Wednesday, November 02, 2011

paper piecing and Art Quilt Tahoe

In Houston, I met Carol Doak, paper-piecing guru, for the first time.  We roomed together and shared some meals. She is great fun and has a wonderful sense of humor! I once tried it and if you know me, you can imagine how much I enjoyed its precision.  Sometime between 1993 and 1999 I made a challenge piece for a traveling exhibit.

The challenge was to use a traditional block in a non-traditional way (or some such requirement).  I chose the Palm block, which had to be paper-pieced.  It almost did me in but I managed to finish it.  Here is the small quilt, which still makes me smile: in those days, I had a sense of whimsy that seems to have deserted me.  I called it Palm Tree but I could also have called it Palm Beach.

 

It seemed to me as I walked the Market floor, that every other booth sold patterns for traditional blocks -- both regular patterns and paper-piecing ones.  I didn't give them a glance -- until I came to Carolyn Friedlander's booth. It stopped me cold.  If I were a paper-piecer who didn't want to do the same old/same old traditional blocks, I would be in heaven.  Carolyn is an art quilter who loves to paper piece, so she has come up with these contemporary, spare, orginal patterns. This is just a small sample.

This was Carolyn's first market and her website is under construction but if you know anybody who is a non-trad paper-piecer, send them the link and she'll let them know when her site is up. 

Now I have to go mail one of my quilts to Art Quilt Tahoe for their 2012 teacher exhibit.  I'll be teaching a four day Jump-staring the Art Quilt there in November 2012. Classes fill quickly, so don't wait too long!  If you go to their blog and sign up for updates, you'll get a chance to sign up early. Their new venue is more affordable and don't forget, scholarships are available!

I'll have some other teaching news posted soon and will post my schedule for 2012 and beyond as I have the dates.


10 comments:

Gerrie said...

I can not paper piece for the life of me. i think it is because you have to think in reverse!

I am so excited - take off in the morning for my first Houston trip.

Diane Wright said...

I can't get into paper piecing either...and I KNEW what you thought about it. Maybe what Gerrie says is true for me too. I already have reversals that I have to fight...so doing it for real is just way too stressful. That being said, I LOVE what Carolyn Friedlander has done. Hmmm...

Mia Bloom Designs said...

I'm excited to hear that you'll be teaching at Art Quilt Tahoe 2012. I'll watch out for the class schedule.

webpromo said...

Wow... Thanks.. I'm at the first time on your blog! And I like it! Thanks for sharing info. Keep up the good work.

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

Seriously? You're going to Tahoe in November? You know they get tons of snow there... Summer would be a nice time, but bring skis if you're going there in the colder months!
Paper piecing... don't think I'll ever get there, but I do love the non-trad patterns you show here.
Classes... any chance you'll be coming to Arizona anytime soon?

Cathy Bargar said...

Rayna, I am so excited for your book - I can hardly wait to get it in my hands! (Secretly hoping to have it in my hands before we leave for the Bahamas on Nov. 16...)

Cate Rose said...

That tree piece is to die for!

Natalya Khorover Aikens said...

piecing? I don't understand the concept....
Thanks for all your market posts! 'twas neat to read all about it!

linda said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAYNA! Seems everyone is either at IQF/Market or SOFA--feeling far away over here looking at my cutting board thinking it needs a good seasoning. Hope your Birthday is more exciting than that, which I'm sure it is. Enjoy those colorful autumn trees out your back windows.

Susan Brubaker Knapp said...

I posted on my blog last night about Carolyn's stuff, too! How interesting that we were both drawn to her work, even though it is so different from what we do. I think because it is somewhat rare to see someone doing paper piecing in an arty way. Her designs are so fresh.

soup weather in June and a little more

DISCLAIMER: Blogger is giving me grief tonight, which you will see by the varying sizes of the type. Ye p, soup weather and it's ...