WOOT! My for-sale copies of Creative Quilting with Beads have arrived, along with the beads to make the pomegranate project on the cover. If you are interested, please pop over to the store page on my website, here. I have yet to figure out the mysteries of paypal shipping options (where you enter your location and actually get that to talk to the shopping cart to calculate the correct amount), so there are FOUR options, two for delivery in the US and two for delivery outside the US, all using the Flat Rate Priority Mail envelopes. I can fit one book (barely) into each envelope; I can also squeeze one baggie of beads into the same envelope, so you can purchase just the book, OR the book PLUS the beads.  (PS–if you are in Canada, write to me first, I may be able to get a less expensive postage for you than int’l flat rate….)

I actually counted (!!!) how many beads on my covers: 291! This was slightly less than a tube of the hard-to-find red drop beads. I had intended to use size 8 seed beads, but when I found the drop beads I knew they were perfect. They are–get ready for a surprise now (not!)–drop shaped, but the hole is near the skinny end. When you take a stitch with them, the thread disappears down at the base and only the red bulbous end shows…so it looks just like a pomegranate seed! I then counted out 300 beads, which was just over 15 grams, so I upped the quantity per baggie to an even 16 grams. So how much is that? Funny you should ask… it is this much:

If you bead at the same density I did, you should have about 15-20 beads leftover… a nice margin I think.

Anyway, you can order autographed-by-me copies on my website and the beads too. Thanks for reading! And once I get Eli to soccer practice later this morning, I’ll take a photo of my alternate colorway and orientation. The version in the book is to cover a composition notebook. The alternate covers a 7″ tall x 10″ wide Canson watercolor notebook/sketchbook (standard size available at www.dickblick.com among other places). Hmmmm…… maybe I’ll offer and e-mail with the measurements etc. already done to those who order from me and ask for them… does that sound good?

Now…to pack up a bag of reading materials while at soccer practice… it is GLORIOUS spring here in Maine…green is blushing all the treetops and after yesterday’s rain the sky is screaming blue! Thermometer says we are up to 62 already and it is only 10:15 am!

PS…for an earlier browse through the book, see my earlier blogpost here.

My last quilting class in Paducah, and one of the most fun, was Nearly No Mark machine quilting. Marking a quilt top is up there in the (NOT) fun category with basting! But playing and doodling with your needle and thread IS fun! These designs are ones I use in art quilts all the time, but they can just as easily be used in contemporary and even some traditional quilts. I have come up with what I call my vocabulary of quilting stitches.

These are stitched out as fill patterns, but they could easily be enlarged and used for all-over quilting patterns for a lap quilt or snuggly. I shared my teacher samples a while back, but the pink sampler above is the one I like best so I’ll share it again!

Click on the thumbnail for a larger view (or right click on a PC, and on a mack apple-key + click, to open in another tab/window) with more details of the quilting.

Now lookit what my great students did, and how they translated my patterns into their own thing! This first photo is awesome because she has her hands in what I call the safe position… where you are unlikely to sew through your fingers (it hurts… I’ve done it and do NOT recommend it!) (PS–the following photos can all be viewed larger–click on the photo to resize and/or open in a new tab/window). This hand position also has the virtue of making a small, smooth “hooped” area for your quilting…cool!

I showed the students how to use your arm as an extended compass to make large arcs using your elbow as a pivot point. Many followed my example and made circles (using my high tech templates—yogurt and take-out lids) and arcs, then filled in the resulting spaces with the nearly-no-mark designs; in this one, I really like her variations on the spirals:

I want to find this thread… it is YLI and is heavier (cotton) than I usually use, but the colors are GLORIOUS and so “me!” The quilter lives in Florida, so I think the water colors are inspired by her home….

I think this student is comfortable and happy playing with free-motion, don’t you? (You can see a smidgen of my handout on the far right)

And another arc… I like the vine inside the arc and also switching up the fill on the mini-checkerboard:

One student took my “Southern California themed” piece:

and reworked it… I like her version better! Her thread contrast is way better than mine (I think I’m going to re-do the blue one… it needs it….)

I love that spiky sun that is just at the edge of the sewing table, and also how she used the loops to outline the circle:

And can you tell she loves to quilt… this lady must love playing with the quilting as much as I do! And poor thing…she was short, and tables were SO high… I have no idea how she managed to quilt so well in those circumstances… I love the merging of one pattern into the next:

I think one of the things I enjoyed most was watching the students take my designs and turn them into their own, modifying, improving, changing up, experimenting… WAY cool!

Most of Paducah was work, with some notable exceptions:

The rides to and from the airport in Nashville (2+ hours away) with Jan Krentz and Rachael Clark in both directions, and Charlotte Angotti and Rami Kim on the way home, too…laughed, talked, learned a TON just listening from the masters and practiced teachers on the circuit. And had fun and dinner too! Major thanks to Kenny Shroeder for the rides!

Meeting Leslie and Caty, having dinner, and seeing Paducah with them… yeah Quilt Mavs! Meeting online friends in the real is the best!

And going to the Ricky Tims concert on Friday night. I lucked into a ticket (thanks to a certain benificent soul!), and went on my own. As Caty, Leslie and I walked to dinner on Friday, we saw a Looooonnnnnnggggggg line snaking around the Four Rivers Center of folks (mostly ladies) waiting to go to the concert. I was so glad I was going to eat instead, and was quite happy to arrive just before the show and sit in the rafters. Well… when I walked in, first I was WOWED by the building; click here for a video tour online (warning for those on dial-up… find a high-speed connection before clicking on the link). What a gorgeous building. Then I made a bee-line for the ladies room before the concert began and before heading to where I was directed, the upper balcony. When I came out of the ladies room, I noticed a hallway that led toward the stage and orchestra seating that said Orchestra 5. So I went down it. Luck was with me… a single seat, on the aisle, ten rows back from the stage and directly in line with the piano bench! Here was my view:

Does it get any better? Ricky began with a trumpet solo, then told us it was the first time he’d played trumpet in public in 25 years or so, but that the trumpet had been in younger days his best instrument. It’s still good…I swear that man can play any musical instrument he touches. And he’s a born entertainer. Alas, I didn’t get pictures of his entrance… picture this:

• The theatre is dark except for the screen in the center and the spotlights on his two large quilts flanking the screen. Then those lights dim.
• The curtains in the back of the stage part and you see “smoke/fog” backlit… (think dry ice).
• Suddenly a bright beam pierces the dark into the audience, followed by a HUGE rumble….varoom, VaRoooom, VAROOOOOM…. and slowly, carefully, (ya know what Ricky drives?) in he comes on a HARLEY onto the stage! It was a total riot!!!!!

So, he sings, he jokes, he does his thing, and introduces a friend / performer / Kit Bowser. And says she said “Hey, what are we gonna do special for MY entrance?” So…….

Kat Bowser’s entrance, on the not-quite-a-Harley , above, and a shot of her singing later in the concert, below:

The rest of the show was as hilarious and fun….Kat is very much a cabaret type singer / torch singer. You can see her MySpace page here and listen to her music at CuppaJoeRecords here. I enjoyed her singing so much I actually bought a CD, my first CD purchase in about 2 years! Oh yeah…work ALERT—don’t click on the My Space link with your sound turned up on your computer if you’re at work! But it is definitely toe-tapping music!

And during the show, as my throbbing, aching feet began to rest, I could sit there and mellow in the music (or laugh at the jokes) and enjoy the glorious color and dancing designs of Ricky’s quilts. Kat sang a song with “Glory Hallelujah Dance!” which I think would be the perfect title for a quilt…. I used to live to dance… took ballet for years as a kid and studied with the San Francisco Ballet Company. I’d probably prefer modern dance more now, but am too creaky… but I can still dance with my soul! Hmmmm…. I think I’m recovering from the past year, my creativity is coming back!

Next blogpost…some of my classes!

Just a short digression from the Paducah news…. SPRING HAS ARRIVED in Maine! Here’s proof: photos taken while walking the pug-wonderfulness (a.k.a. ‘Widgeon)….

First, the quintessential sign of spring in Maine, the fiddlehead fern. Don’t they look like a family, turned to each other for hugs?

Then, the beginnings of iris (I think that’s what they are) at a neighbor’s house. Wouldn’t that make a great abstract background for a quilt?

Rushing water:

And, at LAST, green on the trees! In two weeks, we should be about halfway leafed out!

Daffodils in the sun…. a couple years ago, our neighbor Dave did a major landscaping which I have dubbed the “neighborhood beautification project” since so many of us can see and enjoy results of his major expense. Then the yellow house where the road splits put in a HUGE load of small boulders as retaining wall so she could plant on the tiers… this is one of the treats (the coral bells are on their way out of the ground….)

And up the road a piece, more of the wild fiddleheads, these a bit more unfurled

–a couple days ago I saw an old guy on the side of the road…looked like he was picking fiddleheads which are often used in salads or sauteed….haven’t tried that yet… I like looking at them too much!

My first day in Paducah, I taught an evening 3-hour class called “Chunk and Jigsaw Fusible Applique.” This class is actually a portion of my Fabric Postcards all-day class which teaches various art quilting and embellishing techniques. I teach how to make up a small stash of fused fabrics ready for a quick project using leftovers from other projects (placed on the fusible web like a jigsaw) or small chunks of fabric…say 5×7 to 10×10 inches or so…. Then, we make a few postcards. For most students in these classes, it is their first time trying to design something, so I provide eight patterns. What is interesting, once I started providing a selection of patterns, the students didn’t use them! HOORAY! It meant the variety of ideas was enough to get them going on their own… mo’ bettah! Here are some of the results–the one above is one I would have loved to fly home with me… imagine, turquoise coneflowers…. glorious!

Note: if you were in my class and made one of these, PLEASE let me know and I’d love to include your name in this post! The class was so short that I wasn’t able to get names attached to each postcard for sharing here, but I did ask in the class if it was OK to share them. Michele E in Alabama… I’ll not share your wonderful birdie because I know you wanted to finish him/her before “going public!” but I adore him/her!

This student was game, despite never having designed something like a scenic card… I love how she placed the shapes, added the cut-out leaves, and used color. See how she cut out motifs from a batik to create the waterplants?

I love Love LOVE the swoopy roofline on this house! She had found some cool “postcard foundations”, in the YLI booth I think. They were dyed/painted, creating the cool colors and textures in the background… I’ll have to look for them! Also love how she used the circles in a Kaffe Fassett print (do ALL of us have this fabric in our stash?) for the window and doorknob.

Notice the cool not-quilting-cotton fabrics in the houses here?

Another student worked on a slightly larger background that the 4×6 peltex cards I included in the kit, using her awesome selection of sheers (which I wouldn’t have minded if they flew home with me, either). Her first piece was squares, in progress:

and fused up:

Then she made this totally wonderful sun scene:

One student with a completely different sense of color and composition than I have used the prints in her fabrics SO effectively:

The combination of soft batiks creates a soothing landscape:

And here’s another landscape under construction:

Despite the hour of the class– 5:30 to 8:30 pm — the students seemed to have fun, and I know I did. And the peanut M&Ms and Milky Way bars I brought to share helped!