The 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge

This month I am participating in the 31 Day Blog Post Challenge hosted by Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com.   

She has created a list of fun posts to share with all of you and I am excited to be a part of the fun! 

So let me introduce myself, I started quilting shortly after the birth of my first son, and I haven't stopped since.  

I have always had an interested in all creative things thanks to my creative influences, my Mother and Grandmother.  They were great at taking a few resources and creating something wonderful.

I live in central Missouri, U.S.A. where I teach sewing and quilting classes.  I am also an online instructor with Craftsy/Bluprint and on my own platform, which can be found on my website: www.LindaBrattenCreations.com.

I have a free monthly newsletter and companion Facebook group, Linda B Creative where I share projects and Quilt-alongs to inspire my fellow creative people. Please subscribe to join in the fun, by Clicking Here!

The is the Pumpkin Spice Quilt-Along project from the Linda B Creative Facebook Group

While my roots are traditional quilts, I really love to create Studio/Art Quilts.  My passion is to use mixed media products to enhance my sewing and quilting projects.  Do any of you use mixed media products on your projects?  I would love to hear what you use and how you use it.

This is one of my favorite wall hangings, Peacock Passion.

I hand painted the peacock on Dupioni silk.

 Be sure to check out all the other bloggers participating in the 31 Day Blog Challege, they can be found here!

Off to write my  Linda B Creative Newsletter for December!

Happy Quiltober-Pumpkin Spice Quilt Along Update

Happy Quiltober!  To celebrate quilting in October I am hosting a Pumpkin Spice quilt-along in my Linda B Creative Facebook Group.

The great news is that it is not too late to join in!  Just ask to join and answer a few questions.  Since this can be a seasonal wall hanging, I am planning to leave the pattern and video instructions up in the group a bit longer.  

This is a great opportunity to learn some of my favorite free-motion quilting motifs and how to use my favorite mixed media product, fabric/textile paints. 

This week I will be sharing how I bind my quilts using a decorative stitch on my sewing machine.

It is like taking free classes from me!

If you enjoy what you are learning, consider taking these other  online classes from me. My affiliate links for my Craftsy/Bluprint class is: Exploring Natural Machine-Quilting Motifs.

My own online class is the Foundation Paper Pieced Pincushion Workshop.

 They help support my creative work and let me share more fun projects like the Pumpkin Spice one with you.

Check out my other post about the Pumpkin Spice Quilt-Along:

The Supply List

Now I need to edit the final video!

Sold!

I am so excited that Missouri Spring #2 has been sold in the SAQA Benefit Auction.

A special thanks to all who donated quilts and those who purchased them!  The auction proceeds are used to promote art/studio quilts and exhibits of them.

Off to create some more fun pieces!

Diamond Day for SAQA Benefit Auction

Tomorrow is Diamond Day for the SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associate). If you ever wanted to own a piece of my work this is a great opportunity to support the promotion of art quilts around the world!!!

http://www.saqa.com/auction-quilts.php

Bidding starts September 13th with Diamond Day!

SAQA's Annual Benefit Auction will take place online from September 13 through October 6, 2019. With over 440 pieces of beautiful artwork available for bidding, there is something for everyone to enjoy!

All proceeds help support SAQA's exhibition programs, publications, and education outreach. Plus, your purchase helps increase the recognition for art quilts and the artists who make them.

The online bidding form will be live on September 13 at 2pm EDT for Diamond Day bidding. All quilts will be available for $1000. Starting September 16th at 2pm EDT, only pieces in Section 1 will be available for bidding that week. You can read about how I created Missouri Spring #2 by checking out these posts: https://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/2019/04/creating-my-own-missouri-spring.html

 https://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-lilac-leaf-small-border-free-motion.html https://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/2019/06/missouri-spring-2-finished.html

Mine is scheduled to be in Section 1 if it doesn't sell earlier!

Creating My Own Missouri Spring

Missouri Spring by Linda Bratten

I love it when everything outside starts to come to life in the Spring!

My favorite flower, the lilac, blooms during this time and the fragrance it emits brings joy to my days.  It is no wonder that I have chosen to use the lilac in many of my art quilts.  The quilt pictured above, "Missouri Spring", was created for an art show hosted by the Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City, Missouri.  It is an original photo that I transferred to some ready to print fabric using an inkjet printer. I then used free-motion quilting techniques to thread paint and enhance the motifs.

I enjoyed the process so much, I have decided to use another original photograph of a lilac and a swallow tail butterfly to create a 12"x 12" piece as an auction donation for SAQA, Studio Art Quilt Associates.  This is a non-profit organization that promotes art quilts through education, exhibits, professional development, documentation and publications.  You can find out more about SAQA at www.SAQA.com. The online auction will be held later this year.

Original Photo Used by Linda Bratten

I thought you might like a behind the scene look at how I am creating this piece.  First, I looked through my photos and found one that appealed to me.  I then used Adobe Photoshop to enhance the photo and get it ready for printing.

I use June Tailor Sew-In Colorfast Fabric sheets and my inkjet printer to transfer the photo to the fabric.  Next I add borders and create the quilt sandwich.  Since this was a square piece, I wanted an asymmetrical look to draw attention to the focal point butterfly.  I also used a green and purple fabric to leave the yellow color of the butterfly as the accent color and keep it as a focal point.

Missouri Spring #2

Now the fun part, deciding which thread colors to use.  I love using a polyester machine embroidery thread.  The polyester has a slight give as I am quilting. The weight allows me to build up and define where I like, and to recede into the background when necessary.

 On smaller pieces that I plan on thread painting the focal point of the quilt, I will actually quilt the outer portions first.  This will help to maintain the shape of the piece as thread painting can draw up the fabric.

As I was quilting this, I created a fun Lilac Leaf border motif.  I will share the tutorial later, but be sure to subscribe to my newsletter, Linda B Creative where I share all of my current tutorials, classes, presentations, and patterns. Use this Link to sign up!

Now off to finish the tutorial and this piece!

Hosting 52 Quilters for the Month of November, Art Quilters

I am so excited and honored to be hosting the month of November for the www.52Quilters.com.

It is focusing on Art Quilters and I am working with a great team!

I have posted my story on the blog and you can read about it here: http://www.52quilters.com/2018/11/welcome-to-world-of-art-quilters-for.html

Also check out their  52 Quilters Instagram account at: https://www.instagram.com/52quilters/

While you are there, be sure to follow my Instagram account for additional inspiration! Here is the link to my account: https://www.instagram.com/Linda_Bratten/

Sharing my love of art quilting with the world!- Linda

www.LindaBrattenCreations.com

Hosting 52 Quilters this Week

Hello Creatives!

This week is full of activity for me.  I am hosting for 52 Quilters.

This is a social experiment in quilty communication and collaboration. Discover a virtual patchwork of quilters throughout the year: each week a new quilter will take over the 52Quilters twitter, blog and instagram. The goal of this project is to document the collective crafted life of quilters. 

So be sure to keep up with my adventures on their website at www.52quilters.com.  

There is also a special Give Away on the Instagram account at  https://www.instagram.com/52quilters/

Look for this post and follow the instructions to be entered in the Give Away. 

Being inspired by quilty people around the world, Linda

What, Me on TV???

Things are really moving around here.  I wanted to share with you a neat opportunity that I was able to participate in this past month. 

Many of you know that I had a vendor booth at the Rooster Creek Quilt Show in July.  I had a great time and met many who were interested in quilting.  One individual that I met was Rick Jey.

Rick is a member of the Jefferson City Art Club and hosts a program on JCTV in Jefferson City, MO that interviews artists about their work.  Imagine my surprise when he approached me about being interviewed about my art quilts!  Having no formal training as an artist, I was honored to be a part of the program.

We met late in August with his new co-host, Kat Dake at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO.

Both hosts were great at putting me at ease and asking questions that I knew the answers for!  You have no idea how hard it is to talk about your accomplishments. 

Here is a sneak peak at what the room looked like that we filmed in.

I want to give a big thank you to Station Producer, Gloria Enloe, and her staff. 

So do you want to see the interview????

Trust me, it wasn't as painful as it looks!

Still sharing my love of quilting with others, Linda

My Art Quilts at the Daniel Boone Regional Library Quilt Exhibit-Art Quilts

I’m so excited! This weekend I received notification that three of my quilts have been selected to be in the Daniel Boone Regional Library 2016 Quilt Exhibit-Art Quilts.  The show will open April 2^nd and run through the 16^th at the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Missouri.

 

The quilts that were selected are: My Fantasy Garden,  Blue Pansies, and Peacock Passion.
 Check out this fun video about my entries!

My Fantasy Garden was created to showcase my nature inspired quilting motifs that I teach online and at other venues.  It is a whole cloth quilt that is machine quilted using my home machine.  After the quilting was complete, I went back using a variety of textile and acrylic paints to enhance the quilting.  I love to thread sketch with my sewing machine.  This piece has become one of my favorites because of the colors and the designs used.

Photography is an important element in my work. In this case it became the piece. I used Adobe Photoshop to create a water color effect of my original blue pansies photograph. Next I printed the image onto fabric. The quilt top was pieced together by machine. Next came the fun part, using my home sewing machine I quilted the piece using a variety of threads. It was like coloring in a color book, only with different mediums. I really enjoy photo transfer as it lets me be creative in what I love to do the most, machine quilting.

My Peacock Passion piece was for a local sewing store’s challenge to use 3 things found in a hardware store in your project. I began by sketching a peacock and then painted the peacock on silk. Then using fabric folding techniques I created water lilies to enhance the border fabric. I machine embroidered the thread peacock feathers and used beads, ribbons, trims, and a peacock feather to further embellish the project. It is machine pieced, and machine quilted on the home machine. The three items from the hardware store are: washers, gold spray paint, and permanent markers. All were use to create Chinese coins to embellish the piece.

This exhibit features art quilts created by area artists, and on April 16^th they will have a tour of the exhibit guided by some of the quilt artist.  This will start in the lobby at 2:15 pm. After the tour, there will be refreshments outside the Friend’s Room preceding a presentation about the Big Muddy riverscape quilt. . The quilt show is curated by Mindy Smith, quilt artist and CEO of the Boonslick Trail Quilters’ Guild and funded by the Daniel Boone Regional Library Foundation.

So if you are in the area stop in and check out my pieces!-Honored to be included, Linda