MIU Workshop

Here I am trying not to tower over petite Pokey.

In the afternoon I taught an MIU workshop embossing and coloring metal, that we used to make book covers for an expanding pages book using a basic origami fold for its construction. It was a lot of fun, its a great little introduction to working with metal.

Next up Surviving the Runway...

International Quilt Festival Chicago

I want to start off by saying my daughter Nina was the acting photographer during festival. She took loads of wonderful photos, you will see many of them here and on the Quilting Arts site. I am leaving for New Zealand today and have been trying to throw together a couple blog posts about festival before I go. I will probably set them up to post over the next couple days since I have quite a few photos.

My day started on friday by going straight to Make it University and seeing Pokey. Poor Pokey had her ipod stolen during booth set up on thursday. Unfortunately her ipod had all her music for Surviving the Runway on it, so the first thing we did was search for great 60's music to download to get everyone feeling groovy.

Pokey, who was just a twinkle in her daddy's eye in the 60's, is trying to place this recommendation, I had to introduce her to the wonders of Herb Alpert and the Tiajuana Brass' A Taste of Honey and Melanie's Brand new Key.

At noon Nina and I had lunch with art quilt teacher and podcast creator Bonnie McCaffrey

and the lovely Maggie Weiss, art cloth creator extraordinaire, both such fabulous women.

Of course we had to stop by and visit my good friend Frieda, Laura was off teaching in some other part of the world.

Here's Jane Davila's husband watching her work in her booth.

Kelli Perkins from Common Life into Art and Kayla from Living the Creative Teen Life  working Open Studios.

I also worked in Open Studios on friday and its always fun hanging with Kristin Rodriguez from Fiber on a Whim.

Jane and Kristin in their booths right next to each other along side Make It University what was IQA thinking when they planned that layout, lol.

I think this photo is so funny, I look like I am having a really good time, which is what I always have when I am at festival! I love seeing my dear friends that I only see at festival and I love making new friends each time I go. Sharing our ideas, learning from each other, laughing and supporting one another is what it's all about. It makes life so rich.

Melly stamp love!

I really have no business doing this right now, but I have been so busy doing business type stuff like planning for upcoming teaching gigs, making travel plans, packing, making a project for a friends book, writing up new workshops, filling out teaching proposals, dealing with contracts, insurance, writing an article and making the project to go with it, etc, etc... I have had no time to just play and make art and if you are like me it is kind of like holding your breath too long and really needing to breath.

My friend Melly Testa, recently started making stamps from craft foam mounted on plexiglass. When I saw her lovely bird prints I could not help but want to make some too, and of course Nina also wanted to get in on the action making this cute print based on a Pokemon character.

 I wish I could spend days making more of these, but I really need to get back to organizing stuff for Make it University this weekend and my trip to New Zealand next week. Eeek, that is coming up so fast!

Are you going to Quilt Festival in Chicago this week?

I am going on friday and saturday and will mostly be in the Make it University area making art with my friends. I will be doing Open Studios on friday 2:30 - 4:30 and again on Saturday 12:30 - 2:30.

On Saturday at 3:00, I will be leading an MIU workshop making an embossed metal cover pop up origami book.

Using aluminum craft metal, simple embossing, alcohol inks and paper we will create a fun little art book, using the fundamentals of origami to create expanding pop up pages. These are so cool, easy to make and they make awesome little gifts.

Kelli Nina Perkins will also be in Make it U, doing open studios and she has two workshops.


Whimsical Cartoon Pins, friday at 10:30 am. Don't these make you smile?

Vintage Poetry Spools, Saturday at 1:30 pm

Kelli will also be doing book signings for her wonderful book Stitch Alchemy.

Check out the Make It U schedule here.

Fantastic Class Opportunities

Melly Testa also has a couple classes at Festival, she has a few spots left in her classes, so you still have a chance to register and get in. Melly does beautiful work with dyes on silk organza creating lovely visual dimension with painted and stitched layers.







Pretty Purse #207 Thursday, April 15, 9 am - 5 pm
Students will learn the resist techniques to make the organza layer of the Pretty Purse as well as construct a gorgeous little pretty purse.

Small Works, Big Impact class #311 Friday 9 am - 5 pm
Working with a bird image students will have fun playing with collage, machine quilting and finishing techniques.

My friend and fellow painter Tracie Lyn Huskamp is going to be all over Festival with classes and workshops.

She paints the most beautiful birds and flowers on collaged paper and fabric.

Thursday, April 15th9 am - 12 noon - Rust, Weather, and Patina your Fabrics Workshop
2 pm - 5 pm - Dyeing in the Kitchen Workshop
5 pm - 7 pm - Demo-ing MAKE IT U- Open Studios

Friday, April 16th (Tracies Birthday!!! be sure to give her a spank!)
9 am - 5 pm - Quilt Block Journaling Workshop
6 pm - 9 pm - 2nd Session of Rust, Weather, and Patina your Fabrics
Workshop

Saturday, April 17th
6 pm - 8 pm - Saturday Sampler

Sunday, April 18th
9 am - 11:30 am - Sunday Shuffle

So many great classes and workshops!

Remember the edge crocheted pillow cases your grandmother used to make...

Isn't this a fantastic modern take on those lovely linens of yesteryear. I love this pillow, Cassie at You Go Girl, has created a fantastic tutorial on how to make this perfect scallop crochet edging. She also has a tutorial on making the pillow case too. I want to make one of these pillow cases, no I take that back, I want to make lots of these pillow cases. Cassie has lots of other beautiful stitched projects on her blog too, be sure to check it out.

International Quilt Festival Long Beach

Online enrollment has just started for International Quilt Festival Long Beach. I am so excited to be teaching 3 classes this year! This will be my first time teaching on the west coast. Long Beach is a really fun show, it has great energy, maybe it is all that sunshine that makes people so enthusiastic. I hope to see you there!

Mixed Media Painted Fabric  #213
Thursday, July 22, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Ornamental Fiesta  #336
Friday, July 23 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

Whole Cloth Painted Fabric  #416
Saturday, July 24, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

You can check out the class catalog here.

Cloth Paper Scissors Create Retreat

I am so excited to share the news that I will be teaching two classes at Create! August 25-29 in Rosemont, IL (that's where O'hare airport is for all of you who will be flying)

Mixed Media Apron

6 hours, Saturday August 28

Using textile paints, gel medium and decorative printed images create a fun art apron to wear whenever you are in the mood for creating.

This class will be a lot of fun; collaging black and white and colored paper images, painting with textile paints, stitching details and embellishments on a cotton apron then sewing custom sized pockets to hold all your supplies while you work.

Tea & Ephemera Fabric Collage

3 hours, Sunday August 29

Using textile paint, printed paper vintage imagery, transfers, colored pencils, rubber stamps, paint sticks, tea bags and more, learn multiple mixed media techniques while creating a mixed media fabric collage that you can stitch or quilt.

We are going to play with so many techniques in this class and of course using tea bags as an element for adding and collaging imagery.


This is going to be such an amazing retreat with so many fantstic teachers, the ones I know about are: Kelli Nina Perkins, Melly Testa, Jane La Fazio, Alisa Burke, Jamie Fingal, Leslie Jenison, Jane Davila, Natalya Aikens and Beryl Taylor. You know just seeing this talented and fun line up, it is going to be a retreat not to be missed!

Happy Easter

Quilts in the Middle East

Don't miss watching this!
Bonnie McCaffrey just posted her newest podcast from her trip to the Dubai International Quilt show. There is a huge interest in art quilts there, this is a fascinating look at the work being done there.

Complimentary Encounter

Complimentary Encounter, Judy Coates Perez 12" x 12"

I made this little quilt for an exhibit that friends were putting together for the Dallas Quilt Show earlier this month. Some how in the midst of everything I forgot to post about it.

I started this little whole cloth quilt by drawing my design on paper and placing it under white cotton fabric and tracing it lightly with pencil onto the fabric. I traced the outline of the birds and butterfly onto freezer paper with a sharpie then cut them out and ironed them to the fabric to create a resist.

With a wide flat brush, I painted a wash of blue paint partially mixed with white paint over the fabric so that I would get streaks of light and dark blue. This would be very difficult to do if I was trying to paint around the birds and butterfly.

Because there is blue in the color green I knew that I could paint the stems of the plants over the blue background with out a problem.

Painting the orange on the birds would have been a problem because blue under the orange would have created a dull muddy orange instead of the bright clear orange on the birds breasts.