Blog Hop and Giveaway Finale

The blog hop is now closed. Journi (New Journeys 2) is the winner of the DVD from my segment of the blog hop. wlstarn won the four fat quarters from her comment on Deborah Boschert's blog. Thanks to everyone for participating!!!

Thanks to everyone for joining us on the blog hop, and special thanks to my four talented friends for helping out! Candy, Sarah, Deborah, and Susan will be forwarding the emails of the first four DVD winners to me, and I'll contact the winners and mail the DVD's out as soon as I've received their addresses.

But wait, there's still 2 more chances to win! Leave a comment on today's post before Friday, January 31, for a final opportunity to win a copy of my new DVD, Digital Surface Design: Simple Techniques for Hand-dyed Fabric Effects and More. Let me know what type of project you'd like to create using fabric you've designed yourself. Also, be sure and leave a way for me to contact you if you win.

I will also select a winner of the four fat quarters of fabric on January 31. The winner will be selected from all the commenters on the hop, with the exception of the 5 DVD winners.

In the meantime, here are a few more examples of fabrics I've designed using the techniques in the DVD:

See how different these two fabrics look when all I changed was the colors?

I hope you've been inspired as we've traveled to my friends' blogs - whether it's from a technique that one of them uses, or to try some experimentation of your own with digital design. Stay tuned to find out who our winners are ...

Blog Hop & Giveaway Part 4

Welcome back to day 4 of our Blog Hop and Giveaway! My friends and I are giving away copies of my new Quilting Arts Workshop,  Digital Surface Design: Simple Techniques for Hand-dyed Fabric Effects and More, to celebrate its release (plus some fabric). 

Today's talented hop hostess is Susan Brubaker Knapp.  To say Susan is a very accomplished quilter and quilt teacher is an understatement. If you browse through her website and blog for just a few moments, you'll see her wide range of expertise. She teaches internationally, has written books and patterns, been on QATV numerous times, and has filmed four Quilting Arts workshops. Plus, look at this gallery of quilts! Here are just a few examples of her beautiful artwork:

Bonnie & Clyde © Susan Brubaker Knapp

Psychedelic Peacock ©  Susan Brubaker Knapp

Fall Color © Susan Brubaker Knapp

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Susan twice this past fall. As soon as you meet her it's easy to understand her popularity as a teacher - her generosity and depth of knowledge make a great combination.

Susan's newest, just released Quilting Arts Workshop

So, be sure to stop by Susan's blog both for a chance to win a copy of my new DVD, as well as to get a peek at her lovely work. 

Many thanks to my four friends who have helped me celebrate!

As a reminder, here's the whole Blog Hop schedule:

January 14 – Candy Glendening - http://www.candiedfabrics.com/journal/ - entries close January 28

January 16 – Sarah Ann Smith - http://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/ - entries close January 28

January 21 – Deborah Boschert - http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/ - entries close January 28

January 24 – Susan Brubaker Knapp - http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/

January 28 – Diane Rusin Doran - http://oohprettycolors.blogspot.com/

Blog Hop & Giveaway Part 3

Welcome back to day 3 of our Blog Hop and Giveaway! My friends and I are giving away copies of my new Quilting Arts Workshop,  Digital Surface Design: Simple Techniques for Hand-dyed Fabric Effects and More, to celebrate its release (plus some fabric). 

I'm delighted to introduce today's blog hostess, Deborah Boschert. I knew of Deborah for some time through her involvement with 12x12: The International Art Quilt Challenge. A few years ago I saw that she was moving to Maryland, and I eagerly emailed her to let her know about some of the art quilt groups here. Lucky for me, we ended up being in a critique group and SAQA together! I really miss her now that she's back in Texas.

It's been fascinating to see so many of Deborah's artworks in various stages of completion, from concept to finished quilt. She has a unique style, and is honestly quite fearless in her approach to using whatever will best produce her vision. Her technique of adding paint once a quilt is otherwise complete is particularly brave - and inspiring.

Tabletop Horizons © Deborah Boschert

Shelter and Stream © Deborah Boschert

In Light Of  © Deborah Boschert

Deborah also very effectively incorporates hand embroidery in her work, which can be seen in her three quilts above.  Be sure to look at more of her work on her website , and check out her online workshop as well as her Quilting Arts Workshop - Contemporary Fabric Collage: Design, Stitch, & Finish.

Don't forget to stop by her blog for a chance to win a copy of my new DVD!

And of course a *big* thank you to all the ladies who are joining me in the celebration.

As a reminder, here's the whole Blog Hop schedule:

January 14 – Candy Glendening - http://www.candiedfabrics.com/journal/ - entries close January 28

January 16 – Sarah Ann Smith - http://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/ - entries close January 28

January 21 – Deborah Boschert - http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/ - entries close January 28

January 24 – Susan Brubaker Knapp - http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/

January 28 – Diane Rusin Doran - http://oohprettycolors.blogspot.com/

Blog Hop and Giveaway - Day 2!

Welcome back to day 2 of our Blog Hop and Giveaway! My friends and I are giving away copies of my new Quilting Arts Workshop,  Digital Surface Design: Simple Techniques for Hand-dyed Fabric Effects and More, to celebrate its release (plus some fabric). 

Today's hostess is Sarah Ann Smith. Though I feel like I've known Sarah forever, we've only met in person a very few times. This past November I had the pleasure of enjoying a lovely dinner with her (and Deborah Boschert) in Houston during the International Quilt Festival. I'm fairly certain that I first encountered Sarah on the quiltart mailing list, probably at least ten years ago.

What has always impressed me about Sarah is not only her generosity, but her thirst for knowledge. Her hard work has paid off, as she's an expert on a variety of quilting techniques. Particularly impressive is her mastery of threads and thread painting/machine quilting. In fact, she recently filmed her own Quilting Arts Workshop on just that subject - Art Quilt Design From Photo to Threadwork.

And here are a few photos of some of her beautiful artwork:

Fields of Gold - one of my favorites!

A lovely lily with loads of gorgeous thread work

Sarah in Houston by her latest Dinner at 8 quilt - Listen to the Song in the Night

Thank you so much, Sarah, for helping me celebrate! Readers, hop on over to Sarah's blog for a chance to win a copy of my DVD, or potentially four fat quarters of fabric I designed using techniques from my workshop.

As a reminder, here's the whole Blog Hop schedule:

January 14 – Candy Glendening - http://www.candiedfabrics.com/journal/ - entries close January 28

January 16 – Sarah Ann Smith - http://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/

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/

Arlington QU

The last few days have been very busy in a good way. On Saturday I had the privilege of teaching a workshop at the Arlington chapter of Quilters Unlimited. Here's a photo of the lovely ladies just as class was coming to a close.

Look at those great smiles! We had lots of fun with feathers, fronds, and ferns.

And then Monday I went back to give a lecture. Thanks so much for being such a welcoming group!

In other news, today is the big day for Fiber to 5K! Don't miss out on the fun, not to mention amazing prizes and all for a great cause - fighting cancer. Donation go directly to the American Cancer Society.

Last but not least the DVD of my Quilting Arts Workshop is available today! Be sure to stop by Candy Glendening's blog for the ongoing Blog Hop and Giveaway with a chance to win a copy of my new Quilting Arts Workshop, or some fabric. Here's a reminder of the schedule:

January 14 – Candy Glendening - http://www.candiedfabrics.com/journal/ - entries close January 28

January 16 – Sarah Ann Smith - http://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/

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/

Blog Hop and Giveaway

As you know, I'm very excited about the release of my new Quilting Arts TV Workshop - Digital Surface Design: Simple Techniques for Hand-dyedFabric Effects and More.

The digital download is already available, and the DVD will be released tomorrow, January 15. Lucky me, I have four talented friends who are helping me celebrate with a Blog Hop Giveaway! There will be 6 winners. Each blog hostess will randomly select a winner from the comments on her blog. That person wins a copy of my new DVD. One winner will be randomly selected from all the remaining entries to win four fat quarters of fabric that I designed using techniques from the workshop.

Does that sound like fun?

Let's get started with Candy Glendening.

Candy on the set at QATV filming a workshop

I first met Candy a few years back - coincidentally when we were on set for QATV and to film workshops. I was already familiar with her beautiful and fun designs.

A darling set of organizers that Candy designed

Candy is not only a frequent contributor to various Quilting Arts publications, but is also an expert dyer. Her enthusiasm for her work is contagious, and she is a great teacher - both through her own Quilting Arts Workshops, as well as her online classes (available on her web page). I love to visit her blog to see her colorful and clever ideas.

Samples from one of Candy's classes

More samples - love that texture!

So, stop by Candy's blog for the first chance at winning! Thank you so much Candy for helping me celebrate.

Here's the entire Blog Hop schedule:

January 14 – Candy Glendening - http://www.candiedfabrics.com/journal/

January 16 – Sarah Ann Smith - http://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/

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/

Good Intentions

Well, we all know what road is paved with good intentions. This week I missed two deadlines, but I'm OK with it. One was for the IQA World of Beauty show, which is my favorite show to enter, but the world won't end if I miss entering for one year. (And I've made a great start for next year!) The other was for the SAQA auction. I've been thinking about what to make for it for some time, but nothing seemed quite right.

I think that part of the issue is that I've been examining my process. I'm a perfectionist by nature, which has served me well in the world of quilt shows, but quilting heavily with many, many thread colors is not as appealing to me as it used to be. Don't get me wrong - the look is appealing, the labor involved is not. At the same time I've been fascinated by how some other artists quilt, particularly my friends Cathy Kleeman and Deborah Boschert. A while back I played around with something that I've seen both of them do (in very different ways), namely quilt and then paint over it. I liked the results but didn't do anything with the small samples I made.

Yesterday I pulled out the samples and combined them with some small screen printed pieces. Here's a peek at the in process piece:

Obviously, the two blue pieces are just laying on top. What you might not be able to tell is that the background is quilted. The left hand side was then screen printed, while the right side had paint brushed over the top, leaving the furrows in the quilting unpainted. This photo has a layer of tulle over the background, which I think I'll remove in the final piece. The two blue rectangles will be trimmed, and quilted after they're put on top. What do you think?

I also have a stack of (gasp!) commercial fabrics waiting to be cut.

They're not all for one piece, but I do think they look pretty together. I'm making a sample for the premiere issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited, and looking forward to some straight forward piecing.

Last Chance - DVD Giveaway

What an exciting couple of weeks it's been! I've been celebrating the release of my instructional DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design, with a blog hop, and today I'm the last stop.

Many, many thanks to my friends Gerrie, Vivika, Debra, Candy, and Deborah for helping me celebrate. And many thanks also to everyone who entered - your comments have really been wonderful!

Digital collage has been my primary means of designing quilts for over 10 years. If you check out my gallery on my website  and the tab on the blog labeled recent quilts you'll see what I mean. And those designs are just the tip of the iceberg. I have many more quilts designed or in work on my computer, and several printed out and ready to quilt. I feel so blessed to be living in this time of technological wonder. When printing on fabric with a home computer and printer became possible it was like I'd been waiting for that my whole life, and didn't even know it.

Bayou Reflections

Under the Rainbow

Bog Lilies

 So, to win a copy of the DVD, leave a comment here. I'd love to hear about how you'd like to use digital collages in your own work. For an additional chance to win become a follower of my blog or sign up for my email newsletter and tell me you've done so in the comments. Please remember to leave an email address so that I can contact you if you're the big winner! I'll choose a winner Monday morning, October 24, and announce the winner that morning.

Good luck, and thanks for joining in the celebration!

Edited 10/24/11 - Contest now closed - thanks for joining in the fun!

DVD Blog Hop - On to Deborah Boschert

Can you believe it - we're already on Day 5 of my blog hop to celebrate the release of my DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design!

Today's hostess is someone whose blog I've followed for years. First she lived in Maine, then Texas. When I learned she was moving to Maryland I immediately contacted her to let her know about some local art quilt groups with the hopes that she'd join them. And she did! I'm so happy today to include my friend Deborah Boschert in our celebration.

Deborah's work has a unique and instantly recognizable style that I love. She is well known for the many articles she's written and publications her work has appeared in, and also for being a part of the 12 By 12 International Art Quilt Challenge. Here's her work "In Light Of"  from their colorplay challenge.

 

 

 

 

"In Light Of" by Deborah Boschert

The 12x12 Collection will be in a special exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Festival, November 3-6. Most of the members of the 12x12 group will be there too, so be sure to check out their exhibit, and say hi to them if you see them.

So know that you know a little more about Deborah, hop on over to her blog for a chance to win!

Some of the other ladies are still accepting comments for chances to win on their blogs:

 Debra Gabel  is picking a winner on or before Oct. 31 (post date Oct. 13)

 Candy Glendening is picking a winner Oct. 21 (post dated Oct 17)

Be sure to hop back here on October 21 for a chance to win a DVD from me.