We’ve had a lot of rain in Iowa and it’s construction season, so, it might not be a bad idea to check out the road closures before heading out on your road trip adventure. Here are some links to help identify where you may need to adjust your route:
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Cover All The Bases
Every year Deanna, our magazine designer extraordinaire over at To The Letter Type and Design in Marion, looks through all of the pictures that we send her and she comes up with an amazing cover for the Sew Iowa magazine. However, this year’s cover crop wasn’t initially up to her expectations. You see, when we were photographing what we thought would be the cover shot, we forgot two important rules in magazine cover design: leave header room for the title and make sure the background behind where the title will be isn’t too busy. That meant that all of our outdoor location shots had to be scrapped and thus we had to go back to the drawing board.
Jackee Austerman, who did the photography for this year’s Sew Iowa magazine, kindly arranged to have us gather up all the quilts and projects so we could try again indoors this time. This time we got Deanna on the phone and while we were arranging the shot, I kept sending texting her pictures so she could see the layout. Once we got the Windmills and Roadmaps quilt on to the rocking chair and set the round table next to it, Deanna suggested we find something tall to put behind the table. Jackee, Leland, and I started literally going from store to store in our building looking for something: we picked up a coat stand, some pussy willows from the Blooming Acres, and a blooming tree (plastic, but who can tell?). The tree made it to the cut.
Next we worked on how the quilts were arranged on the table. Deanna looked at our first arrangement and commented that the quilts looked too white. Leland refolded them so the top two quilts were showing off the Sew Iowa panel and the bottom quilt was displaying the large flying geese in the RAGBRAI Migration quilt. Nailed it!
Our last bit of arranging involved the quilts in the boxes. Deanna suggested that we turn the box sideways to the picture so the slats would give the photo depth. Jackee rolled up the remaining quilts and turned them so they pointed in toward the chair. We then draped the table runner over the side, added the pillow and and placed the backpack. I swear I could hear angels signing in the background so I knew this had to be the shot. Or perhaps it was the next door store owner turning up the radio because we were making such a racket. I don’t care what anyone else says; I heard angels.
Once we got the pictures to Deanna, she came up with the four cover shots that you see associated with this blog post. Note the large amount of header space above each picture this time. The background is plain so the Sew Iowa title really pops off of the page. One of our choices had the On the Go Tote featured prominently in the picture; we liked this cover but didn’t really feel like it showed off all of the other quilts or the signature Sew Iowa panel really well.
Now we were down to three covers. I really liked the teal background but felt you could tell it was photo shopped into the picture. That left us with the long shot and the close up shot of all the projects. We ultimately rejected the close up shot because it cropped out most of the large quilt on the rocking chair and the backpack was missing.
Almost there. After looking over the long shot, Jill made the comment that we should remove the Facebook icon (after all, every business has a Facebook page!) and replace it with graphics that connected the cover to the magazine. Deanna came up with the map markers that appear in the final version of the cover and our search was over. The very last thing added to this year’s Sew Iowa magazine was the cover!
Look for the Sew Iowa magazine at your local quilt shop. They should be arriving around May 10th.
We hope you enjoy this year’s Sew Iowa magazine and our cover story!
Let’s Get Ready
The All Iowa Shop Hop will be here before we realize it. In about a month, quilters will be crisscrossing the state visiting all the wonderful quilt shops. To aid them on their adventures we thought it would be fun to give you a little inside scoop on some of the projects which have been created and will be available in the 2019 Sew Iowa magazine. Here is a little peek at three projects.
Shop Hopping Backpacks
The first one is the Shop Hopping Backpacks. This is a fun project to take the stress off of those shoulders and arms as you are shopping hopping around the state. This project was designed by Melodie Chitty from Little House Quilting in Greene. Melodie will have complete kits available at her shop for purchase with all the accessories needed to make this adorable backpack.
On The Go Tote
When you fill up your Shop Hopping Backpack you can unload the contents into the On The Go Tote.
The tote is a large one and will hold lots of wonderful purchases. Eileen Fournier, from It’s Sew Tempting in Story City has created this amazing tote. The Snail’s Trail block is cleverly arranged on both the front and the back of the tote. All the fabric will be available at the store to make this modern tote.
Shop Hop Pillows
If you need a little rest after all the fun and excitement of the day, we have a few comfy pillows to rest and re-energize for the next round of shopping adventures. The pillows come in a large and small size using the specially designed panels by artist, Sara Franklin.
Patterns for the Shop Hopping Backpack and the On the Go Tote and Pillows will be available in the 2019 Sew Iowa Magazine.
Stay tuned!!!! We will be featuring a few more amazing projects in the upcoming weeks, which will be featured in this year’s Sew Iowa magazine.
Happy Shop Hopping Everyone!!!
Iowa Art Quilters Featured in Sew Iowa Magazine
This year’s Sew Iowa magazine features four Iowa Art Quilters: Abigail Livingood, Sue Kluber, Don Dixson, and Janell Peters. Each of these artists brings a slightly different talent to the table.
Abigail creates pieces that have raw emotional impact. She also welds so her quilts often have jagged edges, just like her welded works do. Abigail is interested in the way plants interact in a way that is similar to how people interact. A common theme in her work is transformation.
Sue creates art quilts that look like photographs. She often works with natural themes like birds flying over water but she also creates pieces that are full of symbolism. Some of her artworks are so full of themes that you can stare at them for some time and still not see everything in the piece!
Don is the master of stretching quilts over canvas. His geometric quilts continue to evolve in color and content. Don only uses hand-dyed Ricky Tims fabric so his finished pieces have this luxurious look and feel. When you see a Dixson hanging on the wall, you know who created it even before you see Don’s name on the quilt.
Janell knows how to cut tiny pieces out of a quilt and then reassemble them into something entirely new. Each of her quilts tells a story that she has played out in her head long before the quilt takes shape. For Janell, the frame around the piece is just as important as the piece itself. You’ll marvel at the tiny pieces and the larger ones in each of Janell’s finished works of art.
We hope you like these articles by Kevin Carpenter and Millie Kehrli and that you seek out these great Iowa art quilters.
We are revamping the web site, please check back!
We are moving and improving the All Iowa Shop Hop web site. Please stay tuned for an updated look and new content, coming soon.
