Whew! After an intense few weeks with little sleep and a lot of leaning on my family, the quilt of Chloe the Marabou Stork is finally done. I won’t make you scroll to the end. Here she is. The title “Kaloli Moondance” was given to recognize the Ugandan name for the marabou stork—Kaloli Bird—and the beautiful harvest … More In Progress: Introducing “Kaloli Moondance”
A few weeks ago I introduced a new quilt I’m working on. For now I’m calling “him” Oscar the Marabou stork. (Feel free to submit more formal title ideas in the comments below.) As I said previously, this piece will be part of an eleven-quilt show entitled “Specimens” that will debut at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this … More In Progress: Marabou Stork 2
Big announcement! Guess what?! I’m having my own special exhibit in at the Houston International Quilt Festival from October 29 through November 6th!! This is very exciting for me (did you notice?) as this will be the first showing, the first (but not final) incarnation, of a collection of work I am calling “Specimens.” My hope … More In Progress: Marabou Stork for Special Exhibit at IQF
Of course, while I must admit that I have such a broad taste in color and design that my husband sometimes says it amounts to no taste at all (I prefer to describe my taste as “eclectic”), I do have some broad guidelines for how I select fabric. If I had to break it down, I might use the following criteria: color, pattern, scale, and quantity.
… More Choosing Fabric for Fabric Collage
My visit this week to Prairie Star Quilters, just outside Chicago, was short but sweet. For two days we concentrated on fish, bugs, and butterflies. I like it when a class limits the subject matter this way. I found early on when I started making these small collage quilts that fish, bugs, and butterflies allowed … More On the Road: Prairie Star Quilters, IL
Imagine you’re in one of my five-day classes. You’ve chosen an ambitious project: a fabric collage portrait of an important person in your life. But this is day two of the class. You’ve learned some stuff: You can use glue with fabric. You’re beginning to understand how value determines form. You’ve chosen a great photo to work … More An Eye for an Eye
Sometimes I wonder if I’m a “serious” artist. I mean, I don’t really worry about it, but it crosses my mind. Anyway, do I really want or need to be a “serious” artist? And what is “serious” art anyway? I suppose it’s art with a purpose, with an important message, or with a revolutionary way of viewing the world. … More Quilt Stories: “Dixie Dingo Dreaming”
So you want to make a fabric collage quilt. Great! After choosing an image to work from, the next step in creating a fabric collage quilt is making a simple pattern. This is a critical step, one that even beginning students sense has an enormous influence on the success of their finished product. … More Making a Pattern for a Fabric Collage Quilt
I got a small taste of life on set last week when I was invited to tape two segments for Quilting Arts TV. Thanks to the crew at KS Productions, Stevie the croc quilt and I were both ready for our closeups. … More Lights, Camera, Quilt!
Bugs make excellent subjects for fabric collage. Maybe that’s why I made so many of them over the years and why they are such a favorite with my students. … More Quilt Stories: Bugging Out
Susan Carlson Quilts 