"Cut Loose" and On the Right Path

I'm adding just one new class to my lineup for the fall session at Greenbaum's Quilted Forest.  I absolutely LOVED working on this piece, which started from just playing around with some fabrics I selected from my stash.  I made several units, then put it away for about a month or so.

When I decided to teach a class based on Rayna Gillman's book Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts, I realized I could build on what I'd already started and turn that into my class sample.  I began adding more units and including some of the techniques from this book, then put them on the design wall to audition.  It need more cohesiveness, so I continued sewing, slashing, inserting, and auditioning:

Auditioning units

Once I was satisfied, I quilted it by machine and named it Cut Loose.  I wanted the quilting to add another subtle layer, so I ignored the pieced units and stitched in imaginary "units, similar to Lisa Call's grid style.

"Cut Loose," finished

Here are some detail shots that show the quilting:

"Cut Loose" detail A

"Cut Loose" detail B

"Cut Loose" detail C

 

 

The title, Cut Loose, has a double meaning.  1)  Cut loose, as in "she didn't measure up to our standards, so we cut her loose."  Sometimes, being cut loose is exactly what's called for, and results in a new-found freedom, heightened creativity, and a better appreciation of one's own worth.  2) Cut loose, as in the process used to construct this quilt.  All rules were cast aside, and I skipped any preliminary planning in favor of working more freely.   I enjoyed all phases of this quilt's construction, and have plenty of new ideas for working in this style.  I think I'm on the right path!

More student work and a last-minute contest

My previous post was about the classes I'm currently teaching.  Here are a few more shots from my April 7 soy wax batik class at Greenbaum's Quilted Forest:

White cloth stamped with soy wax.

One very ambitious student spent most of the class time stamping designs onto her fabric, but still managed to get them all dyed.  Do you see why I get so many ideas from my students?  Teaching is a two-way street!

Piles of soy wax-stamped fabric ready for dye-painting!

The next time I teach this class, I'll get some shots of the stamped and dyed fabrics.  This blog post needs some COLOR!

The piece of painted canvas I received for the current challenge.  Yes, I've started!

And on the subject of COLOR:


Win a set of Golden Artist  Colors' surfaces and textures for dry media from Interweave Press  -- a sampling of 13 products, including the new Micaceous Iron Oxide.  (Serendipity?? I just learned the word micaceous during last week's episode of Project Runway, when Patricia embellished a dress with micaceous sequins! Did anyone else see it?)
Deadline: midnight (CST) Thursday, April 25, 2013.

Comments are ALWAYS welcome and appreciated!

It's All In the Details: fabric collage class

In all my years of teaching at Greenbaum's Quilted Forest, I think my current class line-up is my favorite! In March, I taught Serendipity Quilts, which is based on Susan Carlson's book of the same title.  It's only a 6-hour class, so students typically don't get to the quilting stage of their projects.  In fact, they discover that it's the finishing touches added later -- in the 7th, 8th, or 10th hour they've spent on their collages -- that really makes the piece come alive!  It's all in the details.

Here are some of the works-in-progress by my students:

 Anne's two colorful fish.

  

Carlene's flowers (with Angelina fibers at their centers).

Shelley's amazing green-eyed cat.

Alice's smiling sun.

I hope to see these pieces when they're quilted and finished.  Great work!

As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.