Last week’s Throwback Thursday post did exactly what I wanted it to do, it brought attention back to our very first Fabric Collage Finish Line post that debuted on August 27, 2016. This new (in 2016) blog category was, and has continued to be, a way that you my students and readers, can share your finished fabric collage quilts with others.
Thing was, back then, we really packed in the submissions—14 quilts in that first Finish Line alone! Now that Tom and I have a few more years of blog experience under our belts (we passed the 100 post mark for that particular category earlier this year), we’ve realized that too many quilts in one post means the finished collages just can’t be appreciated as they should be.
So, in last week’s TBT, I started breaking up that earliest Finish Line into smaller “Not to be Missed” Throwback Thursday collections—the better for the individual quilts to shine and the artists to strut their stuff—such as Anna Julia, with her fabulous elephant (photo above).
Please savor today’s Throwback Thursday post—Fabric Collage in the Wild—the second of three curated groupings selected from “The Finish Line: Completed Student Work 1” (August 27, 2016).
As always, I invite anyone who would like to share their own finished fabric collage quilt to click on the button below for more information. Your art, creativity, and stories are greatly appreciated by all. Thank you.
Submit Quilt for "Finish Line"
Lesley Rumble
Began April 2016: Australasian Quilt Convention, Melbourne, Australia
Lesley Rumble wrote: “I see by your blog that you are in the middle of another class. I hope they all enjoy it as much as we did here in Australia. I thought you might like to see my completed Iguana. I changed the eye. I have to say that this is the first project started at AQC, that I have completed, and as I am a finisher that says a lot.”
Thank you to Lesley! Australia was in the midst of an ambitious stretch of teaching this spring, but wasn’t it fun! And look at this guy—what great use of the pattern and texture found in fabrics. He’s such a mellow fellow. Take a good look at the quilting: the shells and sea life help tell the story of this marine iguana. Nice shadows on the ground too.
Anna Julia
Began April 2016: Australasian Quilt Convention, Melbourne, Australia
In that same April class in Australia, Anna Julia chose to make an elephant with all Kaffe Fassett fabrics. The large scale of the patterned fabrics worked perfectly with the rounded contours of her subject. This is certainly a multi-colored creature, and Anna has used the warm tones of yellows and pinks for the sunny highlights, with the cool colors of blues and purples for the shady underside.
When I last saw this piece, Anna had just started on the green background. We talked about keeping larger, more detailed designs to the front, directly under the feet—progressing up with smaller shapes to give a sense of distance. It certainly worked! And I really like the patch of lime green in the background to balance the strong yellows of the forehead and tusks.
Joan Hodgeboom
Began 2015 and 2014: The Quilt Gallery, Kalispell, MT
I met Joan Hodgeboom, who founded the Quilt Gallery, and taught at her shop way before my first blog post in November 2015—much less my first Finish Line post in August 2016. It was an annual trek to Montana for quite a few years and, if you’d like to get a taste of what a class with Joan was like, here’s a link to the 2016 class: The Quilt Gallery—where she first showed me her finished quilts, below.
Joan’s musk ox, above, at the end of the Quilt Gallery class of 2015. Great use of the printed pattern in the batiks Joan used, to really give the feeling of (cold) wind whipping through his masses of fur. Though he looks quite warm and comfortable under the Northern Lights—a perfect addition that Joan quilted into the background, below.
Joan began the portrait of her dog Sally, below, two years earlier in the 2014 class. I like her choice of background as it seems to track the darting path that pups sometimes take as they race through a home—and the flurry of fabric scraps that can be left in their wake.
It was particularly interesting as I helped Joan with this portrait, as Sally is the real-life sister and virtually a twin, of our dog Kali!
Celebrating sisterhood in photos below: (left) 2013—my first look at Sally’s sister and last of the litter to be adopted. Needless to say, the soon-to-be-named Kali, flew home with me as an unexpected souvenir from Kalispell. 2016 (right top and bottom)—Sally during my visit to Montana; Kali and her adopted brother Felix, after I got back home to Maine.
A close-up of a sweet, and possibly mischievous Sally, below.
Joan’s finished quilt on display at the shop, along with its show ribbons.
NOW AVAILABLE!
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Fantastical Fish eWorkshop
INCLUDES:
• All four recordings from the four-week class.
• Extended 10-minute edition of piecing time lapse (see below).
• Over six hours of video instruction.
• Annotated videos with “jump points” to help find the information you need.
• Materials list
• Links to helpful blog posts.
• Free fish pattern of your choice.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Spiral eWorkshop
Wondering if fabric collage is for you? This playful eWorkshop, though intended for beginners, is suitable for all levels, with lifetime access. The spiral project teaches the basic techniques of fabric collage and is simple and low stress. However, it also serves as a handy refresher course for those with more experience.
Why does a spiral make a great project for fabric collage? Find out in my post The Under-Appreciated Fabric Collage Spiral. The Spiral eWorkshop is included as an exercise in the Fabric Collage Master Class. Get a taste of the process, then if you decide to buy the Master Class you’ll get the full $25 cost back as credit toward the purchase.
Gift Cards Now Available for Any susancarlson.com Product or Class Purchased Through Susan’s Website
Gifts cards are available in six designs for any amount and can be applied as a “coupon” to reduce the price of a larger purchase—or towards a smaller purchase with a remaining balance to be used at a later date.
For more information, click here.
Fabric Collage Online Master Class
The Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Online Master Class Manual is a multi-media resource guide to the process of fabric collage. Using video, photos, text, and links to my blog posts for further relevant reading and information, I take you from beginning to end in creating your own fabric collage masterpiece, following my guidelines in a step-by-step format. Lifetime Access. Suitable for all levels, including beginners.
Read all about the process of creating the Master Class—explanation of its genesis—the whys and hows Tom and I made some of the decisions we did in this post: Online Master Class Now Available: Some Reflections.
Facial Features eWorkshop
Designed as a supplement to the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, or for those who have a good understanding of the basics of Fabric Collage. Lifetime Access. Intermediate or advanced levels suggested.
The Facial Features eWorkshop contains 8 videos and over 8 hours of in-depth instruction for creating each feature of a portrait in fabric. The videos are annotated with “Jump Points” allowing you to scan forward and backward to the information you need. Facial features PDF templates are included as reference and basic designs to work along with. Like the Fabric Collage Online Master Class, membership in this eWorkshop is for life.
Susan Carlson Fabric Collage: Sea Turtle eWorkshop
Learn fabric collage through a start-to-finish project—from pattern and fabric selection through quilting and binding. Each step is clearly written, illustrated with photos, and further demonstrated with videos. Learn the technique with a Sea Turtle then launch into any fabric collage project you wish. Lifetime access and suitable for all levels, including beginners. Sea Turtle Pattern included
Read all about the Sea Turtle eWorkshop in this blog post: Fabric Collage Sea Turtle eWorkshop Launch.
Book: Serendipity Quilts—Cutting Loose Fabric Collage
Full color throughout. Five projects of increasing complexity, four patterns to enlarge are included.
These books will be signed by Susan and can be inscribed to a particular person.
good memories of the classes at the Quilt Gallery. Met some really good friends there and learned techniques which I still use.