Here we are with Mary Kerr the author of the Vintage Revisited Challenge. From left to right are the following challenge participants: Jane Miller, Mary Kerr, Lisa Ellis, Judy Gula and Linda Cooper. We enjoyed friends and family at the book signing and reception at the Artistic Artifacts Annex on Sunday, June 27th.
Currently Block 6 is up at the Annex, run by to see the quilts either Thursday, July 1st 11:00-4:00 or Saturday morning early 9:00-11:00.
Vintage Revisited
It is here!! I actually have a case of books in my hot little hands!!! I am so excited my book is here!! OOPS Mary’s book is here! Mary is good with sharing- she knows that we all consider this our book as well as hers. Lucky for me Mary did all the heavy lifting, my responsiblity was to have fun creating art quilts, yes that was actually in the instructions!
The book is just wonderful!! This book has quilts for everyone!! Traditional and Art Quilters alike. Each chapter has the original vintage block – wonderful photograph of our quilt with a write up ( I can’t even remember what I was thinking!) and a collage of all the quilts over a 2 page spread.
Mary what a dream girl- she orchastrated a wonderful experience for myself and 18 other fiber artists. Last night when she presented her lecture to Burke Quilters Unlimited we experienced her magic again. The Lecture is very much like the book’s layout, showing you the vintage block that we started with and the quilts we created, including comments, compaints, and life events of the artists during the 2 years we participated in the challenge. 2 Years, 6 Blocks, 19 Artists, 120 Quilts. Yes, Mary created quilts also! So really 20 Artists. Then she would show us 3 “live” quilts from each chapter.
As I was sitting there I noticed that she was not showing any of my quilts… I could not figure it out- she was lecturing at Burke QU, the guild that had a number of us participating in the challenge…., but wait.. she had a surprise.
At the conclusion of the lecture she showed all six of my quilts together, I cried! For each of the Burke QU Artists, she showed us our quilts all 6 together- it was humbling.
I began this journay with Mary not knowing anything about constructing a quilt, I was a weaver. But Mary and many other quilter friends believed in me, taught me, encouraged me and I am now an art quilter. Thank you Mary!!
Come join us for a Celebration! June 27th 1:00pm-4:00
Meet the Author, Mary Kerr and some of the artists featured in A Quilt Block Challenge: Vintage Revisited. We will have copies of the book for sale and some of the quilts from the book on exhibit.
If you plan on coming to the reception please RSVP to Judy@ArtisticArtifacts.com
Order your copy of the book: A Quilt Block Challenge: Vintage Revisited.
Artistic Artifacts purchased Bolts of fabric….. this is a big deal for us. I don’t even have a selection on my website menu for fabric, it was not even on the business plan. After visiting Market you have a whole new respect for stores who purchase hundreds of bolts for customers to choose from. Actually the concept of how much money is invested in those bolts is down right scary. Purchasing PFD fabric was easy, I figured I could always dye it. Then we added the Black and White fabrics again, they take dyes nicely. No Risk!
There was nothing safe about purchasing Daiwabe Fabrics , but I just had to have some! I have an Indigo Junction Pattern, Over the Top Tunic that is going to look terrific in these fabrics! I will have some left over to share! This is the beginning of Artistic Couture at Artistic Artifacts Annex. In the future Artistic Artifacts will sell clothing patterns (oops that is not on the menu either) and offer some fabrics that lend themselves to clothing.- more on that on another post.
Here is the Pattern:
And here are the Daiwabe Fabrics, they are $13.50 per yard, if you are interested please
email me: judy@ArtisticArtifacts.com
item: TS11419S
item: DP11464S
item: DS21554S
item: TS11422S
So make the leap with me!! Many of you do this already, sew your own clothing. Please share with us your favorite patterns, construction technique and even photos. If you will be in the Northern Virginia area on Saturday September 26th please RSVP to attend our first Artistic Couture Fashion Show and Gathering.
P.S. I purchased the Radiance PFD also, no risk It’s WHITE!
At the time that Digital Essentials came out, another photo book arrived on the market called Blending Photos with Fabric 2 by Mary Ellen Kranz. Both books are published by the Electric Quilt Company. Both books are a must have for anyone working with digial cameras, computer photos, and social networks.
Digital Essentials by Gloria Hansen is a technical handbook, a step by step instructions for Photoshop, Photoshop elements and Paint shop Pro. Gloria speaks in English! and for anyone who has asked a computer question on many on lists Gloria is generous with her knowledge and information- that comes through in the book as well. Personally, I have to do everything for my website (the computer is my friend….not!…. working on it). And I have had to learn how to adjust photos to post on the web, creating and importing spreadsheets for my store data as I go- somedays my head feels like it will explode! And I have to run to my stash and pet fabric!! Gloria walks you through the different types of photo files advantages and disadvantages of each- information that is useful for anyone posting photos on power points, websites, blogs, or facebook. I have not gotten to the section on layers, I want to do it when I can play with my computer- I think this will be interesting to create mixed media collage and improving photos.
Do you already have the book? Please add your review to the comments section. Thank you.
Digial Essentials is on sale in Artistic Artifacts website at 10% off cover price:
guess I need to get to the “sharpen your image section” also!!
The other book, Blending Photos with Fabric 2 by Mary Ellen Kranz presents easy to follow instructions also. Right away I learned several useful tips about my digital camera. Ellen talks about taking photos to use as artwork, recommending several angles to take of the same viewpoints. Also included are several quilt projects to walk you through using photos- projects both traditional in technique and basic art quilt ideas.
Do you have this book? Please add your book review to the comments section! Thank you.
This book is on sale 10% on Artistic Artifacts website:
Also available from Artistic Artifacts are EQ pretreated cotton lawn fabrics to print photos on: http://www.artisticartifacts.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=A&Product_Code=7955E&Category_Code=im
Check out the quilts and photos on this blog: http://www.miamithreads.blogspot.com/
artist Judy Momenzadeh does fantastic work!! Elizabeth forwarded her blog to me, thank you Elizabeth!
Quilt Festival in Houston is huge, overwhelming, exciting, fun, tiring, inspiring and that is if you are an attendee, how about if you are a vendor? or a teacher? So lets look at Quilt Festival from a vendor’s point of view. I have attended 3 Houston Quilt Festivals since the creation of Artistic Artifacts, and every booth has been a different size and set up, but always in the Make It University Section with Cloth Paper Scissors.
I start drawing diagrams of my booth several months in advance of the show. It is similar to artwork in process, I walk by the diagram make notes, ask friends, ask people who are not my friends all for input!! I want to determine placement of product, samples, display equipment, flooring, check out counter, flow of customers etc.
This year, our booth was on a corner with a half booth leading to a 10×10′ space. On the wall of the half booth we hung hand dyed vintage dollies, trims, fabrics. It was spectacular!! It stopped people in the isle
I LOVE vintage fabrics and trims, and I LOVE to dye them- it is a big surprise for people who have been to my website and then my booth. I have not figured out how best to promote this product line on the web. Any suggestions out there?
And the rest of the booth was further down the isle:
How did I get all that stuff to Houston did you ask?? Well, I do not have the time off from work to drive a trailer down to Houston so I have to ship my product in. My display props and product fit into a wood crate 4′tall x 4′ deep x 5′ wide. The crate weighs 400lbs by itself fully loaded sitting on the doors to close it, (yes similar to the idea of sitting on the suitcase to close syndrome)weights 1200lbs. 1200lbs shipped from Alexandria Virginia to Houston Texas takes 3-4 days and costs between $700-$900 one way. And of course there is always last minute additions to the product lines which requires the extra suitcase and orders drop shipped directly from the manufacturer to my Houston Hotel… I just need one more thing…..
Who helps me in my booth??? It does require many more people than just me. I am truly blessed with wonderful supportive family and friends. – They help me, get to visit with friends and quilts, and I help with Houston travel expenses. I did say I was blessed right?!? Cat did tell me that next year she was retiring as my friend and that I might need to work on acquiring a few new ones!! thank you Cat!
I am always thrilled to see people return to my booth year after year and tell me how much they have enjoyed working with my products. Of course it is even better if they bring a friend or two or three and introduce them to Artistic Artifacts. Please plan to visit Artistic Artifacts at Houston in 2009!!
Yes, Houston is an event!! Oh and yes there are award winning quilts there…. I missed them this year.
I try to have a To Do list, actually I work with several, one for home, one for the day job, one for the website, one for Artistic Artifacts shows, one for the gallery where my work is sold, one for my husband, one for my quilts and jewelry, ooops did I slip that husband list in there……. well yes actually he asks for the list rather than leave it to mind reading. My son has not learned this trick of working from lists so he tends to get the tasks named off very loudly.
But there are times I find myself working on something that is not on ANY list!! Why??!! For the last several days, I have been trying to iron my fabric stash. This is not on a to do list, why am I doing this you ask??? Because the fabric on the floor is stacking up and the my goal is to not store stuff on the floor, surely that is on a list somewhere!
Iron? Why you ask, Iron? When the fabric is ironed more will fit into the allotted space. I have been collecting fabrics for several years now trying to catch up with my friends who have been collecting for MANY years (I am close). So what makes me think that I am going to get all this stuff ironed in a couple of weeks. I don’t think so, I might go crazy trying!
And this is only the fabric that makes it into my studio stash, there are always fabrics to prepare for sale in Artistic Artifacts booth during shows.
. 
This is a peak at a small part of my wonderful studio. My fabric is sorted by color into the draws. Projects in process are suppose to be on the shelf. I do not have UFO’s, just projects in process…..
A pile…..
And the joy of ironed fabric!!
The big question is: Do you wash all your fabric before adding to your stash? Do you use only washed fabrics in your artwork? Are your fabrics separated by washed and not washed?
I have had the menu tab for threads since the beginning of my web… looking for the right product to carry. At Market today I found the correct product. Soon to be added to my website: WonderFil Specialty Threads available in many weights and colors:
Accent: 12 wt 2 ply rayon in 60 brilliant colors
D-Twist : 3D effect of diminsion and illusion of texture. Available in 24 tone on tone colors.
InvisaFil: Delicate 100 wt soft polyester. Use as a bobbin thread for delicate machine embroidery. Available in 30 colors
Deco Bob: 80wt continuous bobbin thread for machine embroidery. Available in 36 decorator colors.
Hologram: Highly reflective for shimmer and 3D embellishment effects. Available in 8 colors.
Mirage: 30wt random space dyed with contrast tones. Available 40 colors.
Razzle/Dazzle: 100% Rayon with high natural sheen. Comparableto size no.8 crochet cotton with silky hand. 46 rayon colors and 33 rayon/metallic colors.
Sizzle: 4 ply heavy metallic and 13 brilliant and runs well in bobbin.
Silco: 100% lint free cotton. tex 40. 8 solid and 12 multicolor
And the popular and wonderful Lesley Reily receiving the teachers package from WonderFil threads.
Stay tuned for web updates!! Check out WonderFil Threads
Just when you think you are too smart…. your not… I cannot find the missing wire mesh post but I wanted to get the photo’s back up for you to see.
Wire mesh is a fine woven tube that comes in 3 sizes and many colors per size. It is popular in the beading world and we are crossing it over to the art quilt world. My friend Cyndi Souder ( http://www.moonlightingquilts.com/) has used it in her journal quilt. Please look for it at the Houston show. She is also working with the wire mesh in a commission quilt and has wiped my inventory out.
The wire mesh comes in 3 sizes: 1mm (not shown above) 6mm; and 20 mm .
And this is my quilt using wire mesh:
and a detail:
The wire mesh is the gold on the left side of the quilt. I cut the tube and gently stretched the wire mesh so it created a wave. Then I had stitched the mesh down while adding beads.
Several people have purchased wire mesh from Artistic Artifacts, please sign and post a photo and notes on how you have used your wire mesh for the rest of us to see!!!
Sharon Thompson (B), Go Quilter, Go! Getting organized at home and on the road
Organizers, bins, quilter’s totes, and machine trolleys
703-366-2939
I took several photo’s of Sharon’s Booth
Here is Sharon and husband Marc discussing the days receipts…. (actually we are discussing our starbucks order for the morning)
Sharon has many great storage items… Are there enough drawers in this container?
And Tutto Rolling luggage also. (I love mine!!- can highly recommend it.)
Artistic Artifacts will exhibit at the Mancuso Show this weekend in Harrisburg, PA.
We set up today September 5th. My booth number is 224.
It was a very hot and long day driving up from Virginia this morning. We arrived in the morning and unloaded a very full panel van. Still have some work in the morning- but I have included a few preveiw photos of the many goodies I have for you to use in your artwork.
Sorry I was very tired by the time I was taking photos- this one is a little blury- The items clothes pinned to the wall are dollies which have been dyed. I hope you get the idea. Artistic Artifacts loves to take vintage items and dye them – giving them new life. This is the center of which my booth is built upon.
Then we have a wall of silks.
And a suitcase full of exotic fabrics from around the world.
Okay time to get some sleep so I can greet everyone with a smile tomorrow morning!!
More later…..
