The Fabric Patch, Ephrata, WA

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Maggie Ball

At the end of September, I traveled from west to east across Washington State to Spokane where I taught. I drove on Interstate 90 until just after I crossed the Columbia River, then I headed northwest to Ephrata and then went along Highway 28 instead of returning to the Interstate. This enabled to visit two quilt shops, one in Ephrata and one in Odessa, as well as to enjoy the interesting countryside which is so different from Western Washington. The Fabric Patch, located at 220 10th Avenue SW, was a wonderful surprise. From the outside, it didn’t look like anything special, but inside there was a treasure trove of more and more rooms filled with fabric and quilting supplies.

It is the largest shop in North Central Washington with over 6,000 bolts of fabric and a wide selection of notions, books and patterns.

There was a whole room dedicated to holiday fabrics and fun projects including wonderful pieces for Halloween and Christmas. Look at the charming pumpkin, owl and Christmas tree quilts.

Then there was an abundance of theme fabrics, from sports to animals and more. Here are some great vegetable fabrics.

Ephrata is only a 10 miles away from Interstate 90 just north of Moses Lake so it is well worth the detour even if you decide not to opt for Highway 28 for the rest of the journey to Spokane.

Teaching at West Houston Quilt Guild

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Maggie Ball

In September, I lectured and taught at the West Houston Quilt Guild. My workshop was held in the classroom of a large quilt shop, Quilt Works, (see a previous blog for a tour of the store). I taught my Bargello Quilts with a Twist workshop, based on my book of that title. We had plenty of space and good lighting and of course air conditioning (it was like a sauna outdoors with a temperature of 92 degrees F and very high humidity). I always enjoy teaching at a store since it affords shopping opportunities for all of us and I can help my students select fabrics if they aren’t happy with what they brought to class.

Everyone brings their own choice fabrics and we had a great variety of blocks. My students are always surprised at how different the each person’s blocks look and then delighted at how they can rotate the blocks and make many patterns. Here are some examples from the class.

Sometimes my students send me photos of their completed quilts and I’m always glad to see these. My hope is that when the class is over, they will still be excited by the possibilities, understand and feel confident with the technique, and have a desire to finish the project. Some even go on to make more quilts from Bargello blocks.

American Hero Quilts

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Maggie Ball

With Veterans Day coming up next week, I thought it appropriate to write a post about the American Hero Quilts project and to share four beautiful quilts that were displayed at our Bainbridge Island quilt show in September. These quilts were made by a small group of dedicated volunteers who meet on the third Thursday of every month at Esther’s Fabrics from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Each year, this group creates 12-18 quilts, all of which are donated to wounded veterans at Madigan Army Medical Hospital and other military hospitals.

The American Hero Quilts Organization was founded in 2004 by Sue Nebeker from Vashon Island, WA, to give recognition and appreciation to our wounded service men and women who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Each quilt is a metaphoric hug sending a message of gratitude for their service. 11 years on, over 800 volunteers have contributed quilting hours and made donations. As of the beginning of 2015, over 17,500 quilts had been distributed to deserving men and women and their families. This is a tremendous project. Click on the link above to visit their website and see how you can help.

Thought Patterns exhibit at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Maggie Ball

I’m excited to be one of the 15 artists featured in the current group exhibition, “Thought Patterns”, at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA). “Thought Patterns” is a group exhibition featuring artists working in diverse media. The common thread is how these regional artists construct their ideas in patterned and repetitive ways. The show includes more traditional forms of fiber art (textiles, quilts and baskets) and expands on the notion of “woven constructions” – combining diverse ideas and materials through drawing, painting, artist’s books, metalsmithing, woodworking, construction, digital prints, and video. Whether tightly loomed or more loosely arranged, each artist weaves their own personal narrative.

The show opened in mid-October with a patrons preview party attended by 390 people and the next day an afternoon for meeting the artists and an evening party for guests of the artists. About 35 of my friends came to the evening party and we had a wonderful celebration. I’m thrilled to have four of my quilts in this exhibit and to see them hung in a museum setting in combination with the amazing work of the other artists. I really enjoyed meeting some of the other artists and was surprised how similar we are in drawing inspiration from naturally occurring and man-made patterns. Here is a sampling of their artistic works.

I loved these colorful quilt-like pieces by Julie Haack made from latex paint on salvaged wood. The box is open at the far end and is actually entitled, Quilt Cave. Julie writes, “This is what happens: the geometric patterns distort and invade neighboring planes, the tidy constraints of static rectangles become convex curving forms suggestive of movement. The academic rules that dictate which materials are acceptable in conventional art-making practices are disregarded, instead of canvas, small pieces of wood are assembled in a mosaic and presented formally as a highly crafted object balancing between painting and sculpture.”

Artist Aaron Levine, makes incredible tessellated patterns from hundreds of tiny sixteenth of an inch thick tiles of wood. These are displayed as table tops. The one on the left is entitled I AM the Center. My picture doesn’t do this beautiful table justice. The I is in the center and is then tessellated into gradually changing patterns that are different on each of the four sides of the table. The right picture shows the detail from another table. These are mind blowing.

These exquisite, delicate works are made by Aaron McKnight using tiny pieces of birch bark, papyrus, and acrylic paint and sealant. Aaron uses scissors to cut the patterns of dots from the bark. Without any magnification, (he’s young and has good eye-sight), he creates these beautiful sculptures with wonderful radiant symmetry and detail.

Waterfall, by June Sekiguchi is made from enameled scroll cut engineered wood. This piece is about eight feet tall. The elements are layered and placed on a rod at the top. The order may be reconfigured each time the piece is installed. June is inspired by natural and anthropological sources. She explores by processing, deconstructing, and re-structuring a form and focusing on metaphorical rather than literal interpretation of the source material. The woven piece, from wool and linen, looks very quilt-like to me and I love the bands of gradually changing colors. Suzanne Hubbard wove this and named it Transcendence.

I was delighted how the work of all these artists and others not shown here were displayed in a coherent and attractive exhibit based on repeating elements and patterns. I feel honored to have my work as a part of this. The exhibit runs until mid-February. Do visit if you can!

Quilt Works, Houston, TX

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Maggie Ball

When I taught at the West Houston Quilt Guild in September, my class was held at a large quilt shop, Quilt Works located at 9431 Jones Road and West Road in West Houston. In this store you can choose from over 4,000 bolts of fabric. They sell Pfaff sewing and embroidery machines and a huge selection of thread for both machine and hand embroidery. The space is large and well lit and there are beautiful class samples adorning the walls. They also have a large section of Accu-quilt cutting tools. Here’s the visual tour.

With this amazing selection of quilting supplies, I know that this is a store that I would frequent if I lived in the Houston area.

Ladybug sewing caddy

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Maggie Ball

I’m always learning from my students and enjoy the new gadgets they bring to class. I love this ladybug pin cushion and bobbin holder which includes a pouch at the head for scissors or seam rippers. It is attached to the sewing machine by a suction cup.

These ladybugs are made by Smartneedle. I looked at the reviews on Amazon and they are mixed. Everyone loves the ladybug and many gave the product rave reviews, but some people have had problems with the suction cup not adhering properly. One lady bought two and one worked but the other didn’t. She was able to get the suction cup part replaced. It is possible that some of the suction cups may be defective or perhaps they just don’t work well on certain types of surfaces. Apparently the black spots are the easiest areas in which to put pins and the red rubber is a little tougher.

Pink Castle Fabrics, Ann Arbor, MI

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Maggie Ball

During my teaching trip to Michigan in May, I visited a couple of quilt stores in the Ann Arbor area. Pink Castle Fabrics does much of its business on-line but has a brick and mortar store at 1915 Federal Boulevard, Ann Arbor. The outside of the building looks rather industrial, but the light and airy room is decorated with quilts and there are plenty of fabrics on the shelves.

The store has a modern quilts flavor with bold designs and solid colors. They stock over 250 different colors of solids, the latest designs from modern designers and imported fabrics from Japan. In addition to quilting fabrics, they have linen blends, lawn, voile and knits. There are also plenty of notions. Stop by if you are in the area. Here’s a pictorial tour.

Ann Arbor Sewing Center, MI

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Maggie Ball

During my teaching trip to Michigan in May, I visited a couple of quilt stores in the Ann Arbor area. The Ann Arbor Sewing Center located at 5235 Jackson Avenue in Ann Arbor is the biggest store, (quite possibly in the state), boasting over 7,000 bolts of fabrics. If you are in area and only have time for one quilting store, this is it! They are are family owned and operated, running the business since 1968. The mural is painted above the lower entrance to the store around the back of the building where there is additional parking.

The entrance is welcoming and the store is extremely well stocked with notions, embroidery supplies, patterns and quilting books. They sell and service Bernina, Pfaff, Viking and Singer sewing machines and also carry Horn and Koala sewing cabinets and furniture.

They are well known for their wide selection of batiks and have a large area of the store devoted to this collection.

There’s a spacious area for classes with plenty of inspiring quilts decorating the walls. Another section of the store is devoted to Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

Then there are the novelty prints which are always fun!

Cruising in Alaska – Garden Tours

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Maggie Ball

Many quilters are gardeners. If they aren’t gardeners, they usually have a deep appreciation for botanical geometry and patterns in nature. The color combinations used in formal gardens are often inspiring to quilters and we become aware of the many shades of green and the way that natural colors don’t appear to clash. Many quilters have qualms about choosing colors and values for their quilts. These gardens demonstrate that we can actually get away with putting all kinds of colors together. We just need to move away from the notion of whether or not we would wear these colors together or use them to paint the walls of our houses.

Our final cruise stop was Victoria, B.C., where I took a trip out to the world famous Butchart Gardens. As you can see, the density of color was intense and the carefully planned areas of the gardens could support this. It looked dazzling.

The star-shaped pond was stunning outlined by the green and the mass of pink begonias. An added element with water features are the beautiful reflections. Here is spectacular sunken garden made in an old quarry, with the fountain at the far end.

In Skagway, I had a delicious lunch, including fresh local produce, at the Jewell Gardens. This is a gem of a place about a mile and a half from downtown Skagway. The vegetation is lush and they grow giant vegetables and rhubarb. The growing season is short but the hours of daylight are long. We had a delightful tour enjoying not only the gardens, but their glorious setting with the backdrop of mountains.

There were some glass sculptures tastfully lurking among the flowers and some nice creative touches like this blue barrow of nasturtiums.

Next time you visit some gardens, take note of all the colors and the light and dark shading. As our experience increases, so our quilts become more sophisticated.

Whale’s Tail Quilt Shop, Ketchikan, AK

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Maggie Ball

The Whale’s Tail Quilt Shop in Ketchikan is an easy walk from the cruise ships dock by the downtown area. I visited the store when I was teaching on a quilting cruise to Alaska. It is located in the Salmon Landing building which is a little mini-mall with several stores. The shop is upstairs in a gallery area and they have an inviting display of several quilts hanging around the edges of the walkway and in the stairwell. Here’s a pictorial tour.