Off to Cincinnati for International Quilt Festival

So I wish I could say I've been doing all sorts of creative things the last couple weeks but unfortunately I can't. It's been mostly teaching type stuff; signing and sending contracts, negotiating future teaching engagements (a few downunder, yipee!) preparing handouts and samples for new classes, accumulating supplies for my teaching gigs and packing. There's always too much to do.

So I've been getting little bits of creative time in while I'm relaxing after dinner with a new app I got for my ipad called Paper.

It opens looking like a little moleskin sketchbook.

turn to the page you'd like to draw on and tap to open the it. 

This app is so simple in design it's brilliant and it's free with the pen tool and palette of color. It's $1.99 for each additional tool you want to add. I bought the paintbrush and am completely satisfied with these two tools alone.

This was my first sketch, I really like how gestural the quality of the line is with thicks and thins. Keep in mind it's a little wonky drawing with a finger as opposed to an actual drawing implement, but that kind of lends it's own charm. 

This app has the closest feeling to drawing in a sketchbook I've seen, I love it.

In the morning I'm hitting the road to drive to Cincinnati to teach 3 classes at festival. I'll be sure to post all about it in a few days.

DIY Ombre Jean Skirt

I've had this jean skirt for a couple years and have hardly ever worn it, the first reason is the length was not flattering being right at the knee, as you can see here in this photo from quilt festival with my friend  Jane LaFazio and one of my students, Nasreen. It makes my long legs look stumpy and it was just kind of boring.

So I cut off 3 inches and left a raw edge. I'm a 70's girl at heart, I always liked that raw edge on cut offs. Then I set to work bleaching the bottom edge.

Here it is after, much improved, I think.

This is how I did it:
I used bleach, unfortunately with denim there aren't really any other good options for removing the dye, and a bucket.

First I saturated the skirt in water so the bleach wouldn't make a sharp line when I first dipped it. I put about an inch of bleach in a bucket and dipped the skirt in.

Then I poured hot water down the skirt and into the bucket, so there would be more bleach in the bucket but it would be diluted. I slowly dipped the skirt in a little deeper so the diluted bleach went up higher on the skirt. I repeated dipping and pulling the skirt out of the bleach until I got the bottom edge very light and had a nice gradation.

I ran the skirt through a long wash wash cycle to get all the bleach out and put it in the drier on hot to get the bottom nice and frayed.

Now back to work prepping for all my classes at International Quilt Festival next week.

New Acrylic Inks class!!!

I'm excited to tell you about a new class I'm teaching

10 Textile Techniques using acrylic inks! 

I'll be teaching it at Shake Rag Alley School of Arts & Crafts in Mineral Point Wisconsin April 22. This is going to be one of those classes filled with experimenting and learning multiple ways to apply ink to fabric.

One of the things we are going to do is explore a number of different ways to create texture.

We'll explore mark making with different kinds of stamps 

and drawing with the inks using calligraphy and ruling pens.

We'll explore layering imagery with color and marks

We'll be cutting masks with freezer paper.

And painting in a watercolor style.

This class is going to packed with lots of tips and ideas of ways you can work with these versatile inks on fabric. If you'd like more info and want to join me in an action packed day of ink exploration check out the Shake Rag Alley class info. I'd love to see you there!

If you would like to see two step by step blog posts about my making art quilts using acrylic inks you can click on the links for 8 of Cups and Black and Bloom All Over.

Hectic days, an old artquilt gets a face lift and spring fever.

I've had so much going on the last couple weeks it's been hard to sit down and write. Between my recent travels, I sold two quilts to a friend/collector who's moving to England and sent my daughter Indigo off on a last minute month long trip to help her get set up in her new place.

Getting Indigo off was an adventure in itself with procuring an expedited passport. Because of her less than traditional upbringing, moving many times over the years, being homeschooled for half that time and working as an artist/photographer herself, she's pretty much off the grid and having a hispanic last name probably didn't help. Her passport was stalled 3 times for requests for more information and identification. The most outlandish information requested was whether her mother had prenatal care and when the appointments were. Really?!?! Who the heck remembers that after 22 years!

When my friend asked me to show her what was available, I knew I had two quilts that would resonate with her. She has been going through a difficult divorce along the same time line as me and we have shared a lot over the last few years. So I felt like she needed to see 3 of Swords.


This quilt is about feeling torn open and raw (with exposed painted red batting) from betrayal and loss but finding peace while working through the pain and creating something beautiful from it.

The other quilt, Joan of Arc, hasn't seen the light of day in many years. I made it in 1999 after going through a breast cancer scare and lumpectomy that thankfully turned out to be benign. The style of this quilt seemed like a good fit for the historic town she was moving to and she was coincidentally dealing with a questionable mammogram the week I showed it to her.

This quilt is pieced and appliqued with painted and hand dyed fabric. I felt that before I could pass it on it needed a little more work, so I put a new back on it to help it structurally to hang better and added more quilting in several areas, near the sun, moon, flames and most importantly the horse.

I had a lot of fun adding ornate decorative quilting stitches to the horse, thinking about all the carved stonework in the gothic architecture of England.

I am happy these two pieces have found such a perfect new home.

Now I'm having a hard time sitting at the computer when I really want to be outside enjoying the beautiful unseasonably warm weather we are having. Who could imagine Chicago would be 80° in March!

Taping Quilting Arts TV

I've just returned from an overnight trip to Cleveland to tape a segment for Quilting Arts TV with Pokey.

I arrived tuesday afternoon and was thrilled to get together with my friends Deborah Boschert and Jane Davila for a long chatty dinner.

Deborah and I in the green room. Deborah taped 3 segments and even though it was her first time you would never have known it, she was fantastic.

It was great seeing Quilting Arts editor Helen and Pokey.

Ellen Anne Eddy hanging out in the green room with Patsy from of the staff of Beachwood Studios. Ellen has the funniest dry sense of humor, her segments were a hoot! and fascinating too. She demonstrates how she does all her amazing thread work.

a few details of Ellens work

Ellen is so little, but then again I'm pretty tall. Here we are with Michele Muska from Simplicity. 

Last but not least, the wonderful Jeanne Delpit, where would we be without her warm hearted spirit and expertise with Berninas!

Another fun trip, but I could have done with out all the turbulence on the flights!

Fun Metal Workshop and a Rough Drive Home

On thursday, I drove 85 miles to Rockford, IL to give two lectures and teach Heavy Metal Play Day. I don't teach locally very often so it was really nice to drive instead of dealing with the hassles of flying. There was lots of fun experimenting with different embossing techniques on silver and colored aluminum, and heavier weight copper, as well as playing with various ways for adding color with alcohol inks and markers.

Great work, huh?

We wrapped the class up a little early since a storm was coming. What a shock to walk outside and see close to 4 inches of heavy wet snow already on my car and strong winds blowing huge fluffy snow flakes.

I was anxious to get back to Chicago to meet a friend who was back for a few days from England for dinner. The roads were AWFUL! The 6 miles to the freeway may have been the worst, being very slippery, neither plowed or salted and the wind caked the snow on my rear and side windows so thick I couldn't see well enough to change lanes. I had been hoping to get gas before leaving since it was 40 cents cheaper a gallon than in the city, but I didn't want to even try.

The freeway was treacherously slick, I passed 4 accidents within 5 miles, including this jack knived truck that was lucky enough to stop before hitting head on traffic across the divide. I called home a few times to check on the weather in Chicago, where it was still warm enough to have rain instead of snow. I was never so happy to make it to the rainy outskirts of Chicago's bumper to bumper evening traffic. It took almost 3 hours to go 85 stressful miles!