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Showing posts with label Susan Brubaker Knapp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Brubaker Knapp. Show all posts

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Point, Click, Quilt by Susan Brubaker Knapp Book Review & GIVEAWAY

This post has been edited to include a GIVEAWAY too.  See the bottom for details :)


Admittedly I'm a book worm....and always have been.  On any given day you will find no less than 6-8 books next to my bed and my chair...yep over 16 books....I'm insatiable.   I LOVE BOOKS and I LOVE Susan Brubaker Knapp's latest book, Point, Click, Quilt.

Point, Click, Quilt was the first book I grabbed when I got to review the newest releases at Checker Distributors .  I sat down and went through each page and gobbled it right up.  If you have been a long time reader of the IHAN blog you already know how much I adore Susan's work.  Believe it or not, I actually am fortunate enough to own one of her pieces...true :)


Look at how beautiful the Introduction page is to Point, Click, Quilt. The colors, stitching, and design just grab me....and that is just the beginning!

 Susan shares how to take great photos for translation into an art quilt. Then she discusses design and composition before she moves on to the process of translating that photo into a great art quilt.  After reading through her book I felt so much more confident and encouraged to create more art quilts of my own.

Did you know Susan also has DVD's....she does and I own both of them and have to say they are excellent...I highly recommend not only Point, Click, Quilt but also her DVD's - Master Machine Quilting and Master Machine Stitching

If it were not for watching Susan's DVD's I don't think I would have ever even considered doing any thread painting.  I thought that was for artists and clearly I'm not an artist (I know we are all creative...but honestly there is a real difference...trust me:)


 This is "Red Eyed Tree Frog" my treasured Susan Brubaker Knapp (Blue Moon River) art quilt.  It hangs in my kitchen and I absolutely love it.  Go check out the Gallery at Blue Moon River...I promise you will really enjoy yourself.  After your visit, I'm sure you will then completely understand why I  highly recommend Point, Click, Quilt and Susan's DVDs.
 
Susan  would love to giveaway an autographed copy of Point, Click Quilt to one very lucky IHAN blog reader.  Isn't that fantastic?  Make sure you leave a comment by Friday August 26, 2011 on this post and a winner will be drawn by random number generator.  Best of luck to everyone....this is such a wonderful opportunity.  THANK YOU Susan....this is terrific!!!

Smiles,
Kelly

Thursday, February 17, 2011

IHAN CEO Goes To 2nd Grade

You know when you have "arrived" in mommy life when you are invited to give a talk at your child's school.  A rare and savored moment when my son was so proud and pleased that it was "his" mommy talking to the entire 2nd grade class.  Remember those days?

The kids are reading a book about a quilt so I was invited to come and talk about quilts today.  I literally had 10 minutes to set up and 10 minutes to take down ....that is why the quilts are piled on the table.

I brought my current sewing machine and an older model (made before I was born...good to know I was not the oldest in the room :)  I was thinking that children who come from families who don't sew might not have ever had the opportunity to see a sewing machine.  There were several who raised their hands when I asked if this was the first time they had seen a sewing machine. 

 I started by showing them a quilt made by Mr. McSteamy's Grandmother (who will be 100 in 2 weeks).
This is a mug rug (one of you will recognize it, it was a gift : ) that I sent around for kids to touch.  The loved seeing such a "small quilt."  I told them that people from all over the world swap these and fabric postcards too. 
Of course I had to get my pitch in for recycling.  I showed them a feed sack dress and shared how it was recycled from feed sacks.....just in case they thought recycling is a new invention.
 
Nanny, Rick's Grandma, made this one and gave it to Rick and I for our wedding.  She was 89 when she made this and it is hand appliqued.  Could we all be so lucky?  I sure hope so.....especially since I have projects to keep me busy until I'm 124 years old.
Aaron was beaming when I showed this "Crayon" quilt.  I made it for him when he was a baby.
Then just 18 very short months later came Zach so he got a panel quilt....nursing one and two in diapers does not leave much time for piecing....know what I mean?  It has a lot of hand embroidery and trapunto.  (I made it while living in PA.  Took it to Needles to show the girls and they said, "I love your trapunto."  I said, "No that is not trapunto....I stuffed it."  ROFL....I had no idea what trapunto even was...gotta love it.)
 
My only sampler quilt, "Many Hands."  I thought it would be a good one to show all the variety of blocks.
This was not even washed....it was taken straight off the sofa and put into a box and to the school....nice ay?
Of course I had to show them some Hawaiian applique.  I explained the difference between hand stitching, needle turn applique and machine applique.  These were needle turn applique and hand quilted....by none other than MJ...Thanks again, and again, and again!
 
My signature quilt, "Crossroads."  Given to me by MJ...she had all my PA friends sign it when I moved away.  I cherish this piece.  The kids liked that you could "write" on your quilts.  Hope they don't go home and start autographing without permission....yikes.
Thankfully, my friend Diane, loaned me some quilts to take with me as well.  Believe it or not I don't really have any "fun" kid quilts.  I need to get that on my list.  Diane shared these with me and the kids absolutely loved them.  This Halloween one was done with machine embroidery so that was cool to be able to show them that as well.
This quilt was just way toooooo coool!  The kids were pointing and talking....Thank You Diane!!!

These two are Diane's stained glass quilts.  One of the kids said, "hey, they have that at my church."    I need to Google "possession" again....because if I remember correctly.....possession is 9/10ths of the law isn't it? 

This was the show stopper.  All at once the room went, "ooooooohhhhhhhhh" and they smiled.  I loved it...Thanks again Diane :)
Another one of Diane's quilts, a photo quilt. Neat for the children to see you can use photos on quilts.

Of course I took my, "Red Eyed Tree Frog" made by Susan Brubaker Knapp.  It was a fun  to see the kids eyes light up.  Who could not love this tree frog?  (my ears are plugged....and I'm humming loudly..I love frogs)
Waldo's grand daughter made this one.  Maddy made this using fabric swatches and she tied the centers.  The kids were interested in a quilt made by another kid.....hmmmmm....I gotta get my co-workers busy quilting too.
Of course I loved showing this table runner made in Kenya at Amani Ya Juu.  What fun being able to share a little of Africa with them today.
Then on to India.....still not quilted...."Passing the Sacred Orb."  Hey, a wild hair may just grab me and it will be done in no time.....oh yeah baby.
This was the insane part.  When I was asked to come and talk about quilting I opened my big mouth and said I thought it would be cool if the kids could make a paper quilt.  That was when it was just Aaron's class....then it was all of the 2nd graders....106 of them.  So, it went from a paper quilt...to one block!  We cut a zillion little pieces of scrapbook paper and put them into envelopes....a little block kit for each child.  I showed them how they could use their pencil or marker to do the stitching.  Note to self.....cutting a zillion little pieces of paper and counting them into kits takes a lot of time....next time....let them color in a quilt made on my EQ 7 Software!!! 

Speaking of the Electric Quilt Company, I phoned them yesterday to see if they had ever presented to children before and did they have any recommendations.  (Ya gotta go to the experts!!).  They were so kind to e-mail me a little demo so I could show the kids that quilting has gone high tech and you can design quilts on the computer (fascinating to this middle aged mind).  McSteamy came home for lunch and helped me pack up the van and off I went to the school.  Guess what was not in the van?  Yep....my laptop.  He figured I did not need it (he had didn't know what I had planned).  But....I'm ready to go next time :)  Thank You Penny and everyone at EQ who helped me out!  They rock....but IHAN blog readers already knew that, right?  Right!
Well....sheepishly I share this pix......my new Tutto Machine on Wheels Bag....was delivered the day before yesterday but I did not open it because I've been sick.  So this morning, I figure if I'm taking Martha to school....she needs her Mercedes to ride in....so I put baby Martha into her new Mercedes and off we went.  Dang....I love this Tutto Machine on Wheels.  Wanna know why I did not pick that pretty Red, Lime or Purple?  Yes you do....don't act like you don't care....ok, so you don't care....just let me tell ya anyway....come on please...... because everything I have gets dirty...this won't show the dirt so quickly. 

Thanks for listening :) 

Smiles,
Kelly

Sunday, November 21, 2010

We Have A Winner for the Master Machine Stitching Thread Sketching Beyond the Basics


by

I want to thank everyone left a comment and visited Blue Moon River. I wonder how many of you clicked on the photos in Susan's Gallery?  Did you know if you click on the photos that a description of the work pops up and some of them are for sale?  I clicked on one just by chance and then clicked on all of them.  I would say they are extremely reasonably priced too.   

Oh I so badly want this DVD myself it is going to be tough to put it in the mail tomorrow....good think it is sealed in cellophane....I would not have been able to stop myself from watching it.

The Random Mr. McSteamy asked to pick the number....after dinner....so I checked the number of comments and there were 93.  He said number 22 which was

Michele Bilyeu #22
Love everything Susan does, but I must admit her chickens were unbelievable. I'm still wondering what she sold that piece for. It was so amazing! I'd love to own her/your DVD..I've just started trying to teach myself some thread painting on the art quilts I donate to AAQI and I'm sure I could use more than a few tips!!!
Please e-mail me with your full name and address so I can get your DVD into the mail before I open it and watch over and over and over again.

Stay tuned....more giveaways are on the way.  If you are not a follower, you may want to become a follower because there will be some giveaways for followers only (subscribing to the blog by e-mail or RSS feed won't work to be eligible for those giveaways).  You have a few days, but I thought some of you may want to know.

Smiles,
Kelly

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Winner of Sharon Pederson's, Rose of Sharon Block Book -Autographed :)


First, I want to thank the blogger who sent me an e-mail reminding me about the drawing last night.  I'd like to say I drew the number last night like I promised.....but I got busy and it slipped my mind.  I am going to have myself electronically reminded of such things so I don't forget.  Please forgive my tardiness.

So, without further ado, the winner of Sharon Pederson's book, The Rose of Sharon Block Book -Winning Designs From The EQ 6 Challenge
is
.....The  Random Number Generator says it is number 27,

Donna who said,
I fell head over heels in LOVE! with the Rose of Sharon quilt the first time I saw a picture. It is my must make! - one day. Thanks for the chance to win the autographed (Wow!) book. Happy quilting!
Congratulations Donna!!!  Please send me your full name and address to IHaveANotion@yahoo.com and I will put your book in the mail on Monday :)

I'm also giving away Susan Brubaker Knapp's latest DVD, Master Machine Stitching - Thread Sketching Beyond the Basics....so click on the link and follow the instructions and you could be the lucky winner of the DVD :)

Apologetic Smiles,
Kelly

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Susan Brubaker Knapp in Houston for Quilt Market 2010

Susan Brubaker Knapp
Blue Moon River

Susan gave a great Schoolhouse presentation during Quilt Market in Houston this year.  Her presentation included a slide show which made it difficult to take photos.  I love this photo....except for the crease in the wall!! 
 
"Vanity" is the name of  this piece.  It is 11 x 11 and was on the cover of Quilting Arts Magazine for April/May 2010.  Check out Susan's blog.  When you get there make sure you scroll down and look along the right side of the page.  Many of her pieces are on the cover of Quilting Arts Magazine.  Her work is absolutely beautiful and it is no surprise that she is featured on the cover of  these magazines. 
 

Here is Susan in my sewing area!!  No she does not live next door.....I bought her Master Machine Quilting - Free Motion Quilting and Thread Sketching DVD.  I have admired Susan's creations and having a personal class with Susan (via my laptop) is the only way to go - with my schedule.   I buy DVD's because I'm a visual learner and really appreciate the flexibility of being able to watch over and over again.  This is a little snippet from Susan's DVD.


I have never done any thread sketching in my life.  I have been struggling with finishing a backpack that I made.  I want a beautiful embellishment on the back of it and I finally found a pattern I like.  Below is a photo of some practicing I did yesterday morning.  I did some free motion quilting with invisible thread and then on one of them I used some small cording to make the veins pop up.  It looked ok, but nothing special.  I thought about doing some hand embroidery and beading but then I remembered Susan's DVD. 
 
Look how much different the leaf looks with some thread sketching on it.  Now I know Susan sketches on top of applique that she has done herself.  But I did not find it written anywhere in the quilting police policies that says you can't sketch on top of patterns that someone else has already given you on the fabric!!!  It was so much fun I was actually ticked off royal when I had to stop and go to an appointment.  No joke.

 

 
Keep in mind this is my very first piece.  It is intended only for practice and I have the one I will use on my backpack set aside until I feel like I've practiced with the colors of thread that I will end up using.  I think there is a huge difference between this one and the one with quilting only. 

Susan is an excellent teacher and the free motion quilting and thread sketching is tons of fun.  Her DVD, Free-motion Stitching and Thread Sketching is an wonderful resource if you are wanting to learn either of these techniques or would like to build on your current skills.  Susan was very clear in her explanations and the video captures each step Susan was teaching.  She encourages exploration and gives her students lots of permission to "just do it."  Typically I would be afraid to try something new and tell myself I can't do it-because I've seen so many incredible works of art and I know mine would look nothing near that quality.  But....oh contraire....look how cool the veins on that leaf looks.  They really pop and that was my first attempt. 




Oh, what do we have here? Hmmmm...would that be Susan Brubaker Knapp's latest DVD? Why yes it is. Hmmm...wonder what I should do with it.....(contemplating now).....



I've decided to give it to one extremely lucky IHAN blog reader. I know, I can't believe I'm giving it away either. Thank you Susan for the pleasure of allowing me to give away a copy of your latest DVD, Master Machine Stitching- Thread Sketching Beyond the Basics, here on the IHAN blog!!

Lets see....something different this time.....hmmmmm....ok I got it.....go over to Susan's Website and look at the Art Quilts she has in her Gallery.  Come back and leave a comment about the Quilt you like best and why.

Oh, one more thing, I forgot to mention Susan's Note Cards......

These note cards make great gifts.  I love giving and receiving gifts that support quilt artists.  I know you've been wracking your brain trying to find something that you know I will love....and use....so feel free to buy me one or 6 sets of these beautiful Note Cards.   It's like giving two gifts at one time - you give to Susan and you give to me.  Let the giving begin!!! :)

OK...back to the Giveaway

A winner will be drawn by random on Sunday Evening,  November 21st.  Feel free to tell your friends or post about this giveaway on your blog or facebook.  You might want to become a follower of the IHAN blog so you will see the post about the winner, if you are not already.  I am a follower of Susan's blog and I think you should strongly consider becoming a follower on her blog as well.  She is a wonderful writer and I have always enjoyed her posts...I know you will too.

Sketching with Smiles,
Kelly

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Day 30 of 31 Days of Giveaways - Susan Brubaker Knapp from Blue Moon River

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways
Anniversary Celebration
Day 30



The Tulip Bag Pattern has a large outside pocket, lots of inside pockets and come with a pattern for a cell phone case. What a perfect bag for Spring!!!


Orchid Series Note Cards are photos of Susan's work

 Hi Susan :)

Oh I'm so excited to share with everyone a fun story about meeting Susan Brubaker Knapp.  Last fall I went to Huston for Quilt Market.  I was sitting on the sofa in the lobby of the hotel blogging (only free wi-fi and you know I'm frugal) along with several other folks who were using their laptops.  As usual I struck up a conversation with some of the gals sitting around me and Susan happened to be one of them.  I had absolutely no idea I was meeting such an incredibly talented woman.  We exchanged business cards and I checked out her blog.  Talk about feeling lucky.

When I decided to do this Anniversary Celebration 30 Days of Giveaways I wrote to Susan right away.  I absolutely love her work and I had read about her Orchid Series Note Cards (photos of her work made into note cards) on her blog.  She not only agreed to give a lucky IHAN blog reader a set of her Orchid Series Note Cards but she's giving them The Tulip Bag Pattern too!!!

Think I'm just embellishing the way I talk about people?  Then check this out....who's work is splashed all over the cover of Quilting Arts Magazine


Oh yea baby.....that would belong to none other than Susan Brubaker Knapp!  See I was telling the truth and I was not embellishing the story one bit.....she really is incredibly talented :)

I asked Susan about what it is like to create, where does she begin and this was her reply:
Each piece is an emotional catharsis, and begins when I am filled with a strong emotion: awe at the beauty of nature, joy in nursing a baby, anger at an injustice. Art is my way of celebrating and documenting the deep mysteries of human beings’ relationships with each other, with our innate creativity, and with the natural world. Much of my work explores metamorphosis and transformation.
Creating fiber art is an intense tactile experience. My core materials — cloth and thread — are the result of my background as a traditional quilter. But I also use substances foreign to traditional quilters, such as fabric paints and dyes, Tyvek, Angelina fibers and water-soluble pastels, to transform the cloth.
Susan speaks to Guilds and Teaches as well.  I've not had the good fortune to take a class yet but if I get the opportunity I'm going for sure. 


This is Susan's DVD, Free-motion Stitching and Thread Sketching, it is available at the Interweave Store.  I have found DVD's have been a great resource because I'm a visual learner and I'm not a fast learner so I can take my time and review the material over and over. 

If you would like to have a beautiful set of Orchid Series Note Cards and The Tulip Bag Pattern then you'll need to leave a comment on this post telling us about someone special you have met just by chance. 

There is no requirement to follow Susan's blog, but you may be very glad you did because she shares great information and inspiration.

Thank you Blue Moon River!!!

Susan you continue to inspire me and I am very appreciative...big hugs to you. 

Grateful Smiles,
Kelly

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