Male Quilters' blogs and websites

The following list is another "work-in-progress" . . .

I am looking for other male quilters who have an online presence (either website or blog).

So far, my list includes:

1. Bob Adams -- Bob Adams
2. Curly Boy -- Curly Boy
3. Rob Appell -- Rob Appell Designs -- Rob Appell Blog
4. Jean Pierre Avonts-Saint Lager -- Les Tableaux Textiles
5. Phil Beaver -- J. Phil Beaver Quilts
6. Gene Black -- Gene Black, an Alabama Artist
7. Tristan Robin Blakeman -- Tristan Robin Blakeman Artist
8. Edward Bostick -- Edward Bostick African American Quilts
9. Kevin Britton -- Journey of a QuiltGuy
10. Rich Brote -- Rich, the Quilt Man
11. Wendell George Brown -- Wendell George Brown
12. Bruce -- Confessions of a Male Quiltaholic
13. Greg Bryson -- Flat Out Quilting
14. Richard Caro --Deus Ex (Sewing) Machina -- A Quiltversation
15. John Cary -- Quilt Dad
16. Michael A. Cummings -- Michael A. Cummings, Artist & Quilter
17. Joe Cunningham -- Joe the Quilter, AKA Joe Cunningham
18. Glenn Dragone -- yarn + needle
19. Ken Ellis -- Featured Artist
20. John Flynn -- Flynn Quilt Frame Company
21. Jim Gatling -- Jim Gatling's Crazy Creative Life
22. Tom H -- Quilting and Carving
23. Brian Haggard -- The Creative World of Brian Haggard
24. Michael Handley -- State of the Craft
25. Scott Hansen -- Blue Nickel Studios
26. Luke Haynes -- Luke Haynes
27. Simon Henry -- Simon Henry Needle Craft
28. Carl Hentsch -- 3 Dog Design Co
29. Henry Holmes -- Henry's Arts
30. Raymond K. Houston -- Nacho Grandma's Quilts -- Tessellation Nation -- Knotty Celtic Knots
31. Michael James -- Michael James Studio Quilts
32. Jack Jeppson -- Real Men Quilt -- Blog
33. Jeremy -- Sew Like a Man
34. Alan Kelchner -- Alan Kelchner, Textile Artist -- Alan Kelchner's blog
35. Mike Kelley -- Mike Kelley's Rainbows
36. Wayne Kollinger -- Tuxedo Park Design
37. Kevin Kosbab -- Feed Dog
38. John M. Kubiniec -- Big Rig Quilting
39. Eddie Landreth -- The Arkansas Man Quilter
40. Peter Lappin -- Male Pattern Boldness
41. Richard Larson -- Quilting Design Studio
42. Steven Lennert -- Wind River Quilting
43. Don Linn -- Mr. Quilt's World
44. Mark Lipinski -- Pickle Road Studios
45. Patrick Lose -- Patrick Lose
46. Jay Martin -- You Quilt?
47. Jimmy McBride -- Jimmy McBride
48. Rick McGuire -- Rick McGuire, Quilt Nerd
49. Jim Mikula -- Artwork by Jim Mikula
50. Scott Murkin -- Scott Murkin
51. Rick Najdzion -- Whimzee Stitches Designs
52. Paul Perger -- Outnumbered Quilter
53. Gerard Quak -- Gerards Handwerken
54. Shawn Quinlan -- Quiltman
55. Gert van Raalten -- Real Men Stitch and Sew (written in Dutch)
56. Daniel Rouse -- Piece and Press
57. Gerald Roy -- Pilgrim/Roy Antiques and Interiors
58. Tom Russell -- Tom Russell Quilts
59. Charlie Scott -- Qubee Quilts
60. Bruce Seeds -- Quilts.Bruce Seeds
61. Jonathan Shannon -- The Alliance for American Quilts Interview
62. Mark L. Sherman -- Remarkable Quilts
63. George Siciliano -- George Siciliano
64. John Sims -- John Sims Projects (you gotta skip the intro, then click on "Pi Project," and follow the arrows)
65. Matthew Sparrow -- ManQuilter.com
66. David Taylor -- David Taylor Quilts
67. Ricky Tims -- Ricky Tims, Musician & Quilter
68. Giles Turnbull -- Touch And Sew
69. Ben Venom -- Mr. Ben Venom
70. David Walker -- David Walker: Artist and Web Designer
71. Dwayne Wanner -- Dwayne F. Wanner, Contemporary Quilter
72. Jim West -- Sew Many Places -- Scrap Map -- Quiltposium
73. Lane Wilhite --That Man Quilts?
74. Kent Williams -- Kent Williams - Art Quilts
75. J. Bruce Wilcox -- J. Bruce Wilcox
76. Erick Wolfmeyer -- E. Wolfmeyer Quilts

Do YOU know someone I've missed??

Celtic knot, tribal bear paw . . .

Complete!!

There are a number of things I learned while making this, on a number of levels:

1. Design. Overall, I like the design (opposable thumb notwithstanding). I like the use of "pieces" to give the impression of the weavings of a celtic knot; had I done this with bias tape, I think the "weaving" would have been lost (besides, these "pieces" are 1.5 inches wide--I don't think I would care to deal with bias tape that wide). The viewer needs to invest a little something, too; their eyes will roll around as they "connect-the-dots," following the lines of the knots (let's hope they don't get dizzy). For the next version of this design, the toes will be more forward-facing; the second and fourth toes will be oddly-shaped, to fill in what is currently empty space.
2. Marking. I used a heavy-duty fusible web to attach the pieces to the background material. I traced the shapes of the pieces on the web's paper backing; I fused the web (and paper backing) to the back of my fabric; then I cut out the shapes before peeling off the paper backing. Unfortunately, this means all my pieces were reversed. The alternative would be to trace through the wrong side of the fusible web, but unless I'm fusing to a light-colored fabric, the tracing cannot be seen. Also, whatever I used to trace with would be fused onto my fabric. Here's an idea: trace the design on the BACK of the design, and then trace the shapes of the pieces from that side.
3. Materials. The fusible web has limited washing directions (cold water wash, gentle; low dry, gentle; do not dry clean). I was going to stitch around the edges of all the pieces, but the manufacturer does not recommend stitching through it. I will have to use a lighter weight fusible web.
4. More marking. I need to mark the relative positions of the pieces on the background fabric (perhaps with dressmaker's carbon paper and a wheel). Because my pieces were reversed (see #2, above), I had to lay my drawing facedown on the background fabric, then slide the pieces to be fused between the two layers. It was certainly more trouble than it was worth, and I gave up on it after I fused the innermost knots of the "palm."
5. Quilting. Besides stitching around the shapes (as decoration and to hold the pieces in place in case the fusible gives way), I intend to outline quilt the open areas (kinda like Hawaiian quilting). This could make the design stand out in relief (though I think I'd be the one more relieved, LOL).

(Day 2 of 31DBBB says, "write a list post." I think this qualifies.)

A celtic knot, tribal bear paw quilt

Yesterday was a productive day in the office (and, I got some work done, too)!!

I spent time working on the celtic knot design . . . I'm very pleased with the results. I scanned the drawing, and made a .pdf file of it, then cropped it and made a .jpeg file of it. I've emailed a copy to the client, and I'm waiting to hear from him.

In the meantime . . .

I emailed a copy to the local copy shop for an enlargement . . . the widest they could go was 36 inches, which is fine for now. I want to make a sample this weekend. I bought some fusible web, and I've decided to use a variety of fabrics I have on hand.

(31DBBB will have to take a backseat this weekend, I'm afraid . . .)

An Elevator Pitch . . .

This may be Day #3 of the "Nacho Grandma's Quilts!!" blog, but it's Day #1 of the "31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge" (31DBBB) from ProBlogger.net.

Today's Task is to write an Elevator Pitch, an overview of my blog that can be delivered in 30 seconds or 100-150 words (the duration of an elevator ride). I thought long about my target audience; about how to stand out; and, about an intriguing question to ask.

Here goes:

What would you do with millions of quilt blocks made from a single set of templates?

Would you keep them, or give them away?

I have a growing collection of 4-patch and 9-patch quilt blocks made from a single set of templates (16,000,000 blocks, and counting). I have more quilt blocks than I could ever use.

So, I am giving them away.

This blog chronicles how these blocks came to be. It discusses the use of symmetry as a design tool, in a simple manner. It documents the creation of some quilts (some using the blocks I'm giving away, some not). It discusses color theory. It shows my construction techniques.

I invite you to join me on this journey.