Month: September 2018

An Infinite Horizon

Posted on by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in Uncategorized

Creating art with fabric and thread, plus some surface design and embellishments provides us with an infinite horizon.  No matter where we are with our creative expression and techniques, we can always get better.  Design and creative possibilities are nearly limitless in today’s sewing and quilting world.  So much can be done with even the most basic equipment (as long as it is in good working order). It’s so exciting!

I think I must be a little bit crazy because I see inspiration everywhere.  Sometimes I have so many ideas in my mind about what to try next that I have a hard time focusing in on a project, and then just as I almost have figured out how I will do my next project, I see a new inspirational technique or design.  I have to rein myself in and focus…LOL.

I have also realized that I am basically a magpie. .  I love love love sparkly, shiny designs, but then I also am fascinating with what I can do to make interesting looks and near three dimensional art quilts (I think of it as 2 1/2 Dimension)  Recently I have been thinking about what I can do with Bernina v7 design software.  This software has so many interesting techniques that go so far beyond simple embroidery designs.  So I have been spending considerable time thinking about and working on designs that might end up being my next show quilt.   Oh look, there’s another neat idea!!!!

In the meantime, I am making an overcoat.  I got the outer fabric cut out, but still have the fur collar (from a gorgeous piece of black faux fur), the lining, and interfacing to go.  I also am continuing the making of my applique bed quilt for my own bed.  I have completed the large middle block and six of the twelve little blocks.

Life in my studio is fun, and I’m sew excited about this brand new sewing and quilting season.   If you are in the area, maybe we can work out a play date to sew together sometime this fall. What are you working on?

Don’t forget…I am teaching a workshop next Saturday at G Street Fabrics in Rockville on quilting with feed dogs up for fabric art.  In this class you will learn how you can do some very interesting quilting in place of or to work with free motion quilting.

Sew happy everyone!  Wishing you a wonderful fall and winter sewing season.

 

 

 

Report on Quilts Back Home from PNQE

Posted on by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in Applique, Quilt Journal, quilt shows, Reviews, Show Quilts / 2 Comments

Last Tuesday my two quilts that were in Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza came home.  As you probably know by now Wizards’ Duel got a blue ribbon as Best Interpretation of Theme and Night on the Bayou did not place.  PNQE is a Mancuso show and they usually provide comments that are often helpful and sometimes just a little depressing.  This time, I got wonderful comments on both quilts and I wanted to share with you, gentle readers.

Wizards’ Duel

For this quilt I placed it in the Innovative category.  They don’t have an all art-quilt or all pictorial quilt category.

(E=Excellent S=Satisfactory N=Needs Improvement NA=Not Applicable)

I got all Es for their set items:

DESIGN

  • Artistic Impression/Graphic Impact
  • Use of Design/Pattern in Quilt Top -balance, proportion, scale – balance, proportion, scale
  • Use of Color & Fabric – pleasing, value contrast, scale of fabric
  • Degree of Difficulty
  • Quilting Design – enhances top, is sufficient
  • Innovation/Creativity

WORKMANSHIP

  • Piecing/Applique – precision, stitches, shadow-through
  • Quilting Technique – even stitches, making stops and starts

Best Features of this Quilt (handwritten comments)

Visual impact of radiating center. Very innovative use of embellishments.  Good interpretation of theme

Areas that needs improvement (handwritten comment)

Nothing!

Ok, so I don’t think I have ever had a quilt where judges’ comments are provided that actually said “Nothing!” for areas that need improvement.  Here is where I have often managed to save a quilt to go on to other shows that made them place.  Indeed, this very quilt was shown at Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival and my quilting and treatment of the rocks was called down as needing improvement. So I improved them between shows, and it clearly paid off.  Sometimes I disagree with judges’ comments and in such cases dismiss the comment.  This would be when my artistic opinion conflicts with theirs, but I have also gotten really good and helpful advice from such suggestions.  Judges for this quilt were Augusta Cole and Marjan Kluepfel

Night on the Bayou

For this quilt I placed it in the Wall Quilt category and the grade sheet had the same categories and grading system, except the judges wrote in G=Very Good and gave me all Gs on all the categories!!!  Harrrumph!  Not only did they choose the nonexistent G for all the categories, their grades seemed to compete a bit with their comments. See what you think.

Best Features of this Quilt (handwritten comments)

  •  Absolutely LOVE the moss hanging from the trees!! Beautifully executed
  • Well chosen quilting designs enhance visual texture of tress vs water vs sky
  • Splotches of orange lights prevent monotony from happening

Areas that needs improvement (handwritten comments)

  • Some surface distortion noted [I can probably fix this with a new and better blocking and hopefully dryer and cooler weather for future shipping…I think it was caused by the hot very humid weather for shipment, coupled with the heavy yarn and thread treatments]
  • Perspective is good but not quite perfect [uhhh…artistic opinion and I submit that art quilting in particular is never “perfect” anywhere. She might have been more impressed if I had been able to get more moonlight filtering through the trees as my friend who attended the show suggested.  I’ll see if I can accomplish that before sending it out again. For the most part, the paint just sinks into the quilt on this fabric]

Sew what do you think about this?  I was really pleased, even with the comments on the Bayou quilt.  I was not pleased with having a whole scale special grade that was less than “excellent” on all the categories and that then conflicted with some of the comments. I can only think at least one of the judges is a person who has a really hard time rating anything as “perfect”.  I can guess which judge this came from, but will not say.  The judges for this quilt were Dierdra McElroy and Bobbie Bergquist

If you look up all four judges you will find that none of them are art or pictorial quilters.  They are all four traditional and a couple specialize in hand quilting, which should tell you something about how far they had to stretch their view of quilts to make a judgement call on the art and pictorial quilts and therefore, I think they did a fine job.  All four of them.  It’s a hard job when faced with such fabulous quilts throughout a national or international show.

Sew overall, I am happy, and now believe both quilts have the potential to bring in some nice ribbons from future shows.  I’m going to have to do some choreography in placing them.  Houston rejected Wizards’ Duel, but that was before I fixed the rocks.  I think perhaps I need a new set of pictures for both of them.  Pictures make a big difference in what a show will take.

Sew happy everyone! I wish you fun in your studio or office and that you be surrounded with love.

 

 

Machine Applique for Fabric Artists– Saturday Sept 22

Posted on by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in Uncategorized / 2 Comments

Next Saturday, the 22nd of September, at G Street Fabrics sewing machine center, I will be presenting a six hour workshop from 11 am to 5 pm.  This workshop is the first of a 3 part Fabric Arts techniques that are designed to present all the techniques I use in creating my basic fabric art show quilts (minus surface design and embellishment).  The other two parts will be October 6th and October 20th.  It’s going to be fun.

Anyway,this first workshop presents multiple machine applique techniques for multiple uses, and discusses how to decide which of these techniques work best where.  To do this, I designed a simple fun little top piece and provide a complete kit so the student can start right away learning and not spend time in prep work.

I will also show some of my show quilts that used these techniques and give instructions and demos along the way.

Canterbury Knight

So I am all ready.  I have all the kits made, I have the video equipment for my demos, and I am excited.  Hope to see you there!  If you aren’t there, please send a little prayer and good thoughts for me that it will go really well for all of us and everyone will have fun.

Sew happy everyone!  Play with some applique and make something fun.

Bring on Fall!

Posted on by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in Ancient manuscripts, Applique, Classes, Embellishment, Food for Thought, My business, My micro-business, Quilt Journal, Sewing Clothing, Workshops / 6 Comments

I have some fun and interesting plans for the fall and winter quilting season and have been spending nearly all my working time preparing for them for the past couple of weeks.

First of all, I am preparing for my fall workshops at G Street Fabrics in Rockville, beginning with the first one on Saturday, September 22nd at 11 am!  See more about this on my blog from a few weeks ago here.

So I have all my handouts made and the kits for the first workshop. I almost have all the kits for the second workshop and have made progress on the third workshop.  So when you come, you will have a lot of fun and be able to dive right in to our projects.  You just need to call G Street sewing machine department and sign up!  You can sign up for one or all three.  So much fun to come starting in just a few weeks!  I should finish preparations for these this week and be able to get back to sewing and quilting.

Sew my plans for the fall and winter sewing and quilting season are exciting for me.  As you may know by now, I like to run two or three projects at once to keep me from getting frustrated…hopefully all at different stages along the way.

  • My current quilt project is for my bed, making an applique pattern by Sue Nickels that is really pretty and will add a lot of beauty to my bedroom.  I am about half way through that.  It is not for a show quilt and is just for fun and adding something to my home for me.
  • I am currently working out what my next show quilts will be.  My plans are exciting and two of them involve other people.
    1. My dear friend, student, and what we jokingly call my apprentice Anita has drawn a beautiful scene with a steam locomotive train and gifted it to me for use as a quilt design.  It is full of wonderful things and will be quite fantastic if I can pull it off…trees, rocks, trestles, the locomotive with steam, pulling cars…one with a load of wood. So cool!  Send good thoughts, because this one is a challenge but I plan on starting it soon.
    2. My oldest son, who designed Pendragon, is designing an accompanying piece Excalibur.   Oh I can hardly wait to see his design.  He started earlier but work got so busy for him that he had to lay it aside for awhile.  Things have gotten a little more sane for him now and he thinks he can finish it soon.
    3. Okay, so I am working on my own design(s) also.  I have an array of things I want to do, and am engaged in trying to draw up some of them to choose from for this season.  I am thinking of making one based on polyester satins that I embellish multiple ways to show what can be done with a limited quilt budget (under $100 is my goal).  That design work is not done yet, and I keep oming up with new ideas  with new subjects…I’m currently leaning toward a dark forest with spots of beauty and fun woodland characters, but it could end up entirely something else…spending a little time every day on this.  So it will be a little while before I just get the design sealed down and ready to make.
    4. And then I also want to do another line drawing quilt based on architecture.  I have a couple of possibilities, but I’m still looking.
  • I haven’t forgotten my book.  I have actually made considerable progress on it this summer, and hope to finish it sometime in October.
  • Plus I am wondering just how I can approach the passing on of my many surface design and embellishment techniques.  I have won several ribbons on this aspect of my quilts, and feel I have much to tell you about.  I already have a book outlined and started, but I am thinking of videos.  My son Ken has gotten me all set up to do videos, and I am thinking of making several…some on quilting and some on surface design and embellishment techniques.

I did mention clothes, didn’t I.  I am planning on making a new winter coat this fall.  I found a great pattern that I think I can make with fabrics (and faux fur) I already have..a free and hopefully gorgeous winter coat.  It’s free because I’ve had this fabric for years and properly stored, so it is in great shape.  If you haven’t made an overcoat, it is not really as difficult as making a shirt with a stand collar, really it isn’t.  And using thick winter fabrics is very forgiving, hiding most little mistakes.  I encourage you to try one.  There are some great patterns just out this year.  I also am planning on squeezing in a winter dress suit, yes a pants suit beause my legs just look best that way.  This will challenge me to resurrect my professional tailoring skills, but I have recently lost a couple of dress sizes (though I freely admit that I am still “fat”), and I will make it in a way I can take it up one more size.  I have fabric for that too.

As you see, this year is going to emphasize to myself trying to get all my sewing and quilting done by shopping my stash or keeping costs down while still producing some remarkable pieces.

Sew happy everyone!  I hope you are planning to do a lot of sewing and quilting this fall and winter or are encouraging your friends and family who do sew to let their lights shine (and help them make time to sew).  Happy September!

 

A Call to Stop Forgery and Design Theft in the Quilting World

Posted on by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in Food for Thought / 2 Comments

I have several friends whose beautiful artistic quilted creations have been “copied,” or attempted to be copied, without permission and without acknowledgement and passed off as their own work.  In the rest of the art world, if an artist had painted, or otherwise crafted, a wonderful work of their own, and someone else had copied it to pass it off as their own, this action would be called “forgery” and would likely be a crime.  We in the quilting world should stand firmly against this kind of activity in our own craft.  I am sure that there are many of my friends who agree with me.

Note that I am not talking about quilts designed with blocks that have been in the public domain for years and happen to end up similar to someone else’s quilt, but I think that should be clear.

It is a wonderful thing to be so impressed by someone’s work that you are inspired to go work on your own piece.  Inspiration does not mean copy however.  And even if you do not copy, but create some similar subject, you need to acknowledge where the inspiration came from.

Let’s look at this a little bit.  I do not use other people’s quilts for my own fabric artwork (unless I bought a pattern or kit and am using it for my own utility quilt), but I might use someone else’s painting or drawing or photograph.

If I want to use someone’s artwork as an inspiration, or even a design, for  my quilt work, I will not even start it until I have contacted the artist and asked permission.  This has occasionally resulted in my not being able to make the quilt, but there are thousands and thousands of wonderful ideas, artworks, and photographs out there to try again, or even design things from scratch.  Sometimes, this has resulted in my having to buy the rights to use the artwork as inspiration or even the design for the making of a quilt. In addition, even if I obtain the rights to use it, I still feel it imperative to acknowledge the artist.

In the course of my work, I have gotten the following responses to my requests to use their work in some way from the artists:

  • Sure, no problem (the usual answer)
  • You cannot use this on your website (they didn’t read the request and were a little insulting)
  • The rights would cost $600 (I didn’t make that quilt)
  • The right for one show quilt would be $200 and you can’t use the art otherwise commercially (I made that quilt)
  • I make you a present of this design and would be honored for you to use it. (Designs in progress or quilts made)
  • You can use four to ten of the designs in each coloring book for your craft (Dover Publications standard use statement…but you cannot make another book using these designs and sell it.  Make no mistake this is not Copyright Free as many report Dover Publications as being, but is instead permitted use and is Royalty Free.  This doesn’t make much difference to us as quilters, but should be acknowledged).  I have used many Dover elements in my designs when I couldn’t draw it better myself.  I love Dover publications and thank them for their generosity.
  • And finally, when the work is way too old and is now in the public domain and the artists have been gone for centuries, you really don’t have to ask even if some unrelated organization has taken it up and tried to make it theirs.  Public domain means just that.  IF you know who the artist is, however, it would still be nice to acknowledge him or her.  I used elements from eleventh and twelfth century art as the basis for some of my work, but there is no possible way of knowing who the artists were.  We can safely assume they are in the public domain by now.  LOL

Sew join with me in helping to stop the forgery of the fabulous quilts and theft of designs within our quilting world.  Put it in your blogs, make a point of it if you are teaching a class, maybe even put up signs at quilt shows.  I don’t know all the ways, but people need to be made aware that just because it is a quilt does not mean it is free to be copied without request or acknowledgement.  It is like any other fine art and needs to be treated as such.

Sew happy everyone!