THE HURRICANE GIRLS! For readers 3rd-7th grade. Hitting shelves in September!
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
Hi friends and readers,
February I usually count on being quiet in my line of work but that is not the case for 2023! I am busy creating a cover for an upcoming middle-grade fantasy and working on the interiors for A Horse Named Sky which will come out this fall.
I’m burning through pencils like nobody’s business. You know you are serious when you are buying bulk in black! All the work is under wraps for now. February is a lot of process and not much product.
Thanks for the messages and laughs about my post about my trip to Texas where I took on the challenge to create a King size quilt in a weekend with my aunt. (We did it!) I’m still buzzing with inspiration after trying this long-arm machine but I didn’t have that much time for sewing this month.
Me test driving a long arm in Texas earlier this month - check out my previous blog post for more on that!
With so much drawing to be done, I had the urge to sew but not the time to sit down and plan something. I threw together this layer cake to satiate my need to sew! This will be a tablecloth, a splash of much-needed color in our kitchen. Nothing special about the design, Ruby Star Society fabric adds all the fun! All these prints together are complete chaos. The mayhem of prints and saturated colors make me feel free and fun. A perfect winter pick-me-up. I have plans to free-motion this table cloth, we will see how it comes out!
On my birthday, I did start a new quilt with some of my favorite fabric of all time. I’ve probably made over a dozen quilts so far and most of them I’ve given away, so this one is just for me!
These colors make me weep I love them so much!
Early in February, I spent some time with my long-time mentee and friend, Nick Bair at his studio. He is just as addicted to pan-pastels as I am. I demoed some clouds and mixed media and he dove right in.
You may have missed it, I wrote an article on Muddy Colors about one of my favorite, must-have instructional books for illustrators. Check it out here!
Keep a look out for my work later this year! Have a good one, talk to you next month!
Hi friends and readers,
My trip to Texas earlier this year brought exciting things….my first-ever Chick-fil-A! Okay, yes, we’ve had these in Michigan for several years, but I was saving this moment to have this American experience in Texas with my aunt. My Auntie Junie swept me up from the airport to fuel up before we hit the fabric stores!
In order to hit as many fabric stores as possible we got to shopping right away, checking out three stores before we even got home! Insanely inspiring. Can you imagine me gasping at every corner of this place!? Texas has so many great stores - I’m jealous!
Hello, future color palette.
We were feeling especially ambitious (or rambunctious depending on who you ask) to make a King sized quilt in a single weekend. This fabric ( Nantucket Summer by Camille Roskelley for Moda) is one of my Aunt’s favorites and she bought it last time she was in Michigan. We dubbed my time in Texas “quiltapalooza.” And boy did we sew…. and cut (and cut and cut and cut.)
We worked with several layer cakes, starting by cutting 5-inch squares. We created “no waste” triangles with white. The final size is trimmed at 4.5 inches.
Well over a 1000 squares later, needless to say, we need to take some breaks. My Aunt knows I’ve been wanting to try a long arm but I was intimidated to try it on my own. What a blast. I stuck to my usual “meandering shapes” and I was shocked at how easily this machine guilds along!
On a long arm like this, the speed of the needle is regulated which means the needle speeds up and slow down depending on how fast you are moving. This makes it way easier than free motioning on my domestic machine where you have to control your speed to keep your stitch length consistent. This quilt top I’m working on in the image below was pieced by my Aunt and color selected by my Mom. (Somehow I always get roped into their projects….. hmmm!?!?)
As much as I fight perfectionist tendencies, it was inevitable I’d have to rip out some mistakes. I made myself comfortable at least! All in all, if you are wanting to give a long arm a try - don’t hesitate!
Truly, I still love free motioning on my domestic machine but I sure could see myself renting time on my local long arm in the future!
Anyways, back to the quiltapalooza. Thanks to my aunt’s friend Margret (Hi, THANK YOU) we had two machines to sew on. There’s no way we could have gotten it done without two machines. Wow, these Bernina Machines sure do know how to throw a stitch. Definitely live up to the hype.
We WORKED. PJs and ice packs… arthritis be damned!
Inspiration kept coming to us.
A King quilt in a weekend…. it can be done. If you see any mistake please don’t tell us. My aunt is on her own to quilt this (luckily she has a fancy new machine to help her out!!) I hope to update with some better pics someday in the future!
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
