Hello from our new place we have lovingly named, “The Lil’ Acre.”

It was a crash landing to our new home and I don’t say that lightly but we are here. While the timing never seems right, we do feel right at home here.

Friends know I’m a winter girl in my soul, but my growing passion for gardening has me planting my spring garden in my head. Oddly, (or perhaps not so oddly) Michigan gave us some higher temperatures in November so while our new home needs a lot of rehab on the inside, we put it aside for the day to do some projects outside.

Which mostly includes exploring and starting our composting system. I’ve taken to country life very well so far, you should have seen the grin on my face at the Trackor Supply when I asked where the “Hog Wire” is.

We inherited this apple tree and it introduced itself by pelting us with dozens of apples. It needs some attention. The apples grow very high up, which makes it difficult to pick. We’ve already begun rehabbing this tree and are hoping we can get at least a few years out of it. If you know my husband, he will be delighted to scale the branches for harvest… (I will do my best to stop him.) For now, the birds are still enjoying the fruit.

I’m enjoying the many trinkets and stories that is coming (literally) out the walls here.

One of my favorite finds has been these dried curly vines that edge some of the property, which I now know is poke vine. This fall, I’ve been very limited in what creative tools I have on hand because of the move. The poke vine immediately inspired me and without any access to my art supplies at the time, I was itching to do anything with my hands.

I started making wreaths out them. The first one was a bit of a puzzle, the flexibility of the vine dictated its shape and the curls easily hook around each other as if they were just looking for something to hold on to. I filled in holes with vine that was a bit drier and stiffer, pushing and pulling the tension to round out the circle.

Having enjoyed the experience so much, I felt the urge to run inside and google how to preserve the vines, how to sculpt and weave with them. I stopped myself mid-step, imagining myself going inside, pulling out my iPad, only to find out I didn’t have the cool tools or the knowledge to make these. This is not the country life I’m working toward.

Ah, perfectionism, the anti-fun voice that’s so hard to turn off. I can remember quite clearly in elementary school making brooms and baskets under a willow tree at recess — all without a YouTube tutorial. Sometimes we were witches, sometimes we were Cinderella. Friends, I didn’t go Google. I just kept making.

In fact I can’t stop…

My root cellar is filling up and I fear I may run out of space if I don’t slow my roll! I think I have enough to make a natural arch for my future garden or maybe even a bespoke-style fence. When spring comes I’ll know for sure.

I’m looking forward to sharing with you in the spring what I end up doing with these. I hope this finds you inspired to take on a project… and do it YOUR way.

It’s May?! It’s spring?!

I’m tryin’ my darnedest to get spring going around here but Michigan has other ideas.

So while I wait for gardening weather, spring cleaning is happening and a bit of construction as well.

I am in the mist of working on illustrations for “A Horse Named Sky” which I MAY have mentioned comes out this fall!

The book takes place in the 1800s in the Sierra Nevada and willl include 100+ black and white illustrations. I know my fourth grade self would have died for this book. Making this book has been a celebration of an animal I love. Working on this project has added another dimension to my passion for horses. It’s not without its challenges though!

Some artists say that drawing horses is one of the hardest animals to draw. Leave it to me to take on a project like this! LOL Can’t wait to share it with everyone when it’s in print.

In April, Emmy Kastner opened up her studio in Kalamazoo and I road tripped across the state with fellow book maker Deb Pilutti to check it out.

Her studio lives above her family’s coffee shop and it gave us big studio energy.

Emmy reminded us the importance of play in art making and her studio was no doubt a reflection of this! She says she tries to begin her work day with experimenting and playing with materials.

It seems pan pastel fever is ripping through the state and Emmy has also had the itch for these smooth pastels. Emmy demonstrated using frisket with pastels, giving the illusion of cut paper. GOT to try it out!

Totally inspired. Thank-you Emmy. Highly recommend checking out her books (especially her NERDY BABY series) at the library or gifting to your littles.

When I got home I was eager to try Emmy’s technique but with all my things packed up right now, I could only locate some blue tape. Womp-womp.

Even so, I love the edge it created! Getting a variety of hard and soft lines with pastel can be tricky so this technique comes to me at the perfect time for me.

In case you missed it, in March I wrote an article for Muddy Colors “How to Speak Color.” I talk about the system for naming colors and how calling colors by their correct names can lead to better mixing.

To read, check it out here.

Let’s talk about some of my other projects! I told you all some time ago that the Tilda’s fabric collection “Windy Days” had my heart and I was going to do something special with it. Well, I’m making progress!

After “Quilt-a-Palooza” in Texas, I wanted to do something else with that Carpentar star with the tilted box. I created a border pattern and I plan to add another border with this muted blue-green fabric also from the Tilda Windy Day collection.

I have been obsessed with these “plus quilts” and have been wanting to give it a try but when it came time to make one, I couldn’t find any patterns I liked. So I made one up.

I plan to put this one up for sale when I get a chance.

Quilting on my Juki. This quilt has both the straight stitching quilting and free motion style.

I’m beaming with pride about this edge stitching and consistency in my stitch length on my meandering.

Well folks, that’s what I’ve been up to! Let me leave you with this note I found in my spring cleaning.

Simple enough!

I so appreciate you keeping up with my work. To keep in touch consider added yourself to my snail mail subscription.

Happy creating.

Kirbi

Happy New Year readers & friends!

I’ve been taking to my sketchbook and trying out new tools this month. It’s been keeping me busy while January does its January thing.

I bought these “TOOLI-ART” brand acrylic markers as a cheaper alternative to POSCA markers. They work for me. They’ve been especially great on top of some pan-pastels. (If you want to try this I recommend using a fixative over top of your pastels.) I especially like the wide color selection this pen has. This is the neutral pack and you can see there is a great variety of warm and cool colors greys.

These nature studies are inspired by my own photos from the trails we visit in the summer. Specifically trying to clue into textures and how to describe them in a way that is representative but still shows the hand and tools. These studies are supplementary work that will help with a book I’m in progress with.

In textiles, I’m working on a new quilt. My goal for this one was to learn a number of new blocks from Lori Holt’s book, Farm Girl Vintage. I love Lori’s books and her ginghams but I went with charm packs from Ruby Star - I thought the palette had a touch of 70s vibe that would work great in our home.

I’m drawn to buying charm packs but I learned it’s probably not the most economical for these specific blocks I chose. Adding in cream was a helpful way to stretch the charm packs out. I’ll keep that idea in my pocket for future quilts.

When I put my mind to quilt I can work quickly, my hope for this project was that the more complex six inch blocks would slow me down. Well, it has been two months, and counting on this one! Be careful what you ask for!

Admittedly, this isn’t my best block, but I’m crazy about this orange-y pink color!

This quilt is definitely the most challenging quilt I’ve attempted and I’m nervous to see how the experiment will turn out. I better finish this up fast because this TULA NOVA pattern burning a hole in my pocket! Planning on doing something unexpected with the colors. More soon!

This snow is the perfect weather to get down to work in the studio, I’m signing off! Look for my article coming out on Muddy Colors next week. Take care. - Kirbi

Hello from Stag Studios!

BIG news today, we have adopted a new backyard friend who likes to kick it on the spa. Yep, we are in love.

Today, I’d like to share more details about my puff quilt that I shared on my June 23rd studio update. I was really inspired to do this project, everywhere I looked I was seeing puff quilts and they all look like pillows of heaven! I know what it’s like to sew a large quilt but adding more weight to an already tough task was intimidating!

One of the reasons I wanted to create this quilt was for our salvaged/repurposed outdoor sofa needed more padding! I thought a big puff quilt will be perfect. If you didn’t see my post about our dumpster couch you can check it out here:

There are great tutuorials out there for puff quilts but I rarely like to follow directions. Instead, I read patterns and watched tutorials online, and dove into making some of my own prototypes. My great-grandmother’s quilts were “puff” quilts but used triangles, so for my prototype, I experimented with using triangles. See a picture of my grandma’s quilt here.

I loved the look but knowing I was going for more cush on the outdoor sofa, I went with a square for more puff and I made my squares much larger than any pattern I’ve seen out there. To keep a nice shape, I lined the top layer of the quilt in warm and white batting before forming the full square and stuffing!

Evan helping me with the stuffing (below.) There’s an art to not stuffing too much so you can sew the puffs together but not under stuffing them either!

This was the most exciting part for me, seeing all the puffs stack up! As I made more and more, yes I did take the opportunity to throw them in the air with glee. Why not. :)

This quilt laid on the floor for about a week as I moved around the color. I know, most quilters know how their quilt will lay out from the start but that’s just not how I work. I like to play with my colors and see what I can come up with.

I ended up arranging the poofs in an ombre of sorts. The next step was to sew them all together. Holding the poofs together was nearly impossible. Really, there were several nights I told Evan I was going to give up on the puff quilt!

After a lot of frustration I had an idea, I dug into some of my painting supplies to find these heavy duty clips I use to hold and stretch canvas. The “little clip that could” and “big daddy clamp” worked wonderfully. Along with some extra hands (thanks Evan) every puff got secured.

Next time, I will likely sew them in triangles as my great-grandmother did. I will also consider including more hand sewing. For this job, the big puffs help the comfort of our seating but I don’t see it as an easy blanket to wrap and use. Lining the top layer of the puff was a good idea but it does add extra weight, something to consider for my next one.

The puff quilt is a favorite of our dog Maisey and saved our backs on a recent vacation. Our AirBnB had bad mattress, we slept soundly on the puff quilt we brought with us “just in case.”

Have a great rest of your week! I’m busy working on some sketches this week and doing a bit of knitting. Will share more soon.

xx

Kirbi

Summer is here and hot! Let me show you what I’m working on!

Lately, I’ve been back to the basics, revisiting foundational studies. With my experience in drawing and painting, I’m realizing my mind is more “ready” to take on some of the nuances that went over my head during my art school days. Fighting the sunscreen, I’m working on the muscles of the face by the lake!

My recent research doesn’t stop at humans. Road tripping with my honey we made lots of stops to see some of the massive working horses that plow the fields. Nothing quite sticks to memory like experiencing what I’m studying in real life.

The horses weren’t the only ones we met.

Below a video of my favorite horse (AND HER BABY) we ran acorss in farm country. If it’s not working you can watch on my youtube channel. Link

Using what I learned in the field and some textbooks I’m commiting the anatomy to memory.

Let’s talk sewing!!!

My puff quilt is all done. This project was huge and HEAVY. I went wild with my colors (and antagonized for days how to arrange them. ;) Maisey has found herself quite at home on it, in fact, at home we fight over it!

I was first inspired by the “traditional” american style of quilting. The image below is one of my great-grandma’s handmade quilts. (Thanks for the photo Mom.) For my quilt, I altered the pattern to incorporate more machine sewing. Next time, I will try her way :) I’ll write more about making my MEGA PUFF in July.

This fabric below by Tilda took my breath away in the shop. While I woudn’t use it for other areas of my home it fits in perfectly to my eclectic studio. I was inspired by this pattern: Link It was simple to make, easy to follow and serves as a good “base” pattern if you want to customize it.

I decided to add free motion meandering to the bags before I put the lining in. I was delightfully surprised when it added some stiffness to the bag. I’m so addicted to free motion, I wrote a little about my (ongoing) journey with it in another post here.)

The look is quite subtle. Can’t wait to stuff these with pens!

Let me leave you with one of my rununculous! Isn’t she perfect?! We got to enjoy them for only a short time before the bunnies got to them. SIGH*

We’ve been enjoying summer and I hope you have too. Until next time!

Kirbi