Sue Reno's Printing Expertise

The first time I saw Sue Reno's work in person was in 2006 (see this blog post). I was struck by the graphic impact of her work, along with the skillful design of the piece. I was later lucky enough to meet Sue at the big quilt show in Houston (maybe in 2007?) and spend a little time with her, as well as at a show in Lancaster shortly after that.

"Fireball" copyright Sue Reno

You don't have to know Sue long to realize what an intelligent and thoughtful person she is, and these qualities are clearly reflected in her work. When I found out she was making an instructional DVD for Interweave I was very excited for her, and I couldn't wait to see it!

Well, the wait is over, and it's worth it. “Surface Design Essentials for the Printed Quilt”  is now available as both a DVD ($24.99) or a digital download ($19.99) from the Quilting Daily Shop. Sue covers four printing techniques as well as strategies for using the prints in compositions and quilting them to best advantage.

I love printing fabric using a variety of techniques, and have tried cyanotype, heliograph, collagraph and Thermofax printing with varying levels of success in the past. What I admire about Sue's presentation of these techniques is that she has perfected a process for each one that works for her. She demonstrates these four methods of printing in a straight forward, approachable, and yet very thorough manner. Following her instructions, I feel that most artists could create successful prints of their own in no time.

In addition to demonstrating these techniques, Sue discusses options for combining prints in a variety of different ways. I particularly appreciate the way she uses more than one variety of printing technique in a single art quilt and is able to create a cohesive composition.

Finally, Sue pulls her pieces together with well planned quilting. Her tips for ways to quilt the prints are great. In my experience I usually feel that my prints are "precious" and difficult to showcase, but Sue manages to do so with ease.

Bottom line, I love it! If you are ready to try your hand at printing I think this DVD would serve you well.

Several other friends of Sue's are also participating in this blog tour. Here's a schedule so you can stop by and see what they have to say:

11/5/14: Sue Reno http://suereno.blogspot.com/ 
11/6/14: Susan Brubaker Knapp http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/ 
11/7/14: Allie Aller http://alliesinstitches.blogspot.com/ 
11/8/14: Diane Doran http://www.oohprettycolors.blogspot.com/ 
11/9/14: Vivien Zepf http://sevenpinesdesigns.blogspot.com/ 
11/10/14: Virginia Spiegel http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/ 
11/11/14: Cynthia St. Charles http://cynthia-stcharles.blogspot.com/ 
11/12/14: Natalya Aikens http://artbynatalya.blogspot.com/ 
11/13/14: Lyric Kinard http://lyrickinard.com/blog/

Dyeing to Stitch DVD Giveaway!

I'm simply delighted that Candy Glendening asked me to be part of her DVD blog tour. As you may recall Candy filmed her DVD, Dyeing to Stitch, the day before I filmed my DVD in Cleveland in early September.

Candy sent me her DVD a few weeks ago and I watched it right away.  Candy is a very personable, high energy person, and I noticed immediately that her personality shines through in the DVD.

I've been dyeing fabric for about twenty years now, having learned how by reading various articles and books (and dyeing hundreds of yards of fabric). I was therefore quite happy when Candy's DVD taught me several new things, especially with regards to folding the fabric to achieve different patterning. I only wish that a DVD like this had been available when I first started dyeing fabric - she covers all the basics, and then keeps building on that foundation. As a fellow scientist I literally applauded when she explained the tests she did to figure out how to make her dyeing both consistent and easy - she's done all the work so that all you need to do is follow her directions to successfully dye fabric from the start.

So now for the really good part - I get to give away one of her DVDs! Just leave me a comment for a chance to win. If you follow my blog you'll get another chance. I'll draw a name bright and early Tuesday, November 29. (Please be sure that your email address is accessible from your comment, as I will be emailing the winner to get their snail mail address.)

If you just can't wait, the DVD is available on Candy's website, or from Interweave (where there's also a download available).

Don't miss the rest of the blog tour for additional chances to win:

·         Friday, 11/11 –  Victoria Gertenbach of The Silly BooDilly­

·         Monday, 11/14 – Susan Brubaker Knapp of Blue Moon River

·         Wednesday, 11/16 –  Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio

·         Friday, 11/18 – Melody Johnson of Fibermania

·         Monday, 11/21 – Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side

·         Wednesday, 11/23 – Diane Doran of Ooh! Pretty Colors

·         Friday, 11/25 –  Vicki Welsh of  Field Trips in Fiber

·         Monday, 11/28/11 – Brenda Gael Smith of Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

·         Wednesday, 11/30 – Amy Webb of Amy Lou Who Sews

·         Friday, 12/2 – Robin Ferrier of Simply Robin

·         Tuesday, 12/6 – Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt

·         Thursday, 12/8  – Beth and the gang from Sew Mama Sew

And the Winner is ...

Angela Grasse! Angela's name was selected by using a random number generator. Congratulations, Angela, I hope you enjoy your DVD.

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!

Blog Hop - Day 3 of DVD Giveaway

Today my good friend Debra Gabel is giving away a copy of my new DVD on her blog.

Debra is many things - an amazing designer, an award winning art quilter, author of several books, an energetic teacher and lecturer, and the owner of a thriving pattern business, Zebra Patterns. She's very well known for her series of city and state "stamps". I'm sure that if you've seen her work you'll remember it!  Here's one of her art quilts "St. Francis of Assisi".

St. Francis of Assisi by Debra Gabel

Thank you, Debra, for being a part of the celebration!

Here's the remainder of the giveaway schedule:

October 14 Debra Gabel  

October 17 Candy Glendening 

October 19 Deborah Boschert  

October 21 Diane Doran

As a reminder, Vivika will be drawing a name on October 19, so you still have a chance to win there, too.

Next Stop - Vivika Denegre

Wow! The response to the blog hop giveaway of my DVD over at Gerrie's blog was amazing, and I really appreciate the many kind comments!

If Gerrie didn't draw your name, today you have another chance to win a copy of my new workshop DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design, over at Vivika DeNegre's blog.

I met Vivika this February when we were both filming segments for Quilting Arts TV Series 800. She is such a warm person, I immediately felt I'd found a new friend. She makes lovely quilts, is a frequently published designer, and creates wonderful collages using stitching, fabric, and paper. You may also know her from her Prayer Flag Project. Many thanks, Vivika, for helping me celebrate!

As a reminder, after Vivika we still have several chances for you to win the DVD:

October 14 Debra Gabel  

October 17 Candy Glendening 

October 19 Deborah Boschert  

October 21 Diane Doran

DVD Giveaway!!

I'm having a blog hop and DVD giveaway to celebrate the release of my DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design.

Five of my friends are helping me, for a total of 6 chances to win!

Gerrie Congdon kicks off the celebration today. Gerrie is a prolific and well known quilter. Her lovely work includes lots of surface design, and she is part of the Twelve by Twelve group of international quilters. Hop on over to Gerrie's blog for today's chance to win. Many thanks, Gerrie!

In this DVD I show how to 

- Combine a variety of image types to create imaginative collages to print on fabric

- Use Photoshop Elements 9 for basic digital enhancement and layering techniques

- Consider color, value, and contrast while designing

- Explain printing, basting, and finishing options for your collage, and demonstrate ways to enhance your design with quilting, markers, and pencils.

And much more!

The DVD is available for pre-order on my website or at the Quilting Arts/Interweave website.

A digital download is available now at Interweave.

Here's a preview:

The complete Blog Hop schedule is as follows:

October 10 Gerrie Congdon 

October 12 Vivika DeNegre 

October 14 Debra Gabel  l

October 17 Candy Glendening 

October 19 Deborah Boschert  

October 21 Diane Doran 

DVD News!

I'm so excited! Earlier today Helen Gregory of Interweave sent me a copy of my instructional DVD cover - check it out!

It will be released sooner than I anticipated - by late October, and a digital download will be available even earlier than that. I will be sure to keep you posted.

For some reason I've been doing lots of experimenting lately. I've always loved experimenting with surface design, and boy have I gone at the last few days. One experiment was an unmitigated failure, but I have high hopes for some of the marbling I've been doing - hopefully I'll have photos tomorrow.