color Archives | CindyRQuilts

Everyone come to the fair! Etz Chaim, Beit Shemesh. Thursday, 27 Feb. @ 5-9pm

admin — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 09:55:37 +0000

Decorative fiber bowls

Well, it’s time for the fair. I am in frenzy mode. Working… Creating… Not sleeping… The house is a mess and I haven’t done any of the other tasks one should do when running a business EXCEPT making new stuff for the fair. It will be at our synagogue, Etz Chaim in Beit Shemesh on Thursday, 27 Feb. from 5-9 pm. I have been racking my brain to come up with some new artful, yet functional items. I think I have done it. You will tell me, I am sure. So, please come see me at the event.

There will be a bake sale in addition and something else they call a “White Elephant”. You know the adage, someone’s stuff is someone else’s treasure… That’s the Elephant part of the event.

I look forward to seeing you there. Come find something special for your self or the perfect gift and support exceptional, colorful, handmade art and craft at my table. Thanks!

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What do you do with all those leftover fabric snippets, my quilting friends???

admin — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:17:21 +0000

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.

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I’ve been published in Art Quilting Studio Magazine

admin — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:27:20 +0000

Art Quilting Studio magazine just came out with their Winter 2013 issue and guess what? I have a three-page spread in this issue. The topic of my piece is “From Photos to Quilts” where I discuss the process of creating quilts based on photos I have taken.
Here is the table of contents. It’s a quality trade magazine available at books stores, newsstands & online.

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Have you ever wondered how fabric is made?

admin — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 11:28:47 +0000

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.

Robert Kaufman Printing Process

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My kibbutz quilt goes to France

admin — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 14:27:32 +0000

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″

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How I enlarged a 3-dimensional art quilt wall hanging design?

admin — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:43:39 +0000

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.

I decided the best way would be to make a map of the enlarged quilt. Here is a photo of the map I worked up.

Next, I started to put together the strips. When sewing long strips the challenge is to keep everything straight. The longer the strip the more likely the fabric will stretch or that it will be off just a little by the time you reach the bottom. Well, if you do a few strips, that isn’t so bad, but the entire quilt is composed of strips of different widths. I worked painstakingly to keep everything straight. I put sections together, measuring each section to make sure it was even at the top and bottom before attaching it to the next section. Finally I attached all the sections and this is the top I made.

Next I made my quilt sandwich; that’s a top, batting and back. I set it on the dining room table to baste it. I got the usual groans from my family for taking over the table…
Here are some shots of the basted quilt.

Finally I quilted the piece. I have a wonderful sewing machine with lots of bells and whistles, but it is not a long-arm sewing machine. Fitting a quilt this large within the throat of the machine is hard work — hard to manipulate and no small challenge for my back muscles…
Here is a photo of the quilted and bound wall hanging. I’m really happy with the result. The buyer has just sent me payment and I will mail it to her in the US today! I sent her photos along the way and she is very excited. She promised me she would take a photo of the quilt once it is hung on her wall.

P.S. This is the message I received from my happy customer:
“Your amazing piece of artwork arrived 5 minutes ago!!! It is safe and gorgeous!!!! I will hopefully have it hanging tonight!!! I will email you a picture. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with you!!! I’ll be in touch.”
So rewarding when people are happy with my work.

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Needle felting is definitely fiber art!

admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:06:24 +0000

I’ve discovered another loved fiber art technique: Needle felting! It’s great fun made by hand from pure wool fibers. The basics are that you use special needles with barbs along the shaft. These barbs help to weave the fibers of the wool as you punch the fibers on a felt base.

I’ve learned so much from others who enjoy felting and are incredibly talented at it.
Visit Debra at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Deebs. Her work is amazing and she has been kindly sharing her knowledge with me. Debra refers to this process as “wool painting”.

Together with my friend Marina we have been creating beautiful artwork using this technique. Just today we spread out Merino wool fibers in a wet felt process and made felt mats, which will be used as the basis for later art projects.

Here are a couple of examples of some new pieces I made this week that are for purchase via my Etsy shop.

Sea of Galilee Needle Felt

Jordan River Needle Felt

Let me know if you want to learn to do this. It’s handmade so required supplies basically consist of wool fibers and needles. I found a local store to buy the supplies, called HabayitShelBitik.

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“Couples Theme” Art Exhibit at HaElla Gallery, Moshav Givat Yishayahu

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:13:01 +0000

The opening of a unique art exhibit featuring the theme “Couples” took place a week ago, Thursday night. The exhibit is housed in the art gallery on Moshav Givat Yishayahu, home to quite a few artists in the HaElla area.
The theme was presented in paint, photo, steel, chicken wire and wood. Attendees wandered around the art exhibit with a glass of wine and high spirit. One of the renowned artists featured was Moshe Katz, blacksmith. Katz has been exhibited widely internationally.

Katz’s sculptures are available for purchase on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatzStudio

The art portion of the event was followed by a lively concert nearby. The HaElla Artists are a cooperative that run events such as this one several times a year. They also host visitors in their homes at open house weekends before Sukkot and Pesach.

Here are some photos from the evening taken by Vered Terry https://picasaweb.google.com/veredterry/6?authkey=Gv1sRgCInXyqTxx-C8rwE.

For more information about HaElla events and viewing this exhibit, contact Barak Katz, Administrator of HaElla Artists: barak_katz18@walla.com

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Dyeing fabric is really enjoyable

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:03:51 +0000

I had not dyed fabric before yesterday. My friend Riki mentioned that she had some experience with it and she came over to share her knowledge. My daughter Danielle got up early to join in the fun.

Everything was ready… The table was covered and the pans for the dye were out and scraps of cotton fabric were piled high. So we went at it. We used rubber bands and pipe cleaners to make swirls and circles. We wrapped fabric around rice and lentils using rubber bands. This came out a little different than just winding bands around the fabric. Riki made an accordion out of one piece of fabric, which resulted in stripes after she soaked up dye on each side of the accordion. Danielle and Riki decorated a tee shirt from Danielle’s closet.

We read about different methods and dyes from dyeing expert, Paula Burch. Her site is really helpful and informative: http://www.pburch.net/. By the way, we used dye that works on cottons, called Rit dye (www.ritdye.com).

We poured a little bit of dye and some boiling water into aluminum pans and started dunking and swishing the fabrics in them. Although we wore gloves, we all ended up with teal colored fingers. Oh well, that’s the price for fun.

Here are some photos of our morning. I’m ready to do it again! Who wants to join us?

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Batik Quilted black & white weekend tote bag

admin — Sun, 08 May 2011 08:07:42 +0000

I just released my new weekend tote bag! 110 ₪ / $30.
This lovely, handy, multi-purpose tote is made of vibrant batik quilted fabric and is a great gift idea for general use or for bringing to synagogue. It’s great for taking a few items and still looking fashionable without being loaded down. Tissues, keys, sunglasses and a book. What more do you need?

The bag has a cute flower that adds to its beauty. It’s light; it’s cute and it’s washable.
(Flower can be replaced with a Yo Yo if you prefer.)

Machine-pieced and machine-quilted 100% cotton fabric. Handles are filled with batting for added comfort.

Dimensions:
9″ back/front x 2.75″ side panel x 10″ long; 9.5″ handle drop (can be a short shoulder bag or hand-held)
23.5cm back/front x 7cm side panel x 25cm long; 24cm handle drop

Comes in other colors as well for matching. Inquire! You can write to me at cindyrquilts@gmail.com or visit http://www.etsy.com/listing/73675294/batik-quilted-black-white-weekend-tote

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