As I post this blog, the Super Seminar is getting under way in Hyannis Cape Cod - Oh sure, we have heard about the unwelcome guest -Hurricane Earl - knocking at the door. But "so what?!" we all proclaimed - "We are quilters - and you can't keep a good quilter down!" The WOO - HOO Nation of Cape Cod is underway - ready to laugh, learn and enjoy the good life of quilting!
Did you know that September is National Sewing Month? Well, what are you going to do about it? Is it time to finish your BOM or is it time to START your BOM.
Are you looking for some quick projects to make as gifts for Christmas? Did you know that there are over 5 pages of projects in the Projects section? Everything from lunch bags, to bean bag blankets, to place mats, and stuffed owls can be found there.
How about taking a few classes? Some of the world's top instructors are right here on TQS, Jinny Beyer, Ricky Tims, Alex Anderson, and more.
Or how about finding out what your Bernina can do? Why not watch an educational Bernina Video?
And just for fun, why not check out the Events section and see if there are any quilt shows in your area.
Whatever you do, keep on sewing, keep on creating, and keep on quilting.
Quilters all around the world look for ways to exchange their ideas and expand their horizons. One of those ways is through a block exchange.
Have you ever participated in a block exchange? Was it with your closest friends, people you met in the guild, or internet buddies around the world? What were the rules? Were you happy with the results? Would you do it again? What did you gain from the experience?
(The quilt on the right is the result of a "star" block exchange.)
I desinged this quilt and made it. It was my first quilt. I used cross stitched centers of the flowers for the states we have lived in. When a child was born in that state I put the name and BD in there also. First blocks were my husband and I's BD and state we were born in. Then the center upper block is our wedding date and state we were married in.
It's time to begin stitching the September block(s) for your Block of the Month quilt. If you're working on Hugs and Kisses, this month's "assignment" is a block of lovely crossed leaves (above left). If you're working on Star Crazy, you'll be making more Little Stars; X, Shoo Fly, and Road (above right).
No matter which BOM you've chosen, you're sure to pick up lots of useful info and tips from Sue Garman's great instructions
To download the September BOM pattern for Hugs and Kisses,click here. To download the September patterns for Star Crazy,click here. And be sure to catch Alex's new classroom lesson's here on Applique featuring our Hugs and Kisses BOM. Alex helps you work to improve your skills.
In the meantime, for surefire inspiration, visit the BOM section of Show and Tell (be sure to click "Show BOM ONLY" view) to view the beautiful blocks already posted by fellow TQS members.
I made this for my brother in Oregon in 2006 for his 5th wheel. Instead he put it on the bed in his hauler, a place of honor really! He LOVES this quilt and there will never be another quilt that will be so well received the way this one was.
Wow! In the history of quilting we do not know of any reported cases of drive-by quiltings and suddenly within a matter of three days there have been three drive-by quiltings and one drive-by misfire. Read all about the excitement and enjoy all the stories and the quilts (HERE) - my new drive-by quiltings web page - a place you might want to bookmark so you can easily check back from time to time. The most recent drive-bys are at the top, so scroll down if you want to read chronologically.
The drive-by quilting is a challenge - or a game of sorts. Anyone can follow my journey and if I'm passing their way, they have the opportunity to send me a message notifying me that they they are making the attempt. They have to let me know exactly where along our route they will be. The must meet up with us - usually by getting to an overpass and displaying a quilt as we zoom by. I can tell you from experience, that while it happens in only seconds - it's one of the coolest things I've experienced - a glorified traveling show-and-tell, if you will.
I take a photo and post it. After it's over I ask them to write about the experience and tell me about their quilts. That's what you'll find on my Drive-by Quiltings link.
Kudos to those who managed to make the list. We'll be traveling again next week, Sunday-Wednesday. Our route, location and current times are all found on my Facebook and Twitter pages so be sure to "like" my Facebook page and "follow" me on Twitter.
Attention all RIcky Tims' Super Seminar Attendees, it's looks like Hurricane Earl might be sideswiping the Seminar this weekend in Hyannis Port.
TQS would like you to check in towww.RickyTims.com and watch the blog for status on the weather and status of the Super Seminar.
We are keeping an eye on things. We do not expect having to cancel this event - quite the contrary, we plan to be hearty quilters and weather it together.
This from Cape Cod Today - 08/31/10
"Our local forecasters all agree that the storm will miss us to the SE, yet they all also agree that Cape Cod and all of SE Massachusetts could suffer tropical storm conditions...Earl Lite." Read more.
The Dream Rocket Project needs your help and they need your vote. The Dream Rocket Project is part of the non-profit International Fiber Collaborative, an organization serving in the fields of Art & Education. They aim to inspire younger and older generations to challenge themselves in fields such as health, conservation, science, technology, space, peace, and community through using arts and collaboration as a catalyst for social change and understanding.
The Pepsi Refresh Project is giving away $1,300,000 each month to fund great ideas. They are looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact. The Dream Rocket project is hoping to earn some of that grant money.
You are allowed to vote 1 time every day for the month of August. Projects Ranked 1 - 10 win 50k at the end of the month. Projects ranked 11 - 100 at the end of the month stay in the competition for the next month, and projects above 100 at the end of the month are out for good.
To learn more about the Dream Rocket Project, click here. To learn more about the Pepsi Refresh Project and other great ideas, click here.
If you love to collect tips—and to fuse—you’ll love this show! First, Jennifer Keltner, editor of American Patchwork & Quilting, shares “Tricks in Your Toolbox: Top 10 Quilt Tips”—a sampling of great ideas for making your quilting experience even more enjoyable, accurate, and efficient. Next, quilt artist and teacher Frieda Anderson joins us for a show and tell of her fabulously fused quilts and to demonstrate how she builds a fusible appliqué design and how to make a decorative-edged fused binding. Finally, in a moving field piece, TQS visits New York City to view The National Tribute Quilt, conceived and orchestrated by the Steel Quilters of United States Steel Corporation in response to the events of September 11, 2001. Keep the Kleenex handy. Click here to watch the show.
Hello Quilt Campers. This week's tutorial is a quick and fun oilcloth lunch bag from Dorie at Tumbling Blocks. It's a great way to send your school bound student off in style with a colorful lunch bag that is both eco-friendly and easily wipe able. You might want to make a few for others in the family as well.
Be sure to check out each week's project on our Projects pagehere. Share your creative versions of any of our projects in Show and Tellhere.
My first fairly intricate piecing attempt. I learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence by the time this was finished. This quilt is on our bed again this year, now that the weather is cooler. I look at it every night and still feel good about this very early quilt, but I also know what I would do differently if I were to make it again. I guess that is what it is all about....growing and learning!! Made mostly with Jo Morton fabrics. My first attempt at FMQ feathers and wreaths!
Hey to the Ricky Tims' Whoo-hoo Nation! Shouting out to Kathyl for playing along in our Drive-by Quilting adventure. She stood on the overpass at mile marker 242 in Iowa City, Iowa as we zoomed by. Wow - I'm not bored anymore. Who's next? We're moving on east. Morris, IL tonight, Buffalo, NY tomorrow night, then on to Cape Cod. Stay tuned here, but the fastest updates are on Facebook and Twitter.
Kathyl had given me the heads up - with, "Leaving the house with a small top I made with my GO! cutter from Alex's pattern. I'll see if I can find a way to be visible. Might be tricky."
So we hit the road this morning heading east from Lincoln, Nebraska. The goal today is to stop for the night in Morris, IL just west of Joliet and Chicago. We'll be traveling on I-80. Tomorrow night (Monday) our goal is Buffalo, NY - then on to Hyannis arriving Tuesday evening.
Hey, why not wave a quilt as we drive by? If you live on I80 tell us what mile marker you'll be at and wave your quilt as we drive by. Who will be the first to participate in a Drive-by Quilting? I'll put comments here letting you know our progress. The photo above is our rig so you'll know what to look for.
My posts on Facebook and Twitter will be more frequent so you can pretty much have a good idea of when we'll be driving by your way. We can't stop, but if we know you'll be at mile marker "x", then we can wave and take a photo of you and your quilt as we drive by. Any takers? Can you tell I'm already bored? Can TQS members create a little excitement? We'll see.
This was started in a 1 day class taught by Judy Niemeyer held at a local Denver quilt shop in 2005. I finished the top the summer of 2006 and had it long arm quilted.
Justin and I have just finished eleven and a half hours of driving. We left La Veta this morning heading to Cape Cod (Hyannis, MA) for our Ricky Tims Super Quilt Seminar. We have made it to Lincoln, Nebraska for the night. We hope to make the drive in four days. Someone wondered if I stopped flying to places because one of my quilt was lost (then found) during an international flight this year. Not so. It is out of necessity that we drive. Is this a trip, a journey, or a quest? I'll let you decide after reading the facts.
1. We drive because we are pulling a trailer containing everything it takes to produce the event: boxes of syllabi, store merchandise, stage set-up, and of course, quilts, quilts, quilts! We also take audio and video equipment.
2. Because we are wagging a trailer, and because we have a schedule to keep, there are no side trips or stops. At the hotels, we usually have to call out for pizza so we don't have to haul a trailer to a restaurant. So, no, there's no stopping at every quilt shop along the way. However, we wave at all of you as we zoom by.
3. What do we do during all those long hours on the road? Well, today for example, there were about three hours of conference calls relating to - you guessed it - The Quilt Show. I spent about 3 hours writing an article for an upcoming issue of The Quilt Life, and I was able to weed through my photos I took at the Lady Gaga concert in Denver (see above). Yes, I went, yes, it was AWESOME! No, I'm not crazy - just ask Alex. I posted several quick posts on my Facebook page (go there and "like" me). We jammed to rock classics from Justin's iTunes playlists.
4. Because our new truck (and much of our equipment) was stolen a few years back (the morning before setup for a seminar) we bring all critical things into the hotel. It takes several trips even with a cart. Included in this endeavor are our clothes suitcases, all of our electronics, and all of the quilts (the most critical) - which is several cases. Each morning, it all has to be carted back out and repacked into the truck and trailer. - are you tired yet?
This will continue for the next three days and nights before we arrive at our destination. There I will meet Alex and John (Alex teaches at the seminar) and also Libby Lehman.
Next Thursday we will gather with our volunteers to set up. It takes about 5 hours. Then the registrants arrive and the fun begins. There is nothing that can describe this, but trust me - it's worth all the effort we go through to make it happen. - oh, and then there's the four day drive home following the same format we took to get here. The dog sitter is waiting - so, there is a deadline to get home too!
You decide - is it a Trip - a Journey - or a Quest?
We have our winners for the Superior Threads silk thread giveaway! They are Carol Muller, Susan Entwistle, and Laura Jaszkowski. Susan and Laura have their own blogs; to see Susan's blog, click here and Laura has her blog here.
These three lucky winners will receive 5 spools of 220 yard silk thread in the colors of their choice courtesy of Superior Threads. Thanks, Dr. Bob!
And WE knew all along........ that quilting is not just for Grannies - but for everyone. Check out this wonderful piece TQS Sugarmuffins 57 found on youtube to share. Hats off to Carolyn Hwang.
The Quilters' Guild of New South Wales has been kind enough to send TQS photographs of the award-winning quilts in this year's Sydney Quilt Show. The Sydney Quilt Show is an annual members' exhibition presented by The Quilters' Guild of NSW Inc. in conjunction with the Craft & Quilt Fair. The show ran from June 16 through June 20, 2010 at the Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour.
Over 300 member quilts were exhibited along with What Tickles Your Fancyguild challenge quilts, wearables, a retrospective by guest exhibitor, Cheryl Bridgart, Best of Australia quilts sponsored by Bernina, and much more. The next exhibition is set for June 22-26, 2011.
Kay Haerland, who won Best of Show in 2010, also presented a retrospective of her stunning pictorial quilts at the Sydney Quilt Show this year. If you are interested in seeing more of Kay's work, please visit her website at www.kayhaerland.com.
All images copyright The Quilters' Guild of NSW Inc.; Photography Credits: Nathanael Hughes, Aperture.
This week's Top 100 Puzzle was created by Jennie C. Trein in 1932. It is called Sunday School Picnic. Jennie was quite a woman. She made her first quilt at 10 and completed over 100 in her lifetime. Quilting wasn't her only passion, she played the piano and cornet, sang in the church choir for over 60 years, taught bible classes to children and made over 300 rugs.
Jennie said about the quilt "and tho my hands were busy I looked out into the orchard where was a homemade table, from which we ate the world-famous cooking of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Then and there my thoughts ran into space. To design and make (for myself) a 'Sunday School Picnic' quilt."
This is the last weekend of the Back to School Sale in the Shoppe. Get the Series 6 DVD and lots of great deals. We are cleaning house so Hurry, it's all while it lasts! Click Here.
In Lesson 5 of Free-Motion Fun this week, Patsy is showing you how to quilt your borders. We're winding our way to the finish. If you need to catch up with past videos, click here.
Next week, in the final lesson, Patsy will be stitching feathers and showing you how to as well. And keep your eyes peeled for a special surprise from Patsy!
(For those of you who have asked, Patsy's pattern is not currently available, however may be in the future. We'll do our best to keep you informed.)
Some of our members have hundreds of quilting books about all sorts of topics and techniques. Some have only a few that they equally treasure.
Okay the title above is not just a Fancy alliteration but the fun you have coming up this weekend with Patsy Thompson's Free Motion Video.
