Is There a Quilter's Migration Pattern?

On the last day of the International Quilt Market I spent an hour in the Accuquilt booth showing off my new die for the GO! cutters, Kay's Bouquets. As I demonstrated the die, I got a little caught up in arranging and rearranging the cut shapes. It was so much fun! 

Eventually they had to drag me out of the booth.

Here's the friendly Accuquilt crew that had to drag me away from the booth. Apparently other people are supposed to demo the cutter too.
 
It's so nice to be part of this quilt community in Houston. Like the little birds in  Birdhouse Garden, we gather once a year to visit, share new ideas, and discuss migration routes.

Sadly, we have to say goodbye today and close the Market booth down. Happily, we will open an expanded version of the Artfabrik booth on Wednesday when Festival begins. Hope your migration route brings you here!

We Should Have a Little Chat

Shy and retiring types, Ricky Tims and me.

It is opening day at the International Quilt Market in Houston and the excitement is a little too much for us shy and retiring types. Like the Oscars of the quilt industry, everyone is here. From publishers like C&T to AccuQuilt die cutters, to The Quilt Show folks and every fabric company you can think of, we have all gathered in honor of the quilt.

The best part is visiting with friends you see but once a year.

The worst part is standing all day long cause you are visiting with friends you see but once a year.

Our little nesting bird has the right idea. She cuddles in her warm nest and watches the moon rise.

And she is thinking, "Some popcorn would be nice. Where can I get some popcorn."

If you have popcorn and are attending Market in Houston, please stop by our booth #1015. There you'll see my new pattern for Nesting Bird and we can talk about our sore feet together.

Surviving the Big Booth Set Up with a Tea Bird

Do you know this building? It's where every quilter wants to be right now. It's the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston TX and the location of the huge International Quilt Market. Fortunately, they haven't moved the building on us so Frieda and I were able to find it yesterday and begin the big booth set up.

Here is Frieda happily contemplating opening our shipped boxes and silently fretting that she forgot something. She did. The cutter to open the boxes.

Hours later. Here I am happily contemplating dinner and a chair. You'll be relieved to know we found the box cutter.
 
Another quilt pattern being introduced at Market is Tea Bird,  a combination of  two wonders of the world, tea and birds. Tea Bird is like getting two amazing things for the price of one. What a deal!

Here's our little Tea Bird contemplating tea. It's a Zen like moment captured in quilt time.

Have I Lost My Dignity? Bird and Dragonfly

Today as I raced through the back yard chasing squirrels from our newly planted tulip bulbs, I had this moment of self-awareness:

Running wildly, shouting, and flapping your arms is not very dignified.

Why can't I be more refined and poised like the little bird above?  She is so serene and contemplative. Bet she doesn't chase squirrels and rile the neighborhood dogs.

You'll be able to see this paragon of poise, Bird and Dragonfly, in our booth #1015 at the Houston Market and Festival. I shall be the noisy one running through the aisles.

What I Forgot to Pack: Flying Home

The name of this new quilt pattern that will be premiering at Houston Market is Flying Home. As you may have guessed it is about my love/hate relationship with airports. So much of my time is spent at O'Hare Airport that I now know the woman who tags my bags by name (Mary). We discuss traffic, restaurants, and quilting while my bags top out at 50 pounds each.

As our little bird dashes for home you see that eager look in her eyes. If she had ruby slippers she would be saying, "There's no place like home." But, of course, she forgot to pack her ruby slippers and has to fly coach instead.

What's for Lunch? Bird and Ladybug

If I can steel myself for another airplane ride, I'll be leaving for Houston soon. At the International Quilt Market Frieda and I will be introducing new patterns and I thought you'd like a preview. Here is the first of my six bird patterns, Bird and Ladybug.

With a set of Pistil Stitches for a hair-do, the little blue bird looks affectionately at the Ladybug. Or is she just hungry?

Want to See the Village People?

This week is filled with anticipation for the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Frieda and I leave this Friday for Quilt Market and later, Festival. One of the first things I'll check out when there is the Tactile Architecture exhibit (above). There you'll find this Artist Village with houses made by 17 different artists.

Hat House

If you see a round house with a peculiar roof  in Tactile Architecture, that's mine! Not sure who would live in such a house. But through the miracle of Velcro, Hat House actually comes apart and folds flat for shipping. Giving new meaning to the term..... mobile home.

Guest Artist: From Way Up North

Garden of Eden by Norma

It was great fun teaching at Quilting on the Waterfront in Duluth MN. Not only was I able to speak my native tongue (Minnesotan) but I met some wonderful people. Above you see a quilt by one of those wonderful people, Norma.

Norma made this in the Garden of Eden class and managed to get it stitched and bound too.  Isn't it stupendous! Thanks Norma for sharing your work with us.

Can She Bake an Apple Pie?

Eve strolling through the garden of Eden. Apple pie anyone?

The second day of Quilting on the Waterfront is complete and I'm happy to report that the Duluth quilters are really talented! In fact, after seeing what my students made in the Garden of Eden class, I am convinced that I should retire. When your students create such beautiful art that you become insanely jealous, it's time to move on.

Maybe I'll take up a hobby instead, like........ baking.

Nah! Like that's going to happen! This is the only apple pie I've made in the last 30 years. I bet Eve didn't bake any apple pies in the Garden of Eden either. She'd say, "Bake your own apple pies Adam. Can't you see I'm trying to deal with this snake!"

Where the Quilters are Strong and the Quilts Good Looking

 
Through the miracle of flight, I have arrived here in Duluth MN for the Quilting on the Waterfront workshops hosted by Helen Smith Stone. The Fowl Play: Birds with No Egrets class is complete and my students made wonderful designs! It's always good to be with fun people.

The barge outside my hotel room on Lake Superior in Duluth.

I like Duluth. It has the clear, cool waters of Lake Superior lapping at it's shore and hardy, brave people who face it every day. Really hardy people. If you've every been there you know there are no wimps in Duluth.

Guest Artist: From Sketch to Color

Isn't this great! Tom, from my Zen Doodle Quilts, sent me this image of a quilt design that he came up with during class in North Carolina at the Cabarrus Guild.

One of the difficulties that I have in translating a sketch or design into fabric is that you have to take it from it's black and white state to color. Adding color changes the entire feel of the design. This can be a real stumbling block, especially if you are in love with the black and white sketch. In Tom's case, he was very successful. Thanks for sharing your work with us Tom!

It's That Time of Year, Beware!

Driving down the highway is such a thrill this time of year. Hugh flocks of birds are sweeping through the sky, separating into new groups, and swooping together again.

As the leaves on the trees change and the birds migrate my attention also swoops from one car window to the another.  Beware! I am one distracted driver.

Guest Artists: Look at These Winners!

Congratulations to 2 members of the North Augusta Quilt Guild who started their quilts in my workshops and won ribbons!  Sandie won a first place ribbon for art quilts/amateur. Started in my Tiny Homes class, she first build several fused collages and then went on to add lots of stitchery to the surface and a great border.  Wow!

Beth Brown was in my Garden of Eden class where we first free cut flower shapes then make a background and add bias-fused stems and leaves. Notice the wonderful stitching. She received an Honorable Mention for this doozie of a design.

It stirs my heart to see them win ribbons. I am so very proud!

My Lovely Assistant is Evaluated

It's been an eye-opening experience traveling with my lovely assistant across the country. And, as her employer, it's my duty to assess her performance and give the necessary feedback.

On one hand she provides me with endless entertainment value. She cackles on key and pecks a mighty mean xylophone.

On the other hand she is a complete dolt.

Perhaps as an employee she needs a little more.......seasoning. I'm thinking a little salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic with a touch of lemon juice.

My Lovely Assistant Gets into Fusing

After day 3 here at PIQF, my class, Tiny Homes, is complete. Expectations were high for students to produce stunning work. And they did! It is said that Californian quilters have a keen sense of design, color, and frivolity. My kind of people!

Regretfully, it has become clear to me that my lovely assistant is not my kind of people. Again she has proven to be an idiot. At one point in class she managed to trap herself between fusible web and fabric. Only quick thinking on my part saved her from being fused flat between fabric and glue thus saving her from becoming a..... grilled chicken sandwich.

My Lovely Assistant Cuts It A Little Close

We've completed day 2 at PIQF with the Four Little Landscapes class. This class involves the creating of very small landscapes using a really big imagination. My students did great work and were most entertaining!

In a buoyant mood, I performed an act of selfless generosity during class: I insisted that my lovely assistant take a break from aiding me in the classroom and go view the quilt show.

That was a mistake! She was so overwhelmed by the exhibit that upon her return she could not concentrate on helping students cut their fabric. As you can see, disaster ensued. Luckily, I always travel with a tourniquet and band-aide for such occasions.

My Lovely Assistant Lays an Egg

Day 1 of teaching at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara CA is complete. And I am totally exhausted! Why you ask? Because my lovely assistant over-slept and was late to class. So I had to schlep my own bags and set up the classroom myself without any aid from "Miss Chicken a la Queen".

On the other hand, the Fowl Play: Birds with No Egrets class went well and produced wonderfully creative quilts. It's good to know that despite my lovely assistant's behavior, I can at least count on quilters to make my day!

Why My Lovely Assistant Has a Few Regrets

We are on the road gain! This time we travel to PIQF in lovely Santa Clara CA. Classes include: Four Little Landscapes, Tiny Homes, and Fowl Play: Birds With No Egrets. Although, one bird I know has a few regrets.

Out of economic necessity (and a tendency to peck at flight attendants) my lovely assistant had to fly cargo-hold class. Apparently it's a little chilly in cargo-hold class. Just look at those goose bumps! But the TSA kindly checked up on her to assure she was comfortable.

Meet the Graduates with a Minor in Zen Doodle Quilts

Renee, a Focus Group member and Master Zen Doodler

It was great fun visiting the Cabarrus Quilters (also known as my Focus Group) in North Carolina.These brave people are the first to take the Zen Doodle Quilt class I developed just for these brave people.

Pat's design and execution of her Zen Doodle

All in all I'd say it went well. There were no major calamities, disasters, or melt downs. And as you know, there is no crying in fusing, so that was good.

Karen's doodle and quilt design in progress

And the artwork they produced from their own doodles turned out extremely well. Yes, I am proud to say they are now all graduates of the Chicago School of Fusing with a Minor in Zen Doodling. A degree I am sure they will treasure for years to come. Thanks Cabarrus Quilters for hosting me!

What They Are Doing Way, Way, Way Down South

Meet the members of a quilting class at the "Festival Brasileiro de Quilt e Patchwork" in Gramado/RS Brazil. Don't they look cheerful! That's because their teacher, Maria Lúcia Ázara, is such a great teacher. 

Maria Lúcia based her class (go way to the bottom of this page) on the Pretty Planet quilts from my article in the June/July edition of  Quilting Arts. Thank you for the photos Maria Lúcia!

Isn't it wonderful we can see what other quilt makers are doing around the world? That's what makes it such a pretty planet!

Can This Focus Group Focus?

Early this morning I depart for a visit with the Cabarrus Quilters in the lovely state of North Carolina. These quilters have unknowingly become part of a "focus group" for my Zen Doodle Quilts class.

It seems they were interested in my article in the April/May 2011 issue of Quilting Arts magazine called, Zen Doodle Quilts: Using Free-style Doodles for Art Quilt Design. Their request that I do a class based upon the article came in March.

"Sure!" I said, "Why not! After all, I know were of I speak!"

This may not be true. Making artwork and teaching others how to make artwork are two different animals as any good scientist experimenting with animals will tell you.

The lucky Cabarrus  guild is the first to be exposed to this experiment called Zen Doodle Quilts and therefore are a "focus group". Can they remain focused during the class? Can the teacher remain focused? Does she need new glasses?  We shall see!

Meet My Lovely Assistant

 I know what you're thinking. Who is that chicken and what does she have around her neck?

In a desperate move to pack for every teaching event I have for the next month, I have resorted to hiring help. This chicken is aiding me by holding the silk thread used in my kits for  my class at the International Quilt Festival. I'm teaching a class called Silk Flake Flowers, a class unique to the Festival which may never be repeated again!

 Pretty sure the Houston class is full but you can catch a class with me at Quilting on the Waterfront in Duluth, October  20 - 22. It will be gorgeous in Duluth at that time of year! Sadly, no chickens are involved in the Quilting on the Waterfront classes although I am teaching Fowl Play, Birds with No Egrets. Come join me!