Thread painting

Vote on Our Supply Showdown

I just got back from Quilt Market in Kansas City. We had a blast, but my oh my were there a lot of new fabrics, notions, and surface design supplies to see. It was overwhelming...almost. I almost rode away with a bike basket full of supplies at Quilt
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Quilting Arts Episode 1013: Colorful Illusions

We often explore different ways to create unique surface effects with paints or dyes, and this episode’s designers share some very interesting ways to add and take away color. First up Jo Fitsell presents a fabric marbling technique using stencils
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 1002: Experimental Quilting & Surface Design

This episode introduces some experimental concepts using both thread and paint. Learning is a lifelong process in every endeavor and especially in something as creative as quilting. Ellen Anne Eddy starts out with a demonstration of free-motion bobbin
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Inspiring Dyeing Advice from Jane Dunnewold

I have to say that the most fun I've had at Quilting Arts so far--and I've had a lot of fun--is the parfait ice fabric dyeing party the QA team organized for everyone in our Sudbury office. Not only was it exciting to watch the ice-dyed fabrics blossom into spectacular, colorful surface design
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How to Dye Fabric with Fungi

It's common knowledge that certain mushrooms are associated with dying. But did you know they can also be used for fabric dyeing ? And if you're thinking, "Sure, but who wants boring brown and gray dye?" think again.
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Customize Your Buttons with Surface Design

In reality, can you ever have enough buttons? To me, it seems that no matter how many I collect, there are times when my stash is lacking just the right button to complete a quilt's surface design .
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A Foiling Technique for Writing on Fabric

Incorporating words into your artwork can literally help get your message across. There are many ways to put text on your textiles using surface design techniques like screen printing, fabric painting, digital image transfer, and simply writing on fabric.
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Fabric Painting Advice From The Kemshalls

Note from Vivika: Today I've asked mixed-media fiber artist Jane Dávila, who is also editor of the eMags Quilting Arts In Stitches and the new Surface Explorations to share farbic painting tips she learned from Linda and Laura Kemshall. Take it away, Jane !
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Introducing a New eMag: Surface Explorations!

I have some exciting news —drum roll please —our newest eMag called Quilting Arts Surface Explorations is now available! In this eMag we will be delving into the world of Surface Design and bringing you new techniques, projects, as well as
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Sharing Your Work With Others

One of our core values here at Interweave, the parent company of Quilting Arts Magazine , is “make it fun.” (I know what you’re thinking: How cool, right? Yes it is!) Parfait ice dyeing. Just layer PFD fabric, ice, and dye. Quilting
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Fabric Painting on the Wild Side

When I think of fabric painting , Mickey Lawler's Skydyes and the wholecloth quilts of Hollis Chatelain and Judy Coates Perez come to mind.
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Quilting Arts April/May 2012

Indulge your passion for color in the newest issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. Create colorful cloth with stencils, rubbing plates, crayons, dye, and paint. Stitch together bright and bold scraps to make a unique canvas for embellishment, learn the modern quilting technique of perfect quilted circles
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Not Just for Kids - Easy Fabric Painting and Resist Technique

Sometimes an idea for surface design is so simple, you wonder why you never thought of it before. That's how I felt when I first saw Rose Hughes' tutorial on using crayons — the kind kids use, nothing fancy-as a resist method with fabric paint.
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Pass On Your Passion for Quilting (Giveaway)

Quilters are passionate about fabric, thread, embellishments, embroidery, surface design, and a whole lot more. But I think what we're most passionate about is sharing our artwork and techniques with others. To celebrate National Craft Month, Quilting
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How Hand and Machine Embroidery Affect Your Quilt Design

We're just a week away from the deadline of our current reader challenge , "From Sketch to Art Quilt," and I can't wait to see the results from our talented readers. (You still have time to submit!)
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Gelatin Monoprint Mash-Up (or How to Disguise Bad Fabric)

Earlier this week I blogged about using stencils to create faux appliqué. Today I'm going to talk about another surface design technique: using gelatin monoprinting and stamping or screen printing to create your own fabric-or turn an ugly piece of fabric into a thing of beauty.
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How to Applique a Quilt the Faux Way

As I explore the possibilities of surface design, one of the things I've noticed is that you can use paint, foil, dye, and so on to make your fiber art look like it has appliqué quilt designs .
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Fabric Painting Without A Brush

While looking through past issues of Quilting Arts Magazine and past episodes of "Quilting Arts TV" for ideas, one easy method of surface design caught my eye.
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I'm New to Surface Design - Got Any Advice?

One of the things I'm looking most forward to as editor of Quilting Arts Magazine is learning more about surface design.
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Get Our New free eBook with Easy Resist Fabric Dyeing Techniques

Batik is one of the oldest methods of dyeing fabrics for surface design. Using hot liquid wax as a resist for dye, batik yields beautiful patterns and rich colors.
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New Life for Your UFOs with Re-imagined Quilt Designs

It's a new year: have you made any fiber art-related resolutions? One of mine goals for 2012 is to complete — or repurpose — at least one UFO (unfinished object) in my stash, and I'll bet that might be on your list, too.
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Fabric Dyeing with a Side of Mashed

Now that I'm all moved in down here in Houston, I'm ready to get cooking on some fabric dyeing and other surface design techniques.
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Best of Quilting Arts Book Giveaway!

Guess what? Santa came a bit early to me this year, dropping a box of freshly printed copies of The Best of Quilting Arts: Your Ultimate Resource for Art Quilt Techniques and Inspiration on my doorstep.
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Fabric Painting Tip: Don't Go Near the Water

Has this ever happened to you? You're in the midst of a good surface design session, blissfully working with fabric paint, masks, screens, stamps, etc., to create your own textiles.
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Quilting Arts February/March 2012

Celebrate art quilt collaboration in the newest issue of Quilting Arts . Learn about the award-winning Coastal Quilt Artists, a husband and wife quilting team, and the Twelve by Twelve challenge group. Create stitched fiber photographs, make a monoprinted art quilt, and construct an artful and embellished
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Announcing the New Editor for Quilting Arts!

A couple of months ago I announced a few sizable changes at Quilting Arts (you can read more about those changes in this post ). Now I’d like to share the fantastic news that we have a new editor for Quilting Arts! Meet Vivika Hansen DeNegre, a
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Breaking Down the Quilt Block

When I first became interested in quilting, I spent hours staring at traditional quilt squares trying to figure out how they were pieced. Some, like the log cabin pattern, are pretty obvious.
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Interview with QA Cover Artist Cynthia St. Charles

A warm welcome to the December 2011/January 2012 Quilting Arts cover artist Cynthia St. Charles. Not only is Cynthia an incredibly talented and prolific quilt artist, but she's also a repeat Quilting Arts cover artist and a frequent contributor to
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An Art Quilting Pattern of Success: Q&A with Helen Gregory

Last week, my colleague, friend, and co-conspirator Helen Gregory took over the reins as Editorial Director for Interweave's Quilt, Paper, and Sewing Group.
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Jumpstart Quilting Designs with an Easy Sketchbook Exercise

I usually have a variety of quilting designs kicking around in my head at any given time. But often, when I finally get around to actually designing a quilt, I draw a blank. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by fabric and surface design choices. Other times, I just don't know where to start.
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Surface Design Delights: A Cornucopia of Love

On this Thanksgiving Day I am in transition. I'm settling into my new Houston digs in preparation for my fresh adventure with Quilts Inc. while still consulting for Quilting Arts and preparing for the next season of "Quilting Arts TV."
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All in the Details: Use Machine Quilting to Add Texture

Choosing the right machine quilting pattern for your piece is as important as the thread and fabric selections.
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Quilting Arts December 2011/January 2012

Quilting Arts has gone wild with our animal kingdom issue. Create stitched pet portraits, make a reptile raw-edge appliqué collage, and view a gallery of pet quilts from the Quilting Arts 2012 calendar contest. Don't miss articles on the latest art quilting techniques, including tips to create
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Stitch a Fall Centerpiece with Easy Quilting Techniques

As the holiday season approaches and everyone gets so busy, I have to remind myself to keep it simple. Simple gifts, simple decorations, simple projects.
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How to Make a Quilt in Three Lessons

If I had to create a basic lesson plan for how to make a quilt it would be broken down into these three basic steps:
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Our new eMag and the giveaway winner!

First off, thank you all for your great patchwork ideas...They were all wonderful and I had a blast reading them! Congratulations to yarnlady@6 for winning the fabric bundle! yarnlady@6 , Please email me at lmurray@interweave.com with your mailing information
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Our International Quilt Festival schedules for Make it University!(R)

Hello! November is right around the corner and for us at Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors that means we are packing like crazy to get everything ready for The International Quilt Festival in Houston. We all love this show, it is so alive with energy
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Quilting Can Be a Challenge

From inspiration, to design, to finished piece, there are certainly times when working on an art quilt can be a challenge. Luckily the kind of challenge I'm referring to today is the fun kind: a Quilting Arts Reader Challenge. There have been quite
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Interview with QA Cover Artist Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum

The October/November issue of Quilting Arts magazine has the perfect autumn cover, featuring fall leaves that are both printed and stitched in a lively design. The artist behind this piece, Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum, shares her easy-to-make reusable silk
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Discovering The Path to Quilt Making

I'm always intrigued to learn what started people on the path to quilt making . Did they stumble into it in mid-life or did they grow up among quilters, stitchers, and textile artists?
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Quilting Arts Gifts 2011/2012

Quilting Arts Gifts is a special issue of Quilting Arts Magazine devoted to the art of gift-giving. Inside this whopping 144-page issue, you'll find dozens of festive gift projects, seasonal décor ideas, the newest and best tools and gadgets, and much more!
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Quilting Arts TV Series 900 Recap (and other newsy bits)

I think I've amassed about 10,000 miles in my frequent flyer program within the last month. Or at least it feels like 10,000 miles. I have been away more than I've been home the past four weeks, and have hightailed it all over the continent. My
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Quilting Arts 10th Anniversary Postcards

We love to celebrate here at Quilting Arts. Whether we've just finished wrapping up an issue, found an exciting new product we want to share, or discovered a new artist we can't wait to work with, there are certainly a multitude of reasons to
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How to Paint Fabric: Two Techniques to Try

After a whirlwind couple of weeks that involved traveling to Chicago for the CREATE mixed-media retreat, Cleveland to tape Season 9 of "Quilting Arts TV" (and to visit my favorite museum), and a quick trip to California to help a friend celebrate a special milestone, I've finally been able
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Seven Ways to Make Quick Work of Fabric Scraps

No matter what kind of quilts or fiber art you create, fiber and fabric scraps are a fact of life.
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10 Years, 10 Art Quilting Lessons

Just as the summer is winding down (sniff!), so is the celebration of 10 years of Quilting Arts Magazine . It's not a sad ending, though, because it's been really gratifying to revisit all the talented artists we've worked with and all the gorgeous artwork that has come through our offices
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Embellish Your Quilts with Dyed Sticks

I love summer. But unlike at some places where the warm weather and beckoning beaches slow down the pace, at Quilting Arts summer is one of our busiest times of the year. Still, even with all the deadlines and projects we have going on around here, I make sure to spend as many of my off hours as possible
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Of Pets, Peeves, and Portrait Quilts

What's your pet peeve? One of mine is when my cat, Dickens, sits on my fabric. Another is when Dickens hogs the bed. It's irritating, but I can't get too stressed about it: Dickens is, after all, a cat. And cats do what they want, where they want. It's just that . . . he's a very
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 809

809 Mixed-Media Quilting Today’s art quilt movement has opened up a whole new world of materials for quilting. Mixed-media is a very hot topic where our fabric is joined by fibers, thread, paint and so much more to create a new fresh look. It opens
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 806

806 Do it Yourself Fabrics for Quilting For some people, one of the most interesting parts of art quilting is actually creating their own fabric. Today, Lisa Kerpoe raid the kitchen cabinets for items like oatmeal and mashed potatoes for some very unique
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 804

[View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BnRXJ1EkS0 ] 804 Stitch Intensive Contemporary Quilting has so many faces and ideas. On today’s show we’ll spend some time again with Ana Buzzalino as she embodies the spirit of contemporary art quilting
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'Just Right' Surface Design Tips with Everyday Objects

I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to give me an honest answer. When choosing among items at a grocery store, have you ever selected one over the other based solely on how you could use the packaging to create surface design?
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Quilting Arts August/September 2011

Check out our surface design issue, full of fresh techniques to create your own fabrics. Stamp and stencil with unusual objects, learn to dye with ice, explore finger painting on cloth, and much more; plus art quilts meet mixed media, color theory for art quilters, tips on working in a series, and our
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My Surface Design Idol

Someone recently asked me who inspires me, and it didn't take me long to answer: Kerr Grabowski. Why? Because she is so inventive with her surface design techniques and so open to the possibilities.
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 802

802 It might be a technique we can’t wait to try – or maybe a favorite motif or color and sometimes we’re inspired by new media. Today’s guests share some rather novel approached. We begin with Ana Buzzalino and her technique of
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Make Your Own Fabric with Easy Resist Dyeing

I just love to design my own fabric. Sometimes, I love it so much, I get all mushy. That's when you'll find me whipping up resists in the kitchen using mashed potato flakes, oatmeal, or even rice cereal for babies.
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Learn How to Quilt with Four Free Projects

Quilt making doesn't have to be complex, with hours of cutting, piecing, and sewing tiny seams. In this free ebook, How to Quilt: 4 Free Projects to Learn How to Make a Quilt , you'll learn how to quilt using fabric scraps, craft-store flowers, a fish, and canvas and paint.
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How to Dye Fabric with Insects (Not Cats)

My Maine Coon cat, Dickens, likes to help me make art, especially when I'm dyeing outside. He has luxurious fur that is quite beautiful, but it is also has a magnet for the flora and fauna found outside my home. Burrs, sticks, and the occasional bug become enmeshed, and it's my job to get them
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Bring Your Landscape Quilt to Life

We moved the Quilting Arts offices earlier this spring, and the change has given me a whole new outlook — literally. Whereas my former office didn't have much of a view, this one has windows that look out onto the wooded buffer between the office complex and the street.
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Surface Design On the Go

As you know, I am a surface design junkie. As you also know, surface design is messy. So while I often take my beloved Bernina® on vacation with me, I'm not likely to lug my screens, Thermofax machine, paints, dyes, and soy wax with me.
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Enjoy a Surface Design Explosion this Fall

Reports from Fashion Week earlier this year (how many of us knew the term "fashion week" before "Project Runway" came on the scene?) showed that color, graphic design, spots, and fabric that seems to move would be hot this fall.
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My Fabric Painting & Printapalooza Weekend

I confess, if I didn't love Quilting Arts so much, I'd throw in the towel and spend all of my time painting and dyeing fabric. You see, some day when I finally grow up, I want to be Jane Dunnewold (or Kerr Grabowski). I save any kind of surface
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My Must-Read Quilt & Surface Design Books

Now that the weather has finally turned and we have warmer, sunnier days ahead, I can't wait to bring out the portable tables and dye equipment to my driveway to screen and paint yards and yards of fabric.
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Memorial Day give away, CREATE recap, and Make it University - Long Beach!

WEEKEND PLANS and a GIVE AWAY! Ready for the long weekend? I am excited for two main reasons: the sun is supposed to be out in Boston and I have set aside some much needed craft time. I can’t tell you how relaxing it is to just think about sitting
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Use Cast-off Threads for Surface Design

I was pulling laundry out of the dryer the other day when I spied something among the folds that looked black, fuzzy, and about the size of a quarter. I dropped the laundry basket and jumped back, convinced I had just seen a giant spider.
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An Easy Way to Dye Embellishments

The Monday after Easter this year, I noticed Cloth Paper Scissors Today Editor Cate Prato brought dark red hard-boiled eggs in for lunch. Cate is Greek, and their tradition is to dye their Easter eggs a deep red.
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Imagine a Fabric Dyeing Garden

Finally, we've had a stretch of warm, sunny days and my spring flowers are starting to bloom. Local garden centers are awash with marigolds, pansies, geraniums, and herbs. All of which has made me think about gardening and dyeing. Sunny, windless days are perfect for dyeing. But while I usually use
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Put Your Patchwork Quilt on Paper

Contemporary patchwork projects are everywhere these days. Even the artists contributing to our sister publication, Cloth Paper Scissors are getting into the act--but they're using paper!
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What's Weaving Got to Do with Quilt Art?

Have you experienced fiber art creep? You know, when you learn one fiber genre, let's say quilting, leads to dyeing your own fabric, which may lead to screen printing or felting...which may lead to spinning...or paper making...and so on?
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Enrich Your Surface Design Mark-Making Vocabulary

I can still remember the thrill of first learning to read. When I realized those marks on the page meant something and I could figure it out all by myself, I devoured every book I could get my little hands on.
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Predictions for a Year of Fabric Art Fun

Life is unpredictable. For example, who would have thought that I'd wake up to an April morning filled with snow? And yet, as I write this, the ground is covered with a good four inches of the cold, white stuff. I've just decided to look at it as another good day to head to my studio and play
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Cover Artist Paula Chung Shares Her Tips on Buying Quilt Supplies and Finding Inspiration

A warm welcome to Quilting Arts April/May 2011 cover artist Paula Chung! Paula’s raw-edge silk appliqué quilts predominately feature floral imagery and I was curious to learn more about the inspiration behind her work and how her home state
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Surrounded by Patchwork Projects: That's Our Ellen

When I post pictures on Facebook of the team wearing sparkling leprechaun bowlers or upload a YouTube video of us getting our jingle on, you probably think it's just all fun and games here at Quilting Arts .
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Happy St. Patrick's Day! Celebrate with a FREE eBook! (and announcing the winner of a goody bag from Faith's Post)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As promised I am pulling the name of the winner of a goody bag from my last post with guest blogger Faith Cleary. Congratulations to janicen7 , you are the winner! Please email me at lmurray@interweave.com with your mailing
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How to Make Amazing Fabric Art with New Fibers - Q&A

I was first exposed to spunbonded "fabrics" like Lutradur and Tyvek several years ago and was captivated by their seemingly infinite possibilties for textures, surface design, construction, and more in your fabric art. You can paint them, heat-distress them, stamp on them, print on them, foil
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Please welcome guest blogger Faith Cleary!

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by the LAST stop of the Quilting Arts In Stitches blog tour! I hope that you have enjoyed all the stops along the way. For the last post, I have asked artist Faith Cleary to tell us a little about her experience with
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Do Something Different with Your Fiber and Fabric Scraps

I have collected a ton of fibers in my career as a quilt artist. Everything from novelty yarns, to silk carrier rods and cocoons, to felt balls, ribbons and metallic threads, wool and silk roving. Not to mention the scraps of thousands of quilting fabrics, sheers, gauzes, saris, and the like. And don't
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Spring Trends in Quilting and Quilting Supplies

Aren't we all craving signs of spring right about now? I know I am. Heck, I'd be happy to go right to summer! Back at Quilting Arts headquarters in Massachusetts, spring is slow to arrive. In fact, we can have snow as late as May.
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My 10 Favorite Quilting Arts Tips

Every time I come back to our editorial offices back east I'm greeting with more Quilting Arts @10 anniversary postcards. I love it! We'll be featuring some in the next issue of the magazine, so watch for them.
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How to Turn Pictures into Photo Quilts

I almost fell off my chair laughing when I saw this fiber art postcard from U.K. artist Priscilla O'Rourke. It seems no sooner had she received her copy of the February/March issue of Quilting Arts Magazine than she turned a photo of the staff she found on the Editor's note page into quilted
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Meet Ty, the Surface Design Guy

You may recall a post on my Editor's blog when I mentioned meeting TV makeover show host and designer Ty Pennington, who has a new line of fabrics with Westminster Fibers. I also hinted that we had something planned for him, and you'd find out more later. Guess what? It's later!
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 111

111 Text Messaging Writing on your quilts not only adds texture and interest, but can literally help get the message across. This show presents simple ways to add text to your quilts using the computer; hand-stitching, gel pens, markers, and lots more
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 106

106 Pictorial Quilts Learn to make faces—creative self-portraits and quilts with figures, done with fabric, stitch, and embellishment. It’s hard to keep from smiling when you create your own self-portrait. Then it’s guest Pam RuBert
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 103

103 Embellishments and Encrustations Embellishments such as beads, sequins, yarn, and even metal add dimension and sparkle. Create shimmering fabrics out of fibers that actually fuse together when heated. The first feature is fabric foiling or adhering
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 207

207 Trends Learn what’s new in quilting on today’s show. First, learn how to combine needle felting with quilting for unique results. Next Rayna Gillman shows us how to turn outdated, or “ugly” fabric into an original design by
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 205

204 Embellishment Contemporary quilts often include some form of surface embellishment such as charms or fiber, or maybe the addition of paint or another surface design. First is a lesson on using puff paints to create dimension on your quilts. Then Ruth
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Quilting Arts Tv Episode 304

304 Stitching with Alternate fabrics : quilting with a variety of fabrics and textures. First is using batting as an exciting surface for stitching. Then meet Melanie Testa for a purse using organza and freezer paper screen printing. Next Jane LaFazio
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Quilting Arts Tv Episode 301

301 Fabric Collage : mix and match textures and techniques. Learn to mount a small collage onto a painted, gallery wrapped canvas with Lyric Kinard. Then meet designer Jane LaFazio; working with paper, canvas, and surface design techniques, she creates
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Announcing Our 2012 Quilting Arts Getting Pet-ty Calendar Finalists!

Let’s face it: pet owners love our pets. My next door neighbor loves his labs so much, the only décor he has in his house relates to black labs--from every piece of wall art to the toilet paper dispensers! So it was no surprise to me that
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 409

409 Get ready to be inspired by innovative designers with the latest in contemporary quilting. We begin our show today with designer Terry White. She’s going to demonstrate thread painting techniques with her stitch samplers. Next, it’s mixed
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 404

404 Quilting arts is all about trends. First up, is Melanie Testa. Her trend is artists’ trading cards and she uses them to demonstrate alternate finishing and binding techniques for quilts. Then, meet designer Sue Kelly with the latest in surface
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 512

512 Liz Debellis starts us out with how to make a collagraph printing plate, from which you can create your own printed fabric. Then, meet Michele Muska for ruching and a challenge to try out new tools and trims. Next, it’s time to raid the medicine
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 501

501 The first show begins with Susan Brubaker Knapp. She creates art from her photos using fused appliqué and thread painting. Today’s inspiration is a lighthouse in North Carolina. Next, Pokey shares a stitched and stenciled book with photos
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 101

101 Surface Design There is a rich array of commercially printed fabric to choose from ––but you can also make your own with paints, oils sticks, and stencils. First we go to our host’s personal studio and combine simple household tools
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Quilting Arts February/March 2011

Check out our new machine quilting column, “Stitch This! Free-motion Motifs to Try” by Heather Thomas. Enjoy Lisa Kerpoe’s second installment of “Resists from the Kitchen” with a look at mashed potato flakes. Don’t miss Lyric Kinard’s suggestions for quilting
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Quilting Arts Episode 705

705 DIY Fabrics for Quilting Let your personality show by making your quilt unique. What better way to accomplish this than learning how to easily design your own signature fabrics? First, Kerr Grabowski gives a lesson on surface design, demonstrating
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New ways to Create and Display your Artist Trading Cards

Cheryl Johnson decided to change up the way that she displayed and created Artist Trading Cards. For some inspiration on how to spice up your own ATC collection read on. What was your inspiration when you decided to change up the shape of ATC’s
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My Latest Quilting Arts @ 10 Giveaway--Free Fabric!

In celebration of 10 years of Quilting Arts, I offer my 2nd (of 10) giveaways this month. This time I am giving away a stash of my own hand-dyed, screen-printed fabrics, some of which look something like this: My question to you: What is on your art quilting
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Time-wasting Mistakes You Can Avoid in 2011

One thing I've learned, and that I love, about contemporary art quilting is that you can't really make a mistake. Everything that happens is grist for the creative mill and happy accidents often serve as "aha!" moments. On the other hand,
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Fabric Painting Advice from an Expert

I'm a fabric printing nut. I started with stamping, then added Thermofax® screen printing, and lately I've been churning out gelatin prints by the score. I couldn't tell you what I like best about printing-the graphic nature of the design, the thrill of pulling the paint through the screen
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Every Year One Stands Out

Last week while back in Massachusetts I picked up a few essential Christmas mementos to send to our new Colorado home. As I was packing them up at Quilting Arts headquarters, people gathered around to comment.
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Behind the Scenes at an Iconic Quilt Exhibition

The world of art quilting is partially defined by traditions that have existed since its inception and stood the test of time. One of these notable events is the exhibition “Quilts=Art=Quilts,” a juried show held annually at the Schweinfurth
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My Most-valued Quilt Art Supplies

I'll bet that if you're been a fiber or mixed-media artist for a while, then you've accumulated a rather large array of tools, gadgets, how-to books and the like. And I'm also willing to bet that, like me, you use only a handful of those items over and over again.
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A Thanksgiving, Quilt-y Treat For You...

We have an early release day here this Wednesday afternoon at Quilting Arts in order to get ready for tomorrow's festivities, and I don't know about you, but Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday. No pressure for gift-giving or receiving
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Interview with Kathy York

Kathy York’s quilt, "Fifty and Female and Fearless", graced the cover of Quilting Arts for the October/ November 2010 issue. At Quilt Festival a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Kathy, and I learned that she is not only a talented
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Quilting Arts December 2010/January 2011

Celebrate Quilting Arts 10th Anniversary with 10 innovative techniques! From adding LED lights to your art quilts to screen printing with natural items and creating machine stitched reverse applique pieces, you're sure to find a unique art quilting process that catches your fancy. Learn strategies
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How to Expand Your Stitchery and Sewing Machine Techniques

Contemporary art quilters and mixed-media stitchers may take vastly different approaches to their art, but one thing we all have in common is our love of stitchery and sewing techniques. I, for one, can never get enough sewing ideas, whether its machine quilting stitches or hand stitching techniques
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Quilting a Story: A Quilting Arts Reader Challenge inspires a series

Having studied French for many years, I’ve read The Little Prince , by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, dozens of times. So Heather Reid’s entry for our “How Entertaining!” Reader Challenge, based on this charming story, naturally
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Strategies for Coping with Post- International Quilt Festival Show Blues & Free Fabric

It’s that time of year again. Winter is coming, and although I’m in a new locale where all my neighbors promise me winter in Boulder really isn’t that bad, I still worry I’ll go down the rabbit hole so to speak. After all, I was
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Announcing the First Facebook Blogger of the Week: Susan Ettl!

Last week we asked our Facebook fans to share with us one of their blog entries in hopes of becoming the first Quilting Arts Facebook blogger of the week. There were so many great blogs that were posted it was nearly impossible to choose one! in the end
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A Top Art Quilter Talks Fabric, Fresh Quilting, and Festival!

There are some artists whose work always puts a smile on your face. For me, this is the case with Malka Dubrawsky, whose vibrant and candy-colored fabrics and quilts are always cheerful, bright, and wonderfully whimsical. I'll take any excuse to chat
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Create Your Own Art Quilt Reference Library

We always want to capture what's new on the scene and of interest to you at the moment. But while machine stitching, hand stitching, surface design, embellishment and the other big topics of contemporary art quilting are always covered, the trends in those areas change.
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Episode 612

Paints, inks, and crayons—they’re an integral part of the art quilter’s studio. Episode 612 makes use of them all. The first segment features Pokey demonstrating gelatin monoprinting. Then, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer shows how to use creative
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Episode 611

The topic of episode 611 is the world around us. Liz Berg is the first guest. She shares techniques for making abstract quilts inspired by photographs. Then, Terry White demonstrates beautiful thread painting. Finally, Andrea Bishop shows how to make
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Episode 603

Episode 603 focuses on surface design. Jane Dunnewold returns as the first guest. She demonstrates stenciling and stamping hot soy wax and adding color with fabric paints. Then, Susie Monday shows how to make colorful screen-printed fabrics using water
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Quick & Easy Selvage Project & Quilt Show Tips

I'm packing for Quilt Market and International Quilt Festival/Houston, running through my mental checklist of everything I have to bring: Materials for my Quilted Mixed-media ATCs class? Check! Giveaways for the Cloth Paper Scissors ® Mixed-media Raffle? Check! Fruit headdress for "Surviving
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Can You See The Difference Between Quilts?

I couldn't wait to turn the calendar to October, and not just because it's my birthday month! I was just so excited to enjoy one of the best examples of free-motion thread painting I've seen, Susan Brubaker Knapp's "Autumn's Bounty," the October quilt in the 2010 Quilting
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A Perfect 10: Quilt Studio Bliss

Judith Trager's Maine Coon, Pumpkin, sleeping on the job on top of Judith's art quilts. I had a sublime 10/10/10 weekend. Just perfect, and much of it had to do with Boulder's city-wide Open Studios program that take place four weekends a
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5 Free Fabric Art Projects You Can Start Now

A quick glance at my calendar for the next few months shows me that if I am going get fabric art gifts made for all the events coming up this season, I better grab my quilting fabric stash and get going. From weddings to fall parties (think hostess gifts) to Christmas, I need a reliable cache of textile
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Don’t Judge An Art Quilt By Its Fabric

You've heard the expression, "Don't judge a book by its cover," right? Well, at the recent taping of "Quilting Arts TV" Season 7, I learned you shouldn't judge an art quilt by its original fabric.
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Quilting Arts October/November 2010

Fresh surface design techniques and much more! Screen printing with shredded paper; oatmeal resist; digital imagery; thread sketching; tie-transfer dyeing; wire embellishment; sell your art; and the list goes on! Learn strategies for selling your artwork at fairs and festivals from Jane Dávila’s
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Don’t Fall for the Same Old Line

Are you up for some fun? Then let's do some exercises today, beginning with free-association. I'll say a word, and you respond with the first thing that comes into your head. Ready? Here we go.
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I’m Sharing a Cool Fabric Scrap Project

It's no secret I'm a surface design junkie. Over the years, I have amassed an overflowing stash of fabrics that have been dyed, printed, screened, stamped, and stenciled. Not only do I despair of ever using these fabrics up in art quilts, I have to admit that some of them aren't quite art
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What's So Funny About Fiber Art?

When we first started Quilting Arts , one of the ways we spread the word about our fledgling magazine was by passing out lapel pins with funny, quilt art-related sayings on them at quilt shows. "Give me all your buttons and nobody gets hurt" was one. "I don't exaggerate, I embellish
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Quick & Easy Ways to Create Interesting Fabric

Like you, I love fabric. Like you, I collect fabric. And, probably like you, I'm always itching to change the fabric I have. Why? When there are so many beautiful fabrics out there, why do we art quilters feel the need to alter them?
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Where in the world is Pokey?

My head is spinning. This summer has been a traveling whirlwind for me since I've been traipsing about the country for Quilting Arts and adjusting to a Massachusetts/Colorado living situation. There have been a few mornings over the past several weeks
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Improve Your Free-Motion Filler Technique

I confess: sometimes I get so caught up in the "art" I forget about the "quilting." Let me explain. An idea for an art quilt forms in my mind based on, say, a favorite TV show such as (still--and forever) Tony Soprano. Or, a new line of gorgeous fabrics hits my desk and I have to
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Meet Our Latest Cover Artist, Ana Buzzalino

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 It’s hard to believe that August is already here, and this new month brings a new issue of Quilting Arts. Those of you who have already picked up or received your copy of
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How Fast Can You Make Art?

"I wish I had more time to make art." I hear that all the time--from art quilters at shows, from my friends, the Quilting Arts staff...and out of my own mouth. Unless you're a full-time artist, you've probably said it yourself many times (and I'm willing to bet even full-time artists
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Create a Series of Original Art Quilts with Needle Felting

You'd think after 10 years and 45 issues of Quilting Arts Magazine , we would have written about every kind of process, technique, design, or supply that exists. But that's the beauty of contemporary art quilting: someone is always putting a new twist on an old technique, combining materials
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Make Your Focal Point Pop with Thread Painting

I first became aware of Elin Waterston through the Quilting Arts reader challenges, particularly our annual calendar contests. Very quickly, our team came to recognize Elin's distinctive brand of well-thought-out, uncluttered design featuring a strong focal point.
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Afraid to Dye? Jane Dunnewold Makes it Fun & Easy

I'm a California girl who has lived for several years in New England and I am now spending more and more time in Colorado. Each region has its own distinct visual appeal and the artistic possibilities of life in the Rockies definitely intrigue me. The mountains, aspen trees, wildflowers, cacti, and
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Making fabric books at my family reunion

I haven't written much on my own personal blog lately. Why is that, you ask? On top of an industrious work schedule, I have been camping out of a suitcase this summer. (I have it figured out that the only clothes one really needs in the sweltering
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Reap the Value of Creative Collaboration

Sometimes when I'm in a rut--in my studio or in my life--all I need is a change of scene to get me going again. In the past month, I've had the opportunity to experience a lot of new scenery: a family reunion by the ocean, a speaking engagement in New York City, a planning session in Houston
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My Tasty Recipe for Art Quilt Success

It's officially summer, and that means blueberry season. I'm lucky enough to live right next to my father-in-law's blueberry patch--more of a field, actually. While they last, I just have to walk out my back door and down the path to have access to fresh blueberries for breakfast, a snack
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Art Books I Can't Live Without

I love to read-fiction, non-fiction, romance, instruction--you name it. And I love it when other hardcore readers suggest books they love and think I would enjoy, too. So today, I thought I'd give you a list of some of my favorite books of the art and craft variety, the ones I have on my studio shelf
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Art Quilts Down Under

At about this time last year, I was setting out for a month-long trip to New Zealand and Australia. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with this region, full of friendly people, beautiful sites, and delicious kangaroo meat. But I was also impressed
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Download Now: 6 Image Transfer Techniques for your Art Quilts

Digital technology has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for designing art quilts. Whether you want to apply image transfer techniques to make a photo memory quilt, use digital imagery to make abstract designs, or a combination, we'll show you how to make a quilt with photos when you download
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Never fear! Screen printing myths busted

Many people are afraid of screen printing. They're intimidated by the equipment and the process. Or they think it's expensive. Or difficult to get appealing results. Well, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: Screen printing is easy, uses very little special equipment, and many methods
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Create Something New with Quilting & Mixed Media

I started Cloth Paper Scissors magazine back in 2004 in part to give voice to forms of art that mixed fabric and stitch with paint, glue, and embellishment but were not strictly speaking art quilts. Forms like altered books, fabric and paint collages, shrines, assemblages, and paper quilts.
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What Do Bikinis and Quilting Have in Common?

I thought that headline might grab your attention. I recently took a brief three-day break to a beach before our publishing schedule vamps up this summer, and decided to turn my vacation a Stitch-cation. As summer approaches––and so do vacation
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Quilting Arts June/July 2010

Inspiration and techniques! Thread sketching; needle felting; hand stitching; recycled sweaters; 3-D embellishments; batik with soy wax; Dunnewold on design; circular quilts; “Inner Animal”; and more! Continue thread sketching with Susan Brubaker Knapp, with a focus on texture. Learn Jane
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Create Unique Impressions With These New Stamps

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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The Secret To Superior Ink Painting Results

I love it when there is a simple solution to a problem, especially when that solution is readily available and inexpensive.
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Our Favorite Quilting Arts Issues Revealed

Many of you probably know I have five furry, four-legged "children." But did you know I feel a similar motherly instinct toward Quilting Arts Magazine ? Asking me to choose a favorite issue is like asking me to choose a favorite child. I love them all equally!
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Stitch Spring 2010

ON THE COVER: Odekakke Tote from Zakka Style about this issue This 148-page super special issue has 37 fantastic sewing projects for Spring! The theme is Sew Original and inside you'll find exclusive patterns, projects for kids, current trends, and
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Communicating Through a Quilt

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
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Master Foiling Techniques Easily

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.
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Road Trip + Gelatin Monoprinting = Fun Times Ahead in Chicago

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
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Quilting Cats and Dogs

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
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Quilting Arts April/May 2010

In the April/May 2010 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine , treat yourself to: more thread sketching with Susan Brubaker Knapp, focusing on line; silk-screen printing onto disposable facial washcloths with Leslie Tucker Jenison; Pokey’s journal quilt-sized and fabric collaged pet portraits; Susan Carlson’s
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You’re Invited To A New Retreat for Artistic Expression

Join me and Cloth Paper Scissors Editor Jenn Mason for CREATE with Cloth Paper Scissors Mixed Media Retreat, August 25-29, 2010, in Rosemont, Illinois--just outside of bustling Chicago.
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Spring Into a Fresh Batik Technique

I saw the most beautiful thing when I came home from "Quilting Arts TV" taping last week. Not only had all of the snow melted while I was away, but a small patch of bright green moss shimmered among the dull brown weeds on the hill behind my home. This spot of emerald was the first sign of
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Make It University/Chicago Countdown

International Quilt Festival/Chicago commences April 16 in Rosemont, IL, and Yours Truly is counting down the days. If you haven't heard of Make It University!(TM), it's a hands-on area that takes place right on the show floor in the vendor area
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How To Make A Quilt Shine With Metal

I'm pretty sure that when most people think about how to make a quilt, "metal" isn't the first thing that pops into their mind. But there are so many ways you can incorporate metal into your quilts and wall hangings, adding texture, dimension, shine, and that element of surprise. Here
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6 FREE Patchwork Quilt Projects for Contemporary Quilts

Knowing how popular patchwork is, we're offering you this FREE downloadable eBook, How to Make a Quilt: 6 FREE Patchwork Quilt Projects for Contemporary Quilts , that gives you six ways to use patchwork patterns.
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It's a wrap! Just returned from QA TV Series 6 TV taping

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
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Nancy Crow: Three Decades of Art Quilting

There is no doubt that Nancy Crow is one of the most influential individuals in the history of art quilting. From her intricate geometric pieced to quilts to her well-known teaching workshops and her co-founding of Quilt National in the 1970s, Nancy has
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A Sneak Peek at the Next 'QATV' Series

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
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Art Quilting Over the Years: An interview with M. Joan Lintault

I knew I had a difficult task ahead of me when my undergraduate thesis advisor informed me that my research on the history of the art quilting movement should focus on only a few innovative quilt artists. There were so many to choose from and narrowing
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Create Unique Prints with this Easy Technique

Last week the staff in our Stow offices got together for some after-hours creative play-time, making gelatin monoprints on fabric and paper. I'd been cranking out monoprints for a segment I'll be shooting for the sixth season of "Quilting Arts TV" and everyone else wanted in on the
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The New and Improved QA Index!

Quilters tend to be savers. We save fabrics (no scrap is too tiny), embellishments, threads, tool, and even ideas. This is a good thing—we find inspiration all around us and build a collection of resources that allows us to act on it whenever our
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Commit to a Weekly Art Routine

In winter I crave creating with color-- during the darker, bleaker months, my studio is completely taken over by paints and dyes (think periwinkles and lime greens, cerulean blues and bubble gum pinks). Imagine my glee when I got the latest book offerings from surface design experts and Committed to
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How to Turn A 'Mistake' Into Art

When something goes awry in the creative process—the ink splatters, the dye color is murky, the stitches have minds of their own—you have two choices. You can toss it and start over, or you can, as my favorite fashion designer advisor Tim Gunn would say, make it work.
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Last Chance to Enter the Fabric Quiz Giveaway!

Since the February/March 2010 issue of Quilting Arts has now been on the newsstand for a couple of weeks, I’ll be announcing the winners of Lyric Kinard’s fabric quiz this Friday (February 12 th ) at 12 pm EST. So if you still haven’t
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Send Me Your Letters

This new month also means a new issue of Quilting Arts hits the newsstands! If you don't already have your copy of the February/March 2010 Quilting Arts , don't waste too much more time. This issue features an array of art quilting techniques
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Batik Made Easy: Hot Tips from Kathy York

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.
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My Tote for ToteTuesday (Fiberart for a Cause)

In September 2006, I got a little personal on my blog and shared that my father had just lost his battle against lung cancer in my Bye Dad post. In rereading that entry, Virginia Spiegel at that time had raised $53,000 for the American Cancer Society
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Editor's QA picks for January!

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
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Especially for You: Six Issues of Quilting Arts on CD

I have an uncanny (some on my staff would say freaky) ability to remember exactly what artist's article appeared in which issue of Quilting Arts , going back to the very first issue nearly 10 years ago. And up until recently, I've been able to put my hand on the printed page more quickly than
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Fabric Quiz and Giveaway

I'm sure that many of you will be inspired by Lyric Kinard's clever methods for turning fabric dyeing disasters into works of art in "Disappointments to Diva," on page 28 of the February/March 2010 issue of Quilting Arts . See if you've
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Quilting Arts February/March 2010

Creating Figures in Fabric; Leftover Dye Pillows; Turning fabric dyeing mistakes into masterpieces; Experimentations in resist dyeing; Embellish your quilts with simple machine stitching; Lession 1: Focus on color; A conversation with art quilter Barbara Walter; Major works by leading artists; Creating
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Meet Virginia Spiegel, the Extraordinary Artist Behind ToteTuesday and FFAC!

What's not to love about Virginia Spiegel? She's an exceptional fiber artist, has raised nearly $200,000 for the American Cancer Society with Fiber Arts for a Cause (FFAC), and heck...we share the same birthday (October 2nd in case you wanted
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Easy Steps to Thread Sketching Success

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.
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Good Food and Fiber Art: Enter our 2011 Quilting Arts Magazine Calendar Contest!

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
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A Magazine Cover to Combat Seasonal Affective Disorder!

Have the frigid temps, icy roads, and price hikes in produce got you down? Let's see if we can cheer you up with a sneak peek at the February/ March 2010 cover of Quilting Arts... This cover features a detailed shot of Kathy York's "Falling
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Enjoy 5 FREE Fabric Painting Techniques On Us

Want to make a unique imprint on your handmade quilts? Learn how to create your own fabric with our latest FREE eBook, Fabric Painting: 5 Surface Design, Paint, and Monoprint Techniques from Quilting Arts . You'll learn how to paint fabric with textile paints, fabric paints, and oil sticks. Plus
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Giveaway: Ringing in 2010 with Some Color & Texture

I hope everyone was able to enjoy some time to themselves over the holidays! Since I was at our Interweave headquarters just before the break, I went skiing in Colorado for a couple of days. (This was to make The Husband happy.) Then when we came home
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You Can't Resist These Resist Techniques

One of the most exciting ways to change the look of fabric is through resist dyeing techniques. Resist-dyeing is one of the oldest ways to transform cloth, used the world over. These methods are exciting, because they are unpredictable-perfect if you're a person who likes to play, because each time
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6 Secrets of Successful Machine Couching

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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Creating Lifelike Quilts: An interview with Barbara McKie

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”
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Easy, No-stitch Holiday Decorating Idea

Looking for an easy, no-stitch holiday decorating idea? Why not make fabric fortune cookies? They're a great way to use up those precious scraps of hand-dyed or commercial fabrics you can't bear to throw out, and you can slip artful wishes for the New Year inside them.
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Handmade Holidays Fabric Winner

I randomly chose the winner for this latest MODA fabric giveaway and congrats go to... LemonTreeTami ! Tami, please email me your address by noon EST Tuesday, November 17, so that I can get these fabrics to you. Enjoy! Thanks so much to everyone for your
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Useful & Beautiful Quilting Projects

Downsizing and de-stashing are popular buzzwords today. We all just have so much stuff. So I think those of us who like to make gifts for others want to create something that's useful as well as beautiful. If it helps use up scraps from our stash, so much the better .
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Create Easy Fabric Leaf Decorations

Natalya Aikens recently whipped up some easy stitched leaves that she decorates with Pigma pens to add visual texture. You can dress them up with golden thread or just keep it simple and let the kids decorate them with "thankful" sayings or guests' names.
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It's Easy to Make Unique Fabrics with Paper

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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Houston 2009

This is a difficult post to create because I forgot my camera in a store in Galveston Texas (it is being returned to me this week). So these photos are thanks to Jamie Fingal, Leslie Tucker Jennison and Sharon Hyll. Thanks gals! This is a photo of me
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International Quilt Festival/ Houston Recap!

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
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The winner is?

I added the two blog comments together, 10 from my Author blog and 27 from my personal blog and used a random number generator to choose a number between 1 and 37. Drum Roll please! Debbie L. I am going to Houston tomorrow at 8:15 a.m. so please excuse
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What's New On the Quilt Scene: IQF/Houston Edition

What's New On the Quilt Scene: IQF/Houston Edition - As you read this, I'm on the Quilt Scene at the International Quilt Festival/Houston , surrounded by some of the most beautiful quilts-and talented quilt artists-in the world.
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Quilting Arts October November 2009

Designing Fabric; Sketches on fabric; Mixed-Media approach to quilting; dyeing technique; Sub Urban Art - selective Rusting; Edges; Monoprinting with texture plates; Journal quilts; Spontaneous explorations in color; Re-create your sketchbook images on cloth; Edges; Goddess at the last minute with Robbi
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Quilting Arts August September 2009

A gelatin monoprint process; Asian-inspired, richly embroidered accessories; creating with silk: painted and beaded trees; printing with incised rubbing plates and non-toxic materials; the effective artist statement; The Lowell Fiber Studio; Artist Profile; The Whisper Challenge, and more. Cover quilt
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How about this episode?

I will show you mine, if... well you know that deal. This is my sewing studio. It is a 6.5 foot by 9 foot room, just off our bedroom. If we were normal people, this room would be a walk in closet for clothing. But we are not normal. We are practical and
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Feeling the Love.

I returned home from San Diego after teaching a great group of gals and found this! In my mailbox! Mailed. With postage applied to the back of the postcard and a hand written note from Jakquil (the woman who won my Pretty Purse give away). It seems to
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Brief SAQA Conference/ Quilt National Recap

I recently returned from the annual SAQA conference that took place in Athens, Ohio on the Ohio University campus, and what an incredible time! For those who are unfamiliar with SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) , it is the non-profit organization to
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I spoke, sold and teach

Last night I went to my Alma Matter, The Fashion Institute of Techology and gave a small talk to a silk painting class. The teacher was one of my favorites when I went to school there, Zsu Zsi Dalquist. Or at least I hope that is how you spell it. Zsu
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It’s challenging...

Opening reader challenge art is a lot of fun. I am honored to be able to see such inspiring work. But, sometimes it becomes a bit of a challenge (pun intended) to decipher just who the artwork is from. Some people really get into creating beautiful labels
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Quilting Arts Magazine April/May 2009

Thread painting; pieced landscapes; perspectives on art and quilting with Inge Mardal and Steen Hougs; inspiration from the Symbolists; time management for artists; inspiration from a Kenyan tradition; image transfers; “Rock On!” challenge results; print fabrics with hardware store finds;
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Quilting Arts Magazine February/March 2009

Pokey Bolton chats with “Project Runway” winner Jay McCarroll; Venus-inspired art: from prehistoric times through the Renaissance; designing with ink pads; thread painting 101; hand embroidery; designing with Paintstiks®; glue gel resist; monoprinting fabrics, and many more art quilting
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100th Blog Post & Happy New Year!

Not only are we celebrating a new year, but also coincidentally this is our 100th post here on the Quilting Arts blog! I never thought I’d have the perseverance to make it to 100 blog entries. Case in point: the fact that I have one diary I got
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Post-partum Quilt Show Disorder & a Giveaway!

Ever since I returned home from Houston, I've been suffering from what I dub PPQSD: post-partum quilt show disorder. I'm home from the show I look forward to most every year, and now I'm back in my sleepy, bucolic town of Stow, MA. Quilt show
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Houston: What A long, strange (and wonderful) trip it's been!

What an amazing, beautiful, surreal, funny, busy time we had in Houston! Thanks so much to everyone who participated in Make It University!(TM) I had every intention of blogging every day from the show floor. Ha ha, that's a good one. The laugh is
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Tricks and Treats

What's that saying: When the cat's away the mice will play? My husband's been out of town for the past week, and while he was gone, play I did… A few things have been on my mind lately: my beautiful hometown of San Francisco, the Grateful
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The Lowdown on Long Beach

Artist Alisa Burke poses with a fan. For those of you who didn't come to International Quilt Festival/Long Beach and Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors, we sure missed you! Some pictures for you… Surviving the Runway Luncheon (Thursday
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Dog Days of Summer and a Giveaway

Did you know that not only is today the summer solstice but equally momentous is the fact that it's National Take Your Dog to Work Day ? We, at Quilting Arts have truly gone to the dogs. Today we have four of man's best friends here sniffing around
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Quilting Arts Magazine June/July 2008

Fabric design with discharge dyeing, crayon rubbing, and painting; using your stash; digital design; machine needle felting; stamped fabrics with Adinkra symbols; designing with thread scraps; image transfers on fabric and paper; surface design in fabric collage; silk bowls; mounting quilts; “True
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Thermofax Screen Printing

A sample of my hand-dyed and screen-printed fabrics. What would you do if you had a month off and could do any one activity? If I could take this kind of time, I'd scamper off to some secret destination (preferably a small creekside cottage in Sedona
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2009 Quilting Arts Calendar Finalists

Okay, dear blog readers, it’s that time of year again to announce our Quilting Arts Calendar finalists. (I know it seems a little early to be thinking about 2009, but welcome to my world!) With this year’s theme, “Celebrating Home,” we received 243 entries
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Go Green Quilt by Frances Holliday Alford Opportunities Knock Wanted! We have some very exciting publicity and publishing opportunities that I wanted you, dear blog reader, to find out about first. (Many of these aren’t even on the submissions pages yet
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Quilting Arts Magazine February/March 2008

Collaged fabric panels with found objects; wholecloth facing technique; monoprinting fabrics, including sheers; free-motion machine quilting; mounting and framing art quilts; flour paste resist with Jane Dunnewold; painterly quilt collage; eco-friendly journal quilting; 2007 Journal Quilt Project; Goddess
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Quilting Arts Magazine April/May 2007

Finding Inspiration; Scale, proportion, and balance; Finding Your Voice with Fabric Collage; silk painting with resist; understanding tone, value, and light and dark to create mood and feeling; Artist Profile: Frances Holliday Alford; five artists, one quilt; holographic effects; contour drawing with
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Call for Art--Two Special Exhibits

I wish I could explain my absence by saying I've been tossing back pomegranate margaritas on a Fiji beach, but alas, that remains a fantasy. Quick blog post to let all of you clever, creative people know that we're coordinating two additional
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Whoa baby!

This is too cool for school... check out the loot that Jacquard Products sent us in addition to our order for paints we placed with them last week: I asked for some product to help with my workshops for Make It U! and I'm positively bowled over by
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