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You know how I feel about frogs , right? So when Karen Fricke submitted her thread-sketched frog quilt, "Coqui Up Close" to Quilting Arts Magazine back in 2007, I was captivated. And not just by the frog motif, but by her technique for turning a photo into a thread-sketched design on stabilizer...
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Is there such a thing as too much texture? I don't think so! Texture is what we art quilters are all about. Texture is what excites the quilt artist and it's what entices the art quilt viewer to come up and take a closer look. Plus, adding more texture to our quilts gives us a great excuse to...
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Isn't it funny how sometimes the simplest of art processes can be so satisfying? I mean, you know I love my Thermofax screen printing and I am a sucker for hand embroidery. Thread sketching fascinates me and I never get tired of dyeing. But when it comes to hands-down fun, I have to go with stamping...
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Many communicate with their loved ones overseas through letters or care packages, but when Pat Hamlin’s son was serving with the Montana National Guard in Bagdad, she kept in touch with him through a quilt. Each week that he was away (52 altogether), Pat created a 6"-square block which she...
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As a devotee of "Project Runway," one of the things I love most about the show-after the hilarious Tim Gunn quips-is watching how the designers translate their inspirations into line, pattern, and form. Take last week's episode, where Anthony and Maya were inspired by New York's Chinatown...
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It’s officially spring, and not a moment too soon for me. I already traded my boots for open-toed shoes a few weeks ago--and I'm not going back! Now it’s time to open the windows, do some spring cleaning, and let some fresh air into my studio in the hopes that fresh ideas will float in...
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Above: Diane Nunez's dimensional fabric flowers Five days, 39 segments, and 13 episodes later, Season Six of Quilting Arts TV is born. A number of very talented guests joined me this season: Jane Dunnewold was back to dazzle us with two surface design/ resist techniques and to tape her hour-long...
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I'm packing my suitcase again, getting ready to fly to Cleveland to tape the sixth season of "Quilting Arts TV." As hectic as the shooting pace is, I always look forward to taping, because I get to learn new tricks and techniques in person from the guest artist. This season we'll visit...
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We received so many fun and interesting Let Out Your Inner Animal Challenge quilts from readers that the Quilting Arts editors decided we had to play, too. You might recall my experiments in frog mutations (art quilt-style) on my editor's blog. I enjoyed reading all the feedback to my outlandish...
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There isn’t normally a great deal of crossover between acting and art quilting , but textile artist Lalla Ward has crossed this unusual divide. Well-known for her role as alien Romana in the BBC television series Dr. Who, Lalla now devotes the majority of her time to fiber rather than film. And...
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I like to think I'm always open to trying new things, especially when it comes to surface design methods. But there was one technique I shied away from: batik. I loved the effects, but doing it myself always seemed so complicated and time consuming. That was until Kathy York was a guest on "Quilting...
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We're introducing a new feature to the Quilting Arts Community... Every month I will be cruising the site, noting what people are posting in the galleries and forums, and essentially looking to see how you--our cherished members--are utilizing our community. I will feature some of notable finds the...
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When quilts come into our offices for photographing or I visit a quilt show or gallery, I always study the stitching. The patterns, the variation of the motifs, the intricacy of the stitching always fascinates me. Observing the work of expert stitchers fills me with admiration and also sends me flying...
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Thread sketching is not a new technique, but it seems as though more people are willing to give it a try and are looking for tips on how to do it. If you're one of them, then look no further, as Quilting Arts has plenty of thread sketching tricks and techniques for you to try. We've had several...
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This January, I’m all about soup. You see, I ate a little too much of this kind of thing while on vacation in Mexico: (the best chicken and mole I’ve ever had in my life) I received a glorious Le Creuset ® French oven for Christmas (basically, a big cast iron sauce pan)... a nd it’s...