Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

Celia's Raven

Celia's Raven
2015
43 x 46
Inspired by The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Celia's Raven is done over 6 months early!  I am so excited about that.  No more sweating the summer over a book quilt.  Anyway, I love how the raven came out though it's hard to see the stitching unless you are in the right light.

I chose to keep the machine quilting fairly simple.  I added some lines of stitch to represent the face, but didn't try to add anything for an eye, for instance.The other quilting really doesn't show too much with so much pattern going on.  

The back is also simple, but I followed my rule about making the back fun and indicative of what's on the front.  I bought that circus tent fabric just especially for the back of this quilt and I was pleasantly surprised to find the raven fabric in the stash.  

I don't normally show my labels, but I did here because I wanted to show the book quote that inspired this quilt.  "In the blink of an eye folds of silk are glossy black feathers, and it is impossible to pinpoint the moment when it is fully raven and no longer cloth".

The Cabin on Squam Lake

This tribute to Roger and Kit's cabin on Squam Lake, New Hampshire, was started in a workshop with Mary Lou Weidman. I had intended to fill it with appliqued objects, figures and words.  During the workshop I only got as far as creating the house and trees.  It went into a drawer of WIPs and stayed there for 5 years.  When I finally pulled it out, it turned out I liked just as it was and didn’t feel like I could give any applique the time it would need to be right.  I finished the top within a day,and then took two days to quilt it.  I am thrilled with it now and find it just as meaningful as it might have been with the applique.  This quilt measures 65" x 50". 

For close to twenty years, each summer when we'd go visit relatives in Massachusetts, we'd also make a trip to Squam Lake in New Hampshire to stay with our friends Roger and Kit.  It was a truly magical place, a one hundred year old cabin that Kit's father built.  The lot right on the lake also included a very cool cabin with bunks.  Mark and I went there before kids and kept on going after the kids were born. We always had the most marvelous hospitality from our friends.  We remember boat rides to the icecream shop, water skiing, trips to Church Island to pick blueberries, quiet canoe rides, swimming to the floating dock and wild jumps, floating peacefully under the pines on the edge of the lake, the wide porch with 2 hammocks (just right for 2 kids), the most perfect rocking chairs, meals on the porch, watching the storms roll in across the lake, the sound of loons at night, and games at the big table on rainy days.  Oh, and this place was not too far from Keepsake Quilting, a yearly pilgrimage for me.  It was a very sad day when Roger and Kit decided to sell the cabin to a relative as they were retiring to Florida.  Now Roger is gone, but Kit lives on with enough energy to run circles around the rest of us.  We will be forever grateful for the memories and the friendships.

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

The new SOQS Men Behind the Quilts Calendar is out!  My quilt group, The Undercover Quilters Book Club, collaborated on one of the quilts in the calendar.  In fact, our quilt is in the centerfold!

Mr. March is Chris M., one of the daring men of Sisters who graciously agreed to pose with a quilt all in good fun and for a good cause.  Our quilt, called Welcome to the Neighborhood!, will be auctioned off this Wednesday along with the other calendar quilts at the Men Behind the Quilts Calendar Premier Party.  This promises to be a fun party and sadly, the tickets are sold out, but you can buy a calendar at many outlets in Sisters and Bend as well as online at the link above.  

I was really pleased to be invited to head up the project, but all of the Undercovers made a house block and some also made the extra blocks including the word blocks which may have caused some consternation!  However, it all came together beautifully.  What I love about the auction is that it's a fundraiser for the quilt show, but also for various other non-profits in town.  The funds raised from our quilt will be split with the SOQS and the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Isn't that wonderful! 

back row: Cindy, Erin, Martha, Lani, Sandie, Janelle, Betty
front row: Wanda, Susan, Jane, Sally, me

Spooky Town (aka Halloween in July!)

I have been on a mission for the last several weeks to finish a whole lot of half finished projects that have filled the drawers so much I couldn't fit anything else in!  It's been interesting.  It feels a bit like an excavation and I am unearthing many things I forgot I had.  This piece was finished just to use up some of the massive bin of Halloween prints I've collected.  I had the one house on the left that was made in a class demo.  I decided to add two more and some words.  Spooky Town just came to me for no apparent reason, but I like it!  

I used up some leftover large triangles that were saved from another Halloween top that is now at the quilter's.  I used some in the sky over the houses and the rest were sewn together and cut up for the border of the Spooky Town block.  Determined to use up even the smallest pieces, I made a string border.

But that wasn't all!  I still had way too many scraps, so I made scrappy blocks and cut them with my 9.5 inch ruler to make the back.  This quilt is pretty heavy and with the pieced backing it was also a bit tricky to quilt.  I knew this would be a class sample and I can't afford to get everything professionally quilted, so I soldiered on and did a swirl pattern myself.  In the next few days I'll be posting more of what I've been doing the last couple of weeks.  I count at least 6 finishes, plus some other bindings.  I still have more WIP's, but it feels like progress has been made. I am finding it hard to concentrate on new work at the moment, so I want to wipe the slate clean over the summer and get back to business in the fall.

The best part about this quilt, was that after I finished hand sewing the binding, I took it back to my dark studio and discovered these eyes looking at me!  I had to laugh because I had no idea the fabric was glow in the dark.  Very cool, although I wish I'd used the eyes in the windows of the houses.

SOQS Michael Miller Challenge Fabric Postcards

The Wish Upon a Card fabric postcards were due yesterday for consideration for framing and for the Michael Miller Challenge. I spent all day finishing these, but got them delivered just in time.  The challenge fabric was available in two colorways, but I went for my comfort zone and chose the brightest areas of the print.  I paired the challenge print with hand dyes, except for the green print above. The balloons and the bird are created with needleturn applique. The beach houses are with fusible (when I really had to finish it fast!).  I think the beach houses are my favorite, though the bird is a close second.

These are created with crinoline as a foundation, then layered with regular batting and backing.  The crinoline provides a bit more stability than just the batting.  As I said before, I keep trying methods to get the best feel for a postcard. This seems like a good solution for something that's not so stiff.

Soaring on a Winter's Evening

This is a small quilt I finished a couple of weeks ago for the Studio Art Quilt Associate's 25th Anniversary Trunk Show in 2014.  This is not a juried show, but of the quilts received, some will be juried into a group that will remain in a permanent collection at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.  All of the quilts sent in will be part of traveling exhibits for 2 years.  I'm just happy to have something to send in!  

This piece measures 7" x 10", the standard for this show.  I really love working this small and I really love this piece, so I'd be happy to get it back again someday.  

I hope to continue making smaller pieces like this next year.  After the new year I'll be working on a piece for The Undercover Quilters 2014 challenge.  I plan to do something similar for that.  More on that later.  

It Just Makes Me Happy!

In case you are wondering if you've landed on some other blog by mistake, yes this is really my blog!  Last week I found all these tiny canvases in the art cupboard and had a brainstorm to make a bunch of little painted ornaments.

Although these were painted individually, it was fun to realize that I could link them together in scenes.  They go together pretty well, despite having too many moons!

I just had such a good time painting these, don't be surprised if you see more.  These are all for sale in my Etsy shop and I started a new section just for them.  Please check it out.  Also, I will be closing the shop on December 12th, so get any orders in soon.  I will be shipping any last minute orders on the 13th.  Oh, and there are also some new fabric ornaments.  Check them out here.  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are ready for a lovely holiday season!

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?

Fun with Strings and Scraps

The Girlfriends top is done!  I finished the last border with houses, baskets and stars made with scraps of hot pinks and reds on a green background.

That was fun and I even have a quilter lined up to take this one, so it will be done for the show. It's about 55" square.  I never had a plan for this one, so I wasn't sure how big it would be, but this is good for the show since a lot of my newer work is on the small side.  Meanwhile I have a few pieces that need some finishing.  Those are tops on my list of Things to Do.  More soon!

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!