Paint and Cloth

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.

Taking classes and finishing things

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.

Classes coming up.

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?)

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.

It's almost retreat time

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

Visitors from Kemptville

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

From Pic to Quilt Class

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.

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.

STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY-5

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

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

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

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.

STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY-1

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.