Thank you for joining me!
Everyone is an artist, it’s just a matter of admitting it to yourself! The best part of teaching for me is when my students discover their inner artist who gives them permission to PLAY!
Winter waves on the snow....photo by Karen Eckmeier
Signature Quilt for International Market
Good news! “Turning Over a New Leaf” has been chosen as the Signature quilt for Quilts Inc. Spring Market in Kansas City in May.
It will be featured in the Market postcard, class catalog and Buyer’s Guide. There is also a possibility of a show logo/pin being designed using the quilt as inspiration.
Felting Class @ the Quilted Ewe
A special present from my friend Cat was a felting workshop with Mary Watt, owner of the Quilted Ewe in New Hartford, CT. http://quiltedewe.com
Felting is a technique which was totally new for me and out of my comfort zone!
So I really understand how my students feel when they are in my workshops starting something out of their box! It’s kind of scary at first, but Mary put my mind at ease, starting with the fact that I could make ANY animal I wanted. Really? Could I make a lizard?….and she laughed and said of course! With her excellent guidance she broke down the process into easy steps:
First we created the basic structure
for our lizards.
Then we covered it with the wool roving. I learned quickly to keep my fingers out of the way of the felting needle by steadying the piece with a long toothpick instead of my finger. Ouch! That needle is sharp!
Added more wool roving to fill out the body.
Learned how to make little lizard toes and a purple line down the back.
Here I am with Mary Watt and our yin yang lizards. I still have plenty of work to do on mine when I get home.
Notice one of Mary’s Little Lamb creations in the foreground.
For more felted creations by Mary’s students go to the gallery on the Quilted Ewe’s website http://quiltedewe.com and scroll down toward the bottom of the page.
Fabrics for new Jacket
While I was at the Quilted Ewe, I purchased these fabrics to make a new jacket.
The feather scarf was my color palette and inspiration (I’m wearing the scarf in the Felting Workshop with Mary).
In the Fall 2018 newsletter, I shared a photo of Sandra Norman's Girl Scout version of my “Colorific Quilters” from my Circle of Friends pattern series.
That got me thinking of the “circle of friends” in my own life. If I change the outfits, add hiking poles, trees, etc....I could try to capture the personalities in my weekly hiking group.
We call ourselves (tongue in cheek) “The Intrepids” because it takes a lot to keep us off the trails. We all love nature and enjoy each other’s company, sharing our favorite books and recipes as we explore the numerous State Parks, Preserves and Appalachian Trail section in our gorgeous area of NW Connecticut.
Our actual hiking group email list consists of over 60 names, however there is a core of about 12 who hike every week. Now the challenge was to get that number down to 8 to fit my design, which meant I had to “morph” some of my dear friends into one body. I am so sorry. I hope they will forgive me!
This is a MINIATURE version of the pattern, it measures 11” x 11”. Each little hiker is 2” tall from the top of their head to the sole of their hiking boot. Why? You may ask did I make it so small? I like a challenge!
My friends will recognize themselves by their typical hiking colors and backpacks/waist packs. My friends tease me, because they know that I will always be wearing blues and greens! Guess which one is me.
Our four legged hiker is Dilly, our mascot golden retriever.
We are a diverse group and are interested in birds, plants, mushrooms, animals/tracks, etc…we are always learning something new on the trail, which is symbolized by the little pamphlets/books we are holding. Our favorite trails are indicated by the different color trail blazes on the trees.
Another group I thought would be fun to make in fabric, are the gals (and guys) I work out with in a weekly Core Strength class.
Our leader is Shannon Strong, owner of the Wellness Center and Strong Core Training Team in Kent, CT. http://www.shannonstrong.com
This piece is made true to the size of my pattern (Colorific Quilters). The finished quilted wall hanging measures 25” x 25” including borders. Each person is 7” tall. A much easier size to work on than the miniatures in my hiking group. It was fun picking out the outfits and hairstyles to match the people and adding the details to make it a workout group....balance balls, weights, etc.
How many circles of friends to you have? Knitting, Book Club, Gardening....so many friends, so many ideas!
I'm working on the logistics of a Family Circle. I'll keep you posted!
Shannon usually wears black and is a competition winning Lumber Jill, hence the t-shirt that reads “Kick Axe."
Shannon is an outstanding orthopedic massage therapist who is able to perform miracles on my neck and shoulder muscles when I do too much quilting (which is often!). Check out her website above and the link to her Timber Team at the local high school. https://sites.google.com/view/strongcoreteamtraining/home
I’ve been making Sunprints with Colored Tissue Paper on fabric for quite sometime now. My process was featured in an article in the Quilting Arts magazine in the Summer 2006 issueand was also featured on the magazine cover.
Here’s a link to my YouTube video which explains how the colors of the tissue paper bleed and combine with the sun sensitive paints to create really cool fabrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egNrIy4jmpc
My first “sunset study” started by playing with sunprint fabrics on my design wall in April of 2008.
I set those fabric pieces aside and picked them up again 7 years later in January 2015.
This time I sewed the fabrics together in random squares and rectangles and strips to create this “Sunset Patchwork” (26” x 28”) {see below}. It remained in my fabric drawer with the other sun print fabrics for 4 years (January 2019) until I took it out for another review.
It has inspired me to do something different with my sunprint fabrics.
(Maybe someday I will even finish “Sunset Patchwork”….
but right now it’s back in the drawer again)
It’s not surprising that my favorite way to cook a meal is to see what’s in the refrigerator and go from there. That challenge gets my creative juices flowing.
The same is true when cooking up something new in fabric. I looked in my “leftovers bin” of Layered Waves fabrics and found 40 Twirls
and 3 strips of gradated topstitched fabrics.
I added them to strips of sunprint fabrics and started to play with the placement.
The colors definitely remind me of dramatic sunset colors, just like the sunset "shows" we enjoy each evening.
More to come on "Sunset Strips" in the SPRING newsletter.
Teaching Calendar 2019
I hope that one of the workshop dates and venues will work in your schedule so we can meet again or meet for the very first time.
If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please contact the guild or organization to get prices and registration information. If you need help contacting one of the venues, just let me know and I would be happy to give you the name of my contact person.
2019 Calendar
*NEW or updated since FALL 2018 newsletter
*Cypress Creek Quilters Guild, Tampa FL Feb. 11-12 (Happy Villages & Accidental Landscape lecture and Happy Villages workshop)
*Lake Metroparks Farmpark Quilt Show 2019, OH March 6 – 10 I’m the featured national teacher for this event.
(5 workshops and 1 lecture: Accidental Landscapes: Beaches, Large Logs, Color Twists & Leaves, TWO Happy Villages workshops, Wiggles & Waves lecture)
!!DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, a 2nd Happy Villages workshopis now being offered on Saturday March 9, because the Sunday class is already full.
No sewing machines needed, just bring your ten 6½” squares and extra fabrics for rooftops, sky, water and trees and you are ready to PLAY!
*Quilters of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall, NY March 15/16 (3/15 eve: Happy Villages & Accidental Landscape lecture, 3/16 Accidental Landscapes: Mountain Views workshop)
*Byrne’s Sewing Connection (store), New Britain, PA April 2/3 Tues. EVE “Accidental Landscapes & Happy Villages Demo/Presentation, Wed. AM “Accidental Landscapes & Happy Villages Demo/Presentation”, Wed. Afternoon: 3 hour Accidental Landscape: Beaches workshop
Sun City Texas Quilt Guild, Georgetown, TX April 10 -11 (4/10 6 hour Happy Villages workshop, 4/11:am, Large Logs 3 hour workshop and 1:00pm Wiggles & Waves lecture)
*Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild,TX April 12-13 (4/12 “Happy Villages” workshop, 4/13 AM oops! “My Edges are Showing!” lecture and 4/13 PM 3 hour Large Logs workshop)
*Material Girls Quilt Guild, Miamisburg, OH May 2-3 (Wiggles & Waves lecture eve. May 2, Color Twists & Leaves workshop May 3)
Northern Star Quilters’ Guild 40thAnniversary Show, Danbury, CT
May 4-5 INVITATIONAL EXHIBIT OF 8 QUILTS
Silver City Quilt Guild, Taunton, MA May 20-21 (Wiggles & Waves lecture and Color Twists and Leaves workshop)
*Quilter’s Unlimited Show, Chantilly, VA May 31-June 2 (Happy Villages & Accidental Landscape lecture and May 31: Accidental Landscapes: Mountain Views workshop, June 1: Happy Villages workshop)
Colonial Quilters Guild of Bethlehem, PA June 11-12 (6/11 EVE: oops! My Edges are Showing and 6/12 Happy Villages workshop)
*Quilted Ewe (store),New Hartford, CT June date TBD for Accidental Landscapes: Mountain Views workshop
Baltimore Heritage Quilt Guild, MD October 8-9 (Happy Villages & Accidental Landscape lecture and Happy Villages workshop)
*Apple Valley Needle Threaders,Berryville, VA Oct. 10 (Large Logs workshop)
Ocean Waves Quilt Guild, Lewes, DE November 4-5 (lecture and workshop TBD)
All the best until our creative paths cross again!
Karen
