Posted in Art quilts, Friday finishes, Tutorial | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

View my Quilts at Shows – 2015.08.14

Posted on August 14, 2015 by TerryAske

Several of my quilts are currently on display, or will be in the next couple of months.

 

My circle quilt ‘Off-Center’ is on display at Quilt!Knit!Stitch! in Portland OR, in the Black to White exhibit.  The show will close tomorrow, August 15, 2015.

Aske.Terry-Off-Center-FULL

 

The Fibre Art Network’s exhibit Canadiana will be showing at the Langley Centennial Museum in Fort Langley from Aug. 17 to Nov. 10, 2015.  My art quilt ‘Air of Elegance‘ is part of this exhibit.

CanadianaPoster

 

Another Fibre Art Network exhibit, ‘Abstracted‘ will be on display at the Maple Ridge ACT Gallery in Maple Ridge BC from September 12 until sometime in October 2015.  This is a fabulous show – it explores the concepts of realistic and abstract art. Pairs of artists each selected a subject, and then one artist created a representative fibre art piece and the other created an abstract / non-representative fibre art piece.

I teamed up with my sister Anne for our entries titled ‘Solitude‘.  More information about our design process can be seen here.

Solitude_TerryAskeandAnnedeVerteuil

 

I was recently notified the following quilts have been juried into the 2015 Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival in La Conner WA.  The festival takes place October 2 to 4, 2015.

The collaborative art quilt I made with my sister Anne, titled ‘Fire: an Element’ will be in the Fiber Art – Created Textiles category.

AnnedeVerteuilandTerryAske_FireanElement

 

My art quilt ‘Songhees Arbutus’ will be in the Original Pictorial Wall Quilt category.

TerryAske_SongheesArbutus

 

And two of my quilts ‘Shades of Gray’ and ‘Exploding Wedges’ were accepted for the Modern Bed or Wall Quilt category.

TerryAske_ShadesofGray  TerryAske_ExplodingWedges

 

If you have an opportunity to attend any of these shows and see some of my quilts in person, I’d love to hear what you think.

 

 

Posted in Art quilts, Quilt shows | Tagged , , | 2 Comments