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I feel wounded-somehow I accidentally erased most of my photos from the SAQA Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska! I have 4 useless surviving photos to try to capture/remember the experience. It hurts. I consider going to SAQA Conferences an investment in my career as a fiber artist. I come away each time with a richer, deeper knowledge of my work in its historical and even international context. There are artists there from all over the world, artists with widely varying uses of the medium of quilts. I literally know quilt artists all across the US and the world through SAQA. Every conference…
I received a note from a reader this week asking me about my experience using Patsy Thompson’s Quilt Suspension system-thank you for the note Betsy! I forgot that I had not written about my experience with Patsy’s system so I’m reporting in. The system is super simple and comes in 2 styles: System #1 ($94.99) clamps to the back of a table with one arm that has two cords to hold the quilt. System #2 ($109.99) has two separate arms that clamp on to each side of your table. This is the system I have. Her website makes it easy…
I got to play for bit this week and I met my friend Dolores at Bay Quilts in Richmond-what a treat! The shop just opened last fall and I have only heard good things. I was anxious to see for myself. I had the most delightful day! The shop is welcoming, bright and spacious. Each month a gallery of work will be displayed and this month it is Cara Gulati. I love Cara’s bold, graphic style and the scale of her quilts was so impressive. This is the view as you walk in! “Queen of the Flower Angels” is 8′ x…
I have wanted to do this for awhile and last month I finally did it-I kept tally of the activities and time I spent preparing for a recent 4-day gig in Tucson. You might be surprised to know what goes on behind the scenes for traveling quilt teachers! My prep for this engagement had some unique factors: I was teaching a class I hadn’t taught in a while (Trapunto), I needed to make kits (I don’t usually have to make kits), there were 2 lectures and 2 workshops, and I was determined to finish a sample for one of the classes before I…
I am not a huge user of ruler work on my domestic machine, but occasionally my quilt will call out for it. Let me be clear, I am not calling myself an expert on ruler work. And I actually like the look of an imperfect line. But I’m working on a project that does “need” ruler work and I’ve discovered a fabulous ruler for straight line work: I love this Four Paws Quilting ruler! I haven’t found another like it-it has a 1/2″ slot in the middle so you can’t mess up your line! There are rulers with various types…
WARNING: Non-quilting post! I had a Fashion Moment while visiting Tucson a few weeks ago and I had to share. I know, I’m not exactly a fashion guru. But really, every woman needs a pair of flattering, well-fitted jeans, no? I have such a difficult time getting bottoms that fit. I’m oddly shaped with short parts, long parts, skinny parts and plump parts. I love the way the elegant salesperson at Nordstrom’s put it (after I tried on fifteen pairs of jeans that did not fit), “You have athletic thighs and gluts”. Yes, I do. When I got the request to teach and…
It was an adventure to travel from sunny California to blustery Solon, Ohio (Cleveland area) for filming my segments for Quilting Arts TV. Look at this map! It was very odd to travel this light: I’ve arranged all my things by segment and this is all I took. I’m used to two 50 lb bags so this was a treat! Only after I arrived did I realize I should have brought some quilts for a backdrop for one of my segments…. You may recall there was a monster storm covering the Midwest to Northeast last week. Fortunately, traveling from west to east,…
I’m in Cleveland taping for Quilting Arts TV! So from upper 70’s in northern California into the snowstorm, 19 degrees and wind blowing a gale. Wish me safe travels to and fro and that I stay healthy with all this travel. I’ll have lots to say when I return. I’m sooo excited!! Stay tuned!
I know this is only 4 days late-I’m running as fast as I can! I had a wonderful, fabulous visit to Tucson last week to both the Tucson Quilters Guild (TQG) and my son. I leave tomorrow in the wee wee hours to travel to Cleveland for the QATV taping. With a mere 2 days in between to ready for QATV and all that happened in Tucson, blogging just could not find a place! All us traveling quilt teachers travel light-two 29″ 50-pounders, a carry-on and a 15 lb tech bag plus my purse. Traveling quilt teachers have to be…
My posts may be short in the next two weeks. I’ll be traveling to Tucson for a 4-day stint and dang, my son lives there! So I will take an extra day to pinch his cheeks and otherwise embarrass him. That’s my job. I have a two day turnaround and I’m out to Cleveland for a taping on……Quilting Arts TV! It seems that everyone else I know has been on QATV so I’m thrilled to have the opportunity. I really do love to tell the world about free motion quilting. Yes, I’ll be spending some time with Susan Brubaker Knapp as…