A pioneer and  newcomer join Alex & Ricky on Day 2.

The Classroom is open for everyone to learn Free motion quilting.  Join Patsy Thompson for these great lessons. There are Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Lessons.  Get out some practice fabric and have a ball.

Sheila Frampton-Cooper, aka Zoombaby, had another quilt in Road to California 2012.  Her quilt, A View From Above, took 3rd place, Art Abstract.  Here is what Sheila has to say about her quilt.

This originally started as a very small color study, but to my surprise and enjoyment, it decided to grow. I've observed that when you allow the energy to flow without an agenda, you are given a gift. Several people said, "hey, it looks like the view from the plane when you are flying over the midwest". I recently flew from OH to LA, and looked out of the window and wow, there it was, my view from above.

It took Sheila three solid months to piece the top and another 6 weeks to quilt it.

A View From Above - 35 pieces non-rotating

A View From Above - 96 pieces non-rotating

A View From Above - 96 pieces rotating

A View From Above - 252 pieces non-rotating

A View From Above - 300 pieces rotating

Episode 3 of Why Quilts Matter - The Quilt Marketplace debuts today.

Here's what the folks at Why Quilts Matter have to say about this exciting episode:

"The marketplace for quilts has always been a bit of a mystery. It's hard to understand why some quilts are so much pricier than others, and why some old quilts aren't worth anything at all. And how can an artist ask $10,000 for a brand new quilt...and get it? In this episode of Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics, host Shelly Zegart takes you behind the scenes in the quilt marketplace-past and present-where you will meet its players, learn its unwritten rules, and penetrate its secrets. Discover why one 19th-century quilt was worth $264,000 and how a quilt can go from $150 to $20,000 as it passes from picker to dealer, up the ladder of expertise. Find out how artists price their quilts in the contemporary market and how technology is changing the playing field forever."

Featuring appearances by Shelly Zegart, Susan Parrett, Pat Garthoeffner, Susan Kramer Hunkins, Rod Lich, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Gerald Roy, Karen Musgrave, John M. Walsh III, Mariya Waters and (yay! Our very own!!) Ricky Tims.

This episode  is available free to all Star Members through March 31, 2012. Each week a new episode will be presented:

Episode 1 - Quilts 101 - Antique and Contemporary Quilts
Episode 2 - Quilts Bring History Alive
Episode 3 - The Quilt Marketplace
Episode 4 - What is Art?
Episode 5 - Gee's Bend: "The Most Famous Quilts in America?"
Episode 6 - How Quilts have been Viewed and Collected
Episode 7 - Empowering Women One Quilt at a Time
Episode 8 - Quilt Nation - 20,000,000 and Counting!
Episode 9 - Quilt Scholarship: Romance and Real

RaNae Merrill, our guest on Episode 1003- From Doodles to Quilts is sharing some of her extraordinary quilts with us. As a child, quilt designer, teacher, and author RaNae Merrill spent hours doodling on her favorite toy, a Kenner Spirograph. You just might notice the influence this toy had on a number of her quilts.

Purchase RaNae's book - Magnificent Sprial Mandala Quilts here.

If you'd like to see more of her quilts and learn their stories, visit RaNae's website.