Daily Blog

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Karlee's quilt, Explosion, was created using a single piece from her fabric line. The idea was that you could have a beautiful quilt, even if you are not the best "piecer". In essence, it is a wholecloth quilt.

Learn more about Karlee's fabric line in Show 2607.

ExplosionbyKarleePorter - 36 Pieces Non-Rotating

ExplosionbyKarleePorter - 100 Pieces Non-Rotating

ExplosionbyKarleePorter - 300 Pieces Non-Rotating

ExplosionbyKarleePorter - 36 Pieces Rotating

ExplosionbyKarleePorter - 100 Pieces Rotating

ExplosionbyKarleePorter - 300 Pieces Rotating

Original Photo: Mary Kay Davis

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Karlee's quilt, Explosion, was created using a single piece from her fabric line. The idea was that you could have a beautiful quilt, even if you are not the best "piecer". In essence, it is a wholecloth quilt.

Learn more about Karlee's fabric line in Show 2607.

Original Photo: Mary Kay Davis

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Violet Craft shares her “Abstractions” series of quilts and the stories behind them. She then demonstrates her method for using Foundation Paper Piecing to make her fabulous designs. Violet also shares her technique for pieced hexagons and designs with unusual shapes that are pieced the same way. And finally, TQS visits with local Sisters artist Kathy Deggendorfer to talk all things quilting going on in her life.

Watch Violet and Kathy in Show 2608, when it debuts Sunday, April 5, 2020.

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Carolyn Friedlander took the hexagon shape and split it in half to create her Arlo Quilt. She then played with the orientation of the blocks while changing the color story.

Arlo Quilt by Carolyn Friedlander, of Lake Wales, FL, won Second Place, Modern Traditionalism at QuiltCon 2020.

Photos by Mary Kay Davis

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During this time of staying in place, Ricky is reading chapters from the soon-to-be-released book titled Lizzy Albright and the Attic Window, written by Ricky Tims and Kat Bower. The VidPods (for listening while you create), are found on a Playlist on YouTube. So you can start, and they will automatically play one after the other. Click here to go to the playlist.

This exciting adventure/fantasy story is for all generation who are reading chapter books. Kids as young as eight years old can fall in love with Lizzy, as can anyone who loves a fun adventure. The nostalgic opening of the book is set in 1964, when Lizzy Albright is ten years old. The story is a multi-layered story, but it all comes together in one very climatic ending. 

The book, which features a depression era quilt, will spawn a quilt pattern book, a line of depression era fabrics designed by Ricky Tims for Benartex, and so much more. Listen to the book now, pre-order your autographed copies, and get ready for the excitement. Described as Harry Potter meets the Wizard of Oz, meets Alice in Wonderland, it’s sure to be a hit.

The Lizzy Albright Quilt and line of fabric will be revealed on April 11, LIVE on YouTube and Facebook, at 3PM Eastern, noon Pacific. You’ll be even more excited about the reveal if you have made it through at least Chapter Seven of the VidPods.

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Working on Month 4 of Afternoon Delight? Barbara Black has tips for how to appliqué a circle in one solid piece.

Click here to walk through the process with Barbara.

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A beautiful quilt begins with an accurate seam. Watch Alex show you how to achieve that perfect 1/4" seam.

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Three Easy Steps To Save This Lesson As A Pdf:
-Make sure you are logged in.
-Click on the small triangle next to the tool wheel in the upper right hand corner of the page (you'll find it above the Like button).
-Select the pdf. option. Wait a few minutes. It's a large file due to the number of images.
-Your file should appear with the title of the lesson.

In this lesson, we continue our exploration of line as it relates to design. When creating a composition, lines can capture the viewer's attention by being expressive, creating a mood or a feeling. Understanding the way different types of lines give visual cues can help you as the artist communicate a message that can impact the viewer in a subtle, or not so subtle, manner without a great deal of dialogue.

Below are words that we can associate with different types of lines and quilts that illustrate these meanings.

   
Canopy by Barbara Confer.  1880 Blue/White Bar Quilt from Rocky Mountain Quilts.  NYSE by Katharina Lichtman.

Vertical - Strength power, dignity, grandeur, authority.    
             

    
Bug: Trixilated Transportation by Martha Peterson & Dionne Matthies-Buban. Secrets by Marti Plage.

Horizontal - calm, relaxed, balanced, stability, constancy

 
Elements #35 by Robin Ferrier.1870 Quaker Silk Herringbone Doll quilt. Photo from Stella Rubin Antiques.

Diagonal - excitement, movement, power, action, vitality

      
Life by Yoshiko Katagiri. Pinwheel Galaxy by MaxieMakes.                  

Open curve - organic, comforting, calm, relaxation

   
Crop Circles by Colleen Granger. 20th cent. African American Multiple Targets Quilt. Photo from ARTFIXdaily.

Closed curve - completness, the eternal whole, continual movement

Along with meaning, lines can also be expressive. Some examples of words associated with different lines we found at Sophia include:

Flat - Calm

Daybreak by Lubbesmeyer Art Studio.

Wide - bold strength

Broken Plaid by Alissa Haight Carlton.
 

Gentle curve - unhurried pleasure

 Shiraki Forest by Keiko Kimura. Photo from Queenie's Needlework Blog.
 

Sharply angled - Excitement, anger, danger, chaos

Shattered by Jacquie Gering.

Deportation by Jackie Benedetti. Quilted by Rachael Dorr. Photo by Mary Kay Davis for TheQuiltShow.
 

Practice Exercise: Using Line to Create a mood or feeling

In this exercise you will be making (5) framed line drawings using white sheets of paper.

Step 1. Making the frames          

Cut your colored paper to 8 1/2" x 8 1/2".
Using a pencil, draw a line 2" from one side of the paper. Repeat for all four sides of the paper.
You should now have a 'frame' drawn in the center of your paper (fig. 2) that measures 4 1/2" square.
Carefully cut out the center square, leaving the opening 'frame' in your piece of paper (fig. 3).
Repeat with the remaining (4) sheets of colored paper.

Step 2. Preparing your line drawing foundations      

Cut your paper to  8 1/2" x 8 1/2".
Using a pencil, very lightly draw a line 1 3/4" from one side of the paper. Repeat for all four sides of the paper.
You should now have a 'frame' drawn in the center of your paper that measures 5" square (fig. 1). This center square will be your design area.
Repeat with the remaining (4) sheets of paper.
 

Step 3. Drawing your designs

Using only a black colored pencil, marker, torn or cut paper, create (1) line design (using lthe principles from the lesson) while staying within your lightly drawn square. Repeat with a different line design on each of the remaining (4) foundation pages.

Step 4. Evaluating your designs
Once you have completed your designs, cover each drawing with a frame (fig. 2). Compare how each drawing suggests a different feeling or mood.

Optional Exercise
Create frames using black construction paper.  Compare how a design changes when the overlaying frame is black vs. white.

Click here for more topics related to The Art of Quilt Design program.

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We continue our selection of quilts exhibited in 2019 at the Houston International Quilt Festival as part of their 45th Anniversary, the Sapphire Anniversary. The Sapphire Celebration exhibit is described as:

"Quilters have long used the color blue to symbolize trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Sapphire is also the chosen gem to celebrate 45th anniversaries—which International Quilt Festival is doing this year (2019)! These new and antique blue and white quilts will be suspended from the ceiling in a spectacular and unforgettable display."

To be a part of the exhibit, quilts had to fit the following criteria:

• Entries may be Traditional, Modern or Art.
• Entries must have been made between 1974 and 2019.
• The minimum size is 50” x 50”

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With how our world has changed, we can find comfort in memories. How blessed we are to be stitchers and creators of all things fiber because not only is it a distraction to our daily "shelter in place", but there is real joy in the sharing. I decided to jump into a tee shirt quilt for my cousin. He had given me a whole pile of tee shirts that he had hoped someday I would make into a quilt. As I examined each one and started prepping them for construction I realized what a wonderful project tee shirt quilts are! They are filled with history, achievement, and dreams!

Click here for Anna's blog.