Leslie Tucker Jenison

Are You Ready to Kick Off Your Heels??

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:29:00 +0000

Kick Off Your Heels and support Women's Heart Research!

You may know about my "show fetish". Yes, I have "a few" pairs of shoes. Not as many heels as I used to , but that won't stop me from wanting a pair of THESE heels, created by some very talented artists will be auctioned off to benefit women's heart health and education! Did you know heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined? Join us to educate the public about this disease and help save lives.

"Women Fly When Men Aren't Looking"

The sale of the shoes benefiting the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California
will begin at 8:00 a.m. EST Monday May 20, 2013. Artist created high heeled shoes will be available for purchase over the course of the week as follows:

Shoes can be purchased for $300 on May 20 and 21, 2013
beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST
Shoes can be purchased for $200 on May 22 and 23, 2013
beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST
Shoes can be purchased for $100 on May 24 and 25, 2013
beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST

Set your calendar alarms for Monday, May 20, 2013 and check out the website for your favorite pair of artisan made high heels!

So Proud...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:04:00 +0000

I'm thrilled to share a link to the "Rituals" exhibition as it is displayed at the Open European Quilt Championships at Expo Veldhoven in the Netherlands! Here is a video clip of how it looks in the show:

Guestcollection - Dinner at Eight Artists at EXPO Veldhoven

Made by M-Jan-Design.nl

Playing Around With Thread & Free Motion Quilting...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Here are a few detail shots of an ongoing project. This is a piece of silk broadcloth that was screenprinted with thickened dye in a deconstructed technique as well as through a stencil. Now, I'm playing with threads to "push back" certain elements and bring others forward. Wish me luck!

Observations On A Field Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

I am fortunate to have a close friend who owns a gorgeous riverfront property near San Antonio.
I visited last weekend and we walked down to the river. I grew up in Kansas where the rivers had water that looked a lot like cappuccino: very muddy water. It never ceases to amaze me when I see the crystal clear, aquamarine color of the water here.

I adore the Cypress trees that line the banks of this river.

limestone lines the edge of my friend's property.

I love looking at all the contours and cracks in it.

How does a plant manage to grow out of the center of this rock?

Near the river's edge a cardinal take a bath

Even if they are considered to be a nuisance by many,

these thistle blossoms are lovely.

Finding Your Voice...Or Recovering It

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Recently, I read a powerful blog post by Kelly Rae Roberts. I encourage you to visit her blog and take a moment to read it. I think it is important.
As artists, we are often pushing ourselves in many directions. I know I do. I am primarily a quilt maker, a textile artist who uses my own cloth as well as commercially printed cloth. I am a mixed media artist who works with all sorts of paint, medium, and ephemera. I have more than one means of walking on my artistic path. One medium often informs the other, or so it has been my experience.
That said, we can easily get scattered. Our time is split between making work, applying to shows or teaching venues, volunteering time and resources to organizations, and more. And that is just our artistic selves. What about all the other things that happen in our lives? After all, none of us live in a vacuum!
Every one of us has unique demands on time and artistic resources and these will vary over the years.
If we have young children at home or aging parents, we know that these are our priorities. These are periods of time when our art-lives take a back seat and we find ourselves less prolific. Many of us are doing these things plus juggling the demands of a career outside the studio. It makes me tired to read all this and I. Have. Done. It. And guess what? I wasn't making much art while I was juggling all those plates. Each of these things was an "era", a portion of my life. If I had an artistic voice, it was whispering very faintly.

Early in my "former life" as an RN, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross was a pioneer in the field of death and dying. She humanized and put a face on the experience of loss, death, and challenging life transitions. In reading Ms. Roberts' blog post I was reacquainted with Ross. This quote should resonate for many who read this:

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Realize that we are all the sum of our experiences. We all have great joys and sometimes great sorrow.
It makes us who we are as human beings. And for all of that we learn a great deal about ourselves and the world. As artists, we are often conduits: we use our art as a means of expression.

There are times for many of us that the events of our life overshadow our artistic-selves: it is a universal truth. The challenge is to reawaken the muse, to find the balance, to work with intent, to prioritize time for making art.

Modern Guild Retreat

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:28:00 +0000

Here are a few shots from last weekend's San Antonio Modern Guild retreat near Smithville, Texas.
The retreat organizers did an amazing job of creating fun activities mixed in between all our hard work creating new things. Everyone received very generous door prizes from our sponsors. All-in-all, it was a great, exhausting weekend that was very productive.
I arrived Thursday afternoon. Several of us came early to get a jumpstart on our work. My goal was to fix one project, finish two that were underway, and piece yet another. Ambitious, yes?

Gazing across the large room where we are set up for work. Each participant has

a 4x8 foot design wall and one and a half work tables. Since I brought my Sew Ezi, I had more room!

I worked on this piece, the background for a quilt that I am creating for the MD Anderson ovarian cancer fundraising event.

I am paper-piecing hexi's, which will be part of a design to be appliqued to the surface of the

MD Anderson piece.

Here is a Kaffe Fassett design, the first pattern I have constructed in decades, under construction.

I have always loved this quilt! I made several mistakes as I do not follow written instructions very well.

The mistakes are plainly evident, and I like them very much. Seriously.

It is quite large: 80-something inches by 70-something inches.

We were treated to a surprise champagne and strawberry toast late one evening!

Our toast? The same as the Dinner At Eight toast, given to us by my dear friend, Rachel Parris.

It goes like this...

Here's to strong women:

May We Know Them

May We Raise Them

May We Be Them!

Next up: Finish this big quilt top.

I had previously pieced the bright blocks in the upper right.

Now, my task was to embed the other blocks into a large negative space using a

Kaffe Fassett shot cotton color of gray.

Apparently I did not photograph this after finishing the quilt top. I'll add an image later.

Here is my workspace: messy!

Life Starts Here...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Today, especially after the horrible events that occurred in Boston, I decided to write about something that I experienced during the summer of 2011. I returned to Santa Fe, NM, to spend time with 2 dear friends of mine from Kansas. We don't get to see each other very much now that I have moved to Texas, and we find that planning a trip to a different destination is a great way to stay connected to one another.

While we were in the area we wandered up to Taos, to Georgia O'Keefe's ranch, and more. One of the fun things we did was walk across this bridge.

I was so taken with this little scratched-out message located right in the center of the bridge.

Life Starts Here.

Every morning we wake up and make a decision. Will we live this day to the fullest or will we spend it in worry or anger? I know it isn't always that simple. I know we each have our cares. But, really, we each make a choice as to how to live our lives.

I'm heartsick over the events that occurred in Boston today. I will never understand terrorism and violence.

But, tomorrow, I will wake up and do the very best I can to stay in the moment, to work with intent, to realize that each day is precious.

Because, quite frankly, every single day we can say to ourselves, "Life Starts Here".

Piecing, Jurying, & even a few Hexi's in the mix....

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 01:16:00 +0000

I apologize for not posting in a while. I gave myself a few days to rest up after the trip to Arizona. I didn't mention in the previous posts that I flew to SoCal from Phoenix to spend time with Jamie for a few days before I returned to Texas. We enjoyed our time together.

We have a construction project underway on our property: the demolition of the old pool cabana (a useless, if cute, structure), and are progressing toward a covered-porch and outdoor kitchen. Many setbacks along the way due to some unforeseen issues (hello, septic system located in an entirely different place from the original house plans). The resolution of this rather large hiccup has lead to even better plans that are now unfolding. Below is my husband, standing in front of the framing for the poured concrete that will house the wood-burning pizza oven. He is pretending to shovel a pizza in and out of the oven!

I've been back in the studio with quite a number of plates spinning, or at least wobbling in the air...

I have been revisiting my love of piecing. I started this right after the holidays. I had a major stressor in my extended family that sent me into the studio for what i would like to call "comfort piecing". It was perfect therapy, resulting in a lot of pieced things that need some finishing. I'll show you.

At least 3 different things rolling along on the design wall...

Late last night I pulled the pieced blocks down and started messing with them.

I'm trying to decide what to use as "filler" blocks. I'm still not certain.

The dog is not certain, either, and she is really bored with me.

eh...I just don't know about any of this. Black with white print? White with black print?

Both? None of the above? I'm not feelin it.

Biz has just about "had it" with me. Just after this shot she started stealing things off the floor.

This is her trademark maneuver for distracting me away from my work.

Also in the mix: some hand-basted hexi's!

These, believe it or not, are going to be configured into the shape of an ovary and a fallopian tube.

They will be, theoretically anyway, appliqued onto a background for a quilt that is to be donated to

MD Anderson for an ovarian cancer research fundraising event.

All the more poignant since I now know 3 women who are battling this awful disease.

And, I'm jurying an exhibition. It is a process that takes time. So between sessions at the computer, I'm piecing, sketching, writing, and thinking. Oh!, and I'm playing with Bizzi.

Butterflies, Chihuly Glass, and Cactus Quilts...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Another of the many pleasures of the Desert Botanical Garden was the butterfly aviary.

My friend, Amanda, enjoys photographing the butterflies, too!

Dale Chihuly's glass installation is prominently featured near the entrance.

He will have another show of his glass sculptures at the garden in fall, 2013.

Below is "Saguaro Sentinels", by Patsy Kittredge, who won an award for Best Use of Color at the Arizona Quilters Guild show.

Here is Pasty, posing next to her quilt.

The Desert Botanical Center in Phoenix AZ (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

I was recently invited to teach workshops and give lectures to the Arizona Quilters Guild at their annual show in Mesa AZ. I enjoyed my time in the area very much, and on my day off between workshops and lectures I was invited by one of my students to a "back stage tour" of the Desert Botanical Center, where she volunteers as a master gardener. I was thrilled to see this beautiful place, and we had a wonderful lunch at their brand-new restaurant.
This center covers 145 acres, 65 of which are currently under cultivation. It has been in the community for over 70 years and is a vibrant, active place that serves the community in a wide variety of ways, from cooking classes to children's education.
I had lunch at Gertrude's, the newest restaurant on the property. This is a farm-to-table restaurant, my favorite type of place to dine, especially when I travel. Since my companion is good friends with one of the chefs we were treated very well!

Our little dessert surprise: smoked-chocolate parfait with a basil-infused milk ice-cube!

A sculptural installation at the Center was especially captivating: the work of Philip Haas depicting The Four Seasons, inspired by the work of Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who painted portraits of heads using a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Here are a few shots of the pieces in the garden.

Haas' "Winter" (in foreground)

Arcimboldo's "Winter" painting, c 1573

close-up of face

this image offers a sense of the scale of these pieces

Mixed & Stitched

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:16:00 +0000

The article is in this (current!) issue of Quilting Arts magazine!

I love layering, be it with dye or paint on cloth and/or paper, or collaged elements. One day in the studio I was fooling around with a collage of paper and cloth, and wondered what it would be like to add some stitched organza over the surface. My hope was that the organza would "disappear" into the collage below, allowing the stitches to have the appearance of "floating" over the surface. It worked!

This little experiment is showcased in my newest article for Quilting Arts, as is a step-by-step procedure for mounting work onto a pre-stretched canvas. I hope you will check it out! This issue is just-now hitting newsstands, and subscribers should be receiving it now.

Here is page one of the 5-page article.

I would love to hear back from you after you have read the article! Thanks for stopping by.

What I'm Up To...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

I taught classes and gave lecturesat the quilt show!

Day One: Geltastic & Printalicious workshop!

Notice the quilts pulled back from the work table?

I'm paranoid of paint!

Two gelatin plate monoprints: the second was the combination of

a cut bok choy and a dog brush!

Bok choy was cut with my non-stick serrated Havel's scissors: great when you don't have a knife!

It takes a lot of "stuff" do do this....

Student monoprint using a cross-cut artichoke

Student-made stamp

and the results of it!

Another stamp...

and a print!

Here is a monoprint using a commercial stencil, with gorgeous results!

Workshop 2 was "Wax On/Wax Off", a soywax workshop:

students apply wax at the stations

One of Amanda's beautiful pieces

Amanda, right, working on her various pieces of paper and cloth

Lynnita shows two of her pieces

Roberta and her work

Maureen created one to match her shirt! (not really)

Sandy holds up one of her beauties

Tove liked this one best: she used it to wipe her hands of paint!!

(I told her sometimes my best work was the drop cloth under my print work)

Doris holds up one of her colorful pieces

Nelly shows one of her pieces while she waits for paint to dry on the others

Jeannie had a LOT of fun with the potato masher.

Really.

Valerie had many small, lovely pieces

My students made some stunning pieces on both cloth and a wide variety of papers. We learned that Yupo (synthetic water media paper) works beautifully with soy wax. We saw such a wide array of gorgeous things that were all made with the same tools and the same selection of paints. It never ceases to amaze me. I was honored to be part of their experience.

Day # 3 was equally fun, so much so that I apparently forgot to take any photos! The workshop name was "Doodle, Print, Fuse, Repeat", and the students learned a variety of ways to print imagery on paper and cloth. Using multi-purpose cloth that students painted and set aside, students created stamps, printed onto both cloth and paper, wrote with extruders, used stencils, and more to create a wide variety of collage items. A demonstration of how to use Mistyfuse gave students inspiration for how to layer their work. Each took home some Mistyfuse samples to work with.

I presented two lectures: "Working Small: The Journal Quilt Project", and "The Journey IS the Destination".

I truly enjoyed my time in the area and was so fortunate to have such fun students!

Get A Clue: I'm Just Wild About Nancy Drew!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:00:00 +0000

When I found out that Moda was launching a line of Nancy Drew-themed fabrics, my young-reader-self crawled out of hibernation and starting jumping up and down! Nancy Drew. I credit these books with sparking my love of reading. Birthdays, holidays, sick days: all I wanted was another Nancy Drew Mystery. Naturally, I jumped on this blog hop bandwagon as soon as I learned about it!

I decided to make a throw-sized quilt, something that you could curl under on the sofa while watching "Murder, She Wrote" (which is a ritual around here on occasions when my daughter, Natalie, is here visiting).

First, I asked my architect friend to enlarge this figure, as derived from one of the cloth designs.

Placing the image over a lightbox,

I traced the shape onto a piece of the ND fabric that

had been pre-fused with Mistyfuse.

I worked on the reverse (fused) side of the cloth, tracing with a

Pentel Gel Roller Fabric pen (which I adore BTW!)

Here is the complete tracing on wrong side of fused fabric.

Now, I cut the shape out. It was easy because I was using my fabulous 7" Havel's Scissors

with the micro-serrated blade. You should try these scissors because they are amazing for this type of work!!

Here's Nancy!

She is ready to be fused onto the book panel.

So far, so good!

I like how this looks!

Here, I am "free-cutting" block strips with my wonderful Havel's 7" scissors.

I've had these babies for years and they are as sharp and amazing as the day they

came out of the package. Seriously great scissors!

I made a bunch of pieced blocks that I later changed my mind about.

These are now on the back of the quilt...

before...

I changed my mind and switched to the blue-yellow colorway for the quilt top.

after

Here is a corner block, under-construction

I wrote the quilt label on a piece of plain yellow pre-fused cotton,

using my Pentel Gel Roller Fabric Pen (LOVE).

After fusing, I stitched around each edge.....

The label is the yellow block with blue border in the center of the quilt back.

I decided to place the label prior to the quilting.

I used all the extra pieces of ND fabric to create a scrappy-pieced quiltback.

I like how it looks!

Here is the finished quilt,

long-arm quilted by my friend, Danielle Wilkes.

I machine-stitched the binding.

Here is the quilt "in action": tucked around my daughter, Natalie,

who was visiting from Austin.

We have a ritual of watching old "Murder, She Wrote" episodes on Netflix.

I think it was even more fun all cozied-up under "Nancy"!

I had so much fun making this quilt! For even more great ideas about how to use this fun fabric line, please stop by today's other blog hop participants' sites:

Gracie Oliver Arts

Life In Every Breath

Made By Me In Red

Agnes At That Other Blog

Words and Stitches

Rose Creations

Retired to Quilt

Leslie Tucker Jenison (that's me!)

Feathered Nest Studio

Here is a link to the entire blog hop on a day-by-day basis:

Just Let Me Quilt

Please leave a comment and be eligible for a gift! I'll draw a winner from the people who comment!
ltj

Oh, and PS: The winner will receive a pair of Havel's scissors as well as a Pentel Fabric Gel Roller pen! Woo Hoo!

The Modern Aesthetic of the Gee's Bend Quilts

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +0000

I've been thinking a lot about how much the Modern Quilt aesthetic reminds me of the Gee's Bend Quilts. I was fortunate to see the original Gee's Bend exhibition in Boston at the Museum of Fine Art and it floored me.
Here are some images I took at the Gee's Bend exhibition:

If you are unfamiliar with the Gee's Bend quilts and the history of quiltmaking by these women, I encourage you to find a copy of the exhibition catalog. The beauty of these quilts, especially because of their utilitarian function, is simply gorgeous. Be sure to follow the quiltmaking link, above, and scroll down to see the short video of the women as they sing and work on a quilt. I hope to visit someday.

As an interesting comparison, please take a look at the wonderful photos taken by Luana Rubin, of equilter.com, to see many of the juried quilts of QuiltCon.

QuiltCon!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:30:00 +0000

As QuiltCon weekend winds down I wanted to share a few images with you about the event. And, what an event it has been! My hat is off to the board, as well as all the many volunteers, all of whom worked tirelessly to make this inaugural event go so smoothly and be so much fun!

If you have attended one of the other quilt shows, namely the International Quilt Festival in Houston, I can tell you that this event was much smaller. Still, it was very well done, with a stunning selection of juried quilts, as well as an extensive collection of Denyse Schmidt's quilts, on display.

The many workshops were filled to capacity, and the lecture schedule included a wide selection of speakers, from fabric designers, to leaders in the modern movement, and more. Meg Cox, president of the board of directors for the Quilt Alliance, spoke on Saturday about the history of quilts, and demonstrated how the Quilt Index can be a valuable tool for anyone interested in searching for information about quilts or a particular vintage or style of quilt. Heather Grant gave a fantastic lecture about the history of the Modern Quilt Movement, as well as what it "means" to those who are part of it, and what differentiates this style from traditional or contemporary art quilts.

So many great vendors! I'm so thankful that I was able to shop at Hyggeligt, from London, Ontario, to purchase some more Oakschott fabric, my new(est) obsession. Oh my.

Seen on the bathroom wall of a juice bar in Austin..

My quilt, "Fifty Shades of Groovy", juried into the

Improvisational-pieced group

Meeting up with friends: Frances Holliday Alford

....and Hoodie Crescent

Victoria Findlay Wolfe poses by her gorgeous quilt.

Best. Of. Show.

Congratulations, dear friend! Wowzer is right!!

My daughter, Natalie, gets bitten by the "bug".

Here, she tries out the HandiQuilter Avante longarm machine.

We pose together in the Michael Miller booth.

It was so much FUN to hang out with her at QuiltCon.

80's Dance Party! We had a blast, people.

Here I am posing with a few of the "Tamales", the San Antonio Mod Guild.

I love these women!

L-R: Danielle Wilkes (fabulous longarm quilter), myself, Allison Chambers,

Sara Elliott, Erin Schlosser.

and here is the "money shot" of the weekend:

As a group of us met in the lobby bar for a late dinner at the Hilton,

we were introduced to some Boobology. I could not have gotten this picture

more perfectly. Frances does not look amused, but she was!

Please, someone, can you tell me where this woman's nipples are hidden? Please?

On/Off Fred Road Studio Tour & A Peek At The New Art Cloth Studio Digs

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 06:13:00 +0000

This weekend was the 6th annual On/Off Fred Road Studio Tour. Each year the tour seems to pick up momentum with more studios participating and more visitors to the tour. Since Art Cloth Studios is about to move into its new location it seemed like a great opportunity to open the space and meet some of the neighbors! Although the new wet studio is unfinished (but close!) it was a fun weekend with great weather so a lot of people came to check it out.

New screened porch just outside the kitchen door

Friends greet one another (new wet studio in background)

The kitchen (completely remodeled)

From the kitchen, the copy-area

This room has a flexible use. Miki Rodriguez

chats with a visitor. The door to her left is a dining and/or media area.

The main room has a flexible use. Three design panels grace one wall.

This room has been used for critique sessions, meetings, and more.

The new wet studio, still under construction.

Much more to come!

This is the area to the right of the doorway (above)

The large area will house the print table(s).

Design walls run the length of the far wall.

One of the best things about hanging out this weekend was the opportunity to meet so many of the neighbors, who have watched the transformation of the house and new studio building. Jane Dunnewold has envisioned a lovely space to make art, and it has come to fruition! My husband dropped by Sunday afternoon and really enjoyed seeing how different it looks at this stage compared to early in the restoration. He commented that it seems like a great "woman cave". I think it is a great "artist cave", if you will. The big question is: who is going to make the first smudge in that new space? Not me, I hope! Or should I say, "Oh me, me, ME"!

Once the kinks are worked out in the new spaces the class schedule will go live. Stay tuned: It is going to be great!!

Coming Soon: Get A Clue Blog Hop!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:13:00 +0000

I admit it: I am, and always will be, a Nancy Drew geek. I credit this young reader series for my lifelong love of reading. My daughter and I downloaded one of the earliest ND books and listened to it as an audio book, read by actress Laura Linney, last spring while we were on a long road trip. It was really fun to revisit this series. Now I get to do it again!
You may know about the newly launched line of Moda fabrics called "Get A Clue With Nancy Drew".
Well, in honor of the fabric line, we are having a blog hop!

organized by Sew We Quilt

I am excited to be part of this! My project and post will be on March 13th. Please check the Sew We Quilt site for info. I hope you will stop by on March 13th and check it out.

Here is a quick little peek at my label as I was stitching it....

A Year Of Art Fundraiser Begins Tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Please don’t forget that tomorrow kicks off the 2013 fiber fundraiser to fight cancer,
“A Year of Art,” opening at 10 a.m. Central.
There are two ways you can participate:
1. Donate any amount and be entered in a drawing with one grand prize worth
more than $1550 (which includes voice coaching from me!) http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/AYearofArt2013InspirationDrawing.html
2. Bid on eleven artworks donated by Pamela Allen, Pokey Bolton, Linda Colsh,
Jane Davila, Vivika DeNegre, Jane Dunnewold, Jamie Fingal, Laura Wasilowski,
Yvonne Porcella, Karen Stiehl Osborn, and Virginia Spiegel (who has organized t
his amazing fund-raiser) http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/AYearofArtArtwork.html
The goal is $8000 in just 8 hours. In the past over $220,000 has been donated to
the American Cancer Society to fight cancer. With your help, that total will surely
grow to nearly $230,000 on February 12 and 13.
Good art, good cause. It doesn’t get any better than that!!

Sew Excited!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:26:00 +0000

QuiltCon is around the corner, and I'm sew excited to share that my quilt, "Fifty Shades of Groovy", has been juried into the Improvisational category. I hope to see some of you in Austin! Please drop me a line and let me know if you will be there! I would truly love to meet some of folks who follow the blog.

dimensions 87.5 x 63.5

detail

longarm quilted by Danielle Wilkes

And, drumroll, please.........I'll be teaching a workshop entitled "Fifty Shades of Groovy" this fall at the International Quilt Festival in Houston! This workshop will incorporate your own layer cake or set of pre-cut squares. You can bring a pre-cut stack or make your own. We will use a jellyroll of neutrals and other pre-cut neutrals to create our quilt tops. This will be fun! I hope you can join me. Class sign up will begin in August. Check the Quilts, Inc. website frequently for more info!

I will also be teaching a fun and fabulous class with my partner-in-crime, Jamie Fingal! We will offer

"Painting With A Twist & Shout", which I can tell you is a rollicking fun workshop! More info about this crazy-fun workshop will be on the Dinner At Eight blog shortly.

Obsession With Stacked, Cut Wood

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 07:42:00 +0000

What is it about a stack of cut wood that inspires me? I just love the shapes, all the patterns of rings in the wood, and how the pieces nestle into each other. It is a visual feast!

The Tex Measurement Standard

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 20:21:00 +0000

The Tex system (most likely derived the word textile) was created
as a new standard of consistent thread measurement and intended
to replace all other methods of measurement of threads. It hasn’t
quite achieved that goal because quilters love the weight standard
and the number standard (for example, 40 wt. or #50) and embroiderers
are used to the denier standard (120d/2). Because the International
Organization for Standardization (IOS) has adopted the Tex system,

it will probably continue to gain in popularity so it would be advantageous
to understand it.

Tex is an accurate measurement and is considered a direct numbering
system, meaning the higher the Tex number, the heavier the thread.
On the other hand, the weight system, most popular in the U.S., is not a
direct numbering system because the larger the number (30 wt., 40 wt.,
50. wt., 60 wt.), the finer the thread. That can be confusing.

The Tex standard uses 1,000 meters of thread per gram as the starting
point. This means if 1,000 meters of thread weighs one gram, it is Tex 1.
If 1,000 meters of thread weighs 25 grams, it is Tex 25.

Although this appears to be a very accurate measurement, it is necessary
to remember that 1,000 meters of cotton will not weigh the same as
1,000 meters of like-diameter polyester. Therefore, when comparing thread
sizes based on the Tex or any other standard of measure, for exact accuracy,
compare cotton to cotton, poly to poly, and silk to silk.

We use the Tex measurement on some of our newer threads and on all
our industrial (apparel and upholstery) threads.
Fine Tex Threads . . . . . . Tex 9 to Tex 20
Medium Tex Threads . . . Tex 21 to Tex 45
Heavy Tex Threads . . . . . Tex 45 and higher

Please click here or on the link below for the list of most of our threads,
grouped by use, showing the Tex measurement for each.

Tex Measurement Chart, Listed by Thread Type

This information is shared with permission from the Superior Threads website.
Please stop by the site for additional thread info!

Building Robots

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +0000

To get things started in 2013 I decided to do some pieced quilts. Our family has welcomed several new babies, with another on the way this year. I have missed piecing quilts, so as soon as the holidays passed I began thinking about what to make. I have 4 different quilt tops going right now, which is insane, I realize, but sometimes the creative juices start flowing and I wanted to take advantage.

We have a new set of twin boys, born late last year. Their father is an engineer, as are many of the men in our family. Somehow, robots seemed like a fun idea. I found some great fabric and decided to make 2 quilts with very similar features. First, I strip-pieced a large, square panel and cut it in two sections.

Here is a portion of one quilt as I am deciding how to do the borders.

I used my Go! fabric cutter to die-cut the strips, all fat-quarters. I took each set of strips and picked one from each pattern, stacking them one set after the other, and then pieced them. I did do the jellyroll trick of piecing them end-to-end, then sewed them, one long strip to the other, cut the end, brought it to the other and sewed.....until I got a panel that was the size I wanted.

Even though the border fabric with the pencils and sharpeners isn't

in the same fabric line, I like how it works

Here is the sketch of my robot's head

....and my sophisticated tracing tool!

(all the fabrics I am using to create my robots have been

previously fused with Mistyfuse. It is easier to fuse, then cut out,

my various shapes

The pieces are assembled over a teflon sheet

Using my awesome Havel's 7" scissors for cutting.

I love how well they hold the edge while cutting intricate shapes.

Robot head and neck

I referred to one of the robots in the fabric print for my design inspiration

Using a Pentel Gel Roller Fabric pen, I drew in a few details on the gauges...

Mr. Roboto #1 is finished and ready to fuse to the quilt top!

Here is Mr. Roboto #2

I decided to use the negative space from the hexi die-cut fabrics. My friend Jamie

suggested putting the colors behind the openings, which does make it more visible on the quilt surface.

I love the gray hexis, but they show up better after fusing them to bright solids and cutting around the edges.

Here is one of the two quilt backs...

and here is one of the two finished quilt tops.

Sorry for the odd angle on the photo.

Making these quilts was such fun! Using Mistyfuse and free-cutting the robot shapes was a blast!

Try it!

Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative News

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Although I have not personally contributed to this amazing organization, I feel that this information is worth passing along. I received this email from Ami. I hope you will take a few minutes to read it and consider supporting her organization!

The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative will most likely reach the $1,000,000 mark in money raised for Alzheimer’s research some time in 2013!
The work of your hands and the compassion in your hearts has brought us to this milestone. I will be forever grateful to each and every one of you for your support and dedication.

Ami and her mother, Beebe, in 2006 shortly after the AAQI began.

What began as one person’s response to sorrow and frustration has grown into a national charity embraced by a large portion of the quilting community. More than 13,000 quilts have been donated, turning sweat equity into over$883,000 for research so far. For many donors these quilts were healing works of art which helped them grieve as they stitched for the greater good. Hundreds of thousands of people have seen the AAQI’s two traveling quilt exhibits about Alzheimer’s. Through this artistry came the realization for many that they were not alone on this journey of heartbreak; others understood, perhaps for the first time, what a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s really means. Together quilters have funded 11 research studies at six universities and a medical school. Three more studies will be funded this month and hopefully more throughout 2013. Because of the AAQI, scientists know a little bit more about Alzheimer’s than they did before. Hopefully this understanding will bring us all closer to a cure.
When I created the AAQI back in 2006, I never expected it to become so successful! I also never imaged how much work it would take to keep it going. As the AAQI blossomed, board members and core volunteers have had to increase our hours and pace to keep up. While I find enormous satisfaction in nurturing the AAQI, I much prefer sewing to administrating. I miss just being a full-time quilter.
For this reason, 2013 will be the last year of fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. I hope you will help the AAQI reach our goal of One Million Dollars for research and then at the end of 2013 celebrate with everyone who made this tremendous achievement possible. Please review the important dates below:

February 15, 2013: All bookings for the traveling exhibit “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” must be finalized.

March 1, 2013: First online auction of quilts from “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” traveling exhibit. Twenty-six Name Quilts will be auctioned during the first 10 days of March, April, May, June, July, August, and September. Payment will be required at the conclusion of each auction with shipping in October 2013 after the exhibit retires. The 54 Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts from the traveling exhibit will be auctioned during the first 10 days of October and December.

July 2013: Last month to participate in the Quilt-A-Month Club.

August 1, 2013: Last day to register Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts. Quilts delivered to scanners after August 20 will be refused.

October 29 – November 3, 2013: International Quilt Festival. We hope to be invited back one last time to sell quilts in Houston, TX.

November 1-10, 2013: Celebrity Invitational Quilt Online Auction

December 30, 2013: Last day Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts can be purchased online.

December 31, 2013: Quilts For Sale and Donation pages will be removed from the AAQI website and all solicitations will cease.

2014-2015: The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative will monitor research grants awarded in 2013. The AQQI web page will be left intact for at least six months. Any funds not needed to sustain the AAQI’s final expenses will be donated to research. Remaining assets will be disposed of according to IRS regulations after which time the corporation will be dissolved.

There is still much work to this year as we sprint to the finish line. I hope everyone who reads this will join in, either as a seasoned veteran or a first time quilt donor or quilt buyer. We will continue to make a difference until the very last quilt is sold. Let’s make 2013 the best year ever!
Thank you for your support,
Ami Simms
Founder & Executive Director
Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative

Art Cloth Network Is Looking For New Members

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Art Cloth Network is open for new members! If you'd like information about
the group, see our website at
http://www.feedblitz.com/t2.asp?/401843/0/3965271/http://www.artclothnetwor
k.com/> http://www.artclothnetwork.com.

Members of the Art Cloth Network find that the opportunities for community,
conversation, sharing of techniques, inspiration and resources benefit our
art and creativity. We have recently increased our membership limits to 30
members in good standing, including those on formal leave. When the number
falls below 30, we accept new member applications. We currently have
openings for up to eight new members.

The current deadline for membership applications is March 15, 2013, and you
can send in your application materials at any time prior to the deadline.
You will be notified by April 15, 2013 whether your application has been
approved.

Send a request to jeanne@jeannesisson.com> jeanne@jeannesisson.com
in order to receive detailed information and application instructions. (form
website)

Check Out the Surface Design Association blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Tucker Jenison) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +0000

As many of you know, the international Surface Design Conference is happening in San Antonio this year in June. Needless to say, those of us who live in and around the area are buzzing with activity in preparation for this exciting, creative group of artists to come to our city and participate in what will be an amazing event. To add even more excitement, there is a new blog filled with wonderful information and inspiration. Please stop over and check it out.

current issue of Surface Design journal

If you are unfamiliar with SDA, please stop by the website, too, and get a feel for what the organization stands for. If you have never seen the incredible journal that is published by the organization, you are missing out on one of the best professional journals in the textile world. I would like to personally encourage you to consider coming to the conference. Not a member? It is easy to join and start receiving all the benefits of membership! Start making your plans to come to San Antonio: a city rich with sensory delights!

Please let me know if you are considering this conference. I want to meet you personally while you are in our fair city. Don't miss out: it is going to be GREAT!