WOOT! My for-sale copies of Creative Quilting with Beads have arrived, along with the beads to make the pomegranate project on the cover. If you are interested, please pop over to the store page on my website, here. I have yet to figure out the mysteries of paypal shipping options (where you enter your location and actually get that to talk to the shopping cart to calculate the correct amount), so there are FOUR options, two for delivery in the US and two for delivery outside the US, all using the Flat Rate Priority Mail envelopes. I can fit one book (barely) into each envelope; I can also squeeze one baggie of beads into the same envelope, so you can purchase just the book, OR the book PLUS the beads.  (PS–if you are in Canada, write to me first, I may be able to get a less expensive postage for you than int’l flat rate….)

I actually counted (!!!) how many beads on my covers: 291! This was slightly less than a tube of the hard-to-find red drop beads. I had intended to use size 8 seed beads, but when I found the drop beads I knew they were perfect. They are–get ready for a surprise now (not!)–drop shaped, but the hole is near the skinny end. When you take a stitch with them, the thread disappears down at the base and only the red bulbous end shows…so it looks just like a pomegranate seed! I then counted out 300 beads, which was just over 15 grams, so I upped the quantity per baggie to an even 16 grams. So how much is that? Funny you should ask… it is this much:

If you bead at the same density I did, you should have about 15-20 beads leftover… a nice margin I think.

Anyway, you can order autographed-by-me copies on my website and the beads too. Thanks for reading! And once I get Eli to soccer practice later this morning, I’ll take a photo of my alternate colorway and orientation. The version in the book is to cover a composition notebook. The alternate covers a 7″ tall x 10″ wide Canson watercolor notebook/sketchbook (standard size available at www.dickblick.com among other places). Hmmmm…… maybe I’ll offer and e-mail with the measurements etc. already done to those who order from me and ask for them… does that sound good?

Now…to pack up a bag of reading materials while at soccer practice… it is GLORIOUS spring here in Maine…green is blushing all the treetops and after yesterday’s rain the sky is screaming blue! Thermometer says we are up to 62 already and it is only 10:15 am!

PS…for an earlier browse through the book, see my earlier blogpost here.

Wowie zowie…. OK… I am so excited that I can’t believe it and had to share before I explode…….Art quilter makes good! I have two projects in Lark Books’ forthcoming book “Creative Quilting with Beads.” I was trying to track down how Quilt Divas, the local quilt shop in Rockland, Maine, can order it at wholesale (we’ll do a book signing and class), so I was on the phone with Lark’s customer service. While speaking to the rep, I remembered Amazon has had a lot of other list-members’ books online before publication date / available for pre-order, so I looked up this book……

MY PROJECT IS ON THE COVER!!!!! At least, the cover that is on the Amazon listing. We’ll hope that it stays the same… I can’t BELIEVE IT……. Me?????!!!!!!! I know that sometimes covers change, but still…… I’ll have to wait until publication to share my own pics of the notebooks and other projects from the Frayed Edges that are included (Lark has first publication rights, including even little old blogdom.)

Anyway, yes, I will have the book available for sale on my website when it is out mid-May-ish (release date is nominally May 6th, but we know those dates slide in both directions). I won’t be able to come close to offering the price Amazon can (it’ll be list price), but I can offer signatures! Eight of the 25 projects are by my mini-group the Frayed Edges, so thought I’d ask them to sign a bunch of copies so folks can have signatures from Kate Cutko, Kathy Daniels and me. (Of the five of us, 4 have projects in the book…3 of the 4 of us with projects in this book; Hannah was right in the middle of selling her house, moving and traveling to adopt a daughter in China at submission deadline, so obviously she was a bit too busy for book projects!) WOOOOHOOOO!

This project is a notebook cover…. I did two versions. This one fits a composition notebook, so it is vertical orientation. The other one is also pomegranates but with lime green and yellow for the table and wall and fits a 6×9 ish (whatever the standard size is) sketchbook / journal with a horizontal format. I chose those two items since they are standard size here in the US and readily available, but it would be easy-peasy to adapt the pattern to other shapes/sizes.

Anyway, I just HAD to share….now I can’t wait more than ever to see the finished book!

I’m thrilled to be able to share a wonderful new book about art quilting written by Deborah Boschert about our Frayed Edges Project called 5 Artists, 5 Views:

and yes, I’m in it / a part of the book. Some of you may remember that in August, The Frayed Edges (my mini-group) had an exhibit at the Camden Public Library (to see more, click here and here). For that show, I had an idea to create a group project: each of us would contribute one photo, then we would each make a small quiltlet based on those five photos. The project was SO successful that Deborah Boschert wanted to create a small book discussing the project and how others might do something similar.

Deborah has finished the book and blogged about it here, and best of all, the book is ready for sale in her Etsy shop for a modest $20 plus shipping; these books will make wonderful Christmas gifts (I’ve already ordered several!). I hope it will also be an inspiration for all art quilters, and would be art quilters who are looking for a way to start!

Deborah designed the book to be interactive. You open the lovely embellished vellum envelope (above) to find a book with interviews, hints, tips, ideas and inspiration, and a stack of photographs

including the five original inspiration photos (Kathy’s umbrella photo is on the bottom left) plus a photo of each of the 25 pieces in the 5 x 5 grid. When you read the book, you can sort through the photos to look at all five of the umbrella pieces, or stack all the ones by a given artist, or lay them out in the 5 x 5 grid we used to display them.

The booklet, half-page sized, is (I think) 30 pages. It includes:

• About the Project
• About the Photographs
• Artists
  • Hannah Beattie
  • Deborah Boschert
  • Kate Cutko
  • Kathy Daniels
  • Sarah Ann Smith
• Suggestions for Similar Collaborative Projects

I’m so thrilled Deborah has prepared this book, and that I am a part of it, and that we are all a part of The Frayed Edges! Wooohooo! I hope some of you will order and enjoy the book…and as always, ASK QUESTIONS!

BOOK REVIEWS:

Karey Bresenhan’s book Creative Quilting: the Journal Quilt Project, (available here) came out about this time last year, and I intended to blog about it then, but life got away from me (what a surprise). Even if I didn’t have five (!!!) journals–small art quilts– in this book, I would recommend this 272-page tome heartily. I think this book will become a benchmark publication of where art quilting is in the earliest years of the 21st century. It is truly a remarkable, inspiring, and educational book that belongs on the shelf of every person who loves art quilts, whether they make art quilts or not.

So what is a journal quilt? The idea was to explore something each month–instead of writing in a paper journal, to document the month in cloth and thread and fiber and whatever, while also keeping a brief written narrative. The finished pieces were to be the size of a U.S. piece of copy paper: 8 1/2 x 11 inches, vertical orientation. I joined the QuiltArt list in late 2002 just as the first year’s journals were being sent in to hang in Houston. I signed up in early 2003 as soon as possible to participate the coming year, in part because I figured (happily I was wrong) it would be the only way I would ever have a quilt in Houston. For my January quilt, I wanted to involve my son, then in 3rd grade, since he was sometimes jealous of my quilting time. I asked and received the OK from both Joshua and Karey to use a piece of his second grade artwork as my very first journal:

I cannot believe, now, how many firsts were in that quilt: first time using metallic thread, first time painting on fabric, first time fusing sheers and beading on a quilt! Now, those techniques are standard fodder for me. It is simply not possible to over-state how much doing the journal quilts has contributed to my development as an art quilter. This is the quilt and the project that launched a career! Best of all, it not only made it into the book, but is also included at thumbnail size in the introduction. You should have seen 13-year old Joshua’s eyes grow wide and fill with pride when I got the book and promptly opened it to show him HIS artwork (as interpreted by me)! That look is a gift from him to me that I will treasure forever.

The book is divided into seven chapters:

1. Series
2. Stories
3. Flowers, Plants and Trees
4. Animals and Insects
5. L andscapes and Special Places
6. Faces and Figures
7. Abstract

Some of the most amazing works are those where the artist worked in a series in a given year’s journals. Maria Elkins and Rachelly Roggel’s are the ones that first spring to mind. I don’t think ANYone, in the six year run of this project has better utilized the potential for stretching and development through these quiltlets than Maria. By clicking on her name you can get to her gallery page, and from there view each year of her journals…prepared to be inspired and exhilarated!

The stories are equally amazing, from inspiring to heartbreaking. Some are humorous, like the woman undergoing chemo who left her hair on the sofa, literally (and used a tuft of fake fur on her pictorial version). Others are heartbreaking, documenting loss of loved ones and tragedies both personal and national.

The book is not a project book, but each entry shares the materials and techniques used by the artists. If it can be done to, with or on fabric, I think it was done in one of the journals! If you want to learn how to do a technique, you can go search out classes, technique books or magazines, such as Quilting Arts, that will teach you the how-tos. Creative Quilting is a book to savor and dip into at random, enjoying the journey.

I was honored when Karey opened the section on Plants, Flowers and Trees with three of my journal quilts, including a full page (nearly life-sized) reproduction, above, of this quilt which features one of my photos printed onto cloth and quilted intensively. Also included are my January and February 2006 journals:

2007 is the final year of the Journal Quilt Project. This year, instead of making a different journal each month, Karey asked us to make a single piece 17″ wide by 22″ long (or four pieces of paper together) that used at least three techniques that were featured in journals included in the book. When the International Quilt Festival in Houston opens to the public on November 1, I will be able to share my journal for this year.

Even better, nearly ALL of the 400+ journal quilts in the book will be on display in Houston, in the order in which they appear in the book. I wish I could be there to see them, but will be content that I have had the unbelievable opportunity to learn and grow through this remarkable project.

If you liked gods in Alabama or Between, Georgia you’re in for a treat, especially if you are an art quilter. Joshilyn Jackson, author, mom and quilter, has written a new novel about an art quilter, inspired by the irrepressible Pamela Allen. Joshilyn has blogged about the new book, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, here. And you can read Joshilyn’s blog, Faster than Kudzu, here. And to see Pamelala’s creative mind at work, click here and here.  After reading Joshilyn’s intro to the book in the blogpost, I think I’m gonna be booked for late September… READING time!

In the meantime, I am reading and LOVING Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story.  I am normally not a fan of horror, though I quilt like fantasy and some (non-techy) sci fi.  This book isn’t really a horror story, though it does have its scary  moments… perhaps all the more scary because they are so close to possibly being real.   It is a novel about an intense  love story between Lisey Landon, widow of a famous and successful novelist, and her late husband.  Personally, I thought King’s On Writing:  A Memoir of the Craft was a 200+ page love-letter to his wife; it is about writing, but it is also about a deep and enduring love between him and his wife, author and poet Tabitha King.  Lisey’s Story is dedicated to her, and is an even longer love-letter about a love that extends beyond every day life.  So now I need to get back to doing (and finish!) the paperwork for various teaching gigs next year so I can escape to the back porch while the nice weather lasts and keep reading Lisey’s Story!