tierneycreates – Page 5 – tierneycreates

616H5+J+f3L._SX385_BO1,204,203,200_ — Photo credit: C&T Publishing

Welcome to Day 4 of the Blog Tour in support of Pat Pease & Wendy Hill’s new book Creative Quilt Challenges (C&T Publishing, 2016).

If you are just joining the tour today on my blog, you can see the full list of the 10 participating blogs on this tour at the C&T Publishing blog post: Creative Quilt Challenges Blog Tour Kickoff.

At the end of this post I will pose a discussion question, please post a comment to automatically enter a drawing for a copy of Creative Quilt Challenges. The random winner will be selected and notified around 04/07/16.

CHALLENGE #3 – UNLIKELY MATERIALS

In Creative Challenges, Pat Pease and Wendy Hill invite readers to flex their quilt-making creative muscles by experimenting with different “Challenges”. In Challenge #3 – Unlikely Materials, Pat and Wendy invite readers to stretch their creative muscles by working with materials other than traditional quilting cottons!

Transitioning from Cotton Material to “Unlikely Materials”

Four years ago, I would have looked at you as if you were insane if you suggested I use anything other than high quality quilting cottons, purchased from a quilt shop, for my quilt-making. Then in 2012 my friend and mentor, Betty Anne Guadalupe of Guadalupe Designs invited me to work on a collaborative project involving making art quilts out of recycled silks and linen samples from garment manufacturing. These samples had been saved from the trash heap by someone working for an Italian silk manufacturer in the 1990s and stored away since then.

At first I was terrified of working with anything but cotton for quilting. Cotton is so crisp and stable. Silk is slippery, delicate, and…well…terrifying!

One of the first skills I learned when working with silk was how to back delicate silks with interfacing. The best interfacing I have used for backing silk is “French-Fuse“. I learned about French-Fuse from Betty Anne, who learned about it from another art quilter, Grace. This interfacing provides much needed stability to delicate silks and makes them easier to rotary cut and to piece.

Here is one of the early pieces I made with recycled silks – Silk Landscape:

ColorStudy2_Silk_Landscape copy.jpg — Silk Landscape (2012). Designed and pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan. Quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe. Photography by Jeremy Koons.

The Wardrobe Meets the Wall

Betty Anne and I both became hooked on using the recycled silks and linens to create art quilts. We formed a collaboration which eventually became The Wardrobe Meets the Wall: A collection of art quilts created from recycled garments, manufacturing remnants, and samples.

We have a blog, The Wardrobe Meets the Wall (we are working on evolving this into a a website, “Art Quilts by Guadalupe & Hogan”). See our page The Collection if you would like to see a samples of art quilts all made with “Unlikely Materials”.

Our collection includes quilts made from mens ties, recycled silk and linen samples, scrap wool from clothing or blanket manufacturing, recycled denim, and general recycled clothing.

Once You Start Experimenting with Unlikely Materials, You Might Get Hooked!

Betty Anne already had many years experience working with “Unlikely Materials” and before I knew it, she had me experimenting with using recycled wools and denims to create art quilts.

Here is my first experiment with working with recycled wools (from wool mens suiting manufacturing scraps and wool blanket manufacturing scraps) and denims (recycled jeans) – He Dresses Up, He Dresses Down:

He Dresses Up, He Dresses Down (2014). Designed and pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan. Quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

Basically – if you can sew with it, we will now try and make an art quilt with it. There are so many unlikely materials we have yet to try out. We enjoy recycling.

I was intrigued that in the Creative Quilt Challenge book, Pat Pease makes an adventurous art quilt with “hair canvas interfacing“. I bow my head to that level of creativity with “unlikely materials”!

(Disclaimer: We still love and support our local quilt shops and still make many quilts with traditional cottons. There are so many beautiful fabric collections to choose from and our new fabric stashes mysteriously continue to grow despite our obsession with recycled materials.)

Tips for Working with Unlikely Materials

I will not deny it – working with “unlikely materials” for the first time is scary. Here are some tips I have learned over the past 4 years. I am still learning and growing in my knowledge and comfort with using “unlikely materials”.

Do not be afraid to experiment and play: You do not have to create a great work of quilting art your first time working with a new “unlikely material”. I played with silk for a while before piecing it into an art quilt.
Check your sewing machine manufacturer’s website for tips on working with various materials and fibers.
Search for YouTube videos on working with a particular fabric and sewing tips on handling that type of fabric in your machine.
Network with other crafters that have experience working with a particular textile you are interested in trying. For example if you know a seamstress who has worked a lot with silk, you could ask her/him for tips.
Determine if a fabric/material needs to be interfaced in order to stabilize it for sewing. As I mentioned earlier, French-Fuse (which can be purchased at sites such as Annie’s Craft Store) is wonderful for backing delicate silks. It makes them so much easier to cut and piece. There are also YouTube videos on using French-Fuse.
If you are using heavy weight materials such as denim and some wools, consider pressing open your seams, and using 1/2 inch seams (like in making garments) as opposed to 1/4 inch seams. A trick that my mentor Betty Anne taught me is to run a tiny (1/8″ inch or less) seam along the front of the seams (front of your piece) to hold down the pressed down seams. This will be helpful if you have your piece professionally long-arm quilted so that the thick seams do not flip and catch the needle when being quilted.
If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up! I have had several “unlikely materials” piecing/sewing disasters (bad words were said, not suitable for repeating). Some disasters were so bad I had to put them in the trash, I could not even recycle them into another project. Speaking of recycling a disaster into another project, see the post A Very Successful Rescue! about a piece made with recycled silk that was destined for the trash but was recycled by another quilter into a wonderful piece!
Warning – your other quilter friends who only enjoy using cottons, may at first give you a lukewarm response on your pieces made with “unlikely materials”. Do not be discouraged – art is a private and personal thing and you cannot control others reactions. (I love the saying: “It’s not my business what others think of me”…or my art!). I am sure I have quilter friends who thought at first I had lost my mind working with recycled silks and linens. As you grow in your experience with working with “unlikely materials”, your confidence will grow as will your adventurous spirit.

Working on My Latest Piece with Unlikely Materials

The timing of this blog tour post is great, as I am currently working on a new piece for a group exhibit I am participating in, called “Doors” for the local SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) group I belong.

Designing the piece: Selecting the “Unlikely Materials”

I decided to use a photo of a door for inspiration, and located a wonderful collection of unique door photos on an Australian door and window manufacturer’s website Brisbane Timber .

I wanted to created a semi-realistic version of one of their doors, using recycled textiles (“unlikely materials”) and name the piece Recycled Door.

Here are the materials I selected:

Recycled Corduroy Shirt

Recycled Corduroy Pants

Recycled Tweed Wool Jumper

Bag of Recycled Jeans

Shiny Gold Home Decor Fabric

(List clockwise from top)

Recycled Corduroy Shirt
Recycled Corduroy Pants
Recycled Tweed Jumper
Unusual shiny gold home decor fabric (this fabric was given to me by the very talented art quilter, Dianne Browning, who primarily uses the unlikely materials of home decor fabrics and decorator samples in her art – you can check out her incredible art at her website Art Quilts by Dianne Browning)
Recycled Denim (from my bag of recycled jean sections)

The Piece in Progress

Below is a photo of Recycled Door in progress. If you like, for fun, you can go to the Australian door and window manufacturer’s website Brisbane Timber and see if you can figure out which door inspired this piece.

(The thread at the lower right hand of the piece is orange thread – I think it needs to be quilted with orange thread to repeat the strong orange accent in the piece.)

Are You Ready to Experiment or Have You Already Experimented?

Now it is time for you to weigh in on your experience with using “Unlikely Materials” or whether you are interested in experimenting with “Unlikely Materials” in the future in your quilting projects.

Please comment below and all comments will be automatically entered into a drawing for a copy of Creative Quilt Challenges.

The random winner will be selected and notified around 04/07/16.

The Creative Quilt Challenges Blog Tour continues tomorrow, Friday April 1, at BOLT Fabric Boutique, boltneighborhood.com. Thanks for joining me on the blog tour today!

“When you are scared but still do it anyway, that’s BRAVE.” – Neil Gaiman

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Getting Ready for My “Blog Tour Stop”

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Tomorrow the tierneycreates blog is a stop on the “Blog Tour” for Pat Pease and Wendy Hill’s new book Creative Quilt Challenges (2016).

When I join the tour on 3/31/16, I will discuss Challenge #3: Unlikely Materials from this wonderful book.

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The Blog Tour opened on Monday 3/28/16 and here are the other “blog tour stops” posts to date (if you would like to read them prior to the tierneycreates Blog Tour stop tomorrow 3/31/16).

Blog Tour Stops to Date:

C&T Publishing – Creative Challenges Blog Tour Kick Off

Tales of a Stitcher – Creative Quilt Challenges by Pat Pease and Wendy Hill

Sandra Clemons – Book Review Creative Quilt Challenges

Upcoming Posts:

Thursday, March 31: Tierney Hogan, tierneycreates.wordpress.com

Friday, April 1: Gina at BOLT Fabric Boutique, boltneighborhood.com

Monday, April 4: Yvonne, quiltingjetgirl.com

Tuesday, April 5: Kristin Shields, kristinshieldsart.com/blog

Wednesday, April 6: Paula Marie, paulamariedaughter.com

Thursday, April 7: Teri Lucas, generationqmagazine.com

Friday, April 8: Wendy Hill, wendyhill.net/blog

You can enter to win a free copy of Creative Quilt Challenges at the C&T Publishing blog (a Rafflecopter giveaway)! Giveaway ends 4/4, and winner will be announced on the C&T Publishing blog.

See you tomorrow for the tour stop at tierneycreates!

Here is a little something lovely I found in the garden today: my first opened tulip (Spring arrives a little later in Central Oregon)!

Studio, tierneycreates

The Collaboration – Show Opening

March 24, 2016April 8, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Our show opens tomorrow at Twigs Gallery during the 4th Friday Art Walk, in Sisters, Oregon.

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My collaborative art quilt partner, Betty Anne Guadalupe and I will have a show, “The Collaboration”, opening at Twigs Gallery during the 4th Friday Art Walk, in Sisters, Oregon on Friday, March 25, 2016. The show will run through April 2016 and will feature art quilts we created from “rescued” quilt blocks (projects discarded by other quilters and reinvented/reimagined by us), and recycled materials.

Several of the pieces I have discussed on the tierneycreates blog, including We Will Not Be Discarded! and Tree Outside My Window, will debut at this show.

Below are images from the March 2016 issues of Cascade A&E Magazine (Central Oregon’s Arts & Entertainment Magazine):

View original post

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iCase

March 19, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In yesterday’s post “When Studios Attack” I mentioned I was taking a class at a local quilt shop.

The class I took was called “iCases”. It was taught by a wonderful teacher Lavelle, and was held at BJ’s Quilt Basket (Central Oregon’s largest quilt shop).

I made my first iPad case and I had a blast in class. This is just a quick post to share the photos. The pattern is called iCase and is by Patterns by Annie.

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Why Etsy?

March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Why do I have the tierneycreates Etsy shop? In this post I share what motivated me to originally open the tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles Etsy shop; and what motivates me now.

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Original Motivations

I originally opened the shop as a part-time business in December 2013 to:

Justify all the money I had spent over the years on fabric and sewing/quilting supplies.
Motivate myself to spend more consistent time creating and sewing with the fabric and supplies I own (to decrease my fabric stash).
Provide support (and justification) for future fabric and supplies purchases.

As you will see later in this post, my current motivations for having an Etsy shop now expand beyond those original reasons.

I selected Etsy over selling on eBay as a selling venue, as Etsy appeared to be a friendly venue and forum for connecting those who have handmade items to sell with individuals who are seeking handmade items!

Etsy Shop Challenges

One of the challenges I faced when opening the shop, was that I work full-time.

I read in one or two of the Etsy Seller Forums, that you need to have an adequate selection of items in your shop to attract and interest customers. For example – if you only have like 10 items in your shop, potential customers will look briefly at your shop and move on.

So I decided that until I could find the time to make more handmade items, I would supplement my handmade items with selling a small selection of fabric yardage and pre-cut fabrics (like “jelly rolls” and “fat quarters”). Then plan was to “bulk up” my Etsy shop with additional offerings, so potential customers would not just pass me by (as a sad empty looking shop, ha!)

Well, If you want to see why I would never open a quilt shop (much respect to those who do) see my post from June 2015 – Adventures in Retail. I could not believe how cumbersome and stressful it is to try and cut fabric yardage for a customer; or to create sets of fat quarters.

I always panic that I will “short” a customer on yardage, so I have been very generous in my cutting. I would likely have very low profit margins as a quilt shop owner – ha!

Additionally, I never fully appreciated those sweet little sets of fat quarters I see in quilt shops, until I tried to make them myself. I now bow in respect to those who work in quilt shops!

Learning to properly package and ship items when they sold was another learning curve I had as a new Etsy shop owner. I can now package and ship items in my sleep (I did develop a process and have a section of my laundry room set up for packaging). Eventually I taught “Terry the Quilting Husband” how to handle packaging and shipping and he helps with the least fun part about an Etsy sale.

Current Motivations & Inspirations

It is now 2016, and my motivations for having the tierneycreates Etsy shop are different from my original motivations.

One of my primary reasons I continue to manage my shop on Etsy (as it is still not a “quit your day job” kind of business) are the CONNECTIONS I have with customers. I have enjoyed many Etsy conversations with fellow quilters who have purchased fabric and with customers who have purchased my handmade items.

It is very exciting to me that fabric I sold someone gets to go into their project, or that something I made is going into someone’s home or as a gift to someone they care about. As a bonus, a positive review on Etsy from a customer is such a huge treat! I feel like I am living my tierneycreates tagline, “fusing textiles and smiles”.

I have considered from time to time – “why continue with the Etsy shop, it is extra work and you already work many hours in your full-time health care job?” Then I remind myself it is a fun hobby and the non-monetary rewards I receive from having the shop.

Speaking of customers – I met this wonderful woman through an Etsy transaction and I now follow her blog and consider her a new long distance friend – Martha’s Blog.

Here is the fabric she purchased from my shop (the entire remaining bolt, it is now sold out):

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AND – here is what she did with it (which blows my mind and makes me so glad I had the fabric available to sell her!):

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Here is a link to the post about this amazing quilt which was part of a her quilting guild challenge – Shapely Challenge Revealed.

I would have never imagined using that fabric in such a creative way. I am very inspired!

The Future

I am debating if in the future, once my current selection of fabrics are sold from my shop, whether to keep selling special fabrics.

On one hand, I really enjoy seeing what people make with the fabric they purchase from my shop and connecting with other crafters. On the other hand I am too small an operation to purchase fabric at the wholesale rates that a quilt shop would and there is a very small profit margin on the fabric I sell (it covers the gas to get it to the post office to ship, ha!).

However buying fabric to resell, does help finance any fabric I keep for myself from a beautiful bolt of fabric. If I do continue to sell fabric, I will only sell fabrics I want to use in my own projects.

Another option would be to sell fabric already in my personal fabric stash, but I have worked hard over the past couple of years to donate to charity thrift shops any fabric I do not absolutely love or do not have planned for any future project (see my post The Fabric Purge).

Also, I would not want to sell on my Etsy shop any fabric that I would now pause and think: “what the heck was I planning when I bought that?!!?!” I bet all quilters have fabrics in their stash that look like they were on hallucinogens (or other mind altering substances) when making their original purchase.

So that is the current story on this Etsy shop journey, thanks for reading. So far being an Etsy shop owner has been a fun, challenging and wonderful experience!

tierneycreates

The Collaboration

March 6, 2016March 6, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Several of the pieces I have discussed on the tierneycreates blog, including We Will Not Be Discarded! and Tree Outside My Window, will debut at this show.

Below are images from the March 2016 issues of Cascade A&E Magazine (Central Oregon’s Arts & Entertainment Magazine):

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We Will Not Be Discarded’s Debut

February 22, 2016September 16, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Last month in the post What’s on the Design Wall: “We Will Not Be Discarded!” I shared a piece in progress made from discards (destined for the trash) from another quilter’s quilt. It was a fun challenge. I used nearly every trimmed section/discard in this piece, setting them in a solid copper cotton fabric.

The long arm quilter, Guadalupe Designs, has finished quilting the piece and it is awaiting facing (a type of finishing/binding for art quilts where the binding does not show on the front).

Here is a sneak peek of the piece (to follow up on the post from last month):

IMG_1450 (1).jpg — Detail: *We Will Not Be Discarded!* (2016). Designed & pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan; quilted by Guadalupe Designs.

The piece measures 51″ x 17″ and will debut in March 2016 at the show at Twigs Gallery in Sisters, OR. The show opens on the Sisters 4th Friday Art Walk on 3/25/16 (After it debuts at the show I will post a photo of We Will Not Be Discarded!).

I will have 4 pieces in the show and all my pieces will feature “Recycled” Blocks, rescued from either discards of other quilters or donated abandoned projects. I love the idea of working to create something of beauty from something that was once abandoned. I love the idea of shared creative energy (see my post What’s on the Design Wall: “Ohio Star” (a taste of “Big Magic”) – “When an Idea is ready to be born, it will visit numerous people to find someone who going to bring it into existence” – Elizabeth Gilbert).

I am working on the hanging sleeves and labels for some of the piece which are unlabeled. I am feeling honored and excited about being in the show – more later!

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“They’re Baaaack”

February 15, 2016July 3, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Do you remember that iconic line from the preview to that great film of the 1980s – Poltergeist II?

So, I posted a while back in the post The End of an Era: Goodbye to Making Miniature Kimonos that I was done with making miniature kimonos.

Let’s just say it is a person’s prerogative to be able to change their minds…

If you never change your mind, why have one? – Edward de Bono

A couple weeks ago, one of my wonderful tierneycreates Etsy shop customers, who has been very supportive of my miniature kimonos, asked for some new kimono color and fabric options. She was so enthusiastic about my miniature kimonos, I got enthusiastic about them again and made a fresh new batch:

23 new kimonos in total. Currently I am busy adding buttons and finishing details, eventually they will get posted to my tierneycreates Etsy shop.

I have been negligent with my Etsy shop for a couple months now due to work and other life related things. I am working on new offerings and refreshing current offerings.

I do not expect my tierneycreates Etsy shop to ever become a “quit your day job” kind of thing (it is more of a fun hobby) but I really enjoy connecting with people across North America (I have Canadian customers too!) and adding a little “fusion of textiles & smiles” to peoples’ lives!

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No Limits, No Boundaries

January 29, 2016January 31, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Update on my collaboration project – we are expanding our concept and getting a new site!

A Crafter's Life, Studio, tierneycreates

Various Updates!

January 11, 2016January 11, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

QUILTED IT MYSELF

In the post The “Basted” Quilt, Dilemma, and Temptation I bemoaned about my dilemma of wanting to just let the large basting stitches on a quilt suffice as the quilting. Well I put on my “big girl panties” and made it through quilting it myself, using just straight stitches, 1/4 inch apart. So glad it is done! (BTW the whole I time I quilted it I was groaning “why didn’t I just let the long-arm quilter quilt this for me?!?!)

NEW “FURNITURE” ADDED TO THE STUDIO

In my recent post Inside the Studio I shared photos of my tierneycreates studio layout. This weekend I added another item to the studio – I pulled the sad ironing board out of the room and added a workbench table from Harbor Freight Tools. This table was on sale this past weekend for an excellent price. One of my Quilt Sisters gave me a heads up on this wonderful find. Terry “The Quilting Husband” got it assembled and we made a removable wide ironing board top for the table. I love it!

My younger brother surprised me with a new cutting mat for Christmas and I discovered the cutting mat fits nicely on top of the removable ironing board. I can cut and press small pieces on the same surface area. My brother has been very supportive of my quilting adventure (and he and his family has benefited from various quilts I have made them!) Past Christmases he has surprised me with quilting books I do not have! (I suspect he has a secret inside quilting connection, ha!)

MISC UPDATES

Handmade at Amazon

I shared in several prior posts how I was looking at listing items on Amazon’s new platform for crafters to sell their handmade items –Handmade at Amazon. I was accepted to become an “artisan” on this platform but I have decided to just stick with Etsy. I love the experience of working with Etsy customers and I think I would be stretching myself too thin with my full-time healthcare job, my tierneycreates Etsy shop, and the Amazon shop.

Terry the Quilting Husband’s Future Exhibit

Terry, the Quilting Husband, is going to submit 5 quilts to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show for consideration to be in the show. They will be having a special Male Quilter Exhibit. More details later this year!

Also Terry is looking at working on Quilts of Valor quilts to be donated to local Veterans, in the future. A Veteran himself and a military history hobbyist, this would be a wonderful was to combine quilting and his deep respect/wanting to honor those who served. There is currently a local project trying to get red, white and blue quilts to the oldest of the local Veterans, primarily WWII Veterans.

Upcoming Show

My The Wardrobe Meets the Wall collaborator and beloved long-arm quilter and friend, Betty Anne, and I are having an upcoming show at Twigs Gallery in Sisters, Oregon, opening the end of March. More details in the future.

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Updates

December 27, 2015December 26, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

One of the things I enjoy about blogging is it gives me an imaginary sense of accountability: that I need to follow through on my projects so I can post about them!

Here are some recent updates in case you wondered what became of the projects I discussed (hopefully worrying about whether I completed them did not keep you up at night…smile):

HANDMADE HOLIDAY CARDS

In my 11/12/15 post, Terry the *Not” Quilting Husband, I shared that I was going to take a break from quilting and work on handmade holiday cards. I did and finished about 20+ handmade holiday cards using recycled images from “dog of the day” calendars and scavenged items and images from other handmade or professionally manufactured cards. I am not posting photos as I want to respect the copyright on the images which belong to other photographers.

I used heavy cardstock for the cards in red or green and inserted (if I remembered) folded plain white paper to make writing the holiday greeting easier. Some of the cards I decorated with a ribbon tied through the center.

Lesson Learned: do not wait until Thanksgiving weekend to start making handmade cards!

KING SIZE QUILT COMPLETE

In my 12/6/15 post, What’s on the Design Wall: Backlog, I shared that I discovered 120+ 6.5 inch log jam blocks (scrappy pieced log cabin style blocks) that I had pieced earlier this year. I added in a couple extra blocks recycled from a friend’s discarded blocks and pieced a king size quilt! I will send it off to the long-arm quilter once I figure out what color to use for the backing. I want to do a solid color back, not a pieced back. I am going to buy some 108″ wide backing fabric for it.

I set the log jam squares to float in khaki-colored Peppered Cottons fabric, which I had listed on my tierneycreates Etsy shop. I decided to pull it from the shop and use nearly the entire remaining bolt of fabric to do the float blocks and wide border. I have a little left of the fabric but not enough to list on the shop any longer.

HANDMADE AT AMAZON

This is a follow up to my post on 11/9/15 – A New Way to Offer my Handmade Items?

After applying to be considered as an “Artisan” on Handmade at Amazon and having my portfolio reviewed by their selection committee, I was accepted to be an Artisan on Amazon.com’s Handmade at Amazon.

I have several e-mails from Amazon to review and figure out how to set up my Amazon.com shop. I still plan to keep my tierneycreates Etsy shop and I am trying to figure out what to sell through Amazon and what to sell through Etsy. I need to sit down and do some product planning.

Of course, the full-time-healthcare-industry-pay-the-bills gig I have tends to interfere with my handmade item production time!

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Using Categories!

November 30, 2015November 30, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I have been blogging for over two years and have experienced a learning curve on using the cool features of the my hosting platform, WordPress. If you who have followed me for awhile, you know I have experimented with various themes and formats to my tierneycreates blog. (Maybe I have left your head spinning over my frequent format changes…)

I do not have a web background (I am a RN by profession) and I appreciate all the user friendly interfaces of WordPress (as I learn them) including setting up special navigation side bar options to make a blog easier to navigate for my readers (and I appreciate each and every one of you!).

WordPress appears strongly committed to the ongoing education of its bloggers and provides great tips in its blog The Daily Post. Recently I learned how to create Categories on the tierneycreates and assign a categories to my posts from a The Daily Post article on Categorizing.

CATEGORIES are located in the left navigation pane. Assigning “Categories” to my posts will allow readers to browse my previous posts by a specific theme they are interested in.

Say for example, you only want to read about “Terry the Quilting Husband” – click on the Terry the Quilting Husband and read only those posts. If you only want to read about my sources of creative inspiration, then you can click on Creative Inspiration and see all the posts from my series on Creative Inspiration.

Setting up “Categories” was a cool exercise as it made me think about what are the general themes of posts I want to have on my blog? What themes/topics/ideas am I passionate about and want to write about?

The seven (7) categories above capture what I want to focus on as a blogger. Thanks for reading!

tierneycreates

A New Way to Offer my Handmade Items?

November 9, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Offering Handmade Items on Etsy

I have been with Etsy for 2 years and I have been blessed to have had 73 sales. Not all my sales were for handmade items, this total includes my vintage Barbies of the World collection that I cleared out as well as well as fabric by the yard, fat quarter sets and a couple “jelly rolls” (rolls of 40 pre-cut 2.5 inch coordinated fabric strips).

Recently I removed all vintage items from my Etsy shop and I am only focusing on handmade items, and some carefully curated fabric offerings. Eventually I would like to only offer handmade items. I do not want to be a reseller, I want to only offer things that either I have made or “Terry the Quilting Husband” has made.

Exploring New Option for Offering Handmade Items

I heard that Amazon was going to start a handmade marketplace. I am mulling over the idea of selling instead (or additionally) on Amazon at their new “Handmade at Amazon” (still under development).

Today I applied for an invitation to be a vendor on Amazon’s Handmade at Amazon. I await the outcome of their evaluation as to whether they want tierneycreates (and its handmade products) as Handmade at Amazon vendor.

An appealing feature of Handmade at Amazon is that unlike Etsy, you do not have to renew your listing (paying a renewal fee each time, which becomes tedious). The listings are permanent until the item sells.

It never hurts to explore new opportunities; and I will update you all on what happens.

tierneycreates

Blogging for Quilters

October 18, 2015October 18, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The Invitation to Speak

I was invited to speak on Blogging for Art Quilters at our October SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) meeting, as the featured presenter.

In my “pay the bills” career in the health care industry, for the past 20+ years I have done numerous training and workshops for those in staff and in leadership positions. So my first thought when accepting the invitation to speak was: “No problem, I have done like a zillion presentations and I can give any group ‘Death by PowerPoint'”.

I once even did a presentation for “the dead”. Or people I thought were dead (I mean a long time dead, they just hadn’t started to smell yet). I was the head of Medical Management for a Worker’s Compensation carrier and I had to do a presentation for the management group of a large retail organization.

When I got up to the podium and saw a sea of very blank and disengaged faces (basically they all looked “dead inside”), instead of having stage fright, I thought “Screw it, I am going to have fun”!

I removed the microphone from the podium, walked into the glassy-eyed audience and began to work the crowd with my presentation like I was a nightclub act. They suddenly came back to life and I had a blast (and maybe they did too) giving the presentation!

So I have little fear of public speaking as I have overcome some challenging audiences…that is, little fear in the health care industry…

Fear Creeps In…

So our local SAQA group contains nationally and internationally known quilters, teachers, published book authors, and some seriously talented (like mind blowing-ly talented) art quilters. This was my first time ever presenting/speaking in the art quilting industry (I am usually thinking at each SAQA meeting “so what I am doing here with these people?”).

One of my friends in the health care industry said to me when I told her about the upcoming presentation: “Well Tierney, if you lose them you during your talk on blogging for art quilters, you could always start wowing them with your knowledge of medical cost management!”

Additionally I am no expert on blogging. I started in 2013 and I have been learning as I go and continually reading tips from other bloggers. My only saving grace was I knew I could put together a nice “Death by PowerPoint” for the group!

The Actual Speaking Engagement

The SAQA group was wonderful and it was easy to engage them, I had no need to be worried.

Highlights from my presentation “Blogging for Art Quilters”:

WHY BLOG? To have an online presence; to showcase your art; to connect with other quilters & artists; to connect with potential customers.

COMMON BLOGGING PLATFORMS: WordPress.com; Blogger.com; and Typepad.com

Kristin Shields (kristinshieldsart.com) introduced the group to an incredible website and blog option for art quilters: Square Space, This platform also allows artists to directly sell their art to customers (www.squarespace.com).

WRTING BLOGGING CONTENT: Engage your readers and get them coming back with interesting posts, “cliff-hangers”, and ongoing series; learn the blog hosting platform’s tips to make navigate your site easy for readers; brainstorm on ideas for posts and keep a journal of ideas; find your own voice and be true to yourself.

BLOGGING ETIQUETTE: (adapted from Idiot’s Guide Blogging Rules & Etiquette): Respond to and appreciate your readers they took the time to read your posts and comment; stay away from “hard sales” and controversial topics (religion, politics, etc.) unless that is the purpose of your blog; respect copyright laws.

SPELL CHECKING IS IMPORTANT (okay so sometimes I fail at this…but it is still important…): A tip I use (or try to use) is to read aloud my posts before posting to see if they are close to resembling standard English usage! (So Tierney, are you actually a “native English speaker” or did you just recently learn via online instruction?)

PUBLICATIONS: Before I started blogging or starting my tierneycreates Etsy shop I did a lot of reading. Here are some of my favorites and I thank all the wonderful authors who wrote either the books or articles I enjoyed!

• Artful Blogging Magazine, Stampington

Blogging for Creatives: How Designers, Artists, Crafters and Writers Can Blog to Make Contacts, Win Business, and Build Success (Robin Houghton, 2012)

Writers Can Blog to Make Contacts, Win Business, and Build Success (Robin Houghton, 2012)

Blogging for Dummies (Susannah Gardner, 2011)

How to Sell Your Crafts Online(Derrick Sutton, 2011)

The Handmade Marketplace (Kari Chapin, 2010)

Grow Your Handmade Business (Kari Chapin, 2012)

The Real Reason I Blog

At the end of my presentation, I shared why personally I blog: Connection.

At first my blog was to be a vehicle to gain potential customers for my Etsy shop, but then it became more than that – it became a vehicle to connect with other individuals with shared interests and discover other blogger and their blogs.

I so appreciate my readers and I now follow many blogs myself (trying to keep up with them all as best I can). I love reading the life adventures of other individuals and the experiences and lessons their share!

“Death by PowerPoint” – only 23 slides, I did not torture the audience too badly…

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Playing with a Theme

August 12, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In case you have been wondering why recently each time you read one of my posts, my blog looks completely different…

“And Now for Something Completely Different.” – Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 1971

A couple weeks ago I had a late night “blog disaster” (note to self: never post late at night).

I use WordPress as my blogging platform and I use one of the lovely free blog theme templates they offer. I had done some nice customization when I set up my blog in 2013 and all was lost one night in the Great Blog Crisis of 2015.

I could return to my original WordPress blog theme template but it looks pretty stark and dull without the special customization. I do have the option of paying for my customization to return, but alas the word “free” is more appealing, ha!

So I have been experimenting over the last couple weeks on new blog theme templates. We’ll see which one sticks for me or maybe I will stop being so cheap and pay to have my previous customization back.

Maybe.

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In Use!

August 10, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In my February post, 2015 Goals, I shared a photo of the Little Love Note pillows I made for the tierneycreates Etsy shop. I packaged these pillows in sets of 3 with an organza ribbon and a little handmade heart card attached for gifting.

Unfortunately I posted the pillows to my shop too close to Valentine’s Day (3 days before!) for customers to purchase them as Valentine’s Day gifts.

I did however offer them for sale to some friends and neighbors if they were in need of a last minute Valentine’s Day gifts. I sold a 4 – 5 sets of pillows this way, and figured they went as gifts to other people.

However, I recently discovered, a neighbor friend of mine happened to keep a set for herself. While I was over her house the other day I got to see, 6 months later, great examples of how they could be used as home decor.

Instead of displaying all 3 pillows together, she broke them up and put them in different areas of her home: guest room, guest bathroom, and hallway nook.

It is so fun to see something you made being enjoyed in someone’s home!

In the hallway/living room nook on a miniature rocker

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The End of an Era: Goodbye to Making Miniature Kimonos

July 29, 2015August 2, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the highly opinionated miniature schnauzer’s blog Schnauzer Snips for her latest thoughts and adventures.

RETIRING THE MINIATURE KIMONO LINE

I have been making miniature kimonos for friends and family for over 12+ years and for my Etsy shop for nearly 2 years. After talking to my sister who I like to bounce online sales ideas off, I decided to do one more batch of miniature kimonos for the tierneycreates Etsy shop and then be done with making miniature kimonos.

I have so enjoyed making them and seeing them hung in the homes of friends and family. I had a nice response to them on my Etsy shop with repeat customers on the miniature kimonos, which was quite an honor.

Now I am ready to move on and create other small handmade items I can offer on my Etsy shop at reasonable prices. I will still make a miniature kimono on special request.

For my last official batch of miniature kimonos, I made 24 and gave one to my sister for her birthday and listed the rest on the Etsy shop. I used new color combinations and embellished some with cool antique buttons a friend shared from her mother’s/grandmother’s collection.

I am pretty pleased with this batch and I was tempted to keep some for my personal collection of miniature kimonos (I have them displayed in shadow boxes or hanging from chopsticks in my house).

Miniature Kimonos we had a good run – I know you have brought smiles to many!

23 new miniature kimonos ready for the shop

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, tierneycreates

Quilt Sold at 40th Anniversary Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

July 12, 2015July 2, 2017 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Please see Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer blog on the Schnauzer Snips page for her latest adventures.

Today I have a huge grin on my face!

I sold my quilt, Beautiful and Bright Colorful Batik Quilt, at the July 11, 2015 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show! This is my first time selling a quilt at a quilt show. I have had quilts exhibited at quilts shows but they have not been for sale in the past (note: I have listed for sale The Wardrobe Meets the Wall art quilts at gallery shows).

I had five quilts in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this year and I am so happy that this large beautiful quilt sold to someone from California who will be enjoying it in their home!

(I secretly wish I did not have to pay the 30% commission to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on the sale – ha! However I so appreciate the hard work of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show staff and volunteers who hung my quilt and handled all the logistics of the show. The commission from quilt sales helps keep our beloved premiere Central Oregon quilt show going!)

In and Out, pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe — Beautiful and Bright Colorful Batik Quilt, pieced by Tierney Davis Hogan, quilted by Betty Anne Guadalupe

Studio, tierneycreates

Being Proactive: 24 New Miniature Kimonos in Progress

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This week I started a new schedule for my health care job (the job that keeps the lights on) – I work Tuesdays to Fridays and have Mondays off from work. Mondays are now a day to focus on tierneycreates – making handmade items for my tierneycreates Etsy shop and working on art quilts for The Wardrobe Meets the Wall.

In my previous post, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Crafters, I discuss my crafting goals in the context of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey’s habit #1 is “Be Proactive”. On my first Monday off in my new work schedule, motivated by revisiting Covey’s 7 Habits, I was actually PROACTIVE!

As I stated in my previous post: “Those projects will not just start or finish themselves, Tierney!” Today I worked on 24 new miniature kimonos for my Etsy shop. Miniature kimonos were the first items (besides my vintage Barbie collection) that I offered on the tierneycreates Etsy shop when I first opened it in late 2013. They ended up being more popular than I anticipated and I am adding a new batch. I may stop making them after this batch as I would like to focus on other small items for the shop.

I experimented with some new colors and combinations I have not tried before. I will finish them up with their own unique decorative button and possibly a tassel (if the tassel works with the button and color combination.

A new batch of miniature kimonos in progress, July 2015

It felt good to be proactive and get a new load of kimonos started, even if it was tedious and tiring at times. I am still working towards to achieving my 2015 goal of having 100 items on the tierneycreates Etsy shop and the only way to achieve that is to be proactive and make stuff!

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Adventures in Retail

June 4, 2015June 6, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s blog on the Schnauzer Snips page for her latest adventures in managing humans

I HAVE NO PLANS TO EVER OWN OR TO WORK AT A QUILT SHOP

My recent adventures in trying to sell fabric on my tierneycreates Etsy shop has made me realize I never want to own or work at a quilt shop. People who own and/or work at quilt shops are magical and I am more in awe of them than I was before my fabric selling adventure.

Let’s begin with the background that led to this revelation:

I had heard from other Etsy sellers that the more items you had listed in your Etsy shop, the more visitors you would get to your Etsy shop’s page. My original plan for the tierneycreates Etsy shop was to primarily sell my handmade items and to offer some vintage items (vintage Barbies, etc.) from my personal collection. However due to a pesky thing called a full-time health care industry job (which I appreciate keeps the lights on) I have not been able to make as many handmade items for my shop as I like. Plus I want to make useful, well-crafted, items and not try and mass produce anything. After all there is a reason why people go to Etsy for handmade items.

So how do I add more items to my Etsy shop so I can attract more visitors to my shop?

It was my tierneycreates byline that got me thinking: “a fusion of textile and smiles“. I could sell textiles! I surveyed other Etsy shops that sold fabric and thought – I could do that – I could sell fabric on my shop. One major concern popped up: I have small house with limited storage – where would I store bolts of fabric? Another concern: What if no one likes the fabric I carry in my Etsy shop and then I am stuck with all this fabric?

Then I had an idea – I would purchase only bolts of fabric that I would like to use in projects. So if I was stuck with a bolt of fabric that did not sell well, then I could use it in textile projects. I would be very selective only stocking unique fabrics, while increasing the number of items offered in my Etsy shop.

Well that was the plan…

“FAT QUARTERS” DID ME IN

I found a collection of fabric I wanted to offer in my Etsy shop – Peppered Cottons by Pepper Cory. Peppered Cottons are a twist on cotton solids and are like solids with spice! They are considered “shot cotton” as the threads in the warp (lengthwise threads) and the weft (side to side threads) are woven in different colors. This creates to an iridescent or chambray look and the fabric takes on takes on different colors depending on the angle that you are viewing the fabric.

In addition to fabric by yard, I thought it would be cool to try and create fat quarter collections to offer on the shop. If you are not a quilter, a “fat quarter” is a pre-cut section of fabric measuring 18″ x 22″. It is created by cutting 1/2 a yard of fabric along the lengthwise grain (quilting fabric is usually 44″ wide) and then cutting it in in half widthwise. Fat quarters are sold to quilters in coordinating sets of 4 or more fabrics and are a great way to sample a fabric collection.

For many years one of my favorite things to buy at quilt shops were fat quarters. I had watched quilt shop staff cut fat quarter sets. I know how to cut fabric with a rotary cutter, I know how to measure, I thought I could take on cutting fat quarter sets no problem.

Cutting fat quarters nearly broke me. It was not easily learning to accurately cut fat quarters and it took a long time to make up four sets of 6 fats quarters. I wasted some fabric in fat quarter cutting disasters. Finally I got the hang of it and became accurate but it was so much work. I realize I would never want to own a quilt shop or work at a quilt shop and cut fabric.

I WILL STICK TO HANDMADE ITEMS

I am pleased with the carefully curated fabrics I am offering on my Etsy shop, but once they are sold out I am not going to sell anymore fabric by the yard or cut my own fat quarter collections. I may continue to occasionally offer a cool pre-cut “jelly rolls” (collection of 40 – 2 1/2 inch strips used to make quick quilts) in my shop but my days of trying to be a miniature quilt fabric shop are limited!

Fat Quarter collection of Peppered Cottons

tierneycreates

Creating Something From Nothing

April 21, 2015June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post originally appeared on the Improvisational Textiles website on 04/21/2015.

As a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) I receive the SAQA Journal.

In the Spring 2015 edition of the SAQA Journal, an extremely talented textile artists Judy Martin was featured. Her quote in the article “Featured Artist: Judy Martin” summarizes exactly how I view the art quilts I create with discarded textiles.

“Making something slowly with one’s hands is perhaps one of the most nourishing things one can do. Creating something from nothing – or better yet, creating something new from something no longer needed or wanted – is healing for the planet and for us.” – Judy Martin

In addition to creating art quilts from recycled textiles, I like to create traditional quilts from discarded textiles and discarded blocks.

Please see my post, “What Was On the Design Wall: Rescued Blocks” for an example of a traditional quilt I redesigned from discarded quilt blocks from the 1930s someone found in their attic.

A Crafter's Life, Studio, tierneycreates

Look Look I am in a Book (Part II)

March 27, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In my posts Look Look I am in a Book and Oh Wow! I shared my excitement of having several of my quilts selected to be in a book about quilting inspiration called 1000 Quilt Inspirations: Colorful and Creative Designs for Traditional, Modern, and Art Quilts by Sandra Sider. Well the other day my copy of the book arrived in the mail and I was…overwhelmed. Quilt images from 300 artists from 20 countries were selected for this book – and I am one of them!

I am a wanna-be art quilter and I dream someday of “quitting my day job” or at least moving to a part-time version of my health care industry day job and focusing most my energies on tierneycreates and creating. Being in this book feels like a step towards that dream. One of important things I did to advance on this path is to join SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates). Through SAQA I found about the call for entries for this book as well as call for entries for other shows I have entered (and been accepted to). I was also very inspired by an article in the SAQA Journal by Carol Ann Waugh on “Becoming a Professional Artist”. I wrote Ms. Waugh to thank her for this incredible article which outlines the steps to become a professional art quilter!

After the initial “intense floating” around the house (and around town on my errands) over seeing sections from five of my quilts in this book in person, I settled back to earth and thought about: “why am I really excited to be in this book?”

I am fortunate to know and interact with several real professional art quilters who have authored their own art quilting and/or traditional quilting books, been in endless shows as well as featured in many books. I greatly admire them and their art, however I realized that is not my goal and not why I was primarily excited about being in this book.

What is most exciting about being in this book is that something that I created might inspire someone else to create. A quilter in Des Moines, Iowa who is looking for color or design inspiration might be leafing through the book and come across my pieces in the book and go – “Aha – that is it!”. What an honor to provide inspiration to someone you never met and will likely never met. I am fortunate to have been inspired by so many talented people I have never met. It is all about sharing our inspiration and hopefully inspiring someone else to take chances, risks and be bold & fearless in their quilt creations!

Below are photos of the quilts that are in the 1000 Quilt Inspirations book. Much thanks to Betty Anne Guadalupe of Guadalupe Designs for her wonderful professional long arm quilting on four of the five quilts that got accepted!

Random not so Random, Flying Triangles, Silk Landscape and Color Changes – images from these quilts (#0246 – #0249) are featured in the book 1000 Quilt Inspirations

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2015 Goals

February 12, 2015March 31, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Over the past month I have been thinking about my 2015 goals related to tierneycreates. I have two main goals: 1) post more on my blog; and 2) get the tierneycreates Etsy shop up to 100+ items. I just have to work around my full-time health care job I have in order to meet these goals!

Recently, and probably too late for the Valentine’s Day holiday, I have been working on sets of little love note pillows to sell on my Etsy shop. They would be perfect for Valentine’s Day but they also work well as a little wedding gift, a little way to say I love you gift, and a nice little treat to show yourself some “self-love” and have around your house. Before I even got the them posted onto the Etsy shop I sold a couple to friends to give as Valentine’s gifts – they are so cute in person it is difficult to capture their cuteness in a photo (and that could be because my photography skills are lacking…).

I have also been working on a new piece for the collaborative collection, The Wardrobe Meets The Wall, tentatively called “Vessel”. If you’d like to see it in progress check out the photo on the In Progress post on The Wardrobe Meets The Wall blog.

Sassy has been trying to keep her her section of the tierneycreates blog updated so be sure to check out her posts at Schnauzer Snips!

Little Love Note Pillows

tierneycreates

Oh Wow!

January 10, 2015March 31, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I had to title this post “Oh Wow!” as I am feeling oh wow right now. In my post Look Look I am in a Book! I share my excitement that several of my collaboration silk quilt pieces were selected to be in Sandra Sider’s 1000 Quilt Inspirations: Colorful and Creative Designs for Traditional, Modern, and Art Quilt.

Well…I just got a huge surprise:

I friend of mine told me today – “Tierney I pre-ordered the book you are going to be in on Amazon”. So I went to Amazon (amazon.com) and located the book 1000 Quilt Inspirations: Colorful and Creative Designs for Traditional, Modern, and Art Quilts. I noticed that the book now has a “Look Inside” preview on Amazon. When I clicked on the “Look Inside” to see the book preview, I discovered, on page 12 of the book at the beginning of on Chapter 1 Traditional Designs 0001-0206, four (4) photos from my batik quilt Filmstrip. These images are #0001, 0002, 0003 and 0004 – I start out the 1000 of the 1000 quilt inspirations!

I did not even realize they had selected those photos, I thought only details from the two silk art quilts I did with Betty Anne Guadalupe (part of our The Wardrobe Meets the Wall Collection) were going to be in the book. I checked the back index (which the shows in the “Look Inside” preview) and I appear to have a total of 8 images from my quilts in the book.

The book does not come out till March 2015 so I have to be patient to see the rest but I am pretty excited to be in an Amazon “Look Inside” preview. I am so honored to have been selected to be in this book!