Thursday 31 July 2014

Thailand Great Quilt Festival 2014: Soul Siam Quilts

I was so happy to find that my quilt Heavenly Rice, won an honorary mention award for best creativity!!!  I have never won anything for quilting before, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear this news AND to also be interviewed by Thai PBS television yesterday.
And yes that is Chrissy and Margie being posed as admirers!

Saturday 19 July 2014

DIGITAL CLASS REVIEW AND QUILT: PAINTED PICTORIAL QUILTS WITH ANNETTE KENNEDY, PART II

This was the first project of the class, a lily.  Luckily for me it is one of my favourite quilting themes.  

The NAF minimart

I spotted this sign in the lobby of a hotel this week, another lost in translation.  For the non Brits, naff is something that is lame.  I guess the mini mart is telling it like it is.  I also don't fancy their stationery!

Tuesday 15 July 2014

DVD REVIEW: DIGITAL IMAGERY IN FIBRE ART WITH WEN REDMOND

Wen Redmond is enthusiastic about her subject matter, textured photographs, and that enthusiasm is catchy.  She talks you through various products that can be used to either lay down a textured surface for printing on fabric or to coat the finished product.  Wen also shows you how to finish your completed project.

This is a new field to me but the information was clear, interesting and I was half way to the nearest art store to buy something that sparkled or rippled before the DVD had finished.

You need access to a computer and an inkjet printer for this technique and for those who are not computer savvy, Wen talks you through how to alter your photos and set the printing options.

This 83 minute DVD is available from Interweave for $14.95.

Saturday 12 July 2014

DIGITAL CLASS REVIEW AND QUILT: PAINTED PICTORIAL QUILTS WITH ANNETTE KENNEDY, PART I

I signed up for this Craftsy course a while back, which went through the intricacies of painting on pictorial art quilts.  There were two class projects to work on and this was the second one (the first still needing quilting).

I really enjoyed this class and found it very useful as I really do not know about brush strokes, shading, ways of thickening fabric paint etc.  There are 15 lessons which total 6 hours of classes.  Annette's quilts are very inspiring when you see what a difference painting on them makes.  On the negative side, I think the class should have been edited down to a more manageable size as you do spend a lot of time literally watching paint dry!  The regular price is $39.99, but Craftsy always has classes on sale, so just wait until it is a more reasonable price of $15-20.

This is one of the two class projects I undertook, using their pattern.  This is how the project looked at the beginning. 

Friday 11 July 2014

DVD REVIEW: PRINT, COLLAGE, QUILT WITH MELANIE TESTA

The 55 minute DVD talks you through printing on cotton and organza with dyes, layering them in collage form and then into a quilt.

I liked the idea but really did not like the presentation of the material and the dvd sorely needed some good editing.  I don't think this DVD is aimed at novices to printing with dyes, as it did not cover basic information.  It did peak my interest, so if inspiration is what you are looking for, this might suit.

The dvd is available from Interweave for $19.95.  You may however, want to wait for the sale.