Joining Instagram

Last spring we decided to begin some sporadic posts on Instagram to “try it out”.  Hesitant to get involved in another social media platform that might soak up a lot of time, we had a slow start.  However, after going to QuiltCon, put on by the Modern Quilt Guild, it seems that Instagram has some advantages over the other platforms we currently use which are our Facebook page and the blog. 

You can post from Instagram and set it to go to a Facebook account but right now it goes to our personal Facebook pages and not the business page.  Hmm...there is most likely a way to fix that, we just need to figure it out.  Of course, if any of you know how to link it to a business page, we'd love to hear about it.

The Facebook business page also used to let us see more easily what other quilters and business owners were posting on something similar to the news feed on a personal page.  That feed is still there but it is less obvious and so we no longer find ourselves checking it out. So while we could interact with people who followed us, it was not as easy to interact with people we wanted to follow.

With Instagram the wording is short, making it fairly quick and easy to post.  It really is about the visuals (photographs).  You can add hashtags to make posts easily searchable by topic.  Checking the pictures is like scrolling through a photo album instead of reading lots of posts and links and is much less time consuming than blogging.

The uncluttered feel of the Modern Quilt Guild movement definitely supports Instagram’s clear clean messages.  It also feels like Instagram is where the young quilters are getting their support and ideas.  At PGFiber2Art we want to be able to reach out to all types of quilters who would enjoy adding hand printed fabrics to their art.

Currently we are participating in a month long challenge to post daily on Instagram during March.  You can find posts about this challenge called #IGQuiltFest by searching that hashtag.  It is being sponsored by Amy Ellis of @amyscreativeside.

So, if you are inclined to join Instagram or are already there, feel free to follow us at pgfiber2art.  We look forward to interacting with you there.

More About QuiltCon

The Savannah Convention Center is located on an island in the Savannah River.  Since all but one hotel are located across the river, there is a free ferry that takes you back and forth.  It runs all day at 20 minute intervals.

Actually, there are several boats that are rotated.  The trip across the river only takes about 5 minutes.

Here is an outside view of the convention center.

And from the convention center looking across at River Street with the dome of the city hall in the background.

This sign in the lobby was amusing.

A clear sign that quilting is thriving in the 21st century.

Each year, Robert Kaufman creates a new Kona Cotton color of the year, which is produced that year and then retired.  In 2016 it was Highlight, a bright yellow, which was used in quilts by some of the industries leading quilters.  A 4 panel display showcased over 60 quilts using this color.

Here's a peak at one of the vendor booths, this is the one where we found the pop-up we had made with Windham fabrics and one of our screens.

Another of the prize winning quilts that didn't make it into yesterday's post is Vertigo, by Elaine Poplin of Huntsville, AL.  It won 3rd place in the Piecing category.

This was an interesting quilt - made of woven strips with the blocks joined after completion so that it is completely reversible.  Careful planning and color placement required!

Andover fabrics was one of the vendor booths that had their fabric lines displayed and offered daily activities.  On Friday we did some block printing, and Saturday they provided materials to make squares for charity quilts.  Other vendors had demos and make-and-takes, so there were many interactive things going on.

QuiltCon 2017

QuiltCon, presented by the Modern Quilt Guild, is a smaller show than other national shows like Mid-Atlantic that we are used to going to, with a different vibe.  It felt fresher, younger (though all ages were in attendance), energized.  The vendor section included booths for some fabric, notion and thread companies (though they weren't selling), adding a bit of a trade show feel.  Education was also a big part of the conference - there were workshops and lectures with over 40 instructors.  Topics seemed to be more technique than project oriented.  It was good to be exposed to another aspect of quilting and a new group of vendors.  We took in 2 lectures on Saturday, one on printing fabric and another on social media, both topics that probably would not be addressed at a traditional show. Another obvious difference was the use of technology - a podcast booth, live Facebook streaming, and electronic boards that showcased ongoing video of participants and twitter comments.  All very 21st century!  There were so many wonderful quilts, its very hard to choose which ones to share.  We hope you enjoy these selections!

Bling by Katherine Jones won Best of Show.  Katherine is from Tasmania, Australia.  Her foundation pieced quilt is based on a princess cut diamond.

Not Easy Being Green is by Mary Keasler of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  It won the Best Machine Quilting award.

Kathy York of Austin, Texas, created Boulder Field. It was entered in the pieced category.  Sue loved the retro feel of this quilt, it reminded her of the mid-century modern style.

Finding the One is by Miriam Coffey of Lake Junaluska, NC, also in the Piecing category.

This quilt called Blades is by Jessica Levitt of Bridgewater, NJ, another in the Piecing category.  Enlarge for a closer look at the quilting.

Smoke is another quilt by Katherine Jones, winner of the Best of Show quilt. (She was a busy lady!) This was in the Minimalist Design category.

Yoshiko II is an Improvisational quilt by Marilyn Farquhar of Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada.

Lincoln took 1st place in the Improvisational category.  It is by Kim Saper of Huntington, NY.

Still With Her is a Judge's Choice winner, made by Liz Harvatine of Burbank, CA.

Lindsey Neill of Chandler, Arizona, created Die Beem (Trees) in the Use of Negative Space category.

The first place winner in the Applique category was Susan Bleiweiss of Pepperell, MA with Inside Out.  This was a departure from her usual work which is very bright and colorful.

We encourage you to click on any of these pictures and enlarge them to get a closer look at the quilting.  Some are just spectacular!

Savannah

Ah, Savannah...where to start?  We had a grand time at QuiltCon and touring Savannah.  The weather was perfect and the city delightful.  I guess the easiest way to share our experience is chronological.  We arrived around noon on Thursday and checked into our hotel.  We had decided ahead of time that we would spend  Friday and Saturday at QuiltCon, and use the rest of the time for sightseeing.  So after some lunch and a visit to the concierge to inquire about tickets for the trolley tour, we set off to explore. 

Old Town Trolley tours took us all around the historic city - there are 15 stops where you can hop on and off the trolley for sightseeing.  They stop every 15 minutes up until 5 PM, so it is easy to take in the sights you want to see.  Our focus this day was the birthplace of Juliet Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts.  This was a bucket list site for Elizabeth, so we went for the tour, and just rode the trolley the rest of the route to get a "lay of the land".

The tour was very educational - we learned a lot about Savannah and its history. The Cotton Exchange building below was completed in 1887 when Savannah ranked first in Atlantic cotton seaports and 2nd in the world.  Cotton prices for the world were set here.  Over 2 million bales a year moved through Savannah!

The Cotton Exchange and other buildings known as Factor's Row are built above River St. where the ships came into port.  Consequently there are numerous stairways and cobblestone streets down to the lower level, as you can see in the picture of the steps below.

We enjoyed exploring the shops and restaurants along River Street as well.  All these buildings were originally warehouses that were abandoned.  They were renovated in the late 20th century to create the  lively atmosphere that exists today.

Since the weather was so unusually warm, the azaleas and other flowers were blooming, and the live oaks with their Spanish moss create an otherworldly effect.

It's a wonderful city with so much to see that it begs for another visit!

Zentangle with Marisela

Wednesday night Sue had the pleasure of attending a presentation on Zentangle by local quilt instructor Marisela Rumberg.  What is Zentangle and what does it have to do with quilting, you may ask?  Well, Zentangle is a copyrighted method of drawing that involves some standard elements to create abstract drawings.

Zentangle drawings, done in black & white, can be inspiration for a quilt, as shown below.

Marisela also creates Zentangle inspired art, which means she uses Zentangle patterns to fill in a familiar or recognizable object.

Her portrait of Frieda Kahlo is an example of this. Here she also added some color. As mentioned before, true Zentangle is only black & white but Marisela calls her variations "quiltangles". Below is a close up of the dress portion.

Some of the design is achieved through stitching. The more solid blacks and grays are done with paint, marker or ink. She continues to experiment with different materials.

Marisela is a very talented fiber artist and teacher in Northern Virginia. She teaches Zentangle, free motion machine quilting, and other classes as well as being part of a studio fiber arts group at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton. Check out her website at www.MariselaRumberg.com. You can also find her on Facebook as Marisela's Quilts & Tangles, and on Instgram at Marisela.Art.

Heading to Savannah

On Thursday Sue and Elizabeth are heading to QuiltCon east, presented by the Modern Quilt Guild and being held in Savannah, GA.  Usually at this time of year we are off to Hampton, VA for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.  But after so many years of the same quilt show, we decided it was time for something different, and made arrangements to attend QuiltCon instead. 

Like MAQF, there is a quilt show/competition, vendors, workshops and lectures.  We are not registered for any workshops, but plan to take in a few lectures.  We will arrive mid-day Thursday and plan to spend Friday and Saturday at the show.  That will leave Thursday afternoon and Sunday for sightseeing around Savannah, and then return home Monday.  Neither of us has ever been to Savannah, so this is a new adventure for us.  We look forward to seeing some of the historic sights in Savannah, including the Juliet Gordon Low birthplace.  Old Town Trolley Tours has several packaged tours, or you can pick and choose the things you want to see.  Downtown Savannah is home to one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the US.

Stay tuned to hear more about our adventures at QuiltCon and in Savannah!

Sheers and Discharge

Several students in our latest Basic Screen Printing class at Artistic Artifacts tried a variety of fabrics on which to print.  There aren't any special techniques for printing on sheers - the process is the same as for cottons.  Though it may be helpful to tape the edges of the sheer to keep it from shifting.  You could also try printing several layers at once since the sheerness will allow some paint to flow through to lower layers. Here are a few done on organza and another semi-sheer fabric.

Thermofax printing works well in conjunction with mixed media techniques and can also be done on paper, cardboard, wood, etc.  Any surface that has a bit of absorbency for the paint, so a non-glossy surface.  Highly textured surfaces may not produce a clear crisp image but there are times when that may not be the desired result anyway.  Experimenting to find out what works and what does not work is part of the fun.  A mixed media artist in the classroom was already combining screens on the fabric to create a background for future work.

DeColourant, a discharge product which was discontinued last May, was used on this green piece to discharge or take away the green leaving a lighter image of these pine branches and Queen Anne's lace. 

Jacquard has replaced and renamed their original discharge product deColourant; it can be purchased at Dharma Trading Company and Pro Chemical and Dye.