Quilt UberFest Launch!

Quilt UberFest Launch!

And here we go people! Are you ready 16 glorious days of quilt block by some wonderful quilty-bloggy peeps?  Good!

We did add one little addition to our original challenge.  Somehow I didn’t communicate the use of the half square triangles portion of the project to my friends, so as we went along on with this project some flying geese usage made it here too.  No big deal right? More is more!

And at last minute Amanda Jennings had to step out to take care of some health issues so we are bringing in Heather Jones of Olive and Ollie fame.  Thanks for pinch-hitting Heather! and get well quick Amanda!

Today we start with John Adams of QuiltDad fame!  John has come up with a great block…nice and simple and bold.  Here is the schedule for rest of the Uberfestivities..

AND we have a special guest today to start us off!

   

Nel Whatmore the designer of the Sleeping Beauty line that we are using graciously sent me some info about the line, herself, and some inspiration pix as well.

The following are excerpts from an interview that Nel shared with me from an interview she gave a little while back:

Did you ever envision your art as part of the crafting world? How did you get involved in this industry?

I have always loved textiles, from screen printing my own duvet cover as a teenager to painting handmade curtains as a student. I have always found making things enjoyable and relaxing. To now have the opportunity to have my original work translated into my own fabric collections is truly very exciting for me. There was nothing quite like getting my first set of samples of Happy Go Lucky. I got involved in this industry as we were already working with Coats producing the MAIA tapestry kits and stitch kits and so it seemed a natural extension.

Your paintings are so beautiful.  They translate well for needlecraft kits.  Did you ever imagine your paintings translated into Fabric?  What were your thoughts when you first saw your art in this new medium?

I hoped and imagined that it may be possible to design fabrics from my originals and found out just how difficult it is to produce designs from originals in pastels rather than on a computer.

My first thoughts when I saw the strike offs were how beautifully my original pastels had been translated and engraved to produce the fabric, that they had a new quality, all of their own and it inspired me to do more and fostered a whole new interest in me in patterns and repeats.

Tell us about Sleeping Beauty, your new collection for Freespirit ?

Well Sleeping Beauty is inspired by a series of paintings that I did that all have a rather fairy tale and oriental theme. Each painting is all about layers and beautiful things hidden, as well as a little mystery.

Sleeping Beauty was always one of my favourite childhood stories. I particularly liked the part where the giant hedge grew up hiding the castle and the princess. Similarly I have loved how my children have liked certain stories and films as they have grown up such as Mulan and Spirited Away.  So Sleeping Beauty is inspired by all these things. It has a soft and gentle palette with butterfly prints and small silhouettes and rambling flowers and misty stripes.

You were nominated three times for Best Published Artists in the UK.  What does this mean to you as an artist and to your work?

 Naturally it means a lot as it is voted by UK galleries and members of the Fine Art Trade Guild. It doesn’t really effect my work as I still just paint what I want to paint and wouldn’t have that any other way. I am just very fortunate that people still seem to like it what I do.

You recently met Prince Charles at a special reception at Clarence House in London.

I was invited to a private reception at Clarence House to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Princes Trust. I received a grant from the Trust 25 years ago. To commemorate this I presented Prince Charles with one of my paintings called Devoted to You . I had a wonderful and very memorable day. 

You license your art for a number of different products.  Tell us a bit about some of the products graced by your beautiful art and are they available globally? 

My work is licensed on to may different products from paper products to placemats with Pimpernel and china with Royal Worcester. Royal Worcester are famous the world over and produce beautiful china in bespoke boxes , they do a wonderful job.They are available globally . We are also now working wit companies in Russia, Finland, Belgium and Australia. We have a really gorgeous range of stationary that will be coming out with a fantastic French company in 2012 , that I can’t wait to see.

 

So make your blocks now from your scraps and then go get some of this fabric when it’s available! (which is supposed to be very soon if not now!)   Remember to post your blocks on our Flickr page as we go to share with everyone else.

Oh, and here is the HTML if you want to grab our badge and put it on your blog.  We’d love to have you share with your bloggy peeps what we’re up to!

<center><img src=”https://bluenickelstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Uberfest-logo.png” /></br>
<textarea id=”textarea” cols=”25″ readonly=”readonly”><a href=”https://bluenickelstudios.com/?p=3183″ target=”_blank”><img src=”https://bluenickelstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Uberfest-logo.png” /></a></textarea></center>

We’ve also joined up with SeamedUP to help spread the word about Quilt-Uberfest.  I have connected with Allison, one of the co-founders, about what they are building.  Although the site is still in Beta mode, they have an interesting concept going on that you might like.  It’s members only, but membership is free.  It’s a great place to keep track of your stash, library, and projects, especially if you don’t have a blog of your own.  Getting ready for Quilt-Uberfest, doing a couple of interviews and book blog tours, I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to explore the whole site.  Let me know what you think!

 So grab your Favorite Beverage in a big tall stein and have at it! We hope you enjoy our Quilt-Uberfest!


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