Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Finish Line: Empty Spools 2016

Please enjoy this variation on the usual Finish Line post. As this (and next week’s) post appear I’ll either be in the middle of or will have just finished my two teaching sessions at Empty Spools 2022. In recognition of the wonderful work that ALL my Empty Spools students have done over the years, we’ll use this space to feature the finished quilts begun in 2016 (this week) and 2019 (next week).

In-Person Class Openings
MISA West (Santa Fe) May 16–20, 2022

Advanced Fabric Collage Quilting

In 2016 I taught two sessions in a row, so two classes are represented below. I may have worked my second session students a little too hard. They got a little punchy toward the end and decided that the titles of their pieces needed to end with “Carlson.” For example, at one point, Bonnie Shaw’s striking piece (above) was entitled “I Am Crow—Carlson.” Pay attention throughout this post for that honorific!

The work done in this year’s sessions will be featured in a couple weeks.

In the meantime, if you would like to submit a quilt for the Finish Line use the link below.

Submit Quilt for "Finish Line"

Kathy Sandling

In the first session of 2016, Kathy Sandling worked on some very large sea shells—I do encourage people to “go big”—and she did. I remember that one of Kathy’s goals was to create a nice up and down movement on the face of the scallop shell. So she kept the lighter values of aqua to the center of each ridge, with darker values as they sunk into the shadowed crease of the curves, giving dimension to the shell.

Seeing the finished quilt, I thought what she chose for the background was perfect—a simple beach sand base to set off all the intricacies of the shells themselves.

Deb Albright

Deb Albright came to class wanting to turn her quilting studio into a quilt. I readily admit that for myself, I don’t choose buildings for fabric collage subjects, though they pop up here and there in classes. I see fabric collage as an organic process, and architecture has lots of straight lines. However, I love the loose and not-so-straight approach Deb took.

Deb took lots of artistic liberty with this interpretation of the building that houses her studio. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if it really was those colors—and flowered? She told me it really does have a mermaid weather-vane on the roof, though not the same proportion. But that would be eye-catching too.

I have to now admit that this little quilt gets me thinking of my own studio building, with its eagle (from a family barn) weather-vane. Hmmmm, maybe someday…. From one studio to another, thanks for the inspiration, Deb.

Carmen Goldstein

Carmen Goldstein’s “Tonka’s Dream” wraps Native American symbolism of bison, horses, and landscape all into one. It was fun to see the multiple images as they began to emerge. As a finished quilt, it’s striking and the colors are gorgeous. I like the darker green shadowed area she placed under the big guy. It really grounds him. Well done, Carmen.

Bonnie Shaw

Bonnie came to this, her second class with me, to challenge herself with an image that was important to her. In her words:

With regard to the “I am Crow “ Native American Indian Quilt, I love all things Native American. The theme in my house is mostly Native American, I have been told that there are  ancestors on my moms side of the family that are Choctaw Indian. After searching for a Native American Indian as my inspiration for the second class I took with you, I found this I am Crow Picture from the Kirby Sattler website.  I fell in love with the image and wanted to see it in fabric. An email was sent to Mr. Sattler after I started the quilt to confirm it was ok to use his image.  He sent word back that it was ok and to just give him a mention if the quilt was used in a show.

Bonnie made nice use of black translucent fabric to create the war stripes down the Chief’s face—it allowed the variations of skin tone to show through, as it would in real life. On the back label of this quilt, Bonnie wrote, “Very fun project!!!” She is an enthusiastic person. She also told me, “I love your classes so much and the process is just amazing!!!” Thank you, Bonnie.

Corky Blanco

Corky Blanco chose a sea otter pair for her quilt. Sea otters are a big thing on the Monterey Penninsula, where Asilomar is located, and you can see them off shore bobbing in the sea kelp forests.

Mama sea otter looked friendly but not quite otter-accurate in the progress photo above left. Corky made some good changes. Even minor adjustments make big differences in the final versions of these collage quilts.

Elaine Swatniki

Another submission from the second session in 2016 was from Elaine Swatniki, of the completed portrait of her granddaughter, Sloanie.

From Ellen:

Thank-you for a fabulous class—even though day 3 was painful*. I love this finished piece!  I did use a touch of fabric paint here and there but not much. My friend, Gloria Mauno, quilted her for me. “I Can Dress Myself!”  will be a favorite for years to come.

(*I usually warn my classes that they may very likely hit a wall with their project a little way into the week.)

I remember Elaine worked hard to find the best possible fabrics to accurately portray the mis-matched wardrobe that her granddaughter tended to gravitate toward. If you look closely at the in-progress photo below, you can read the working title: “Sloanie ‘I Can Dress Myself’ Carlson.”

Linda Edell

During a trip to visit a few California quilt guilds, I dropped by the Seven Sisters Quilt Guild Show in San Luis Obispo, CA, where I got to say hi to Linda Edell, the chair of this year’s show, and a student from 2016. Linda based her fish on my “Wavelength” pattern.

Linda escorted me to where her completed fish from the class with me was hanging. It’s name? “Hot Lips Carlson.” Of course. On the tag for the quilt, Linda wrote:

I took a class from Susan in March of 2016 at Asilomar. I had a wonderful time and this is the result. It was one of those classes that everyone just clicked. We had so much fun in the class that all of us surprised Susan by naming our quilts with Carlson at the end.

Previously, Linda had emailed me:

I will never forget the moment Bonnie was trying to be so stealthy about the Carlson addition with you standing there.  I laughed a lot last week.

I think the fun Linda felt in the class is reflected in her fish. She’s another one who used the prints in her fabrics very nicely to portray the fish parts, and blending the yellows and oranges for a body that glows. And some darn good lips too.

Pam Munns

And the last entry in the “Carlson” quilts, Pam Munns’ octopus.

Here’s what Pam had to say about the octopus:

After putting him away for a few years, I finally got Octavius Rex (Carlson) Von Kraken finished.  I’m tired of this sucker (pun intended!).  I had him on the foam core board for so long he started losing pieces and I’m still finding suckers.  Figured it had to get done before he fell apart.  I’m not sure if I told you this, but when I was in your class at Asilomar, a lady in the class next to us came over to our classroom and was looking at my octopus.  She told me she was a docent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and asked if I wanted to go see the octopuses.  Uh YEAH!  We got to see two of the giant octopuses, which she said was rare, first because they were less likely to come out in the daytime, and secondly two of them were almost never out together.  I got to stand up close and personal with one of these magnificent creatures.  I have to thank Nancy Ogimachi for taking me there.

The artist whose drawing I took inspiration from is from the Netherlands and his name is Eric Snelleman.  I asked him if I could make the quilt and perhaps show it one day.  He was so gracious!  He was excited that I had kept his “energy in motion”!

I love seeing everyone else’s finished projects. Thanks!

What a great way to link people around the world—a drawing by an artist in the Netherlands, interpreted in fabric by a quilter in California, taught by an instructor (me) from Maine, and spread back around the world to be viewed by you, my readers. How cool. Thanks to all involved.

Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have retained all the earlier in-progress photos of this eight-limbed mollusc, but Pam did a fantastic job keeping track of all the flailing limbs with all their highlights and shadows, not to mention the suckers. Pam made good use of fabrics with circular prints in them, if you look closely, I’ll bet you can recognize some of the fabrics. It’s always fun to say, “I’ve got some of that in my stash too!”