Quilting Arts is having an online studio tour today (visit there to get the links to all the other studios…way cool, Cate!), so I thought I’d share some of what I like best about my studio.

1.  It is at home and my family is close by!

2.  My thread stash (hence the title of my book:  Threadwork Unraveled!) :

3.  The design wall, fabric storage and table!  I’d love to have full-height walls, but I don’t, so this will suffice.  I used 2″ thick rigid foam insulation covered with a flannel sheet for the design wall.  The storage is based on Carol Taylor’s and is custom made but oh-so-worth-it.  The work table is an old Ikea table that served as our kitchen and dining table for 20+ years.  When the boys got big enough to kick each other under the table, we got a bigger dining table and I got this for my studio.  I built a platform with 5/8″ plywood and tall casters/wheels.  The height is a perfect work surface, I ‘ve made storage underneath, and the table has good history/karma!

4.  My big, flat cabinet/surface for my sewing machine.  Since I got the big room (the one over the garage), I also got to host the guest bed, a gorgeous antique my late Father-in-law bought in New York City nearly 50 years ago; the bed dates to 1780!  I used to store my quilts on it, but the boys wanted to come in and flop on the bed…so…..

5.  I finally re-vamped my quilt storage.  Small pieces are in the plastic boxes, protected with a buffering layer of cloth.  Large quilts are rolled (blogpost about that here and here) and tucked into boxes under the bed:

6.  When I got fed up with not having ANY closets, I “made” one out of one of the narrow window bays.  At last, all the painting supplies are in one place, journaling in another, mixed media (ditto), shipping , etc.  Batting and shipping boxes are behind the antique Hoosier (1930s era kitchen cabinet):

So that’s it, my favorite bits.  But best of all,

7.  it’s home!

Hi all!   In just one week (GASP, Shriek!) I leave for Houston to help launch my book AND teach AND have a ball at Festival.  My Wednesday class on thread is (hoooray and thanks to those who signed up) FULL!  But I still have spaces in my other classes.  I’ll blog about each of them separately in hopes that a more extensive description might encourage a few more folks to join the fun.
Chunk and Jigsaw Fusible Applique is really a fabric postcards class that sneaks in a few art quilting techniques such as stencilling with textile paint, rubbings with Shiva Painsticks, stamping, using Angelina, and creative edge finishes.  Also I’m debuting what will become my next pattern:  Little Brown Bird.  Students can use the bird on a postcard OR make a larger piece.  My LBB quilts (the wholecloth and the in-progress fused applique seen here) are about 16 x 20 inches:

LBB Fused 16x20, in progress

I’ll start the day with my technique that I call chunk and Jigsaw which uses up all those leftover bits to create a “stash” of pre-fused fabric.  Then when you want to dash off a quick thank you postcard to someone, it’s easy peasy…just pull out the pre-fused stash and start collaging!

LBB Postcard w/poptart edges

Here are some other samples of postcards I’ve done that may get you inspired to give it a try:

Hannah's Flower

Trees on Point

Kathy Daniels' birches card framed and Sarah's Mt. Fuji in a shadow box

Umbrella Abstracted, mounted onto batik on stretcher bars

Loons in Maine notebook cover

Hope you can make it to the class!  Just head to the second floor of the convention center to the education desk to sign up.  Cheers, Sarah

Wow…. it’s hard to believe that the time is here… I can now take pre-orders (here) for my book–and yes, I’ll ship outside the US!  AQS worked like whirling dervishes I think; I had the page layout version of the manuscript to edit over Labor Day weekend, and they still got it to the printers who will have it ready in the nick of time to have at Quilt Market in Houston starting October 10th!  I’ll be at Market working to promote the book before I start teaching.  If you’d like to pre-order a copy, read on!

PRE-ORDER My book on understanding and using thread on the surface of a quilt which is now available!

You’ll learn everything you need to know about thread, from how it is made to what will make your life easier, and your quilting better!  You’ll learn how needles, tension, your workspace, sewing machine, stabilizers, and other tools all help you in using all those wonderful threads now available.  I’ll help you understand how and why certain tools and notions work best and when another option is a better choice.  And there are fun projects, from a quick and easy needle-keeper to decorative-stitch leaf appliques, free-motion quilting with fancy-fiddly threads, and a leaf-printed table-runner.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Please let me know if you would like me to autograph or add a dedication in the comments area of your order.

Please note that books will not ship until LATE OCTOBER.  The will be hot off the press in mid-October, when I am teaching at Quilt Festival in Texas.  I’ll need to get home, receive the books and process the orders (hopefully finding a little time to sleep, eat, and say hi to the family, too! )  Books will be sent in a Flat Rate Priority Mail envelope.

Price:  Book 28.95 +  US Delivery  5.00 =  33.95; prices for first class mail delivery to Canada ($11 in postage) and the Rest of the World ($13 in postage) are slightly higher due to postage.  Please make sure when you order you:

1. select the correct shipping (US, Canada, Rest of World)
2. put down correct snail mail and e-mail addresses
3. let me know if you’d like me to dedicate the book (for example:  to Denyse, Happy Quilting, Sarah); if there is no  note, I’ll just sign it on the title page.

Thanks…I can’t wait to actually hold a copy!

What fun… Quilting Arts magazine is having an online studio tour!   Here‘s a link to the QA website for information on the magazines.  On October 3rd, come back here or to Cate Prato’s blog, here, for links to all the participating artists/studios! FUN!   I’ll be back with pics on Saturday!  (and no, I’m not planning to tidy!)

This past spring, Park City Girl had a great idea:  since we can’t all go to the Quilt Festival in Chicago (spring) or Houston (fall), why not have our OWN show online!  I participated in the spring show, and am thrilled to help sponsor the fall version.  Click on the Bloggers’ Quilt Festival button in the sidebar (below left, just scroll down) or the one just below this paragraph at any time to go see what’s new.  My donation:  a copy of my book, hot of the press!  (More about that in my next post!)

Go visit the blog and join the fun…. think about what is your favorite quilt, share a link (when the fun begins on October 9th), and let’s all enjoy ANOTHER quilt festival…one we can all reach online! Great idea!