Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

You Win Some, You Lose Some :: QuiltCon 2015

So, these are the three that didn't make it into QuiltCon.  Stylistically, I think they differ from the other three, but to tell you the truth the only one I really thought was a long shot was the second one.  It's awfully busy and may not be some people's cup of tea.  I purposely entered a lot of quilts so I would have a better chance, but I was lucky that I had some that I thought were suitable and available to enter.  The only one that was made specifically for QuiltCon was Love in the Digital Age.  

About the word rejection:  I don't like that word in describing what happened here.  I think with over 1300 quilts entered there were some very tough decisions being made.  I really like this blog post about the word rejection.  I prefer to say that these quilts were regretfully passed up.

I haven't seen this mentioned, but the way quilts were presented in photos could have made a difference.  I have been entering juried shows for just a few years, but have taken very seriously the advice I've gotten on photographing quilts.  Here's one set of helpful tips.  Here's another good one.  In general, I would never offer a quilt photo taken with my phone for a call for entry.  If that's all you've got, it's time to find a friend with a higher quality camera.

Many folks have been talking about the Modern Quilt Guild definitions of modern.  This is the key point that has bugged me since the whole movement started.  They were obviously not the first to make "modern" quilts.  Minimalism, negative space, alternate grid, high contrast, improvisational piecing have been around for decades and even centuries.  I also am bugged when people like Gwen Marston are looked over as having contributed greatly to this movement.  However, having said that, I find myself gravitating more and more to the improvisational part of this aesthetic and the folks who work in this realm.  QuiltCon 2015 will be my first QuiltCon show and I look forward to seeing the quilts, meeting the people, and feeling the energy.

Re solids:  Patty, in the comments on this post, mentioned that mine may have been chosen because they feature solid fabrics.  I have no idea about that for sure, but I have been seeing a lot more solids being used in the modern movement than the traditional quilt guild.  As you can see here, the three that didn't make it also feature solids.  I confess that for a while there, I thought modern meant that you used modern prints.  I bought a bunch and made some quilts that are okay, but really not my favorite.  In my case, I first fell in love 30 years ago with traditional Amish quilts, which, as I'm sure you know, are mostly made with solids.  It seems I am coming back to that and I really want to play with solids for their graphic quality. They also simplify my life as a quilter.  I don't have to worry about the personality of prints playing well together when I use solids.  My print stash has shrunk quite a bit over the years and the solids are taking over.  That suits me, but it doesn't mean it has to suit everyone.  I also still love a wild and wacky scrap quilt with a little bit of everything.  

So, for those whose quilts were regretfully passed up here's my advice.  Keep on making what you love.  If you are making what you think others will love, you will not be expressing your true voice.  If you make what you love you will be making art and craft that speak to you, is an expression of yourself and your personal aesthetic and you will find that this work shines.  Also, keep on entering shows if that's important to you.  Find other local, regional and even national shows that you can enter.  I want to put in a plug for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. They take all quilts that are entered as long as they meet the requirements for size and finishing.  See more about requirements here.  The 2015 SOQS is going to be huge!  It's their 40th anniversary and I know there will be many wonderful special exhibits.  They usually show over 1200 quilts and people come from all over the world to see them.  Modern quilts are also well received here.  

So, make 2015 a year in which you keep on finding your true voice as a quilter, in which you enter quilts if that's your desire, and keep on keeping on, as they say!

Modern Machine Quilting by Pam Raby

Last week I took a two day class that was probably one of the best I've ever taken on technique (rather than design).  It was Modern Machine Quilting with Pam Raby at the Stitchin' Post.  Pam is a quilter from Corvallis, Oregon and she teaches at a shop there as well as one up near Portland.  Now she's teaching in Central Oregon and I know the Stitchin' Post will have her back after the raves about this class.  Pam used the book, First Steps to Free Motion Quilting by Christina Cameli as the main text, but added lots of her own handouts and freebies.  The class was organized around doing a sampler/practice piece and 3 projects (pillow cover, fabric bucket and zipper bag).  The project patterns are in the book and are really well written, easy and satisfying!  It's worth buying the book for that reason.  In addition, Pam gave us a handout with measurements to make several other sizes of the fabric bucket.  I learned a lot about machine quilting, but also about sewing in general.  So good, I tell you!For my sampler/practice piece I brought this small quilt top that got started at the Modern Quilt Guild Sew Down this year.  I just realized that I never did a blog post about the Sew Down!  How could that be?  Anyway, it was great fun on a crazy, snowy weekend in Portland.  All participants did all four classes and my favorite was the one with Sherri Lynn Wood.  The class was called Improv Round Robin.  

We came to class with a box of fabric and a signature fabric that we would add to every quilt that came into our hands.  At the start of class we had 15 minutes to create a center for our piece, then passed the box to the next person, adding our signature fabric to whatever was in the box.  Every 15 minutes we passed the boxes.  It was hectic and fun and only a 3 hour class, so I think 7 people worked on mine.  Both of my friends from Bend worked on mine so that's cool.  Also, Sherri herself did part of mine.  So, this little top was waiting around to be finished.  I took it out, fixed a ripple and added the borders and it was ready to be quilted.The main reason I took this class was because when I am faced with a top to be machine quilted I usually go to my standard meander or try some basic other stitches, but mostly I just don't have any good ideas.  I liked Pam's class samples and thought I'd at least get some good ideas for patterns, but it was so much more.  Most important is that I have increased confidence with the machine quilting.

I hope that when I sit down with my next top I can dive right in and try something new!

The pillow is now in my Etsy shop.  I grabbed fabric without thinking and realized after that this particular green isn't quite right for my living room.  So, if you are interested, check it out here.  Also, remember to use the discount code Birthday25.

Lastly, Pam gave us a little bonus pattern & fabric for these nifty gift card holder ornaments.  Aren't they cute!  So quick and easy to make and I can think of all sorts of other uses.  How about for candies, gift tags, 24 for an advent calendar?  It was her gift to the students, but she also shared with all the Stitchin' Post employees. Pam was a great teacher, so supportive, enthusiastic and giving.  I would highly recommend her as a teacher!

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.

New Project: Roundabout Bend

I've started something new, with just a few days for completion.  This is for the Central Oregon SAQA group challenge.  The theme is A Bird's Eye View, A View from Above or Mapping Earth (the title will be settled on soon, I hope).  I had lots of plans for other places, other techniques, more realistic than abstract.  However, this very abstract view of my own little town won out.  I really wanted to try these improv quarter circles.  It takes a bit of practice and some of them have a little bit of puckering. I'm hoping that with quilting those will not be noticable.  It's been fun though and it's coming together the way I envisioned it.  It's due on Thursday so I'll report in with progress later this week!

PS: Do you remember I mentioned a new direction in my work for this fall?  This is part of that. I plan to work more often in solids and solid-like fabrics.  For instance, this piece includes regular solids from my sizeable collection (ie Kona, Moda Bella, Free Spirit, American Made Brand, etc), textured solids, chambrays and shot cottons, linen, Thai silk, and even a little bit of a regular print and a batik.  It all started from the scrap bin (a marvelous fount of creativity).  Are you working from your scrap bin yet?

X Marks the Spot

X Marks the Spot is the newest quilt from my studio.  It's a scrap quilt, though it sure looks more planned than the most recent scrap quilts.  These scraps are lefover from Ryan's Stars.  I love how a different plan leads to a totally different quilt.  

This includes red, turquoise, white and grey novelty prints, including pick-up trucks, trailers, chairs, hedgehogs, smiling mugs and typewriter keys.  I had planned to give this away, but now I like it too much.  It'd be a great baby quilt!The X block was found in a scrap bag I bought last fall in Michigan.  The rest of the blocks were made with a 2 by 2 technique, a slightly quicker version of log cabin because you can sew two sides before having to press.  I also make the blocks in sets of two, so I can chain stitch, cut, chain stitch and don't have to even use a leader scrap.  

I have to say the back is another favorite. I am really drawn to simple designs these days.  The block in the back turned out too large to trim to 9.5 inches like those on the front.  Too large, that is, if I wanted to preserve the outer prints, which I did.  I quilted it with a simple machine meander, to get it done and because I'm pretty sure it will be a baby quilt some day.

This is another busy week, so posting will probably be sporadic.  Quilt!Knit!Stitch! starts Thursday and I'll be there.  Then, our guild show is this Saturday.  If you are local, be sure to stop by!  I will be selling lots of magazines, books, fabric scraps and notions along with lots of other sales stuff from other guild members.  The quilt show should be quite wonderful too!  This quilt will be there.  Hope to see you there!

Two in One Community Quilt

These blocks were made before I sorted and bagged all the scraps I talked about last week.  This is made my usual scrappy way with imrov pieced blocks trimmed to 9.5 inches.  The back is pieced of many scraps.  It took a little while to make, but it was better than having to go out and obtain backing fabric.  I like the back even more than the front I think!

The Last of the Funglies

Recently, I finished this little fungly, another of the old works in progress that had been in the drawer for years.  Fun + Ugly = Fungly.  This quilt series was started in 2008 when Tonya Ricucci and Bonnie Hunter put out a challenge to their blog readers to use their weird and "ugly" fabrics in a scrap quilt.  We could use any liberated block and combine these fabrics in whatever way we wanted.  The fabrics I used aren't necessarily ugly, but the combinations would probably be considered by some to be quite ugly.  If you love scrap quilts and the pleasure of a little impromptu "I Spy", you'll love these quilts.This last one got stalled because I decided to hand quilt it and since it didn't have a deadline it got stored away at some point.  When I got it out again I actually had a lot of fun finishing the hand quilting.  I wish I knew which batting I had used because it's really hand quilting friendly.  Also, I did a wider binding than I usually do and I like how it came out.  I think I cut my strips for the folded binding to 4".  Shoofly is one of my favorite blocks so I used that on this one, but the first one I did was the quilt below with the Jacks on Six block that Tonya used.  That's a really fun block if you do it liberated and don't worry about your points!

I also did the small fungly below as a gift for Tonya.  I even hand quilted it!  It's been a while since I looked at it.  I do remember that I used a wool batting which was nice for quilting, but made it puffier than I generally like.  Since I am making effort in getting rid of my old fabric, I don't plan to do another fungly any time soon, but I'm glad I did these.  Since the newest one is hand quilted, I decided to keep it for myself. It would be a great baby quilt because it's so soft and cuddly.  The Jacks on Six quilt is now in my Etsy shop. I have set some quilts aside to sell because some days I feel like my house is overflowing with them.  This quilt would be perfect for someone with a quirky sense of humor.

How I Love a Free Hand Fan

Here's another newly finished quilt.  This one was started in Gwen Marston's Beaver Island Quilt Retreat last fall.  I started doing the free hand fans, but was stymied by the needle I was using and put it away for several months.  By the time I got it out again I had discovered a better needle for me so the multiple layers and frequent seams weren't as much of a problem.  

I may now be addicted to free hand fans.  On this one, the first row at the bottom was pretty regular.  After that I went a little more free form and just started adding new fans wherever I liked.  This loose style fits the quilt better and is more fun to do!

I embroidered my initials, the date of the retreat and the initials for Beaver Island Quilt Retreat in the corners. I haven't come up with a name for this one yet.  

Scrappy Christmas

Amongst the many old projects I've finished lately is this one.  I started this so long ago, I can't remember when exactly.  Could be 10 years or more.  Anyway, I had most of the house and star blocks done.  I only had to make 4 more houses and one star to finish it.  I don't even remember what the original plan was, but there was no way I was going to do more blocks than absolutely necessary.  So, I found the Santa panel for the bottom, leftover from something else, to finish it off.  The final star had to be made from scratch, so instead of a regular star, I made something more liberated which you can see below.  The blocks were quite a mess with uneven edges so I had to cut them down to a uniform size so some points got cut off.  No problem!

I'm glad it's done and I kind of like it.  What old UFO have you finished lately?

Okay, now for the winners of the calendar raffle.  Drum roll please!  Beatrice and Susan, please get in touch with your address (see the Email Me link on the left).  Congratulations!

Scrappy Times at Home

Whew!  It's been an other whirlwind few days with lots of quilty goings on.  We had the SOQS Volunteer Appreciation Party, which is always fun.  I got a very nice thank you package with wine, a gift certificate and a stack of fabric.  Sarah gave me some of the coffee in her package, so I got that too.  On Thursday was the SAQA meeting, my knitting group and my book club in the evening.

At the same time, I managed to finish the piecing and get this scrappy quilt machine quilted.  Below are some close ups.  This quilt includes all sorts of scraps from older novelty prints to Kaffe Fassett.  This will be donated to my guild's community quilt program.

I am still working to clean up the studio so that I can start fresh in September.  It'll be like going back to school and I'll be concentrating in some areas that I'll share later.  Even as I finished this one, I knew I had enough scraps for a bunch more of these community quilts.  I also knew that it was really starting to drain my energy to work on things that aren't furthering me as an artist.  I have only so much time in the next 6 weeks to get things under control and I have some trips coming up and so forth.  

So, even though I love scraps I just realized last night that I can actually sell/giveaway some scraps and life will go on.  Why is it that it took me so long to accept that?  Anyway, three bins later and I'm making progress.  I decided that it would be better to sort them.  Some scraps are not usable except for those dedicated to small pieces and skinny strips.  The rest was sorted into color piles.  I will be selling these at the Mt. Bachelor Quilters' Guild show on August 16.  I have also raided my magazine piles and book shelves, cleaned out several drawers of ancient projects and old notions, etc.  Things are looking up!

PS. Thank you to those who commented on the previous blog post.  There is still time to get in on the giveaway!  If you want to be in on it, please see the end of the previous post and comment there:  SOQS 2014 :: SCRAPS (AKA ODDS AND ENDS)