Artful Improv

Last weekend Sue enjoyed a class on improvisational quilting with local art quilter

Cindy Grisdela, author of Artful Improv.  The half day workshop was open to members of the SAQA Northern Virginia Pod, which is a local group consisting of members of the SAQA national organization.  SAQA stands for Studio Art Quilt Associates, a group that promotes art quilting and exhibits around the world.

Many of Cindy's quilts feature a single block (or 2 or 3) and lots of negative space that is heavily quilted.  She walked us through her process for creating blocks, and then we all worked on blocks with our own choice of fabrics. 

In the picture above you can see some of Cindy's quilts in the background.

We worked log cabin style, starting with a center square and adding logs around, with wonky piecing and mixing in smaller pieced units and sparks of color. 

This is Sue's block in progress.  The fabrics she is using are all hand dyes from Vicki Welsh. 

This is the finished block against the fabric she plans to use as the background.  The fabrics are not quite as light as they appear here - the colors are actually deeper and richer.

Cindy also showed us her free motion quilting process and some of her frequently used motifs are pictured above.  If you are a fan of improv quilting, her book is well worth owning.  Hopefully Sue's block will find it's way into a small quilt and not end up on the UFO pile!

Print and Collage Class in March

Coming up on March 17 is our next session teaching Thermofax screen printing at Artistic Artifacts, called Print and Collage with Thermofax Screens.  This time, we're putting a new twist on the class by using the fabrics you print to create a small collage.  Typically, we teach you the basics of printing and then let you use the time to print as much fabric as you want.  But sometimes people aren't quite sure what to do with the fabric after they've printed it.  So we'll talk about some art and design principles and use your stash of prints to create a 12" square quilt, which could become a wall hanging, pillow, be mounted on canvas, or incorporated into a larger piece.  Lots of possibilities!

Below are some collage examples.  The first 2 are made with only thermofax printed fabrics (except 1 piece).  The third one combines thermofax printing with other printing techniques.  Check out the description and supply list and we hope to see you in Alexandria on March 17!

Family Treasures

Do you enjoy or collect antique quilts?  Back in December when Sue was visiting her mother in Pennsylvania, her mom pulled out a family treasure that her sister (Sue's Aunt Gloria) had brought her to be passed on.  She had been keeping a crib quilt in her cedar chest for many years, and decided it was time to give it to the next generation. Aunt Gloria didn't have children of her own, so she decided it should go to a niece who is a quilter and would cherish it. 

The quilt was made by Sue's Great Aunt Ann (her maternal grandmother's sister).  According to Gloria,  Aunt Ann made the quilt in anticipation of children she might have.  As it turned out, she didn't have children after all, and so gifted it to her sister when Gloria was born. 

It was later passed on to Gloria, though she didn't have children either.  So it has been in storage for a while.  According to the information Gloria provided, it was made around 1893-1895 and given to her mother in 1934. 

After sharing the quilt, Sue's mom went to her bedroom and returned with another gift - a thimble that belonged to the same Aunt Ann.  If you look closely at the picture (or enlarge it) you can see engraved initials - ALU.  Sue's mom isn't able to sew any more, and thought it fitting that the quilt and thimble be together.  Fortunately, the thimble fits, and Sue has used it several times.  What a special gift, knowing you are the 3rd generation to use such a timeless treasure!

Do you have any sewing or quilting treasures passed on from previous generations?  We'd love to hear about them in the comments!

New Year Sale in the Etsy Shop

Our January newsletter went out earlier this week and if you aren't a subscriber, you can read it here.  If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, you can do that on the right side of this page.

In the newsletter, we announced a New Year sale in the Etsy shop.  We are offering a 15% discount on all orders through March 31.  There are two ways to get the discount: either use code NEWYEAR2018 at check out, or use this link to the shop and the code will be applied automatically https://www.etsy.com/shop/PGFiber2Art?coupon=NEWYEAR2018.

Our featured screens this month are snowflakes and hearts.

These are vintage snowflake images that are available in a row of 3 that is 2 inches by 5 3/8".  There is also a group of 3 in varied sizes, available at 3 x 4.5 inches and 4 x 6 inches.

Print up some fabric for mug rugs or placemats or a table runner for the winter season.

If you're planning some projects for Valentine's day, we have several heart-themed screens including this one in 3 sizes.

Check out both the snowflake and heart screens in the Etsy shop.

Happy New Year 2018!

A new year always provides the opportunity to refocus, evaluating the previous year and making plans for the new.  Here at PGFiber2Art we've been quiet for the last month of 2017, taking some time instead to focus on the holidays and family activities.  Now that 2018 is here, it's time to take a look back at 2017 while taking the first steps into the new year.

Some highlights of 2017 for us included: Sue's January trip to Craft Napa in California;

our trip to Quilt Con in Savannah in February;

submitting to the Threads of Resistance call for entries and later viewing the show at the New England Quilt Museum;

an art quilt class with Libby Williamson; getting back to Quilt Camp in New Hampshire;

participation in a modern quilt exhibit at the Virginia Quilt Museum; and work on other challenge/exhibit projects.  So even though it seems at times as though not much is being accomplished, when you take the time to look back you find that you've really done more than you thought.

In 2018, we are looking forward to: attending the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in February; teaching our revamped screen printing class in March (Print and Collage with Screen Printing);

the birth of Elizabeth's first grandchild in March; classes with national teachers - Sue is registered for a class with Hollis Chatelaine in April, and we will both be taking 2 days of classes at VCQ's Celebration retreat at the end of April; we also will be trying out a new teaching venue this spring.

So as we move forward into this brand new year, we hope you will continue to follow along with our creative adventures, and we wish all of you a fulfilling, inspirational and creative year!

Quilting Inspiration

We all need inspiration, don't we?  And gathering with like-minded souls who share our passion for creating with fabric and fiber (or paper and paint, beads, yarn, whatever you create with) is an important aspect of that inspiration.  At Artistic Artifacts, there is a monthly group that meets to do that - share their work and inspire each other.  JAMS is the name of the group and stands for Judy's Altered Minds (Judy Gula is the owner of AA.)  Yesterday, we were joined by Sue Warburton of Manchester, England who is in the area visiting family.  A friend of Judy's, she was kind enough to bring part of a collection of journal quilts she made - this was a one-a-week project for her, so she initially made 52, but has since doubled that number. So in addition to the regular member show and tell, we were treated to seeing Sue's work close up.

Here is Sue explaining a fabric bag project to one of the attendees. Below are several of Sue's journal quilts.  Her work includes a variety of techniques, from applique to wool, vintage and found objects to collage, surface design, beading, hand embroidery and machine thread work.  All a treat for the fiber enthusiast!

These small pieces are all about 8 x 10 inches in size, a good size to experiment with a new technique, focus on your own individual style, and stretch your boundaries.  Maybe a new goal for 2018? 

VCQ Quarterly Meeting

We spent Veteran's Day at our quarterly Virginia Consortium of Quilters meeting in Manassas, VA.  As always, it was a fun day with classes, Come Quilt with Me, socializing and quilting.  This time we had 2 workshops going on - Deb Schupp of Gumbo Design Studios taught "Big Blue" Modern Mini and Penni Domikis of Cabin in the Woods Quilters taught Nested Petal Machine Applique.

Above is show & tell of Deb's class - as you can see, it didn't have to be blue! They had fun creating their own compositions with Deb's guidance.

In Penni's class, we learned to use Terial Magic spray to stabilize our fabric for machine applique.  Above, Karin has 4 completed blocks sewn together.  Below, some of us were assembling in rows.  Penni's pattern, called Merry Blossoms, has 9 blocks and a border.

Meanwhile, in Come Quilt with Me, folks were busy with their own projects they brought to work on.  Some of us come to learn something new, others come for the "retreat" type atmosphere of CQWM and the camaraderie. Here is some of the CQWM show and tell.

We had a delicious boxed lunch from Pot Belly Sandwich Shop, and our business meeting followed.  At the end of the day we gather for show and tell and a door prize.  Here are a few more photos from show and tell.

We are also gearing up for our 4 day Celebration retreat next spring.  We gather at the Smith Mountain Lake 4-H Center and bring in national teachers for 2 full days of workshops, plus other fun activities.  There are still spaces available, check out all the info at the link above.  Block lotto kits were available for purchase and the finished quilt that can be made from the blocks (if you win!) was on display.

Since November is our annual meeting where we elect officers, we also bring our memory quilt to display.  This quilt was made by Sherry Whitford to honor our members who have passed away.

If you've never been to a VCQ meeting, come check us out!  We meet 4 times a year in various locations around the state.  You get to meet quilters from all over Virginia, see different parts of the state, and find new quilt shops along the way.  Check out our website and come join us in March in Staunton, and/or Celebration at the end of April!