SALE! Use coupon code: THANKS to get 20% off purchases totaling $25 or more in my etsy shop now through Cyber Monday.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/QUILTArtbymegan?ref=hdr_shop_menu
This 20% off includes any custom order placed before the end of the day on Monday. Contact me at mrs.megan.null @ gmail.com for more information.
These items and more are eligible for the 20% discount! Just type THANKS into the coupon code box at checkout.
It’s time for the blogger’s quilt festival! This event is an online quilt show. Here’s how it works: quilters who have blogs enter up to two quilts for the show. They are judged and the winners receive prizes. All entrants have a chance at the random drawing to win participation prizes as well.
My entry this year is a self-portrait for the mini quilts category. One thing I tell my customers when selecting their inspiration photograph is to choose one that they’d display. It can have good composition and lighting but most importantly be something that gives them the feels. This photograph was taken by my now mother-in-law after she took me to the salon to get my hair cut and dyed for my wedding. I had been blonde for a while but wanted my natural hair color for the big event. I remember feeling special, beautiful, and loved as this picture was snapped. 
This photo is featured on my business cards these days. My quilt is literally the “face” of my quilting business and represents both what I can do artistically and how making art makes me feel.
I encourage you to go check out the other entries. I’m headed over there now and am sure to be inspired!
Vote for your favorites here: http://amyscreativeside.com/bloggers-quilt-festival/ The links for each category are under the quilt festival logo. The categories are: Mini, Small, Large, Appliqué, Art, Hand Quilted, Home Machine Quilted, Modern, Original Design, ROYGBIV, Scrappy, and Viewer’s Choice.
Here are a few of the treasures I’ve been working on. The first is a wedding quilt for a dear friend. Spoiler alert! It’s green.
I wasn’t able to go out and get this tracing for a portrait quilt of a dog enlarged today. So I pulled some fabrics for it instead! Here’s my method of keeping everything straight once I’ve made the decisions. FYI: I’ve put 90 minutes into this quilt already and haven’t yet started putting it together. That’s why I charge $25 per subject as a design fee!
I finished this quilt. Woo! It feel so good to have a project done done done. This is a signature quilt and is for sale in my etsy shop. You can sign this quilt in the beige fabric spots… which, as you can see, make up most of the quilt. It’s great for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and other celebrations. Super-durable, it’ll hold up to washings. Just make sure to follow the directions on whatever fabric marker you buy. Some of them need to be set with a hot iron.
I’ve also been working on this week’s Project Quilting Challenge, which is up-cycling.
I pulled some fabric for my new guild’s round robin. I’ll be adding a border and some embroidery. Unfortunately, this is all supposed to be secret until the big reveal in a few months so I cannot share photos of it until then.
What are you working on?
Here’s a bit of a preview of what’s coming this year. First of all, I’ll be doing a bunch of portrait quilts. You know, those are the ones inspired by a photograph and then rendered into fabric. Coming up are twins, a dog, a snowy landscape, and more. Here’s a tracing of one I’m working on now which has holding hands and wedding rings showing. It’s in pencil so it doesn’t photograph beautifully just yet.
Also, one of my sample quilts this year has to feature my niece Mary. ‘Cause I love her and she’s flipping adorable. So here’s a photo from Halloween that I’ll be using as inspiration.
Alright, on to the second category of quilts you can expect from me in 2014. I’ll be making more things with crumbs! Here are two quilts-in-progress that use crumb blocks in their design. (One is a super-close up because the whole quilt hasn’t yet been revealed to the receiver.) 
I’m also working on making my crumbs customize-able. I think they’re in the top two cool things I do with my quilting and hadn’t figured out a way to make them in a cost-effective way. Worth my time to make the stuff and worth your money to buy them. Enter the letter pillows! Soon these will be available to order in my etsy store. You can buy them individually or as a group to spell out names, holidays, important dates (numbers will be available, too), and more. I’m also working on a way to stretch these across canvas for an on-the-wall look rather than the pillows’ on-the-shelf thing.
Another thing I’ll be playing around with (and hopefully making beautiful wear-ables out of) is old wool, cashmere, and silk items. I’m experimenting with up-cycling in the style of the artist Katwise.
What else? Tons, I’m sure! I’m learning new things all of the time. I think as an artist it’s important to explore new things and learn from other artists. Plus just play around and see what happens. That’s what I did with this doll quilt piece that was entered into the Project Quilting Challenge this week. It’s made of strings, which are skinny long strips. I’m not in love with the final quilt but it was fun to experiment and stretch myself. There are bunch of quilts finished in this challenge that are gorgeous! See and vote for your favorites here.
I took the “Twisted Sisters” class from Ami Simms on Saturday. It was so much fun! I initially wasn’t thrilled with the quilt design but learned how I can make it my own and am sure I’ll love the thing once it’s all put together. I also learned a bunch of tiny tips and tricks that make all the difference when you’re sewing. For example, if your selvage strips have been cut off the way you find the straight of grain (which is parallel to the selvage) is to stretch a tiny section of the fabric with your fingers. The direction that has the least stretch is the straight of grain. 
I predict this’ll be a great year for me personally and QUILTArtbymegan as well. Stay tuned! You won’t want to miss any of it.
Welcome to 2014! It’s time for a sample sale. These quilts have been all over the place (even if just all over the internet) and it’s time for some fresh art to show for the new year. So here’s what I’m offering: 50% off the value on each sample piece plus free shipping. Each piece will be up on my etsy page so it’ll be first come, first served. Here’s what I have to offer!. Also, my prices on custom quilts are increasing on February 1st so now’s a great time to get new orders in.
First up is, “Big Megan.” Not because I’m big, but because the next one is little Megan. I like these words better than child and young adult. This piece is quilted and measures 13″ x 15.5″ and is valued at $85.45. Which means it’s now on sale for $42.73. Buy it here.
Next is, “Little Megan.” This one is quilted and measures 10.5″ x 13.5″ which brings the value to $67.53. It’s on sale for $33.76. Buy it here.
I’m going to break some hearts now. “Denver on the Beach” has already been sold. Here it is to admire anyway. It has a happy home now and has by far gotten the most Oooo’s and Wow’s.
“Uncle Time” features my baby sister. You know, before she had a baby of her own. This one’s a 10″ x 8″ top with two subjects in a frame. I’m adding $3 for the frame, so that brings the value to $65. Sale price is $32.50. Buy it here.
“Baby Food” is another 10″ x 8″ top in a frame. This frame is sparkly and heavy. Since I’m paying for shipping, let’s add $8 for the pretty frame. Total value $45. Sale price is $22.50. Buy it here.
“Superhero” is 11.5″ x 11.5″ square. It’s a quilted piece and is valued at $64.66. Sale price is $32.33. Buy it here.
Last on the list of sample quilts is one that I’m keeping. I call it “Four Faces” and has sentimental value to me. Plus it’s quite a bit larger than the ones I’m selling so it could make a nice impression hanging in a craft booth in the near future. Here’s what this one looks like:
Expect previews of this year’s sample pieces in my next post. I’m hard at work making beautiful and unique treasures. Thank you in advance to the photographers and subjects that are letting me use their photographs as inspiration.
In honor of Small Business Saturday, here’s what I’m offering in my etsy shop. These deals start now and are only good this weekend.
Everyone who buys anything from my shop will get a coupon code for 5% off your next purchase. This coupon is good through June 1st, 2014.
The first five people who order a custom portrait quilt will get 10% off the entire purchase price.
The first three people who order a custom portrait quilt that is no bigger than 50″ x 50″ will have it done in time for Christmas. Plus the 10% off.
Check out the listing for details on pricing and what we need to get started. https://www.etsy.com/listing/109205494/custom-fiber-art-quilt-portrait-from?ref=shop_home_feat
Update as of midnight Sunday 12/2: These deals have expired. Prices will increase on February 1, 2014.. so it’s still great to get these orders in before then. Or after then. I’ll have another post up soon. Until then, thank you and goodnight.
When I started this blog way back in August of 2012 I gave you a sneak peak of a quilt-to-be. It was in the planning stages then and has long ago been completed. Somehow I neglected to show you guys the big finish! So here it is. I started with this photograph: 
Then, taking several artistic licenses, I rendered it into fabric. I like to call it inspired by the photograph instead of actually copying the photograph exactly. Shading is important here as is texture. Plus the gravel backdrop was too boring and I’d rather not have that boot in the quilt. Two of the women in this photo are sisters, the ones wearing green and grey. You’ll notice they have the same eye color. I tried to use some of the same fabrics for these two faces to give you the sense that they’re closer related. The other two people are cousins of the sisters. Recognize anybody? Yup, that’s me on the lower left. I call this masterpiece, “Four Faces.”
I’m working on a custom order now for a quilt of this sort. Instead of a portrait I’m working from a landscape photograph with an airplane in it. I can really do this with any photograph, people. The holiday gift-giving season’s coming up quickly but there’s still time to order one of these for someone you love. Check out my etsy shop for more cool stuffs.
Hello everybody. This is just a quick post to let you know about a new page on my blog. You can find it here: https://quiltartbymegan.wordpress.com/customer-feedback/
I will be adding to it periodically as more feedback comes in. These are reviews from people who have been gifted, bought, or seen my quilts. Please check out my etsy shop, too. https://www.etsy.com/shop/QUILTArtbymegan Now’s the time to get those orders in for the 2013 holiday season.
Expect a blog post next week about the quilts that a team of us are making for Crystal Lake Camps, where I spent many of my childhood summers. It’s a place that I hold dear to my heart and I’m honored to be coordinating three quilts for the Lodge. There’s a native american theme at the camp, so everyone’s divided into four clans: the turtles, turkeys, bears, and wolves. I’m in charge of organizing the two twin sized quilts for the turkeys room and one larger quilt for the turtles room. I also have the permission of the maker of quilts for the other two clans to show photographs of her stunning creations here.
In case you’re wondering, I’m a proud turtle. GO TURTLES!
Ta-da! Here they are, the long awaited photographs of “Estey’s Quilt.” Isn’t it cool? This is both my latest finish and the first of the portrait quilts I’ve made.
How many UFOs do you have? No, not the space ships, I mean unfinished objects. Mine are mostly sewing projects and I’m sure I have at least 30, though I haven’t done an exact count recently. This week I’ve been hopping from thing to thing, not quite satisfied to sit down with just one.
Please forgive my lack of photos this time. I took them… and moved the camera away from its cord… and promptly forgot where that cord is? I know, it’s where I left it. Wherever that is. So just use your imagination for this one and I’ll get back to photos on the next post.
Here are some of the UFOs I’ve been working on this week:
Whew! I don’t know why I’ve been project-hopping like this but I’ll just go with it for now, especially since I don’t have any big deadlines coming up quickly. I’ll just enjoy dabbling in everything.
QUILTArtbymegan 