Distractions and Decisions

When embarking on a project specifically for a call for entry, it is crucial to read and re-read the entry rules numerous times throughout the process.  The ideas I posted last time for the SAQA Upcycle show, I have set aside.  The dyed tablecloths that I selected are too big!  I don't want to cut them down to size and lose the neat finished edges that those vintage damask linens often have.  I have many more options for upcycle ideas.  Behold, the very ambitious trick-or-treat bag:

This is a vintage feed sack that once held 100 pounds of chicken feed!  Some enterprising youngster turned an empty feed sack inside out and scribbled his Halloween dream on it, as you can see above.  I'd love to know where the kid who had dreams of filling this bag lived, to think that he could get 100 pounds of Halloween candy.  This had to be the plot of a teenage boy. 

Continuing my early planning for this Upcycle entry, I have pulled printed feed sacks from my collection and vintage kitchen linens with chickens on them.  I'll be collecting candy wrappers over the next couple of months.  I'll also be looking into an old candy brand from the past, Chicken Dinner.

Next time, look for a peek at another series that I am starting.  I don't seem to have enough to do!

Postcard from Lebanon, Ohio

What a weekend!  It was good to visit an old stomping ground of mine, even if I did not get to do any sightseeing or much shopping (outside of the quilt show). 

The show was successful for me, not so much financially, but in that I inspired a significant number of people.  I really appreciate the positive responses to my product line and finished art work.  Most of all, I am honored that I had several people approach me expressing their own desires to be more creative.  Keep reading my rambles here for answers to your questions of me.  I have much to get through here over the next couple of weeks from this past weekend.  Welcome to new readers!

Before I get to creative concerns on Thursday, I want to give my appreciation to several Lebanon, Ohio organizations and businesses.  First, the Warren County Historical Society for holding the quilt show.  I hope that it was a successful fundraiser.  Travelers to the region for next year's show or other reasons, I recommend the Shaker Inn Motel for lodging, a nicely maintained vintage motel.  Eat at the Breakfast Club early (the chocolate chip waffles are amazing), Houston Inn for an upscale meal, Doc's (great food, but boisterous bar atmosphere), and for a historic, upscale place with food well worth the price, The Golden Lamb. 

Next time, I will have some book recommendations for those of you who want to jump into art quilting and some thoughts on getting inspiration.

Collage with Vintage Textiles

I'll be giving a short demo each day of the upcoming Lebanon, Ohio quilt show on creating a unique fabric collage with vintage fabric and fancy pieces.

This is a finished collage, a very simple composition made from a fancy hankie, a hand dyed damask napkin, vintage ties and some pieces of my "scrap-lace" fabric technique.

Image and design copyright RPS

Over the next couple of weeks,  I will be working on a few more collages to showcase the items I sell at the quilt shows.  I'll post the progress here as they come together leading up to the show on the first weekend of March.  Here's the start I have on the two I will concentrating on:

Image and design copyright RPS

Image and design copyright RPS

Check back Thursday to see my next steps on these.

Quilt Show Announcement

I will be a vendor at the Lebanon (Ohio) Quilt and Fabric Arts Show, March 2-3, 10-5 each day.  Admission is $7, the event benefits the Warren County Historical Society.  It will be held at the Warren County Fairgrounds, 665 North Broadway, Lebanon, OH.  I will have my usual assortment of hand dyed fabrics, embellishing fibers, dyed vintage doilies, damask linens, fancy work and lots and lots of fancy hankies.  I will be giving a demonstration each day on how to use vintage pieces in fabric collage:

Image and design copyright RPS

Postcard from Mutton Hill

The third Mutton Hill Quilt Show is now history.  Sales were moderate for me and I was quite successful with three of my show entries.  Most importantly, I met more people who are or want to be more creative and who appreciate my unusual hand dyed textiles and art work.  Thank you.  I am energized and inspired by all of you whom I spoke to over the weekend, and by all of the lovely quilts at the show. 

                                     

I want this show to continue, for the Summit County Historical Society, for the vendors, for the quilt crafters and artists, for the supporters of textile arts.  The show dates for next year are October 19 & 20, 2018.  Please consider entering a quilt next year, and come out to the show.  This is a show worth supporting, all of us involved with it want it to continue.  Consider making a challenge entry, the theme for next year is the World War I Centennial.

Of course, I must brag a little.  I won a second place in the Challenge class, the theme being “What’s Your Story?” 

Image and design copyright 2017 RPS

One of my boxes that are a specialty of mine won an honorable mention in the Fiber Arts category.

Image and design copyright 2017 RPS

This was the first time that a Fiber Arts category was offered at Mutton Hill, so I am very honored (and a bit surprised) to have won first place Fiber Art this year! 

Image and design copyright 2017 RPS

My statement for this little piece reads; “In July, the meadows around my rural home are filled with bright orange Butterfly Weed.  This is one in a series of felted and stitched pieces that captures the seasonal changes of the meadows.” 

I enjoy sharing my creative expressions with others, and I hope that I occasionally inspire others to try something new.

Last Two Vending Stints This Year

I was going to discuss the finishing of the purple collage, but I foolishly sent it off to the upcoming Mutton Hill quilt show without getting pictures of it.  So, that will happen later this month when I get it back.

Speaking of the Mutton Hill quilt show, I will be a vendor there, if you are in Ohio, please come out and see the show.  Better yet, buy some beautiful fabric.  I will have my hand dyed fabric of course, and I have recently purchased some great collections of vintage hankies and silk men's ties for fabric collage and crazy quilts.  These will be available along with other fun embellishing items.  I will be presenting a vendor demo each day on using vintage textiles, and I am also giving a presentation on the SAQA art quilt trunk show and SAQA Ohio's Art Quilt Gems. 

The Mutton Hill show is October 13-14, at the John S. Knight Center, 77 East Mill Street, Akron, OH.  Friday hours are 10-6, Saturday from 10-5.  Admission is $10, well worth the price for the quilts you will see and the vendors.

My last venue for the year is the Valley Quilt Guild show, October 20-21 at the First United Methodist Church, 1725 North Wooster Ave., Dover OH.  Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-3, admission $5. 

Quilt National 2017

As I mentioned earlier, I visited the biennial Quilt National show earlier this summer.  This was the third trip to QN for me.  The first show I attended in 2013 was incredibly inspiring for me, and I was astounded by the variety of techniques and pleased with the blend of representational images and abstract constructions.  The next QN that I went to in 2015 fell short of that excitement and energy that I felt from 2013, but I still think the variety was there (a crucial element to me for an art quilt show).

The Dairy Barn, Athens, OH, home of Quilt National

This year, I left feeling rather confused.  I didn't feel that there was much variety in overall techniques.  After viewing the quilts and studying the catalog for a few days after, my confusion only worsened.  There were many quilts in this year's show in which I am struggling to see what the artists want me to see.  What am I missing?

More on Friday...

Latest Adventures

August is almost over, another month of neglecting this blog.  I have had success in other areas, take a look at the most recent batch of fabric I have dyed:

The bottom image is a mass of varied fabrics in a discontinued Procion color called Tea Leaves.  I really wish that it was still available.  It is a rather unstable color, prone to separation and inconsistent color across different fabrics, but that is exactly why I love it!  I don't have to tinker with it so much to get the variety that I desire.

The Coshocton Canal Quilters' show was a modest success for me as a vendor.  They have a nice new venue for the show, I will definitely be back there next year.

As always, thank you to those of you who made purchases, and I appreciate all the input on my fabric, quilts and ideas.  I am always looking to add things and improve.  I am delighted at the demand for vintage things... I'm searching for wooden ironing boards to have at the last two shows for the year!

In an attempt to get back to posting here regularly, I am trying something new: posting again two days a week, but I am only going to give myself fifteen minutes on each post day to get this out.  If carving out creative time each day is a challenge for you, I'm right there with you!  There is so much demanding our attention, and we must make time for things.  It is not easy!  I consider this blog to be a part of my creative efforts, and I have been getting overwhelmed by dreaming up posts that are far too heavy for all that I need to do in a reasonable amount of time.  I must remind myself to keep this as a light journal of my creative adventures, not a chapter in an art history book!

What Happened to July?

Once again, how did time slip by me again?  It has been a busy and mostly fun month, I’m back and full of rambling things to ponder here.  I am probably going to post only once a week, as I need to focus more on making things and other business concerns.  A quilt show deadline looms near, this is what my entry looks like so far:

A long way to go!  That is all my own hand dyed fabric.  Need a fix of luscious fabric like that?  I will be a vendor at the Coshocton Canal Quilters' show, August 11-13.  It is held at the Coshocton (Ohio) County Career Center, 23640 Airport Road.

I made it to the Boston Mills Artfest back in early July, and thoroughly enjoyed my return to the annual event, after missing it for about 17 years.  According to my mother, I had attended the Festival since I was a baby, and I think that the early exposure to the fine arts certainly shaped the course of my life and led to where I am now, trying to make this fabric venture work.  Thank you, Mom!  I may not be secure financially, but art does matter to the spirit and soul.  I am wealthy in creative ideas and in, as Steinbeck so eloquently wrote, “the indescribable joy of creation.”  I take delight in not only my own creations, but those of many others as well.

I cannot decide if my next post will be about Quilt National, (I am hope to view it this weekend), or a ramble about art work versus collectibles.  It will all come out in time...

Mark Your Calendars

Rags Paper Stitches will be vending at the Quilters' Market Day, Saturday April 22 in Fredericktown, OH.  I will have a little of everything; it is advertised as a "flea market for quilters."  I'm planning on bringing hand-dyed fabric, Creativity Kits, funky yarn packs, vintage sewing collectibles and textiles, commercial batiks, thread, patterns and more!

Looking ahead to October, I will again be a vendor at the Mutton Hill Quilt Show in Akron, OH, October 13 and 14.  I hope to have a few additions to my usual crop of dyed fabrics and vintage finds by then - perhaps thread, patterns and books.

If you are in Ohio, please come and see me at these shows!

Backsides

Progress on the collage has not been made yet, I do not have backing fabric yet!  I have found the lost quilt that I mentioned last time.  The search for that one has taken much of my time that was supposed to be spent sewing.  Now I can move forward.

I'm still debating how to put together the purple collage.  I continue to be somewhat mystified at quilt shows by the multitudes of viewers who have to see the backs of many of the quilts.  Yes, I get it that even stitches and so forth are an important part of good craftsmanship.  However, for an art quilt that is hung on a wall, should the back matter so much?  No one, no one, at an art gallery or museum asks to see the back of a watercolor or oil painting.  If anyone did, they'd be escorted out of the place.

It is important for my hand stitching not to come undone - I always end up with lots of knots on the backs of my quilts.  

I don't want the embellishing to fall off!  There is only so much I can add before I have to quilt, and some of my embellishing cannot not sewn over.  I have to add things after quilting.  

This (above) is the back of a small quilt collage that was completely embellished before I pillowcase bound it and quilted it with just four lines of decorative machine stitching (horizontal and vertical axis), and added a scant few decorative stitch flowers here and there.  The thread ends are hidden,  it is still technically a quilt, but not likely to be acceptable in quilt show judging.  The machine didn't like having to deco stitch over some of my embellishing, more points off for uneven stitches!

On this one, I did all my stitching through all three layers.  Since there is so much happening, the awkward knots and undersides of the hand stitching do not seem all that bad... the batik print helps to distract from the ends as well.  However, would this pass muster in a quilt show?  I wonder how much the back matters to the average non-quilter (potential) buyer of my work.

I am leaning towards options of finishing my collages that would disqualify them as quilts, but would result in a better looking back.  I'm not much for entering quilt shows anyway. 

Quilt National Catalog Binge

Thirteen Quilt National catalogs, and that's not all that are out there!  In my still ongoing study of the Quilt National catalogs, I have noticed an expected increase in the innovation and creativity expressed in the entries.  I realize that it is useless for me to really discuss the QN shows here, as I cannot illustrate my points with images from the shows.

One thing I will discuss is a bit of a revelation happening within myself.  I am realizing that there are a surprising number of quilts through the thirteen catalogs that I cannot explain why they should be considered good art.  Now wait, I am not questioning the jurors or artists, I am questioning myself.  What is it that four other people see that I am not seeing? (The four people being the artist and the jurors.)  This struggle of mine is not exclusive to the QN catalogs.  I'm having the same trouble with nearly all of the the artwork illustrated in two books by the same author/artist on becoming a more creative painter.  I have the same feelings about nearly all of the contemporary artwork that museums and galleries think is fabulous.

I am often missing what the artist explains in the statement for the particular piece in the QN catalogs.  It does not matter if I look at the quilt first, then read the statement, or vice versa.

As I said in the last post, we do not have to like everything, but why am I sour about so much?  How many of you out there consistently find yourself indifferent or worse towards the majority of works in an art quilt show?  I find much that I consider innovative and amazingly creative, but so few quilts that I want to look at for more than a minute or so.

Sometimes, it is incredibly difficult to sufficiently explain why we like or love something.  This will be something I will be paying attention to more, to the point of adding to my journal the things I see in artwork that rocks my world.

Report from Mutton Hill

Now that the much anticipated Mutton Hill Quilt Show is over for this year, I can get back to my life!  I will now be back to posting here on Tuesdays and Thursdays; I have many new ideas to get to in the next few weeks, thanks to some of the shoppers at my booth during the past few shows.  If you bought from me at Mutton Hill, thank you!  I'd love to see what you make from my fabric.  I have a long way to go with this crazy dream of mine to support myself with creative endeavors, but I have come a long way already on the journey.

Here is a view of my booth at Mutton Hill:

I managed to get a little bit of everything in there. Next year, I am considering a double booth.  I would love to have space to demonstrate techniques with some of the more unusual items I sell.  Of course, by next year I hope to have some patterns available, plant dyed fabric, more kinds of fabric, and a vintage sewing machine or two to sell.

I am still trying to unpack from the short trip, so I will adjourn here until Thursday, when you can look forward to my comments on a book I have just read about a singer-songwriter... some fascinating insights into the creative process that are universal to any art.

Transitions

Last week was a significant transition for me, and I did not intend to let an entire week go by without posting, but it did.  I have started a part time job, which will provide a little bit of predictable income.  After two years of working for myself, trying to make a go of this art and fabric business, I must do a little restructuring.  I'm not giving up on the business, I still want to keep it up, it just won't be on the scale that I had hoped for someday.  Although, who knows, sometimes amazing things have happened in my life, and I'm sure great things are still waiting for me.

Over the past weekend, I was a vendor at the current venue for the Inspired by the National Parks quilt show.  I was very impressed with the fabric interpretations of our National Parks, the exhibit is a excellent showcase of the versatility of the art quilt and the creativity of the artists.  If it is coming to a location near you, go see it.  I am now inspired to attempt my own pictorial art quilt over the winter.

Thank you to those of you who discovered me and made purchases at the Vendor's Weekend.  I will be at only two more shows this year.  Next up is the Town Square Quilt Lovers' Guild show, Saturday, October 8 (9-6) and Sunday October 9 (10-5) at the Caldwell Elementary School, Fairground Road, Caldwell, Ohio. Admission is $5.

The last show for me this year is the Mutton Hill Quilt Show, Saturday October 22 (10-6) and Sunday, October 23 (10-5) at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron Ohio.  Admission is $10, it is a fundraiser for the Summit County Historical Society.  This promises to be a fabulous show, with more than 200 quilts on display and great vendors (including Rags Paper Stitches!).  If you are in Ohio, don't miss it!  Please come out, visit and shop.  I'd always love to see what you've made from my fabric and embellishments.

I promise to have a creative post on Thursday.

Coshocton Wrap-up

The Coshocton Canal Quilters show is in the books.  I sold a little, bought a little, met some new faces, and discovered a great local pizza place.  Should you find yourself in Coshocton, Ohio, whether it is to visit Roscoe Village, or for something else, I recommend Crowtown Pizza on Second Street.  If you are reading this blog for the first time after finding me at the Coshocton show, welcome to my world of ramblings!  If you bought something from me, thank you.  I’d love to see what you make from my fabric.

 

I often have people tell me, whether it is referring to art quilts in general or the unusual textiles that I sell, that they like what they see but don’t know where to start in making something unique.  There are many ways to address the “blank page” challenge.  One quick way to get started is to pick out three or four fabrics that you like, cut a few simple shapes from them, and start playing with different arrangements.  Decide on a finished size, keep it small, and when you get an arrangement you like, start sewing.   

As I mentioned in the opening of this post, I bought a few things over the weekend including some neat vintage quilt blocks and fabric scraps.  I have enough fabric to work with already, but these vintage treasures kept calling me.  I’m inspired to create something with them. 

 

In the next post (hopefully on Thursday), I will give an example of the playing with shapes method of starting a composition. 

What to do with a Hand Dyed Napkin

If you are in Central Ohio, I hope that you can make it out this weekend to the Coshocton Canal Quilters show at the Coshocton Presbyterian Church, North Fourth and Chestnut Street, Coshocton, Ohio.  Admission is $5, hours are 10-6 Friday and Saturday, noon to 3 on Sunday.  I will be selling all sorts of lovely hand dyed fabrics, embellishing fibers, dyed vintage doilies and fancy pieces, and other vintage goodies. 

I have three suitcases full of dyed damask napkins; here are some ideas for using them.

1. Cut them!  Use as you would any off the bolt fabric.  I recommend fusing a lightweight stabilizer to the back before cutting.  Most of the damasks really don't have a "wrong" side, they look great from either side.

2. Use as a base for an applique design.  The damasks work great with wool applique too.

3. Make a fabric collage using a damask napkin for a base.  Make several napkin collages and join them together into a larger wall hanging.

4. Make useful kitchen items from them: place mats, mug rugs, table runners, appliance covers, etc.

5. Make purses and bags from them.

6. Make a quilt - any size!  They combine beautifully with commercial prints and quilting enhances the damask. 

Unfortunately, my hand dyed damask napkins are not available on my Etsy store, you'll have to come see me at a show or find them at Silk Road Textiles in Cincinnati.  I'm working on a couple more retail sources where they will be available.

RPS Show Schedule

The vegetable garden in pretty much in the ground, at least all the started plants have made it in for the season.  I still have some seeds to plant, but that takes less time.  Now for some rain… 

I have no way of knowing where readers of this blog live.  If you are in Ohio, I’d love it if you could make it out to a show this year to buy my stuff!  Here is a list of the venues to find me so far this year: 

July 9, 10-6 Art on the Hill, Mantua, OH (downtown).  I will have mostly finished art work at this one, but I will have a sampling of hand dyed fabric and some Creative Kits. 

Boxes in progress for Art on the Hill

 

July 16-17 (9-5 Saturday, 11-4 Sunday) Pieceable Quilters Guild, Zanesville, OH; Muskingum County Fairgrounds Veterans Complex, Brighton Blvd & Pershing Rd.  Admission $5 

August 12-14 (10-6 Friday and Saturday, 12-3 Sunday) Coshocton Canal Quilters, Coshocton, OH; Coshocton Presbyterian Church, 4^th and Chestnut Street.  Admission $5. 

Lovely dyed vintage damask tablecloths

Buy them, make beautiful things from them!

 

October 8-9 (9-6 Saturday, 10-5 Sunday) Town Square Quilt Lovers’ Guild, Caldwell, OH; Caldwell Elementary School, 44350 Fairground Road.  Admission $5. 

October 22-23 (10-6 Saturday, 10-5 Sunday) Mutton Hill Quilt Show, Akron Ohio; John S. Knight Center.  Admission $10.

 

That's it for now, I will post more about each one closer to the dates.  Later this week, I will have a review of an art show opening in Southeast Ohio.

 

 

What is a Creative Kit?

As an itinerant vendor in a heavily saturated market (quilting and sewing expos), I am constantly thinking of ways to package fabric and notions that stand out from the crowd.  One of my more popular brainstorms is the Creative Kit.  These “kits” are each one of a kind assemblages of hand dyed fabric, lace trims, fancy yarns and dyed vintage doilies.  The contents vary in amount, but an average kit contains three small cuts of fabric (12" to 20" length & width), three or four cuts of trim (10” to 18” each), three or four yarns (one to six yards in length each) and two or three doilies or other vintage fancy work textiles.   

 

I’ve been pleased with the initial reception of the kits, sales have been steady.  However, for every person that buys one, three more ask, “what do you do with this?” I’ve been explaining them as started kits for small art quilts and crazy quilts, but don’t stop there!  Use them for fiber art dolls.  Use them to embellish… anything – baskets, clothing, bags, purses, and hats, whatever it is that you stitch through.  Make fabric collages, postcards, bookmarks, artist trading cards.  Add the trims into pintucks, couch the fancy yarns with decorative threads.  Cut small designs out of the doilies and add them as textural design elements into an applique quilt.  Add a Creative Kit into the fabrics for a wall hanging kit and make it unique.

 

There are a few of my Creative Kits on my Etsy site (click on the link to the right).  Later this summer, I will probably not be putting the doilies in them.  I have not decided what will replace the doilies, but they will soon only be available by the piece at the shows I will attend, not online.  It is getting difficult to find the vintage doilies at a reasonable price.  If you like the kits with the doilies, grab them now!

Fredericktown wrap-up

The year's first quilt show for me is now in the books.  Thank you to those who made purchases, now make something beautiful!  Sales were a bit light for me, but I received a lot of positive response to my hand dyes, especially the "Creative Kit" variety packs.  One color blend in particular has commanded a lot of interest:

I put this blend together as a winter color mix, but it seems to transcend the seasons.  I have been showing a 12" crazy quilt square in these colors and have had several offers to buy it.  I need the square as a sample idea for the Creative Kits, but I will now be making several to sell. 

I made a few purchases; some rayon Sulky thread to try out, and I finally secured a few men's ties to play with.  I have seen several crazy-type quilts made from ties and recently I've noticed some patterns for bags and for skirts that use them.  The wedge shape offers some intriguing design elements to larger art pieces, and I've been wanting to explore repurposing clothing into art quilts.  Right now, I am contemplating a pile of worn out blue jeans and the ties.  So many contrasts there - textures, fabric weight, plain versus pattern, dress-down versus dress-up...  this will be interesting trying to sew silk to denim.

Rags on the Road - Fredericktown, Ohio

I am pleased to announce that my first venue for 2016 will be the Fredericktown, Ohio Quilters' Market Day on Saturday, April 23.  Hours are 10 AM to 3 PM, admission is $5.  It will be held at the Fredericktown High School, 111 Stadium Drive.  It is a small venue, and they are advertising it more as a quilters' flea market.  Last year, there was a good variety of items for sale, lots of good deals.  Some of the vendors were quilt shops from around the region, others were individuals cleaning out their sewing rooms.

I will have a variety - my standard selection of hand dyed fabrics, Creativity Kits, vintage hankies and scarves, buttons, and vintage sewing collectibles.  I might bring along a Singer 99 in a cabinet.  I'll have to see how much room I have in the car!  I will also have a good selection of batik fat quarters and half yards, grab bags of notions and fabric scrap bags (sewing room clean-out). 

I have been known to engage in some trading at these small venues.  I am always looking for vintage sewing machine manuals and attachments, vintage damask linens, fancy hankies, scarves, men's ties, cotton lace trim, and any vintage sewing machine ads and other ephemera.