My Workshops at the International Quilt Festival

 
 
Standing proud in front of my finalist whimsical quilt *BLUE DODO* at the International Quilt Festival.
 
I returned from Houston with happy memories in my heart.


Even though it was a lot of work to prepare a workshop (materials, samples..) it was well worth it because I love to teach!
 I want to thank you, each of my students who came to my classes and demos. You made it fun!

I also had time to play. Meeting with old and new friends.
Thank you *Omnigrid* for the generous swag bag.
 
In my next post I will show you some of the beautiful quilts I saw at the show.
 

Houston International Quilt Festival 2016

Oh I’m happy packing for Houston and finishing the kits for my classes.

 This is a detail of my *Blue Dodo*quilt. It is a finalist in the World of Beauty Contest at the International Festival! For those who don't already know, this is a juried show. I hope to see you there.

*HUG* Stitch with *WAX PASTELS* on Fabric

*Bloom*
 Techniques used: String Painting with Wax Pastels, Hug Stitch, Infused newsprint cloth, paper lamination, trapunto, appliqué, free-motion quilted 
I'd love to spark your creativity at one of my workshops: 


 
Nov 3 (morning) Hand Embroidered *HUG* Stitch, you can read more HERE
 
Nov 3 (afternoon) String Painting on Fabric, you can read more HERE

Painting Cloth to match my New Buttons

 
On my last trip to New York I visited the garment district. It was in there where I found unusual buttons with chocolate brown and chartreuse colored lines.
Once home, I put a piece of rayon fabric on my table and prepared the fabric reactive dyes to match my buttons (Brazilian nut and Chartreuse from dharmatrading). Then I thickened them a little, turned on salsa music full blast and started to pour the dyes on to the cloth.

Oh, how much fun I had dyeing with just the flow of the melodies I heard. When I was done I felt content, in my happy place.
After batching (waiting for the dye to stick to the fibers of the cloth), washing and drying, I used this artcloth to sew a garment for myself. Once it was finished, I used Aurifil 28w cotton thread for details. I chose this thread because it shows off the topstitching beautifully and at the same time it's sturdy.
And here I am showing off my finished garment, which I called *My Guacamole Blouse*
 

Smile with Confidence

As we get older chances are that we get some more dental work done. Some of us end up with crowns and bridges. We all know how difficult they are to clean especially when we eat leafy food and seeds. There’s nothing more embarrassing than being seated around a table, with friends, enjoying spinach dip, salad or delicious sushi and food gets stuck between your teeth without noticing it. You continue your conversations oblivious to the pesky stuff “decorating” your mouth.

“Soft-picks®”, which are little cones that you can carry in your pocket or your purse, are ideal for rescuing you in these kinds of situations. That’s why I had the idea to do a case for them, which is flat, small and funky that I can carry everywhere and, best of all, it is made from recyclable material!

Let me guide you through the process:
Choose a colored piece of newspaper and write on top with a black marker. It doesn’t matter if it is legible or not, nobody is going to read it--what you want are the black marks to be a part of the design. It is a liberating stage.
Once you are happy with the design choose one or two acrylic colors mixed with a little water and paint the whole surface.
Iron interfacing on the back (any kind will do).
Print words from your computer, in this case I chose the word “smile” in four different languages and cut them apart. Cut letters from newspaper and shapes from colored papers with the help of punchers.
Iron on Vinyl on top, which is a sticky plastic that comes on a roll. I used the Therm O Web® brand. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Cut in strips 6 inches long and 2 inches wide.
With the help of a glass, mark and cut a rounded shape on one end and sew a small button on the other; as shown in the picture.
Fold 1 ½ inches up, from the straight end and sew each side with straight stitches. Put a drop of Fray Check® at the ends before cutting the thread tails.
Once sewn, fold again but this time 2 ½ inches up and crease
Congratulations, your funky case is done! Make sure you make more than one since your friends will love them too!
 



Layered *Paper and Fabric* Quilt

*Layered Paper and Fabric* quilt
 
This work was made from local papers and flyers I collected and, of course, fabric. All the appliqué has been made from two different kind of papers: transparent and opaque.
For the hand-embroidery I used Aurifil Lana thread.  I really enjoy to use the textured strands of these threads. This 50% wool thread runs smoothly up and down the paper and fabric leaving behind strong and colorful marks.
detail showing some beading

*Hand-Embroidered Hug Stitch* WORKSHOP at the International Quilt Festival

Add the *wow* factor to your hand-embroidery with the *Hug Stitch* by using thick chunky threads stitched by hand. This is made almost entirely on top of a previously machine-stitched line with bold wonderful results.
 
*Hand-Embroidered "Hug" stitch* is one of my new workshops that will debut at the International Quilt Festival this coming fall 2016 in Houston.

This workshop will be held on Thursday November 3rd. from 9 to noon.CLASS 447
Each student will create one of the butterflies from the picture shown above. 
I hope you will join me. I would love to meet you. Let me know if you have any questions.
You can read HERE the other workshop I'm offering also at the Festival.