100 Days of Doodling

Last year about this time I, like everyone else, was beginning the pandemic lifestyle changes. Like many artists I was not really feeling a call to create. The need to turn my brain to something other than pandemic news was there, but there was no creative fire being lit in any direction.

In order to keep muddling through I decided to just do a little doodle each day. I dug out some index cards, cut them in half, along with a variety of black markers and pens and set off.


In this way I doodled my way through spring and into early summer. These little drawings kept me going until I found my way into on-line workshops that sparked a bit of creative electricity.

I knew that something small could lead to something big, something to just keep a toe in the pond.

The collection of cards hangs in a prominent space, but it is wild to lay them all out and see where my mind went and how many marks could be conjured out of thin air.

As the year progressed I happily found inspiration in things big and small.

I'd love to see something that kept your creative energy flowing during our crazy time.

Art & Healing

I have been floundering since loosing Edgar and have been trying to find something to get me moving again. It made me think about the loss of another beloved little soul - Vincent. Vinnie, like Edgar is one of those fur babies that always will be with me and when he passed there was a long suffering in my personal work, but I remembered what really pulled me through was making a memorial quilt for him.

This thought immediately made me feel like I had a purpose...making an Edgar quilt. Like Edgar himself the quilt will be larger than life. Then while chatting with my sister she asked me if I was going to use velveteen -- soft like the boy himself. 

Well, I think you can see where this is going. I haven't been in my velveteen bin for quite a while... such a perfect place to begin... thinking and developing ideas on just how to create a proper memorial quilt for Edgar.

Out came the bin and I couldn't believe what I found as I pulled, sorted and remembered the history of all this fabric. A considerable amount of the velveteen had been manipulated while in my Tuesday art group. There were pieces that were: Dyed, painted, waxed, stamped, indigo dyed, and bleached.

All of this fabric and leftover bits and pieces held memories of so many projects created over the years & also hold the promise of all infinite possibilities of things to come. Just what I needed.

Who knew what memories, wisdom and experience was in a tub of fabric?

Envisioning 2016

Some years we just know are going to be filled with changes.
2016 is one of those years for me.

I have an opportunity to step back from the traveling for teaching & lecturing and to refocus more on quilting and art for myself.... and I am both looking forward to it & am a bit stumped by which direction to move in.

So, as the year turns I have joined in a couple of regrouping activities -- first was a vision board making day at a local shop. Wildhair Studios
It was great fun and pretty informative doing this as a group.

see the crossroads there?

Then since I love my daily Notes from the Universe - and Mike is offering a free Infinite Opportunities 30-day Project I jumped in. 

Things are coming together slowly, but I hope to find new ways to keep sharing with everyone -- and I love hearing what everyone else is doing, we truly work better when we work together.

A Peek & A Visit with Angela Walters

With just a few days left before Christmas I wanted to share one more quilt from my newest book & the wonderful longarm quilter who made it come to life.

While bringing this book together I worked with several longarm quilters and I truly discovered first hand the various styles of quilting that these artists provide. I walked away knowing three types. There was the overall patterning, pictorial and shape by shape quilters. Angela Walters is a wonderful shape by shape quilter and I loved the quilting she did on my Fan Fare quilt.

This simple design, inspired by a box-fan during a summertime 5 minute warmup drawing session turned out amazing with Angela's designs. Since Fast-Piece Applique is really a shape-by-shape construction technique her quilting really speaks to me. 

Below Angela answered the same questions posed to the other longarm quilters I have shared with you here. It is really informative and inspiring to chat with these artists.

How did you find quilting? Or, did it find you?
I kinda stumbled into it!! I started quilting over 10 years ago when my husband’s grandpa taught me how to make my first quilt. He was my quilting buddy and he was really patient with me. We hand quilted my first few quilts, but after a couple of years, he encouraged me to buy a longarm. Although I didn't know what I was doing, I quickly realized how much I loved it!

Where you always drawn to the quilting stitch? Or, was there another part of the process that pulled you in?

I really like the freedom and movement of quilting, so I think that is why I am drawn to it. I love all parts of the process of machine quilting, but the quilting is definitely my favorite part!

What is your favorite thing about where you are today on your quilting adventure?

I love getting to meet so many different people. Whether it's students in my classes, readers on my blog or my customers. I really love the interaction and the kindness of quilters in general.

Has this changed from when you first set off?

Kind of, when I started my favorite part was finishing the quilt and I still love it. But now that I know so many other quilters, it's such a fun part to me.

Do you see yourself at a fork in the road? If you do, can you share about what direction you may be thinking about going?

I feel that it's not so much of a regular fork, but a pitch fork. There are so many different options, all great, and it can be hard to know what to do. At this point, I am just enjoying the ride. But everything that I do, or decide to do, always comes down to my love of machine quilting!!

Be sure to check out Angela's website and her new book...

below is Fan-Fare from my new book (quilted by Angela).

The new book will be released in January, but you can still add it to your Christmas list. Pre-orders receive a signed copy and a free e-pattern when the book comes out.

the countdowns continue
stitching on,
~Rose

The Perfect BadAss

Are you ready to get to know the
best'ist BadAss Quilter around anywhere?!!

Hope you are, for today I'm featuring Maddie Kertay -- founder and amazing CREATOR of the BadAss Quilter's Society. In moments of shear exhaustion at Quilt Market (2013) we both took advantage of chairs in the GenerationQ Magazine booth -- this is where we met, and I got pinned!

What a treat it is to meet Maddie, hear her talk and call her friend. She is a force of nature when it comes to keeping it real for all quilters through her BadAss Quilter's Society efforts. And, Maddie does this all while running a successful, wonderful shop (SPOOL) in Chattanooga, TN.

Did I mention she is an accomplished sewist, too? She is, and below you'll find out a little bit about Maddie in her own words.

How did you find quilting? Or, did it find you?

I have sewn since I was quite young  but my leap to quilting was just about 4 years ago when I accidently fell into the blog Tall Grass Prairie and it made my head spin.

Where you always drawn to quilting stitch? Or, was there another part of the process that pulled you in?

For me it was the fabrics and the colors.  I realized how limited I had been in what I had seen of fabrics given that where I lived there was not much to see! And while I will always be a huge advocate for local shopping it is true that the internet really opened up my eyes to what I could do and work with as a quilt artist.

What is your favorite thing about where you are today on your quilting adventure?

My adventure has always been about empowering people to be their very best creative selves no matter what that means to them. Simple sewing or complex , I am cool with all of it. 

Has this changed from when you first set off?

I started off doing what came from inside of me. Everything I know has been self-taught and I just keep growing from there, willing to make outrageous mistakes along the way and talk about it. I think that is really important. SO many show there amazing work but so few show all the pain it takes to get there.  You have to make a lot of crap to make something amazing.

Do you see yourself at a fork in the road? If you do, can you share about what direction you may be thinking about going?

I quilt on a very limited basis these days ( but still Love it), and only projects that REALLY engaged me like the one I did for your book. My fork has taken me to being a social media cheerleader and professional Rabble-Rouser for the membership of the quilt industry. I feel it is my call to further the conversations about what it means to be a quilter. BadAss Quilters Society gives me the forum to be as loud as I want and bring attention to the parts of the industry that are amazing as well as those that need a facelift!
Below is a sneak peek at the quilting Maddie stitched into my Poppy Pod quilt to bring it into it's own.

Fun & Amazing, just like Maddie herself!
I am delighted to have had a chance to work with her and to get to know her better.

Thank You Maddie.... love you!

Warm Up With this Sneak Peek

Ok, it is 13 degrees outside.
Another record making cold day.
A perfect time to remember some warmer ones.

With warmth in mind, this week I figured I would give you sneak peek at the quilt Umbrella Beach from my new book. This way I could also share a few images to warm me up.

The quilt Umbrella Beach was inspired from a walk along the boardwalk in St. Martin Island in the Caribbean. There the blue sky, met the blue water and the sandy beach was engulfed in bright orange and yellow umbrellas.

Throughout the islands you'll find lots of umbrellas -- in the streets, and markets. Islanders carrying them to keep out the sun.

A nice thought on this cold morning.
Yes, this last picture is of me that day --
walking through the shops.

The quilts that are most special to me are the ones that bring back a moment in time -- just when you need a bit of warming up!

Enjoy your day, and remember that if you have a special memory that you want to create in a quilt -- to keep it -- share it... Fast-Piece Applique may be the perfect method to stitch it all together.

Make it Sew!
Happily stitching,
~Rose

There's A Quilt In there Somewhere

possibly two or three...

This past week my sister has been visiting and I have been sharing some of my favorite places with her. One, last week was Garden of the Gods in Southern IL. It amazes me how the landscape can change so dramatically - seemingly out of nowhere.

Yesterday, we visited the Mineral Museum in Marion, KY. David & I found this during a hit the road, it's spring road trip our first year here and I've been taking people back there ever since. There we learned about local geology and discovered fluorite....

The museum is quite a treat, and my favorite room is literally in the dark where slices of these minerals are lit up. I'm thinking there is a quilt in these wonders...

what do you think?

The Scrappy Making of a Quitler

Hi from California!

I am having such a great time. Seeing my kids, visiting with friends in our old and sometimes new stomping grounds. There will certainly be fun things to share as a minute or two permits. Today's share is a delight for me.

Many years ago I met a very special woman... her name is Angelique and she is very dear to me. BUT, this is the tale of sharing an addiction. She had never even thought about quilting before she ran into me, though she was all about fabric and involved in the fashion industry.

Angelique visited my home studio a couple of times -- before she asked about hand stitching some basic blocks together...you know, in her spare moments.

Being very sly about the whole thing I told her to pick some fabrics from the bins...
I then cut up some small squares and showed her how to hand piece these together.

Well, these little squares grew into 4-squares, and the 4-squares grew into quilt tops, and there was no turning back!

Shopping for fabric, and tools -- learning how to use a machine, connecting with other quilters all followed... you can see why when she shared her latest/dearest project with me the other day why she accused me of being a troublemaker.

After all, she has been the recipient of numerous priority box shipments filled with scraps for this project.

These scraps held memories of quilts made by me, and it was so amazing to see them and have them be a part of a new memory for Angelique and me, too!

Isn't she doing an amazing job!!!
Hugs to Angelique -- and to all of us troublemakers.

Breathing in & out

Well, the crate arrived safely and all has been checked in -- the next book is officially underway!

At my place, as soon as the crate was lifted onto the scales at FedX, measured and paid for the breathing in & out re-commenced.

Happily since that day I have been working on all sorts of things --
New things -- setting up workshops big & small & ONLINE!
and of course cleaning the studio...

but, the best thing has been taking some time to continue working on my Caribbean Boardwalk.

If you check in every once in a while or follow me, you may remember over the summer I gave a whole list of summertime words to inspire many a 5-minute sketch session.

Back in July I shared my boardwalk drawings and you got to see a bit of the quilt top I stitched together -- then tucked away until now.

We all tuck projects away -- sometimes for a week, a month, and all to often they may get so buried they may not see the light of day for years.

Do you have a project on the back burner?

Piles Growing into PILES

It's happened.... the new year sneaked in and the calendar has spun to 2014.
The seeds that were planted wayyyy back at the beginning of 2013 are requiring watering and tending. It started with a seed of an idea for a book, which lead to working through submissions and contracts....through designing and fabric selection.... through thread choices and working with some amazing longarm quilters --- each quilt for the book is a seed planted --- each concept another seed....

No wonder with the due date in February for the manuscript my focus has been 'book'. Soon the manuscript created from those seeds planted last year will be ready to send off to my publisher --- harvest time!

OK, enough of the planting metaphor...

As the winter chill moved in this weekend I settled in with creating the last quilt top for the book. The wind picked up, though the temp remained balmy and the pile of scraps began to gather.

 Then came the rain --- lots, and lots of rain.
The pile grew larger...

Then the temps dropped, but the dusting of snow we got here in Paducah was luckily nothing like promised. The amazing low temps though brought me more weather lessons, and the the scrap pile reached its height!

The piles are all I can share at this point, but I have to admit that working with these colors while holed up due to 'cold' has been an absolute pleasure.
 
Really what comes out of a harvest is more seeds... the wonder and promise of new seeds, new plantings.... every big idea requires lots of little seeds planted with anticipation and tended with care.


Do you have some new plantings
you are working on?

Wishing for you all a new year of wonderful new seeds to plant, the joy of giving tender care for your special plantings, and a life affirming harvest!

OK, now I am really done with the metaphor.

Meet Marcia Derse

Boy I'm feeling very lucky today.
A few years back a dear friend of mine Natalie Barnes of Beyond the Reef asked me to do a demo in her booth at Long Beach Quilt Festival -- of course, I said yes and set about creating something just for this opportunity. Being that BtR is all about Hawaii & the beach I designed Ocean Waves, but when it came to fabric selection I headed to Natalie's place. She had just received in the full line of ....

you guessed it, Marcia Derse fabrics. Wow!!
I fell in love with the colors, textures and depth that
Marcia's fabric IS,

..and to have Marcia share a bit about her process,
and how it all comes together makes me feel lucky indeed.
Hope you feel the same way and enjoy the words & pictures from Marcia.

When you begin to design a line of fabric-where do you begin?

Whenever I can find the time I devote a string of days to fabric dying. I use the fabrics I make for my own artwork but I always hold back knock out colors and patterns that I can’t bear to cut up for my design collections. I just finished a small batch of new designs and was delighted to find two pieces of fabric that simply jumped out of the pile, I know they are going to inspire me to work on a new collection.

Once I have a few inspiration pieces on hand I go back through my "library" of fabrics and start pulling fabrics in order to build a color story. There is a ton of weeding out and editing during this process and the theme develops over time.

Where do you turn for inspiration?

I always find myself playing off of the seasons and the colors surrounding my home and in my garden. I spend a lot of time at home getting inspired but when I start to feel a little stir crazy I love to get out and go to the library or the art museum to find insight. Blue Tiles from the Swiss Room is a piece from my new collection Mosaic, it is inspired by a large Swiss fireplace in The Toledo Museum of Art that I have loved since I was a child reading the book Heidi.

What is your favorite part of the fabric designing process?

There are so many steps in the process. Once all the work of washing, dyeing, and ironing are done, I love the reward phase of revisiting every piece of fabric I have in my stash, opening them up and making piles of my favorites according to color and design.

When I met you, you had a sketchbook full of textures you had collected.

Do you have lots of sketchbooks filled with textures? Do you remember when you began collecting? Why did you begin & continue collecting textures?

The answer is yes, and for as long as I can remember. In my studio I have shelves of journals filled with scraps and treasures. I have a habit of pinning everything I collect on my composition wall so I can see it. More often than not, I don't have much space on my wall to work. When the walls start closing in on the artwork I take everything down and I grab a blank book and start glueing, sewing and layering all my inspiration pieces adding buttons, ribbons, papers and photos from other collections. Most of the time the book becomes a gigantic mass that hardly resembles a series of pages. I have always loved books and I find it very satisfying to have all my treasures from different eras cataloged in my studio.

 

 

All of Marcia's fabrics can be seen on her website....
click over and you will love seeing it ALL.
BUT, this weekend she will be working to put her entire new line on the site.

I will be sure to send out a reminder,
meantime I hope you enjoyed this peek into Marcia's fabric designer 'self',

as for me, I now know what I can do with all that stuff
I collect and have pinned to the walls around me!