Hi all!  Janome’s 100 blocks project is bubbling along, and today they are featuring my second block as one of today’s two blocks:

9-Squares Applique block by Sarah Ann Smith

To get a PDF download with the instructions for my 9-squares blocks, click Sarah’s 9-squares block.

I am really enjoying seeing the blocks come to my inbox every day.  Just click on the hotlink in the first sentence and follow the links/instructions to sign up for notifications (optional) or just get to the PDF instructions.

Doesn’t this quilt look fabulous photographed against that colorful wall? My blocks are the first one ( nine circles, Row 1, top left), Row 4 last block (the nine squares), Row 5 (bulls-eye with decorative stitching in the center…will publish next week), Row 6 (last block, wavy inserted skinny strips), Row 7 first block (mini checkerboard) and Row 7 rainbow log cabin in center). I’ll announce each time my patterns post.  Right click to view larger.

The opening spread of my article on stabilizing the quilt sandwich in the July/August issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited

Over the past six years, I have been fortunate to have been invited to submit a quilt and to have works accepted in the Dinner@8 Artists exhibits and in Living Colour Textiles.   For those shows, work had to be a specific size.  The problem is that when you quilt, especially when you quilt a LOT, as I do, the quilt shrinks.  And you need to have a good composition and framing once it is done–not chopped off, not too much leftover because the piece shrank less or more than you expected.

It is hard to predict how MUCH it will shrink.  So I decided I needed to tackle the problem and acquire some knowledge.   It was a lot of work to test nearly a dozen stabilizers, so I was thrilled when I proposed an article on my explorations to Machine Quilting Unlimited and they agreed it would be a useful article.

This is the cover of the current issue with my article:

The cover of the issue with my article.

and a bit more:

This page shows some of my testing in progress–yes, there are ELEVEN samples. All quilted the same. Can you say TEDIOUS?

The issue is still on stands, and is available for order on the MQU website here.  The article also has a link to an on-line Web Extra with all the extensive details of the testing on various stabilizers, interfacings, and canvas/cotton duck which you can print out for your own reference.

Even happier, at the end of the article I mentioned that I would be trying cotton duck, dyed by me, as the backing instead of a fourth layer.  That quilt is made and has been juried into this year’s Dinner@8 exhibit, Affinity.  And in the January 2016 issue MQU will publish my article in their “Challenge Quilts” series about Descended From the Stars.  WOOT!

Well that was FUN!  Got home yesterday from errands, gathered up the mail from the box, and found this in the pile!

Publicity card for the Out of the Blue exhibit at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, Mass. Yep, that’s MY quilt! SQUEEE!

I just checked, and apparently I forgot to announce here (as opposed to over on Facebook) that TWO of my works have been accepted into the Out of the Blue art quilt exhibit this summer at the Whistler House Museum of Art.  (If you click on that link you’ll see a thumbnail of my quilt; click on that for more information.) Yes, that Whistler, James McNeill Whistler, the one who painted Arrangement in Gray and Black, No. 1, better known as “Whistler’s Mother.”  Can you say GIDDY!   When I first moved to Maine, I learned about the Lowell Quilt Festival and the exhibits in town at the Whistler and the Brush Gallery.  So I went and thought:  I’ll know I’m making it if I can ever get in there.   Well, early this summer (I had signed up eons ago to be on the email list) I received a call for entry.  I thought:  why not!   All I can do is send the entry fee, and it will support art quilts no matter what.  Imagine my delight when I got in!

Yep, my art quilt Koi is the publicity image for a museum show!  My self-portrait “Clothed in Color” is also in the exhibit.  Here’s the back side of the card (minus my home address because this is the internet):

The exhibit will be open Aug. 12 to Sept. 19th of this year. The Reception is Saturday, Aug. 15th from 2-4. I love that they included the materials, including MistyFuse! 

And here is Clothed in Color:

A self-portrait –hmm…. just occurs to me there is some symmetry of a sort here, as Whistler is famous for his portraits– anyway, a self-portrait in no natural colors (well, other than the blue of my eyes, but my eyes are a bit more blue gray than blue….)

That weekend is also the Mancuso show in Manchester, NH.  It will be a VERY LONG day, but I’m thinking I will try to drive to Manchester (several hours away), spend a couple hours at the Mancuso show, then about 1 pm get on the road to Lowell to arrive shortly after 2 for the reception, then begin the trek home (about 4 1/2 – 5 hours).

Congratulations to the other artists in the ehxibit–I hope to see  some of you there!  And thank you to the jurors for accepting my works and to all those involved in the decision to select the publicity image!

And to round things up, here is the back side of Koi!

Koi is actually a two-sided quilt. This photo was taken before adding the hanging sleeve to the top of the back (imagine lying on the bottom of the koi pond looking up at the fish bellies and the trees above).  I made the top facing so that if anyone were to purchase it and wanted to hang it so you could see both sides, you can insert a metal slat and have it hidden.  Then I had to add the requisite 4″ hanging sleeve for standard display.

Two years ago I was taking a lettering class online with the wonderful Val Webb.  One of the exercises was to choose and illustrate a quote.   Back then I wrote about it.  Then in late 2013 Lesley Riley put out a call for entries, North Light wanted to publish an expanded version of her self-published Quotes Illustrated.   The new book is called Inspirational Quotes Illustrated and is available at Amazon and directly from Lesley here (don’t forget to check out other good stuff from Lesley here).

Lesley’s new book really is inspirational!

I have loved lettering since I was required to write with an Osmiroid Italic nib pen in junior high and high school (gotta love Catholic schools!), and I love reading and good quotes, and I love art.   All of these come together in this book.   There are some new-to-me quotes that may become favorites, there are some wonderful artists whose work I have admired included, some friends (waving at Deborah Boschert, Norina Morris and Jamie Fingal!) as well who are wonderful artists.

One of the things I really love is that the pages are perforated so you can easily remove a page to mat / frame and enjoy on the wall.  The page numbers are tucked into the center of the book and remain there–they aren’t on the part of the page that comes out to otherwise detract from the artwork should you wish to frame it.  Cool beans!

A two page spread featuring artwork by Jill K. Berry (left) and Holly Dean. If you look closely in the center, you’ll see a small bit of orange…

Gina Rossi’s crow/raven takes my breath away!

And here’s my page, on the right, with a collage by Lesley Jacobs on the left.  If you right click this image, you can see the perforations and the page numbers in the center.

Original blogpost from February 8, 2013:

Quote by Thomas Alva Edison. Class by Val Webb, more info here.

Oh my but I am having fun.  Of course, it is also a ton of work to make a page like this one (it took all day), but if you had asked me when class began back in late November if I would be able to do this in just  a couple of months, I would have laughed!   But lookit!  I did it!   I can’t hardly believe it!  This lesson is what Val Webb (click here for her blog) calls “crazy quilt” lettering, with rolling lines and many colors and little bits of art insterspersed with the writing.   Fortunately, I’ve been a bit behind and have benefitted from Val’s constructive comments for others pieces before I got around to working on this.  I had the wit to send Val my “first draft” before I spent a ton of time painting only to discovered I should have done something different.

First draft of the Thomas Alva Edison quote with the lettering going all the way across the page.

Val commented that when you have a wide motif in the center as with the overalls, it is hard for the eye to jump across to continue reading.  She suggested re-working the design to read as if it were two pages in a book.  Brilliant!  Took time, but I got it done.  Here’s the series of photos shoing my progress:

Testing out colors, letter shapes, and so on. Since I live in Maine and the guys wear Carhartt overalls, I opted for the Carhartt color instead of old fashioned demin. As you can see, I originally intended to do the letters in yellow, green and blue.  I also tested out a color for the silvery metal at the bottom of the light bulb, and getting a yellow fade for the light bulb.

Working away at the dining room table. I even managed to NOT blotch and drip or smudge! And I’m happy I was able to lift the color on the knees to make the fabric look faded and worn by work.

The yellow and green letters are done, so I decided to break for a late lunch. When I took the photo, I realized I had picked up the colors in the placemats I made, and decided I liked the idea of the warm plummy-red better than blue, so changed my color scheme. So glad I did!

And one more time, the photo from the top, repeated for comparison here:

Quote by Thomas Alva Edison. Class by Val Webb, more info here.

I like the way this turned out so much I am tempted to get a custom mat to fit into a standard sized frame and hang it in my studio!

What a year it has been and what an end of a year–have come down with a sinus infection after Christmas.   But while I was putting things together for the family Christmas newsletter, I decided to browse my blog to remember what had happened.  Of course I remembered Eli going to wrestling camp and our big trip to England, but it felt like I really hadn’t accomplished much art-quilt-wise.  It appears my memory was faulty–what a year!

Insalata, (c) Sarah Ann Smith 2014.  In the Studio Art Quilt Associates exhibit Food for Thought.

1. My line of Thermofax screens came out with Fiber on a Whim!  Blogged about them here and here, and you can buy them here.
   

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2. Two of Us–I was in the Beatles exhibit quilt and in the book! Blogged here, find the book here.
   

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3. Amaryllis quilt made and touring Australia and New Zealand in the Living Colour Textiles exhibit.  Blogged here; website for the exhibit here.
   

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4. Eli, Cross-Country 2013 quilt made for the Dinner@8 Reflections exhibit with the IQA shows.  Blogpost here; website for the exhibit here.
   

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5. Mr. Wiggles does the Circle Dance made and included in the traveling portion of Dare to Dance exhibit and book.  Blogpost here and here, and book here.
   

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6. Many articles for MQU / Machine Quilting Unlimited on various aspects of machine quilting.  I have to say I subscribe to this magazine and it is one that I read cover to cover each and every issue! There were lots of posts over the past two years, so I won’t put them all here, but here’s one about maintaining your machine.  Here’s the MQUmag.com website.  If I had to cut my magazine subscriptions down to 3, this would be one that I’d keep.
   

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7. QA TV–on PBS in three segments of Quilting Arts TV talking about needle and thread, quilting, and my easy-peasy inside-out bag!  Me?  On TV?   Here are a few blogposts here and here and here and a link to Series 1400 at the Interweave Store. If you want to shop at Interweave, use the link at the left of my blog for a discount on some items.  Thanks so much to my friend Susan Brubaker Knapp who was tapped to be the new host (and wonderful she is!) and Vivika Hansen DeNegre, editor of Quilting Arts magazine.
   

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8. Three works in the  Quilt Essentials book, a new book that covers the full range of quilting, geared at newcomers to the art and craft of quilting, published out of England.  Blogpost here and for sale here.
   

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9. Insalata, my latest piece, has been juried into on of SAQA – Studio Art Quilt Associates — exhibits, Food for Thought.  Apparently, I’ve been SO busy I forgot to blog about finishing the quilt and getting it submitted!   I’ve tried many times, but this is the first time I’ve made it into a SAQA exhibit. My blogpost about the quilt in progress here.   The quilt is at the top of this post! I’ll add Insalata to my list of “Things I need to blog about!”
   

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10. I was lucky to attend, teach and lecture at International Quilt Festival, Houston, again this year.  For me, this show is the biggest and best show in the US, and I am  privileged to be able to teach there.  It is so much fun to have returning students in my classes!
    

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11. Our oldest son graduated and I actually made and gave him his graduation quilt within a few months of the event!   He and his girlfriend looked SO CUTE when they wrapped up in it in our living room.  Blogpost here.  It’s a whopper:  87 x 97 inches of riotous color!
    

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12. New workshops in development–I’ve got two new workshops/classes well under way.  The first is an a la carte series of classes called Quilting the Good Life, where guilds can pick from one to five days of classes that begin with a fused, collaged flower (Quilting the Garden), a second day to develop one’s own photo into an art quilt, a one or two-day quilting class for thread-coloring / quilting the piece, or turn it into a five day workshop including all of the above with extra time to work on the piece with my help.  The second workshop is using thermofax screens and other surface design techniques inspired by the mini-workshop I did in the Fiber on a Whim booth in Houston this fall, blogpost here.  I’ll blog more about these when they debut. 
    

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13. QA Holidays issue:  the easy peasy inside out bag and card holders I demonstrated on Quilting Arts TV were included as patterns in the annual Holiday issue!
    

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14. England trip–there are many blogposts and more still to come for this once in a lifetime trip.  How wondrous is it that a 16 year old teenager wanted to go with his Mom to England? 
    

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15. 500 traditional quilts book—I’m known as an art quilter, but I love traditional quilts.  I was thrilled to have 3 quilts included in this book juried by Karey Patterson Bresenhan and have 2 on display at the 2014 International Quilt festival in Houston in the exhibit of selected quilts from the book.   Blogpost here.
    

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16. Planting 300+ daffodil and tulip bulbs with my family!  Nearly 30 years ago we lived in DC on Capitol Hill.  One row house had a small front garden that was wall-to-wall tulips in spring.  I’ve always wanted to do something similar with daffodils….. have those joyous blooms spilling down a hillside.  Well, we have the hill, and in spring we should have the flowers.  I ordered about 100 tulips and 250 daffodils.   I have a feeling I will want to add a hundred more bulbs every autumn until I have my cascade of daffodils!  Blogpost here.
    

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17. Dog walkies—inspired by Susan Brubaker Knapp’s daily beauty photos, I have been documenting my little world on dog walkies with our beloved pug.  I post the pictures on Facebook, though get them shared here sometimes, too.   If you aren’t already a friend on FB, please do visit me here and send a request!
    

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18. Not enough exercise–well, something had to go, and clearly I should re-prioritize and get myself back in some sort of shape.  Hope springs eternal?
    

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19. Janome 15000, in Janome ads w/banner:  to my utter astonishment and delight, Janome America has sponsored me with a machine for nearly a decade now.   In exchange, I do projects for them and try to repay their kindness and generosity by talking about the features of the machine (which are fabulous and I would say that even if I DIDN’T get to use one for free).  This year they –GASP, and yes I seriously upgraded my business insurance to cover the cost of this machine– lent me a top of the line Janome 15000.  And they used a banner I made for them in their national ads, blogpost here.  Thank you Janome America!
    

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20. And last but not least by any  means, I am now published with a NON textile artwork in Lesley Riley’s Inspirational Quotes Illustrated.    And in another how-did-I-not-Blog-about-that-yet moment, I will prepare a blogpost to publish tomorrow with pictures of the book and my piece in it!  You can buy the book here.  And I will say, I almost never have TWO of a book, but this one is so cool because you can remove pages to go on the wall, so I am keeping my autographed-by-Lesley copy intact and bought another to take out pages for posting on my design wall as inspiration.
    

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So that was one heck of year–and here I thought I hadn’t done much.  What a wonder!