Mickey Depre - Hexies for Everyone

 DON'T FORGET I HAVE MOVED THIS BLOG to Friestyle.com please visit me there.

  

  

My friend and fellow PAQAette has a great class on Craftsy. Pieced Hexies: Beyond English Paper Piecing.

I meet Mickey Depre many many moons ago at our local quilt group PAQA.

We have even taught together at a couple of venues.

I thought you would enjoy meeting her and checking out HER Craftsy class

BUT to get a feel for who Mickey is I asked her a few questions.

Here are her responses.

Enjoy

1.  What year did you make your first quilt? I made my first traditional quilt in

 1988. My husband bought me a quilting frame for my birthday the first year we

 were married. The journey began there.

 I made my first art quilt about 7 years later when the skill of applique entered my

 life. I have been making both at a steady clip since.

2. What is the first show, and year, that you ever entered your art quilts? Venue?

The very first show I entered was Quilt America in Indianapolis. I think

 the year was 1997. The thrill of seeing my quilt hanging was beyond words. I tell

 all my students, enter shows, even local shows, because if no one enters…well

 there is no show.

3. What is your artistic style?

My style is whatever suits me. Most of my art

quilts are described as whimsical and that is fine by me. When it comes to

traditional quilts they run the gamut from very traditional to funky.

4. Have you ever changed your style from when you started making quilts?

 I haven’t changed my style but what has happened is am showing but sides of

 my quilt personality. As I have often said “There is enough fabric in in the stash

to make both Art and Tradtiional Quilts.

6. What other medium in art influences your work as a fiber artist? My daughter

 is a printmaker. This has brought all kinds of new books and art venues into

 focus. Plus now I can’t stop looking deeper into advertising and the graphics

 used.

7. What do you have coming up? Shows, Articles in magazines, Books, etc.

 Presently I am working on Pieced Hexies Two (tentative name) due for release in

 early 2014.

8. Describe your studio space: My studio space is “Heaven under Earth” as it

is the basement. But it is all mine and where you can find me many mornings at

1am. Being nocturnal I burn a lot of midnight oil.

It's always fun to hear other people talk about their quilting arts and I get great inspiration from what other people are doing, don't you?

Hot Fusing Tips from THE experts

Hot Fusing Tips from Experts One of the easiest ways to make a quilt top is to fuse the fabric pieces in place to create the design. Fabric fusing is the perfect method for contemporary quilt artists who like to improvise in their quilt making. Learn how to quilt pieces like this one by Frieda Anderson, using fused fabrics and improvisational design. To make fused quilt projects even easier, experienced artists fuse a stash of fabrics ahead of time so they can just cut and place their fabrics when they make a quilt. Once they have an arrangement they like, they fuse the pieces into place with an iron. No seam ripping involved! There are many types and brands of fusible, and every quilt artist has preferences. When fusing fabric, you should always read the manufacturer's instructions before beginning to help insure success. But there are a few general tricks for fusing and using fused fabrics for quilt making, and Laura Wasilowski and Frieda Anderson, members of The Chicago School of Fusing, know pretty much all of them. Here is some of their best advice: 1. If you're using a paper-backed fusible, the rough side is the side with the glue. Lay the rough side onto the back of your fabric. 2. Use a hot, dry iron (the cotton setting) and cover the fusible with a piece of the release paper that comes with your fusible, or, use a piece of baking parchment. This will protect your iron from the glue. 3. Don't over-fuse; the excessive heat will cause the glue to harden and make the fabric stiff. 4. After the fusible has cooled, use a rotary cutter to trim off any excess fabric that hasn't been covered with fusible. This way, you won't end up with any partially fused piece of fabric. 5. To separate the backing sheet from the fused fabric, use what Laura calls the squirrel and swipe method. With your hand flat, burrow your fingertips forward between the fabric and the backing sheet (this is the squirrel part). Go a little way in, then swipe your hand side to side once each way quickly to release the outer edges of the paper. Squirrel in a little more, then swipe again. This will help release the paper whole, so you can use it again for protecting your iron, transferring motif shapes, etc. Once you have your fabric fused and ready to go, you're ready to cut, play, and design. In our new limited edition Contemporary Quiltmaking Made Easy Premium Collection, Laura and Frieda join quilting experts Jane LaFazio and Rayna Gillman to teach you how to make a quilt using fusing and improvisational methods. With their expertise and your fabric stash, you'll be creating beautiful quilt projects using improvisation, fusing, appliqué, and more in no time. P.S. Do you fuse a stack of fabric in advance, or fuse as you go? Reveal your method and tell me why you prefer it in the comments section on the Quilting Daily blog.		Vivika Hansen DeNegre Editor More Quilting Daily • Blogs • Galleries • Quilting Arts TV • Free Stuff • Join Quilting Daily • Share Your Comments

Feed Your Creative Appetite with Improvisational Techniques Hurry, Time is Running Out! Whether you’re a novice quilter or just dipping your hands into the wonderful world of quilting, this limited-time collection is sure to please. Save over 32% with the Contemporary Quiltmaking Made Easy Premium Collection and enjoy creating beautiful quilt projects using improvisation, fusing, appliqué, and more. Along with great techniques, you’ll be in the best of hands with fiber artist experts Rayna Gillman, Jane LaFazio, Frieda Anderson, and Laura Wasilowski. In addition to step-by-step techniques for quilters of all skill levels, you have the power to choose your desired format—Workshop DVDs or downloads! LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH WORKSHOP!      Was: $59.85 Now: $39.99    Was: $44.85 Now: $29.99

Since my class Machine Quilting the Home Sweet Home Quilt premiered last week  on Craftsy, I thought I'd share a few of my larger pieced quilts.

By the way I am a guest artist over on my buddy Laura W's site today. Go check it out.

And if you haven't signed up for a chance to win my Craftsy class for free you can do it HERE.

These pieces are all  machine quilted on my domestic home sewing machine. Most are bed size.

September, October, November December 82" x 82"

January, February, March and April 82" x 82"

Woodlight 52" x 52"

Pine Trees 40" x 50"

My Woods 60" x 80"

I like working big sometimes. How about you?

Don't forget I have moved this blog to http://www.friestyle.com go on over and view me there.

Hurrah for Craftsy.

My class Machine Quilting the Home Sweet Home Quilt has launched.

This class is all about learning to do free motion machine quilting on a domestic home sewing machine. All the tips and tricks I have learned over the course of 20 years of free motion machine quilting.

I hope you will go to the Craftsy site and sign up. If you have never been able to take a machine quilting class with me, OR you live far far away from a quilt show or quilt guild now is your chance to learn all about free motion machine quilting and become an award winning quilter just like me.

You can sign up for a chance to win this class for free here.

June Newsletter

June 2013

Fabrics for unique designs As someone who loves color I think one of the most important choices we make as quilters is to pick the right color for the right project. I dye fabrics that make your projects pop with color. FrieStyle Design fabrics are rich with saturated color and choose.  Pick your fabrics. CRAFTSY I am so excited to announce that I am now a Craftsy instructor! My Machine Quilting the Home Sweet Home class will premier this month.  As a special for all my loyal followers you have a chance to win a free version of this class.  Machine Quilting is one of my most popular classes. But if you haven't had the opportunity to take this class with me, maybe you can take it on line.

Patterns for fun What We Offer Our goal is to help make your sewing as fun and effortless as possible. My patterns are easy to make with step by step directions that are easy to follow. You can use fabric from your stash or you can use my hand dyed fabrics to achieve the same results as I do. Check out the variety of patterns today. Fun places to take a class It is always so much fun to take a class One of the great things about quilting is there are so many places for you to take classes. I will be in many different parts of the country this year and next, I'll bet that I will be near you too. Please check out where I am teaching. Do you want to take a cruise? I'll be teaching on one. Do you live in California? I'll be teaching at IQA in Long Beach, and at Pacific International in Santa Clara.  Do you live on the East Coast? I'll be in New Hampshire and Atlanta How about the Mid-West?  I'll be at the Quilting Expo in Madison. Didn't find anything by you?  I would love to come and teach at your quilt guild. Find a class in your area.

Frieda Anderson frieda@friestyle.com You can view my quilts on my webpage.