Surface Design Techniques

Free Tutorials for DIY Screen Printing, Monoprinting and More

Printing on fabric is one of the easiest ways to create your own unique textiles. In our free eBook, Techniques For Printing on Fabric: Free Tutorials for DIY Screen Printing, Monoprinting and More , you'll learn how to make a silk screen, how to screen printing, gelatin and collograph monoprinting
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Get Expert Quilting Instruction On Demand

I've always found quilters to be a generous bunch, always ready to share a technique or some fabric from their stash.
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Host Your Own Outdoor Dyeing Party

Last year about this time, I was inspired by a group dyeing adventure at the Interweave offices to host my own dyeing party at home .
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Thread Sketching and Thread Painting - New Free eBook

In The Art of Thread Sketching: Free Thread Drawing and Thread Painting Techniques , five quilt artists show you how to turn machine stitching into drawings with thread. Depending on the style and density of the stitching, thread sketching and thread painting can stand on its own or be combined with
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Surface Design Tips: How to Make a Padded Surface for Fabric Stamping

I'm an equal-opportunity fabric monger: I drool just as much over hand surface-designed fabrics. I gobble up every new technique and have even tried some fabric stamping , ice dyeing, resist dyeing, and fabric painting. I love it.
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Use Surface Design Technique to Explore the Emerald City

Last year when Pantone announced its Color of the Year — Tangerine Tango — I was a fan. I like cheerful, sunny colors, and this one hit the spot for me. I could see using it in different modes, from fabric to embroidery, to surface design techniques .
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Paint a Shibori Forest

Usually when we hear the word shibori, we think of dyeing . Shibori dyeing come from the Japanese term for several methods of resist dyeing using binding or tying, stitching, folding, twisting, compressing it, or capping to create patterns.
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Warm Up to Fabric Painting Techniques

Where I live in New England, it gets dark at about 4:30 p.m. in the depths of winter. So when Daylight Savings Time kicks in and the snow banks start to melt, I'm itching to get outside and do some fabric painting and dyeing.
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From Old Metal to New Textile with Rust Fabric Dyeing

When I returned to New England from QuiltCon in Austin, Texas, this week, I couldn't help but notice: it snowed again while I was gone. Yes, while I was in the climate-controlled comfort of the exhibit halls surrounded by colorful quilts--and quilters--Mother Nature had thrown another heavy blanket
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Figurative Quilt Art: A Conversation with Kate Themel

In the April/May issue of Quilting Arts I have an interview with artist Kate Themel, and I'm so excited by her painterly machine quilting and our conversation, I decided to give you a sneak peek.
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Got 20 minutes? Try Some Fabric Painting

I've found that setting aside 15-20 minutes a day of "play time" works for me. Whether it is spent hand quilting, making a patchwork quilt for a friend, or spreading paints or inks on fabric in my studio for some surface design fun — it doesn't matter to me as long as I am tapping
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How to Make a Collagraph for Monoprinting Fabric

If you want to give your art quilts or fiber art a unique design, one of the easiest ways is with fabric painting and surface design techniques. And one of the simplest ways to apply fabric paints or inks in a unique way is with monoprinting.
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Resolve to Save: Learn Fabric Dyeing Techniques

Last week I shared a pillow project by Candy Glendening, noting how the simplicity of the design allowed her hand-dyed fabrics to take center stage. Today I thought give you some insight into Candy's fabric dyeing process.
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Quilting Arts TV Episode 1111: Adding Texture

There are many different materials and techniques for giving your quilts added texture. Ellen Anne Eddy is back with a continuation of a previous lesson. She has unique ideas on couching including a discussion of the feet to use. Then, Jane LaFazio returns
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Painting On Fabric: Tips from Judy Coates Perez

I always smile when I see the Fiesta Ornaments that Judy Coates Perez makes by painting on fabric , quilting the painted motifs, and then stitching on a frame of embossed craft metal.
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Inside the Surface Design Mind - Q&A with Marcia Derse

Recently, I shared Marcia Derse's tips for making your own fabric stamps for resist dyeing . The way that Marcia came to surface design and incorporates fabric painting and dyeing techniques into her quilt art fascinates me so much, I thought I'd give you some insight into her thought process
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In Stitches Volume 8

Welcome to Quilting Arts In Stitches! This dynamic format is the ideal studio companion. You can listen to informative videos, zoom in on glorious photographs, and find inspiration in gallery slideshows.
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Make Your Own Fabric Stamps for Resist Dyeing

Art quilting can be an expensive hobby. A good-quality sewing machine, specialty threads, and stacks and stacks of fat quarters, are just the beginning. It always seems like there's some new gadget, tool, or surface-design supply I absolutely must have.
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6 Easy Quilted Gifts to Make for the Holidays - Free eBook

In this free e-Book, Handmade & Holiday Gift Ideas: 6 Free Homemade Gift Ideas for Art Quilters , we offer you six easy gifts to make for your friends or your own home décor.
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Machine Quilting Circles - The Perfect Solution

During almost a year of sharing quilting ideas with you via the Quilting Daily blog, I've noticed something interesting: circles are popular. Whether the circles are sewn with hand stitching or machine quilting doesn't matter. Every time I write about circle motifs, the post gets a big response
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Fall Art Quilts

Though we here at Quilting Arts are always looking to the future for the newest techniques and the most talented up-and-coming art quilters, I thought it would be a fun ode to Fall to take another look at some of the autumn-inspired art quilts from past Fall issues of Quilting Arts Magazine . So put
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Surface Design Collaboration - Take a Ride on the Renga

What do you get when six fiber artists pass a piece of fabric around, adding surface design as they go? When In Stitches Editor Jane Dávila first proposed the idea of applying the collaborative concept of a round robin to surface design , I was worried the result might be a mess.
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Fabric Painting: An Easy DIY Technique

Fabric painting is a fun way to create your own distinctive fabrics for quilting and mixed-media fiber art. In the 2011/12 issue of International Quilt Festival/Quilt Scene , Bonita Rose Kempenich showed this very easy technique for how to paint fabric.
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Use Screenprinting to Improve the Stash You Have

Maybe the most important lesson I've learned from Rayna is that rules and perfection are overrated — at least when it comes to surface design and art quilting. In fact, I think it's her laid-back attitude, coupled with a keen eye for color and design, that makes her such a brilliant artist
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Machine Embroidery Exercise for Blending and Shading with Thread

One of the differences between art quilting and traditional quilting as that in art quilting, thread is almost always part of the design. The choice of thread in machine embroidery , in particular, can affect the look of the quilt.
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Make a Monoprint with a Plate of Lace

Have you ever looked at a heavily stitched or textured textile and thought, "That would make a great pattern for printing?" Lace, embroidery, even free-motion stitching can all be inked up (or painted) for monoprinting and surface design .
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Does Your Surface Design Do the Tango?

Blues and greens are perennial favorites in fabrics and surface design . I love them, too. But, would you be surprised to find out that several people respond to our question with "orange"?
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Giveaway Fabric Supply is Dwindling

In the June/July issue of Quilting Arts Magazine we offered to share our stash of hand-dyed fabric strips with you, our readers, as part of our reader challenge: creating a "Staycation" postcard. We have been delighted by the postcards we have
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Quilting Arts August/September 2012

Discovery and creativity abound in the newest issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. Focused on the art of the embellished quilt, this issue is overflowing with unique applications of beads, paint, ink, felting, and more. Explore profile artist Diane Savona's unique methods of burying embellishments under
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Marbled Fabric Painting - Ancient, Yet Modern Surface Design

I could easily while away a day — or a weekend — turning plain white fabric into a range of beautiful hues through fabric painting and dyeing.
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Improve Your Screen Printing Skills with These Tips

A few weeks ago I shared some of Margaret Applin's tips for creating a unique digital fabric design . Today I want to pass on her expertise for Thermofax screen printing .
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How to Use Watercolor Art in Surface Design

A note from Vivika: Today our topic is mixing fiber art with wet media (specifically watercolor) to use in surface design . So, I called in my mixed-media colleague Cate Prato, Editor of Cloth Paper Scissors Today , to serve as guest blogger. Take it away, Cate!
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Multi-colored Fabric Dyeing - One-of-a-Kind Sketchbook, Part I

A note from Vivika: The is the third in a series of guest posts by fiber artist and fabric dyeing expert Candy Glendening. Be sure to check out her tutorials on how to dye baby clothes and free-motion machine quilting a motif for a baby t-shirt , too
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Perfect Handmade Gift: Stitch a One-of-a-Kind Sketchbook Cover, Part II

Now that you've dyed a spectacular piece(s) of multi-colored fabric , it's time to show it off. What better way than to make a one-of-a-kind Sketchbook? Featuring a piece of multicolor fabric with a thread-sketched abstract mum design on the cover, this cover holds a 7" x 10" coil-bound
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Summer Scorcher and a Fabric Giveaway!

Today is a true Boston Summer scorcher - and I couldn't be happier. The only thing that is getting me down is the fact that I am inside for this 100 degree weather. I do know, however, that a lot of people out there think that this weather constitutes
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Fabric Painting Tips from Judy Coates Perez

Although I consider myself a mixed-media fiber artist, my media are mostly dry: fabric, fibers, paper, and thread. I do dye fabric. But fabric painting ? That's an area of surface design I haven't explored much.
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Digital Design for Screen Printing: Tips for Making it Work

I've heard it said that artists see what others don't see. Fiber artist Margaret Applin has a way of taking a familiar surface design technique and turning it inside-out to create designs and textures with a different look.
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Freshly Picked Baby Outfits: Free-Motion Quilting

This post will show you how to sketch free-motion machine quilting designs like a bird motif on a bright piece of fabric and embellish the shirt to create the cutest little outfit.
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How to Dye: Freshly Picked Baby Outfits

A note from Vivika: I'm happy to introduce you to Candy Glendening, who is going to be a guest blogger for the next four weeks, teaching you how to combine dyeing and stitch. Candy has been a guest on 'Quilting Arts TV,' has her own QA Workshop video, and has appeared in several Interweave
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81 Tips on Free-Motion Quilting and Thread Sketching Techniques - free eBook

In this free eBook, Free-Motion Machine Quilting Techniques: 81 Tips for Free-Motion Quilting, Thread Sketching and Quilting Motifs , three highly respected quilt artists, Frieda Anderson, Robbi Joy Eklow, and Susan Brubaker Knapp share their knowledge and expertise for successful free‑motion quilting
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Hand-dye Some Fabric With Your Friends

Several friends and I got together this past weekend to enjoy a beautiful, warm spring day and eating, drinking, laugh ing— and dyeing fabric by hand! Our dyeing party started with these colors. Ranging in age from 13 to 70-something, our band of
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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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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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Unravel the Secrets of Thread Sketching

Thread sketching? Love it! Using free-motion stitching with your sewing machine to create what looks like pen-and-ink drawings lends a real "hand of the artist" look to a quilt. The technique is also an effective way to add stitched imagery to fabric collages.
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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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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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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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5 Helpful Quilting Supplies I Love

You might have seen this picture from my wrap up of "QATV" Season 8. Yes, I am vertically challenged and need a little boost in order to reach the pedal on the set's sewing machine. The Quilting Arts crew thinks it's funny to capture these little behind-the-scenes TV moments. And frankly
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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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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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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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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 205

205 Thread is the Focus The hallmark of contemporary quilting is the use of thread in a new way. Instead of being content to only use thread as a way to quilt pieces of fabric or stitch on an applique, today's quilter uses thread as its own feature
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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 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 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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Improve Your Quilting Through Repetition

There's an old joke, from well before my time, that is still around because it's a classic. An elderly gentleman is walking down the street in New York City. A younger man steps up to him and asks, "Excuse me, sir, but how do I get to Carnegie Hall?
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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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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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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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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 605

The first project in episode 605 combines drawing and stitching. Karen Fricke demonstrates thread sketching on stabilizer, starting with pen and ink and then moving to thread and fabric. Next, Sharon Morton—from one of the largest guilds in the
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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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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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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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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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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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Quilting Arts August/September 2010

Don’t miss the first of our newest series: Mary Hettmansperger presents “Metal as a Surface Embellishment” and dives right in with copper foil. Explore more thread sketching strategies with Susan Brubaker Knapp, with a look at dimension. Be inspired to start your own small art group
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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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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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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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Produce Painterly Results with Thread & Ink

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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Texture Tips To Improve Your Art Quilts - Free Download

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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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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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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Follow the Line to an Interesting Quilt Design

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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We Reveal Our Animal Alter Egos

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.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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10 Tips for Resolving Tension Issues

Around the Quilting Arts Community, people with "tension problems" don't need relaxation techniques--they need a stitching specialist. Fortunately, we know several, and Susan Brubaker Knapp is one of the best.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 October/November 2007

Digital imagery; delicate design with silk, lace, flower petals, and machine embroidery; the Kemshalls on finishing with embroidery, foil, and color; quilted fabric sculpture; textural book wraps; large-scale photograph quilts; thread sketching on stabilizer; showing artwork; binding techniques; embellishments;
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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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Whoa baby!

This is too cool for school... check out the loot that Jacquard Products sent us in addition to our order for fabric 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
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