It is always difficult to blog after being away for a while. Kind of like when one has not called a friend
for sometime and the longer one waits the more awkward it seems, but at some point it has to get done.
Part of my hesitation is that although I'm working on plenty of projects I think that what people really
want to see is photos and not so much reading. I did finish three art quilts but I can't post photos because they are going to be in an upcoming exhibit on Feb. 4th.

I have been machine quilting client's quilts, but again, I don't post photos until the quilts are finished and I have their permission to publish. Most times those quilts final destination is quilt and fiber art shows. So for now, this is all I have to contribute and hopefully this year I will blog more often than not.

A Stitch in Time: Texas Monthly

"Karey Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes have finally completed their life’s work, a massive three-volume history of the quilts of Texas, from 1836 to the present. Here are ten that tell the story of quilting—and our state" By Katharyne Rodemann

I'm very honored that my 2 quilts are part of the slide presentation. One is
"Big on Texas" and the other one is "Texas DNA". They are also included in the book.
Please click on the link to view the short slide presentation.

A Stitch in Time: Texas Monthly

A series of fortunate events

I truly believe that things happen for a reason. Let me elaborate...back in December I read a book called "La Catedral del Mar" or "Cathedral by the Sea". I won't be telling you the whole book but to summarize, the story takes place in 14th-century Barcelona and it is about a porter who carries stone blocks to a cathedral construction site. I highly recommend the book. Now back to my story. In February I visited Mexico, and while there I went to the Metropolitan Cathedral, an architectural jewel in the center of Mexico City.

A few weeks later my family and I went to Southern Spain and France for Spring break. We visited, like most tourists do while in Europe, many cathedrals and palaces in Madrid, Seville, Granada and Paris. It is hard for me to tell which place was my favorite but I would have to say that the one that impressed me the most was the Cathedral in Seville. Its central nave rises to an awesome 137 ft so once inside the cathedral one can't help to feel insignificant.

Another highlight during the trip was visiting the Alhambra Palace in the city of Granada. While being there I was just going through the motions of moving from one room to another and trying to take everything in. The grandeur of the place hit me once we were back home and I looked at the photos we took. One thing I do remember is that while visiting all those historical places and taking photos, my eyes would focus on the materials used to construct them. At the cathedral in Mexico City I couldn't get over the size of the wooden doors and their intricate pattern. In Seville, the chosen materials were smooth granite and marble. The Alhambra, due to the disrepair in some areas, had stucco falling off many walls and the dirt and stones were visible creating beautiful texture. Notre Dame, in contrast, had beautiful well maintained stones that were set hundreds of years ago .

If I haven't lost you yet, you may be wondering where the story is going. Well, a couple of weeks before leaving for Europe I got a phone call from Laurie Brainerd, a fantastic fiber artist from San Antonio. Laurie called me to see if I could help her quilt a series of art quilts she had been commissioned to do for the San Antonio Baptist Mission Trail Hospital. I love quilting art quilts and immediately said yes!! So during April, Laurie and I worked together for a few weeks. My job was to quilt stones and bricks and fading stucco and wooden doors on her beautiful quilts. I truly think that reading the Cathedral of the Sea and traveling to see old churches and palaces prepared me for the task of quilting Laurie's 3 art quilts. It was indeed a series of fortunate events that led me to successfully quilt Laurie's ideas onto her art quilts.


Close up of work done with my longarm. All the stitching was done free hand.







Here I'm quilting in my studio



Quilt made by Laurie Brainerd, quilted by Martha Tsihlas
Property of the Baptist Mission Trail Hospital in San Antonio, TX.



Fiber Arts and Quilt Scene

Since this blog belongs to a quilter/fiber artist it is just natural that I blog about fiber related items. The last couple of weeks have been filled with exhibits and trips to different cities in Texas. It all started with the exhibit at the Gallery Nord in San Antonio. A great exhibit that closed yesterday. The next weekend I spent 2 days in Dallas and the Fort Worth area visiting museums,  then  home to work on a couple of deadlines. On Wed I went to the opening of the Woven Wonders exhibit here in Austin at the Jewish Community Center. The exhibit runs until December 14. Works of several Texas fiber artists are on display.
I spent a day at home finishing some art quilts and the next day I headed to Houston to see the International Quilt Festival. My  friend Carol, my sister and I drove there early in the morning. After a 3 hour drive we arrived in Houston and went straight to the George Brown convention center to see the quilts. After a few hours we took a break for lunch, and then I headed for the exhibitors booths and did a little shopping then back to see the quilts  until I couldn't do it any more. Talk about sensory overload! I met  Carol and my sister at the Hilton Starbucks to have a grande americano before heading back home. It kept me awake on the drive back from Houston. I don't recommend going to the festival and spending just one day there but if time is of essence it is the only way. It had been  a 13 hour day by the time I got home. I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
This morning I wanted to sleep in but I had to go to San Antonio to pick up one of my art quilts from the Gallery Nord, so on the road again for a few hours. On the way back from San Antonio my sister and I stopped at the  Wesley Gallery, they were having their annual Fall fair and we visited with some people from AFA.

Needless to say I'm really looking forward to tomorrow Sunday.

A few photos from the exhibit at the JCC.

<> <> <>

James Edward Talbot

<> <> <>

New Beginning by Martha Tsihlas

<> <> <>

Laura Beehler

<> <> <>

Susie Monday



Fiber Art Exhibit

I'm looking forward to this weekend. The Austin Fiber Artists organization is having its annual show and sale at the Wesley Gallery in Dripping Springs, TX. just a short drive from downtown Austin. All the details are on the card above. I'm having 2 pieces in the show and will demo painting on fabric with dyes  on Sunday from 12pm to 2:00pm. I hope you can visit!!

PS: One of my pieces is on the postcard, first row, last sq. on the right. It is called "Deconstructed" and it

is a woven quilted piece.

"Texas DNA"

In a previous post I had just given you a sneak peak of my entry "Texas DNA" made for the exhibit "Blending of Cultures" The exhibit opened up last night so I'm now posting a picture of the whole quilt.
I also want to share that "Texas DNA" won the themed prize.  I'm so thrilled!!
During the awards ceremony, the juror for this event, Liz Good, senior editor of Fiber Arts Magazine, started calling the winners and when she called my name it didn't register, my husband was standing next to me and
he had to nudge me and said something like: that is your name...then I started walking towards the podium to receive the prize. It was definitely a surreal experience...anyways...I'm very excited  because in this kind of events you never know how things will turn out but this was definitely a great evening for me.

"Texas DNA" designed and made by Martha Tsihlas,
55"x55" c.2010

Liz Good and moi in front of "Texas DNA"

A little bit of everything

This was a great week with many things happening. I decided to submit my portfolio to qualify for Art in Public Places here in Austin. I made the decision (the first step) and I'm submitting next week. I already received one of the 3 letters of recommendation I need and I have the JPG files ready. I just need some quiet time to write the proposal and describe my ideas on how to involve the community in this project.

Another happening was curating the exhibit for the Texas Museum of Fiber Art exhibit titled "Blending of Cultures". Curating the exhibit was a challenge for me but the venue, the Mexican American Cultural Center had an excellent installer helping us. I also got my husband involved in the hanging of the pieces. I have to say that besides being there for hours the process went very smoothly.

To end the week well we celebrated my daughter's 17Th birthday...just us and her BFF! The girls went to the Melting Pot for dinner, Steve and I we were still at the MACC, but later we all sang happy birthday and ate chocolate cake.

I almost forgot...one of my quilts was featured in the blog Quilt Inspiration. This site just like the name says is really inspirational. I always love to see what other people are doing, so after you are done reading this please go visit Marina and Daryl's blog spot.

In a couple of ours I will be getting ready for the opening of the TMFA exhibit. This year the juror is Liz Good, Senior editor of Fiber Arts Magazine. The fiber art
is very diverse at this show so I can imagine that it would be difficult to select
the winners. I already have my favorite, and no, as much as I like my piece and I believe in what I do, I found one that I think deserves first place. But you never know. Wish me luck....
I will post photos of the exhibit after the opening!

Art is everywhere

I often say that art is everywhere. I went to the Austin International Airport to pick up my daughter and right by the luggage carousel were these fantastic guitars. The guitars at this location are part of a collection donated to the city of Austin, They have been at the airport for a while but is the first time that I have had an opportunity to take photos. I took photos of four of them and then the area filled up with passengers anxious to get their belongings and I had to get out of their way.

TEXTILE TWIST- Fiber Art Exhibit

If you are visiting or live in the Austin Area, the Austin Fiber Artists organization is having an exhibit called Textile Twist at the Tokyo Electron Company.
Over 30 pieces of fabulous fiber art (if I must say so myself) will be on display from February 24 to April 1st, 2010. The opening of the exhibit is on Feb 24, at 6pm. If you can't make it to the opening the exhibit can be seen from Monday to Friday, 9-5pm.
I have 2 pieces in this juried exhibit...one is called "Deconstruction I" and the other one is "New Beginnings"
For this exhibit I wanted to make something that still resembled a quilt from a distance (to honor my background as a traditional quilter) but up close you see how -deconstructed- it is.
I used the same method to create both of my pieces:
I started by making 2 quilts, quilting each one individually, and then cutting them up in random strips. I think this was the hardest part, cutting up a quilt! Imagine that! After the 2 quilts were cut up I put all the strips in the washing machine so they would unravel. After this process was done, I wove the strips to create one whole piece, or quilt per say... Then, the new piece (pinned to death to keep it together) was quilted with straight stitching, vertically and horizontally to keep the woven piece together.
I broke all the "rules" of traditional quilting, meaning that the quilting stitches are purposely uneven, the edges raw, no binding in sight and points that don't match. I had to struggle with "breaking the rules" and at the same time work in a way that the resulting piece would appeal to the viewer.
Most times I don't post before an exhibit but I will give you a sneak peak so you know what I have been talking about.

"Deconstructed I" (c.2010) 48"x70"


"New Beginning" (c.2010) 40"x 52"

Arts and Crafts Fair in Dripping Springs

A beautiful outdoor setting, a beautiful autumn day and the company of my fellow Fiber Artists...what else can one ask for. This past Saturday the Austin Fiber Artists had the opportunity of showing and selling their work at the Wesley Gallery Fall Fair. The Wesley Gallery is located in Dripping Springs, Tx on Route 12.
I had a great day enjoying the wonderful fall weather we are having in Central Texas.

The AFA tent


The hats gave us away...
Sandy, Gail, Mary, Martha and Lois


Adorable felted boots by Mary Macaulay


Felted hats

Diane B in her booth.

Y A Y !!

It has been very hectic at my home. I have been dying to post the results from the CTQG quilt show this past weekend. If you read my previous post you know that I volunteered to make the awards for the show.
My sweet reward was to bring back home 2 of the awards. I won 1st. place in the art quilts category with the quilt "Big on Texas". This quilt is pieced, raw edge appliqued, free motion machine quilted and hand embroidered.
Please click on photos to enlarge....

"Big On Texas" (60" x 72")


Third place went to "Fauna Fantasy" in the -other techniques- category. "Fauna Fantasy" is a whole cloth quilt with thread work.
This blue quilt is very difficult to photograph. I have been told that it is due to the blue color. Anyways, I was thrilled to receive the 2 awards and also happy to know that many people liked the awards I made.

"Fauna Fantasy" (47' x 47")

Exhibit at ABIA

"Rooster I" by Martha Tsihlas (24"x24")

The Austin Fiber Artists group is happy to have their fiber art on display at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The exhibit will run from August 19 to November 3rd.
The fiber art is in a glass display at the departure area of the airport. In order to see it you must be ticketed. Next week the group will tour the area to see the exhibit. I'm looking forward to it.

Friday Night Exhibit

A "Kathy's bag"


Rooster II-Martha Tsihlas


"If Wishes Were Fishes" Janis Hooker

"Sunflower" Linda Miles

"Cone Flower" Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert

"Sonia" Pam Farley

"Squash Flower blossom necklace" Mary Macauly

"Elliptical Illusion" Barb Forrister

"Sun Salution" Diana Ramirez

"Hawaiian Poinsettia" Dee Merrell



I had a fabulous time last night at the Wesley Gallery, it was worth being stuck in traffic for an hour and fifteen minutes. I live in the Northwest area of Austin so going to Dripping Springs, at that time of the day, believe me, it is not fun. But.... I just took my time driving relaxed while listening to some good music and before I knew it I was there. I actually arrived before the reception started so I was able to take photos without people in the way.
I visited with friends, looked at the fiber art, had a glass of wine (or two) and just had a great time.

I took my new bag to the exhibit. I'm now the proud owner of a "Kathy's Bag" and it was a big hit. People wanted to know who had made it, who sells them, etc. I told them Kathy H makes them and no, she does not sells them..

Let me tell you about Kathy. Kathy is a member of my quilting bee and besides being a quilter she knits and felts beautiful handbags. As far as I know there are only 2 ways to get one of her bags.

1. Have her draw your name for the Christmas Party gift exchange or....
2. Bartering to custom quilt some of her beautiful quilts in exchange for the bag.

Since #1 had a slim chance, #2 was my option. Here I'm with my bag


.....I hope I didn't pressure her too much, nagging her all night about the bag. I just knew it was my only chance to get one. Now I'm really looking forward to quilting her quilts. She makes beautiful quilts that I will post with her permission later on.
So now you know how it went Thursday night at quilting Bee

Wesley Gallery Show

I just finished my entry for the Wesley Gallery Show in Dripping Springs, TX. The show runs from June 19 to June 21st.

As much as I enjoy doing what I'm doing, I'm taking a very short break from fabrics and threads and patterns and deadlines, and so forth.
My head is full of ideas but they are just making it to the sketch book, at least for a while. I just recently realized that being creative uses a lot of energy. Some nights I have dinner and then I go and work for a couple of hours in my studio and suddenly I'm starving again. Someone told me that using your brain requires huge amounts of energy. This is all I need to know. Please pass the chocolate ice cream.

One of my 2 pieces for the gallery, has a rooster. I'm showing just a section.
In this art quilt I used batiks and commercial fabric, the rooster is a cutout from a commercial fabric and appliqueed (a cheater I would call it) .... Hey, I read that if a fabric inspires you to create something it has served its purpose. I rest my case.

I love birds and I just bought a book to learn how to draw all kind of birds. One of my goals, among many other things planned for this summer, is to learn how to draw feathered creatures....
As for now, you will have to be happy with my colorful rooster....

A little bit of this, a little bit of that ......

Just a few of the fiber art pieces from the TMFA exhibit:

"The girl in a Cactus Formal" by Bettie Ward

"Yarn Car" by Tim M. Klein

"Texas Drought" by Diana Ramirez

"Needles in a Haystack" by Beth Bartley

"Points to consider" by Margaret Humpries

May has been such a crazy month. Busy with quilting projects, attending school ceremonies, a couple of Fiber Art exhibits and just making sure things run smoothly at home made May go very fast.
The exhibit from the Texas Museum of Fiber Arts went really well. I had fun visiting in the Capitol with other fiber artists and friends that came by. After that event I had to continue working on a couple of commissions that were delivered yesterday.

After another busy week, I was happy to go to a Greek Festival here in Austin at the Laguna Gloria Museum. We had some good food and the music was great, my husband sure got his work out on the dancing floor. As for me, I was just happy to be sitting down and watching people dance. I'm not much of a dancer.
I took a couple of pics of a group of Greek Dancers that came from Houston. I love the bright colors and detail of their dance costumes.
It was a beautiful night, my family and I had a great time.