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Since falling in love with the art quilting world more than a decade ago, I've seen thousands upon thousands of quilts. Despite the fact that each one is unique, I've noticed some themes and motifs that attract quilt artists repeatedly: nature, the sea, faces and memories of loved ones, and geometric...
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I’ve gotten a few emails over the past couple of weeks from readers wondering what they should do for their “How Entertaining” reader challenge entry, (which has a fast approaching deadline of May 3rd)! Since the challenge looks at how movies, books, and such have had an impact on you...
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I'm not sure there's such a thing as too much fabric. Art quilters, especially, have a need--yes, need --to keep even small scraps because you never know when your quilt or fabric collage is going to require a specific color, pattern, or texture. Sometimes, though, the scraps of fabric can start...
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I'm suffering from a quilt show hangover, and no, it has nothing to do with alcohol, but rather everything to do with waking up in your own bed at home after being at a show for a few days. Attending quilt shows is a natural high: you gaze at amazing quilts on display, reconnect with old friends...
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When it comes to celebrating Earth Day, art quilters and mixed-media fiber artists are lucky: for us, it's easy being green. Not that we don't love a bin full of crisp, new fat quarters, but finding creative ways to use reuse and recycle textiles and fibers--thus reducing what goes into the trash...
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Is your studio harboring a heap of unfinished art quilts, just begging to be completed so they can be released and appreciated by the greater world? Not to worry, How to Bind a Quilt: 12 NEW Quilt Binding and Finishing Methods for Your Art Quilts has come to the rescue! Inside this free, downloadable...
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I love the soft shimmer of metal embellishment on a quilted surface. Just a touch of metal can act as an elegant focal point. An all-over quilting pattern of metallic thread, couched wire, or foil can add texture and make the quilt seem to glow from within. Two fiber artists who are renowned for their...
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As you can tell from Pippa's latest entry , we've been doing a little road tripping lately... I'm thrilled to say the next stop is the International Quilt Festival/ Chicago ! Are you making your art to trade with others at the new Trading Post at Make It University!(TM) ? If you want some...
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This past Wednesday and Thursday, the Quilting Arts editorial team (Pokey, Helen, and myself) decided to take a little road trip. As of right now, the purpose of our excursion can’t be divulged, so I’ll share some non-work-related tidbits to give you a sense of what we editors do when we’re...
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Contemporary artists who work in mixed media and fiber know that including a texture background in their art projects makes for more interesting, cohesive pieces of art. Layering mixed-media techniques gives the final piece depth and polish. To help you create better backgrounds for your mixed-media...
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Our staff is in the home stretch of our preparations for Make It University! TM with Cloth Paper Scissors ® at International Quilt Festival/Chicago , and boy are we getting excited. There is definitely a buzz in the air, and it's not just the bees that have come out of hibernation during the...
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It’s been a few days since Quilting Arts April/May 2010 issue hit the newsstands, and many of you may have noticed that this is our animal-themed issue, containing 21 creaturely quilts, Pokey Bolton’s article on “Pet-ty Journal Portraits,” Susan Carlson’s “Freeform...
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One of the things I most enjoy about International Quilt Festival is seeing all the little stitchers-in-training who attend with their moms, grandmothers, or aunts. These kids come with their ATCs to trade (or, like young Lexus Estes, they submit their quilts to the show), they participate in workshops...
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I wonder if my love of dyeing came from coloring Easter eggs as a child. Setting out the little glass cups full of hot water and vinegar, mixing in the dye powder, and slowly lowering the hard-boiled eggs in one at a time, it seemed magical to me when they emerged all decked out in pretty pastels. I...
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Quilts can range from the functional to the memorial to the artistic—with most combining several of these qualities—and all types can be seen at “Quilts: 1700-2010,” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from March 20 th to July 4 th . While the majority of quilt shows focus...