Meet my Guest Blogger - Andi Shannon

My Guest Blogger today is Andi Shannon and I know you are really going to enjoy seeing all the lovely things that she creates! 

Andi believes in delighting the eye, inspiring the mind and encouraging the soul. When you see all the beautiful things she has created, you know that she is true to her beliefs.

Please join me in welcoming Andi Shannon.

Much of my work is free motion stitching. For example, the lace jewelry I make by stitching on dissolvable stabilizer. I go through so much of it that I buy laundry bags from  a hospital supply company!  It’s the same stuff but even better, as it comes in larger pieces and has more substance. The lace leaves and trees are all freehand, drawing with the needle and thread. 

 

I bounce between those delicate bits of jewelry and making scarves the same way to making my own frames for small works. I have a table saw, chop saw, miter trimmer and other tools and supplies in another room. (I’m also handy with a sawzall for demo)

 These framed ones are 6x6 and I make them as small as 2 ½” x 2 ½”, outer perimeter. My art quilts are all about the curves. 

 

I sometimes sketch ideas, but more often, just start with a pile of the fabric I want to work with and start cutting and stitching the curves freehand. Pins just get in the way and slow me down! Once I’ve finished the piecing, I usually do very dense and detailed free motion quilting.

 

 

Here is my studio. My son took this picture for a photography project. This is on a good day!

Here is the other side of my studio on a studio tour day!







Here is the best part of my studio - the view outside my window!

 I have a mid-arm machine that I move from the table top to the quilting frame. I occasionally do some chunky hand quilting in juxtaposition to the machine quilting. People often ask me, in the nicest possible way, if I just set it up and push a button to make what I do. Everything I do, except the very large quilts, could be done on my 1938 Featherweight. The only machine I have that even does a zigzag has been broken for two years. 

 

Thank you Andi for sharing your work with us. Isn't it so beautiful as well as unusual? Truly one of a kind art. I am also glad you gave us a glimpse of your studio on a good day. I know that mine frequently looks like that, particularly when I am creating. 

To learn more about Andi, please visit her site at andishannon.com

I hope you enjoyed this blog today. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter as I offer specials every month. Just add your name to the list. 

Until next time...

Nan