Catharinablog

Working in 24 in. x 20 in.

2011-09-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Two new pieces to be entered into the Synthesis II show for SAQA.

Newton's Law

Detail: ruffles caught in the curved piecing.

Finding the Light

Detail: hand beading

Next Show

2011-09-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Elaine and I spent the afternoon hanging our show at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, in Almonte.

We invited out friends Helga and Neera to give help us with their eyes, muscles and brains.

First all of the work was placed on a drop sheet to see which pieces would work together.

We were pretty happy with the fact that the walls were mobile, we were able to set one up and then move it around.

It was fun to see which of our pieces could hang out.

Moving things back seemed to work.

Helga making sure that the lighting was perfect.

The old wall of the mill are also an excellent backdrop for some of our pieces.

Please come and see our show " Naturessence" at The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum.

It will be there from September 21st, 2011 - until December 11th, 2011

with

Catharina Breedyk Law

and

Elaine Quehl

You are also invited to the vernissage on Sunday October 2cnd at 2 p.m.

Second Entry for the Brott Music Festival

2011-04-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Three Corner Hat Dance

This was much fun to make and designed very quickly. I had the hand dyed fabric by Elaine Quehl on hand and the rest came together nicely.Shiva Sticks added dimension to the centre of the hats and the quilting put in the action of the sound waves.

Creating for a Cause

2011-03-15T05:11:00.000-07:00

Fibras Musicales is a fibre art exhibit in which the pieces are inspired by Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole; Ravel's Bolero; and Falla's Three Cornered hat.It is a fundraiser for the youth orchestra and the works will be auctioned after the performance which takes place on August 11th at the Mohawk Concert Hall in Burlington.

This whole idea captured my attention and also because I have been working with circle cut ruffles this was perfect. My idea to replicate a portion of a Spanish dancer's skirt came very quickly and all the fabrics were in my stash. It was meant to be.

Spanish Dance One

Because I used Elaine's fabulous hand dyed silk organza once again I needed to make a paper mock up of the piece to make sure that it would work. I got the volume that I wanted.

More Retreat News

2011-03-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

Art With Loose Threads

Oct. 28-30

Gananoque Inn and Spa

Pat Lemaire is the Queen of embellishing and texturizing fabric.At this retreat she will be covering everything

to do with Shiva Sticks as seen below with her take on our fish theme.

Wendo Van Essen is our resident artist and like to work in three dimension.below you see her 3-D fish in all it's glory, if you want to know how to do it, join us.

Our format is warm and encouraging, demos will be presented non stop, and kits will be provided for a nominal fee. All you bring is your sewing machine, your threads, and anything else that you may want to do.

The numbers are kept small (20) so that the instructors are able to give lots of individual help.

Sheers

2011-02-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

Sheers have always had a certain fascination for me from the first time I took a workshop totally devoted to what we can do with sheers with Carrol Godhue at a CQA Conference in my early days,to burning it away in a class with Anna Hergert, to now playing with Elaine Quehl's fabulous hand dyed silk organza it is a wonderful world.

Below is my challenge piece for our guild show "Quilts on the Tay". We have formed a small group of local fibre enthusiasts who meet every couple of week to explore their craft. One of our members Helga challenged us to interpret Georgia O'Keefe's work in a piece of our own. I had an interesting closeup photo of my peony and this it the result.

Method:
1.First I hand painted the fabric using Seta colour paints.A bit of a stretch since it was January and pretty cold outside, I didn't know if the fabric would dry or freeze. The sun was strong enough to dry the wet fabric and I was happy with the result.
2.I drew a pattern, cut out my inset pieces of white silk organza and proceeded to piece it together using freezer paper. It had to be accurate.
3.Then quilting being careful not to catch the free pieces, finishing with facings, beading, and a new idea had born fruit.

I had discovered another direction to take which totally satisfied my soul.

After 65

2011-02-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, It's been a busy time.This month I turned 65, quite a milestone I think. For a few months while approaching this date I started to feel old and finished. But after wallowing in self pity for awhile I realized that I could not give up on my dream of having a solo show in Toronto.So onwards we go.

First of all every day I need to take care of my body, especially if I want to do all of this stuff.I have become a high maintenance woman and it has nothing to do with hair, makeup or clothes. I do yoga so I don't get stiff, I go to aqua fit to stay strong without hurting my knees,I meditate so I don't go crazy in my head and I have to eat well which means taking the time to prepare food. Now it is 11 a.m. and I can start to sew.

Since January I have been exploring new and exciting techniques which I will share with you. I have been taking pics of all the steps in my new process so that I can blog about it.More to come as I am not quite finished with this piece.

But the Loose Threads, Wendo Van Essen, Pat Lemaire and myself, have been busy preparing for our next Fibre Art Retreat. My offering on this weekend will be everything to do with sheers.Layering,cutting away, burning and trapping are all techniques that I will demonstrate.Our theme is fish and below you will find my sample.The pattern will be in the retreat instructions.

Can you see the holes that were burned on the yellow to create texture?

Fish scales burned in the orange sheer on the pink cotton fabric.

We are holding our retreat at the beautiful Gananoque Inn and Spa . Check it out, our rooms will be on the water, our work room is at the same level on the water,the food is great, the rooms are fab, and mini spa treatments are available for those who are so inclined.

Pat Lemaire will be covering all things to do with Shiva Sticks and Wendo Van Wesson will be teaching you how to make fabric sculpture. Come and join in on the fun.

Email me if you would like me information. catelaw@ripnet.com

New Website

2010-12-09T17:48:00.001-08:00

Hi all.

For the past few months I have been working on my new website.

Wanting to make the leap from quilting to fibre art, I was determined to do it myself.

Using Web Studio as my web design program off I went. With a few hick-ups , a lost website and a phone call to a friendly techy from Web Studio it is up and running.

check it out:

www.catharinabreedyklaw.com

I am at my brother's right now blogging but once I get home I will post the particulars of the program I used. I really learned a lot and did it all myself, a novice techy.

Quilted Sculpture

2010-11-09T11:02:00.001-08:00

If you have been wondering what I have been up to the last few months besides the retreat, here it is. A quilted sculpture called "RISE ABOVE" It is made of four one by six foot pieces that are hinged together so that it can be displayed in several ways.

It symbolizes for me how you can go through life, work through all of the tough stuff and come out the other side.

The winter panel.

A side view.

Spring .

Some details.

The piece as a screen.

Loose Threads Fibre Art Retreat

2010-11-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

This last weekend a group of fibre art enthusiast joined the Loose Threads ( Pat Lemaire, Wendo Van Essen ,and Cathy Breedyk Law) for a journey into various fibre techniques. Since we had the whole range of experience from sewing virgins who had never even used a sewing machine to accomplished fibre artists who exhibit their work we needed a fun ice breaker.

We made bracelets out of our left over bits. below are two finished pieces.

Lovely way to use up those glamorous scraps!

Also Eric Simkins from Kingston joined us the train everyone how to take care of their machines. We artist seem to take great license with our babies and they do need tender loving care.

Nancy brought along a wonderful hand appliqued quilt to share. Completion time= 2 years.

Being a rock hound, Nancy interprets them in fibre.

Wendo and Marie creating fibre trees with a wire base.

Helga played with her embellisher and created this fibre piece. Marie found her the perfect backdrop.

Frances a prolific fibre artist explaining her piece. Detail to come later.Maybe tomorrow.

Eleanor tackling free motion the first time at a sewing machine. Pretty brave.

Denise also in her glory making those tree parts come alive. Not too shabby for a first go.

And Barb with her beautiful quilt. Lots of hours and lots of patience.

With no phones and food prepared for us we worked from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Fabulous.It didn't matter to us that it was snowing outside.

Results from summer painting day

2010-09-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in the summer there isn't much time for sewing with company, travelling and family commitments. Don't get me wrong I loved this summer. We managed to see everyone from Timmins Ontario, to Chelsea Quebec. There was lots of laughter, card playing, golf and barbeques.

BUT

I managed to sneak in a few days of creating in my studio.I pulled out this piece which I had silk screened in a class given by Gilda Rayner.This was quite a departure for me. The only thing that needed to be done was stitching and embellishing. There was no iron on Wonder Undering, very liberating indeed.I quite like the results.

This detail is of a piece that was painted by Suzette McSkimming an artist who makes wonderful paintings. On our fabric painting day this is what she produced, I proceeded to stitch and bead and love the result. This is a great two person project.

Here are the details from a couple of colour washes. Very intreguing this is, I must do more and bigger.

I'm thrilled.

2010-08-11T04:31:00.001-07:00

This piece "A Leaf Has Many Stems" won the viewers award in the Sparkling Flashes Juried Show at the Marianne Van Silfhout Gallery at St. Lawrence College in Brockville. I am thrilled to have so many people love my work.

PAINTING Camp

2010-07-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

This summer some fabulous fibre friends and I thought that we would get together and paint some fabric.With the help of my DH we set up our garage and I waited for all to come.

Ready for business.

Patricia diving in.

Suzette, Joanne and Patricia hard totally focussed on the techniques.

Marvelous colours came by design and by accident. When delicious shades were created of course we had to share.

The time flew by.

Yvonne is added to the group, and she made marvelous sun prints.

Experimentation was the key to delicious results.

My coloured lawn.

Rayon was an interesting fabric to work with. It will be fun to see what Cathy will make with this batch. At one point she was painting huge pieces.

A finished sun print using sequin waste.Lovely!

We had a wonderful day and were pretty pooped when we were done. Of course I wished that I had taken more pics,especially of our finished pieces.

My Process. 3

2010-07-22T16:27:00.001-07:00

To keep all of the sections in the right position I used two layers of sheer fabric that was hand stitched to the back.

The edges were serged to keep the sheer from fraying and to keep the back of the piece tidy.

Now you can see how all of it lined up.

Details

One more check. The trees at the side were discarded as well as the hand dyed yarn at the right. I went for simplicity to create greater impact.

Finished product.

My Process.2

2010-07-18T14:18:00.001-07:00

Now I had to decide where my circles needed to be. I cut some from freezer paper, ironed them down and then made sure that the green leaf was still the focal point. when cutting the circle apart to adjust for the different pieces I had to make sure that all sections fit together. If you look closely I also put a layer of sheer on top to see how it would look. Wanting the circles to be there but not too strong, they were going to made from this lovely golden red shiny polyester sheer fabric. the kind that you can buy at F-land and put in your windows. check it out, they have many lovely colours.

My first run through with the sheer. I placed the sheer down first and then ironed on the freezer paper circles. using them as a guide I carefully machine quilted all the way around using my even feed foot.
The excess was then cutaway.Then I changed my mind and took all of this sheer off by reverse sewing. Oh how I hate to do this but I just was not happy with the result and the sheer circle once the freezer paper came off was too small and too weak in it's presence.
New plan, a much larger circle was needed for the center. This was much simpler in design but had a greater impact. Now I could see in my head where I was going.
At the same time I was playing with the idea of cutting out circles from the quilt by using facings and then inserting trees made from heavy bobbin threads stitched onto a wash away stabilizer to float in the holes.
I like to use Wonderfil Razzle and Dazzle, they have the most delicious colours and a huge variety.
After a few tries sewing them in the bobbin onto the sheer fabric worked the best. Now to put them in the piece. I played and played trying to make it work and ended up discarding them. They will be recycled onto my book covers, eventually.

Sheer sections placed where they were needed with a one inch overhang so that they could be stitched down onto the back.
A closeup of the machine quilting of the sheer onto the quilt.
Now I'm getting somewhere. I like how the sheer really is defined by the quilting.The sheer was roughly cut to the edge and then to clean it up I used a heat tool with a fine tip to burn it away. It takes a little practice but the effect is worth it, nice smooth edges with no fraying. I love how polyester melts so nicely.
Initially I had sewn the sheers on before I made the little quilt. They didn't line up as the sheer moved in the stitching. To solve this problem I cut a one inch overlap which then gets hand stitched down to the back. Hand work here I come.

My process in a new piece.1

2010-07-17T08:04:00.001-07:00

Finally I'm back blogging. I have spent a fair bit of time upgrading my computer skills, learning how to process my pics in Zoombrowser and even worked through the manual. In the past I found that every time I wanted to blog I had to learn the process all over again. No more of that

( I HOPE) !!!

I have wanted to describe my process in detail for some time and have finally done it. As I worked on this piece I took pics of every step, edited them and have come up with 40 pics that describe the whole process from inspiration to finished piece.

It all started when Pat Lemaire and I took classes with Anna Hergert last spring at Fibreworks at St. Lawrence College in Kingston. Anna is a fabulous teacher, one of the best that I have come across. We are actually thinking of bringing her to Prescott but that is an entirely something else and more info will follow.

This blue piece was started in that class. One evening with sewed until one in the morning just because we couldn't leave it alone. You know how that is, experimentation had to continue.After learning all of these new skills I had to make a major piece.This is how it began.

I had been reading a book "Peace In Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk which really resonated with me on a spiritual level. He spoke about the circle of life and how a leaf has many stems. This phrase stayed in my head and as I walked down the stairs into my studio and started pulling out fabric.

I took out a couple of Elaine Quehl's hand dyed pieces and pinned them to the wall. I kept adding more until everything seem to vibrate, it was delicious and vibrant and wonderful. Even the threads and beads that I needed were already in my boxes.It was ready to go.
Editing the fabrics down was not easy. In the end there were two pieces that seemed to work together and then I had to decide how to cut. them so that it would all work.This decision took at least a week. I would arrange it , leave it for a while, look at it and then went on to the next.
This was my final choice. The next step was to make a small quilt out of each section.Anna layers fabric ,backing, and batting, sews around the edges, clips the corners and then turns it right side out like a pillow case.I ended up with 5 small quilts after I hand stitched the openings closed.
To make the corners nice and crisp, you have to clip them.
Next I made my design elements out of freezer paper and placed them where I thought they would work.I wanted the leaf to be the focal point, and the circle motif to be secondary. I also wanted some circular movement. because the quilts were finished, I had to think carefully about the stitching so that I would maintain the integrity of the shapes.The tree was first to be placed on the quilts and I used a freezer paper stencil and three shades of Shiva sticks. With a stencil brush I was able to achieve the soft colouring that I wanted.
I used the sticks to colour the paper and the brush to brush it in( another Anna technique)
Here I was checking to see how much colour was actually laid down.
The tree stenciled onto the main quilt.
Now back to the design elements to see how it was working.I loved the tree, but what more does it need? How do I get some circular movement going?

I have to stop for now but will continue with the process on the next post. If you have any questions please ask, I will answer at catelaw@ripnet.com.

Paint and Cloth

2010-04-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

Something new for me the last few years has been painting my own cloth. I have taken classes Bethany Garner, Mickey Lawler, Betty Ives and just recently Rayna Gilman. Below is my fabric painting experimentation completed in Rayna's class. I love to learn the techniques and then put my own spin on them.

A closeup.
Now I have been asked by a few people to set up a painting day for them, so that they can play as well. So here it is.

Paint and Cloth

A one day workshop in Cathy's back yard. You can choose Friday June 25th or Saturday June 26th. In case it rains, Sunday June 27th will be the backup day.

For more information contact me at catelaw@ripnet.com and I will send it to you.

Pat's Retreat

2010-04-26T08:40:00.001-07:00

I spent a wonderful time the weekend before last with a fun group of ladies at Pat's Annual Retreat. I was the "newbie" this time and they all made me very welcome. We come from all different places and our interests varied but we sure had a lot of fun. Each person brought their own projects and we shared information along the way.

This is a detail of a sheep commission. I had decided to bring four pieces to finish and I was ready to sew until my fingers bled or I fell asleep at the machine. Friday night I hit a huge snag. Somewhere along the way I had sewn with bad thread. After finishing the free motion on my animals, I sewed them into the piece , layered the top with batting and backing and proceeded to quilt. First I noticed one small pop as the thread used in piecing the background broke. But not liking to reverse sew I soldiered on. More pops and then I just had to come to terms with the fact that I had to take the whole thing apart. Elaine's fabric is too fabulous to throw in the can. I took it all out that night and then put it away to finish at home. Below is the result of this week's work. It took me a day to iron, pull out the thread and re-quilt it. Now I am happy with the result and it can be delivered this week.

The next day went much better. It must have been the company. I finished my sample for ourLoose Threads Retreat at the Opinicon in Chaffey's Locks the end of next October.We will be learning bobbin work, silk screening on cotton, and lots of embellishing techniques with Wendo ,Pat and I. More to come later.

Below, lots of pics of our fun weekend. I should have made a slide show. Oh well I will tackle that idea another time. More to learn.
My roomie and swimming partner Sally busy at work.

A terrible trouble maker.

Consultations.
Hand and machine at work.

More trouble makers in the corner.
Our resident artist Bonnie Lemaire.

Much fun was had by all. Thanks everyone, I'm in for next year.

Taking classes and finishing things

2010-04-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

To my dismay the first time I finished this quilt and hung it on the wall the sides were like the ocean waves going up and down . It was definitely not flat against the wall and I thought that I had conquered this problem a long time ago. One must not take things for granted after all.

I had come home from a class with Anna Hergert in Kingston and was so excited to start a new project that I finished this one in a hurry.You know the little voice in your head that tells you to finish a few things before starting down the next path. I learned my lesson. It took me one whole day to take out the sides, add more free motion stitching to bring it flat ( I cut out a whole inch from the facing fabric, no wonder it was wonky) and below is the finished result hanging in my living room.

I am now loving living with this piece.

Now for Anna's class. I had forgotten my camera but I can show you the end result of my time spent with her.

It has been quite awhile since a workshop took me to so many new places .I often have pieces in my head which I can't make because my technical ability has not yet caught up with the creative process. I just don't know how to make it happen,YET.

Anna is an amazing teacher, warm, supportive,giving of her expertise in a way that you know that you can do it. Below is a detail of my first little sample.

Hand stitching, I never thought that I would be embracing embroidery again! It is fab, especially when you use those lovely hand dyed yarn. Then using a craft heat tool to cut the sheer after you have stitched it on. Brilliant!. I don't know how much fabric I have wasted in the past trying to cut it just so. Oh , of course and using Shiva sticks to get those sheer shapes.

This works so well.

I roomed with my friend Pat and started second small piece in our spare time. I am not a late night sewer but we were up until 1 a.m. to work on this project.
The biggest compliment to Anna is that I went home and finished them both. I must also tell you that her work is sublime. You can check it out on her website.www.annahergert.com

She is also an amazing teacher. To take a class would be a treat .

When I came home my idea that I couldn't make work is now possible. I pulled out these fabrics to look at while I pulled it all together. The wheels are turning and I will keep you posted.
Fabrics by Elaine Quehl and me.

My how time flies?

2010-03-17T14:49:00.001-07:00

Once again I have pulled out my SAVIN' EARTH piece. I think that this time I will finish it, it's only been three years. As you can see the writing is done on the inside and a lot more quilting needs to be done in the borders. Then the ruffling on the edges will disappear.
It's my statement on being kind to the earth. I was watching the Live Earth Concert when this whole idea popped into my head. During my daily walks I brought home leaves of all shapes and sizes to be drawn into patterns amazed at the variety just down my little road. The world is pieced ( a miracle in my book) and I then used a freezer paper stencil to make the copper tree and the SOS on the top and the bottom.Now to finish what's left and bind it. Won't it feel good when I'm done.
Also this week my donation for the small quilt fund raiser had to go to S.A.Q.A.Members are invited to make a 12 inch square which is then raffled to raise funds for the organization. I think that being a member has really opened things up for me, the pool of expertise is amazing. there are opportunities to have your work shown and the resources available are the best. You can check out their amazing websiteby clicking here.

My piece is called Breaking Free as I have been experimenting with new techniques and approaches to my work. Raw edges were used in the front and fibre and beads are spilling out through the hole. Fun.fun.fun!

My Daily Puzzle

2010-02-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

In January I joined the 2010 Three Creative Studios Challenge. The first theme was the word PUZZLE.

Now what to do.I started thinking about all of the roles we play on a daily basis and how do we choose what to be. We play so many roles, some of them not our own choosing, they just come along.

Using the same profile I tried to represent two ways of being, two contrasting roles, hoping that we won't lose who we really are in the process.

MY DAILY PUZZLE

detail one

detail two

This has been much fun and stretched me a little. It was an opportune time to go in another direction and play. A quilt with a message, I think that will be my overall ambition in this process.There will be a theme to work on every two months and it will be fun to see what comes next. You can see all entries at

www.threecreativestudios.com

Classes coming up.

2010-02-23T07:29:00.001-08:00

In getting ready for our guild meeting this a.m. I thought that it would be fine to post my classes here.They are very open ended and I arrange date and time with the students of each group. Classes are booked one a week from April to the end of November. I am a woossy driver and don't think that others should suffer like I did. Too many years of white knuckle drives to school when you couldn't see past your nose driving in the snow.

Below is my ever popular Three Daisy Class. Great for beginners and those with advanced sewing skills. Can be done with free motion , a small zigzag stitch of a satin stitch. It's up to you.

The Tapestry piece is a large quilt, not too hard but lots of work due to it's size. The best way to get a bang for your buck is to have four half day sessions with time off in between for homework.
My latest way of using up scraps has been described in a previous post. "Scrapworks" includes book covers and jewelry in one day. All the projects start out the same way.
My little cat of course. You design your own background and the rest is like paint by number. Again the project can be free motioned or satin stitched or zigzag stitched.
Due to economic times my prices are on a sliding scale.The more who come up to 6 the cheaper it is per person. From 1 student =$50 to 6 students = $25 each.

For me it's not so much about the money as sharing what I learn.Plus if they come here , I don't have to drive.( what a selfish reason is that?)

Another week

2010-02-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Another week of playing , making work and entering pieces into the jury process. Once I get the hang of getting my pics ready for certain specifications I might as do a whole bunch. After a few months pass I usually have to learn this process all over again. My pics are much better since David taught me how to shoot them, the colour is more true to the piece. Below is a closeup of the "Water Brings Life" piece to show you how the bobbin work looks. I love the instant shot of colour you get with these Wonderfil threads. I do love them.

Then last summer some quilting friends dropped by from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and left me some fab fibre jewelry.Playing with this idea led me in this direction. Judy Morningstar made the fab turquoise piece and that was our jumping off point.
A closeup of the circle piece. I used a wash away stabilizer to make the machine lace on the inside of the circle. Much fun.

Moving on.

2010-02-11T06:40:00.001-08:00

I belong to a great international organization, S.A.Q.A. or Studio Art Quilts Associated. They have an amazing website where you will see lots of fabulous work.

Once a year they have a fund raiser where artists are encouraged to donate a 12 inch square which is then auctioned off. Below is my last year's contribution.

Today I am going to complete mine. I am calling it Letting Loose but don't have pics as yet. Will post when it is ready.

Yesterday I entered two pieces to a juried show in Montreal. The Winter One and the Summer One squares that are in the landscape series.

I was on a roll and also entered a couple of pieces into

The Grand National Quilt Show. The theme this year is OFF THE WALL, perfect for my quirky sensibilities.

Wallowing in Self Pity

2010-02-08T12:13:00.001-08:00

This year I was determined to enter a few competitions and worked very hard to get it done. I was especially keen on entering the C.Q.A. Show as one of the prizes was $10,000 worth of Wonderfil Threads. I love these threads and use them extensively in my work especially in bobbin work. They are beautiful threads and lay down nicely on the fabric.

I got everything ready, sent off my CD and waited only to find out that they were all rejected.Normally I enter and take my chances. But this time I could not understand what had happened. Ten years ago my work was accepted and now !!!!! I just don't understand.

"Water Brings Life" was rejected because the design is too weak.I was so frustrated that I almost cut this up for book covers.
This Madonna was rejected because I placed it in the wrong category.
Doreen's Daisies was also rejected because it was in the wrong category.

Thanks for listening, I just needed to vent.

Oh the life of an artist.No money and no glory. I guess I've been humbled.

Working on a Series

2010-01-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

Working in a series is a really fun process. I took a size, 12 in.x 12 in. and designed four pieces, the four seasons. Choosing fabrics and embellishments was the fun part, choices were made to represent the time of year and the temperature. When finished all were framed on the wooden frames and I took the pics. Now they are ready to go places.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

Try it , you will like it.

More sheep stuff

2010-01-27T08:41:00.001-08:00

I continue to work on the sheep piece. Now you see all of the pieces ironed together onto a heavy weight pellon ready for thread play. Threads , here I come. The stitching is my favourite part.This is the colour palette for the back ground, aren't they luscious? All fabrics that were hand dyed by Elaine Quehl.

Work on a Sunday

2010-01-24T09:27:00.001-08:00

I have made some new goals for myself and one has been to get more work out there so I have entered an online challenge organized by Three Creative Studios. Once every two months we have a theme to develop. The theme for the end of February is "PUZZLE". It gives me a chance to move in another directions and play with some new ideas.

This is how far I have gotten. Can't show you the whole thing until the end of Feb. Stay tuned.

Now for the second piece. Quite some time ago I interpreted this picture taken by Peggy Dewitt a photographer for her Tampered With Show. Other artists were invited to interpret her work, which I did. Much to my surprise this piece sold so it didn't live in my house for long. It was the first time that I made an animal from a photo. Now a friend, Janie Hickman of Janey's Knits has asked me to make one for her seeing that she has a massive sheep collection.
I painted the fabric yesterday, so now I am putting her together. I am also planning to paint on some more detail for the curly hair.
The starting point and more to come. Wish me luck.

Another one Bites the dust!

2010-01-21T08:13:00.001-08:00

Sometimes when you make a piece, it does not sit with you well. Although my friends told me that they liked this, it always bothered me, it just didn't seem to belong with the rest of my work. It was a response to a challenge and I left it way to late to do the original picture justice.

Mike's Flower

Detail

When I am not happy with something I am working on , I used to throw it in a box and forget about it. Now I turn it into book covers and it's amazing how great it looks when finished. These books go on blank, acid free books from Wallack's and the cover can be used over and over again. Who doesn't like a pretty book to write in?

This is the back. I take a chance and cut the whole piece to get the most number of books out of it and they always look great.

I managed to get four out of this piece. Look for a tutorial on how to make the covers. Next time I make a batch, I will take pics and show you how to make them. They are great gifts as well.

Photographing Fibre Art

2010-01-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

When it comes time to gather a submission for a show or competition I always agonize over the pics and putting them on a CD. I'm never quite sure how to do it and usually some time has elapsed since the last time , that it's like starting all over again. Heaven forbid that I bought a new camera and the software is now unfamiliar.

My good friend Helga has a husband/photographer, lucky her. She lent him to me to see if I could learn how to take great pics in my house. He came over, we found a good spot and he patiently took me through the steps. Usually the techies ( my brothers) lose me after the first few sentences.

1. First , I have a Canon EOS Rebel Xsi.

2. You need a tripod.

3. Then we have to find the best possible setting on my camera.

4. We set it to AV and David told me to leave it there all of the time.

5. The F setting is F8.0. This is the sweet spot for my camera.

6. Leave the camera at WB ( cloudy) all the time.

7.Check these settings before each shoot.

8.Make sure that your battery is charged. have a second one ready to go.

9. Put your camera on the tripod and center it onto your piece so that that the center of the camera is looking at the dead center of your piece, horizontally and vertically.

10. Use your timer and let it go. Don't touch anything and don't move.

The next day I got some pieces ready using these instructions and it all worked out very well.

Thanks to David.

You can check out his work which is fabulous at

www.davidzimmery.com

Options revisited

2010-01-15T12:09:00.001-08:00

In the last while I have been playing with the whole idea of options again. This started a few years ago in a class by Marilyn Stewart-Stothers at a C.Q.A. Conference out west. She mounted her work on wooden frames and made several pieces that worked together as a unit. Taking it a step farther, I wanted to be able to change the pieces around ,thus the name "Options". I am such a fickle girl and do get tired of the" same old same old".

Here are the four pieces arranged in one way. I have called it OPTIONS:SKY

Another way.
Another way.

I love this one.

The original design.
Some details.

Now to make this work you have to repeat some of the elements in the pieces. You need one fabric or colour that has a presence in each piece. For me this time it was the cloud fabric.

Then other shapes or colours had to be repeated in at least two other pieces . The black really grounds it and you can play off that. If you have any questions, please ask. I am happy to share what I learn.

Studio Time in January

2010-01-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

My studio has been really busy with me since the first of January and it reminds me of a song.

When the weather outside is frightful and my dear(my sewing machine) is so delightful.

As long as I can sew.

Let it snow,let it snow,let it snow.

So here is a little tour of where I sew.

Ironing station with art bought from one of my favourite little artists, the Xman.

Even though I have 600 square feet, I still run out of room.

New work getting finished and my very lovely Janome 66oo.

This morning's efforts, taking pics of the work and staying by a warm cozy fire.

2010-01-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

This is a new project that I will be developing this month and it should be ready for the next round of classes in my studio.You will be able to make the cat in any colour and use any pieced top pattern to make the background.

BARGOON!!!
new fee schedule
Because of the economic times and the fact that my students have to drive here ,there is a new fee schedule in place for a one day class.

1.one person-$50
2. two people-$45 each
3.three people-$40
4.four people-$35
5.five people-$30
6.six people-$25

This applies to booking and payment in advance and patterns and worksheets are included.
You are welcome to book a private appointment for you and your friends to see what I have to offer. I will give you a tour of my studio and I do make pretty great tea. No goodies right now as it is too soon after Christmas.

I am now taking bookings from April to November, 2010, and I will be teaching one day per week. Hope you can come.

Playing with sheers and a present for you.

2010-01-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

This time of year always starts for me not with resolutions but plans to try something new. I vow to set up a mailing list and keep everyone in the loop.

1.There will be some new projects and classes will start again here in my studio starting in April. 2.Also there will be a sliding scale for classes. The larger the group,the cheaper the price for the individual. More to come.

3.The little bear pattern below will be sent to anyone who wants to be on my mailing list. Send me a quick email and it will be done. No charge.

catelaw@ripnet.com

Little Bear Pattern

Above is a new quilt which is now hanging in my bedroom. I used some of Elaine Quehl's hand dyed silks as appliques and then had lots of fun playing with different techniques. There have been some requests to run this as a class and if there is enough interest we could certainly set that up.

Resolution( I wasn't going to do this) to post more often.

Off to Johnstown for the Seaway Autumn Studio Tour

2009-09-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm off to Pat Lemare's Purplepatch Studio where I will be participating in the Seaway Autumn Studio Tour. It promises to be an exciting event. besides showing my latest work we are also participating in a fun challenge.

Mike Laking a photographer has challenged us to interpret his gerber daisy photo below.

This is my version with silk and lots of free motion.

And a detail.

All of the entries will be diplayed at Cup After Cup coffee spot on King Street in Prescott.

Just start at any location where maps will be available. Also if you collect all of the stickers you will be eligible for a great prize.

SEE YOU THERE!!!

Fun Class

2009-09-17T09:06:00.001-07:00

This week a group of fabulous ladies came to my studio to master the double needle tree. One of the bunch,I won't mention her name was a free motion virgin. We soon fixed that, after a little private tutoring she was on her way and doing a great job of it as well.

Here Helena is cutting out her tree.

Dyane's tree pinned and ready to free motion.

Trudy and Dyane hard at work.

All five of us getting into the groove.Lois joined us from Ottawa and Diane was the other student from Brockville. It was a great day and we laughed so much that my husband wanted to join us.

Thanks all, what a great day!

Work Out

2009-09-12T06:59:00.001-07:00

F and M:Fabric and Metal #4

This summer I was asked to put an exhibit of my work in the Studio Theatre in Perth. I was pleased and challenged at the same time. How could I pull some work together that would make sense. Then I got it. M and M, modern and medieval , or holy and holey so to speak.

Pairing my metal washer work with the pieces that were inspired by medieval art was a totally fun concept. Here is one of the pairings.

Red Madonna

You can see the exhibit during the Oct.13,14 and 25th run of An Evening of One Act Plays.

Studio Theatre,63 Gore Street East, Perth

for more info call 1-800-518-2729

It's almost retreat time

2009-09-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here are the projects that we "THE LOOSE THREADS " will be demonstrating at our weekend retreat in Chaffey's locks. Felted roses,making a felted sheep, embellishing,stamping,using wash away stabilizers, tailoring techniques, bag construction and free form knitting will be covered.

Teachers are available the whole weekend for one on one help and there will be studio time with show and share, teachers and delegates alike.

It promises to be a fun weekend with lots of inspiration for everyone. You can as much or as little as you want. If you are more interested in watching rather than doing you are certainly welcome to do so. There will be worksheets given out for each project demonstrated.If you would like to do one of the projects you can sign up to purchase a kit from the teachers. Or if you would like to work on your own stuff , that's fine too.Mr Simkins will be there to give workshops on taking care of your machine and has offered a special rate to have your machine serviced.

We will be at the the Opinicon Resort Hotel, where we will be staying in log cabins and enjoying the fabulous food in their dining room.

Come and join us from Oct.23rd-25th. A little getaway just after the busy Thanksgiving season.

For more info contact me at catelaw@ripnet.com

I must be crazy

2009-09-08T07:31:00.001-07:00

Piecing has never been something that I have done well so what was I thinking when deciding to piece 1 1/2 inch squares and 1 in x 1 1/2 in rectangles? It was a call to entry that made me do this.

Art to the Rescue Animal Fund Raiser at Galarie Ouest

When we first moved to Perth a little white stray appeared at our doorstep. He was beautiful with great big lime green eyes, he played in my studio and slept on my husband's belly after supper. I was very sad to let him go to a new home but my allergies wouldn't let me keep him.I did however get some great pics. He was a perfect candidate for this show.

First to find a background in my stash. I wanted to represent a garden and the Kaffe Fassett fabrics in my stash were the perfect medium to use.The garden had to be constructed from small colourfull bits, hence the piecing. I made each row but vowed that I would not match all the corners ,I let chance make the decisions here. A dark green print grounded the whole thing.
After the drawing was made, and the pattern was established , I checked it out to see if it would work, it was fine.
Pic and the first stage of the cat on pellon made from hand painted fabrics and pencil crayoned eyes.
Lots of stitching, about 50 hours in time and here he is in all his mischievous glory.

Mischievous Cat

Rain, rain ,rain

2009-07-29T13:39:00.001-07:00

What a summer this has been so far. The only good thing about it is that I like to work in my studio on rainy days. With our quilt show coming up it has been a good thing.

Now I have been able to finish a couple of new pieces for the show.

Doreen's daisies is quite a large piece and it pretty well just rolled out of my brain. Sometimes it is this easy.

Having bought a variety of Kaffe Fasset fabrics , the challenge was to make it work as another Madonna. This one will not be cut up for journal covers.

Now for info on our quilt show.

QUILTS ON THE TAY

St. John's High School

2066 Scotch Line Road

Perth,Ont.

Friday: Noon to 5 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Featured quilters: Bev Cooper and Carol Darou

Special Exhibit: " Kamloops to Halifax"

Workshop: "Colour Play" with Karen Goetzinger

Come and enjoy all of the others things present at a quilt show merchant's mall,exhibits, and much more. SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!

Summer Shows

2009-07-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

It's July 1st today, where have six months gone. I am pretty excited about being in three shows this summer.

First I have five fun pieces in the Tay River Gallery in Perth for the Summer Sizzle Show that runs from July 2cnd to August 30th. If you are in the area, come and check it out.

This St. Maarten Piece is one of them. Every December we go off to St. Maartin in the Carribean for a holiday. Sitting on a deck chair in the heat I was always amazed at all the blues that you can see so I tried to capture it in a fun and happy way. Those are my toes on the deck chair.

The second exhibit I am in is the Intrigue into the 1000 Islands Show, at the Marianne Von Schiffler Gallery at St. Lawrence College in Brockville. I was pretty pleased to get into this juried show. The opening reception is on Saturday July 11th from 2 - 4 p.m. You are all welcome.

Mom and Me # 133

Water

In August the Lanark County Quilter's Guild is having their Quilts on the Tay Show at St. John's High School in Perth , Audust 7,8 and 9th. I will be hanging some new stuff in this show which I am busily working on. The featured quilters are Bev Cooper and Carol Darou. There is a special exhibit called from Kamloops to Halifax which features work from the teachers that we have had here at the guild. And there will be workshops set up with Karen Goetzinger. There will be a merchants mall of course and a boutique with fab items made by our members. See you there!

Fin ishing things

2009-06-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile I get on a real finishing splurge. Although I generally like to work on 5 or 6 different pieces at the same time, when they reach a certain stage they need to be completed.

Meditation One

Sunset
Sunrise
A dress for Janie Hickman of Janie's Knits. A way cool project for a yarn lady.
Now I'm off to the Vermont Quilt Festival. Can't wait, I probably won't get much sleep tonight..

Visitors from Kemptville

2009-05-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday a group of ladies from Kemptville came out to see me to book some private custom classes in my studio next fall. This is my favourite way to teach. Classes in my studio specifically designed for the students who are coming. It gives me great freedom to take the class wherever they may need to go.

This year Marian, Tracy, Colleen and Lou came to learn how to make my "Tapestry" quilt. Three of them brought their projects with them on this visit and I am pretty pleased with the results. I love it when everyone goes in their own direction and makes their ideas happen. Look below.

Colleen's has a Christmas theme with rich dark colours and fabrics. Poinsettias were her flowers of choice.
Marian went for royal colours reminding me of spring. The waterfall is a lovely touch.
Tracy opted for a medieval horse and lion almost like a coat of arms. A lovely scene was added to the background.

I am thrilled with all of your ideas and your hard work. Can't wait to see them finished, I just had to give you a sneak peak.

The classes I offer are

1. Beginners free motion

2. Advanced free motion

3. Butterfly project

4. Bobbin work dragonfly

5. From pic to quilt

6. Embellished jeans

7. Little bear

8. Three daisy wall hanging

9. Funky folk art poster

10. Paint your own fabric

11.Techniques day- here you visit my studio and you decide what I will teach you.

12. Bobbin work

13. Working with sheers

14. Small projects made from your scraps

More Fall Retreat News

2009-05-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

For one of our demos we will each be showing you different ways to make a beautiful scarf. These scarves make lovely Christmas gifts, don't take too much time, and can use up your scraps. October is a good time to start. Pat and I will be using a wash a way stabilizer to make ours. Wendo will be using a gorgious wool as a base. You can order a kit for the one you want to make or you can bring your own supplies.Without giving too much away here are some samples.

Wendo's felted roses on wool.

Pat's petal scarf.

Pat's use on various fibres.

Cathy's silk squares.

Come and join us on the weekend of October 23-25th at the Opinicon Resort Hotel, in Chaffey's Locks. click on the resort and check it out , it is lovely.

For a registration form and more information contact me at catelaw@ripnet.com

New Stuff for Paper Images Gallery Show

2009-05-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

Photo by Peggy deWitt

Every year I am invited by Peggy Dewitt to participate in her" Tampered With Show" at the Paper Images Gallery in Picton. This year I chose the photo above as my subject matter.

I always like to stretch myself with this gallery show and try something different. Using a stencilling method, I came up with the image below. Once the painting had been completed , I then proceeded to my favourite part, the free motion work. Lots of texture was created and some copper mettalic thread and copper beads were used to give the piece some sparkle. Subtle but effective.

Can I Play Now?

You can see this piece at Paper Images Gallery from June 1-14th and meet the artists on Sunday June 7th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is a lovely drive to Prince Edward County and you could even come back and use the ferry. There are great lunch places close by.

Exciting Retreat News

2009-05-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

Art With Loose Threads Retreat

featuring

Pat Lemaire Wendo Van Essen Catharina Breedyk Law

We had so much fun last year that we decided to organize another fall retreat at the Opinicon Resort Hotel in Chaffey's Locks.

Keep October 23-25th free for this important event.

Only 20 spaces available $395 double or $445 single , prices have not gone up.

More info to come.

Madonna piece chopped up.

2009-03-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Do you remember my mosaic experiment? I was a whole week putting this together and free motioning it all down. I never liked her face, it seemed hard and contrived, not at all the mood I wanted to convey. And then the baby's face never seemed right to me either.

I spent another day taking out her face and redoing it, still not happy. Then I got out the pencil crayons to lighten the grout. Still not happy. Eureka, I got and idea.

I have been turning my scraps left over from projects and my bits of things I don't want anymore, I have bags and bags of scraps, into journal book covers. The idea needed a name so I am calling it "Scrapworks" Perfect solution, I am going green and providing something beautiful at the same time.

Below you will find the six books that came from my unsuccesfull experiment. They are for sale for $40 and the books inside came from Wallack's so once your book is full, you can get another.

number 4-sold
number 2-sold
number 3-sold
number 5-sold
number 1-sold
number 6-sold

The books are 8.5 in. x 6 in. and if you are interested you can find me at catelaw@ripnet.com

New Web Site

2009-03-17T05:48:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I have been spending the last few months learning to set up my own web site. I have a much greater respect for all web designers everywhere.

With help from Bonnie Lemaire a wonderful artist illustrator, I am up and running.Her stuff is fab so check it out at www.bonniella.com

It needs more tweeking which will be done in the coming weeks and I would love some feedback . Just click on the email tab and you will get to me quckly. www.catharinabreedyklaw.com

Another thing learned. I guess this excercise will keep my mind functioning.

From Pic to Quilt Class

2009-02-18T05:28:00.001-08:00

Ever wanted to know how I get from a picture to a finished piece?

Come and take this class from me in Bell's Corners Ottawa over three Saturdays. We will be having the class on Sat. April 4th,18th, and 25th. You don't have to be able to draw, if you can trace you can do it. I will guide you through the whole process.

The class is sponsored by the Ottawa Valley Quilters' Guild and you don't have to be a member to take the class. For more information you can contact Jan at

Dacbr225@aol.com

Animals aren't the only option. This piece was done by Sue Stewert using the same technique. For more examples in various states of progress check student work on this blog.

Sunday fun.

2009-02-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, Michele and Barb came to spend the day with me to make the "One Daisy" project. We just jumped right in and went to work and a lot was accomplished in one day.

Michelle chose a light blue for her background and a medium blue for the borders resulted in some great perspective. The high contrast of the whites and green make for a dramatic piece. Not too shabby for a free motion virgin. Great job!
Barb chose softer options and really interesting blues and greens. Her piece is more lyrical in flavour and you almost think that you are in her garden.

Michelle Santerre is the owner of the Running Stitch ( click here and you will get to the site) and you can find the lovely fabrics there.

Barb Gillespie of Cherry Tree Quilts has a long arm business and can be found at the Running Stitch as well.

All in all a great day was spent creating beside the wood stove on this winter's day.

Commission just finished

2009-02-13T09:27:00.000-08:00

I was pretty thrilled when Bev Jackson wanted to buy my "Dragonfly Whimsy " piece. After a chat on the phone she requested a companion piece so that the two of them could hang in her dining room. A commission, hurrah!

I went for a visit to her home so that I could get a sense of the colours that she loved and together we came up with a plan. Bev loves red which is very evident when you enter her lovely home. The colours are rich and inviting especially the chartreusy- yellow -green that is on the walls.

Beautiful hand dyed fabrics and silks went into the piece as well as silky rayon threads and delicate japanese glass beads put on by hand one by one. The green was repeated with thread, fabric and beads.

The finished product which looks stunning in it's new home.

New Work

2009-02-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

I love January, it is always a good time to finish up projects.
This piece a has been in the works for awhile. I painted the fabric for the cow and her calf, a 1/2 metere was enough. Then after stitching them they were placed on a pieced background made from hand dyed silk and cotton by Elaine Quehl.
Tonight I am taking them to the Ottawa Valley Quilt Guild meeting in Ottawa to advertise the "From Pic To Quilt " class that will be running on April 4th, 18th, and 25th in Ottawa. There I will teach my process. How to get from a pic to a finished piece like the cows above.

Free Pattern- Free motion beginner

2009-01-27T06:33:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that a month has gone by already.My New Year's Resolution is to post once a week.

I have done well haven't I?

Now back to some free motion work. Since some of you have already tried some of the free motion exercises, here is a pattern for you to make. A single daisy with a dragonfly or two.

You basically piece the background and then use a paper backed fusible web like Wonder Under ( still my favourite) to fuse on all the parts. You then layer the top,backing, and batting and quilt and embroider all in one go.

To get the complete pattern file please email me and I will send it to you.

catelaw@ripnet.com

Merry Christmas Project

2008-12-20T15:33:00.001-08:00

Christmas Ornaments- Little Tree

Skills Discovered
We will learn a quick way to make stuffed Christmas ornaments.

Equipment
Sewing machine in good working order .
Machine quilting or embroidery needles size 11 or 14.
Your favourite sewing supplies and a pencil.
Some hand sewing needles (did I just type that?)

You Will Need:
1. Strips already sewn together

2. A small amount of stuffing
3. Cotton batting, and backing

4. Threads.
5. Scraps of trim and ribbon.
6. Beads and sequins.

7. Fun yarn for couching.

Instructions
Layer pre-sewn strips with batting and backing (blue fabric).
Pin or spray-baste all three layers together.
With a fun thread quilt some meandering lines.
Using a small zigzag stitch, couch down the hairy yarn.

Using the tree template, draw three trees on the blue fabric.
Sew on each line leaving a 2 inch opening for turning.
Cut out each tree with a ¼ inch seam allowance.

Turn each tree right side out.
Sew on beads by hand.
Stuff through opening.
Stitch opening closed.
Stitch on cording loop by hand.

Voila! a finished fun ornament. If you want to make more ,start by making a much larger quilted top.

If you would like a tree pattern, email me and I will send you one. catelaw@ripnet.com

HO! HO! HO! Happy Holiday

Fibreworks Weekend

2008-11-25T03:48:00.001-08:00

I was thrilled when Hilary Scanlon invited me to teach at St. Lawrence College in Kington for Fibreworks in November of 2008. We came up with an interesting class and I was on my way prepping and planning. Friday evening we had a trunk show of my work and then the next morning everyone started by designing their own piece.

We started with some basic concepts and then everyone went to their own tables ( each one had two and what a luxury that was) to start making design decisions.

Their were small demos throught out the day as the need arose. Then some wonderful things started to happen. It was amazing how things developed. Each person's personality started to shoe in their work.

First I will apologize right now for any mistakes that I will probably make. Due to life, I am a little late in putting this together and my memory is a bit hazy by times.

Doreen's piece is lovely and whimsical. Her animals are delightful and I should have taken a closeup as well. I hope that she will send me a pic and she has it done.

Simone's fields are full of animals of every kind. She was very clever and strip pieced her colourful field. I am going to remember that trick for my next one.

Jeanne created a village, that could really be out there somewhere. The church even had stained glass windows.

Hilary deep in design thought also had wonderful colours and textures. She was my hostess and I felt pretty special all weekend long.

Marina looking very pleased with her work. It wasn't until later on in the weekend that I learned she was a relative newbie to this approach for fibre art. It is a lovely piece.

My friend and mentor Beth, using lovely bright colours for her piece. This is quite out of the box for this renowned but mostly traditional quilter.

Isn't this Santa Fee piece delicious? The colours are fab and really portray this area of the USA.

Love the train. Susan quietly worked all weekend and then this fab piece was on the wall.

Donna also went for very bright sunset colours in beautiful batik fabrics. What really made this a dramatic piece were the siloettes of the palm trees and the people.

There were lots of consultations throughtout the whole weekend and I came home with some ideas as well.

A few more demos.
Many thanks to all as I had a great time as well. I really love to share what I learn and so appreciate a receptive audience.

There are some more pics in the slide show below. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/cathyblaw/Fibreworks02#

STUDENT WORK-5

2008-10-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Helen's finished piece. Her washer has been placed in off centre which makes a wonderful shadow on the wall.

Rita experimented with strips of fabric used on the wrong side and then added some extra colour.It made for great water with a brilliant sky.

Meredith's finished piece.

And a closeup.

We kept the our pedals to the metal and accomplished quite a lot in one day.

STUDENT WORK_4

2008-10-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday a group of four ladies came to spend the day with me. After touring my work we decided to do some curved piecing, free motion and put a washer in a hole. To finish it off we mounted our pieces on wooden frames.

Here is Joycelyn putting dome free motion machine embroidery in her work.

A closeup of Meredith's free motion circles. A great way to enhance the fabric and create some texture.

Joyelyn and Helen with their finished pieces.They are the top on the top row and they fit in nicely with my work.

Joycelyn's finished piece.

RETREAT_FALL 08

2008-10-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

A beautiful fall crisp weekend found us, Wendo, Pat and Cathy running a weekend retreat " Fibre Art With The Loose Threads" at the Opinicon Resort Hotel in Chaffey's Locks.
There was much fun had by all but I would like to highlight the work accomplished by the participants.

Jo-Anne found a creative way to fill the organic shape of the hole that she cut out of her piece.

Rosemary also worked out of the box.

Francis brought some of her work done on the embellisher and then added a hole to it.

Helga's painted fabric.

Helen's work in progress.

Pam's hand painted fabric with free motion embroidery.

A lesson on embellishing for Ann.

Janet working incognito , with the embellisher.

More painted fabric.

And a lesson on how to take care of your sewing machine by Eric Simkins from Kingston.

Although we were a motley gruop with varied interests, much learning ,sharing, and fun was had by all. With dinners prepared and no dishes to do it was sewing 24/3.

STUDENT WORK-3

2008-10-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a group of ladies came from Kemptville to take a one day workshop on the double needle tree technique. Lou, Marion, Tracy and Colleen were able to get quite a lot done in a day.
Each person's individuality was evident in their work as they free motioned their tree in place.
A lovely day was had by all including me.
Well done!!!

More Student Work

2008-09-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

Pauline Clark finished her project in the From Pic to Quilt Class that we had at the Country Quilter last June. Well done!!!
I so love it when everyone finished their projects.

Seaway Autumn Studio Tour

2008-09-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I spent a lovely few days in a studio tour with some of my friends. Pat hosted the event and here she is busy working on a quilt.

Buttons helped us a lot.

Bonnie Lemaire, Pat's daughter and my web designer with the original illustrations of her book. Her children's books are fun and whimsical, you can see them at http://www.booksurge.com/
Her artwork makes me smile and I had to buy the pink elephant that you see on the left. Now if you see a pink elephant in my bathroom ,you can't have anymore wine.

My stuff on display.

Wendo's display.

Joann Zorzi's display. You can find her at jozodesigns@rogers.com

More of Bonnie's work.

Wendo and Joanne enjoying the day.

Here is Xman with his own original canvas which I just had to buy to hang in my studio.

It has a happy home here. Great job!!!

Thansk to everyone for an inspiring weekend.

WORKING AT HOME

2008-09-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

My bed quilt top is finished and now it will be off to Pat Lemaire at Purplepatch Pieces to be quilted on "Elvis" her longarm machine. It sure feels good to have this project to this point .

Back to my mosaic experiment. This certainly has been great free motion practice as I have gone around each shape three times. I sure got the texture that I was expecting.

Then it was more free motion between the shapes. I wanted to push the grout down even more.

A closeup of the stitching, I love my new camera. As you can see the stitching doesn't have to be perfect to be effective.

Now some playing with paint. These will become the binder covers for our retreat.

Love what happens when you spritz it with water.

EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT WORK

2008-09-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

Athena, Goddess of Snow by Vikki Zulpo
Another great "From Pic to Quilt" project completed. A fabulous piece of fibre art.
Well done!!!!!!!

FALL PREVIEW_1

2008-08-28T05:14:00.000-07:00

The last week of summer still puts me in a planning mood even 10 years after retiring from teaching. When the nights get colder and there is a chill in the air my mind starts organizing my life for the next few months. I am looking forward to sharing my work with like minded, addicted, fibre junkies and sharing what new things I have discovered.

This is what I am up to this fall.

1. Seaway Autumn Studio Tour on Sept. 13th and 14th.
I will be at stop #1 in Johnston with four other artists Joanne Zorzie, Bonnie Lemaire, Pat Lemaire, and Wendo Van Essen. At my table you will find my work large and small,postcards, journals, and my patterns. Come and have a chat.
Visit our website http://www.sast.ca/

2. Art With Loose Threads Retreat from Oct. 3-5 at the Opinicon Resort Hotel
Come and participate in a small and intimate retreat where three fibre artists will share with you what they have learned.These techniques can be used in all kinds of work, from fibre art , in your quilting, to wearable art. We will also try some painting on fabric.

Wendo will be showing you how to felt fibre and sculpt this moose head.

Pat will be demonstrating various embellishment techniques. Great for wearable art.

Cathy will share with you her new technique where she hangs washers in a hole . Small kits will be available for each demo at a reasonable cost so that all you have to bring is your machine and your favourite sewing equipment.

3.Then in November it will be my pleasure to participate in Fibreworks, in Kingston.
The weekend we have chosen is Nov. 13,14,and 15th. It will include a lecture on Friday evening and a two day workshop. I will be discussing how I use colour to give things life and you will be making a small piece that will use those colour concepts. We will try different free motion techniques as well as some bobbin work. I will also show you how to mount your work on a wooden frame.More info to come.

SOMETHING NEW

2008-08-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

Now I have it designed and put the borders on. These will be the edges that will wrap around the wooden frame.
Next step ,my favourite part, free motion quilting.I will go around each shape with a colour to match and then quilt down the grout. I have no idea what is going to happen, it may distort in a crazy way or it may end up square. We will see. Isn't that the fun of it????

GREAT NEWS

2008-08-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

For quite some time I have been totally in awe of Kaffe Fassett 's colour sense. I had bought one of his knitting books when they first came out and just loved looking at the pics. It was fascinating how he put all of those colours together, so many of them, and so brilliantly.
Imagine then how thrilled I was to learn that he was coming to Perth, of course I have to go to the lecture.
Janie H. Knits in Glen Tay is bringing him to town.This is another place where fibre junkies like me can get a fix. In a lovely stone house Janie has a fabulous shop. The most wonderful fibres can be found here. In my last visit to buy tickets for the Kaffe Fassett lecture I came home with the shawl kit below. The kit is designed by Gita Maria and it is fabulous. The Bandana Fringed Scarf comes with wonderful yarns and a hand made silver enameled "Hug" pin. I couldn't help myself and finished it that very evening. What a wonderful piece to wear when I lecture this fall.

Now to order tickets you can email info@janiehknits.com.

My old bed quilt is also a Kaffe Fassett design.

I am back happily creating this week working out some new ideas. Above is my first attempt at creating a mosaic type of piece. Will keep you posted to see how it goes, there are always glitches to work out. Take care!

PIECE ON A WOODEN FRAME

2008-08-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

TUTORIAL: How to mount a piece on a wooden frame. After taking a class with Marilyn Stewart-Stothers at a CQA Conference I fell in love with this method of presenting my work. It really does look like a piece of art when you are finished and it is really fun to wrap the design around to the sides.
Now that the summer festivities are winding down and I have learned to take closeups with my new camera ,I am ready to share with you how I mount my work. If you need more info, just contact me at catelaw@sympatico.ca

1. Press and trim piece (quilt) including the extra inches needed to wrap around the sides of the wood (the depth of the wood plus ½ inch).
2. Lay frame on top of right side of the piece and mark the four corners with pins.
3. Flip piece to wrong side, mark where the pins came through on the wrong side of the piece with a fabric marker or a pencil.
4. Draw a line from left to right going through the dots at the top.
5. Repeat this step for the other dots.
6. Stitch the corner line with a very small stitch for strength.

7. Mark a ¼ inch seam inside each corner and cut it away. Also cut away the batting and the backing fabric to the stitching line to eliminate the bulk.

8. Mark the depth of the wood from each dot at the corners

9. Match the marks from the seam line with the point being the end of the seam. Stitch 3 times for strength.

10. Turn the corners right side out and slip onto frame. It should be a snug fit. If not, sew small seam again just inside the stitching line.
Put onto frame making sure that the corners are aligned.

11. Starting in the center of opposite sides, staple it down, pulling it tight each time. Follow diagrams for stapling order. Staple down to the very end. Trim away any extra fabric.

12. On the opposite side start in the center and staple the same way until you get within an inch of the corner. Fold like a miter and staple down.

13. Fold the corners neatly and staple.
14. You can customize your piece by adding a label to the back.

OFF ON A ROAD TRIP

2008-07-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

My husband has a lot of family up north --- Timmins and Sudbury -- and we are off for our annual visit. Since I have very few relatives in Canada , Terry's cousins have adopted me as one of their own. Besides the card playing and visiting, I can scope out the local quilt and fabric shops while he is playing golf.
The scenery is also magnificent and my new camera will get a workout. I need lots of pics for inspiration when the snow is blowing outside in the middle of January.
Talk to you in a week or so.

ARTWEAR -another pattern

2008-07-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is a recent Lois Erickson pattern purchase which I bought at Creative Styling in Wesport.
I used some rayon fabrics and colour blocked the jacket with high contrast colours. I love it!
It's another brilliant pattern where you can "artwear it up" so to speak. What fun.

ARTWEAR- Kimonos

2008-07-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

This kimono pattern by Lois Ericson is one of my favourites and lends itself very well to all kinds of creative ideas. Her patterns are fab as they are full of creative ways to sew up this garment. It comes in all sizes which I love and is easy enough for someone with very little garment making experience. There are ideas for sleeves, closures, pockets ,embellishments, etc,etc,etc.

The pattern is called Kimono Encore and is # 327
http://www.designandsew.com/

I haven't checked out this site as yet but I certainly will. I am assuming that you can order the pattern there.

In this one I pieced some panels and inserted them.

In this one I used an embroidered fabric that had a border print.
One little hint if you are making it out of cotton. I lined the top half of the kimono so that it would be more comfortable to wear. Then it doesn't stick to The top that you are wearing under it.
Now I need to finish the one I started with my other Loose Threads. They are well on their way, check out Wendo and Pat's blogs.

ANOTHER NEW TOY

2008-07-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

I just love teaching for many reasons but one of the best is to be able to buy myself new toys once in awhile .
Taking great quality pics of my work for entering competitions and getting work in a gallery has always been a bit of a chore. At first I had it done by a photographer which cost a lot of money.Then I had my brother Bart do it for me and he does an excellent job. It was his pics of my work that got into the March issue of the American Quilter magazine. However he lives two hours away and that can be a bit of a trek especially in the winter.
Also I love a challenge, and now I am ready to do my own pics. To do this I bought this camera last week at Henry's in Kanata. It is a EOS Rebel XSi with a lens that has an image stabalizer.
It has so many features and promises to take amazing pics. In order to really learn all the creative sides of this baby I bought the tutorial below. I can learn it on my own time at at my own speed. Perfect!!!

Now that I have the software all in the computer , I am spending time each day on a new chapter. Wonderful.

Later on when I am ready ,I will take a class to learn how to take the best shots of my work that I can. Bye time to play!!!

SLIDE SHOW 1

2008-07-19T05:10:00.001-07:00

It has taken me all morning and if this works I will have put in my first Picassa slide show.This one highlights a series of work that contains holes and washers. The holes were created using facings which is a tailoring technique and the washers from the hardware store are hung in the holes using Wonderfil Dazzle thread.
I will be teaching this technique at our Art With Loose Threads Retreat at the Opinicon Resort Hotel in Chaffey's Locks in early Oct. Contact me at catelaw@sympatico.ca
if you wish more information.

Enjoy!

STRETCHING WORK ON WOODEN FRAMES

2008-07-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I took a workshop with Marilyn Stewart-Stothers at A C.Q.A Conference in which we stretched our work over a wooden frame. I loved the finished effect as it presented the work like a piece of art. My husband adjusted this technique to make it sturdier as I was wanting to do bigger pieces. Below is one of the results. "# 56 With Attitude" which is now in a private collection.
Making a Frame Tutorial

1.My husband uses 1 in.x 2 in solid pine to make the frames.
2. He cuts them so that the outside measurement is the one that I want. Do not mitre the corners as this weakens it.
4. He then glues and clamps the pieces and has them dry overnight.
5.Then ends are then nailed with a nail gun.
6. If the piece is large like one of my Madonnas he will put an extra brace in the center.

The nails are quite long and go through. Two or three will do.

THIS AND THAT

2008-07-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

It's summer and it's time to bring out some unfinished things. Last year when I was watching the Live Earth Concert I drew up this design for a Savin' Earth Quilt( I stole this name from the licence plate that my brother Peter has on his hybrid car). I was pretty proud of myself because I actually pieced the circle that represents earth. Then I had fun stencilling on a copper tree.More to come.

One rainy day last week and there have been many, I noticed my little friends across the road. This needed a pic and will probably turn into another cow piece. Love those rain drops on the fence. How will I ever do that???

The top half of my bed quilt is now pieced. No more randomness for me as the next 6 blocks have to work in this design. Who said that random was easy!!!

Again, more to come.

BACK TO MY LIFE

2008-07-01T05:40:00.000-07:00

Here it is Canada Day and I realize that half of the year is now over. My spring classes are finished and I had a great time meeting new people and freeing them to follow their own hearts and work on their own ideas.

Now it is time to reflect on me.
Now it is time to finish a few of my projects.

Below is our bed quilt which I made about 15 years ago. The design came from a Kaffe Fasset Book ( he is coming to Perth, go figure!!!!) and I loved putting it together. Not knowing too much about quilting at the time ,I used a muslin for the whites ,which is now disintegrating before my eyes. Also I used a cotton thread on the top of my machine and a poly in the bobbin. Needless to say after 15 years of tugging and pulling the poly thread has cut the cotton thread in many ,many places.Our toes get caught in the threads. Oh how I seem to have to learn the hard way! It's still a pretty quilt and I will probably recycle it by making it into bags.
I have started a new bedquilt. Not wanting to do anything too normal and predictable I decided to participate in our guild block of the month challenge. Sharon, had a brilliant idea, to have everyone make a scrappy block a month which would then end up in a complete top for each of the participants.In this quilt there is a large square where we could do anything that we wanted. I chose four circles. The blocks were put together randomly and now I have the lovely job of making it work somehow. I do love a challenge. Below is the top half of the quilt on my design wall.

A closeup of one section.

Now, because I sit on my butt a lot, when this deal came to the Canadian Tire Store I could not resist. It was $499 on sale, the normal price is $1399. Who could resist saving $900? That is a lot of fabric.

Before I can work at my sewing I spend a little time on this machine. I am now up to 2 minutes at the lowest setting. My goal is to make it to 3o.I do love a challenge.

FREE MOTION TUTORIAL -5

2008-06-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, here are a few more fun things to try.

Trapping sequins under a sheer fabric.
1. Draw a shape onto a paper backed fusible web such as Wonder Under, say a butterfly wing.
2. Cut out the shape leaving a 1/4 inch border.
3. Cut a smaller hole inside the shape of the wing. This is where you will place your sequins so that they can move under the sheer.
4. Iron the cut out paper backed fusible web to a sheer, watching the temp of your iron and using a teflon sheet or parchment paper under the sheer and under the iron. Sometimes the glue from the fusible web will come through the sheer. You can imagine what kind of a mess this can make, so protect your iron and your ironing board. I still need to buy a new ironing board cover quite often as I forget this step now and then in my hurry to finish something.
5. Take the paper from the sheer, and lay it down on your backgroung.
6.Slip some sequins under the sheer where you have cut away the paperbacked fusible web.
7.Put your teflon sheet or parchment paper on top and iron it down.
8. Free motion around the edges and there you are, a fun and glittery applique.
9.This works really well on wearable art projects.

Cutaway applique.
1. Draw a shape on your background onto which you have placed some kind of stabilizer.
2.Stitch with a very small stitch .15 mm on the line.
3. Cut the inside away leaving the stitching intact.
4.Apply a see through washaway stabilizer to the back and the front of the hole. Pin or baste it in place.
5. Set up for free motion and so across the hole using any design that you may wish making sure to catch the edges. Finish the edges.
6. Stitch to your hearts contenct and when satisfied wash away the stabilizer.

Copying cartoons.
Take any simple line drawing and try to copy it. Don't worry about it being perfect as this is just for fun.The gentleman looks like my husband. He is quite cute.

Taking a fabric and using the shapes from the fabric.

Same as above, also all of these projects can be done on quilt sandwiches. Try them all, and keep your samples for future reference. I also write with a marker on the sample how I set up my machine to get this effect. If you are anything like me, I will forget what I did when I want to achieve the same effect again.

Have fun!!!

Any questions, email me - catelaw@sympatico.ca

FREE MOTION TUTORIAL- 4

2008-06-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

Some more fun things to try.

1. Set your machine to a zig zag stitch, drop the feed dogs and get ready to play.
2. If you move your fabric in a vertical direction you will get a zig zag stitch. If you slow your fabric down enough you will eventually get a satin stitch.
3. If you move it from side to side or horizontally you will get a fat uneven line.
4. If you move the fabric diagonally you will cover a lot of the fabric and lay colour down quite thickly.
5. Try to make a leaf shape. The effects can be quite fab. Check below.

Now , find a design, back it with a fusible web like Wonder Under, cut it in half and iron it onto a quilt sandwich. Now the fun is to free motion the shape and then add the missing half. It doesn't need to be perfect as it will look quite artsy.

Cut out some flower and leaf shapes from fabric scraps that have a fusible web ironed to them. Finish the design with free motion.

If free form cutting is not your thing , cut the flowers from a floral fabric.

Have fun playing. If you have questions you can contact me at catelaw@sympatico.ca

STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY-5

2008-06-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we also finished our third day for the second class. Below you will find the work. Many thanks to Cate, Peggy, Pauline, Joanne, Sharon, Suzanne, Jane, Linda, Carol, Linda, and Marlene, for and enjoyable time. It was fun to meet all of you and you are to be congratulated on your work.
The portrait after the background fabrics were chosen.

The subject who came for a visit.

A cow with her calf and a familiar barn in the background.

Great work from a student who had never free motioned before.

Lovely fabric choices and delicate cutting. This is one of four cats. Notice the interesting background.

The photo and the fabric piece. Love that tongue.

Here is trouble once again. The background fabric is the same as the quilt in the picture.

A totally framed and finished piece.

A fabulous rooster with excellent fabric choices.

While we were busy sewing inside ,there was a lovely show in the back garden outside at the Country Quilter. Below is the finished piece welcoming everyone in.

It was fun to see old friends and Elaine was artist in residence for the event.

Quilts on clotheslines, what a lovely picture!

The weather was perfect!

STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY-4

2008-06-23T05:11:00.004-07:00

I am so pleased with the results from my Pic To Quilt Class at The Country Quilter in Richmond.
This a process that is not too difficult but takes some work. If you can trace , you can do this.
Below is Olli's chrysthantimum. She started with a pic of one of her own flowers, it is fab. As you can see there is a lot of detail and when the fabric ( silk) is put together it all just glows. Can't wait to see the finished project. Heather has been working on her favourite feline friend. She has captured the colouring with her fabric choices.

Virginia went for a large scale portrait. Her piece will have great impact once it is hanging on a wall.

Vikki paid great attention to detail in her piece. She has captured this fabulous animal very well.

Jan choose a floral subject, below you will see the pic and the piece. I love the colour of the shadows on the wall.

Same piece with more stitching and quilting, Don't you love the colour and fabric choices!!!!

Everyone is to be congratulated, at times it was daunting but if you persevere, this technique does work and the results shown on this blog certainly show that.

Thanks for a great time ladies !!!!!

STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY-3

2008-06-22T04:34:00.000-07:00

More pics from the second class. At this stage of the projects all the pieces have been fused together so that the animals are now one unit.

A little pencil crayon brings life to the eyes. This one looks like trouble, what mischievious eyes.

Great work everyone!!!

More to come.

STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY-2

2008-06-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

Since I am preparing for the last class in this series I thought that I had better post last week's pics. This gruop came to The Country Quilter last Friday.We are now taking all of our pieces and fusing them together on a teflon sheet or parchment paper.This is what all the numbering has been about. This is also the last chance for changing your mind about fabric choices.

Dogs are a favourite subject.

It is amazing to see the animals come to life.

Love the depth this flower has.

And now for choosing threads.

In this work you have to make a lot of decisions as you work through it. These choices then truly make the piece your own. It takes courage to make this leap so applaud all of participants in this class.

FREE MOTION TUTORIAL-3

2008-06-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Try this really fun way to practise free motion. Find a print that has clear images, layer it with batting and a solid colour backing and pin or baste together. Put a pretty contrasting thread in the top of the machine and the same in the bobbin. Then free motion around all of the shapes. Don't even cut the thread when a shape is finished, go ahead and travel to the next space.

Turn it over and your design has been transferred to the back. make a jacket or placements but don't show anyone the back. Who will ever know????? You are a genious!!!!

STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY-1

2008-06-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the Country Quilter in Richmond starting our first day of the
From Pic To Quilt Class a little over a week ago. The students are using their own pictures to design their own piece of fibre art. Although this may seem dificult at first, and everyone thinks that they have to be able to draw, if you can trace and are willting( I mean willing, it was really hot and steamy on this day) to do a bit of work the results are fabulous as you will see when we have finished our third session.
At first we look at the picture and trace our design onto artist's tracing paper.

This is quite intense as everyone really consentrates on their work. Flowers are always a lovely subject.

How about using your pet as subject matter? If you love your subject you will really be pleased with yourself when the project actually looks like your animal.

Here we are making colour choice to bring the piece to life.

More to come.

FREE MOTION TUTORIAL -2

2008-06-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

To get really great at free motion is really very simple.
Practice,practice and more practice.
Make yourself about 10 quilt sandwiches. That is layer 14 inch squares ( aproximate - I use my leftovers and scraps) of fabric, batting and backing and pin or sew them together on the edges. Then cover them completely with free motion. Number them from 1- 10 and by the time you do the 10th one you will see the improvement when you compare it to the first one.
This is what you can do after you have had some experience. Click on the pic to get more detail.

SUNDAY REFLECTION

2008-06-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here it is Sunday a.m., my husband and son are off playing golf, and I am on my computer reflecting on what has been a busy spring. I had to cancel a few things to my regret , as I am still 30 years old in my head but my body is 62. I have promised myself that I would limit what I will book next year but how do you choose?
I love to do the work, and I love to teach. I have just finished two days at The Country Quilter in Richmond where we had such a great time. The project was difficult but by the end of the day, everyone got it. I will post pics of the work as we get nearer to completion.
Below is the result of another workshop that took place in my studio here at home. We are working here on my " Driving in the Country " piece. It is colourful,whimsical and lots of fun. Irene used lots of prints and used a fun buttrfly fabric for her car.

Eleanor came up with some farm animals and a racoon.

FREE MOTION LESSON 2

Here is some more fun designs to try.

1.To make a zigzag you move your fabric up and down stopping for a couple of stitches to make the point. If you don't stop you will get a wavy line.
2. Stippling is also fun. The object is to quilt the fabric down so you randomly cover it with puzzle like shapes.HINT I don't worry about crossing over lines, if it happens, it happens, who cares anyway.
3. Try making a loop up and then following it with a loop down. if you can't get it on your machine, try it with paper and pencil first.
4. The same goes for the heart shapes.

5. Now we can realy be creative. Try a line of flowers.
6.Try some stars. Make a V shape, go through the middle of the next line,go through the middle of the next line,and then go back to the beginning.
7.Try some shapes all in a row.
8. Now for the most fun, write your name. Give it a few tries until you find out what works for you.
HINT If you don't want the connecting lines to show on your quilt when you are free motioning things like stars, take a few stitches in place when your star is finished, raise your presser foot which disengages the tension, then you can move your fabric to where the next star should be. After you are done then you can cut away all of the connecting lines.

ENJOY!!!!

FREE MOTION TUTORIAL -1

2008-06-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some things to try with free motion. The first two are the easiest to do. Cover a whole quilt sandwich with these two until you get a feel for it. HINT -make sure that you leave an inch all the way around the quilt sandwich as you need to have something to hang onto.

The spirals are interesting. If you go into the center without stopping you will get the smooth circle on the left. Try going into the center and then back out. To get square corners stop where you want the corners to be, take a few stitches in one place and then move to the next corner.

Loops are lots of fun. Try e's, l's and upside down loops. Don't worry if you are wobbely, the more you practise the smoother your free motion will become.

CAN"T SLEEP

2008-06-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Can't sleep tonight so I thought that I might start my next series of lessons. During June I am going to share with you what I have learned about free motion quilting and embroidery.
This is what you can do. Now all of you free motion virgins, don't be faint of heart, we will start at the beginning. Click on the pic to see the stitching on the flower which has been done using free motion.

FREE MOTION LESSON-1

Free motion is a technique where you drop the feed dogs of your sewing machine, put on your darning foot and sew using your hands to control the stitch length. When you move the fabric slowly under the darning foot you will produce small stitches. As you move the fabric more quickly, your stitches will become longer. The beauty of this technique is that you are able to go in any direction that you wish. Think of the possibilities!

This is what you need

1. A sewing machine in good working order with darning capability.

2.A darning or free motion quilting foot.

3. Two 14” x 14” quilt sandwiches (quilt sandwiches #1 and #2). Layering muslin, cotton batting and a scrap of fabric makes the quilt sandwiches. These layers are pinned or sewn together around the outside edge.

4.Regular sewing machine needle size 80/12.

5. Have the same thread on the top of the machine and in the bottom (polyester or cotton).

6. Set up your machine.

7.Divide each quilt sandwich into four parts using a fabric marker or a pencil.

Instructions

1. Free Motion Routine-This is a good habit to get into, it will prevent problems later.

a)Put fabric under presser foot
b)Put presser foot down.
c) Bring bobbin thread up.
d) Start needle up and down a few stitches, and then move the fabric. Stop and cut off the thread tails.

2. Now push and pull the fabric up and down a few inches so that you are making a very long and close together zigzag. You will be very wobbely at first and that is because the feed dogs are down and you are controlling the stitch lengths. You are also learning a different and new eye hand co-ordination.

3. Now try going from right to left a few inches at a time. This will be a little more awkward but persevere .With practise you will improve.

Tommorrow I wll post some samples and some more excercises for you to try. Again, if you have any questions email me at catelaw@sympatico.ca

Now off to bed.

ART WEAR

2008-05-31T05:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy time this month and but I have to share with you our last Guild meeting.
I belong to the Lanark County Quilter's Guild and have been on the program committee for a couple of years.When I first moved to this area , I didn't know very many people. However the quilt/fibre art community is very active here and it wasn't long before I was involved in some exciting activities.We invited the Wearable Art Group to come and hold a fashion show for us. It was fabulous. It was such an exciting show that noone noticed how late it was. Here are some of the outfits.
Dianne Duncan and Linda Palaisy

Two members

Wendy Fraser

Beth Cameron

Beth Cameron, a member, Viki Zulpo, Janice Jameson

Our members also made some wearable art for our annual challenge. This is Bev Cooper with a wonderful caftan. The lilies were made in a class given by Betty Ives for our guild last fall.

It was a feast for our eyes.

BOBBIN WORK 4

2008-05-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

First I hope that you can make sense of the pics. This is the best I can do with my present camera, I am on the prowl for a new one.
The yarn that I am putting in this bobbin is 3ply Astra. I tried 4 ply but it was just too thick.

1. Wind the bobbin by hand until it is just full. Clip off the tail as it only gets in the way.

2. Drop in the bobbin case for all machines and bypass the tension. Then pull yarn up through the hole.

3. Stitching from the back try the following.Straight stitch different stitch lengths starting at 3mm.Top row is a plain straight stitch. It has to be fairly long so start with 3 mm. As you increase the stitch legth you increase the width of the row that you are sewing.

Now try an open zigzag stitch, the result you get will be like the bottom row.

4. In the second row above, the zigzag was too narrow and it all bunched up.

5. Free motion works fine as long as your movements are fairly large. If the detail becomes too fine it will bunch up again.

6. A little planning and you can have an interesting effect.

Have fun!!!!

If you have any questions, send me an email at catelaw@sympatico.ca

SOMETHING FUN

2008-05-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends and I have decided to host a small intimate retreat where we can experiment,laugh,share, push our fibre art boundaries, and learn new things. May I present the teachers. I apologize for putting my project first but this is how they came up when I loaded up the pics. I still have not been able to move them around in this document. Oh well, some day I will learn.

a. Holy Washers with Catharina Breedyk Law
I have been having fun using washers from the hardware store in my work. What is interesting about this technique is that the shadows become as important as the holes. We will make a small sample of this technique.

b. Moose Trophy by Wendo Van Essen
You will be able to make this charming creature when you are at the retreat. A great project for felting virgins.

c.Don't Exaggerate!Embellish! with Pat Lemaire
Explore with Pat fabric manipulation, yarns , beading and wonderful work with threads.

You will also have a chance to play with fabric paints while you are there.

We have chosen a resort on Chaffey's Locks which is part of the Rideau Canal System. I grew up in this area and as a teenager waited tables at Simmon's Resort. Just down the Road is the Opinicon Hotel Resort where we are holding our weekend workshop. Click on the name and you can check it out.It is a wonderful site where we will be staying in cabins in the woods. The dining room has a reputation for great food and the chef has been with them for more than twenty years. We have the largest cabin the Ponderosa to hang out in the evenings,stone fireplace and all. Our meeting room has a ramp so that machines are easily brought in.

If you wish more information you can contact Cathy at catelaw@sympatico.ca

Oh I forgot!

The name of weekend getaway is ART WITH LOOSE THREADS - Oct.3-5,2008

RENFREW UPDATE

2008-05-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

More works in progress one on the wall and one on the table.

More student work. A few weeks ago I drove up to Renfrew and spent one more day working on the three daisies class in Janet Wilson's studio. As you can see we filled every nook and cranny.

It was a great day.

LAST WEEKEND'S STUDIO TOUR

2008-05-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was pretty flattered when I was invited to participate in the Country Lanes Studio Tour. Now to organize and clean up my space.It is fun to hang all of your work up and see which pieces work nicely together.

It's been a busy time with a lot of preparations made for my first studio tour. Above is my worktable, as clean as it gets. There also sits my "CITY CAT" ready to be delivered to the Tampered With Show at Paper Iages Glalery in Picton. My friend Sue is going to take her for me and we are off to Picton to the vernissage next weekend.

One wall of work. My husband maded tiny shelves so that I could put up as much stuff as possible. A little gallery of small pieces. What fun.

Another view, the walls were full so "Driving in the Country" had to be pinned up in front of my sewing stash.

I had two other artist's share space in my home, Chris a glass artist and Wendo my friend the felter.We had a cold rainy weekend with lots of mosquitos. There were a number of people through and I even had a few children trying some free motion. Shuold have taken some pics.

Thoughts: It was fun to meet all of the people who came to see our work but a tour is a lot of work.

BOBBIN WORK TUTORIAL- 3

2008-05-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

BOBBIN WORK THREE- RIBBON

1.Silk ribbon is lovely to use and you can go up to 7mm in wdth. As long as it can be wound on the bobbin so that it lays flat. This is crucial.

2. The pics are a bit fuzzy but I have found the macro setting on my camera and the next batch should be clearer. So much to learn but it's also so much fun.

3.Pull the ribbon up through the throatplate and bypass the bobbin tension.

4. Take a tailor's awl or something with a point and punch a hole where you want the ribbon to come through on the right side of the work. This takes courage but go ahead, the end result will be worth it.

5. Pull the ribbon up through to the wrong side through the hole that you have just made. and now you are ready to sew. Start with a straight stitch of at least 3mm. Hold the threads with your finger and start to sew.

5. This is what the back of your work looks like. Check out the horizontal lines on the first pic because this is the effect that you achieve. The longer the stitch length the wider the end result.

The horizontal lines are Superior 7 mm. silk ribbon and the vertical lines are Sassa Lynne. I bought both these items at the retreat from Anita Zobens.

http://www.cottonmillthreadworks.com/

Take a deep breath and give it a go.

NEW PIECE - CITY CAT + BOBBIN WORK TUTORIAL - 2

2008-04-30T03:40:00.000-07:00

This is a detail of my new piece City Cat. This was created for the "Tampered With Show" at Paper Images Gallery in Picton which will run in June.
After using a facing to make a round hole in my quilt, I strung some washers in the hole using Wonderfill Dazzle, the same thread That I used in the bobbin in the whole piece.
You may wonder how I kept things in place while stitching, and yes you do have to do this by hand.
I used painer's masking tape to hold the sections of the washer in place as I worked around the circle with my stitching. because it is a low tack tape it doesn't gum up the thread and it is easy to reposition.

There he is in all his glory.The horizontal lines are done with 7 mm. silk ribbon in the bobbin. It is lovely and soft and worth the time that it takes to wind by hand.I bought this from Anita who was at our Art in the Islands retreat . As you make the stitch length longer, the finished result becomes wider.
I have also used a hand dyed cotton which worked very well.

BOBBIN WORK 2
Ii you tried it , you may come into a few problems. Here are some hints.

1.If you have trouble getting the bobbin thread up to the top of your work, make a small hole with a tailor's awl and then use that hole to bring up the thread. Works every time.

2.If the top thread breaks, go to a polyester as it is stronger. Generally cotton will work with cotton, but rayon thread is more delicate and you may have to use a polyester to bring up the bobbin thread.

3. In lesson one we put the thread through the tension. Now try the same excersize with the thread out of the bobbin tension. In top loading machine you put the bobbin in and then leave the thread hanging then bring it up through the throat plate of your machine. In bottom loading machines, you will pass the bobbin thread thruogh the larger hole and then bring it up.
This will give you a looser look.

Have fun and remember if your machine makes a funny noise, stop, your machine may not like what you are doing . If everything checks out with your machine,forge ahead. Just experiment and you will learn what works foryou and your machine.

YOU CAN BE AT ONE WITH YOUR MACHINE!!!

BOBBIN WORK TUTORIAL -1

2008-04-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

This is a sample of some of the bobbin work that I demonstrated at our retreat. The regular bobbin threads don't cause too much difficulty, but the fun begins when you use three ply yarn and ribbons up to 7 mm wide.
Once I got home I have continued to work with bobbin threads and have lots to share.

If you are a bobbin work virgin this is how to start.

LESSON ONE

1.Buy some thread such as Ricky Tims Razzle Dazzle from Superior Threads, or Razzle or Dazzle from Wonderfil Threads, or a heavy rayon from YLI, and you can also use Pearl Cotton. These threads are thicker and mostly will not go through through the top tension disc of your machine.
I say most because there always seems to be an exception. When you are at one with your machine sometimes wonderfull things can happen.

2.Hand wind a bobbin with the thread and put it through the tension as always. Thread the machine with a complimentary thread and you are ready to sew.

3.Pull the thread up through the fabric and then you are ready to start.

4.Straight stitching is the easies way to begin and I like to use a stitch length of at least 3mm. This makes the thread look wonderful.

5.Then you can try a zigzag stitch.

6. If you are brave then try a little free motion.

The effect you get is fab as you get a lot of colour from one row of stitching. If you are having some difficulty email me at catelaw@sympatico.ca and I will answer.

Have fun!

STUDENT WORK

2008-04-10T03:40:00.001-07:00

Last night , I had the Wednesday night group come to my house for classes. It is a very casual class and everyone chooses what they want to work on so I keep it small, no more than four students at a time and we have fun exploring all kinds of ideas in my studio.

This butterfly piece was created by Dianne. New to free motion, she has done an excellent job with this piece. The pic sure doesn't reflect how rich the colours are. She also took a big leap of faith and added the red accents to bring it to life, and it certainly worked well.

Then she stretched it on a wooden frame and voila, a piece of art.

Two days ago Sue dropped in excited to show me her piece for the Tampered With Show at the

Paper Images Gallery in Picton. Peggy is a photographer who invites other artists to interpret her work.

Sue's work is fabulous and she really captured the charm of this old barn.Her thread painting makes the old boards of the barn come to life and at this stage she still hadn't completed the quilting. I can't wait to see it all finished and framed.

VISIT TO RENFREW

2008-04-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
I had a lovely visit in Renfrew with members of the guild. Over two days and braving the bad weather ( freezing rain) each person put their own personal touch on my Three Daisies pattern.
This is Barb in the middle of free motioning the daisies down.She is wearing "machingers" one of my personal favourites to help her grip the fabric.
Here she is holding up her piece, almost finished, her dark background is just lovely,reminding me of a summer's eve. Great job!

Debbie's piece is very dramatic as she had chosen a small dark stripe for her background. This contrast really shows up her work. Sometimes free motion quilting offers up a challenge and although several needles were broken, Debbie persevered and continued to work on her piece. It is stunning!

Janet, who graciously hosted me, wanted a soft piece for her bedroom. Almost a free motion newbie, Janet got into the free motion zone and accomplished a great deal through the two days.

As you can see the background is pieced and this is another great way to show off the daisies.

The soft yellow in this lovely quilt really makes it soft and serene.

Janis who loves a bit of sparkle ,chose a soft brown with little shots of shiny sequin like dots all over it. Her choice of handpainted fabric which had a lot of soft brown in it worked beautifully.I can't wait to see the fin ished piece and I hope that she will send me a pic.

Candice was really brave to come and tackle this project as she was a free motion virgin. After a little practise with free motion basics and a quilt sandwich she was away. Her background which changed in colour was a perfect backdrop for her work. Great work!

Bernie's work was absolutely fabulous. She quietly worked away the two days and just look at what she has done. Below is a closeup of her stitching and it is absolutely fabulious!

Also thanks to JoAnn, who came on the second day as she couldn't get out of her house because of the ice. I will go back for a day in May (no ice I hope) to finish up with everyone. It was a lovely two days for me and it always excites me when other people do fabulous things with my pattern. Thanks ladies!!!