I WON A RAFFLE QUILT!!!

Last Sunday I was on my way to a Christmas Party when I found out that I had won the raffle quilt made by the Buda Bee for the benefit of the Onion Creek Senior Center in Buda, Tx. I was so excited I couldn't stop smiling every time I thought about it. I called Monday morning to claim my prize and the ladies that pieced this beautiful quilt invited me to their Christmas potluck today in Buda. The quilt was quilted by Carolyn Hessy and she did a beautiful job quilting it!! I purchased the lucky ticket at the Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild from when the quilt was making the rounds visiting guilds. I can't wait to hang it in my home on the wall over the fireplace.

Thank you Linda Stavlo and the rest of the Bee for such a beautiful quilt and a great luncheon. I will take care of your creation!!   Love it, love it, love it! 

CELESTIAL MORNING-  The quilt won a 2nd. Place ribbon in the group category  at the San Antonio Quilt Show "A Rainbow of Quilts" 2013
Pattern, Cascade by Stitchin' Post.

Fiber, Metal and Paint- EAST 2013

What a couple of weekends! The firs weekend of EAST (East Austin Studio Tour) the temperatures roared to the 90's, We were melting.!!  The second weekend just the opposite, temperatures dropped 50 degrees, which compounded with the rain and wind didn't make for pleasant weather. The last time I remember being this cold  was when I lived in Michigan. C'mon people, this is Austin!! we don't freeze here so I had to dig in a closet to find my winter gear, leftover from my years up North. Despite the crazy cold, throbs of people came by the  ARTPOST to visit with the artists, which I'm super grateful for it. It made the days more bearable.  Thank you friends and family for stopping by!! See you next year at EAST.   XO

My wall at EAST. "URBAN DREAMS" on the upper left hand side found a new home!

Close up of "MYKONOS" by Martha Tsihlas. Still available.

"MACHU PICCHU"  17" x 61.5"on the left. It found a new home the first weekend.  "CROSSCUT" 56" x 56" on the right.
is still available. 

Close up of "MACHU PICCHU"

"CAIRO",  found a new home the second weekend of EAST.

"FRANCES AND I" found also a new home.

Metal Tree by Foster Talgae. It found a new home the second weekend of EAST Studio Tours. I wanted to take it home myself. He makes hard materials like metal and steel, etc. look so organic. For more information contact Foster at:   ftalgae@gmail.com

This painting, which I LOVE, now hangs on a wall in my house.  Paul Meyer does textural and sculptural paintings. To see more of his work go to:  www.paulmeyerstudios.com

Self-portrait by George Silas (Acrylic on canvas)

Quilted Bird and Teaching in Mexico

I knew I had been away from blogging too long when I had to look for the password to access my account! I just couldn't remember it! Needless to say it has been one crazy summer, and that is without even leaving home because except for a quick trip to Galveston, TX in late May I didn't go anywhere this summer.
 I have been busy quilting other people's quilts, going to pool parties and entertaining friends! Lots of visitors this summer, one of the perks of being so close to Mexico!

 But life is about to get serious now that child has gone back to university and I'm wrapping up quilting jobs before my trip. I have a few weeks left before I leave for my teaching and judging engagement in Puebla, Mexico.
Mexico is having its Cuarta (IV) Expo de Quilt and Patchwork and I'm honored to be the guest teacher as well as judging the quilt exhibit. I will be spending a few days surrounded by Mexican quilters and eating delicious food and visiting a city I have never been to. So I have reasons for being EXCITED!
But, I still have a million things to do before heading south of the border. I'm trying to keep to the schedule and not to procrastinate as I usually do.

Since by now you are probably yawning, I'm posting a few pictures of the last quilt I quilted. I hope Lori doesn't mind me posting the quilt but I would like to show you the process I used to quilt this beautiful quilt made with Japanese designed fabrics. Originally, it was going to be entered in the Austin Area Quilt Guild Quilt Fest but its owner changed her mind. It will be entered in other shows though.


This is the image that Lori's daughter selected to be quilted on the quilt (8"  x 11" approx)

  



I traced the bird onto matte acetate using a .01 Micron Pigma pen, once done I  took it to a copy center to be enlarged.

  


The copy center made to copies of about  4 ft x 4 ft each to be able to fit the bird in and reduce the cost. I taped the 2 sheets of paper before cutting the bird.  I outlined  the bird's body, legs,  feathers and small details onto the quilt to get it ready  to quilt.  

 


This is the quilted bird. On each square adjacent to the bird, I quilted Japanese crests and, on the green borders, I quilted free motion designs

  

Finished quilt!



Flowers- Uncharted territory

Last week I went to the Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild meeting. This organization meets the first Tuesday of the month and I don't make every meeting, many times it depends on my workload. Since on this particular day I had some free time I decided to make an appearance. This is the first guild I joined as soon as I moved to Austin, I know a lot of people there so I enjoy visiting and I was curious about the speaker at this meeting, Lenore Crawford.  She spoke about her journey as a quilter, a few slides, thankfully, since slide presentations sometimes put me to sleep, and then she showed her work. Don't ask me why but before her presentation was over I had signed up for her workshop the following day.

At the beginning of the year I made the decision not to take workshops during 2012, well, that didn't last long. I signed up for Lenore's workshop.  I came home, started gathering my supplies and Wednesday morning I left my home promptly at 8:30 am. to go to the workshop.
I think this is one of the few times in my life as a quilter that I have done someone else's pattern. For this class I could have brought my own photo to make my pattern but since I didn't have much time to prepare I decided to purchase Lenore's pattern.  Doing realistic flowers is not my thing,  kind of uncharted territory, but I like cone flowers and that's way I decided on the pattern.

The process to make this flower is kind of slow but I actually welcomed it, kind of meditative. By the time the workshop was over I had just done the tip of the flower. I came home and I figured the quilt waiting to be quilted could just, well, wait! and I continued working on my flower as much as life allowed me.

Uncharted territory no more!

             
                          

                          

                          

                          

                          


                           



                          

There is method in her madness

It is kind of funny that in 24 hours I heard the expression "there is method in her madness" twice while watching movies. This expression resonated with me because of the quilting I do and because of the quilts
I have been quilting. I just finished quilting 2 big studio quilts. Again, they can't be shown before the exhibit. All I can tell you is that they are wonderful and I had so much fun quilting them. I would love to post BIG pictures but I have to wait until my client gives me the green light.

The quilts I'm taking about seem to be quilted randomly but there is nothing random about it. It actually required some planning beforehand, because once those babies are mounted on the quilting machine trying to figure out where to quilt them is very difficult. It would be like riding a bicycle blindfolded. Doable but hazardous.
I believe that piecing them also required some planning even though at first glance they seem to be pieced without any rule or method.

On a different note, I'm working on 2 of my own quilts, no plans for them yet since I'm trying just
to go with the flow and not let shows deadlines pressure me. I'm hoping to be able to post photos next week.

In the meantime, have a wonderful Memorial Day!



Memorial Rotunda- Washington, DC.                Photo by Martha Tsihlas



Happy Leap Year and Janis quilt!!

Here I'm, still living in this planet, quilting beautiful quilts for other people and at the same time getting things together to remodel my kitchen. I didn't realize that the kitchen thing was going to absorb so much time and energy. I do realize that I have been enjoying the process!
On the subject of quilting, below is the last quilt I quilted, as you can see a beautiful piece of art. This quilt belongs to Janis Keane, a member of my quilting guild. She will show this quilt in several quilt shows. Truly a show stopper. Good luck Janis!!

UPDATE: Janis quilt won 1st. place in the small quilt (didn't feel small when I was quilting it) category at the Crossroads to Texas Quilt Guild show in Killeen, Tx. March 30, 2012
She also received a 3rd. place at the Georgetown Quilt and Stitchery Show, March 23, 2012.
Well done Janis!!

(Click on the image to enlarge)

"Sirenitas"

"Sirenitas" is an art quilt that took me a long time to complete for unkown reasons. Once I finished it I felt so attached to it that I was having a difficult time letting the quilt go, until I gave myself and ultimatum by setting a date and a time for this to be shipped to Pennsylvania. A long time friend of mine, Bety, is the owner of this art quilt that was so much fun to make and was in effect a learning process.
The image is from a Mexican Folk Art book and the process is a painted cloth, machine quilted and hand embroidered. I'm a big fan of Judy Coates Perez work and she has inspired me to explore painting on fabric.

Here we go:

I draw the image on white fabric using a fine mechanical pencil





To paint I used tsukineko and jacquard textile paint



Whole cloth almost ready to be stitched. I added a border using 1" wide rectangles of assorted batiks





Close up of art quilt



Art quilt painted and stitched using my longarm quilting machine. I also added some hand embroidery in certain areas

The quilt below won 1st Place at the CTQG 2011 Quilt Show in the art quilts category. I was thrilled!!

"Self Explanatory" 42" x 33"

Whole cloth painted with thickened dyes, free motion quilted with a longarm quilting machine, hand quilted and hand embroidered. I will post a picture of the back at some other time.

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 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.

Gigi's art quilt

I recently finished this  art  quilt  but I didn't want to post about it until its rightful owner received it. A friend of mine, Gigi, Adriana Mederos, is a fantastic artist who lives in Massachusetts. She sent me one of her paintings, a tiny one, 6x6 inches, for me to recreate in fabric. Making a piece of this kind is a lot of fun and for the most part relaxing. I don't have to think about the design because Gigi already took care of that.

Art quilt 22"x22" Cottons, hand dyed fabrics, dupioni silks

The process goes like this:

1.Take the original to a copy center so it can be enlarged to the required size . In this case 22" x 22" The original can be a photo, drawing or like in this case, a painting.
2. Trace the elements on Wonder Under or fusible of choice. Remember that the tracing will be reversed.
3. Fuse the wonder under to the fabrics you are going to be using and cut out.
4. Using your copy trace the original design onto the fabric for the background. This will help place the pieces with the fusible.
5. Once the arrangement looks good iron on. Secure with your stitch of choice. Since this is a wall hanging, I just used a straight stitch around each branch and circles, matching threads.
6. I used textile paints to paint the white and copper lines.
7. I quilt on a long arm machine. I set up the finished art quilt and quilted the background first and then I
quilted the organic tree like shape with black thread. The circles were quilted last
9. I bound the art quilt with a traditional binding, single layer as to not to add bulk.
10. I put a sleeve for hanging and label on the back .

The End.

Baton Rouge, LA

I spent 4 fantastic days in Baton Rouge, Louisiana taking a workshop with Ann Johnston. The workshop was organized by the Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana, which by the way, are a fantastic group of fiber artists and quilters. I had been in that part of the country like eons ago so it was nice to visit again and also to have the opportunity of taking this workshop and learn so many techniques for dyeing and printing on fabric.

I want to put to good  use what I learned, as soon as possible, but I will have to be patient since I have to wait for my bolts of fabric to arrive. Yes my friends,  I have been bitten by the dyeing bug. This is uncharted territory but there is so much information out there that one can spend hours just browsing through tons of dyeing tutorials.

During the workshop I bought Ann's book "Color by Design". It is a fabulous book, very easy to understand. She gives you tons of exercises to practice different techniques. I'm so happy this book is now part of my

library.!

The painting above was taking at a restaurant called "Boutins". I had delicious craw fish two nights in a row and my husband had paneed alligator. Yes, we like to live dangerously!!

Au revoir!!

"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"