Hello All,

I can't believe that it's been almost two months since my last entry! I do apologize. I don't even have a good excuse. I thought I'd have a lot of down time these past few weeks, but as always, I'm still behind. I'm beginning to understand that I place way too many expectations on myself!

Anyway, here is the project that I used in my last full length video ( it will be out in about 5-6 months). The first photo is a rough drawing on tissue paper. For those of you who want to try this "Quilt and Color" technique but don't feel that you can do it without a pattern, you can pin a tissue paper pattern to the top of your quilt sandwich and follow your drawn lines.

The second photo with just one bird, some stems and the sun, shows how I do this technique. If you look closely you can see that I've just traced the main elements of the outlines of the two birds, the large portion of the tree limbs and a portion of the sun. This helps me make sure that things get placed where I want them in the design field. Then I layer with two layers of batting and a backing. I usually stitch the larger design elements first then add the detail after.

The next photo shows the piece with all of the quilting done and I've just started coloring in. And the final photo shows the piece all colored in and ready for a binding. My hubby wanted the word "escape" on it. It will hang in his cubicle at work once it's bound.

Now it's back to my studio for some long sought after quilting time. All the gifts are wrapped, the grocery shopping done and now it's me time!

Yee haw!

Till next time,
Heather

Glorious Fun at our Taos Retreat

Good Morning All,

I've just returned from my Taos Retreat. It was the first retreat I've ever hosted on my own and it was a big success. I've never enjoyed teaching so much!

I had a great group of women join me at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos NM and we spent five days creating luscious fabrics and playing with them.

The retreat center was absolutely amazing. It has an easy going, reverent sort of feel to it. The rooms are very comfy and cozy with Kiva fireplaces in nearly every room. The weather was perfect, cool mornings and evenings, warm afternoons. The food was terrific and so was the staff.

We started the retreat Sunday evening with the ladies coloring the quilted name tags that I had made for each of them then we spent the next two days painting, stamping and discharging fabrics and batting. The following two days were spent learning new techniques with metal, Lutradur and other strange products and creating unique, individual pieces of art work. Several of the women completed or nearly finished their art quilt.

The first photo above is of Barbara K's quilt in progress. She used many of her hand painted fabrics and embellishments along with some commercial Batiks. The next photo is of some of the fabrics painted by Kathy A. and the final photo is of us all standing below the prayer flags at the entrance of the classroom compound.

All in all it was an amazing experience for me - and I think my students will agree. I can't wait till next years retreat! If you would like to see more photos of the gangs fabrics and quilts, visit my Facebook page; Heather Thomas

Till next time,
Heather

My new book

Good Morning All,

It's been a wild and crazy month since I've been here. I apologize for that, but life has become a whirlwind. The buzz surrounding the release of A Fiber Artist's Guide to Color & Design has created a wave that I've grabbed hold of and plan on riding out.

In business most of us don't get to pick and choose when we'll find success, so when it presents itself we/I just have to hold on for the ride. I feel that after close to 16 years of struggling in the quilting industry that I have finally "made it". Unfortunately that doesn't mean that I get to sit back on my laurels (whatever those are) and relax - it actually means that now I have to step up to the plate and hit more home runs!

With that in mind, I've been working really hard on my new line of rubber stamps, re-releasing my three Shiva painted quilt designs with manufactured stencils included, working on the next two books, shooting more DVD's, building up my supply of hand dyed and hand painted fabrics and doing more national shows.

I've finished my guest writing for Quilting Arts but I promise I will get back to adding more quilting designs here soon. I'll also finish up the last Quilt & Color designs that I showed you in the quilted stages - as soon as all of the coloring is complete, I'll get them up for you to see.

I'm off this week for a book signing and class in Santa Fe followed by 6 days in Taos for the retreat that I'm hosting then two days of teaching and a book signing in Colorado Springs, a day off then Judy and I are heading off to Houston for two weeks of market and festival! I'm already tired just thinking about it. But, once I'm back, I'll be setting up my new dye studio, shooting some more DVD's and video classes and relaxing my way through the holiday season.

I promise at least a couple of entries will I'm traveling.

Till next time,
Heather

New (Ad)Ventures

Good Morning All,

Boy I thought I was busy before..... but now, I'm in the midst of non-stop action! I am launching two new ventures.

The first is a line of rubber stamps designed expressly for printing on fabric - I will have 37 different designs to debut at Int. Quilt Market and Festival in late October.

Here are six of the designs (click on the image to see larger). Each of these blocks of stamps is 4". My stamps will vary in size from 2" x 3" all the way up to 6" x 8". They will retail at between $4 for the smaller stamps up to $22.00 for the large sets that create pictorials. For this first round, I've designed flowers, birds, fish, leaves, hearts, butterflies, dragonflies and lots of textures.

The stamps are clear and cling to acrylic blocks for printing. They come set between two layers of plastic for easy storage. To use, you just peel the stamp off the plastic place it on the acrylic block and print. Clean up with soap and water, dry, peel from the acrylic block and store between the plastic again.

I've designed them with heavy lines and little surface texture - which is just what you need when printing on fabric. But they can be used to stamp just about anything from paper, clay, your walls, book art, you name it! A few of the designs have narrower lines and more open areas. I've designed these to use alone, or to print then quilt and color in with fabric ink.

Though I'm struggling with feeling overwhelmed with this life I'm making, I feel so damned lucky to be living the creative life of my dreams. I can't wait to share these stamps with you!

Till next time,
Heather

Finishing up more quilts for my upcoming show

Good Evening All,

I can't believe it... I've finished 7 quilts in the last two weeks. I had 8 "blanks" sculpted and ready for painting and quilting and I managed to get 7 of the eight finished. I've got my first solo show coming up and I have to be ready to hang on Tuesday - that's just two days from now. I will need up to 30 pieces to fill both of the large rooms at The Lobby which is the restaurant where the show will hang from Aug 16 - Oct 18. It's not that I've waited till the last minute to get these done - this was just the first available minute!

In the first photo are four sculpted pieces with the first coat of paint which I always paint with just one color.

In the second photo are two of the pieces with all of the painting complete.

In the last photo you can see me painting the second coat on one of the pieces. I started with black then added bright colors. I topped those with silver and pewter then with shades of the original bright colors and finally finished with fine white lines. When I finish with this piece I'll load up a photo for you to see.

Hope you all had a great weekend!
Till next time,
Heather

Good Morning All,
Lest you think I've been slacking off..........here are some of my new hand dyed fabrics. My assistant, Judy and I have been dyeing like crazy as we get ourselves prepared to hit the national show/teaching circuit. Because I don't want to be "just another hand dyer", I've been coming up with ways to make our hand dyes unique. I'm using several Shibori techniques along with color mixing my way. We get all of this glorious color using just 4 dyes; black, yellow, red and blue! I'm having lots of fun and learning new stuff along the way - just what life is all about.

I will be opening my own dye studio sometime in October. The space is a subleased area of a new teaching gallery that will be attached to the Golden Quilt Co. in Golden CO. I'm so excited to have dedicated space to dye and paint fabric in. My assistant's happy that we won't have to continue doing it in her kitchen too.

Once we get the space up and running, all of our painted and dyed fabric will have a home base from which to sell it locally. We will house all of the product there between shows and Tamara the lovely owner/operator of the teaching studio will be there to sell it to any takers.

I just love it when things work out. I cast my net in to so many waters. Sometimes it comes out tangled and empty, other times it's loaded with a full bounty. Ain't life good!

Till next time,
Heather

New Work

Good Morning All,
A Friend of mine and faithful blog follower, Christ Irell, just sent me an email and link to her blog, http://happyartgurl.blogspot.com, so I spent some time reading about her current artistic forays and got to see a video of The Artist Creed. It was time well spent, you should check her out.
I've been busy trying to get ready for my first solo art show - and it's a big un'. I need up to 40 pieces to fill the space and have been rapidly trying to get some new work done. The show will be called "Sculptural Quilts & other colorful stories". It will hand at The Lobby which is a downtown restaurant on the corner of 21st and Arapahoe streets. It goes up on the 16th of Aug and hangs for two months. The opening reception is Tuesday, Sept 6th, from 4-7.
Anyway, the top photo above shows one of the new pieces prior to quilting. The painted, sculpted piece is sitting on top of two layers of silk, two layers of batting and a backing fabric. The second photo shows it with the quilting done and with a frayed binding added. I don't usually make the quilting in these pieces so "frilly", but I really enjoyed doing this one and I like the way it looks. If you click on the photos you can see them larger. I combined several different stitch outs to get this fancy design.
I'll show you some more pieces soon,
Till next time,
Heather

More from my Quilt & Color seriess

Good Morning All,

Boy it feels good to work in my studio! I'm having so much fun getting ready for this solo show I'm hanging at the first of August.

These six pieces are each just 8" x 10" and once they are colored in I plan to mount them on stretcher boards and hang them together as a small installation. I really enjoy micro-stitching. If you click on any of the images, you can see them larger. Notice how none of the stitching is very intricate, just basic filler designs and simple outlines, but when you join them all together they become much more interesting. I'll show them to you again once I get the coloring done and get them mounted and I'll teach you the mounting process - which I'm copying from another fiber artist friend, Carol Ann Waugh.

I'm sending out my new newsletter tonight. It's filled with tons of classes to get you excited about your own fiber arts journey. Hope to see some of you there!

Till Next Time,
Heather

Another, Another Finished Quilt!

Good Morning All,

Here is another quilt that I've just finished. It is a doodle quilt that has some coloring in it too.

It was made in the same manner as the last quilt, only with this one I didn't use an additional fabric between the blocks and the quilted rectangles and I colored in the flowers so that they could better act as focal points.

For the coloring, I used four colors of Tsukineko inks then after they were dry I added a sheer layer of Shiva paint in pink iridescent.

I'm very pleased with the final result. If you click on any of the photos you'll be able to see it larger.

Till next,
Heather

Good Afternoon All,

As promised, here is another finished piece. If you click on any of the images you will be able to see them larger. I'm having so much fun exploring free style machine quilting as design motifs/focal points rather than as the artistry added to finish something else.

If you've heard of Zen Tangles, these might remind you of them though I really don't use many of the movements shown in Zen Tangles. Rather, I use combinations of the stitch outs that I've been using in my free style machine quilting for years including many of the designs that I've shared with you here on my blog.

No, not all of them are original to me, in fact lots of them I've picked up from other quilts, textures, doodles and drawings that I've seen along the way. What is unique is how I'm trying to use them.

The quilt is about 16" wide by 46" long. Each of the white blocks was quilted individually with two layers of batting and a backing. I stitched them on plain, white canvas that I had ripped so that the edges are rough. I then layered up the background fabric with two more layers of batting and a backing. I cut 3 squares of red shot cotton backed with Misty fuse. These squares were about 1 1/2" larger all the way around than the quilted white squares. I positioned the red squares on the black silk background fabric and ironed them in place. Then I quilted the inner part of the red squares, where the white quilted squares would eventually be, with a large stipple and the outer 1 1/2" of the red squares with a linear design. Next I quilted the hell out of the black silk fabric which would eventually become the borders and sashing between the quilted white squares. The black silk is quilted with more than a dozen different stitch outs.

Once the black/red block background was quilted then I positioned the white quilted squares in the centers of each of the red blocks and stitched them in place. As you look at each of the blocks above, notice how I mix curve based designs with straight line based designs, sort of alternating them whenever possible. This juxtaposition of straight versus curvy adds contrast within the single color thread design.

This is just about the most fun I've ever had with a sewing machine!

More soon,
Heather

Another Finished Quilt!

Good Morning All,

I know it's been a while, but I've been BUSY! It's a good busy but a bit overwhelming. I shot my second full length video last week. The first one was on embellishing art quilts and the second one was on fabric painting with hand made stamps. Soon I'll be carrying them both on my web site! I finished my color book and signed the Permission to Produce - so, it's off in Hong Kong being printed and I should have it in my hot little hands by mid Sept.
As I told you in my last entry, I'm trying very hard to get some new work finished for a show I'm hanging in Aug. This is another one that I recently finished. It is gelatin mono-printed then I quilted the hell out of it. The close-ups above show each of the three individual circle designs that I stitched in the negative space. It was very fun to do and I'm sooooooo glad it's finished. I've finished another one since this one was completed and am almost finished with another. I'll show you those in the next few days.
Hope you're all enjoying our beautiful summer,
Till Later,
Heather

New Work

Good Morning All,

Today is my 4th wedding anniversary! Tom and I got married in our backyard on a lovely day just like today. Sunny, with a slight chance of showers - which I think is a great metaphor for marriage!

Here is my newest piece. I just finished it up this weekend after hosting a fabulous, two day, wildheatherdesigns.com open house. We debuted our new hand dyed fabrics and they were a big success.

I call this piece "She was Content" and it is the 3rd in my "She Was" series. The birds, leaves and sprigs are all done with stamps that I carved and I hand dyed both the background and border fabrics. The negative space behind the sprigs is quilted in a micro stipple and the border contains a poem/statement that reads, "Three little birds whispered sweet somethings in her ear and she knew that all was as it should be. Her course was steady and she was content." I used two layers of cotton/wool batting so that the quilting would really show up. If you click on either image you will be able to see a larger version of it.

I need to get about a dozen more pieces completed for a show that I will be hanging in August (yes, this August!) So, I'll be taking a break from new stitch-outs for a while, but I will show you all of the quilting that I get done along the way.

Also, I sent off the "permission to produce" for my new book yesterday. It was a huge relief to finally be done, but kind of a let down too - well, off to new things......

Till next time,
Heather

Block #98 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Morning All,

Wow, what an amazing few weeks I've had!

My trip to Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City was very productive. I've added several new pans to the fire!

I've just finished the final editing of my color book and it should go to the printer on June 1st! It's such a long process but the book looks fantastic and I'm just so pleased with it. Thank you so much to all of you who have so graciously participated in it.

Here is a new design, I call it Giant Pea Pod. It looks somewhat difficult, but it's really pretty easy. Before you begin stitching it, click on the drawing to see it larger and doodle it out following the numbers. The numbers circle the outside twice so look carefully to avoid confusion. Use a contrasting thread so the the design really stands out.

Beginning on the lower, right stem, stitch a gentle curve up about 9"-10" and finish the line with a quarter sized swirl. Swirl back out and away to begin the opposite side of the pod. Stitch out and away then back in to form the first, smaller indention then stitch back out and form the curve of the middle 1/2 round then stitch back out and around to form the last round portion ending back at the stem.

Stitch up into the pea pod about 1/2" from the right hand side. Once you reach the tip, stitch back down again forming a 1/2"-3/4" wide channel. Once you reach the bottom of the channel, begin stitching small circles inside the channel. Once you reach the top again, stitch gentle, slightly curved triangles along the outer right hand side until you have reached the bottom. Trace back on the stem to the tip and stitch a new line about 1/8" away from the outer right hand side of the pea pod. Once you reach the inside of the swirl begin stitching the small parentheses shapes along the outer left hand side of the pod. Once you have reached the center of the first curve, stitch a swirl inside the curve of the pea pod then stitch back out a scant 1/8" away from the first line to make a very narrow swirl. Stitch more parentheses along the outside edge until you reach the center of the second curve and add a similar swirl on the inside of the pod. Do the same thing in the final inside curve of the pod then continue to stitch parentheses shapes along the outside edge all the way back down to the tip of the stem to complete the pod.

Using a thread that matches with the fabric, stitch the negative space around the pea pod in a small stipple or other fill stitch.
Hope you enjoy this design - I think it would be beautiful angled in a wide border or in setting triangles or squares.
Till next time,
Heather

Block #97 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Evening All,

I've been working hard on preparing for Spring Market. Going to promote my new book, Color & Design as well as the old book, Fabric Embellishing. I'll be doing School House Sessions, some short classes and demos in my publisher's booth. I'll be looking for more goodies for my web site too!. I leave next Wednesday and get back the following Tuesday - so I'll have a week with no new posts. But when I get back I'll fill you all in with my market details.

Today's new block features a combination of several designs that we have stitched before plus a few new little additions. Click on the drawing above and view it larger to get a good idea of how to start. I highly suggest doodling this one out a few times before you start it. Try it in different sizes too.

Beginning at the lower right hand corner of your block stitch the long outer leaf then stitch the smaller leaf inside it. Once you reach the lower end on the second side of the innermost leaf, begin stitching small circles inside it. Make sure that all of the circles touch each other and to vary their sizes too.

Once the circles have been stitched to fill the innermost portion of the leaf, stitch from the tip of the smaller leaf up to the tip of the outer leaf and stitch a tear drop on the top then stitch your first feather on one of the sides. Once the feather is complete, stitch back up along the side of the leaf about half the width of the feather and stitch the inner design into the middle of the feather. Once you have completed it, stitch back down and position yourself so that you can stitch the next feather. Continue stitching feathers then filling them with the decorative design until you have completed the first side. Now, stitch back up along the opposite side of the large leaf then back down as you make filled feathers. Alternately, you may stitch all of the feathers first then go back in ad add the decorative design inside them.

Once the entire feathered leaf is complete, echo around it and make a pointy curly-q on the middle top of each feather as shown.

I stippled the remaining portion of the block with a large stipple using the same color thread. Note how the lovely feathered leaf gets somewhat lost among the stippling - in my next entry, I'll show you a better way.

Hope you enjoy this design - I know I loved stitching it.


Till next time,
Heather

Block #96 in the machine quilting challenge

Good Morning All,
I wanted to show you all a photo of my beloved quilting machine. This is what I now do all of my machine quilting on. It is a Pfaff (yes, a pfaff!) Hobby Quilter, the baby sister to the Grand Quilter. It has a 9" opening and stitches faster than light (I usually stitch at much lower speeds!) I love this baby - she works hard, never complains and likes every brand and weight of thread that I throw at her.

Here is another new design. It is comprised of two elements that we've already done; a single sided feather and echoing. Click on the drawing to see it larger and follow the arrows for a better graphic. Doodle it out before you start stitching too.

Beginning near the center of your block, stitch a long line with a slight curve at the beginning and end it with a swirl. Keep the lines of the swirl about 1/2" apart. Once you are in the center of the swirl, begin making half heart shaped feathers along the outside of the swirl and all the way down the spine to complete the single sided feather.

Once you are out of the feather, stitch back up the side that doesn't have feathers on it keeping the stitch line about 1/4" away from the spine. When you reach the feathers on the swirl, stitch around them too. Keep stitching all the way around the half feather keeping the stitch lines about 1/4" apart until you have circled the feather twice. Stitch back up along the spine then stitch out and away and form another half feather. Echo it twice and fill in any space between the two with more echoing. Keep adding new half feathers and echoing them and filling in the spaces in between until you have filled the block. Strive to keep all of the stitching lines 1/4" apart.

Hope you enjoy this one - it's one of my favorites - I love all of the tactile texture it imparts.

Till next time,

Heather

Appologies and a New Design # 95

Good Day All,

My apologies for not adding a new design in so long. My business is keeping me so busy right now that I'm not sure if I'm coming or going! Plus, I've been without a lap top for about a month due to a little mishap with a glass of red wine. But, I took some time earlier this week to stitch out a few more new designs. I call this one Nautilus. Click on either image to see larger.

This stitch out is essentially like a swirl. You'll probably want to doodle it out before you begin stitching.

To start, beginning near the center of your block stitch a swirl beginning from the outside and stitching in. Make the swirl about 1 1/2" wide. Once you reach the center of the swirl, begin making wavy lines from one side of the swirl over to the other side and back again. Travel along the inside of the swirl about 1/4" and stitch another line from side to side. Continue stitching these lines from side to side keeping them about 1/4" - 1/3" apart until your reach the end of the swirl. Stitch out and away from the first swirl and stitch a second swirl that is slightly smaller than the first one. Again, stitch from the outside in to the swirl then stitch back out of the swirl as you stitch the lines from side to side.

Continue adding more swirls of various sizes, nestling new swirls into previously stitched ones and varying the directions of the swirls too.

Thanks for coming or coming back. I promise new designs more regularly and I'll be writing about other stuff too!

Till next time,
Heather

Blocks #93 & #94 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Hi Everyone,

I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to get back here.

It's been a zoo! I've been working hard the last several weeks to get my web site back up and running and to get classes scheduled too. If you want to know more about it all, visit my site at wildheatherdesigns.com. So, as an apology, here are two new designs.

Both designs are based on the gentle curve or arc and both require you to mark the surface with squares. I marked mine with a Hera marker - remember, it's a sharpened beveled edge piece of plastic that just makes a crease. Anyway, for the first design on the left, I marked my block with six equally sized squares vertically and horizontally. Each square is 1 1/2". These can be a little confusing so you definitely should doodle them out before you attempt stitching.

The first set of gentle arcs moves diagonally across the center of each marked square and across the center of the block. Begin in the bottom left corner and stitch a gentle arc ending in the opposite upper right hand corner of the marked block. Next do the same in the next block that is one up and one over. Keep making gentle arcs from corner to corner in subsequent squares moving diagonally toward the upper right. Do the same thing back down, in the same squares only this time make the arcs on the opposite side of the first arcs and make them curve in the opposite direction sort of forming a pea pod shape.

Using the edge of the block, skip the next diagonal row over and move up to the following row and stitch the same pea pods . Stitch every other row of diagonal squares in the same manner, all stitched with a pea pod shape across their middles that moves in the same direction. Now, do the same thing, in the remaining rows, but stitch the pea pods in the opposite direction, beginning from the bottom right and stitching up to the upper left. This will yield a flower like design.

Next, you will add smaller, thinner pea pod shapes that curve around each of the sides of the squares in all of the rows. Simply begin on one row and stitch a gentle arc above the marked line on one side of the square then on to the next square to do the same until that row has half pea pods all along the top side of the line. Go back in the opposite direction and stitch gentle arcs along the bottom side of the marked lines, completing the pea pod shapes. Do this on all the marked lines both vertically and horizontally thus completing the smaller petals of the flower shapes in each block.

The second block was marked the same way as the first, (6) 1 1/2" squares in each direction.
I haven't quite figured out how to do this one without knotting off and or traveling along the edges. Consider a set of four squares to be a complete unit. The middle is where the corners of all four squares meet up. The first portion of the design will be stitched in the top two squares of the unit. Begin stitching a gentle arc from the upper left hand corner down at an angle toward the the line that divides the two upper squares. Aim to stitch trough that line about 2/3 the way down from the top of the squares and curve into the second square forming a tear drop that peaks right at the center of the four squares then curve it back up again and into the first square and take it back up so that it crosses over where it first entered the second square and continue stitching up into the upper right hand corner of the second square. You will repeat this motion three more times to complete one floral shape that fills one 4 square unit. Do it a second time using the right hand square and the one below it. Do it a third time in the two bottom squares then do it a final time in the two left side squares. Each time, try to stitch equally sized tear drops near the center of the 4 square units.

You can also try to do the stitching in rows, but I found that once I finished a row in one direction that I still had to travel or knot off to go in another direction. It's all worth it however, because it's a great design.

Hope you enjoy these, I'll be back on track now that I've caught up - at least I hope so!
Till next time,
Heather

Design #92 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Morning,

Here is another border design. It's much simpler than the last few and similar to other leaf/vine designs we've done. The difference here is the shape of the leaf and the abundance of stems.

Beginning near the middle at one end of the border section, stitch a stem that moves over toward one side of the border. Lengthen the stem so that it forms the center of the first leaf. From the end of the stitched line, angle down and away from the center line/vein and form half of an upside down heart that ends back at the stem/vein. Stitch the second side of the leaf by stitching the second half of the heart and ending back at the top tip of the leaf. Stitch back down the center vein to the base of the leaf then stitch a short vein inside each side of the leaf. Stitch back down the stem a bit until you have room to stitch another stem on the same side of the border. End the stem with another heart shaped leaf then stitch back to the center stem.

Now, stitch another short stem on the opposite side of the center stem and end it with a heart shaped leaf. Stitch one or two more stems and leaves on that side of the center then stitch up the center stem and off to the original side of the border.

Keep stitching clusters of two t0 three stems and leaves that come off of the center vine, alternating sides as you go. Strive for equal sized leaves and to fill the space equally.

Now, I'm off to write the third installment of articles for Quilting Arts Magazine. Hope you're all enjoying them!

Till next time,
Heather