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Of all the elements of design--line, color, texture, shape, form, value, and size--I think the most difficult one to grasp is value. Not only understanding what it is, but how to use it when you're in the process of designing a fiber art piece. How can you use value to your advantage? How do you...
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I love the variety of novelty yarns and fibers available today: thick, thin, sparkly, variegated, fuzzy, sumptuous-and they come in every color you can imagine. They are a feast for the eyes and whenever I see a ball, skein, or even snippets of these yarns, I want to plunge my hands into them and get...
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I’m sure many of you did a double take when you saw the cover of the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Quilting Arts . The quilt, “My Buddy and Me,” by Barbara McKie (featured in the exhibit “SAQA@20: Art and Excellence”), is so vivid and lifelike, it’s easy to imagine...
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I’ve always loved the past—I studied art history in college, after all—and therefore have a deep fascination with antique quilts. I’ve collected only a few so far, and this one (my first, actually) is my hands-down favorite: The dozens of different fabrics and hundreds of little...
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My college motto, which got me through many tough exam seasons, was ‘work hard, party hard.’ And apparently these words of wisdom still apply. You see, even though we’ve been rather busy at the Quilting Arts office, we managed to find the time this week for a hands-on, artsy evening...
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Though International Quilt Festival/Houston is certainly one of the most highly-anticipated and enjoyed events of the year for many quilters, the Quilt Scene is never ending; all year long, quilters are busily at work brainstorming, creating, and, of course, discussing the art of quilting. In fact, I...
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Aside from stitching and embellishing, is there anything more thrilling than finding a beautiful vintage textile or an unusual found object at a yard sale, thrift shop, or flea market? Especially at a great price? Such a piece can add just the right touch to make a contemporary art quilt or mixed-media...
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As the holiday season approaches and everyone gets so busy, I have to remind myself to keep it simple. Simple gifts, simple decorations, simple fabric art projects. For example, instead of doing all the baking and cooking for Thanksgiving plus making all the decorations and crafting personalized napkin...
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No one knows more about pushing your artistic boundaries than Kelli Perkins, author of Stitch Alchemy: Combining Fabric & Paper for Mixed Media Art . Not only does her book contain a wide variety of projects, from bookmarks to beads and paper quilts, but it’s full of inspiration for embarking...
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One thing our editorial team loves to do is devise reader challenges, and usually during the brainstorming sessions, there is a lot of laughter around the conference table. This next reader challenge is no exception. I confess this one is of a personal nature. You see, I have had a lifelong obsession...
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One of my favorite holidays is Halloween, and because International Quilt Festival/Houston was early this year, I'm excited to report that I will be at home and giving out candy to costumed witches, vampires, and assorted Jedi this Saturday. This weekend also marks the beginning of El Dia de los...
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That’s right, our newest publication, International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene , is finally here. As of today, Tuesday, October 27 th , you too can own a copy of this beautiful, 150 page special issue, packed with patterns, projects, tips, techniques, and news from the quilting world. For those...
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It's almost inevitable: anyone who loves the pattern and colors of fabric has to be drawn to the vast variety of papers available, both commercial and found. Of course, like the children's story about giving a mouse a cookie, once you have an assortment of beautiful papers, you're going to...
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When we launched the Quilting Arts Community last spring, we hoped to build a place where contemporary quilters, mixed-media fiber artists, and others could share information and inspiration in forums, through videos, and in our online galleries. At the same time, we wanted to make it easy and fun to...
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Quilting Daily
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Quilting Daily
on
22 Oct 2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Surface Design, Machine Quilting, How to Quilt, Patchwork Quilt, Quilting For Beginners, Quilt Patterns, Art Quilts, Quilting Techniques, Dyeing Fabric, Handmade Quilts, Quilted Bags
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Brace yourselves! I think I'm about to set a world record in the Blogosphere for the number of photos in a single blog entry. I took nearly 250 shots at International Quilt Festival/Houston, but I cut the lot down to 49. (The ones I don’t post in this blog entry, I’ll put in the photo...