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Archive for the ‘Internet Joy’ Category

Down the rabbit hole to Sutton Hoo

Friday, May 14th, 2021
In 2014, I decided to travel to England again.  Back in 1978 I spent a semester in college in London, and while there saw and always remembered the phenomenal artistry in the Sutton Hoo artifacts at the British Museum.  Jump to 2014: Eli, our second son, asked if he could come.  Well, YES (except, food bills!  Teenage boy! kaChing!) !   How many 16 year old boys want to travel with their mom?  One that REALLY wants to travel LOL!  We had the trip of a lifetime!  First stop on Day 1 was the British Museum. You can visit online and see great pics.  The helmet at left is a re-creation based on the original artifacts (the silver had rotted over the millennia).  The buckle shows the unbelievable metalwork from circa 685 A.D.! 
My photos taken at the British Museum in 2014
Now jump to 2021: So out  of the blue this week I get an email from a guy at Kellycodetectors.com, which I discovered sells metal detectors.  He asked if I’d link to his article–well, I nearly NEVER do stuff like that, but what a fun rabbit hole I fell into!  If I lived somewhere with the potential for finding archeological things (one of my career wishes as an adolescent) I could do that.  

So, not only was it not spam, but it led me down a delightful path:  They have four interesting articles if you are in to amazing art and lesser known history:

The Sutton Hoo Treasure, one of the richest treasures ever found on British Soil
The Hoxne Hoard:  The Largest Unearthed Roman Treasure Ever
The Staffordshire Horde
and
The Cuerdale Hoard:  the Largest Viking Hoard of Silver (in the UK/outside of Russia)

The links to my two blogposts after the trip are here and here, with my photos at the Museum and at the Sutton Hoo site.  Some 14 years after first seeing the Sutton Hoo treasures, while living in central Africa actually, I learned that one could now visit the site!  So I resolved to visit someday.  That turned out to be 2014.  The discoveries are now a fun movie called The Dig, available on Netflix. Hope you enjoy the diversion!  

Learn with Sarah, online and in person

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

My video about my online and in person teaching debuted this evening at Global Quilt Connection, an amazing resource that allows you to meet the teachers. I hope you’ll enjoy it and think of having me teach for you, online and in person. There are five sessions, and the day following each of the five, ALL of the presentations are available to view at your convenience. Find the links here.

Full details on my workshops are available here, and a sample contract with price info is there too.

I am in awe of the teachers who presented tonight at Global Quilt Connection. I’m thrilled that so many teachers have moved online because now *I* can take classes that have heretofore not been available to me. Hope you enjoy my video! Do write if you are interested… I can customize classes, break a full day into to half-day sessions and more.

My interview with Create Whimsy

Friday, March 6th, 2020

I was absolutely delighted when Create Whimsy wrote to ask if I’d like to do a Spotlight interview with them–so many people I admire have interviews that you can still see and read. It was even more fun when the Editor, Chardel Blaine, realized that I had taught at a shop she worked at–Quiltworks Northwest in Bellevue, Washington–and we had met about 15 YEARS ago!

Here’s the link to my interview… I hope you enjoy reading the flotsam and jetsam of my life and mind. I opened up a half dozen interviews to review and prepare which led me to a new artist I admire, and I’m planning on opening another half dozen for lunchtime reading. Thank you Chardel and Create Whimsy!

Free for ONE Week, my episode on The Quilt Show

Sunday, October 13th, 2019

For just ONE WEEK  from October 13-20, viewers anywhere with the not-so-secret code will be able to see my episode, No. 2508, on The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, will be able to see the episode for free!    Just use this code:  {  http://thequiltshow.com/watch/show-list/video/latest/show-2508-sarah-ann-smith?artist_coupon=25081013  }  from the 13th to the 20th–I so hope you enjoy it!   Free Viewing time starts at 12:00:01 a.m. Sunday October 13, 2019!  
I will confess–I was mightily relieved and happy when I saw it on the 6th when it went live for members of The Quilt Show.   It looks great, I didn’t look or sound like a total dork, and I packed in a lot of information!

First it was live, now it is free for ONE WEEK ONLY! Click HERE to see it before it turns back into a pumpkin/Members Only viewing!
Taping was such an amazing experience…this vast soundstage, seeing the huge booms with the cameras (you can see one coming in from the left), how they project the logo onto the wall and faux brick wall, how the massive counters just roll around the space, how a longarm can easily be rolled hither and yon. Behind photographer Adele Merrell (thank you AGAIN for these fabulous photos and memories), to her left and back, are the risers with seats for the audience. And on the right, one of the two large monitors, one on each side, so the audience can see what the camera sees (in case the camera is blocking their view).
The audience, watching Alex and Ricky talking about how to get perfect miters on borders.
The impressive array of monitors in the control room where the producers sit. The communicate with the cameramen and crew through headsets.
Justin, Alex, me, Ricky and John, the four principals (the ARJJ in the Quilt Show ownership) in the TQS logo aprons I made for them with custom thermofax screens. I was delighted they were in use on the set within days of taping!
At the very end of the last segment…can you tell I was happy and relieved it went well?

Here’s that special link again… it will ONLY work from midnight a.m. October 13 through October 20, 2019. It means anyone can watch the episode, not just TQS members. But I gotta say, I have been around a long time, know a lot, and yet I LEARN a lot from watching The Quilt Show. I’m proud and pleased to now be a part of–as they put it–The TQS Family. Thank you Ricky, Alex, Justin, John, Shelly, Lilo and all the gang!

Tamara Kate of Kayajoy Designs, Janome Education Summit 2018, Post #4

Friday, July 6th, 2018

An enticing bit of Tamara Kate’s beautiful quilts and style.  These are made with her fabrics, and the “h” and “L” are her embroidery and printed fabric designs.   I absolutely love her color palette!

Hi everyone…thought I’d rap up my posts on the Janome Education Summit in late May before they are ancient history.   One the first day, I noticed what this woman was doing across the aisle from me with Kimberly Einmo’s flying geese units and fabric, and was smitten instantly.  Turns out it is Tamara Kate Serrao of Kayajoy Designs.  Her quilts, embroidery and fabrics are so inspiring…if she had had yardage there I would have gone home with a whole bunch!  You can find her on FB as well as her website.

Here is Tamara Kate showing one of her embroidery designs (that was on a tote we got in our swag!)

Tamara Kate has a fascinating background, being from both Nova Scotia and Trinidad.  She is the Janome Canada spokesperson, and designed a phenomenal Maple Leaf Quilt as well as a special (gosh I wish I’d known about it) Janome machine for Canada’s 150th anniversary a couple years ago.

Tamara Kate showing an advert with the machine she designed, complete with maple leaf.

And here is that QUILT….her work is very much in the Modern Quilt aesthetic, but it also is infused with this like watercolor-y feel, palette and fresh vibe that still pays homage to our quilting history.

Tamara Kate Serrao’s phenomenal and inspiring Maple leaf quilt.  Pattern available here.

You can see this quilt on her website and find the first of several blogposts at JanomeLife.com with instructions on making this quilt here: https://janomelife.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/tamara-kate-quilt-along-part-1/  Have I mentioned recently how much I love her colors?

More wonderfulness from Tamara Kate; check her Quilt Tutorials page for info on the quilt above and the one below:  https://www.kayajoydesigns.com/tutorials/quilts/

I WISH I had seen the fabric and whatnot when it was available… i love the joyfulness of this quilt.

One more chance to enjoy her quilts…..Makes me want to not do the things I am supposed to be doing and just cut fabric and sew something joyful!

A fresh approach to half square triangles

Be still my beating heart…THIS is flying geese quilt!

And Tamara Kate showing a few more of her quilts

And the last pic…Janome had brought in their top of the line 15000 machines and iPads and stylus for us all to try sketching our own designs.  Due to slow wifi, we did a test-quilt (in a hoop using the embroidery module) using a pre-loaded design.  But of course I had to do a quick (and wobbly) sketch of the Flying Pug!

It was really quite easy to create a design…this was done in a rush. I’m thinking with even a little practice one could get quite fun results easily. I had a loaner 15000 machine. I’m not an embroidery person, but the machine was easy to use without special instruction and the table runner I made using it is one of my favorites.

Yep, I think I have to confess to being a total fan-girl!   More fun stuff from the Education Summit in the coming days.

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