Published! Autumn Leaves Reader Challenge

Sue is happy to reveal (now that it's published) her submission to the Quilting Arts Autumn Leaves reader challenge!  In fact, it was one of 3 quilts from the October/November issue that was in the running for the cover.  Although not chosen for the cover, it was still a great honor to be considered, and to be in great company with the likes of Susan Brubaker Knapp who created the goldfish quilt that appears on the cover. 

There's a small thumbnail of my quilt on page 6, and the full size picture on page 59. 

Here's a photo of the quilt itself, easier to see than the magazine photo. Click on it for a larger view.

It is made from hand dyed fabrics that are screen printed (actually printing samples from teaching), with 3 printed & fused applique leaves.  Lots of hand stitching in the background and on some of the leaves, as well as a blanket stitch on the binding.   It went through several iterations before settling on the final arrangement, but Sue is pleased with the result and thrilled that the editors at QA liked it too!

Black-Eyed Susans

The Quilting Arts magazine June/July issue arrived this week and anticipation was high to see Sue's quilt published in the Reader's Challenge.  Imagine her surprise to see it on page 2 along with the Editor's Notes! 

As Vivika notes in the caption, it reminded her of the flowers growing along roadsides in Vermont.  Coincidentally, this little piece was inspired by a photo taken in neighboring New Hampshire!

After finding the great batik background, Sue set out to create a Buds, Blossoms and Blooms quilt of Black-Eyed Susans.  The first step was creating the flowers using Thermofax screen fusible appliques.  There were 2 different flower images made in different sizes for variety.

The flowers were printed, fusible web was applied to the back and then they were cut out individually.

Placement was decided on the background.

Stems were added (also fused).

The top was backed with a fusible fleece for batting and machine stitching was the next step to secure all the flowers and stems.

There was no backing as yet because hand embroidery was the final step and Sue didn't want that stitching to show on the back.  Here is the start of lots of French knots!

And this is the finished quilt, which also includes embroidery stitches on the stems and other parts of the background.  A bright and cheery piece to celebrate summer!

1000 Quilt Inspirations

The book, 1000 Quilt Inspirations: Colorful and Creative Designs for Traditional, Modern, and Art Quilts by Sandra Sider was released April 1.  And Sue has a quilt that was published in this book! 

It was kind of a surprise.  Actually, she submitted some photos last summer, but the only notification that something was selected came from the marketing department. So she kind of forgot about it until recently seeing that it was published.  So a little bit of detective work revealed that she does indeed have a  quilt in this book.

 And this is the quilt:

She is honored to be chosen to be among the quilters and their work represented here.  You can learn more about the book here.

Published!!

 Whew!  I'm very excited to announce that I (Sue) have been published for the first time!  A small 8x10 quilt I made for a Quilting Arts Reader's Challenge was selected for publication in the Dec-Jan issue, which is just beginning to arrive in shops and subscribers homes.  I believe the newsstand release date is Dec. 2.  The theme of the challenge was "Changing Seasons" but not just the obvious seasons of the year - also seasons of your life; transitions, transformations, changes that we all go through.  My interpretation was the life change of retirement, against a backdrop of riding off on a motorcycle trip the day after I left work for the last time. 

I started with this photo and used Photoshop Elements to turn it into a black and white image, the same process I use to make an image for a thermofax screen.  Instead of making a screen however, I printed the black & white image onto an inkjet fabric sheet.

Then I used water soluble pastel crayons to  color the image.  I have both Reeves and Derwent colors, but mostly used the Reeves.  

After coloring, I used the Fantastix brushes in the photo with water to blend the colors.  Then I made a thermofax screen of the word "retired" and printed it.

Next was quilting; a variegated thread was used for the trees and leaves, and red around the word "retired".  The binding is fused, a separate piece on each side and then satin stitched through all layers on the inside edge.  Here's the final piece and a close-up.

There's lots of stitching but it really blends in. If you click the picture to enlarge it you might be able to see it better.