Carol Ann Waugh

Claudy Jongstra

carol — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:11:51 +0000

I spent a couple of hours at the Museum of Outdoor Arts in Englewood, Co on Friday and was fascinated with the work of Claudy Jongstra, an acclaimed dutch textile artist. She works is such a huge scale, it totally blows my mind. I don’t even know how she can handle the weight of her pieces although she has a large staff to help her. Claudy is a felter and uses everything she grows (sheep, plants) to create her art. And it is beautiful. My photos don’t do it justice but here are a few to enjoy. If you live in Colorado, don’t miss this exhibit!

Embroidery Stitch Book 20

carol — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:00:09 +0000

Curved running stitch with French knots

Embroidery Stitch Book 19

carol — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:00:31 +0000

French knots with running stitches in boxes

RiNo Safari Open Studios Day

carol — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:48:13 +0000

I have to admit, I’m a little tired.

The aBuzz Gallery opened on May 2, then we had First Friday and yesterday was the annual open studios event for the RiNo art District.

All in all, I think about 500 people came to the gallery in the last 10 days.

But what fun too!

I loved these three visitors in particular (center of photo). They stayed for at least 30 minutes (that’s a long time for a visit!) but they couldn’t get close enough to my art. They kept trying to “see” it but they said it just kept getting more complex. I told them they couldn’t touch it their hands but noses were ok. I just LOVE it when people “get” what I am trying to do with my art. That’s really fulfilling!

Now, I need a nap!

Embroidery Stitch Book 18

carol — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:00:57 +0000

French knots with stepped running stitch

What a Weekend!

carol — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:38:11 +0000

This was probably the most exciting weekend in my life! I opened up a contemporary art gallery called aBuzz Gallery in the RiNo (River North) art district in Denver.

aBuzz Gallery

Thursday was the “grand opening” and more than 200 of my friends attended to see the new space and wish me well. We had wine, food and music to celebrate the moment and my husband even flew in my granddaughter (and her mom, Catia) to come to the opening and see how I work.

My granddaughter Valentina and me

Then, the next night was First Friday and another 150 people trouped through the gallery along with my friends who couldn’t make it for the opening

(l to r) Me, Mona Doering, Miriam Basart, Kate Cox and Christie Beckmann

What a great weekend!

Quiltmaker Magazine’s 100 Block Blog Post

carol — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:01:40 +0000

Sashed Circles

I’m so honored to have my block appear in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7! The newest issue of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks hits the newsstands on May 7th.

Inside this issue you can find my Sashed Circles block. I had so much fun designing and making this block and I am excited to share it with you in this magazine. You know how much I love hand stitching and making a quilt with this block is a perfect way to add wonderful color and texture! Besides using a simple stab stitch, you could also think about adding other embroidery stitches to enhance each circle. (So now is the time to follow along with me on my blog as I make an embroidery Stitch book so you can learn new embroidery designs and add them to your own creations!)

I used batiks for my block but this technique can work with any fabrics. It would be great to see something modern, using bold solids on a white background. Or some fun prints you might have in your stash. This is a perfect scrap busting project!

If you comment on this blog post, you might win a free copy of the magazine from Quiltmaker! I will pick a random winner on May 7th. If you are the winner, I will ask for your snail mail address and send your information to Quiltmaker and they will send you the magazine.

Follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour today at the Quiltmaker Blog — Quilty Pleasures — for inspiration, ideas and giveaways galore! (I have donated several copies of my book “Stupendous Stitching” to give away during the blog tour.)

Embroidery Stitch Book 17

carol — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:00:42 +0000

Alternating French knots and horizontal running stitch

SAQA Conference – Santa Fe II

carol — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:37:18 +0000

l to r Martha Ginn, Gwyned Trefethen, me and Michelle David

Saturday, I spent the day with Martha Ginn and Michele David.

We visited 4 museums, many art galleries on Canyon Road, (our special treat was seeing Judith Content’s show at the Jane Sauer Gallery), had lunch at Tomisitas, and visited the Flea Market at the Railyard where we found some fabulous silk scarves from India (I’m wearing one in this picture!) and some fun beaded cuffs.

We ended the day with a stroll around the plaza where Michele bought a wonderful bracelet from one of the Navajo Indian jewelers that lined the sidewalks.

That night was an auction night where members were asked to donate a small piece of their art to help support SAQA. I sent in a Stupendous Stitching piece and it garnered the highest bid in the auction. A jaw dropping $550! I was flabbergasted and was very happy that my art was valued at that amount from my fellow fiber artists.

This was a good day!

SAQA Conference – Santa Fe

carol — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 04:10:36 +0000

I’ve been in Santa Fe, NM for the past three days to attend the SAQA Conference. I just love meeting all the people I know by name and putting faces to their emails and blog posts. The first night is always a “meet and greet” called “speed dating.” Everyone gets about 90 seconds to tell their story and pass out postcards of their work. I met about 30 new fiber artists that evening.

Friday, I gave my talk called “Going From Hobbyist to Professional”. I think it went pretty well since a lot of people came up to me and thanked me for “kicking them in the butt” to start marketing their work! Yeah! You know one of my personal goals is to help other artists become successful so I think I may have accomplished this first step for the many SAQA fiber artists.

Friday afternoon, I was lucky to listen to Anna Hergert talk about what it takes to be an excellent teacher and what it is like teaching on the “circuit”. Even though I have been teaching for over a year, I still learned a lot from this teaching expert. Friday night, Anna, Elaine Quehl and I went to dinner and had a wonderful time talking about being professional artists and teachers. Here is a photo of Elaine Quehl and Anna Hergert . Be sure to check out their websites to see their amazing artistry.

l to r: Anna Hergert, Elaine Quehl, and me