Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

I Love a (Christmas) Parade!

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I know this is late, but that's how this December is going.  Enjoy!

Journal Covers Now in the Shop!

I have just listed the journal covers in the shop.  I finished these three you see here. There's another one that will hopefully get done soon and listed later this week.  These make fantastic affordable and functional gifts.  Check out the shop here.

More Whimsical Journal Covers

I am going a bit crazy with last minute things to do, but I did get a bit of sewing done yesterday on more of the whimsical journal covers.  The shop will be closed until December 1, but when it re-opens I will have these journals listed and hopefully a few more.  They are perfect gifts for just about anyone!  Meanwhile, we are packing and getting ready to leave for warmer temperatures tomorrow.  I'll be posting to Instagram while I'm away if you want to follow me!  Happy Thanksgiving!

November Stitches :: This Week

This has been a busy month (are there any that are not?).  Here's a sampling of what's going on this week.  I am taking a once a month wool club class with Tamra at the Stitchin' Post. It's based around Sue Spargo's Bird Dance pattern.  I already have plenty of wool and embellishments, so I started a new project!  Silly me.

I taught my own class: Whimsical Journal Covers on Wednesday. It was a small, but very fun class.  Above is my fox I stitched on as a demo.  Below is Jeannie's dog, my pattern inspired by Scrabble.  So cute!

Lindsey was excited to make a cover to fit a different sized journal. Isn't that pretty fabric!  I forgot to get a picture of the other student's journal, but she did a pieced strip version that was really pretty.My fox is done and when I get a chance I'll be finishing up all these other journal covers to put in the shop.

Above is the quilt that's been my nemesis lately.  I got really, really tired of putting together all those little squares.  I will love the final product, but not the process.  Below is the little project I nearly finished while avoiding the one above.  This one is created from demo pieces from my Portland guild Improv class.  I love it!  And, best of all I love the process too.  If I know one thing about myself, it's that I need variety!

Lastly, hand quilting has been my nightly project for several weeks.  I am making good progress on this one and will update when it's finished!  So, what are you stitching on this week?

My Weekend :: Journal Covers

Last week QuiltWorks put out a call for mini class ideas.  It took me a few days to come up with an idea, but I think these are so much fun and quick to do that they'll work perfectly.  These mini classes are intended to be small projects that can be done perhaps as holiday gifts.  

These three are made to fit a standard US composition book, which means they'd be perfect for any age of student, journaler or artist.  I started with a tutorial I found online, but made my own changes, such as adding interfacing so they are a little sturdier than they would be otherwise.  These three are made with an oatmeal colored cotton/linen blend as a base, then scraps of commercial and hand dyed fabrics are used for the applique.

I also had fun with the sketchbook approach. I love the sketchy black lines.  In the case of the horse and owl, I used actual sketches from my journals to make the designs.  The bird I drew out free hand and it's definitely more stylized.  I happen to really love the more quirky designs myself.

Also, I've been trying out writing words when I do my machine quilting on some projects and thought it would be fun to add here.  The secret is to go over your lines multiple times.  Once or twice just doesn't look as good in my opinion. 

I added pockets to one of the covers, but they all have a ribbon book marker.

This last one is done on a smaller journal and uses Osnaburg fabric for the base.  I've figured out how to measure and fit any size of journal.  It's also a less ambitious cover design which might appeal to some.  I'll let you know when the class gets scheduled.

SOQS 2014 :: Animals

Animal quilts at the SOQS run the gamut in style and technique, but all are fabulously creative and big crowd pleasers.  I love this dragon above.  Ryan has requested a dragon quilt some day.  Who knows when I'll get to it, but I can get some inspiration here.  ** Remember to click to enlarge all the photos and see details.
This Charley Harper inspired quilt is based on his poster, "The Alpine Northwest".  It was in the Portland Modern Quilt Guild exhibit, but seemed to fit this collection better.

Love the upside down owl!The lighting is not good on this quilt by Pat Busby, but it's such a beautiful piece!  I remember it from a past exhibit, I think the Alice in Wonderland one?

June Jaeger's Pet Portrait exhibit is really special, partly because many of these pets are no longer living.  These pieces are made by June's students and she has a new book out with the technique! Check it out here: Best Friends.  June is Jean Wells' sister and also lives in Central Oregon.This frog is so cool because it's so huge!  This is a bed sized quilt.  Totally awesome!This giraffe was in the Teachers' Tent and is made by Vivienne Moore.  Those sections are all pieced.  So cool!

This last bunch are the Whimsical Cow quilts made by students of Mary Lou Weidman.  These are just so much fun!  I was planning to go back on Sunday to really take them in, but was not feeling well.  At least I have these photos.

Well, that was fun, wasn't it!  Next time I'll post the California State Park quilts.  They are really amazing too!

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.  

2013 Fiber Arts Stroll

What a marvelous time we had!  Chloe came to help me with sales and that was a huge help.  I hung 5 of my completed quilts and some of the mini's I have for sale.  I think they were a big hit.

Chloe brought some of her own hand crafted items for sale so our table was a bit crowded.  Here she is just finishing up a sweet little narwhal stuffie.

Chloe's end of the table was filled with whimsical animals and fake food.  She loves to create in 3D and really has a talent for it.  My friend Jan stopped by just when I was taking photos.

This is the piece I worked on when time allowed.  I started it last year, but thought it was time to do some more work on it.  I used some of my handspun to show how I use it for couching.  Of the items I sold, cards with animals seemed to be a favorite, as well as the inspiration packs and the handspun skeins.  

I won't have time to list new items for a few weeks probably, but I have the shop up and running again.  I've also replenished some of the Inspiration Pack colorways that were unavailable for a while.  For locals and those visiting Sisters, I plan to have my sales items with me while I'm in Sisters for the week.  If you want to look at what I have just leave a comment or email me (or just flag me down!).  Thanks!

Castle Peeps

Castle Peeps is a quilt that started last year.  I was inspired to make the free pieced castle towers to match the border fabric.  I had a small piece of the fabric with the people and fussy cut them to fit the windows.  I made the blocks with the scrappy colors because it was all looking a bit too green.  I like the punch the colors add.

I finished the top and put it away until the retreat in March.  I started quilting it, but I couldn't decide exactly what to do in the sky until I got a suggestion from a friend to do a dragon.  I loved the idea, but wasn't sure I could execute it well.

It's been sitting around since then and today I finally decided to get down to it and get it done.  I went to Google images to search for a dragon shape I liked, and drew something free hand.  Then I transferred it to freezer paper.  I ironed the freezer paper to the sky area and stitched around it once.  Then I removed the freezer paper and stitched around the outline once more.  I filled in the details with more double stitching lines.  You can click the photos to see even more detail.

Then I completed the rest of the sky with swirls and clouds.

I'm pretty pleased with it!  This would be a great crib quilt, but I plan to keep this one for a teaching sample.

In the Night Garden

Well, finally, I got some photos of this quilt!  I've been waylaid by numerous things over the past couple of weeks, mostly good like graduation, some more concerning issues due to various medical complaints.  Things will be fine, but I've just not had the time or inclination to do any sewing.

When I first thought of this quilt I wanted to make some cats that would seem to glow on an indigo background.  I had some indigos and found new Japanese prints to round it out.  I think the end result meets the goal I originally had.  There are 9 cats with various facial expressions which were so much fun to do.  **Edited to add:  I learned to do the cats in a class with Jude HIll.  She considers them her own design.**

I knew that this was one quilt that I wanted to machine quilt myself.  My machine quilting skills are improving steadily, but I have trouble when a quilt gets to be too big.  This one worked fine.  It measures 41" x 52".

I decided to quilt an overall swirl in blue to blend in but have an organic, maybe celestial feel.  I left spaces where I could add in some flowers and other garden elements with a variegated orange thread.

I like the back too.  The main backing fabric is a cool batik I found recently and I added a strip of the border from the front for some interest.  

This week I had visits with an interviewer and photographer from the local paper.  Very exciting, but also nerve wracking.  The special publication will come out on June 28 and will be available for free all over Sisters.  The show is just about 1 month away and I still have some finishing things to do with a few of the quilts, plus some other projects that need attention.  More soon!