Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

Fond Farewell: AAQI for July

Although I'm staying in Sisters for the week, I snuck home for a while today to upload photos, do paperwork, wash some clothes, etc.  Just the other day I got the email with the registration info for my last two AAQI quilts.  These are called "Who, Me?" and "Shy Kitty".  

The end of AAQI is bittersweet.  I really loved making these little quilts every month, even when the timing was a stretch.  There were a few months when I chose to buy a quilt instead of make one, thus fulfilling my Quilt-A-Month agreement.  I am happy I was able to participate and somewhat relieved that the monthly obligation will end.  I will have more time to make items for the shop and for class samples, challenges, and outrageous fun!  

These two had to be special, so there are a couple of my liberated kitties, with hand embroidered faces and hand quilting.  **Edited to add:  I learned to do the cats in a class with Jude HIll.  She considers them her own design.**

These were so much fun to make.  I already have other kitties in progress and some other animals as well.  When fall rolls around I'll be ready to start creating more small works for the shop and I hope these animals are popular.  **Edited to add:  Due to the above note, I will not be making any more kitties for sale.**

Tomorrow is the Wish Upon a Card reception at the Sisters Chamber of Commerce from 3:30-6:00.  I will be there in the first part of the time frame so I can head over to Jean Wells' reception which is at the same time.  I don't know if I mentioned it here before, but I won third place in the Michael Miller Fabric Challenge.  I look forward to seeing my fellow winners including my good friend Marion who won first place and Martha who got an honorable mention.  Fun times!  Saturday is approaching fast and I may not be able to post before then.  Please come say hi if you are in town!  I'll be at Ponderosa Properties on Hood St. from about 9am-4pm.  

Shattered: AAQI for June

This is my June quilt for AAQI.  Things are coming down to the wire now.  July is the last month to send in quilts and I have two fun ones coming up for that.  In the meantime, Shattered is this one.  It started in a class with Gwen Marston last fall.  It's made from some leftovers for the main quilt I was making at the time.  I decided to hand quilt it which will hopefully add some extra value to it.  It's number 14569.

I've been so scatter brained lately, that I just realized I never posted my May quilt for AAQI.  It's called Los Colores de Mexico (14263) and is also up now on the AAQI website.  I forgot to get a photo of it before I sent it out.  That one is also free pieced and hand quilted.  

I also have two other ones that are available for sale.  They are abstract free pieced quilts that I machine quilted.  Check out my $1000 Promise page to see them all.

It's Been a Very Good Day

Today, I have solved several design problems that have been nagging at me.  I've gotten going on some projects that are not for the show, but need to be done around the same time.  Cat faces are starting to come to life.  The other pieces will have to stay a bit of a secret.  **Edited to add: The cats are something I learned how to do in a class with Jude Hill.  She considers them her own design.**

Well, except for this one.  This is a future AAQI quilt. I've got a bit of hand work to do now and, luckily, several episodes of Call the Midwife and Mr. Selfridge to catch up on.  Later!

Adventures with Caran D'Ache Neocolor II: Watch Your Step

I have been wanting to try using watercolor on fabric for a while now.  It started with the beautiful AAQI quilts that JoAnn Stowell has been doing.  Since I discovered her work last year I think I've bought three of them!  I asked her about her technique and discovered that she's been trying various ways of doing the watercolors.  I decided I should just jump in and try stuff- my favorite way to work!

I searched online and found a video and tutorial by Terri Stegmiller. Both are useful and gave me the impetus to start this project.  This idea was inspired by my Undercover Quilters April 12 x 12 theme of "shoes".  I had an image in my mind from the butterfly house we visited last month.  I was afraid I'd step on one so I kept looking down to watch where I stepped.  Those are my favorite shoes depicted with a Blue Morpho butterfly.

This technique is so much fun to do.  First I created a crazy pieced top with the light neutral fabrics.  Then I layered it with batting and a backing.  I quilted it all over with dense machine quiting lines.  I created my free hand full size drawing on regular paper and traced it onto tracing paper with a Sharpie pen.  If you use a color other than black it's easier to see the paper when you need to tear it off.  I layered the tracing over the quilted sandwich and sketched with black thread over all the lines one time.  Terri's video shows you how to do all of this.  After you pull off the paper, you go over your lines several more times to give it the sketchy quality.  

Then it's time to color in with the Neocolor II water soluble wax crayons.  This was a lot of fun, using the color just as you would on paper.  The colors are pretty dull when they are dry, but you apply them like you would regular crayons, layering and using several values of a color to get texture and shading.

The next step is to mix the textile medium with some water.  I combined the two in approximately 1:1 proportions, though you may need less water.  I think the consistency of milk works well.  I used a brush with a small square end to brush it on and into the fabric.  I soaked the colored areas pretty well and noticed that there was very little color spread.  The color did leak through to the backing fabric in some areas, so if that was an issue you might consider putting on another backing afterwards or even doing the quilting and sketching on just the pieced top and some batting.  The colors brighten up significantly when the textile medium/water solution is applied.

One thing I love in the above photo is that print with the swirls which really comes alive when the paint is applied.  It's a white on white print and the swirls barely show up normally.

The colors stayed pretty vibrant after the piece dried.  Now I just need to add an edge finish.  This was a very fun technique to try and something I know I will do again.

I really love the texture you get when the piece is pre-quilted.  The variations in the background surface made this very enjoyable to do.

From what I have read, these crayons are not normally wash fast.  The use of textile medium to dissolve the color does help somewhat though.  I did a little test by running a sample under the faucet with some gentle scrubbing and the colors lost some vibrancy.  The hand of the fabric improved quite a bit though.  I haven't decided whether I'll wash "Watch Your Step" yet, but I might.  Below you can see the colors of Inktense pencils as well.  I used them for some finer details in some other pieces that I'll show you tomorrow.  The adventure continues!

A Green AAQI for March

I sent in my March AAQI, Abstract Tree, and didn't even realize that it's perfect for St. Patrick's Day until just this very minute!  This is another one from the leftovers from making Little Tree in the Big Snowy Woods.  I am pleased to report that this morning I discovered that two of my other AAQI quilts have sold:  Black and White and Spooky All Over and Little Tree.  My total is over $1500 now!

The reason I made these little quilts was to test out some machine quilting ideas.  I struggle a lot with this and have found that samples take away some of the anxiety and let me just doodle around without having to worry about it.  On this one I tried lots of different motifs in the different sections.

The back is fun to see.  This one should be up for sale in a week or so.  Every time one of my AAQI quilts sells I wonder who the buyer is.  I hope that if any of my blog readers have bought one they would tell me.  If it's you, please let me know by comment or email.  It would be lovely to hear from you!

PS:  I have gotten most of my ducks in order- house cleaned, mundane tasks of the week taken care of and projects with deadlines approaching are nearly done.  One thing I haven't done is gone through the retreat photos. I will do that and report back soon!

AAQI for February

It's still February, right?  Gosh, where has the month gone?  After my last post we had a bout of illness in three members of the family, including the dog.  Last week was so busy I had things to go to just about every evening.  This week, lots of paperwork and appointments.  I am really looking forward to the weekend!  So, to catch up, this little quilt was sent in to AAQI and is already up and ready for sale! I also noticed another one that never got on my $1000 Promise page.  So, check them out and remember that AAQI is closing shop at the end of the year.  There are many wonderful little gems available, don't delay!

AAQI for January

This is an oldie, but a goodie, called Dandy Lion.  I decided to send it in to AAQI this month to get my last Quilt-A-Month club check.  That would be 2 years of making a quilt every month, except for a few where I bought one.  I am proud to say that my little quilts have made nearly $1500 for the AAQI!  

However, just the other day I got early news that the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative will be shutting down at the end of 2013.  This is because they hope to reach the 1 million dollar mark by the end of the year!  That is amazing.  Can you imagine all the little quilts you need to sell to make that much money!  Over 13,000 so far.  So, anyway, I just can't see quitting the QAMC when they are so close to the end, so I will continue right up until July.  For all the details about this year's deadlines see the AAQI blog post:  Sprint to the Finish.  

If you have not made an AAQI quilt yet, there's no time like the present!  Get in your studio and get to work making a little gem.  The last day to register quilts will be August 1, 2013.  While you are on the website, check out the hundreds of quilts for sale right now.  It's truly an amazing grass roots effort and Ami Simms and her dedicated volunteer team deserve all the credit for making it all happen.  

AAQI for November

Here's my AAQI quilt for November.  I had to crop this from a photo I took during class with Gwen Marston this July.  I made two sketches in her Small Studies class and decided this was one I could part with.  I finished it with a single narrow binding and did not quilt it which is what Gwen did with most of her sketches.  It's been sent off without a final photo.  I hate when I forget to take a photo!

On another note, I am so forgetful at the moment, it completely skipped my mind that I signed up for Jean Wells' workshop this weekend!  I missed today's class, but luckily found out about it at today's Studio Art Quilt Associates meeting.  By the way, I joined SAQA just recently.  I'm still trying to figure out if I really fit into that movement.  So, I have two days of class to get ready for.  I'll be back with more sewing to show you!

Black and White and Spooky All Over

This little AAQI quilt for October was started after my book club, The Undercover Quilters, did a challenge called Black and White.  I had just picked up this linen/cotton owl print at Quilt Expo and couldn't wait to use it.  I free pieced the whole thing, added some machine and hand stitching and the buttons.  Fast, Fun and Easy as they say, but no fusible or patterns involved.  I love liberated quilting!

Wonkyworld

Bill Volckening showed up at Gwen's medallion class ready to go and brought with him a small selection of his incredible antique quilts.  It was pleasure to be in class with him to give a new perspective on things because his knowledge of quilts is incredibly extensive.  Bill is the one who bought my #10,000 AAQI quilt.  Check out his blog, Wonkyworld, for lots of great quilt talk.

This quilt with the rooster block is one of my favorites!

Look at that stitching!

This beautiful fan quilt has amazing stitched birds on it.  I am inspired by these, for sure!  Gwen examined each quilt very closely.  

And here's the mother lode, read more about it here.  It was a wonderful, impromptu quilt show.  Thanks Bill!