Urban Landscapes arrives: Cat gets first peak!

Urban Landscapes arrives: Cat gets first peak! 

At last Urban Landscapes arrives! So much hard work, so beautiful! I was crying when I opened the box. Feeling a bit silly didn't stop the tears either. My first time through this process, I am in awe of how beautiful and vibrant the colors are and how wonderful the fabric FEELS!! So if your local quilt store doesn't have any yet, do not despair! It will be arriving shortly. And if your local quilt store hasn't purchased Urban Landscapes, it's not too late. Ask them to get this fabulous line at Clothworks! If you live in Austin, you can find Urban Landscapes at two local shops of which I know have purchased the line: The Quilt Store and Honey Bee's. And if you are in Lakeway, you can find it at the Cotton Cupboard. Have fun shopping! Have more fun sewing! And I have news I can't wait to share, but I will have to, so keep checking back!

What you can do with Urban Landscapes?

What you can do with Urban Landscapes? 

 Well, you've seen a number of my projects, so today I am going to show you what a few other people have done. This lovely photo of floating squares is just awesome! I LOVE it!!! It was made by Sheri over at the Quilt Store in Austin, TX. I love the way she floated the cool colors on top of the warm ones and then alternated it. It is going to be a table runner. Aside: if you haven't been to the Quilt Store in a while, you owe yourself a visit. The fabrics are luscious and inspiring. It will make you want to sew even if you don't know how!! Also, Nancy has received my gift bag stuffed with fat quarters and has blogged about it here. She promises to make something with it soon, so we will be checking back with her. She has a cool blog, so maybe you will want to pop over and visit anyway! And...we have Clothworks. Joyce has made this cool Messenger bag! It was inspired by the circles from my quilt, Urban Circles. It is wonderful though. I just LOVE the pattern. And now that I have finished my extremely time intensive project for Quilt National, I am free to sew on other projects again! Hurray! I love finishing a big project! And, next up, curtains for my daughter's room with Urban Landscapes. She has been waiting a while and now is getting rather excited!

Quilt Market

Well, Quilt Market is this weekend in Minneapolis and I won't be there. Clothworks will be very busy trying to sell my new fabric line, Urban Landscapes. I have sent my quilt, Urban Circles, for display, but am feeling a bit sad that I won't get to see it there. Not to worry, I will be busy learning new batik techniques with Jane Dunnewold, and I couldn't be happier!

Meanwhile, I have been dreaming up ideas of what to do with my fabric. These are some sample projects made with practice runs of the fabric before the real stuff is printed. Apparently, the colors are off just a bit but can be corrected with Photoshop, but my skills are not advanced to that point yet. These projects will be available to shops that order Urban Landscapes. Cool!

The first is a ruffle skirt and pocket T-shirt. The skirt has 3 tiers and an elastic waist, super comfy and easy to adjust for growing kids! The T-shirt is from Target. I shortened the hem and then fussy cut the pocket and stitched it on. Then I appliqued the hearts and hand stitched the stems.

The next project are two pillows for my couch. I love the way they look. Pretty, simple, and graphic. And the backs have a slightly wavy edge around the big buttons. So if you want a change, you can just flip the pillows over, effectively making them two-sided.


Here's a close up of the hand stitching on the red one.

Here's the quilting of the blue one. After stitching the pillow, this side is now hidden inside the pillow case, but I just love looking at the quilting lines, so I had to share!

This is my tote bag made from some of the Urban Landscapes fabric. You may have seen this tote bag in Quilting Arts Gifts magazine last fall?
Now here it is with my new fabrics, and a slight improvement. My original bag had a simple open pocket. I have altered this to have a zippered pocket so that my credit card won't fall out again!

Here are some closeups for you. I love this project because you can use it to practice your machine quilting skills on a small sample. This is the side of the tote bag. I typically use one quilting motif on one side of the bag, and then a different motif on the other.

How to make a zippered pocket? I didn't know either until I tried, but this is what I came up with. First, cut the pocket and turn under a seam allowance along the place where you will sew in the zipper. Then stitch the zipper in place, like in the photo. And trim off the long end of the zipper, flush with the pocket

Then turn under the edges of the pocket, pin to the lining of the tote bag, and stitch in place. It is easier if you open the zipper half way to do the ends. And, though simple, it's very functional, and looks pretty good too. And, though probably not everyone's taste, I love the contrasting colors!!

Cute Purse!

Cute Purse!

My friend Susan Tennison just made this fabulous purse and posted on Facebook.  I asked her if she minded if I put it on my blog to share with you.  She was delighted!  It is made from a purse pattern in M'liss Rae Hawley's book 101 Fabulous Fat-Quarter Bags.  I just love the way Susan used my Urban Landscapes fabrics to make this.  I am told there are interesting Urban Landscapes fabrics on the inside too, so I might sneak down to the Quilt Store to see it.  It is on display there.  You can see more of Urban Landscapes here.

Now for the rest of you....if anyone else has an image to share featuring my fabrics....I would love to post it!

Quilt Market Report

Quilt Market Report
Well, I am back from Quilt Market in Houston.  I only got to stay for one day, but it was a fantastic day! I had lunch with Candice Hoffman, President of Clothworks.  I hung out at the Clothworks booth for a while, visiting with everyone and watching the sale reps do their thing.  It is an amazing process watching the sales reps juggle complicated schedules and still maintain their cool while showing the new lines.  I had assumed it would be harried and rushed, but instead they make it look so effortless and relaxed.  Kudos!

Lunch with Candice Hoffman

Hanging out with Joyce Cronkhite and Brandi Frey.

Across from the Clothworks booth, was Beach Garden Quilts.  I got to meet Lynette and Laura (see photo at the bottom of post).  They have made some really cool stuff with my fabric, Urban Landscapes, that I wanted to share with you.  Right behind my head is an adorable little bag (perfect for a child!).  Under my feet, a highchair mat.  Wish I had one of these when my kids were small!  So wonderful, and so useful!  And I personally love the fabric they chose!  They also made some cool dog leashes, makes me want a dog again!  lol! Check out their website, lots of neato patterns.

Beach Garden Quilts made this super adorable highchair playmate!  Recognize the fabric (Urban Landscapes)!

Beach Garden Quilts made up this cute quilt from Urban Landscapes.  Love it!

There were a few other booths that I liked.  Sorry I didn't get a picture to share, darn it!  Kinkame had the cutest display.  Yoko had cut up tiny shirt patterns from each fabric and hung them from a laundry line.  The effect was charming!

I probably should have spent more time at the other booths at Market, but to be honest, it was a little overwhelming!  And, the quilts were calling me.  I spent the entire afternoon looking at quilt exhibits.  It was so quiet I could hear the traffic on the highway behind the Brown Convention Center.  There were only a handful of us looking at quilts.  It was almost eery the way the security outnumbered the viewers!  Especially since I know how different it will look when the crowds descend upon the show in full force next week!  I enjoyed the quiet, but partly because I knew I will be back next weekend for festival!  To summarize, the quilts are spectacular!  It's a good show this year, many, many great exhibits.  I will try to blog about those next week.  If you get a chance to go, then go!  You will be amazed!

Here we are at the Clothworks cocktail party before I had to leave to go home.  Fabulous group! Fabulous times!

This group know how to party! Miryam, Brandi, Lynette, me, Laura, and Joyce.

Urban Landscapes

Urban Landscapes leggings for the trees I love taking geometric and regular shapes and turning them into an organic shape. It's unexpected and wonderful! Maybe that's why I wrapped my trees in Urban Landscape. Or maybe to announce to my neighbors my new fabric line (as many stopped while I was working to comment!). Maybe I have been inspired by Christo? There is plethora of tree art in Austin that also resides in my subconscious. Maybe all of the above? I'm not sure, but I knew I wanted to try this idea before I cut into my stash.....well except for those curtains I made for my daughter (see previous post). This just looks so stinking cool!! And don't you wish you could put some on your trees? Or....all over the trees in a downtown area??? That would look super cool! If you are in the neighborhood, drive by, this isn't staying up long, probably not even overnight, but at least we will have the photos to look at! If you want to buy some of these lovely bright happy fabrics, you might want to hurry. I think my mom is trying to buy it ALL! lol!

Urban Landscapes Itajame

Urban Landscapes Itajame
Step one:  clamping on the circles and removing color with bleach discharge. 
I really like the way they look.  The pale backgrounds in contrast with the bright circles, and especially with the contrast of the leaves on the trees. 
Step two:  adding color back in.  I will select some of these and clamp the circles back on and overdye. 
I am making a twinkle quilt (be sure to scroll down just a little) ala, Malka Dubrawsky. 
Ever read the back of shampoo bottles?  Rinse, repeat?  I will be doing a lot of that in the next few weeks.  Mostly happy that this is something I can do, perhaps even therapeutic, in more than one way!

Urban Landscapes Simple Curtains

Urban Landscapes Simple Curtains 

 So, I finally made time to sew some curtains for my daughter. We repainted her room last spring in this lovely combination of pink and orange. The fat boy bean bag chair is a perfect bright spot! The ceiling fan is pink against a lovely and smooth white ceiling (gone is the popcorn texture and pale blue paint from her infant days). The curtains were incredibly easy to make. I found these snap together white rings at Fanny's Fabrics in Austin. They snap apart. Then you trace a circle and cut the fabric slightly larger. Last, set one piece of the ring on top, the other on the bottom and then snap the two pieces together. No grommet tools required. I LOVE the simplicity. I lined the curtains in a plain white fabric and used crinoline in the top to stabilize the edge. It works great! Easy to slide open and closed. Heck, even the cat likes it! And, sweet adorable daughter is wearing the happy contented smile that warms my heart!

Urban Landscape Doll

Urban Landscape Doll
Yesterday, I got this wonderful note from Nancy Roberts, who just happened to be the winner of my fabric giveaway on my blog.  She sent me photos of what she did with some of the fabric, and it is just wonderful!

Hi Kathy-...I won the fat quarters and fabric bag on your blog last August and told you I'd show you when I used some of the fabric in a project. Well I chose one of the fat quarters and made the dress for this donation doll to be given to children in Haitian orphanages and medical clinics. And  her twin brother has a shirt made from selvages. I've published them on my blog if you get a chance to take a look. The Urban Landscape fabric is perfect for her little dress! Many thanks. Best regards, Nancy Roberts

I think she is right.  The dress is super cute, and the selvages look wonderful too! You can visit her blog here.

Meanwhile, stay tuned, I have a lot of blog entries to post this next week.  First, I wanted to show off my new tote bag for the Houston Quilt Festival.  It is my first foray into mixed media and involves a certain magazine cover....

I also am planning to show my entry for Quilt National, that is sadly not going to the show.  This happens to all of us, more frequently than you might expect, but onward is the slogan around here.  And, I am also part of a blog tour for Quiltmaker's 100 blocks.  They have published my block using Urban Landscapes fabric and the magazine will be available November 17.  I will also have a giveaway on my blog for one of the magazines!  And it would not be entirely unreasonable to expect a post about the Houston International Quilt Festival, since I am headed there for the weekend and looking forward to the spectacular quilt viewing, shopping, and hanging out with friends!!

Urban Circles

Urban Circles 

50" x 50" 

No, not like crop circles, more like CD circles. I was inspired by CD envelopes that have the shiny clear plastic that you can see through. I made these circles of my fabric, Urban Landscapes, by drawing the circles the same size as the hole in the CD envelope package. I fused them on, satin stitched the edges (all 100 of them!) in white thread, and then pieced the blocks together. LOVE IT! I especially like how the design entices your eye to move around and explore the entire quilt. Now that the top is done, all I have left is to quilt it! The photography. I am not happy with how the full size photo looks. On my monitor, it has a quality that looks plastic and harsh. The designs are bright and crisp, but in real life they have a softness to them, much more similar to the detail picture. Maybe I will reshoot and see how it goes?

New Tote for Quilt Festival

New Tote for Quilt Festival
I can't help myself!  I just loved this cover on Quilting Arts Magazine so much!! So much, that I ripped it off the magazine, layered it many times with Mod Podge, and then glued it to a foundation to make the front of this tote bag.  I was inspired by Beach Garden Quilts and what they do with Mod Podge and fabric to make floor mats.  It worked!  And the cover is my quilt, and it is a quilt about me and now it's me on my own tote!! lol! Too much?

And also, how wonderful my Urban Landscapes fabric look made up in this tote.  On the back side I used the 9 dot in a block pattern to make a spacious outer pocket.  I am also getting better with the zippers.  I put a small zippered pocket inside, and I have learned the magic of magnetic button thingies for a closure.  It is almost the size of a shopping tote, and I am hoping it will come in handy at the quilt show.

And, since I am getting some experience with tote bags now, it was kind of fun to change up the pattern a bit!  I love the shape and the double straps!!

Flower Box

Flower Box
I am so thrilled to announce that my block made it into Quiltmakers' 100 Blocks issue!  It will hit the newstands on Nov. 16.  This week they are having a blog tour of the designers in the magazine, and I am happy to be participating in that as well.  And to thank you for stopping by, I will host a small Giveaway!  Leave a comment on my blog by Friday, and I will randomly select a winner to get a free issue of the magazine! And, be sure and checkout Quiltmaker's website, they are having giveaways as well, and I have sent a small little gift for that as well!!

I used my fabric, Urban Landscapes, to create this fun applique block!  See below for several setting ideas.  I can't decide which one I like the best, on point, or just straight up.  I think the red border is my favorite though, what do you think?



Flower Box Block



Blocks on point, blue border

Blocks on point, red border

Blocks with a red and yellow border

In the news!

In the news! 

 My quilt, Fifty, Fearless, and Fabulous....no, wait, Fifty, Female, and Fearless, oh yes, that's it, has been featured in a video (along with a number of other wonderful quilts) at equilter.com. This quilt was in the exhibit Beneath the Surface, at IQA Long Beach, CA, curated by Jamie Fingal and Leslie Jenison. See the video here. And while this could get a little boring over time, photos of my fabric in every store that carries them....this one is special because my friend, Jamie Fingal, had a solo show there. Congrats Jamie! Looks wonderful! Anyway, here is a photo of Urban Landscapes lined up with their other wonderful fabrics at Fabric of Vision in Ashland, Oregon. Meanwhile, stay tuned. I will announce the winner of the fabric giveaway on Friday!

Good bye Clothworks

Good bye Clothworks

It is with great sadness that I tell you that I will no longer be designing fabrics for Clothworks.  It has been a fabulous experience for me and I love dearly all the people at Clothworks!  Like two friends who's paths diverge, and so it is with us.  I like to think that there will be new opportunities for me.  I have been creating lots of new designs, but I am not ready to market them yet.  And I don't know why.  I mention this now because Quilt Market in Houston is coming up soon, and I will not be going for the first time in a long time.  I will miss the excitement and the friends I always see there. 

Meanwhile, my kids are both in school now, and as I say goodbye to homeschooling, I say hello to time in my studio.  I have been richly rewarded.  My enthusiasm for creating my art quilts is in full swing.  I wake up each day excited about what I will work on for the day.  Yesterday, it was dyeing....as in, see my blue arms where the gloves leaked?? Today it was a fun filled morning with our art quilt bee, catching up and dreaming of new projects.

And a little tribute to my long ago launched fabric collection, Urban Landscapes.....here are some new pincushions (see above), designed and built just like the buildings on my 3D quilts like Central Park, and Little Fish in a Big City.  I will be showing how to make these at Quilting Arts Open Studios at the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

And...who can forget this image?  It was the number one all time occurring hit on my blog.  Thanks for stopping by!

Blue Circles

Blue Circles
I was just playing with different tools to easily stamp out big circles in batik.  This is one piece that I did as an experiment, and I was looking for something to practice quilting to get back into the swing of things.  I had already done this one.  And since I showed the beginning of this project on this post, I thought I would update it's progress. The first was completed so quickly that I thought it would be fun to do another one (and it was!).  So many of my projects are rather big and intricate.  Sometimes, it is nice to do something quick and simple.
Here is the initial layout of fabrics:  I like the way it looks so natural with several of my Urban Landscapes fabrics!

 And then I layered it, and machine quilted.  Then added some hand stitching.

Not today, and probably not tomorrow, but some day I will either put a binding on it, or make it into a nice big pillow.  I just can't decide!  I do love the texture of the hand quilting with embroidery floss though!

Fabric Design

Fabric Design 

Since I started obsessively stamping found objects in wax and dyeing fabric, I have been wanting to design fabric. Many of my designs have been used in my art quilts. It is with great JOY that I announce.....(drum roll, please)..... I am working with Clothworks to produce my new fabric line based on my quilt Building UP. It will be available in stores sometime next summer. I have named the collection, Urban Landscapes, though I am not sure if that is the name with which it will be marketed. It is full of bold graphics and bright colors...Really? YES!!!! This is one of the supporting cast of characters, 9 dot block.

1,2,3,4

1,2,3,4 

7" x 7" 

 About this time last year, I was making plans to attend the opening of the Quilt National '09 exhibit. It was my first time to both attend a Quilt National exhibit at the Dairy Barn, and my first time to have a quilt in the collection. Absolutely thrilling adventure! This year, I am busy making plans for my entry to Quilt National '11. I still have enough time because the entries are not due until September. However, it has been a strange year for making art quilts. It seems like I have had less time for art this year. I am not sure if that is true or not, or if it just feels true. I have been spending a lot of time providing support for my new fabric line, Urban Landscapes. And my children have needed a larger chunk of my time. And so, I have tried to give them more, but it is still difficult to balance everyone's needs. Really?? Yes. Meanwhile, I have had some of these left over fabrics from my Quilt National '09 entry, Little Fish in a Big City. It was fun to sit down and play with them. And it was quick, so very satisfying to finish a small project. I still want to wrap the canvas in some fabric though, so I will have to repost when I finish that part. I am also working on two group quilts, but will post when they are finished. If you get a chance, you can see my quilt, Little Fish in a Big City this summer in Paducah, KY. It will be at the National Quilt Museum June 17, 2010 to August 10, 2010 along with many other wonderful quilts from Quilt National '09. Oh, this little quilt is called, 1, 2, 3, 4. I was thinking about families, and numbers, and how the number of members change as different groups are together and then apart.

Another Giveaway!

Another Giveaway! 

Some Urban Landscapes fabric for you! This one is by Clothworks, so you will have to go to their blog (here) and leave a comment. Brandi is posting the winner on Monday, so you will have to hurry! I LOVE these little zipper pouches, and especially the color combos! Nice job Brandi!

Blog Giveaway!

Blog Giveaway! 

To celebrate the arrival of Urban Landscapes, I am giving away a short stack of fat quarters! And, to sweeten the pot, I have made a Bunch of these little drawstring bags. Sorry most of them have designated homes already, but I saved one just for you! I will pack it with the fat quarter short stack and send it to you. Leave me a comment, and I will randomly select a winner in two weeks. The fabric was donated by Clothworks. Look for instructions on how to make these little bags in the upcoming issue of Quilting Arts Gifts (this link goes to last year's issue, the new issue should be out in September). You may remember my post about cleaning cable clutter from this link.

V is for Victory

V is for Victory
49" x 61"

This lovely bright and fun quilt was a challenge from the Austin Modern Quilt Guild.  The challenge was to get a surprise "funky" fabric and make something cool from it.  To compete for a small motivational prize, the quilt has to be completed, which includes quilting, the binding, and the Austin MQG label on the back.  We were also supposed to keep our project a secret, presumably to make the voting fair.  So, our funky fabric arrived in a small brown paper sack, with a secret number, instructions and the little label.

Well, the cat is out of the bag for me.  I am not really motivated by winning a prize.  I like the challenge.  I like making quilts.  And I like that this quilt will be given to a child.  I also think that by sharing our progress along the way, we have an opportunity to inspire others.  Why keep that a secret? ...even for a few months?

So I started with this fabric:

small scale multicolored floral - the challenge fabric cut into 2" squares

It is not particulary funky or ugly, but it isn't anything I would ever buy.  I do like florals, but more so of the Marimekko variety:

tote I made from Marimekko fabric, YES, floral, large scale, very graphic....LOVE!

The challenge fabric has a lot of colors in it, but the main three were red, blue, and yellow.  That is not my normal palette, and as I struggled with what to do with this, I tried several things.
1.  I tried pairing it with reds, yellows, and blues.
2.  I thought if I cut it small enough, like the 2" squares above, I could blend it in with other things.

Ultimately, I decided that the 2" squares were making unnecessary work for myself.  I wanted to work bigger and make a bigger quilt than the required minimum.  So, I went with stripes.  I learned that putting pretty and bold fabrics next to the challenge fabric had the unexpected result of making the challenge fabric a neutral!  Who would of thought?  I think it works because the scale of the floral is so small.  It is the only fabric that I used multiple times in the quilt (about 6 times), you don't see IT when you look at the quilt.  You see mostly the bright bigger scale fabrics.

I also listened to my heart and tossed out the fabrics I paired with this that were causing me distress.  I had some lovely blues and purples that honestly just didn't work regardless of the "thinking" that thought they "should". Just let it go.  I am delighted with the results.  I learned a lot with this project.

The back:

I wanted a back that would go with the quilting lines that I intended to put on the front, and so I opted for giant half square triangles.  I think these are about 17" blocks.  And the fabrics are fun!  I used at least one Malka Dubrawsky (my batik teacher from long ago), a few from my only fabric line (Urban Landscapes) with Clothworks, and a bunch of new fabrics I got from STOF when I made a quilt for them, and a few other prints and batiks that I had in my stash.  A great combination! And functionally, this lovely charity quilt is now two sided!
Here are a few shots of the two sided quilted pillows I made a few months ago from the same STOF fabrics (the circles, and the stripes).  They go great with my green IKEA sofa and pink Owl IKEA pillow!