The Space Between ... in Quilting Arts Magazine

I finally received my February/March 2012 (Issue #55) of Quilting Arts Magazine.  (I swear, someone at the Post Office reads my copies before I get them!)  I've been looking forward to it because there is an article smack-dab in the middle of the magazine on The Space Between ... the most recent invitational exhibit curated by Jamie Fingal and Leslie Tucker Jenison.

The exhibit, of 40 quilts by 40 artists, debuted at the International Quilt Festival/Long Beach, and was also featured at the International Quilt Festival/Houston this past October.  Five of those artists are featured in this month's Quilting Arts ... Susan Brubaker Knapp (that's a detail of her quilt "Hope is the Thing" on the magazine cover), Linda Teddlie Minton ("The Antechamber"), Susan Fletcher King ("Schooling Through the Jellies"), Jayne Larson ("Breathing Space"), and Sherry Kleinman ("The Family Tree").

What an honor to be included in the exhibit, and then to have the opportunity of being seen in Quilting Arts Magazine!  Thank you, Jamie, Leslie, and QA!

Another Collage Mania Supporter

I just love it when someone supports a great cause out of the goodness of their heart ... and pocketbook. Iris Karp http://www.mistyfuse.com/, besides producing my all-time favorite fusible web, is one of those people who puts her money where her mouth is, and always puts a little public service announcement at the bottom of her ads. Here's one, in the latest Quilting Arts Magazine, for a cause near and dear to my heart ... Fiber Arts for a Cause, currently calling for artists to participate in Collage Mania.

In case my scan isn't clear enough for you to read, her blurb says, "Buy art and find a cure for cancer! Collage Mania is May 5-7, 2009. Submission deadline is April 1. Learn more at www.virginiaspiegel.com."

FFAC's founder, Virginia Spiegel, has all the information you need at http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/CollageManiaCall08.html. Step up ... do something good ... and have lots of fun while you're at it!

New York Beauty

There has been some discussion on the QuiltArt List about longarm machine quilting of New York Beauty quilts. I thought I'd post a few detail shots of one that I quilted for a customer. Click on the images for a closer look.







Thank you, Annie Brown, for letting me quilt this Beauty for you!

Wholecloth Facing

As I was getting a last-minute piece finished for the gallery opening, I was frantically trying to think of an artistic way to finish a little thread-painted quilt I had done. As fate would have it, the latest issue of Quilting Arts Magazine (http://www.quiltingarts.com/) showed up on my doorstep just in time!

Vikki Pignatelli's article on creating a "faced" backing rather than a traditional quilt binding caught my imagination, and I knew I had to finish the little quiltlet with this technique. Here are the results, with which I am very happy!

Front of the 16" x 19" quiltlet ... notice there is no binding, but the edges are finished nice and smooth, and there is no buckling or waving of the fabric.


and here's the back ... finished with Vikki's technique of creating a "wholecloth faced" backing. Her article, "Wholecloth Facings" in the February/March 2008 issue of Quilting Arts magazine, was so well-written that even I was able to follow the instructions and do it perfectly the first time!

I hadn't even intended to make the edges wavy until I saw Vikki's article. And I'm notoriously unable to follow written directions very well, so it was a relief to find that I could actually be successful with the help of the article.

One thing that was a revelation to me, and after doing it once, I understood why she emphasizes it so clearly ... the pressing of the facing out towards the opening after you are 2/3 of the way around the stitching. This helped the backing lie perfectly flat, with no bubbles or ripples, and the quilt now lies "flat as a flitter", as my grandma would have said.

I won't say that this is a "fast" finishing technique, but it certainly was easy, and the perfect solution to finishing an irregularly-shaped quilt. I also liked the option to "sculpt" the backing, to add a little interest. (I love interesting quilt-backs!) I'll definitely be using this technique again. Thanks, Vikki!

Here's her website http://www.vikkipignatelli.com/. Vikki is also the author of "Quilting by Improvisation" and "Quilting Curves". (No affiliation, etc.)