Silkworm Magazine, Volume 19, Issue No. 4, December 2012
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This is an issue devoted to quilting and sewing silk. Lee Zimmerman flies high on his silk painting trapeze once again this time joining quilter Karen McTavish to create for a cause. Fabulous silk painter Karen Sistek combines her talents with silk painter and quilter Nancy Sterett Martin to create fine quilts. Deborah Younglao talks about quilting silk. Linda Walters discusses all things sewing while Suzanne Punch challenges you to color through the lines. Jean-Louis Mireault travels to India. |
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In This Issue |
Quilting For a Peaceful World
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| The Beast Painting by Lee Zimmerman Quilted by Karen McTavish |
Performance Artist and Silk Painter Lee Zimmerman – Joins Talents with Karen McTavish
The last time we left Lee Zimmerman safely on the ground painting live performances for Playhouse’s The Secret Garden, (see Silkworm Volume 18 Issue 1). But he felt the need to take his painting to a new level — 30 feet into the air. But it is for a good cause. The Domestic Abuse Intervention Program (DAIP) hosted an event, BRAVE, to celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2010. It was at this event that Zimmerman teamed up with rock star quilter Karen McTavish to create quilts to help raise funds for DAIP.
In this issue of Silkworm, McTavish expands on her experience quilting the silk Zimmerman has painted. A self-taught quilter, using books for knowledge, McTavish is fearless with fabrics — as if silk wasn’t enough of a challenge, she quilts leather — and has stitched her way to silk swirls. Some of the most unique quilting seen today is hers. The waves in her designs give motion to the silk fabric that complements the motion seen in Zimmerman’s live performance art.
Karen shares with us how she developed her unique style of quilting – which she calls McTavishing - and how she plans and executes her designs. She also shares with us the material she uses for batting to make the silk hang pretty and resist fold creases so the quilts are easily mailed and displayed without much hassle or ironing. We learn what tools she uses for a smooth line and why she put her machine on four wheels. She provides answers for the challenges of machine-stitching silk and other challenges of the slippery and stretchy fabric.
Get a preview of the information she provides in her book Mastering the Art of McTavishing (which includes a DVD in the back for visual learners) and sold on Amazon.com. See Silkworm Volume 19 Issue 4 for more on Zimmerman and McTavish’s quilted silks.
Quilting the Natural World with Karen Sistek and Nancy Sterett Martin
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Synergy Detail |
Karen Sistek has been busy since we last left her. She has paired up with a student of hers, Nancy Sterett Martin, to take on the daunting task of quilting silk.
Nancy shared with us in an interview her passion for quilting and when traditional quilting wasn’t doing it for her, she was driven to find a way to improve her creative outlet and found Karen.
She shares with us how she deals with sewing the slippery fabric of silk and how she showcases the light fabric with weighting for a wrinkle-free view. She also shares her enjoyment of the whole process, which includes sewing, drafting her designs, and dyeing and painting most of her fabrics.
In this article, we see some of the work she did with Karen – Karen’s rich paintings with Nancy’s beautiful, elaborate and highly detailed fine stitch work. These quilted pieces highlight and enhance the already beautiful images and give rich dimension to the subject matter.
Nancy combines her Interior design skills – knowledge of fabrics and how they work – with her passion for art creating beautiful quilted pieces. Read more about her techniques, process and supplies in Silkworm Volume 19 Issue 4. To read more about Karen, see the article, “Flowers from the Heart” in Silkworm Vol. 18, Issue 1.
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Affair With Fiber Linda Walters has had a love for fabric and fiber for as long as she can remember. Learning from her beloved and talented mother, when asked when did she first discover fiber “Probably when I was five,” she laughs. “I think I must have been born with a stash of fabric in my crib and a needle and thread, because I have loved working with fiber for so many years.” Linda has worked professionally as a fiber artist for roughly the last 12 years, sewing, teaching and designing. While she was not formally trained as a seamstress, designer or fiber artist, she has had a lot of practice. “I started out sewing – actually – when I was five. And I did some designing with the help of my Mom, who was really an expert. I learned a lot from my Mom. I have also taken workshops from some fairly well known people. But I guess I would characterize myself as more self-trained.” Since about 2000, Linda began designing her own fabric. “I couldn’t always find what I wanted and that’s when I started dying fabrics – initially for quilters. Because I used to quilt – well I still do, but not so much anymore. Then I came upon shibori and fell in love with that technique.” Linda does not consider herself a fabric painter so much as a surface designer. “I also use other techniques besides shibori. Whether it be cutting my own stencils and stamps – just a variety of different techniques that I’ve worked with.” (To read more, go to Vol. 19, No. 4.) |
