Jane Sassaman quilt artist, fabric designer, author and teacher

But the lions share of the time has been spent working on a new art quilt. After so much time with computers, I really needed to get up to my elbows in fabric. This quilt is part of the Totem series. I guess my brain has been in a symetrical mode lately. I began knowing that I wanted to use characters from my own environment, including seeds and salamanders.

The spring weather has also been an inspiration. The snowbells and crocus are up and the sharp little fingers of tulips and hostas are poking through the blankets of old oak leaves. So my imagination wandered over the garden to anticipate some favorite summer flowers and portray them in this new quilt.
This kind of collage is putting together a puzzle. The shapes get moved and nudged until they find their proper place and then the details get filled in. Below you see the basic composition pinned to the wall.

Below, through the magic of Photoshop, you can see an approximate version of the final layout with the anticipated black frame. This Illinois Album Quilt will measure around 65″ wide by 75″ high. But first I need to assemble and embroider the independent units before they can be appliqued to the background.

So I have lots of quality stitching time to look forward to!! That means many books on tape, too, so I’d better head for the library and stock up.

I am very excited to show you this special project by Lois Conradi, a talented Canadian quilter and rug hooker. I met Lois during a visit to the Orchard Valley Quilt Guild in beautiful Kelowna, BC, Canada. Always anxious to have my designs translated into other mediums, I quizzed Lois about the art of rug hooking. It has been on my list of interests for many years, but have never found the time to try it. I love it’s folk art quality. Luckily, Lois was adventurous enough to interpret the Wee Willow pattern into wool.

First she decided to enlarge the pattern to a 25″ square to allow for better detail. Then she traced the design onto the Red Dot paper, which is like a transparent interfacing. Next she taped her tracing on to “primitive”even-weave linen, which is the backing fabric, and used a Rub-a-Dub laundry marking pen to transfer the design to the linen. The linen is also finished with a machine zig zag stitch to prevent fraying.

The whole rug is worked in “5 cut” widths of Dorr Wool from the Dorr Mill Store. The “new” black wool was washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer to felt the wool. It is deliciously black and really sets off the bright colors. The bright wools were hand colored with Cushing or Pro Chem dyes, which created wonderfully variegated colors. The blue flowers were made from recycled wool fabric.

Here is a page from Lois explaning the size of the fabric cut. She highly recommends The Rug Hookers Bible by Jane Olson and Rug Hooking Magazine to learn the finer aspects of the art. In this detail, you can see the scrumptious undulations and subtle patterns made from little loops of wool. Even the whitish background is packed with rhythm and texture. Like little highways of tiles, these kernels of color make the surface intimately interesting.

The rug is also terrifically tactile. It is hefty, but very malleable, almost like soft chain mail. Once fondled, it is really difficult to put down! I stop by several times a day just to give it a feel.

After the rug is hooked, the edges are whip-stitched with black Briggs & Little wool around a double strand of cotton cord. Then the black twill tape was stitched on by hand to cover the linen edges and add durability. The back is almost as lovely as the front!

Lois, your work is beautiful! Thank you for your energy and effort in this project! But I can see that one hooked rug is not enough! Now I think I need one in every room!

I am very excited to show you this special project by Lois Conradi, a talented Canadian quilter and rug hooker. I met Lois during a visit to the Orchard Valley Quilt Guild in beautiful Kelowna, BC, Canada. Always anxious to have my designs translated into other mediums, I quizzed Lois about the art of rug hooking. It has been on my list of interests for many years, but have never found the time to try it. I love it’s folk art quality. Luckily, Lois was adventurous enough to interpret the Wee Willow pattern into wool.

First she decided to enlarge the pattern to a 25″ square to allow for better detail. Then she traced the design onto the Red Dot paper, which is like a transparent interfacing. Next she taped her tracing on to “primitive”even-weave linen, which is the backing fabric, and used a Rub-a-Dub laundry marking pen to transfer the design to the linen. The linen is also finished with a machine zig zag stitch to prevent fraying.

The whole rug is worked in “5 cut” widths of Dorr Wool from the Dorr Mill Store. The “new” black wool was washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer to felt the wool. It is deliciously black and really sets off the bright colors. The bright wools were hand colored with Cushing or Pro Chem dyes, which created wonderfully variegated colors. The blue flowers were made from recycled wool fabric.

Here is a page from Lois explaning the size of the fabric cut. She highly recommends The Rug Hookers Bible by Jane Olson and Rug Hooking Magazine to learn the finer aspects of the art. In this detail, you can see the scrumptious undulations and subtle patterns made from little loops of wool. Even the whitish background is packed with rhythm and texture. Like little highways of tiles, these kernels of color make the surface intimately interesting.

The rug is also terrifically tactile. It is hefty, but very malleable, almost like soft chain mail. Once fondled, it is really difficult to put down! I stop by several times a day just to give it a feel.

After the rug is hooked, the edges are whip-stitched with black Briggs & Little wool around a double strand of cotton cord. Then the black twill tape was stitched on by hand to cover the linen edges and add durability. The back is almost as lovely as the front!

Lois, your work is beautiful! Thank you for your energy and effort in this project! But I can see that one hooked rug is not enough! Now I think I need one in every room!

It’s hard to believe that it’s March already! Here in the Midwest spring is in the air. The birds are singing and the snow is slowly melting. The old saying, “in like a lamb and out like a lion”is bound to be put to the test this month… along with the groundhog’s prediction. But the optimism of spring fills me with encouragement.

Spring is also foreshadowed in the shifting of seasonal sunlight. Here the afternoon sun shines through the high windows of the apple green guest room. A change of seasons requires a new look, especially for bed dressings. This pink and green quilt is definitely a refreshing transformation. It is basically a log cabin block exploded to a giant size. Rows of the Mulberry Coleus and Jack-in-the-Pulpit alternate with strips of green Fronds from the violet colorway of the Sunshine & Shadow fabrics. Black sashing and yellow corner blocks create a graphic rhythm that holds the design together. The pillows are also made from Sunshine and Shadow fabrics. Amazing how a new pillowcase can make you feel so good!

Check out this blooming bag created by my friend, Melissa Peda. It is so pretty and optimistic that it makes me sigh! She is using the same mulberry fabrics as in the quilt, but that pink lining really puts “spring” in mind. The Easy Street Bag is Melissa’s original pattern and I love the scoop with the button closure. This cheerful purse and many other fun creations can be seen at her colorful Etsy shop, 100 Billion Stars. Thank you, Melissa, for your enthusiasm and generosity. Think spring and think pink!

It’s hard to believe that it’s March already! Here in the Midwest spring is in the air. The birds are singing and the snow is slowly melting. The old saying, “in like a lamb and out like a lion”is bound to be put to the test this month… along with the groundhog’s prediction. But the optimism of spring fills me with encouragement.

Spring is also foreshadowed in the shifting of seasonal sunlight. Here the afternoon sun shines through the high windows of the apple green guest room. A change of seasons requires a new look, especially for bed dressings. This pink and green quilt is definitely a refreshing transformation. It is basically a log cabin block exploded to a giant size. Rows of the Mulberry Coleus and Jack-in-the-Pulpit alternate with strips of green Fronds from the violet colorway of the Sunshine & Shadow fabrics. Black sashing and yellow corner blocks create a graphic rhythm that holds the design together. The pillows are also made from Sunshine and Shadow fabrics. Amazing how a new pillowcase can make you feel so good!

Check out this blooming bag created by my friend, Melissa Peda. It is so pretty and optimistic that it makes me sigh! She is using the same mulberry fabrics as in the quilt, but that pink lining really puts “spring” in mind. The Easy Street Bag is Melissa’s original pattern and I love the scoop with the button closure. This cheerful purse and many other fun creations can be seen at her colorful Etsy shop, 100 Billion Stars. Thank you, Melissa, for your enthusiasm and generosity. Think spring and think pink!

Here is the Valentine’s Quilt for 2010 in final form. It is all appliqued and uses Sassaman fabric from this season and last. It began with the black Sprigs heart trimmed with a bias edge of pink and red checked fabric. Then I fussy cut the periwinkle Fronds, also from the Sunshine & Shadow line, and placed them to radiate from the heart and finished the raw edges with satin stitch.

The heart looked too empty so I added some red birds cut from a rich hand dyed fabric. The edges are satin stitched to add some character. The little heart and the black and white background are made from  the Sassaman Dots that appear in new colors every season. The little blocks of satin stitch, the decorative spikes around the hearts and heavy thread in the ditch are quilting, so they are going through all three layers of the quilt and add extra texture, too.

I have grown very fond of this spikey decorative stitch which, in this case, adds to the slightly subversive “tatoo” motifs. Of course, the red roots or stems also lean in a decadent direction. Just couldn’t resist!

There was still space to fill so I borrowed some cicadas from last season’s Teasel and Lace fabric. I filled their bodies with another decorative quilting stitch and also quilted the background with radiating pink threads. This little project is my “thank you”gift to all the readers who visit this modest little blog. Thank you all for your patience, support and enthusiasm!

Here is the Valentine’s Quilt for 2010 in final form. It is all appliqued and uses Sassaman fabric from this season and last. It began with the black Sprigs heart trimmed with a bias edge of pink and red checked fabric. Then I fussy cut the periwinkle Fronds, also from the Sunshine & Shadow line, and placed them to radiate from the heart and finished the raw edges with satin stitch.

The heart looked too empty so I added some red birds cut from a rich hand dyed fabric. The edges are satin stitched to add some character. The little heart and the black and white background are made from  the Sassaman Dots that appear in new colors every season. The little blocks of satin stitch, the decorative spikes around the hearts and heavy thread in the ditch are quilting, so they are going through all three layers of the quilt and add extra texture, too.

I have grown very fond of this spikey decorative stitch which, in this case, adds to the slightly subversive “tatoo” motifs. Of course, the red roots or stems also lean in a decadent direction. Just couldn’t resist!

There was still space to fill so I borrowed some cicadas from last season’s Teasel and Lace fabric. I filled their bodies with another decorative quilting stitch and also quilted the background with radiating pink threads. This little project is my “thank you”gift to all the readers who visit this modest little blog. Thank you all for your patience, support and enthusiasm!

I was thinking of all my quilting and crafting friends as I worked on my little quilt all Valentine’s Day!
I had hoped to finish and post it for you, too. But being a perfectionist, there was always another detail to add and a few hundred more threads to bury. So stay tuned and it will appear in it’s complete version in the next few days.

I wrapped up the new fabric designs this morning and packed them for shipping. It is always exciting to finish a large project and begin to anticipate the next. But first, finish my little quilt and CLEAN the studio!!