Palms at the Kinneret. W: 22 in x H: 24 in. 2014.
Last year at the summer workshops of the Israel Quilter’s Association I started a piece based on my photo at the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). The workshop was taught by Maya Schonenberger. It was great! Maya is exceptional. Her work is exquisite and we all learned tons.
The Summer 2013 Barnard magazine has a call for entry section and this issue features a photo of my “In the Forest” quilt. It’s a full page photo with a byline… Cindy Kaye Richard ’82… cindyrquilts.com
I got a charge from seeing it in print and I thought I would share. Thanks! Cindy
Forest landscape quilt featured in Barnard Magazine.
Today a student of mine gently commented that when she works at my sewing station, “things fall on the floor”. I looked at the workspace and was embarrassed to agree that it was cluttered beyond reason with tiny pieces of fabric snippets and small scraps from my most recent projects. They tell us to keep them so we can use them in tomorrows projects… But what do we do with them once they become cluttered piles? What do you do with batting scraps? Space is not infinite and too many piles are overwhelming.
I started the tedious job of sorting them by color. Small snippets went into small plastic containers from my husband’s cold cuts… Large pieces went into the old cookies containers we bought and saved. I sorted till I thought I would scream. I actually took a water break long enough to describe this story here, during which time, one of our many cats came in and dumped two of the containers. OH DEAR!!!
So, no choice. I will finish sorting these and cover all the containers. I have shelves for storage and they will serve me well. It has been fun to see what I have. Actually, it’s been inspiring. I started thinking about how some of the green scraps would make lovely tree foliage. So, it is not all for naught.
When I am through, I will have a tidy workspace, happier students and a nicer space in which I can create.
What is my advice? Do this process after every project. If you wait till you have heaps of scraps the task will be so daunting you will not want to do it…
Here are a few photos of before and after… just to inspire you too.
Happy creating.
Insulated Quilted Trivet
Beautiful star pattern trivet, made with special insulated batting to protect your table and counter top surface from heat and cold. This trivet is a functional and charming addition to your kitchen because it reflects the heat or cold away from your table.
Round star design. Made from three beautiful batik cotton fabrics. Matching binding. Fully washable. Lay trivet flat while air drying.
Each trivet is sold individually. Makes a lovely wedding gift when bought in matching sets (as shown in 3rd image).
Dimensions: 9 1/2″ / 24cm diameter
This is a sample of a set of trivets I made as a wedding gift. I will customize each piece according to your color specifications. Just let me know your color needs! You can write to me here if you are local or purchase your new trivets via my Etsy shop.
I just watched a really interesting youtube about the making of fabric, beginning with the raw materials through the printing process. The video was made by Robert Kaufman, CEO of Robert Kaufman fabrics. It’s worth the few minutes to see it. Link below. Well done!
The video was posted on Pissott’s site, our local fabric store.
Kibbutz Shluchot. W: 35.5 in x H: 51 in. 2012.
I am very excited to report my quilt, The fields of Kibbutz Shluhot, which I created in 2010 for the 100 Years of Kibbutz anniversary, has been selected to be part of the International Quilt festival in Beaujolais, outside Lyon, France, 18 – 21 April 2013. The French committee selected my quilt together with 29 other quilts from the Israel Quilters Association to be shown in this exhibit. You can see more about the exhibit by visiting their site:
Quilt Expo at Beaujolais
The quilt reveals a scene in northern Israel of Kibbutz Shluhot overlooking Mt Gilboa, which is very special to me because it reminds me of 30 years ago when I volunteered on this kibbutz. I tried to convey the quiet and serenity of the scene in my quilt.
I created this quilted fabric art using raw-edge applique and many different cotton fabrics as well as “snippets” of fabrics and yarns. The date trees were hand sewn and the fence is made of yarn. I thread painted using all different threads to embellish the piece and finally I machine quilted the layers into a magical quilt that hangs on the wall.
Dimensions:
130cm h x 90cm w / 51″ x 35.5″
As promised, I am back to talk more about the commissioned quilt for Neil Diamond and Kathryn. The center of the quilt contains two paths that converge in a diamond shaped photo of the couple together in marriage. Each path contains photos that relate to special events that touched on each of their lives separately and some photos as a couple.
When I left off with my telling of the story of this quilt I had an approved sketch. I had a month to complete the quilt and ship it so it would arrive in time for the Diamond wedding. I felt the importance and relevance of this project all the way through the process. The concept behind the quilt was to portray their journey and it was truly a journey for me as well.
I was recently approached to take one of my art quilt wall hanging designs, In the Forest, and enlarge it to 52″ x 43″. The buyer debated the size for a long time and ultimately, many emails later, decided she wanted the design to be double the size of the original. That’s not so hard, right? Wrong. The design has a 3-dimensional quality, which I needed to maintain while doubling the size. The challenge was that now she wanted the quilt to be longer than it is wide, exactly the opposite of the original orientation.
Last week at the summer workshops of the Israel Quilters Association a group of us learned what stained glass and quilting have in common. The class was taught by my friend and teacher, Phyllis Cullen, the innovator of this technique.
The stained glass fabrics that worked best were vivid batiks, marbles and small prints. The designs we worked on, based on patterns that Phyllis supplied, were all set on black backgrounds. Then we were taught the tricks of fitting the patterns together and quilting the pieces. One new friend finished the quilt during the one-day class. I managed to finish the quilt top. It was a lovely, inspiring day.
Here is Phyllis teaching and another shot of some stained glass quilts that Phyllis made.
