I belong to a group of fibre artists called FYBR 2RT. We have an exhibit in 2023 titled Tangled in Blue. All pieces will be 16″ x 16″.
I started with one of my favourite patterns – wavy lines intersecting with circles. Then I selected a wide variety of blue and blueish fabrics. There were a lot more to start, then I whittled it down to the ones below, plus a couple of solid fabrics.
I used my favourite techniques – freezer paper templates and raw edge seams covered with bias tape. I briefly considered using many different colours of bias tape.
But I decided on bluish shades of bias tape, except for the circles. I quilted wavy lines across the quilt before adding the circles.
Here’s the back, where you can see the quilting. (I used gray felt as batting. I didn’t add a backing fabric, as I mounted it on a wrapped canvas.)
Here is the finished quilt – A Bevy of Blues. Mostly blues, with a couple of my other favourite colours added for contrast.
A few months ago, a new exhibit titled ‘Resist’ was announced by the Fibre Art Network.
The exhibit overview says:
‘Resist’ explores resist techniques while preserving the unique individualistic style of each artist. Resist – an art technique that uses several layers to expose or define a design in negative space. Resistant substances are applied as a coating to protect a surface during some process e.g. prevent dye adhering. Resist can be created using wax, crayons, inks, paints, pastel/ oil sticks, tape, masks, paper cut outs, stencils, stickers, glue, medium, flour paste, crackle paste, and/or fabric that is bound, scrunched, clamped, etc. Resist can be be artistic, positive, negative, frightening or enlightening…..to stand firm or hold out (against), not yield (to), fight (against). To resist something such as change – you refuse to accept it and try to prevent it…..resist temptation of…..couldn’t resist teasing or laughing at…… Each piece must incorporate one or more resist technique.
I’m not very familiar with resist techniques and found it a struggle to decide how to proceed. A number of my fibre art friends generously demonstrated several resist techniques – so many techniques, none of with I had any experience with! I eventually settled on mono-printing with acrylic paints using a gelli plate.
The next decision was what type of resist to use. With the help of several friends and much time spent referencing books, websites, videos, etc., I experimented with a variety of techniques including layering with grids, sequin waste, strings, and shapes cut from paper and plastic.
My favorites were the ones where I had used grids and strings as resists. I kept experimenting with different color combinations until I had quite a pile of samples. Most of them were 5″ x 7″ – the size of my smaller gelli plate.
I decided to cut my favorite samples into 2.5″ squares and arrange them in a grid formation. By this time, I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole process, so decided to lay them out in a somewhat random pattern. I checked that the values were evenly distributed, then sewed them all to the colorful background fabrics.
Here is the finished artwork. It’s 16″ x 16″. I called it ‘Grids and Strings and Other Things’.
I’m linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
Later this month, I’ll be heading to Winnipeg MB for the annual conference of the Fibre Art Network. This will be our first in-person conference since 2019.
As usual we will have an artwork exchange. All participants are invited to create a journal size fibre art piece (8 by 10 inches) inspired by this year’s conference theme, ‘Prairie Mosaic’.
My piece is titled ‘Hay Bales Under Stormy Sky’. It depicts fields stretching all the way to the horizon, under a big sky with dramatic storm clouds.
This piece is inspired by photos taken in Manitoba in 2016 while attending FAN’s annual conference. I cropped the photo below, rearranged the hay bales, and made the sky and clouds more dramatic.
SAQA’s 2022 Benefit Auction will take place online from September 9 through October 2. The auction has a dual purpose – to increase the recognition of quilts as art and quilters as artists, and to raise funds to support SAQA’s exhibition programs and education outreach activities.
With 430+ pieces of beautiful artwork available for bidding, there is something for everyone to enjoy! At just 12″ square, these pieces are perfect for collecting and displaying. These artworks have been donated by SAQA artists from around the world. You can see them all on the SAQA website here. Think about which you might want to bid on when the auction opens on September 9th. Or just enjoy browsing through hundreds of mini works of art!
This is my entry for this year – ‘Sunflower on Blue’.
Here are some photos from the Vancouver MQG Modern Quilt Showcase this past weekend. More than 140 modern quilts made by the members of the VMQG were on display at the Pipe Shop Building near Lonsdale Quay. It’s such a fabulous venue.
We even had an area featuring the Lifestyle of the Modern Quilter.
To see more quilts that were on display, check my Instagram feed, and also hashtag #vmqgshowcase.
Square Foot Show is an online sale of artworks, all 12×12 inches and all priced at $300 CAD plus shipping. Artists submit examples of their work, and are invited to participate in specific shows. The sales occur every few months and have different themes.
The most recent sale was August 11-13 and the theme was Abstract² featuring Kate Taylor & Friends. Over 70 artists submitted 350 original 12″x 12″ pieces to the 48-hour online show. I was one of the artists, and I submitted 4 quilted fabric artworks. I‘m pleased to say that 2 of them were sold.
Harmony is an exhibit at the Broadway Gallery in North Virginia. It’s a collaborative project of the Broadway Gallery and Sacred Threads. The exhibit is running until August 31.
My piece Duet was juried into the show, and can be seen in this video of the opening reception right behind the speakers at the beginning of the video.
You can read about how I made this piece in this post.
Duet by Terry Aske
Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild Showcase
On August 27/28 in the historic Pipe Shop Venue at the Lonsdale Shipyards on the North Vancouver waterfront.
Over 140 quilts will be on display, including a few of mine.
Generally a biannual event, it was last held in 2018. You can see photos from the 2018 and 2016 events here. We are eagerly looking forward to this event.
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I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
I didn’t take very many photos at Quilt Canada, but there were lots of wonderful, inspiring quilts. Here are a few quilts and exhibits that really appealed to me.
Changes, by Jo Allbutt
Barista Art or Cultural Appropriation by Margaret Notar
Earlier this month, I spent 4 fun-filled days at Quilt Canada 2022 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. An awards ceremony, followed by 3 days of workshops, lectures, shopping and hundreds of spectacular quilts! This was the first large live event I have attended since 2019, and I loved it. The extra bonus was I didn’t have to fly to get there, as I live very near to Vancouver.
On Wednesday evening, I attended the Awards Ceremony, and was happy to cheer as many of my friends won awards. The National Juried Show award winning quilts can be seen here.
I was thrilled to receive the 3rd place award in the Abstract and Improvisational category for my piece X’s and O’s.
X’s and O’s 3rd in Abstract and Improvisational category
My quilts were well represented in a number of exhibits.
The Magical Colours of Autumn, in the NJS Landscapes and Still Life category.
NYC Library Lions, in the Fibre Art Network Chromatopia exhibit
Floating in the World Wide Whispers exhibit
Air of Elegance in the Teachers Lecturers Invitational exhibit
Magical Colours of Autumn in Landscapes and Still Life category
NYC Library Lions in the FAN Chromatopia exhibit
Floating in World Wide Whispers exhibit
Air of Elegance in the Teacher Lecturer Invitational exhibit
On Friday morning, I presented a lecture about my evolution as an art quilter. (Thanks to my sister Joan for the photos.) It was a fun lecture to present, and it was very well received.
On Saturday afternoon, I helped take down the national juried show quilts. It was fun to be a part of the behind-the-scenes action.
Now I’m looking forward to Quilt Canada 2023, which will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
Each year, SAQA invites each of its members to create a small 12 x 12 inch piece of art and donate it to the annual SAQA Benefit Auction. The auction has a dual purpose – to increase the recognition of quilts as art and quilters as artists, and to raise funds to support SAQA’s exhibition programs and education outreach activities.
The 2022 Benefit Auction will take place online from September 9 through October 2.
This is my entry for this year – ‘Sunflower on Blue’.
The pink shading was a sudden last-minute impulse. I added add some dark pink shading with an Inktense pencil. I think it adds a lot of depth and dimension. Read on for some information about my construction process.
This piece is based on the same photo I used last year for the SAQA trunk show, and I employed similar techniques.
I traced the photo onto semi-transparent stabilizer, and used that to position the petals on a piece of dark pink boiled wool. After fusing them in place, I outline-stitched the petals with dark pink thread.
I trimmed the boiled wool close to the fused fabrics to create a very narrow outline. I followed the same process for the stem and bracts. Then I fused the pieces to the background and quilted just around the edges of each piece.
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This is my tenth SAQA auction quilt! Below are the nine previous ones. As you can see, I like to mix it up and use a variety of techniques.
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I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
I didn’t get a lot done this month on the decluttering and organization project. But I did get this little utility cart put together. It’s the RASKOG cart from IKEA.
I’ve been thinking of this for a long time, and I finally did it. And I love it!
I positioned the cart to the right of my sewing machine and for a couple of weeks now, I’ve been slowly filling it with things I reach for while sewing. There is still room for more notions and tools.
This is going to help me keep my adjacent ironing area much more tidy.
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I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
