Quilting Arts Blog

Studio Space

For all of you Project Runway fanatics, you may have been surprised by the size of Christian Siriano's studio when Tim Gunn paid him a visit on last week's episode. Upon seeing  Christian's cramped space, Tim said, "Wow, you really know how to make it work!" (By the way, for a rather fierce blog on Project Runway, be sure to check out the ultimate fan blog,  Blogging Project Runway and all of the other linked blogs.)

One point Christian made was that such a tiny space forces him to be organized all of the time. I'm so embarrassed to admit this, but one day last year when I was trying to find a particular fat quarter of fabric,  I actually found a fully intact, sealed take-out container of California Maki at the bottom of one of my fabric bins. It must have been there for weeks. How disgusting and I never knew it was there because the container was sealed so it didn't reek (thankfully). When I told my friend Mary Fisher about this and how I wanted to mention it in my letter from the editor for the Studios issue, she said, "No way! That is not the kind of thing you want people knowing!"  Of course she's trying to protect me, but I have to confess and absolve myself of this so I might as well do it on the blog. 

Here's how bad it got:

My uninspired, messy design wall, thread drawers, and folding ironing table:

My sewing table and stacked bins of stabilizers with the sun glaring through the window. What a headache.

For my reorganization I spent months journaling my needs, reading books on organizing (a great one is Organizing from the Inside Out), hitting flea markets, Ebay, Target, and yes, Pottery Barn. The photo shoot took place two weeks ago, and here's a glimpse of my new digs (I can't show more of the new space until the Studios Issue comes out April 1st).

But I can show you the cover:

It was not planned to have a shot of Sophie and me on the cover (in fact I was really embarrassed that the team was exploring the idea). However, after we shot this particular spot in my studio (sans dog and me), I went and grabbed Sophie, our official Quilting Arts office mascot who serves double duty as a studio pet. (I grabbed her for a picture to place on the editor page.) When we got the shots back from photography, however, everybody felt this image with a person and a dog was a bit more inviting for cover than the image without. I hope you enjoy the issue as there are some incredible studios and stories inside.

Other News...

Earlier this year I got a Thermofax machine and I am so in love with what this contraption can do. I have a teeny, tiny obsession with a certain television series and wanted to create a quilt out of the series to enter the new exhibit at International Quilt Festival/Long Beach, "The Silver Screen." I used my Thermofax machine to create a screen of the lead character to test out fabrics and images for this possible quilt. I first manipulated a picture of this character in Photoshop, made a screen, then screen printed him on different fabrics to give me a better idea of how the image looks on different backgrounds.

Can you guess who this is?

Even though I like the image on the green batik, I think I'll use the hand-dyed red fabric because symbolically it works best for this character. A good blog entry on Thermofax screens is one by Gerrie Congdon that can be found right here.

Lastly, we have just posted the line-up of artists for Make It University! at International Quilt Festival in Chicago. I will be expanding this page over the weekend, but here's a first glimpse of what will be taking place. Hope to see you...

QA TV Series 200 Taping Complete

The winner of the award of Guests Traveling the Farthest for the Series 200 QA TV Taping goes to... The Kemshalls!  For those unfamiliar with this dynamic mother-daughter team, Linda (beautiful mother) and Laura (adorable daughter who's only 29!) hail from Design Matters in the U.K., their distance-learning program of City & Guilds, and are two of the most talented and gifted quilt artists around (in my very humble opinion). If the idea of flying over an ocean isn't daunting enough, the thought of braving the Newark Airport (and U.S. Customs with paints and brayers in your bags) for a connection sure is.  Once they arrived in Cleveland, they said they were pretty tired (they'd been up for nearly 24 hours) but you would never have known it by looking at this picture taken in the green room. They masked their exhaustion with humor and smiles, and were even gracious enough to accept a dinner invitation with our crew that night.

Here they are (below) after a good night's sleep and seconds before the camera lights went on. Just wait until you see the quilts they brought for the show--truly amazing works of art.We kick off this season with one of their five segments as well as a feature with Katie Pasquini-Masopust. A pretty darn good start if I do say so myself.

All done taping... They say they were nervous, but I don't buy it. They were utterly relaxed, natural, and articulate on set.

Jamie Fingal was another wonderful guest. She taped a colorful and fun segment showcasing her fabric collaged zipper quilts. (Trust me, if you haven't seen Jamie's quilts yet, you are in for quite a treat!)

Susan (Lucky) Shie was back to tape a ten-minute segment on air brushing. I was a little worried how her mike would work while wearing a respirator as she air brushed, but the control room said they could hear her just fine!

Below, assistant editor, Barbara Delaney, proves she's not only a talented editor, but a true team player. How many editors do you know are willing to help you pack your bags?  Barbara's one of those rare souls who has the gift for organization and creative use of space--especially in a suitcase. I'm afraid organization does not come naturally to me :::cough::: and you have no idea how wonderful it was to come home and open such a well-organized suitcase where I could find everything. Thank you, Barb! (Be sure to see Barb's article on organization in our Studios issue, coming out in April.)

A special thanks to Kathie Stull (owner/producer) for making the taping go so smoothly and a joyful experience for all involved.  A thanks also to Katherine Lamancusa, all of the talented guests who came to tape, Patty Jo, Sue Hausman, and the rest of the Husqvarna-Viking crew for their support and time.

Other people who are blogging about Series 200 (that I know of):

Jane Davila

Jamie Fingal

Rayna Gillman

Judy Coates Perez

The Kemshalls

NEWS:

We are gearing up for Make It University in Chicago, and we have a special surprise on the Saturday of the show. If you are a mixed-media or fiber artist that has been published in Quilting Arts or Cloth Paper Scissors and are to coming to Chicago, we'd like to know ASAP. If you are interested in being a part of Open Studios please email us and let us know what you are interested in doing and your availability. If you are a vendor that sells mixed-media supplies and would like to vend in Chicago at the Quilt Festival, please email Quilts. Inc. and let them know! Space is filling up!

Next blog entry I'll share a couple of tips and techniques I've found helpful in preparing to making a large, collage-style quilt.