Friday, August 31, 2012

Happy Happy Holiday Weekend

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I will see you all next week.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Fun in class

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Charlotte took my classes at the Quilt Museum this summer. Here are two of the pieces she made in class.

Thanks Charlotte for sharing. I love how they turned out.

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I practiced my quilting swirls and circles-love the design learned in your class with a little Hickman thrown in the mix!

Charlotte

I am currently in OHIO with my buddy Laura and we are getting ready to film two episodes for Quilting Arts. One is for the TV program and one is a DVD on our fusing techniques. I will post pictures.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Christmas in July

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Oh wait it’s August, where did the summer go?

We have had incredible heat here in the mid-west this summer. Normally the temp’s don’t get over 90 degrees, but we had weeks and weeks of 90 degree heat and now all of a sudden it is cool. The world is coming to an end I know it!

Anyway with this cooler weather it made me think of the coming holidays. I love the fall and the winter holidays. Last year I made a really fun and easy Christmas Tree skirt that was featured in Quilting Arts gift 2011/2012 issue. Maybe you saw it.

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It is a completely fused tree skirt and you make it in four panels, quilt each panel and then join them with FUSED strips. Easy to make and assemble and really fun and bright for the holidays.

It inspired me to create a pattern to go with it.

PEACE, LOVE, JOY

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loveds

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These are the easiest little quilts to make. If you make all three you have two holidays ready to celebrate, Christmas and Valentines, you could even put out one for Thanksgiving and then switch it with the other one for Christmas.

I used to really decorated the house for all the different holidays when the kids were still around. Now Christmas is the only one I still go all out for and really only when we are home and not in Florida or PA.

I still have my Christmas wall hanging up from last year, and now that it is almost Christmas again, well half the year IS over, I can just say I am ready early.

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I made this wall hanging in 1992 and it is HAND pieced, with some HAND applique and HAND quilted. I can do it all if I want to, just really don’t want to any more.

HO HO HO

Friday, August 24, 2012

Downtown Grand Rapids

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I love the way reflected images look in class buildings and I have tons of pictures like this from all over the world.

Here is another great example in Grand Rapids.

As I was taking this picture this guy was walking by and shouted out “Take my Picture” so here it is. I made him happy. I guess everyone needs attention sometimes.

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Grand Rapids has turned out to be a very friendly, exciting, and full of flavor kind of town. There are lots of great restaurants to eat in and plenty of friendly mid-western people.

Dithering. While I wholeheartedly believe in mulling things over, sometimes you just have to act.

GONE

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Organic Leaves V found a new home yesterday. There was so much interest in this little quilt, everyone wanted it, but Jacqueline came back yesterday after visiting it in the booth three times on Wednesday and is taking it to it’s new home today. I know it will be loved and happy there.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

This is what you are missing if you are not in GRAND RAPIDS

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The photos I posted before of my booth where from other shows.fagrandrapids2012-2
Here are the real thing!
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I have been getting ready to film a few new episodes on Quilting Arts TV AND a DVD with Laura for Quilting Arts.

So I have spent the last few weeks making new pieces for those episodes. I also made a few new pieces for sale in Grand Rapids.

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This new Cat Tails quilt is mounted on  Timtex covered in fused fabric. Several of you were curious about the process and that will be covered on the new DVD.

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These Trees on a hill are quilted on Timtex. This process will be covered on the DVD too.

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I’m LOVING these new leaves. 
The fabric behind the leaves are made from two different dyed silks. It is so yummy in person.

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Stipey Trees on a Hill, when you are on a roll go with it. This one is NOT mounted on Timtex. Variety is the key.

Now don’t you feel like you are really here with me! Too bad if you aren’t, I’ll miss you.

Monday, August 20, 2012

AQS Grand Rapids

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I’m off to Grand Rapids MI for a week. I will be vending and teaching at the new AQS show at the DeVos Center.
If you are going to the show, please stop by my booth and say hello.
FrieStyle Designs – Frieda Anderson #517
I am giving away a free copy of my pattern “Petite Sunflowers.”
Come on by and get your gift.
Frieda's covers Sunflowers

Friday, August 17, 2012

Fascination II

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I like to piece as well as fuse. And I particularly like to piece leaves this way.

This table runner is pieced.  It is called Aspen Leaves and was in the book Skinny Quilts II

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It was inspired by this quilt called “It’s Good to Be Green” which was in an exhibit by the same name.

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Here is a nice close up of the quilting.

You can see by these illustrations some of how it is made.

To start I made a pattern out of freezer paper.

And then used the freezer paper and some glue to help in the piecing process.

 

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It is fun and yet still free form way to work. You can get all the directions from my pattern Aspen Leaves.

Here are a few other examples of pieced leaves.

FriedaAndersonShimmering Foliage

Shimmering Foliage is a really large quilt and one of my favorites. It measures 82” square. I love this piece.

Leaf Light

Wood Light 54” x 54”. All those leaves were made with the left overs from piecing the big leaves for Shimmering Foliage.

Have a great weekend and look at a few leaves while you are thinking about it.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Fascination

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Why do we become fascinated with something? Is it a reminder of something we have lost, or something that we want?

Do we just love the shape?

Is it the color and texture that attracts us?

Is it the feeling that we like when we see, hear or feel it that we long for?

Perhaps it is all or none of the above.

I find that I am fascinated with trees and leaves in all shapes, sizes, colors and settings.
I will find myself gazing at them when I am driving in the car.

I cut out (really just rip out), or clip images from magazines and the internet. Long before Pinerest I started keeping files on my computer of images that I found on line of anything and everything that I liked.

When I am out walking with George I will be looking at the shapes and colors of the trees and leaves in the landscape. I will be thinking about how I can translate what I see into my art.

So I thought I would share here a few of the leaf imagery that I have made in my own art over the years.

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This was one of the very first pieces I made with leaf imagery. It is fused and I used decorative blades to cut out the rectangles to place the fused leaves in.

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It evolved into this – Organic Leaves. This quilt is in my first book from AQS “Fun Fast Fusies”.
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It is also one of the design classes that I teach. It is a fun exercise in color and shape and design. Letting go and being free form. 

Some people really love this class and some people struggle with letting go. Lefty and righty’s working out their issues.

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This table runner was featured on Quilting Arts TV several years ago. Laura and I were scheduled to do segments for the show and I ended up getting sick at the last minute and Laura had to present my episode for me.

I have never seen it, but I am sure she did a great job.
It is all fused and then machine quilted. So easy and fun to do.

I use this table runner all year long and it gets washed about once a week. It has held up like Iron.

What are your fascinations?

Can you translate it into your art?
Happy Quilting today.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Are you a lefty or a righty

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I am definitely a LEFTY and my husband is a RIGHTY, it is miracle that we have stayed married this long.

Which one are you?

Left and Right Brain

Friday, August 10, 2012

Fusing the blues away

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My good friend Roberta is recovering from cancer.

While going through her chemo treatments she found it hard to do any “real” sewing.

So she decided to do some fusing. Fusing helped chase the blues away and kept her hands, heart and mind busy.

Here are some of the pieces she made during her treatments.
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This is the “tiny” version of my pattern Winter Dreaming. All my patterns come with a little version to make using your left over fused scraps.

Roberta has two or three cats, I’m not sure. One is untouchable when I go to visit. You know the kind.

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I LOVE the coloration on this version of my pattern “Wild Blue Jacks”. Those are some of Roberta’s one hand dyes in the background and border.

Roberta had me teach dyeing to her quilt “bee” several years ago in her garage. We had a great time doing all the gradations and then just playing around with color. I worked them hard.

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From my pattern “Peace, Love, Joy”. This just makes me so happy.

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The colors in “Tulips” is incredibly gorgeous, this picture taken with my iPhone doesn’t do it justice.


Roberta is now done with her chemo and recovering well. She is starting to machine quilt these fabulous pieces. Roberta choose to fuse rather than fuss in the face of adversity. You go girl.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

A fusing sandwich

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I hope you enjoy this quick video of fusing tips. Happy Quilting today.


A few fusing tips

Monday, August 6, 2012

Managing Delay

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There is a very interesting entry by Robert Genn on his blog.
Here is the opening paragraph. I enjoyed reading the rest, I hope you do too.
Dear Artist,

Frank Partnoy in his book,
Wait: The Art and Science of Delay , tells us that procrastination is a winning formula. The idea that procrastination is evil came along with the Protestant work ethic and the Puritanical era, he claims, while most of the greats in ancient times sat around delaying decisions until they became obvious. Wise folks throughout history have waited until the last second, he says. As artists, perhaps we can take some wisdom from this.


I find that I often work this way, letting the piece “rest” while it speaks to me. Then all of a sudden I finish it and move on. Haste is waste in many ways.
Happy Quilting Today and Happy Birthday to my OLDER Sister xxoo

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Prairie Grass

Friday, August 3, 2012

Sun and Surf in California

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I will be off to sun and surf in  October to teach at Pacific International Quilt show in Santa Clara, CA.


I know you don't want to miss taking one of my classes.


One of my most popular classes is Laughing Leaves and SunSet Pines is a fun variation of that class -
  • SunSet Pines – a design class
  • Dancing Trees – a fused art quilt
AND my ever popular
I hope I see many new AND familiar faces at this show.








Don't forget to tell all your quilting friends about these classes. See you there!


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