Gwen Marston's
Liberated Quilting Page
...NEW BOOK ALERT!!!!! In stock now- get your copy from Gwen
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My new book, Liberated Quiltmaking II published by AQS, has arrived and is available now. This book came about because of the amount of mail AQS received asking for it. The book contains reviews of some of the ideas presented in the first book including an update on Liberated Stars which has become a very popular way to make Star blocks. The book also introduces liberated ideas for making baskets, working with odd sized triangles, medallions, samplers and more. It shows 7 quilts from the first book and 60 new ones.
- 9 Liberated Quiltmaking processes are clearly illustrated with step-by-step instructions, pieced samples, and loads of example quilts.
- Here is a way of working without using templates or set patterns.
- Truly original quilts result, engaging the quilter's intuition and emotion as well as technical skills.
You can get your autographed copy from me for $29.00 + $3.00 shipping Books
At Home and On the Road With Gwen
Yes indeed! I am home now after lots of travel for both work and play. Let's just talk about the play this time. Over the holidays I was in London for 2 ½ weeks, which included a side trip to Barcelona. Well, I just have to say that ... "I've never been to Spain but I kinda like the music." I traveled with my son and his wife, we were there for 4 days staying right down town so we could walk most places and take a cab when the distance was too great. We were out and seriously on the move seeing as much of the city and its wonders as we could. Picasso lived in Barcelona for ten years and the Picasso Museum features work from that period. Right across the street was a wonderful pre-Columbian museum. While a relatively small museum, the pieces were exquisitely displayed. It's always thrilling to see how skilled artisans were so many years ago. And then there were the Gaudi architectural wonders. Gaudi was our main focus. We took in four of his houses, the park he designed and his great cathedral Sagrada Familia. It's been under construction for over 100 years now, and with a crew of 300, they hope to finish it in another 50. (Can you imagine today going to your local zoning board and making a proposal like that?) His work is so magical, so surprising, so complex, that it took all three of us to help each other take it all in. There is absolutely too much to say about Gaudi so I suggest you treat yourself and find out about him on your own via the library or Google.
Of course, there are also the visual delights Mother Nature creates for me here on Beaver Island. I was away from the island for five weeks this fall. When I left the leaves were just turning color and beginning to fall. When I returned the trees were bare, but I noticed something I hadn't really noticed in past years. The apple trees that line many of the dirt roads (all of which lead to Gwen's house) had lost their leaves but not their apples, mostly red but some yellow too. I couldn't get over how precious they looked with their naked branches crowded with little red or yellow decorations.
My new book, Liberated Quiltmaking II, with AQS is out and I'm really happy with it. It's doing very well and I'm getting lots of positive comments so naturally I like that. As many of you know, Liberated Quiltmaking has been a grand adventure for me. It's such a rewarding thing to see it growing. So, to all of you Liberated quilters out there, let's raise our glasses in celebration of each other. Cheers!
One of the things I liked best in Liberated II, was showing the work of some of the quilters I know who got the basic concept of Liberated quiltmaking and cleverly made it their own. You have Kristin Otte trying to make Liberated Stars but deciding they looked more like chickens so she changed directions and made chickens. And there is Kathy Peters figuring out how to make free-pieced chairs, and once she figured it out she went ahead and made a whole series of chair quilts. And then Tonya Ricucci discovered a way to free-piece letters and numbers. This one really amazed me because with all the liberated ideas I've thought of over the years, never-ever-once did I think of free-piecing the alphabet! That's pretty good, and that is an original idea if I ever saw one! And not only did she think of something brand new that nobody else has thought of, she has been teaching others how to do it by offering free classes on her blog for years now. Very generous of her! Then there is Pat Probst who created what I think is the best applique border in the world. She created a stunning, original applique border by just starting in and working it out as she sewed along. No pattern, no drafting, but in the full knowledge that liberated methods would carry the day and indeed it did. (By the way, you need to take a careful look at Pats border because at first glance you may mistake it for printed fabric).
So, I rest my case! Liberated Quiltmaking is here to stay and there is just a lot of amazing work being done out there in quilt land. Check the links on my webpage to see for yourself!
And speaking of exciting, I was lucky enough to be able to go to the opening of the Gee's Bend exhibit at the Flint, Institute of Arts in Flint Michigan. The ladies were there. The quilts were on the wall. They were exhibited beautifully and I was so excited I could hardly hold up. The closest I can come to describing how I felt is that it was like being 12 years old and sitting on the front row of the 1968 Elvis Presley in Black concert. Mesmerized. Speechless.
And, by the way, do you know who sponsored that show? Answer: Singer Sewing Machine Co. Those where the days when Sewing Machine Companies knew how to appeal to their clients!
Here are some pictures of my grandsons,
Grady and Matty
...Gwen Marston Quilt Designs on Tile
- Now you can own permanent images of Gwen Marston's delightful
quilts in the form of art tiles with which to grace your home.
Visit New and Improved Gwen Quilt Tile web store at Loudeac Tile Studio
New Zealand Quilters
The Picton quilters from New Zealand have delighted me by using designs from my Needlework book for their raffle quilt. What good taste those women displayed with their choice! And, reports indicate that they did very well with their raffle. Their choice of the setting for he embroidered blocks was so clever that I asked for, and was given permission to share their quilt with you. Isn't it amazing that quilting has gone global too. lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/
...Links Lazy Gal Quilting blog
Gwen Marston
How to contact Gwen
I'm not wired up yet here on Beaver Island, but please feel free to contact me at:
Box 155
Beaver Island, MI 49782
231-448-2565