Teaching at AQS Des Moines Show in October!

"Podflowers, Froth, Diane-shiko, Pearls...."

After taking some time off from travel and teaching, I have signed on to teach at the AQS Show in Des Moines, IA this October 3-6, '12.  I know many have emailed me regarding my schedule, so I am hoping to see some of you at this event.  You can get all the information at www.americanquilter.com under the "Quilt Shows" menu. 

I'll be teaching some 3-hour classes, and two 6-hour classes geared for home machine quilters. 

There is always a bit of repetition in all of these if you do sign up for more than one, so be prepared to hear some of the info each time.  What we quilt will be different in all of them.  If you want to learn some tips on good free motion quilting, any of the classes will be fine, so don't stress about which one to take.  If you register early you'll be able to choose which one will work best for you.

In the "It's Bananas!" class I'll show you how to quilt this beautiful design, and we'll try some different threads, combine with them with other motifs (if there is time).  In a short class like this I try to spend time with each student so I can give you some individual help, and the rest is instruction for the entire class.   Because the size of the class is large and time is so limited, there is only a short time to be spent with you individually.  I believe because we will have provided machines there will be reps from the company there to help everyone with the machines.

One six-hour class is  all about Perfecting your Machine Quilting.  We'll problem solve, get good stitches, and work on some pretty motifs.  I think it will be a great day.

The other day class is  all about learning to quilt free motion freehand echo feathers.  We'll start easy and work up to some more intricate designs.  These are organic but can be made to look very formal, so it works for both styles of quilting.  Again, we'll also talk about stitch quality, consistency, tension, thread choices, etc. 

Come prepared to dive right in, take some notes, quilt on a provided machine (I think I'll have Berninas but that can always change).  Then you go home, relax, do it some more on your own machine and use the class materials as your reference. 

If you practice some more at home before the class info fades away it helps so much to reinforce what you learn.  Then go ahead and use it in a real quilt. 

Sometimes it's a good idea to prepare something ahead of time to quilt so when you GET HOME there won't be any wasted time.  Also, think of it as a "sacrifice quilt," don't worry if there will be mistakes made in it.  Feel free to experiment on it as you learn to improve you quilting. 

If you have questions about the class, what to bring, your experience, etc., email me ahead of time:  dianequilter@sbcglobal.net

I'm so looking forward to a lovely fall drive to Des Moines, and meeting many quilters I've not had the chance to work with so far.  And of course, seeing a splendid quilt show too.  Oliver says, "Be there!"

Stay cool in this scorching heat,

Diane

Pincushions!

After cleaning my sewing room last month I discovered many pincushions here and there, all hidden away since the arrival of Oliver on the scene, with his penchant for eating pins, threads, sticky tape (don't ask.....).  I keep two in the drawer of my sewing machine cabinet and am careful to keep those drawers firmly closed, and I tried displaying the other ones with no pins in them, but alas they became fabulous cat toys.

Beads were especially attractive and could be eaten.  The antique metal rabbit clunked to the floor but survived, so these had to be put away for now.  I love looking at them and miss seeing them, but when Oliver matures and can appreciate Mom's things, they will be brought out and enjoyed again.  Oh there are many more, this little group is just the tip of the collection.  I still have my old tomato from years gone by when I did garment sewing.

Many of these were gifts, including the new black one with the delicious pearl/bead trim at the top, from the recent Lake Geneva WQI retreat.  I attended Show and Tell there last Saturday night and had a wonderful time, saw some amazing quilts, and laughed a lot too.  Check out this event for next year if you want to get away for a quiet, peaceful weekend of sewing/quilting, delicious food, friendly people, and a beautiful location.

Oliver immediately was black-eyed excited over the new pincushion, realized it was from an exciting foreign (not our house) locale, and full of mystery and possibilities.  I had to put it away immediately. 

It is Memorial Day weekend coming up, and I hope to do some quilting, even if it is only "playing at my machine."  I am busy setting up some classes for October, and will post those as soon as they are finalized. 

My grandma used to call this holiday "Decoration Day" and the graves of not only fallen soldiers but family members too were decorated with wreaths, freshly planted flowers, flags.  Take a moment to remember on this special day those who have given their lives for their country, and those we no longer have with us but miss so much.

And try some quilting!  Warm weather is a great time to quilt,

Diane

Playing at Your Machine

Even though it is spring and everyone is busy with a zillion spring things, take some time to play at your sewing machine with your quilting.  It's something you put off, think of it as the dreaded PRACTICE, but for me it is always a little escape into the world of relaxing quilting. 

It's not a project, you won't ruin anything, and you can work at one thing at a time and not stress over everything looking perfect.  Concentrate on a design, or getting stitches/tension looking their best.  Experiment with different colors or threads or styles.  Hone your skill when you decide on what looks best.  Repeat the design many times, spend some hours at one thing.

One of the things I notice about students is their impatience, and wanting to jump from one thing to the next too quickly.  Settle in, say to yourself that you will really get to know a design.  Change the scale, color of thread, use it as focal point, try it smaller as a fill. 

I used a leftover class demo sample to sit and play awhile back, good quality washed muslin, wool batt, silk thread.  I use the things I will quilt with in a real quilt for this practice time, this experimenting, this "what if...." session.

Above I used a class sample I had quilted already of headbands done in a variegated #50 Aurifil cotton thread, and quilted some small feathers around them.  They then became a focal point design, and I could have added a few echo lines and then some smaller backgrounds and I would have had something new and interesting to add to a setting square or place in a quilt that needed "something."

Above, some spirals that went right into feathers on the outside.  I tried to overlap them but didn't like the thread build-up that made it look messy, so if ever used, they would be isolated probably.  I did some  dark thread warm-up and then played a bit with some ink on that area. 

Here is an experiment with some larger stipple shape I call in my mind "linear stippling" because it is long echoing shapes of the stipple.  In the top left it started as triangles that I used to teach in Ripple Stipple, but the effect can be more loose and open, relaxed, but still very ripply.  It is a usable variation on something I already know how to do well, a nice design I can save and use at some point.

Some tips for playing at your machine:

•  Give yourself adequate time for a session.  If it's only 10 minutes, oil the machine instead.
• Start with something you know and warm up until you feel loose and relaxed.  Then try to morph that design just a bit, or add something to it.
• Take notes right on the sample because you won't remember.  Color of thread, tension, needle, even degree of difficulty for you.
• Save the samples in a special place, box, drawer, shelf, so that you can find them later.  When you are working on a quilt, get this out ahead of time and start thinking if any of your ideas will work. 
• To refresh a skill done in the sample, rather than starting on a clean sample, quilt some more on the previous sample near the design itself.  Your brain will take in the previous quilting, and key off it, providing the visual you need to recreate it after some time has passed.
• Your machine will like the time you spend with it.  Now that I know I must USE my machines and not just store the ones I don't use frequently (yes I do have several, have kept them all over the years), this is a great way to keep them up and running well.
• When you return from quilt inspiration such as a guild meeting, a class, a quilt show, try some of the things you were excited about using right away or you'll forget about them.  Create a lasting sample, and capitalize on the experience and sights you've just had.

I know when I got this sample out I had forgotten about my Giant Fronds, and saw them, immediately wanted to use them in a real quilt.  And then the new bubble wrap design.....and more.

Hope this has inspired some of you to take a Sunday afternoon and spend it at your machine!

Keep quilting! Your work gets better every day....

Diane

Paducah Winners

I had a wonderful brief fast frenzied time in Paducah, was sorry I couldn't be there longer, but there is always next time.  I saw many familiar faces and enjoyed Sneak Peak of the show, and toured the museum.  The quilts were beautiful.

To see photos of the winning quilts, click here.  There are videos of the quilts and interviews with winners, always great to watch.

The postcard above by Ruth Ohol was sent to me several years ago after I whined in class that my trip took way too long with all the road construction.  Well, there was still quite a bit, not as bad, but it added another hour to my 500 mile drive.  I am still somewhat the shape of the car seat and have swollen feet and an aching body from all the hours driving. 

Here I am posing with a fabulous flamingo, after lunch with Ann Fahl.  We each did the tourist thing and posed with the local color. 

It was at Flamingo Row restaurant in Paducah, and we had a delightful time, the motifs and colors just what we needed.  The food was yummy too.  The area at the front of the building had sand as fill and beach grass, flamingoes, painted signage, etc., so whimsical and fun, and in Paducah! 

On to the show.  The big winners that were machine quilted were all about the thread - contrast thread that "painted" the picture, lots of metallics too.  Susan Stewart's Bernina Award quilt featured a design made with digitized machine embroidery with lush feathers and minute background quilting on ivory Radiance fabric that she specially pieced so that the grainline would not show light/dark but was all uniform.  It was delicate, almost bridal in effect.

Judy Woodworth's Best Longarm quilt was a whole cloth design on black sateen fabric with colored threads, striking.  Do listen to her interview, it is delightful.

Sue McCarty's BOS was also a celebration of thread used to create the design in her quilt titled "Harmony Within."  There is also an interview with her, and one with Cheryl See who won the Hand Workmanship Award.  Getting the information from these quilters is great, and is  one of the perks of going.  Talking to them and seeing these quilts up close in person is the very best way to appreciate all the quilts. 

Congrats to Pat Holly for her Best Wall Quilt Award for "Imagining India," terrific.  Beautiful use of silk fabrics and color, fantastic machine work too.  I even got to talk to her!

Ellen Heck's first place quilt, "Baltimore in the Provence" was simply splendid, so glad I was able to see that one in person.  Quietly perfect.

The excitement, the quilts, the lovely weather, seeing friends made it very special for me.  Oliver missed me, and is still purring.

Diane

Spring Cleaning

Greetings from chilly Wisconsin, USA!  We had our early taste of summer in March but now it is March in April, a bit confusing.  Because it's cold and windy and I cannot find anything anymore ever at all in my sewing room, Oliver and I have been spring cleaning for a few days with about a week left to get to the floor in every corner, in every nook.  He claimed his spot on some old jeans destined for donation while he worried over what was happening.  Soon he realized this was big fun indeed.

It has been a journey through layers of "stuff" collected and saved or merely squished into spaces over the past 18 years.  My quilting life and career unfolded before me as we dug and sorted, saved and tossed, organized and even had a few tears shed. 

Old letters, old photos were wonderful to find, some of my childhood ones thought to be lost were found.  Photos from quilt events, stellar moments all brought back as each one was unearthed.  Cards and notes from students over the years are treasures to be kept.

I found some old wood robin eggs and an antique bowl, so put them out for Easter and let Oliver roll them around on the hardwood floors.  They make a satisfactory rumbling noise, for a little while at least, and then new things are there for him to discover.

Samples of quilting, notebooks of ideas and sketches, blank notebooks, old books and magazines, and so much that I had that I have no idea why I didn't throw out right away.  There was that light for my rotary cutter and probably 20 or more mechanical pencils.  I guess items from teacher gift bags were hard to throw away as these were "perfectly good things" and who knows, might be needed some day.  Ha. 

I hope to finish up this week, and then take a vacation to the quilt show at Paducah next week and relax and enjoy the quilts, the town, seeing old friends. 

Thanks to everyone for the fabulous comments on my "Blossom's Journey" quilt to be auctioned at the live auction Thursday p.m. in the food tent by the Expo Center at Paducah to benefit the National Quilt Museum.  It has arrived at the museum, ready for the show and auction.  Please stop by and see it beforehand at the Expo Center. 

Below, some of the quilt challenge fabrics, all by Moda except for the gold/green solid and that's a Caryl Byer Fallert gradations from Benartex that I added to the mix.  The soft plaid is very thin, almost handkerchief weight, and next to it the stripe is a coarse home dec cotton, so it was just a tad challenging to have it all work out in the piecing.  But the contrast makes it interesting and visually a delight.  My piecing was simple and easy but some of the other quilters used these fabrics in complex designs, a true challenge.

See you soon, and meanwhile, keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day....

Diane

"Blossom's Journey"

"Blossom's Journey"

Pilgrim/Roy Challenge Quilt 2012

Live Auction AQS Show, Paducah 2012

40 1/2" square

My quilt is finished!  I was invited to be part of this year's Pilgrim and Roy Challenge, a group of quilts made by well known quilters to be auctioned live at the AQS show in Paducah to raise funds for the National Quilt Museum. 

The quilts were due last April but because of health problems I was unable to complete mine until this winter.  But it's done, will be exhibited at the quilt show in the convention center with the other magnificent quilts already featured and displayed this past year.  To see them and think about bidding on one or more of them, click here.

The quilt auction is Thursday evening April 26, 6-8 p.m. with food available beforehand in the food tent.

You can bid online if you won't be at the event:  http://www.quiltmuseum.org/auction1.html

The quilt was made of a packet of challenge fabrics by Moda from Hancock's of Paducah, and I added two additional fabrics to complete the design.  Quilting motifs are original, including the animals from my Quilting Whimsy digitized embroidery designs for OESD.

The animals were traced to the quilt, but the feathers surrounding it are done freehand and are not symmetrical or matching, totally organic.  I thought the birds, cats, and rabbits looked best surrounded by flowing natural greenery.

I used YLI #100 silk thread and YLI Sparkle thread, and Pellon Legacy wool batt, and the lovely piping/binding was made using Susan Cleveland's Piping Hot Binding materials, book, and technique, which worked wonderfully.  Love it.

Below is a detail of the border quilting. 

I will add more photos in an upcoming post so if you are interested in purchasing this quilt you will have more detailed information.  If you are going to the AQS Show in Paducah, you can see it there, which is always so much better than a photo.  The motifs are outlined in taupe/gold YLI Sparkle thread which gives it such a richness and vintage warmth. 

All of the quilters involved in this project made stunning quilts, and we hope you will be generous and bid and support the museum.  Your contribution will be tax deductible, plus you will own a piece of quilting history from some of your favorite iconic quilters. 

I hope whatever quilt you choose to buy you will be thrilled with this opportunity to own and see every single day something that will enrich your life so much and do so much to support our museum.  The museum belongs to all of us, and we have to do as much as we can to support it. 

The story of this quilt is all about Blossom, a lovely and amazingly sweet little tabby cat who found our home in the snows and ice of February, and went through a long and incredible journey of trust with us to find a new life. 

While that was going on, I made this quilt, a happy diversion for Oliver and me, and included the two cats on it to represent this ordeal.  The "Trip Around the World" pattern is very fitting indeed.  It has a good ending, and Blossom has a new home with a family in our town.  The quilt I hope will find a new home too.

Please spread the word about these quilts so as many people as possible will know about them and think about buying one of them.  I thank you so much.

I am making plans to go to Sneak Preview at the AQS Paducah show and opening day, so please say hi if you see me, whip out a feather plume to show me, and I will be happy.  Can't wait to see the quilts, see old friends, do some shopping, see what everyone has been making!

Keep quilting,  your work gets better every day!

Diane

Art Quilt Exhibit

"Waiting for Breakfast" ~ Ann Fahl

Yesterday we braved monsoon rains and drove an hour south to the Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha, WI to view the Quilts in Color Exhibit on display through tomorrow.  We arrived 15 minutes before it opened, so sneaked in a major lunch to wile away some time.  When we returned the rain was not as heavy and we ran to the front door, and walked in to a world of glorious color and design. 

The exhibit showcases the works of major art quilters: Ann Fahl, Melodie Johnson, Marcia Stein, Barbara J. Schneider, Gloria Hansen, and Rhonda Rodero. 

It was wonderful to get a dose of quilting, to be able to see these quilts displayed so beautifully in a splendid old mansion, each one spot-lit perfectly.  The threads twinkled and glowed, the colors were rich and vibrant.  I think some of these quilts left an impression on my retinas that lasted for hours!  Perfect viewing on a rainy spring day.

Loved the variety too, soft colors in the abstract quilts that reminded me of the shimmering rain on pavement right outside the French doors, looking out to Lake Michigan, a stone's throw away.  Intense color in Melodie Johnson's work,  the illusions and depth created by Gloria Hansen, and oh the whimsy of Marcia Stein. 

Ann Fahl's quilts were all on the main level, and hung perfectly so there were sight lines where a quilt could be seen from many feet away, perfectly framed.  Then you strolled up as close as you could get to see the individual thread colors and stitches.  Her cat quilts were fantastic seen all together.  I had the chance to look at them and spend some time not only enjoying the overall look, but seeing up close how things were done.  Although much of it did appear to be a mystery to me!

We spoke with a young mom and two girls who had just finished viewing the quilts, and their faces said it all.  It was so rewarding to me as a quilter to see how they were affected by these works.   Ann's cat quilts were their favorites, and each named one that was her own special "best." 

We talked cats, and quilts, and they wanted to know the name of the black and white cat in the quilts, so I told them it was "Oreo."  Ironically, my first cat as a grown-up was a tuxedo cat, a boy, and his name was Oreo too. 

There were many other visitors while we were there, and they were thoroughly enjoying all the quilts as were we.  It was a pleasure for me to see how they were interacting and so excited and happy with this exhibit.  Each room was a new discovery, and all of it was so satisfying. 

I hope if you live within a day trip of this exhibit you will try and go before it is over on March 25.  Let yard work wait, go grocery shopping next week.  This is worth changing your schedule.  I think I enjoyed this much more than seeing many of these same quilts in quilt shows.  It was fabulous.

Today I have to face making piping and binding, but will grit my teeth and just do it.  Then one more project with a deadline will be done.

Hope you are quilting a little bit in this warm early spring,

Diane