Karin Knudsen: studio journal

Recently, a friend of mine had her first baby! She commissioned me to make the linens for the nursery, including the crib skirt, bumper, and curtains. For her shower gift, I created this owl-themed baby quilt to coordinate with the nursery linens. The edges of the leaves and the owls are free so there will be some texture for baby to touch when he gets big enough.

My mother–who does weaving, spinning, and felting and seems to have tried every textile-related art/craft from imaginable–created this fussy-cut bug quilt for the baby too and sent it for his baptism. Lucky baby!

After a very hectic few weeks–putting last-minute touches on my new website (very exciting)–and a brief interlude without much internet access, I’m finishing up some ongoing projects. Here’s hoping I’ll be able to post more about what I’ve been working on.

This is the final version of a landscape I just finished yesterday. The piece is 20″ W x 16 1/4″ H, and made from cotton fabric and thread, and heavily machine-stitched. Although I used some rust-dyed fabric for the foreground, it isn’t emphasized as in previous projects. I’m still working on the official title for the piece…

After working on a few landscapes with a similar color palette and lots of machine stitching, I needed a different type of project. I’ve been playing around with bright solid fabrics, trying out color combinations.

Here’s one recent effort (that is already sold and in the mail!). It is just larger than a piece of paper.

There are only a few days left to see “Foot in the Door IV” before it closes. Foot in the Door is an exhibition of art by Minnesota artists, organized every ten years at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The only governing guideline is that the work must be no larger than 12 x 12 x 12 inches.

Recognizing the sheer infrequency of the exhibit (and also thinking, “well, why not?”), I submitted an acrylic on silk hand-stitched piece called “Northern Lights.”

I attended the opening night for the exhibit and faced crowds that looked like this:

I can guarantee smaller crowds this time of year!

Be prepared though, walking through the exhibit is kind of like noticing what people are wearing at the State Fair:  for every well-thought out and well-executed gem, there will be at least four that make you think “Really? You decided that was the way to go?” But there are some beautiful things.

The last day of day to catch the exhibit is Sunday June 13. Admission to the exhibit (as well as to nearly all of the museum) is free. The MIA is located just south of downtown Minneapolis.

I recently made this project for a friend’s birthday: four stenciled cotton napkins.

I made freezer-paper stencils from images of cups I drew freehand and then cut out with an exacto knife, before ironing onto my “to paint” area. I mixed two Jacquard textile paints to create the light turquoise color. The napkins are just a simple woven cotton. You can see the ironed-on stencils in the first pic, prior to painting. The paint is permanent after being heat-set with an iron.

This was my first attempt at freezer-paper stenciling. I’m seeing some crafty home-stenciled tees in my future, though perhaps there is also an artistic application… This was a good project for over the weekend!