While watching the Winter Olympics one nippy Sunday, I decided to work on my lino-cutting class.  Our lesson was textures.  I thought and thought and didn’t want to do something like the teacher.  A friend of my older son LOVES sunflowers, so I thought hmmm….   love the seed-pod texture

of the center, the silky smoothness of the petals, so I decided to do a jumbo life-sized sunflower.  The linoleum square is 12 x 12 inches; i think the center measures about 6 inches or so across.  In the photo above you can see my pencil marks and the beginnings of cutting away the spaces around the seeds/circles.  I actually like this amorphous, amoeba-like shape so much I may make a few printing blocks that are similar to this one…like water seeping through the mud finding the path of least resistance.

And an angled view–by the way, I used a medium or small “U” shaped gouge for this part:

You can see in this photo the size of the block, and that I used some of my plastic quilting circle templates to mark the perimeters for the seeds and petals.

In this shot, I’ve begun carving the petals using a medium “V” shaped gouge for the outside, and a small “V” for the inner lines:

And again, an angled view (somehow the lighting shows up the carved bits better)–I just LOVE that center!:

In the next photo, you can see the carving jig I made.  Woodblock carvers use something similar, with a lip on the close-to-the-body edge so it snugs against the table.  My jig is larger (to accommodate the large lino blocks) and lacks the lip… I find I like to angle the block, so wanted to be able to turn the jig.  Since doing this one, tho, I discovered I can take an extra strip of the molding I used to make the edge/frame and put it at an angle on the inside, so I may add a lip after all.  Having cut myself on my first effort, I now have a wary respect for how sharp the carving tools are! The safety from using a well-made, well-designed jig are well worth the minimal cost (about $10 for the supplies, tho still need to buy some felt to glue to the bottom).

In the photo above, you can also see that I have begun carving away the outside in a flame-like pattern.  By this time I’d been cutting for several hours, and my hands began to ache, so I took a break and finished it the next day (which was also Spring Break and more of the Olympics television marathon). Finally, carving DONE!

And the angle view:

Can you tell I’m having fun?  Then I had to wait for an order with some Speedball ink to arrive.  My textile paints aren’t working as I would like  for the printing, so we’ll see if the Speedball water-soluble ink works any better.  It can apparently be heat-set and made permanent….. time for more testing?

If you think you’d be interested in taking this class online,  contact Dijanne Cevaal who is (I mentioned this earlier, forgive me for repeating it here) originally from the Netherlands, immigrated to Australia and lived there most of her adult life, travelled to the middle East and is currently living, at least for a while, back in Europe.  Consequently, we have a glorious around-the-world group in our class.  You can contact her by using the link in the sidebar (to the left) which will take you to her blog.

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.

One of the coolest things when you are a teacher is when a student writes to you with what she has learned and used from your classes.  Last week, I was tickled pink to receive an e-mail from Susan Molin who took my Fabric Postcards class at the Merrimack Quilt Guild in New Hampshire in late January.  The first picture I saw was this wonderful rhinoceros…doesn’t he just make you grin?

I think Susan did a fabulous job using the printed fabric, the yarn-edge finishing technqiue, and creative embellishments.  I had shared a piece or two that I did where I made the postcards first, then applied them to a quilted background (for example, the Mountain Seasons pattern in my book, ThreadWork Unraveled, is made that way).  The photo of the overall quilt, Jungle Play,  is a tad blurry, but I’m including it anyway so you get the feel for how she has done the piece:

Here is the giraffe–the “hair” for the mane is PERFECT:

and the gorilla–love those hanging-down branches:

I like how Susan has used understated quilting, creative beads and buttons, and couched yarn to the background quilt.   Very effective!  Thanks so much Susan for sharing with me and letting me, in turn, share here on my blog!

I received quite the lovely e-mail a few days ago from Vou Best of the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) about the piece pictured above.  It said:

“Congratulations!  Your piece in “Meet the Artist: SAQA 20th Anniversary Trunk Show” has been chosen to be one of the 55 pieces archived in the permanent collection of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  It will be available to researchers and students as a record of the art quilt in 2009.

“Sandra Sider selected the works for the IQSC collection.  “One of the best parts of the 2009 SAQA conference was the three hours I spent in my hotel room, with the 20th Anniversary Trunk Show spread out over beds, tables, chairs, and floor.  What an explosion of creative energy! My curatorial task was to select approximately fifty pieces that would be donated in 2010 as a SAQA collection to the International Quilt Study Center. This collection documents the various techniques, processes, materials, and artistic styles in quilt art during the early 21st century, and the SAQA Board envisions these quilts as research tools, far into the future.  Your quilt was selected because it represents a particularly distinctive or original approach. Congratulations! Sandra Sider SAQA Vice President.”

“During the past year, many people have viewed the Trunk Shows in venues across the United States and in several other countries.  They have been shown at SAQA Regional meetings, to Quilt Guilds, in Gallery shows, at IQF receptions, and I’m sure to neighbors and friends wherever the trunks have visited. Everywhere they’ve traveled, they have received an overwhelmingly positive reaction.

“The SAQA Exhibition committee and I wish to thank you for supporting this endeavor during our 20th Anniversary year. Each and every piece represents the outstanding artistic quality present in the membership of SAQA today.

Vou Best

SAQA’s 2oth Anniversary Trunk Show Curator”

To say that I am thrilled is a serious understatement!  When I saw the names on the rest of the list, here…wow!  I am humbled, pleased and utterly astonished to be in such good company!

A.W.O.L, for my non-US readers, is an acronym that comes to us from the military meaning Absent WithOut Leave (i.e. going off without permission).  So, I have been AWOL a bit.  What have I been doing?  Alas, I can’t tell you, well not much anyway.  I was invited to submit a quilt for a juried invitational exhibit.  That means you make a quilt to theme and size, and it may or may not get in.  Anyway, the past 2 1/2 weeks I’ve been quilting like a madwoman!   I’m thinking my entry will get in, but if it doesn’t, I’m OK with that because honestly I think this piece may be one of the best things I’ve ever done (so it is KILLING ME not to share it!).

What I can share, is the thread.  On a quilt that measures 12 square feet, I used 46 threads on the top (in the green bin) and 16 threads on the bottom (in the bag on the right…also one thread was used both top and bottom), for a total of 61 threads.  Here they are all laid out nicely, with the 16 bobbin threads in the top row (including four cones), and 45 of the 46 top threads below; the repeat was the lime green bobbin thread–aren’t they pretty????

and as always, I like the line drawing on the back side of the quilt almost as much as the front.  I will have word in about a month about the exhibit, and can share (either way, whether I get in or not) then…..
In the meantime, I hope to be a bit more regular at blogging.  You can always tell when either I’m slamming on a project OR too much life is happening…blogposts become scarce! Will try to do better,

Cheers, Sarah