Vertical Quilting Curve

Here is an artist I would love to be. She works with not only fabric but beads. She also creates quilt art in the form of marvelous garments. My favorite garment is Get Me to the Train on Time which takes you back to Victorian times with the wonderful velvet traveling coat, beautiful embellished princess-seam jacket and a hat that the ladies of the Kentucky Derby would die for.

One of other unique works are Fabulous Fabric Vessels. These are similar to the fabric bowls and vases you may have seen before and fabulous is an understatement especially when you view the close up of one.

If you like her beading you can learn her techniques in her book Beading on Fabric which was just published last year. I’ve had this book since Christmas but have only had time to sit and drool over the great photos of projects. The diagrams for how to different bead stitches are exceptional. I really can’t wait to try them now. I’m going to have to make room in my projects for adding a little beading.

You can view her works in the various galleries on her website. You can get her book at Amazon or try your local quilt and bookstores.

quilting, Larkin Jean Van Horn, beading, quilts, quilted garment, art quilt

I took a class from Cara Gulati at the Spring International Quilt Festival. I have to admit I had not heard of Cara before this class. In fact I’ve really been out of the active quilt world for a little while. Since I love to try my hand at new techniques and would like to do my own designs I liked the idea of her Threads of Imagination class where you learn to work with all those cool threads and also learn how to make your own fabric with water soluble stabilizer and snippets of threads.

I was thrilled with the class and Cara. Her basic philosophy on quilting is to not stress out and be “organic”. I love this and I love her designs. Everything is very bright, cheery and lots of fun. She publishes patterns and books at her publishing company Doodle Press. She also designs fabric that is reminiscent of her art quilts. Her quilt 3-D Party Explosion won Viewers Choice Award at the 2003 International Quilt Festival in Houston.

If you get a chance to take a class from Cara and you want to have fun while learning a new technique I highly recommend it. She has a list of teaching schedule on her website. Also, an article about her is in The Quilter magazine’s July 2007 issue.

The picture below is my fabric I made in her class. I’m still working on the quilted piece.

Cara Gulati, quilting, art quilt, quilt designer, fabric

Quilting as a craft and an art form has come a long way and along with it we see more gentlemen take center stage. One of those very talented and accomplished quilters is Phil Beaver from French Lick, Indiana.

I was first knocked off my feet by his spectacular quilts while living in Bloomington, Indiana. One of his quilts, Letters, won Best of Show at the Indiana Heritage Quilt show. He uses a brush technique to apply paint to his fabrics he uses in his wondrous quilts. In fact, when you first experience his quilts, you will find it hard to believe it is a multitude of different fabrics. Phil’s quilts are works of art that seem to be a huge painted canvas. Only when you go take a closer look do you notice the beautiful machine quilting and painted fabrics. The photos you will see in his gallery do NOT do them justice. They really should be seen in person to fully appreciate the workmanship and talent that exudes from their surfaces.

He does sell patterns as well as a collection of very unique fabric that looks like he painted them just for you. These are definitely on my must have list.

If you are lucky enough you can take a class from Phil. He does travel and you can check his calender for upcoming events he is involved with. He also hosts an annual workshop in his hometown French Lick, Indiana which will be held this year at the newly renovated French Lick Resort and Casino. Wow! What a perfect retreat!

French Lick and West Baden used to be a huge resort area for the likes of Al Capone and even FDR. There is a little of this history in the workshop information. I can tell you first hand that this is a very unique place to go. I took a tour of the West Baden Springs Hotel halfway during its restoration and it was the most phenomenal trip back in time I have yet to experience. For me, it was like stepping into what the luxurious interior of the Titanic must have looked like. The remoteness of the area will have you thinking you stumbled upon a lost civilization filled with a history unique to the era it was built. (Note: If you have a hard time getting your husband to go they have an outstanding golf course AND it is the boyhood home of Larry Bird.)

quilting, Phil Beaver, painted fabric, art quilt, French Lick, West Baden, Southern Indiana, quilt workshop

I met Irma Gail Hatcher several years ago when I lived in Little Rock, Arkansas and was a member of the same quilt guild, the Arkansas Quilters Guild. At the time she was probably the most famous quilter I had ever met. She had already a few books published including Hot Fudge Sundae and Conway Album (I’m Not From Baltimore). In case your curious Conway is the town where she lives in Arkansas.

She has designed many beautiful and award winning quilts based on the Baltimore Album quilts. The Baltimore style is one usually made of many appliqued blocks and could represent the life of the person receiving the quilt. The style is very recognizable. If you’ve seen the movie How to Make an American Quilt, the quilt being made during the movie is in this style. To view a history and virtual exhibit visit the Maryland Historical society which has an excellent site for learning as well as great interactive activities.

Irma Gail’s quilts may have a foundation of Baltimore style but they definitely have a style that is all hers including her workmanship. Irma Gail is one of the most dedicated and hardworking quilters of our time. Her Conway Album (I’m Not from Baltimore Quilt) was chosen as one of the 100 Best American Quilts of the 20th Century by the American Quilter’s Society and is part of the AQS’s museum collection. A short list of her other awards include: Gingher Award for Hand Workmanship, Mary Krickbaum Award for Best Hand Quilting at 1997 National Quilting Association Show, Best Workmanship Award at Quilt America and several other ribbons at various shows which you can see listed on her web site.

I continue to be in awe of her accomplishments and her workmanship. And, I’m still bummed that my car broke down and I had to miss a class she was teaching on hand quilting. Luckily she still teaches and hopefully I will get to take that class someday.

Ok, I came up with this on a whim and I’m sure lots of other folks have the same exact feature but I’m new here and since I can’t sew everyday I can at least talk about the lucky people who get to do what they love for a living. I’ve chosen Nancy Crow this week because she was one of the first quilt artists I heard of who actually was considered a “real” artist while being a quilter. She was the first contemporary quilter to be exhibited in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. And I’ve met her and seen her quilts up close and personal although it has been several years. She made me think I could actually be an artist with fabric.

I love what she says in her artist statement about her art:

I identify who I am with my art work…in other words, I love the work, the experience of making each quilt. It’s my life, my life’s work! I feel lost not doing art, unsatisfied, anxious, bored.

I don’t know about you but that last sentence of feeling lost and unsatisfied when not doing what you love really hit home. I left a retail job many years ago and went to work for Leisure Arts and my husband commented that I was a different (luckily better) person than in my other job. Unfortunately, I had to leave that job for my husband’s job but it still gave me a lot of gifts knowing what I really like to do and look here I am!

One of the other cool things she has that I’m jealous of is her workshop/studio. It is a huge barn on a farm in Baltimore, OH, not far from where I grew up. Back then she didn’t have the studio there and I didn’t have the quilting bug quite yet but one of these days I’m going to take a class with her in that barn. She does several classes a year there and they always fill up with people from around the world.

If you have not heard of Nancy you should check out her website. She has a new book cataloguing her quilts through 2005 and you can find her quilts in several art museums. She also designs a fabric line availble in many fine quilt stores which she lists on her site.

Thanks for reading my first installation of the designer of the week. Hopefully I will be able to actually interview some of them in the future. If you would like to see someone profiled please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.