If you would have told me that I would EVER, ever, put a binding on any of my art quilts again, I would have laughed.  And here I am sewing fourteen feet of double-fold binding on Boundary Waters 52.  It just goes to show that you really shouldn’t say never.

I finished BW 52 (at least I think it is done – I painted a little bit on it since finishing stitching it and it may need just a touch more. See below!), squared it up and contemplated the multi-texture edge of the art quilt.  There were single layers, double layers, triple layers of painted and dyed cotton fabric fabric; velvet; polyester; shredding duck cloth, . . . .  Need I say more?

I taught myself quilt making by making 50+/- traditional quilts.  I never followed a pattern, but I always put a double-fold binding on them.  It is binding that will last and last and gives a very sturdy edge. But when I started painting my own fabric and making art quilts, I became committed to doing only that which fulfilled my vision.  So bindings, why?

I like a fuzzy, wild edge.  It’s FABRIC!  I like to show that this is a medium that’s vibrant, textured, alive.  I sometimes put a note in with one of my more shaggy art quilts going to a non-textile gallery:  ”Shredding and shedding are good.”  I imagine that causes some eyebrows to be raised.

But I had to come down on the side of doing what I needed to do with Boundary Waters 52.  If an edge is a distraction or will lead to the piece disintegrating or hanging incorrectly, then it just is not the right edge.

So I looked up the right width to cut fabric for a double-fold binding, cut some lovely blue-dyed fabric, seamed it, pressed it, sewed it on the front of the quilt, and miterrf those corners ever so beautifully.  Then I very happily sat on my Blue Moo and stitched away by hand.

SPECIAL NOTES:  Sorry I can’t show more of this artwork, but it is an entry that can’t be shown quite yet. Since I wrote this, I spent a lot of time and a lot of oil paint sticks covering just about every surface.  Everything you see in the detail photo above is basically gone.

A reminder that I won’t be posting too often for a bit as I return (post-ToteTuesday) to my studio.  If you want to know every month what I am up to in and out of the studio, send an e-mail to Virginia(at) VirginiaSpiegel.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.  You will receive my free monthly e-newsletter.)

Yes, it’s that time of year when I take a break from the computer and dash about to various family events. And, OF COURSE, make time to go to the Boundary Waters with my sister in our 17.5 foot Kevlar canoe.  

This is our thirteenth trip since 2003 and I am still excited to go and see what there is to see.  I love everything about the Boundary Waters — the solitude, the partnership with my sister, sleeping in a tent, carrying everything we need for ten days on our backs, and paddling our lovely golden canoe.  You never know if the days are going to be sunny and bright, dark and stormy, calm or windy, buggy or delightfully not.  Or all of these in one day. I’m sure I will have some photos to share when I return.

In case you need your own Boundary Water fix, some places to visit include:

How I unexpectedly came to love the Boundary Waters (even with a Kleenex for a sleeping bag and a child’s PFD) here.

Artwork:  The Boundary Waters Series 
The Portage Series 
Portage artist book

My sister and I after ten days out in September 2008 with photos of rock, wood, water.

The ultimate journal – our tent!

A wilderness “Andy Goldsworthy” photo challenge

In celebration of its 20th year as an international community of artists, Studio Art Quilt Associates will be touring a special exhibition: SAQA@20: Art & Excellence.  This invitational exhibition was curated by Patricia Bolton, Editor-in-Chief of both Quilting Arts and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazines and a SAQA board member.  

The premier of SAQA@20:  Art & Excellence will be October 15-18, 2009 at International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas and includes my Boundary Waters 25, shown above. This artwork is part of the Boundary Waters series and is a study of the tall cliffs that surround many of the Boundary Waters’ lakes.

The 3-in-1 fiber and stitch exhibit at the Coos Bay Art Museum in Coos Bay, OR can now be seen online here. Just click on the Tour The Exhibit link next to each exhibit name. 

The New Focus art quilt exhibit, including my artwork above, consists of 50 small format art quilts from invited artists from five countries.

Also being shown is Transformations ’08:  Icons and Imagery, a traveling juried exhibit from Studio Art Quilt Associates.

Stitch, contemporary works of fiber art by five Oregon artists, rounds out this bonanza of stitch and fiber exhibits.

The Studio Art Quilt Associates benefit reverse auction, One Square Foot, opens tomorrow.  My Portage: Set Forth is in the first group of 12″ square art quilt that will be available with the price dropping each day. 

SAQA is “a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development and documentation.”  I am happy to donate this artwork to further the goals of this professional organization.

I actually took photos during the creation of this artwork; read my Technique Talk here.