Quilting Arts Blog

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 on our website.)

1. Quilting Arts is actively seeking submissions for embellishment, mixed-media quilting, stitching, and anything related to art quilts “going green.” These could be quilts made of recycled materials, quilts related to preserving our environment, or quilts made of eco-friendly materials. If you have a submission idea and have pictures of your work, please email low-resolution GIF or JPEGs along with a query letter to us ASAP. If you are an art quilter who would like to be profiled, if you have surface design, embellishment ideas, stitching (machine, hand, long arm) to share, we also want to hear from you ASAP.

2. Have you had a chance to get your hands on the Cloth Paper Scissors Studios issue yet? (Probably not as it’s not supposed to be available on the stands until April 1st, but some stores are putting it out early.) We want to hear your thoughts on this issue—and being the nosey bunch we are—also take a peek into your studio space. If you want us to see your space, have a studio storage tip to share, ideas for studio articles, or have an extreme studio makeover story, by all means spill to us.

3. We will soon begin working on our Quilting Arts GIFTS issue available in September. We are actively seeking submissions that relate to the following: fabric art for home décor, quilted items that celebrate the season, art quilts with patterns, ideas for fabric stash and parties and quilt gatherings among friends, stitched or quilted gift ideas, stitched journals, holiday cards, needle-felted gifts, wearable art with a seasonal twist…you get the idea. If you would like to be published in our GIFTS issue, send us your ideas and pictures.

4. Watch out soon for our Cloth Paper Scissors Tea Party challenge. Okay, that was a teaser. There’s no link. I’m just checking to see if you’re still paying attention.

5. Cloth Paper Scissors is currently looking for the following: techniques for sketchbook keeping, ideas for handmade books, working with texture gels, recycling clothing and everyday items into art, thoughts on art and business, and mixed-media jewelry.

6. If you are an artist that has been published in Cloth Paper Scissors and would be interested in being a part of our Open Studios at Make It University! at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, please email Barbara Delaney. If you are a mixed-media business that wants to apply for a vendor booth at Make It University!(TM), please let Quilts Inc. know.

7. Lastly, don’t forget about our Go Green Quilt Challenge, deadline May 1st. Above is a Go Green entry we received from Frances Holliday Alford. Who knew dryer lint, candy wrappers, and Tyvek envelopes could be transformed into something so beautiful? (Frances has a knack for making beautiful things. Be sure to see her article in the June/July issue of Quilting Arts.)

If you plan on coming to Chicago for Make It University, please let me know in the comments area. You're hearing it here first, but we'll be taping segments for Quilting Arts TV on Saturday at the show. It will certainly be an exciting time, and we have some wonderful segments with guest artists planned. See you soon…

Artwork in my studio

It’s here, it’s here! The Studios issue has just arrived in our offices and oh my… I think it came out rather nicely. I hope you think so, too. In my extreme makeover article, I mention that I will share some of the artwork in my studio on our website, so here goes.

“Beach Walk” by Rosalie Dace

This is one of my absolute favorite quilts that also made an appearance in our Quilting Arts Fall 2006 issue. It pays tribute to Rosalie’s favorite, restorative activity of walking along the beach to collect sandy treasures. I love how she layered torn bits of billowy blue sheers to depict water and added beige burlap, illustrative of gritty sand. Combining buttons, beads, and ephemera with thousands of hand stitches, this makes for a very joyful piece.

Nudes are a popular subject for art quilter Melanie Testa and looking at this piece is like taking a deep, cleansing breath—it makes me feel calm. I particularly love the way Melanie layers sheer fabrics on top of one another to achieve such an ethereal effect.

I went Etsy shopping one morning and was thrilled to learn that my UK friend Lucie Summers had an Etsy storefront. A talented mixed-media and quilt artist, Lucie has been featured a few times in our magazines and I am pleased to have these two little pieces as part of my collection.

If you look on the top shelf, you may recognize the yellow assemblage from the first issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. It’s by Lesley Riley and is from her “Windows to the Soul” article. The expression of the little girl as she peers through the window reminds me of how I often feel when I embark on a new art project: shy yet curious.

The quilt on the bottom shelf was hand pieced and hand quilted by my great grandmother many, many years ago. All throughout her life she painted, made dolls, numerous quilts, her own clothes, you name it. She lived until she was 99, and the last time I saw her was when I paid her a visit to her nursing home. She had just received a letter from a friend in a neighboring nursing facility and the envelope sported bright, glittery stickers of ladybugs and frogs all over it. “Isn’t this envelope the prettiest thing?” she asked me. All her life my great grandmother strived to make this world just a little more beautiful and she appreciated other’s attempts at doing so, too. An important lesson.

This quartet of small quilts is made by yours truly. I dub these my whimsical pop art pet portraits, and although I don’t usually like to hang my own artwork in my house, I do love looking at my beloved animal children depicted in fabric. 

What about you? Do you have any special pieces of art in your studio or home that you enjoy?

True Colors Mixed-Media Quilt Exhibit

"Illustrated Document No. 1" by Judy Coates Perez

Last year we issued a challenge to readers of Cloth Paper Scissors®, asking them to make a mixed-media paper quilt that incorporates a color or colors that reveal the true you. It's always a difficult process to select pieces for an exhibit, and with more than 200 vibrant quilts, choosing approximately 30 was very tough going.  However, we're confident we've chosen a beautiful, diverse collection of dazzling quilts for display. The following artists will have their mixed-media quilts featured in the “True Colors” exhibit at Make It University! in Chicago, Long Beach, and Houston:

Frances Holliday Alford
Flicsha Allen
Lynn Bland
Kathryn Botsford
Barb Brown
Sandra Champion
Debbi Crane
Elizabeth Dawson
Michelle Doucette
Kayla Fujimoto
Brittany Heskett
Patty Kehoe
Marcia Kerbl
Jane LaFazio
Kate Madeloso
Barb Mallon
Susan Mayfield
Jeannie Moore
Sylvia Naylor
Eva Nelander-Juntunen
Patti Pasteur
Judy Coates Perez
Gail Pierce
Ruth Rae
Suanne Reed
Christy Renken
Sarah Louise Ricketts
Deb Silva
Edie Simons
Sandra Spagnuolo
Barbara Sundeen
Terri Stegmiller
Bonnie Wedge
Beverley Wood

Congratulations to all!