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MaryinColorado | Posted in Creative Machine on

Hi! Always lovelearning about creative fiberholics.Qulting Arts Magazine, Ellen Anne Eddy, Bonnie Lyn McCaffery, Threads, Kayla Kennington and thier websites are great for inspiration and knowlege.  Any other suggestions?  Would love to hear from others interested in this and what you are working on and have done.  Mary L

Replies

  1. stitchintime | | #1

    I was just surfing the web yesterday for art quilts and quilt contests and found lots of fabulous stuff. I go off on tangents and one thing leads to another and before I know it, I've hit some interesting site I never would have thought to search for. Husqvarnaviking has an international quilt contest and each year's finalists are featured on their website. They have many different categories and I find it very inspiring. I sometimes enter contests, not because I expect to win but because it pushes me in directions I wouldn't have otherwise thought to travel.

    What are you working on?

    1. MaryinColorado | | #2

      Hi! That is funny, must have been right under my nose all these years and I missed it.  I am a satisfied owner of three Viking machines, go to the website and never noticed any contests!  I must be surfing too fast and breezed right past it.

      Thanks, I will check it out!  What kind of contests have you entered?  I haven't tried it so far.  I am a bit of a old recluse these days which is the opposite of the "young me".  Maybe I will venture out of my cave soon....this forum is helping me come out of my shell again..

      I am reading Ellen Anne Eddy's book, Thread Magic and am so inspired.  I need to go shopping for some sheer fabrics for a forest type scene with hidden  fairies and other little creatures threadpainted among the woods. 

      I am not sure what fabrics to get as I have worked pretty much exclusively with natural fibers and rayons and blends.  This will include polyester sheers which will be out of my "element".  It will be interesting to learn which ones are soft and drapey and take threadwork well. 

      What are You working on?  MaryL

      1. stitchintime | | #3

        Sounds pretty creative. I'm more of a geometric type person and am interested in exploring color. I'd like to get a hold of Color Play by Joen Wolfrom. I entered a quilt block contest on sew-what's-new.com last year. We were limited to one quilt block which had to be blown up so that the block and border had to measure 36" X 36". You could choose out of about 8 or so different patterns and you had to limit yourself to one color which you could make lighter or darker. I also tried to make a wall hanging (for another local contest) to resemble different shades of sparkling jewels by varying the intensity of the fabric colors I chose. But where I live (Jerusalem) the fabric selection is very limited. Now I understand why fabric artists dye their own.

        The quilt contest and previous finalists are listed under the quilting section of the husqvarnaviking site.

        Good luck working out of your element. You may just find that you have a new "element".

        Right now I'm not working on anything. Shame on me. Sometimes I dream more than I sew.

        1. MaryinColorado | | #4

          I am enjoying the daydreaming part and trying to figure out how to use nature's elements in a dimentional piece.  I might just start out making a small quilted nature scene  to go on the back of a wheat colored jean jacket I have for starters.  Then put some free motion leaves and such on the front and sleeves.  I am still thinking of little forest creatures from bugs to bunnies or deer first.  I think when I figure out who lives in the forest I will know what to do for the environmental background.

          I went out and bought several fabrics and fibers for this yesterday.  I have drawers full of stabilizers and drawers full of threads and yarns so am set there.

          It is getting harder to find fabrics here too.  Many businesses have had to close due to the economy.  I don't know if they ship internationally or if it is cost prohibitive but a fun and informative website to visit is http://www.Dharmatradingcompany.com  They have lots of inspirational things to look at and lots of info about dying fabrics.  They also sell lots of goodies and fabrics and such. 

          I love the quilt contest info you mentioned.  It sounds as if it really stretches your skills and imagination.  I like the idea of the 36 inch block in one color.  It made me think of a pattern that I bought at a quilt show.  It is a labrador and you can do just the head or the whole dog.  My "puppy" is a large cream colored lab so I bought a packet of fat quarters that are all carmely creme colors to look like him.  Now I am thinking of starting the labrador quilt first......oh dear!   hmmmmmmmmmm I am  sew conflicted!  Mary

      2. MarshaK | | #8

        Have you checked out  the garments from the Bernina Fashion Show that's on every year during the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas? The web-site is http://www.berninausa.com  and shows the top 49 or so entrants, all are great garments with ideas that can be used to create your own. Each year Bernina publishes a book with lovely clear photos of the garments, some instructions of how they were put together, patterns, fabrics, threads and any special sewing techniques that the designer used. I find these books a great resource for ideas and inspiration. Marsha.

        1. MaryinColorado | | #9

          Thanks so much!  I will look for those books.  I love Bernina's website! I have learned so much there. 

           I am a happy satisfied owner of 3 Vikings but thier website leaves much to be desired in comparison.   Mary

          1. MarshaK | | #10

            I don't have a Bernina sewing machine or serger either, (my machines are a Pfaff, Husqvarna, Brother, Elna, White and a Humen treadle) but still get a lot of interesting info from their web-site. The books that I mentioned that Bernina puts together from the fashion show can be ordered through a Bernina dealer, that's how I get mine. I order from the Bernina dealer in Great Falls, Montana, a few weeks before I know we are going to be there, and the great gals at The Silver Thimble have that book ready and waiting for me. I also like the quarterly magazine 'Through The Needle' Bernina has as well, great ideas there too. A couple of years ago I was going to buy the Fashion & Imagination book from a dealer in the city of Edmonton, but didn't think I should have to pay triple the cover price. The US price was $9.95, Canadian price $12.95, clearly printed by the publisher on the cover of the book, but the store ignored that and had their own sticker of $36.95! Yes, I know everyone says 'support your local dealer', but that's a bit much. I wonder what all the others who read these posts think about this? Would you pay that price if you knew you could go elsewhere and pay less?

            Two other books I like are from the Singer Design Series, Color And Design on Fabric and Fabric Artistry. All sorts of yummy fabric techniques in them. I think these two books may have been combined into one book sometimes in the past couple of years, I almost bought it, when I flipped through it and realized I already had the two. I really hate it when books are re-released with a new cover and maybe even a new title, especially if I'm ordering it through the mail and can't have a look into it before-hand. Marsha

          2. MaryinColorado | | #11

            So far I have been to two Bernina dealers and thier booth at a show and at Denver Fabrics, they don't have the books or even the magazine.  Guess I will have to go online and order them....oh bother! 

          3. MarshaK | | #12

            Have you asked those dealers if they would order the books and magazine for you? That's what the Bernina web-site says to do. Unfortunately the book for 2005 isn't available, I've been in touch with The Silver Thimble in Great Falls who in turn contacted Bernina and were told that. I don't know if Bernina will publish it at a later date or not, but the photos from the 2005 Inspirations Fashion Show are in Issue 16 of Through the Needle. The dealer should be able to order that and the books from the previous years for you. If they say no, I'd get in touch with Bernina and complain. I would not order these books from http://www.sewnshop.com  I had ordered one through them a couple of years ago, was sent the one from the year before, 2002, that I already had, (and still do) when I called about my being sent the wrong item, boy did I get a run-around. Things like 'not my department' 'we don't handle those orders from this office' 'you have to contact someone else' and on it went. I had called the same number as I had used to place the order. So, I definately would not recommend ordering from them. MarshaK.

          4. MaryinColorado | | #13

            Thanks for the info.  The Bernina dealers are a long way from my area so it is inconvenient to order from them.  The closest one just has a "clerk" type employee that doesn't seem to know anything about sewing let alone thier products.  He didn't even know if they had machine needles, lol.  I went in there several times hoping to catch another employee but no luck. 

            Another of thier dealers suggested I drive another thirty miles south to one of thier other stores and would not even call that store to see if it was in stock.  I had allready driven twenty five miles to that dealer so no way was going to waste more gas.   Very bad for business! 

            I am going to try one more store that is about an hour away, maybe I can prepay and have them mail it to me. 

            Funny, I have four Husq/Viking stores within a ten mile radius of my home, and two that are within twenty miles.  All have excellent customer service and knowledgeable staff with the exception of one employee!  This is so frustrating, just to buy some books that I would really enjoy!!!  I do appreciate them more now and am truly glad to own 3 Husq/Viking machines!!!

            Mary

          5. MarshaK | | #14

            Mary, if that Bernina dealer won't order those books, I do know that the ladies at The Silver Thimble will, and mail them out to you. They made that offer to me, and I live in Canada, so sending them to another state shouldn't be a problem. Let me know if you'd like the e-mail address for my contact there. I will be visiting down there in a couple of weeks or so, the latest issue of Through The Needle is waiting for me. I guess I could subscribe to it and not have to worry about whether it's available or not, or have to ask them to put a copy aside for me. But, then I'd have no reason to go into the store, would I? MarshaK. 

          6. MarshaK | | #15

            Hi Mary, just thought I'd let you know that the photos and garment descriptions from the 2006 Bernina Fashion show are on the Bernina web-site. They aren't going to print the books any longer as they did for the previous years, but their magazine 'Through The Needle" has a section all about the garments. I can't recall off-hand the number of the mag, the info is on the web-site, berninausa.com. MarshaK.

    2. Kilroywashere | | #5

      Here's a gallery of artists working on one company's patterns:

      http://www.purrfection.com/gallery/index.htm

      I have taken classes from these artists:

      http://www.larkinart.com/

      http://www.sewjourn.com

      I've made a number of collaged vests based on these.

      1. MaryinColorado | | #6

        Oooooooooooooooooh!!!!!  Thank You so much!!!!!  I had never seen the LarkinArts site.  WOW!  I am speechless..........MaryL

      2. stitchintime | | #7

        Very inspirational. How did you find these sites?

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