Wow what a fun way to start the day:  open up an e-mail from Quilting Arts about “Ten Art Quilting Lessons Learned” to see that they have a new book.  I knew months ago that something I had written for Quilting Arts several years ago was to be included in a new book.  Well this is it, titled The Best of Quilting Arts:  Your Ultimate Resource for Art Quilt Techniques and Inspiration, AND they featured my photo/pieces for the edge-finishes article in the e-mail!!!!!!  Here is a link to see that e-mail online; scroll down to see my little green quiltlets.   And here is a link to pre-order the book.  Make sure to click on the tab to see what is in the book (my bits are in the first section).  It looks like it will be a great book, and I am so thrilled and honored to be included!

The major sections in the book are:

• Introduction
• 1.  Starting and Finishing:  Articles on Art Quilt Basics
• 2.  Trends in Surface Design:  Articles on Stamping, Dyeing, Printing and More
• 3.  Represent!  Articles on People, Pets, and Text in Art Quilting
• 4.  Make it Green:  Articles on Recycled and Natural Materials
• 5.  Too Much is Never Enough:  Articles on Embellishment and Mixed Media
• Contributors
• Resources
• Index

It is 160 pages and only $24.95… can’t wait to buy my copy!  I am thrilled giddy and silly to be included with folks like Jane Dunnewold, Terry Grant, Jane Davila, Melanie Testa and so may other talented artists. WOW…just pinched myself, and I really am awake and it really is true!

Yes, I am a calendar girl!!!!! Can you believe it?  I STILL, even though the quilt is home, I have the ribbon (now a year old), and saw the quilt with the ribbon in Houston this time last year, cannot believe that *I* really won a ribbon, and then of the 110 or so winning quilts was one of 13 selected to be in this calendar:

Robbi Eklow's eye-cathing gears quilt is on the cover

The inside cover tells a bit about each quilt:

Inside the front cover, a bit about the 13 quilts

And, drum roll please, here is Fields of Gold, a.k.a. Miss September.  I like how they brought the quilt down over the staples onto the lower page, rather than reduce the size to fit on the top half:

Fields of Gold

I swear, if someone had told me when we left Friday Harbor 6 years ago that I’d have a book, be a Houston award winner, and be in this calendar, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it…absolutely astonishing!  It just goes to prove that if you work hard, are really passionate about something, and are willing to devote the time and effort it takes to do something, you CAN!

I am THRILLED to be able to share with you a snapshot of my article in the just-out Quilting Arts Gifts magazine!   Here’s “my” page / article:

And here is the cover of this year’s project-packed issue!

Since there are copyright issues, I won’t share more pics of the issue than that, but I can say you MUST check out Susan Brubaker Knapp’s mistletoe!  I think I shall make some for this  year!

A little background:  last year I was fortunate to win a second place ribbon at the IQA World of Beauty for my quilt of our  pug; the prizes in my category, Art Quilts-Miniature, were sponsored by none other than Quilting Arts!  So as a thank you for the sponsorship of the prize, I wanted to send publisher and editor John and Pokey Bolton a little something beyond the ordinary thank you note.  So I made them a frame (color coordinated with their pets hair colors {grin!}).  Pokey wrote to say thanks, and would I consider patterning it for the magazine?  YOU BET!

I have made two other frames using this technique of assembly, so I thought I’d share pictures with you to give you ideas for different “looks” if you decide to make one of these frames!

The first one I made as a holiday project, to go on the table or mantle over the fireplace/woodstove:

This shows the “photos” side of the accordion “book” with stencilled winter trees and stars.  The next photo is the reverse side of the “book.”  I traced each person’s hand, then reduced it to 75 percent on the copier to fit on each page, which is about 7 inches wide and 10 inches tall at the peak of the roof. I wanted to stick to the blue batiks, so I used an underlayer or “shadow” of white fabric to accentuate the shape of each hand.   I used freezer paper stencils to paint on the “paper snowflakes”:

And here are two close-ups:

The second was a gift for my friend Kate, and I blogged about it here:

There is a heart frame to hold pics of each of her children.  On the back, there are pockets to record their favorite clothes, teams, sports, books, songs, on a card.  Here is the back side:

As you can see, you can get a LOT of different looks…just go play! To order your copy of Quilting Arts Gifts, go here, or head to your nearest big box book store which will likely have it on the stands now!

up front admission:  I’m a cover girl!   Yes, the quilt on the cover is the Elusive Batiki Bird designed, patterned and made by me!

Pretty Little Mini Quilts is the latest installment in Lark Books’ successful “Pretty Little” series, which is an 8 x 8 inch format book, in this case with 31 projects to make. The projects range from paper-pieced hexagons, to a nearly mixed-media house-shaped piece on stretcher bars, pieced quilts, appliqued quilts and quiltlets, and more all 36 x 36 inches or smaller.  Some are variations on traditional patterns such as the nine-patch (and would make great table toppers as well as wall art), others are contemporary abstracts, and others are whimsical or contemporary applique.  I liked that there is a wide range of techniques and ways to present the quilts.

I am TOTALLY in love with the bunny, by Aimee Ray, who appears on p. 5 (pattern on p. 86), with a birdie perched on his antlers/ears/branches! This piece is small, embroidered, with limited piecing.  It is just adorable!

Not only do I love the bunny, but also my friend Kathy Daniels (blog here) has a lovely piece called Spring haiku that, at 16 x 14 inches, would make a lovely accent on a small wall anywhere in the home. Pattern on p. 80.

My quilt, seen on the cover, p. 31, and patterned at p. 118, is 26 1/2 inches…just the perfect size to be the front of a Euro square pillow for the bed or a decent size on the wall.

The book begins with a quick (p. 11-27)  review of some quilting basics, followed by the 31 projects.  As you might guess from the size of the book, the instructions are not in-depth, as you might find if you spent $10-12 for a single pattern.  As a result, total beginners might find some of the instructions a bit spare.  However, if you are at the confident beginner stage (or have a nice quantity of gumption even if you are a total beginner) or up, or have garment sewing skills, you’ll be able to follow the instructions.   If you want in-depth coverage of some techniques, such as crazy quilting embroidery stitches or painting on fabric, you’ll want an additional book that provides the in-depth instruction, but I think it’s a good thing to expose folks to the range of styles and techniques out there.

One reviewer commented she couldn’t figure out who would be the intended audience for this book.  My guess is the 20- and 30-somethings who are relatively new to sewing and quilting, are setting up their homes, sewing for children and friends and personal satisfaction, but that doesn’t mean the projects don’t also appeal to the rest of us who are looking for something fun, fresh, and that won’t take forever to make.  I expect that someone will buy this  book for a single project–with the $17.95 cover price, it isn’t too expensive–but may then find themselves tempted by something else, too.   Like that bunny.  I LOVE that bunny!

PS–Thanks to Lark Books for making me a cover girl again…. I was also on the cover of Creative Quilting with Beads… I think I like Lark!  I blogged about that one here.

There is a new book out from Lark Books in its “500” series, 500 Art Quilts.

I was thrilled when I received word that two of my quilts would be among the 500 (made by 369 artists).  A whopping 432 pages long, this book is, pure and simple, eye candy!  Edited by Ray Hemachandra with quilts juried by Karey Bresenhan, founder of the International Quilt Association and quilty godmother to hundreds of thousands of quilters for her incredible energy and devotion to quilting and the quilting industry–she’s one of the forces of nature behind International Quilt Festival in Houston (can you tell I think she’s the bee’s knees?).

Now that I have received my artists’ copy, I am even more thrilled—and humbled and astounted—to be included on these pages.  All I can say is that you MUST get your hands on a copy of this amazing compilation which summarizes the state of art quilting around the world today.  It is simply STUNNING!

My quilt A Sense of Place:  The Wall, has a page all to itself (on left):

And Koi (yippeee!) is included here, top of left page:

Throughout the book I was tickled to see names I know well, and equally excited to see quilts and names I’ve never seen before.  What a wealth of talent and creativity we have in this medium!  Karey did a fantastic job selecting a representative range of styles and techniques (jurying was blind, meaning she did not know who made which quilts), and Hemachandra and staff did a great job placing the quilts in groupings that complement the quilts.  There is almost no text, just name of the maker, size, materials.  The artwork speaks for itself…and it is singing in joyfullness!