What FUN!   As a result of collaborating with Fiber on a Whim, I am thrilled to announce that they are now carrying a line of thermofax screens designed by ME!  Whooda thunk it?   Best of all, FoaW is debuting the screens with a sale!

Learn to make the painted fabrics in this project in my mini-Whimsy class at IQF-International Quilt Festival Fall 2014.   This piece was made (in part) with the Queen Anne’s Lace thermofax screen at Fiber on a Whim.

The collaboration began when Fiber on a Whim asked if I would like to do a mini class in their booth at Festival.  At International Quilt Festival I will be teaching regular classes (Intro to Machine Quilting, Birch Pond Seasons, particpating in the Machine Quilting Forum and giving a lecture on Tuesday), but I will also be doing two mini Whimsy Classes in the Fiber on a Whim booth #144 on the show floor on Thursday at 5 and Friday at 11. I’d love to see you in both the regular and the Whimsy classes!  The Whimsy classes (both the same)  will use thermofax screens and other paint processes to create your own cloth.  The booth is on “Main Street” (the big red-carpeted aisle in the middle) right next to the passageway/entrance to the quilts exhibits!  Read more about FoaWhim’s Festival plans here on their blog.

In the class I hope to have students do two small projects each.  In the class, students will create the Queen Anne’s lace background fabric used in this project along with the painted part of the nest, then finish the stitchery and quilting at home.  I will provide the materials you need in class, you add the rest at home.  Just show up, pay for the class (a very modest fee that covers supply costs), and play!  There will only be 8 spaces per class; stay tuned for details but I think you just need to show up about 15 minutes before class and the first 8 people in line get in to the classes.

The Queen Anne’s Lace custom stencil, which you can purchase from Fiber on a Whim not only at International Quilt Festival but also on their website is this one, which has the flower head in three sizes on a 9 x 12 inch screen.  (PS–did you remember all my screens are on sale right now?)  You can print with just a single size or use all three (or portions):

My custom Queen Anne’s Lace screen that will be available from Fiber on a Whim, probably on their website later this week.

I will also have students work on a piece of art cloth to make something along the lines of the piece below, which uses my Onions thermofax screen (I’ll post more about the screens once Fiber on a Whim is ready to sell).  This was like fingerpainting in kindergarten–pure play–but with cloth!

And some art cloth–this is SO not my typical, but I could see playing with surface design, a lot, to make more fabrics to use in my more typical style. I wanted to have something totally “not me” though so that students get to try both representational and not!

Here are a few more images so you get the idea of what we will be doing–do come play!

For the nest piece, I took some pale beige batik, my Queen Anne’s Lace stencil and paint to create this cloth, which I love so much I can see making yardage of this to use!

My onion screen will also be available at Fiber on a Whim. I simply overlapped it a bunch of times to create this cloth, again something that I can see using as background fabrics. And what a variety you’d get depending on your base cloth (this was plain white) and colors.  This was layers 1 and 2 in the red-black-white piece.

Hope you’re intrigued.  Personally, I want to go play with paint and cloth!

The drawing is now closed.  Drum roll please for Daphne Greig!

And the winner of the DVD is Daphne Greig, comment number 3!

And I’ve selected one more person to be eligible to win some of Diane’s fabric.  Each member of the bloghop is selecting a second comment, sending that name to Diane, and at the end of the week she will select a winner for the fabric.  That was comment 26:

The second drawing to be eligible to win some of Diane’s fabric.

NOTE:   The DRAWING is OVER and comments on this post are closed.  You can comment on other posts though!

Oh what FUN!  There is a reason why Diane Rusin Doran’s blog is called Ooh! Pretty Colors!  In her new Quilting Arts Video Workshop,  Digital Surface Design, Diane shows you how to make your own cloth digitally:  just think of it: all the beauty of hand-dyed fabrics, of hand-printed fabrics, in just the colors and designs you want, endlessly re-printable, and as she said in the conclusion, if you can click a mouse and move a slider on your computer, you can follow her clear instructions and create your own digital art cloth.  The download is available now at the Interweave Store, here, and the DVD will be available for order in a matter of days.  I’m thrilled she asked me to be part of her bloghop and giveaway.  Keep reading to find out how to win a free DVD!

Diane Rusin Doran’s new Quilting Arts Workshop: Digital Surface Designs

This workshop is all about creating your own digital art cloth.  Diane teaches you how to emulate traditional surface design, which she defines as the application or removal of color and pattern on cloth, with your computer.  You’ll need Photoshop Elements (software available for under $100), and can print your designs at home or by sending your files away to a fabric printing service. I will be downloading my copy onto my iPad (I have a download, not the DVD) so that I can watch on my iPad, pausing when necessary, and work alongside Diane on my laptop at the same time; you could do the same by watching the DVD on a TV and working on your computer.

I can’t recall when I first met Diane in person, but we’ve “known” each other online for years.  Several years ago I saw her Return of the Grackle quilt in person and was absolutely riveted:  it is quite large, 40×51 inches–I just wish you could see how stunning it is in person:

Return of the Grackle by Diane Rusin Doran

The video has five sections:

1.  Introduction (7 minutes)

Diane talks about what she will teach us, what supplies you need, and why you might want to do digital rather than traditional surface design.   Diane’s lessons build on each previous segment so that by the end you can create a layered composition, breaking what at first seems daunting into an easy step-by-step process.

2.  Digital Backgrounds for Hand-dyed Effects (20 minutes)

Diane teaches us how to make a softly mottled cloth using a photo of clouds in the sky, and how to simulate drip-dyed fabric by carefully showing step by step how (and where to find the correct thing to click) to navigate Photoshop Elements.  Diane used a PC with a newer version of Elements than I have, but it was easy to follow.  I plan to re-play the entire video and copy down the sequences step by step for various lessons in this video so I have them for handy reference when I go to play.  Familiarity with Photoshop Elements is helpful, but by no means necessary.

3.  Digital Patterning using Brushes (19 minutes)

I’ve played around with Elements a lot and learned quite a bit, but this DVD is way better than just stumbling across something:  it is  guided play.  I’d already discovered many of the things Diane teaches in the previous section, but this chapter was uncharted territory for me.  My brain started into high gear as soon as she mentioned re-sizing motifs at will and creating your own brushes to supplement the default ones in the software.  For example, I can carve a block traditionally, but then scan in a print and use Diane’s methods to re-size and print at various scales without laboriously re-carving the block (only to decide that wasn’t quite the right size).  So I can still get the hands-on that I crave, but with infinitely more possibilities.

4.  Designing with Layers  (15 minutes)

In the last major section, Diane then shows you  how to combine what you did in simulating hand dyeing and stamping stenciling to create layers of imagery and color on cloth.

5.  Gallery and Conclusion (7 minutes)

Finally, Diane shows us fabrics, and variations on the themes, printed from what she has taught us in the 3 teaching segments of the video.  Here are some of her printed fabrics (and part of her portion of the giveaway):

Win these fabrics made by Diane by commenting on blogs in this bloghop–see the link below.

Her favorite fabric is the one used on the cover of the DVD, which I first saw in a shirt she was wearing in November at International Quilt Festival:  yes, she printed it on a knit fabric and made a shirt out of it, and I love it!

Diane had her design printed onto fabric, then made this beautiful top!

Diane’s first QA Workshop, Digital Collage for Quilt Design, is now on its way to me.  I can’t wait to combine the two and work on a quilt…I have this photo of a rose……

I’ve already ordered Diane’s first video workshop…this new one has whet my desire to play!

So I invite you to join me in thinking how to combine traditional manual arts with the computer!

Here’s the schedule for the bloghop and giveaway.  Like Candy, on January 28th I will be drawing one name from those who comment on this post on my blog to win the DVD.  That means for the next nearly two weeks, you can visit ALL of these blogs and get FIVE chances to win a copy of this DVD.  I’ll also pick a SECOND   lucky person to be eligible to win a packet of Diane’s custom digitally designed cloth (see her blog to read about it); that drawing will take place on Diane’s blog!

• January 14 – Candy Glendening – visit Candy’s blog or the Interweave link to see a preview from the workshop.  http://www.candiedfabrics.com/journal/
• January 16 – Sarah Ann Smith – https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/ (you’re here now!)
• January 21 – Deborah Boschert – http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/
• January 24 – Susan Brubaker Knapp – http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/
• January 28 – Diane Rusin Doran – http://oohprettycolors.blogspot.com/

And I’ll close with another fabulous quilt by Diane, California Dreaming:

Diane Rusin Doran, California Dreaming.  Printed on silk and just LOOK at that quilting!

Hi all!  During my busy spring, I managed to complete a watercoloring class.  I’ve been wanting to use a sketchbook more, and love coloring with watercolors.  When it came time to do a postcard swap earlier this year with a map theme, I had this crazy idea to map a Quilter’s Paradise.  Fitting it all into a 4×6 would be insane, so I decided to make a large painting (12 1/2 by 18 inches) which would scale down into 4×6 for the postcard swap and notecards, an 8 1/2 by 11 inch giclee print ($28 plus $5 priority mail in the US, shipping higher abroad), and a special order 11 x 14 inch print ($45 plus actual shipping costs which depend on whether you want it flat or rolled).  [See last paragraph about ordering inf0.] So here is  The Land of Quilty Delights:

Here is The Land of Quilty Delights, with my apologies for the  watermark. This watercolor is available as an archival quality giclee print from me at SarahAnnSmith.com/store .  Right click to see larger.  If you begin at Home Sweet Home (under the bluebird of happiness) and travel clockwise, you’ll follow a quilter’s journey, ending at The Last Stitch Ice Cream stand and/or the Cotton Boll Retail Therapy Spa–your choice!  Mine is ice cream with hot fudge, please!

I had SO MUCH FUN doing this!   The bluebird of happiness is flying over Home Sweet Home on Paradise Island (which the legend tells you is self cleaning and equipped with a chef).  The happy quilter then climbs Mount Joyous Inspiration, passes through Indecision Jungle, enters the valley of Creative Delight, and can visit the Life-Giving Forest (tree of life block with a cardinal in the tree).  Shining down from the upper right corner is our Compass rose: N = North/New Ideas, E = East/Exciting Choices, S = South/Sweet Friendships, W = Warmth and Love.  After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Our quilter sets sail from Port Anticipation and sails through the Rainbow Islands (which include Batting Island, complete with bat, Inspiration Island with drink service complete with little paper umbrella, and Full Bobbin Island).  The traveler then passes the Rocky Shoals of Too Much To Do (Chores, meals, work).  So why the alligator?  Well, in my first job in the Foreign Service my boss had a saying I love dearly:  When you are up to your a** (posterior) in alligators, it’s hard to remember the original goal was to drain the swamp.”  Sometimes you have years like that!

You sail past the colorful Patchwork Fields of Plenty, with some of my favorite quilt blocks, through the Storm at Sea only to encounter The Ripping Tides (seam ripper) before approaching The Isle of Applique with Satin Stitch Beach, Blanket Stitch Bay and Needleturn Cove.  Can you tell I had FUN?   In the upper left corner instead of Zephyrus, the god of the Gentle West Wind, we have instead Zephyra, the goddess of the Gentle West Wind and patroness of quilters, who wafts us with gentle feathery plumes.

Alas, before reaching the Bay of Completion, you must make it through the Dead Zone (a.k.a. the Basting Zone), an area where ships stagnate in becalmed waters.  But finally, you reach the Bay of Completion, and our happy quilter is celebrating at The Last Stitch Ice Cream and Spirit Restoration.  We could go straight home, but instead I’ll choose to enjoy the view of the Patchwork Fields of Plenty on the way to the Cotton Boll Retail Therapy Spa, complete with Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Quilters journey and the Land of Quilty Delights as much as I enjoyed making it!

Notecards are also available, 6 for $12 plus shipping.  All prints are sized to fit standard frames and mats (http://www.dickblick.com/ has a wide selection) and are shipped in a clear sleeve with acid-free foamcore plus an extra piece of cardboard to protect the print in transit.

This week my webhost is upgrading their server, so I can’t get these on to my Store page yet.  If you would like a print or notecards, please email me (here) and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.  You don’t need a paypal account; you may safely use your major credit card.  For international orders, I can figure out exact postage (I will see if straight first class is less expensive than flat rate shipping which runs about $20 to anywhere in the world, but seems rather expensive to me).  If you have several friends who would like a print, contact me directly and if one of you pays for all of the items, I can ship them grouped to reduce cost for you.

Sheesh…. crazy busy here!   I had surgery on my left foot on Friday, the same as what I had in August on my right foot, for arthritis removal.  Things are going quite well and pain-free, but I have been insanely busy getting stuff done in anticipation of bobbing around on one foot for a week!   Last Saturday was the start of Eli’s high school wrestling career, with a pre-season meet that included Class A, B and C schools (Camden Hills is Class B).  Eli had three matches:  his first was against a senior and the defending Class C State Champion (!!!!).  Astonishingly, Eli managed to get a couple of escape points and NOT get pinned, which under the circumstances was amazing (since boys’ strength increases exponentially each year…kinda like dog years!).  Then he won his next two matches convincingly.

Illuminated script lettering from Val Webb’s Watercolor Lettering class.