The art of Matisse, Picasso, and Van Gogh in quilts

I love art and definitely have my favorite artists.  While I was walking the International Quilt Market in Houston this past October, I spotted a few pieces of art.  But these were not ordinary art prints.  Matisse art quiltSunflowers by Van Gogh They were art quilts based on a Matisse paper cut “The Sadness of the King”, Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, and a Picasso.  They were created by Virginia Robertson of Virginia Robertson Designs for Princess Mirah batik fabrics by Bali Fabrics, IncPicasso Art Quilt

As you can see, these quilts are quite detailed and looked exactly like the fabulous paintings they represent. What a great job Virginia did making these! They were beautiful to look at and another example of the treasures you can make with fabric and thread.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

White decorated Christmas treeI love decorating for Christmas and enjoy putting up 2 trees. I decorate one tree all white and silver. The other tree is decorated traditionally with all my cherished ornaments that I’ve accumulated over the years, including an ornament given to me by my first grade teacher.

In talking with several freinds throughout the holidays, all have mentioned decorating with ornaments that have special meaning, from ornaments hand made by their children, first ornaments as a married couple, to ornaments that have passed down from ancestors.  I have ornaments that hung on my grandmother’s tree when I was a child.

Tradition is such an important part of the holidays and everyone has their own traditions. I want to wish each of you wonderful holidays filled with your own special traditions.

Thinking back to the beautiful fall foliage

Now that its pretty dreary looking outside with no leaves on the trees, I think back to the beautiful fall we had. Yellow and red fall foliage This fall was such a surprise because we are in a severe drought area. I thought, after a summer with no rain, that the leaves would turn brown immediately and bypass the colors. I also thought it would be an early fall, with the leaves dropping quickly. But, it turned out to be completely the opposite.  We Red and orange fall foliageRed leaves of fall foliagehad one of the most beautiful falls that I’ve ever seen. And, it was much later than normal. While we were driving out of town for Thanksgiving, I was so in awe of all the beautiful colors, from deep reds, bright yellows and wonderful oranges.  I almost had whiplash from turning my head so much to look at all the gorgeous colors.Yellow fall foliage I had to stop several times to take pictures and wanted to share these with you. Crepe Myrtle fall foliage

This last picture is a closeup of Crepe Myrtle leaves that were quite colorful.

Although it is Christmas with all the colors of Christmas everywhere, I still think of the fall colors when I look at the bare trees.

Barbara Hendrick Dorn Threads of Thought Art Quilt Exhibit at Lynne Farris Gallery

An exhibit of art quilts by Barbara Hendrick Dorn is being held at the Lynne Farris Gallery in Atlanta, GA.  lynne-farris-gallery.jpgThis gallery is owned by Lynne Farris, designer and author, who I wrote about in my last blog. The exhibit, Thread of Thought, Art Quilts 1996-2007, displays the beautiful quilts created by Barbara. Barbara is inspired in creating her quilts by her love of fabric, color and pattern.

Barbara’s exhibit is being held through December 28, 2007. Lynne Farris Gallery is located at 50 Hurt Plaza, 105 Grand Lobby, Atlanta, GA 30303.  Call 404-688-7311 for gallery hours.

More from Quilt Market – Lynne Farris, a remarkable woman and author of “Fresh Felt Flowers”

I have been wanting to post more about Quilt Market, but my plans didn’t work out due to computer problems. I just hate computers when they don’t work right! Unfortunately, they are a necessity. But there is just so much unproductive time when the computer acts up. new hard drive requires hours and hours of time loading software and files.  UGH!!!! My husband believes that no one can have as many computer problems as I have.

Anyway, back to Quilt Market. I want to talk to you about my friend Lynne Farris and her new book, Fresh Felt Flowers. Lynne is shown below with a bouquet of

Lynne Farris with bouquet of felt flowersflowers from her book.

Fresh Felt Flowers, published by C&T Publishing, is a new book that showcases techniques created by Lynne to make three-dimensional flowers from wool felt and then detailed using a sewing machine. Fresh Felt Flowers by Lynne Farris You don’t need fancy stitches, just a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch. Lynne makes it so easy to create 17 beautiful textured flowers that you don’t have to keep watered and that don’t die.

Lynne Farris with Phyllis Dobbs at Houston 2007 Quilt Market.jpgLynne is autographing a copy of her book for me. The smile you see on Lynne’s face is a natural for her.  I’ve known her for many years and she has the best sense of humor and is just downright funny.  She has entertained many of us at various gatherings with her acting talent in humorous skits. But when it comes to designing, Lynne has a very serious talent.

Please check back for more from Quilt Market.

Threaded Pear at Quilt Market, with Gina Halladay of Quilters Buzz

I just returned from the fall Quilt Market in Houston. Quilt Market is always such a wonderful show,  inspirational and full of “eye candy” with all the colorful booths, fabrics and quilts. Another fun aspect of the show is that it is also a time to catch up with old friends as well as make new ones.

A new friend is Gina Halladay, Gina Halladay in Threaded Pear boothwho I met a few months ago at Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City.

Gina is the author of the immensely popular and leading quilt blog, QuiltersBuzz.  She took her love of quilting and used it to spread the word throughout the world on fabrics, products, people, quilts, patterns and all kinds of other interesting tidbits. Gina is now considered the voice of the quilting world so be sure to check out Gina’s writings on QuiltersBuzz.

Gina is standing in her beautiful and colorful booth at market.  She and Stephanie Goudzwaard pictured below are partners with Threaded Pear, a Stephanie Goudzwaard in Threaded Pear Boothnew pattern company that debuted at Spring Quilt Market.  Sewing is very hot and the patterns of Threaded Pear are perfect for the sewing enthusiasts as well as beginners.  As you can see from the photo, their booth stayed busy throughout the show, Threaded Pear pattern companyjust like it did at the Spring Quilt Market where they were an instant success. Check out their website and see how they got started as well as see the patterns.

Please check back for more from Quilt Market.

Sweetheart Ballerinas again – Article in Designers’ Quarters Magazine

The mail was good today.  I received copies of a magazine – Designers’ Quarters that had a feature article on me and my Sweetheart Ballerina fabric line with Quilting Treasures by Cranston. Sweetheart Ballerinas is my debut fabric line with Quilting Treasures, so I was thrilled with this article.

I will show you two pages pages from the 6 page spread.

“Dance with Flowers” is the name that I gave this quilt. Its a twin bed size quilt and is created with the aqua color range.

Sweetheart Ballerina Quilt

I wanted the quilt to be a unique design, which I designed around the fabrics.  The magazine features the pattern for this quilt.

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This page shows swatches of the fabrics that were used in the quilt. Designers’ Quarters is a fabulous magazine for quilters. It contains 10 quilts with patterns, information about the fabric used including the style numbers, and information about the designer and the inspiration for the fabric design. Its published 4 times a year and is available through independent quilt shops as well as online at their website, www.designersquarters.com

After I received the magazine and was intently reviewing the article, my husband Danny looked at it also.  With the intent of being complimentary, he said that I “looked younger” in the magazine.  Now, as a woman, this is not exactly a compliment. Well, I didn’t let it stop there, but asked him if he meant that I looked older now. He realized his mistake and tried to backpetal.  He did get me to concede that I really am 3 months older than the photos.  Men, go figure!

Sweetheart Ballerina Embroidered Quilt Block

International Quilt Market is in Houston this weekend, starting on Oct, 27.  It is a major trade show for fabrics, notions, embellishments and anything for quilting and sewing. Kreinik Manufacuring Co., Inc is a manufacturer of gorgeous silk and metallic fibers to use for needlework, scrapbooking, quilting and sewing. They are decorating their Quilt Market booth with individual blocks created by designers and embellished with their fibers. Kreinik asked me to create a block, which I was delighted to do.flower-dance-quiit-block.jpg I want to show it to you.  I used my Sweetheart Ballerina fabric that I recently designed for Quilting Treasures by Cranston. The block, which I named “Flowers Dance is an embroidery design of flowers swaying in dance to go along with the Ballerina theme. I used all metallic fibers to stitch the design with the chain stitch, stem stitch and colonial knots. The block size is 12″ x 12”.  I told you in a recent blog that I loved color and this block is definitely colorful.

If any of you are attending Quilt Market, which is open to the trade only, be sure to visit Kreinik’s booth to see the blocks from all the other designers. International Quilt Festival follows Quilt Market and is open to the public.

Recycle those old sweaters! Don’t toss them.

Its that time of year again to pull out your fall and winter clothing.  Its still pretty warm here in the south, so I haven’t started sorting through my winter clothing, yet.

If you have sweathers you don’t wear any more but just can’t part with them, or just haven’t gotten around to discarding them, stop! Before you toss, think of ways to give them new life. They can be recycled into really fabulous gems – unique one-of-a-kind items for a decorative touch to your home or for a wardrobe accent.

sweater_pillow-st.jpg

This is a pillow that I made from a gorgeous brightly colored striped sweather that I just didn’t want to part with. (As you get to know me, you will find that I’m addicted to color!) Just cut a square or rectangle from the front or back of your sweater and use a nice coordinating fabric for the pillow back. If you have a good front and back to your sweather, you can make two pillows for a matching pair, or use one as a gift.sweater-pillow.jpg This pillow was made from a fisherman’s knit sweather. Add trims, tassels, or other embellishments to put your own personal touch to all the items you create with sweathers.

Here’s a bottle bag I made from another sweather.bottle-bag.jpg

You can create all kinds of fun things – decorative gift bags, purses, totes or a lingerie bags. Use the smaller, irregular areas to create small sachet pillows .  Use the sleeve to make a storage holder for plastic bags. The list is endless of what you can create. Just use your imagination!

Denimbroidery – Embroidery Designs for Jeans and Jean Jackets

Embroidery has always been one of my favorite needlework techniques. I learned to embroider, as well as cross stitch and crochet, while I was growing up. I bought several crewel kits and stitched away, enjoying every second I spent embroidering. I still enjoy embroidering and am delighted that embroidery is very fashionable on clothing.

As a designer of needlework, I recently designed a line of embroidery kits for stitching on your jeans and jean jackets for Janlynn. Paisley Denimbroidery kitThe kit line, Denimbroidery, features 10 trendy and colorful designs that you can use to personalize your denim wardrobe, or, if you prefer, stitch on other clothing items or use for home decor such as pillows. The design above will put colorful paisleys on your jeans.Garden Delights Denimbroidery Kit The Flower Garden design can be stitched on the back of a jean jacket as well as on jeans for year-round flowers.  Hearts Denimbroidery kitHearts are always a great and timeless design. You can wear your heart on your jeans.  Princess in Training Denimbroidery kitThe Princess in Training is the perfect diva design for all women!  wine-lover.jpg

And for the Wine Lover, support the grape by embroidering the back of your jacket with the Wine Lover design. All designs can be viewed on my website as well as Janlynn’s. Stitch these for yourself or think what a fun surprise this will be for someone dear to you.