Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

Greetings!

Greetings from Overwhelmed Land!  Sheesh, it's been the busiest fall yet.  I am so happy to report that I have done the real grunt work in creating the new blog/website for my quilt guild.  Check it out if you're interested.  That took several long days.  Then, I managed to get a few little Christmas goodies made.  These are so much fun to do.  Sometimes, I wish I could spend all my time making little projects like this.  They are so doable compared to the big art quilts I keep getting myself into!

I made a couple of brooches with some new techniques I learned in Art Quilt Maps by Valerie S. Goodwin.  What a fabulous book!  I also managed to finish my actual map quilt made with techniques from this book, but am keeping it under wraps for now.  The technique involves crinoline, textile paint, sheer layers, hand and machine stitching.  So much fun!

These are all for sale in my Etsy shop, except the large rectangle bird and the heart shaped house ornament.  Both sold before I could even get them up on Etsy. Gotta love having very supportive friends!  Thank you Sarah!

So, now I can breathe a sigh of relief, at least about those things above.  Life is further complicated by my hubby's very bad back and surgery that didn't quite fix it.  There are deadlines and a trip to get ready for in December.  So, sorry about the sporadic posting this fall, but I guess that's the way it's going to be.  How's your November going?

To Boston with Love

Things came down to the wire and then Sarah brought these three flags over.  Aren't they gorgeous?  Liberated letters and a heart.  So nicely done- thank you Sarah!

Kayla made this one with a sweet bird fabric.

Christy made the hug flag- more liberated letters!

Lindsey made these sweet heart flags.

I made one more with XOXO, more liberated letters and it rounded out the number to 10 flags.

Don't they look marvelous together?  They are on the way to Boston and will hang at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts!  They will be on exhibit from May 23 to June 16.  If any of my blog readers have a chance to visit I'd love to see photos and hear all about it.  Wish I could be there myself!  I am still collecting quilt blocks for Boston.  The link for instructions is in the side bar.  I will be sending them on Wednesday, May 22.  Here are the two I've made so far:

To Boston with Love

Just this morning I found out about two efforts to collect quilty type things for Boston.  This one, fabric flags for To Boston with Love, was started by the Vancouver Modern Quilt  Guild.  I've added a button to the blog for quick reference.  You can also click here.  If you'd like to join in, please check out the requirements.  They need to be received by May 21 in Boston, so best to work quickly.  Luckily, there is no batting or quilting, so these really can be done in an hour or so.  Check out the Flickr group for more ideas.

I went right to my cutting table which was full of scraps in the requested bright and cheery colors.  

I started making tiny letters.

Put them together with some curvy angles.

Made a couple of little strips sets.

Put it all together with a slightly curved border.

I added the top binding for hanging and was done!

The back could be plain, but I decided to applique a heart with my name.  All the better to show through when the sun is shining.

There is talk that these flags will be displayed at a prominent Boston landmark for a special Memorial Day event.  That would be really cool.  I'm just really glad to be sending some love in the best way I know how.  I grew up just outside of Boston, a couple of towns away from all the chaos.  My husband's family still lives there and we have friends there as well.  

The other effort I found out about this morning has been organized by the Boston Modern Quilt Guild.  They are collecting quilt blocks which need to be postmarked by May 24th.  Here's the direct link for instructions.  I have added a button for this one as well.  The Flickr group for this one is here.

I will be collecting flags and quilt blocks from locals.  Just comment or email me for info on how to get them to me.  I will ship them off in time.  I need the flags by May 12 and the blocks by May 21.  

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a most marvelous time in Maui last week.  This week has been filled with activities all to do with getting back to normal life (how I wish I could still wear my sandals!).  I also have some exciting news to report, but will have to do that another day.  I'll be back soon.  I hope you have a nice Valentine's Day!

A Very Merry Christmas to You and Yours

Christmas lights are way too much fun!  You really don't want to know how many of these photos I took last night.  However, if you want to give it a try yourself, here's the idea.  Using manual mode on your camera (this is for the ones with the darker background, which I think look the best), set the ISO high- over 1000, set the aperture to f-22, set the exposure time to 2-3 seconds.  That should be enough time to move your camera in the shape you want.  I discovered that to make any particular shape, I had to do it upside down to make it turn out right side up.  That script S up there was truly an achievement to create upside down!  Also, make your movements small to get the most discrete shapes.  But, as in all good things, experiment with lots of methods and see what you get.  Please comment with a link if you post any photos like this.  I'd love to see what you come up with. 

10,000!

Wow!  My quilt, "Shhhh..." was the 10,000th quilt registered for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative!  I just found out today when I got a call directly from Ami Simms.  What a treat!  When I picked up the phone I was really wondering why AAQI would be calling, even though I knew the 10,000 milestone was approaching.  The quilt is already in the mail to Ami and there are hopes it will be able to get some extra publicity for the charity.  

In fact, some of you will recognize this one as a piece that I made during the Patchwork Beasts class with Jude a couple of years ago.  I finished it last year and put it in my shop, but I hadn't sold.  When April 1 rolled around I realized I had nothing ready for AAQI this month, I decided to remove this one from the shop and registered it right away.  Well, now it's on a whole new adventure!  Ami is keen to see some local and national publicity, so I'll post here if any of that comes about.

I Believe in Love for AAQI March

I had already decided to finish this little cloth for AAQI when I got the email for the March themes.  One theme was "I believe in ...".  Well, it had to be!  This piece was started in a cloth weaving class with Jude Hill and I hope it does well for AAQI.  

I'm up to $816.29 on my $1000 Promise goal and my latest quilt for sale is A New Vision.   Fine Feathered Friend has not been photographed yet.  However, the March auction is going on now and there are some gorgeous pieces available to bid on!.   I hope you'll check it out and consider contributing to this fabulous organization!

Imperfectly Perfect

All of life is imperfectly perfect, including love.  Today I'm working on this little piece.  It was started in the first cloth weaving class I took with Jude.  I can't even remember how long ago, seems like ages.  It's time it was finished. I added a braided tie that I couched down and am putting in some quilting stitches. It may or may not be done today, but I've got a cold and I'm tired so I won't push it.  Thursday is the hubby's birthday and we'll celebrate then, or this weekend.  Meanwhile, I'm just stitching.

PS- Exciting news to tell- I will be one of the featured quilters at our guild's show this August!  The other honorees are Janelle, a friend and member of my book club, The Undercover Quilters and Joanne one of the guild's greatest resources.  Joanne has been a member since the inception of the guild almost 30 years ago.  I'm am thrilled to share the stage with these amazing artists!

PPS- I changed up the blog a bit and added a subscription button there on the upper right.  I am subscribed myself to be sure it works.  It usually takes a day or more before the email comes out, but if it's convenient for you to keep track of this blog that way, you have one of my readers to thank. Kathleen wrote to ask how to subscribe and I really didn't know the best way to do it.  A little bit of research later and I had this going.  Let me know if you have any problems.

Continuing

I've been working on many things this week and feel in a bit of  whirlwind with so many things I want to do.  The chores and have-to's keep getting in the way.  I'm finishing up a couple of these samples from Jude's classes (Patchwork Beasts and Cloth to Cloth). I had originally intended to put several of these pieces together into one big piece, but have changed my mind and will make small wall hangings that I plan to offer for sale in my shop.  I'll post here when I do that.

Meanwhile, my new design wall is getting a workout with this quilt for Chloe!  This was meant to be her graduation/going to college quilt.  It's  bit late, but will come just in time for the cold weather.  I decided to make two design walls and the other one isn't up yet.  This one is behind the door and so will be somewhat hidden, but it's a great use for a wall that really wasn't good for hanging artwork.  My pinboard is up too, but photos of that will have to be another day.  Must get going!

Whispering Hearts and Sun Moon Stars

Still working on my Whispering Hearts piece.  That workshop has ended and a new one has begun. This time it's Whispering Sun Moon Stars.  The great thing about these workshops is that you can access them at any time.  Jude has a new format that works really well.  The workshops are on separate blogs and accessible once you've paid.  You get all the videos, audios and downloadable PDF's.  Then, there is the SEW forum for all students past and present to show works inspired by Jude's classes.  It's really wonderful.  The SEW forum is also available for free to anyone to just read.

This heart is for a clothmate named Herm who is very ill now.  She has been receiving hearts from many in Jude's community.  It's quite astonishing really.  Mine was sent yesterday, a whispering heart with wings.