Virtual Talks

All lectures are available virtually using Zoom, or when the public health situation again allows, in person. See the Virtual Teaching tab for more information, or contact me: betsy (at) betsyhabich.com

The Joy of Fabric (and Thread)!

I LOVE fabric and thread! and this talk is about that life-long love and exploration of its possibilities.   Starting with my first quilt made with my early crewel- and batik-work, through sampler quilts, early pieced picture quilts from my studies with Ruth McDowell,  to experiments with realism using painting, appliqué, and thread painting, with a few guilty diversions into fun stuff like Stack-n-Whack.  My subjects range from  9/11 to my nephews, with cats, flowers, and landscape being repeat subjects.  

 Slide and trunk show talk,&A and opportunity to look at the quilts follow

Piecing a Picture Quilt: Photo to Finished Quilt

My pieced picture quilts and how I make them.

The first half of this talk discusses how I developed my style of pieced pictorial quilts, including study with Ruth McDowell, looking at fabric differently, and the role of seam line and low-level relief.

The second half shows how to design an original pattern for a pieced picture quilt, using Daylily as an example, make freezer paper pattern pieces from the pattern, use them to select and cut fabric, and finally how to pin and sew a very accurate seam line.

Slide & trunk show talk. Q&A follow, with opportunity to look again at the quilts.

Thread Painting: It’s All About the Details!

Slide & trunk show talk.  A short introduction to my pieced and appliqued pictorial quilts shows the quilting style I developed to support the images, a bridge to thread painting. 

Then you see how to make a photorealistic thread painting: selecting the right photo, printing it on fabric, seeing all the colors in the piece, selecting threads, different stitches, blending colors smoothly, representing texture, and paying attention to detail. 

The third part follows a landscape thread-painting from start to finish, to show how a painting actually develops.   

Q&A and opportunity to look at the quilts follow.