Sunday, February 14, 2010

New Clubs & Website Changes

Alright.....we have changed around quite a bit of things on our website and also added a few great new things.


First, we now offer FREE domestic shipping on orders $100 or over. Doesn't matter what you buy....heavy books, lots of fabric, or whatever else heavy you can find!






We've introduced 2 new clubs to our website.




Our first club is our 2500 Inch by Inch Club. The goal is to get to 2500 inches of quilting cottons/PFDs purchased in one year. You will get 250 bonus inches just for joining. Then you will get prize packages at 500, 1000, 1750, and 2500 inches. If you make it all the way to the 2500 inch club you will earn extra priveledges such as early access to sales, credits and more. Each month there will be a fabric collection/style that will earn you either 50% or 100% more inches. For the rest of February Lonni Rossi's Asian Harmony line will earn you double inches! This means if you purchase 36" (1 yard) you will get credit for 72" (2 yards). This club is free.




Our next club is our Undercover Club. This is our version of a block of the month club that will make contemporary lap quilts. You will become an undercover agent with your first mission in Australia. You will receive your first assignment on May 1st. This mission will include 6 total assignments. The deadline to finish the mission will be November 1, 2010. If you can provide proof (pic) of the completed mission you will be entered in to a drawing for a prize package!





You can find information on these clubs on our catalog page of http://www.fiberonawhim.com/ or you can find FAQs about these at http://www.fiberonawhim.com/about.html. If you have any other questions about these clubs don't hesitate to call us at 404-705-9164 or email us at fiberonawhim@yahoo.com




Happy Stitching!!!



Friday, February 12, 2010

My 12 Connected Challenge Group Piece "La Puerta"

Late in 2009 Sue Bleiweiss posted on QuiltArt about a challenge group she was organizing, so many members responded inquiring about joining in, that she wound up assisting in the organization of several groups. It was a 2 year commitment, requiring each challenge member to make a small quilt every 2 months, based on a word. At that time I was struggling to find time to be creative so I gave it some thought prior to making my inquiry, however I thought it would be a great way to "make" myself set aside time to work. How many times are we told to go into our workrooms to make the work, make the work, make the work. Our first word was "sanctuary". My piece is named "La Puerta". Sanctuary, this word brought many images to mind. The immediate images were of my personal places of refuge; such as the forests of northern Minnesota where I grew up or the warm beaches found along the Gulf Coast. They are also where I typically turn for inspiration and I wanted to use these challenges to stretch myself. So I went back to contemplating the word, its definitions and synonyms; hoping for a light bulb moment. One definition kept creeping back into my thoughts; "any gateway marking an entrance or exit from one place or state to another; at heavens door". For years I have taken photographs of doors, for me doors are the passage way by which we take refuge. Immediately a wonderful photo of a cathedral door in the El Socolo in Mexico City came to mind and the phrase from the definition "at heavens door" popped into my head. How could I create this piece and stretch myself? That nagging question played over and over in my mind, during daytime hours and even while I slept.

Finally I pulled an ugly fabric from my stash, using 1/4" tape I laid out a grid for the building wall on the wrong side of the fabric. Then I used watercolor pencils and textile medium to shade my blocks, after drying they looked like a wall. The door needed to look rugged, hand hewn, so I used brown packing paper, crumpled and flattened numerous times to break down the fibers, coloring it with shoe polish gave it a worn leather look.


Embroidery and embellishments were used to give the piece dimension and the look of age. I love it when someone looks at a piece of my work, see's the overall composition, moves in to take a closer look, discovers small details and becomes excited by them.
Please check out the group's blog and follow along with our 2 year adventure, our next word is "color". Hmmmmm!!!