Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

Modern Improv Sampler

Modern Improv Sampler
Kristin Shields  2014
17 x 24, cotton, linen, machine pieced and quilted

Begin as you mean to go on- a good bit of advice for New Year's.

I don't think I've shown this finished piece yet.  I started making these units during my Modern Improv class at NW Quilters last September.  I did show a glimpse of it in this post in November.  This was a quick finish.  It's small, but so much fun. This is what I mean by doing the kind of quilting I love.  I absolutely love taking a bunch of scraps and making meaning of them.  Especially if they are solid scraps.  I decided to make several of these small pieces because they'll be useful for travel teaching.  I think teachers need to provide lots of examples, but traveling with a suitcase of big quilts gives you less variety.  Since I love to do these, it's certainly not a hardship.  I think I'll be making lots more this year!

Meanwhile, today I started something new for our 2015 Central Oregon Modern Quilt Guild Challenge :: Inspired by Gee's Bend.  I'll post about that next time!

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?

Upcoming Class: Liberated Stars

I'm teaching Liberated Stars on October 24th, 10-4 at QuiltWorks in Bend. Come along and join the class. We'll learn the basic technique and how to change things up for various effects. Star blocks can be used in ANY quilt and since these are liberated, you get to make all the decisions. These are the most fun ever!

Check it out here

NW Quilters :: Improv in Solids and Liberated Baskets

My time in Portland at the NW Quilters Guild last week was great fun and a wonderful introduction to the world of a traveling teacher!  The lecture went great and the 2.5 days of class were lots of fun.  I hope to do it again soon.  The first photos are from the improv class.  Very striking pieces, don't you think?  Most of the students hadn't worked improvisationally before, but they certainly caught on fast!  The improv class was 1.5 days, but I think it would have worked well in a longer format.  We are seeing a lot of potential here, but I'd love to see them even further along.  They did tell me that the quilts from these workshops will be featured in their quilt show next year (May 1 & 2, Portland Expo Center).

Above: This student made the print blocks with scraps as she went along, each seam was a leader or ender.  Great idea!Above, don't you think that stripe looks great in this piece!

Above:  This student made the block on the top right without planning it.  We all fell in love with it (we named it the railroad block) and she demoed it so we could all give it a try.  We discovered that value and placement of the thinner strips vs thicker strips makes a difference.  

Above:  I wish I'd gotten a better photo of that middle quilt, Tam did such a fantastic job!  Below is my teaching sample mixed with some other parts I found in the scrap bin.  The Liberated Baskets class was on the last day.  This was a smaller class, but no less fun.  I was so happy to see the students try all sorts of different baskets.  This photo includes baskets from everyone, including me.  I look forward to seeing these done as well.  I'll have to put their quilt show on my calendar!

Fiber Arts Stroll!

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Fiber Arts Stroll.  I will be there to demonstrate watercolor techniques on fabric, which is how I did the fabric postcard above.  I'll be in front of Melvin's Fir Street Market from 12-4pm.  

I'll also have for sale many of the items I sell in my Etsy store, including hand dyed fabric Inspiration Packs, greeting cards and small art pieces.  Hope to see you there!

Modern Improv, May 2014

I had a good time teaching my Modern Improv class last Saturday.  Each of the students worked tirelessly all day and came out with a good start on some pretty cool quilts!  Throughout the day, their pieces changed as they tried new techniques and moved pieces around.  I love how these are coming along!

These next two are my own, can you tell by the color?  I am considering how to finish this small teaching sample right now.  I don't have any other teaching plans until September, when I'll be teaching at NW Quilters in Portland.  I'll post to my teaching schedule if anything comes up between now and then.

Liberated Baskets

I had so much fun teaching liberated baskets last Friday!  I had only two students, so they got extra attention and I got time to sew too.  I picked a very limited palette (for me) and used the black and white feature on my camera to check the value.

I got a chance to try some basket shapes that I've never made before.  Isn't this print a hoot?  It's an old one that I had a 1/2 yard of.  It's perfect for this.

This one was fun to do.  My students requested a lesson on spiky triangles, so I used my demo pieces to make this basket.  I also thought I'd add some stems for flowers and showed them that you can get the block together and do the handles later if you want to hand applique.

These are the two fabulous pieces that Susan (above) and Sandie (below) are working on.  Susan brought some great Hawaiian prints she picked up on Maui.  Love it!  Sandie came with a huge stack of blocks she made during a class with Gwen Marston and Freddie Moran.  I helped her get them organized and then she started making baskets to fill it in.  Wonderful!  

My next class is Modern Improv on May 10th at QuiltWorks. I'd love to have you join me!

Quilts, at long last!

I just realized that there have been virtually no photos of quilts on this quilting blog in months!  Wow, how did that happen?  Travel and the other concerns of daily life have made things topsy turvy.  To rectify the situation, I thought I'd show a couple of finishes from late last year.  These are both shop samples for classes I'll be teaching in March.  The first is Boho Baskets, which was made as a sample for the Liberated Baskets class I'm teaching on March 1 at QuiltWorks in Bend.  This is a fun class!  Baskets are a wonderful way to use large scale and novelty prints and you can highlight each one.  The handles are where the action is and I'll teach a quick and easy way to  make them.  The triangles (made three ways) are a bonus for those who have time in class.

High Country Winter was made as the sample for the Modern Improv class I'm teaching on March 21 at QuiltWorks.  This is also a fun and sometimes mindblowing class as students learn to trust their instincts, use fabric in unexpected ways and compose spontaneously.  If you'd like to join me in either (or both) of these classes, please see the QuiltWorks website for all the details.

Hola and Happy New Year!

I'm baaaaack!  You know it's bad when your husband mentions the lack of blog posts for over a month!  Okay, getting back in the swing of things always takes longer than I think it will.  We got back on New Year's Eve, unpacked, did laundry, and repacked to take Chloe to college again.  Got back and it still took a week to feel like I had the house under control.  Then I didn't feel well for a while.  

Well, just now, I was sewing and realized this is the exact light that makes sewing a real joy.  That midwinter sun is low enough to come right in my studio window.  Perfect!  

On the machine now is a project for the Riley Blake Challenge for the Modern Quilt Guild.  I decided to do an improv/liberated log cabin variation called Housetop.  This is also doing double duty for my Mt Bachelor Quilters' Guild challenge (Log Cabin Variations).  I just started this last night, my first sewing in over a month.  Feels good to be back.

Our trip was absolutely fantastic!  I will have more to say about that soon.  I also have thousands of photos from our trip to go through and will be compiling a slideshow at some point.  I'll post here when I do, just in case you're interested.  I did get an awful lot of great animal shots.  

The new year is shaping up to be busy.  I've got lots of projects with deadlines already, works in progress that I'd like to finish, contests, challenges, etc, etc, etc!  What's on your plate for the new year?  New ideas and projects?  My word for the year is REST.  I want to get plenty of it.  Last year was pretty busy and exhausting.  It was a big one for us all.  This year, I hope to recoup some energy and refill my tank.  

I still have openings in my teaching calendar so if you have a group, guild, or shop that would like me to come speak and teach check out the links in the header.  Thanks and have a wonderful 2014!