If it was Tuesday, that meant I was teaching Tame Fussy, Fiddly Threads! As always, the students were brilliant!

Tuesday is the “down” day between Market (the trade show, which is only open to industry professionals, not the general public, ends on Monday) and Festival (which opens with a Preview night on Wednesday evening, then is open Thursday-Sunday).  Folks who attend Market often stay to take a class, and folks who attend Festival come early so they can take classes, then be free to enjoy the show and vendors on Thursday.  This year, I got to teach one of my favorite classes, Tame Fussy, Fiddly Threads, which is all about using metallics, holographics, and heavy threads (the kind that go through the needle, not bobbin work).

A student plays with heavy 30-wt So Fine thread from Superior Threads early in the day.

Since so many of my classes are fusing, I thought I’d mix it up when I formulated this class.  Instead, we make a stencil out of freezer paper and paint with Lumiere and ProFab textile paints.  Students can use my model or do their own thing (which I LOVE when they do that!).

This student chose gingko leaves pointing away from the center on the north-south/east-west axes. She then penciled in quilting guidelines on the black background.

In the supply list, I suggest a black background fabric.  I love this small black and charcoal check!  Her quilting is great…love the nestled-in quilted-only leaf next to the stenciled leaf, as well as the shading on her leaves, and how she alternated painted and not in the spray of leaves on the right.

This student was having fun!  Her background of black and gold fabric is somewhat visually busy, so she is wise to concentrate her stitching on the painted leaves as the print could obscure the lovely stitching.

Then in mid-morning a fun surprise!  The best thing about Festival is seeing folks you know from (mostly) the internet…the quilts are great too, but the quilters are the bestest!

Luana Rubin, founder with her husband Paul of eQuilter, was at Festival and popped in to the classroom to say hi! We are both members of a small online group–there are not so many of us and we are VERY tight! We respect everyone’s privacy closely, so we can share and be sure that we will support each other and keep mum. I also got to see Luana AND her daughter Sophie later on the show floor (photo in a future post).

Practicing on a sample sandwich before working on the stenciled piece. (Note her shirt, from Lopez Island Resort; Lopez is the island next door to San Juan Island where I used to live.  I swear everyone on the planet has either been to the islands or knows someone who lives or lived there!)

Another set of gingko leaves, this time on the diagonals, partially quilted.

And the same leaves at the end of class. Fabulous!

Oak leaves are popular, too, and easy to draw! notice how she varied the thread for the leaves.  Would love to see how she quilts the acorns; we talked about doing a dense zigzaggy thing for the caps!

Love the quilted border!

A happy student–the maker of those wonderful gingkos– in a happy and talented classroom. We got to use the Janome 9900s in class, which is similar to the machine I use at home. FAB!

And those glorious gingkos from above at the end of the day. LOVE THIS!

My next Houston post will share quilt pics, then I’ll do more on classes I taught, then more quilts, then even MORE quilts!

Another fun day here at Art and Quilting in Hope, Maine!  Today Jaye Lapachet, whom I finally got to meet in person this past summer, is reviewing my video workshop Art Quilt Design, From Photo to Threadwork, on her blog, here  and participating in the giveaway.  Thank you, Jaye!

To order a DVD, visit my Store page here.

To order either the DVD or a digital download, visit Quilting Arts’ Interweave Store, here. And, of course, you can enter the various giveaways thanks to the generous quilt artists who are helping me give away copies!

First I’d like to introduce you to Jaye Lapachet, who loves polka dots, scrappy things, Quilt Modern style quilts, and blogging!  You can visit her artquiltmaker.com website, her blog, and also look her up on Pinterest (speaking of which I think I need to spend some re-Pinning time there!).  We met online through a quilty group, and this summer when I was in the San Francisco Bay Area, actually got to MEET in person!   Alas, the night we had dinner was en route to the airport after a VERY busy two week teaching trip, and I was pretty fried!  Guess I’ll just have to head West again so we can meet up when I have something approaching a functioning brain!

With Jaye on a blustery July evening in San Francisco

I knew when Jaye confessed to a love for polka dots that we’d get along well (I’ve loved them ever since I had a white with large blue polka dots dress when I was 2, and there was that “little black dress” of my mother’s with the gold colored silk lining with big white polka dots).  We also share a love for clear colors and scrappy:

Jaye Lapachet’s Flowering Snowball Quilt

It’s a good thing this quilt is on the other side of the US or I might be tempted to engage in a little larceny!

Jaye’s Renewed Jelly Roll Race quilt is fun–she blogged about it here.

I’m working on a diamonds quilt, and I’m kinda wishing I had gone for a simple, solid sashing like this one!

Jaye also has an interesting page on her website where she groups her quilts into series; I really liked “Feelin’ Blue.”    I like seeing the groupings of quilts together, though they made have been made at disparate times.

Feelin Blue by Jaye Lapachet

Clearly Jaye and I also share a love for similar colors!

Fabric of the Year 2011, by Jaye Lapachet

I’ve been “collecting” (we are not going to call it hoarding!) aquas and blues and lime greens for a thousand pyramids quilt.  I really like how she has the soft gray border, and may have to swipe that idea!

Thank you so much, Jaye, for being part of the bloghop!   Please make sure to visit Jaye’s blog for another chance to win a free DVD version of my workshop, Art Quilt Design From Photo to Threadwork.  And as always, thanks to Quilting Arts and Interweave for doing such a spectacular job producing it and donating copies for the bloghops!

Here’s the bloghop schedule; visit each site, enjoy the work, enter the giveaway (some of which are on these sites, some are something else–you’ll have to go and read how!):

November 12:     Sarah kicked off Round 2 and announced the schedule
November 14:     Marie Johansen   http://www.musingcrowdesigns.com/
November 16:     Brenda Gael Smith   http://serendipitypatchwork.com.au/blog/
November  19:    Jaye Lapachet    http://artquiltmaker.com/blog/
November 23:     Susan Brubaker Knapp   http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/
November 27:     Daphne Greig   http://daphnegreig.blogspot.com/
November 30:     Lisa Walton    http://www.fibreinspirations.blogspot.com/
December 3:        Sarah Ann Smith   right here!

Today launches giveaway two in my holiday bloghop to celebrate the release of my video workshop, Art Quilt Studio from Photo to Threadwork.  Thanks to Brenda Gael Smith of Copacabana on the Central Coast of New South Wales, which is about 60 miles north of Sydney for reviewing my workshop!

NOTE!  Congratulations to Beatrice, comment 17, who wins the free video workshop download!

To order a DVD, visit my Store page here.

or to order either the DVD or a digital download, visit Quilting Arts’ Interweave Store, here. And, of course, you can enter the various giveaways thanks to the generous quilt artists who are helping me give away copies!

Lorikeet Circus by Brenda Gael Smith. Lorikeets are brightly colored birds from Australia, and I can TOTALLY see them in this piece!

Brenda Gael Smith’s work is filled with glorious color, but unlike me she works  in the abstract.  Having tried (and failed) to work in abstracts, I admire all the more the success of her art; it is surprisingly difficult to achieve good composition, balance, movement, in an abstract, yet she does it time and time again.  She is also a curator of exhibits and a member of the talented and successful Twelve by Twelve group.   Many thanks to Brenda (who by the way is not related–Smith is just a blissfully common name) for finding time in her busy teaching and working schedule to fit in this review!   Her website is here, and her blog review, here,  and her blog in general here.  To find out how to win a digital download which should work anywhere in the world, please visit Brenda’s review, read the instructions on how to enter for today’s giveaway (and you’ll need to read her post carefully!), and enjoy her art!  For the giveaway, remember to leave your comment according to Brenda’s instructions by noon on November 24th (East Coast US time)!

A quick look at the categories in her Gallery section will give you an idea of the range of Brenda’s work:  Art Quilts, Baby Quilts, Celebration Quilts, Traditional Quilts, and her work with the Twelve by Twelve collaboration. In addition to her work as an artist and curator, Brenda teaches, writes, is an attorney, and creates websites!  And–if you browse her blog–you’ll discover that not only is her studio glorious, the view from it is one of the finest in the world–check out this post!

Here’s a sneak peek at her work here, just to whet your appetite.  Brenda dyes her fabrics and includes shibori among her many talents.  I love this “aerial” view of the paths worn by the walking of feet (or is it a view of where roads now replace the traditional routes walked by foot?).  This piece makes me want to go pull out the dye-pots and stitching threads!

Canberra: Meeting Place by Brenda Gael Smith

Brenda’s traditional work is truly traditional, but has also taken on a contemporary twist.  I love this “Modern X” quilt.

The Modern X by Brenda Gael Smith

And for those of my readers in the US, Brenda will be travelling to North America in December, so if you would like to order the magazine with the instructions for improvisational piecing with solids and avoid the cost of international postage, check out this blogpost.  Note that you MUST order by Dec. 5 (sooner would be nice) to take advantage of this offer.

In this quilt, Brenda Gael Smith combines abstract art with the traditional. Lust in the Log Cabin, part of her Desire Lines series.

Thank you so much, Brenda, for your well-written review.  I cannot tell you how much it thrills me when I can teach not just beginners, but share new tips or tricks with experienced quilters and artists.   Wish I could get to Australia and share that view from your studio and play in one of your shibori classes! So remember, visit Brenda’s blog review, here, and for the giveaway, remember to leave your comment according to Brenda’s instructions by noon on November 24th (East Coast US time)!

Here’s the bloghop schedule:

November 12:     Sarah will kick off Round 2 and announce the schedule
November 14:     Marie Johansen   http://www.musingcrowdesigns.com/
November 16:     Brenda Gael Smith   http://serendipitypatchwork.com.au/blog/
November  19:    Jaye Lapachet    http://artquiltmaker.com/blog/
November 23:     Susan Brubaker Knapp   http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/
November 27:     Daphne Greig   http://daphnegreig.blogspot.com/
November 30:     Lisa Walton    http://www.fibreinspirations.blogspot.com/
December 3:     Sarah Ann Smith   right here!

Today is the first giveaway in my second and final bloghop-giveaway to celebrate the release of my Quilting Arts video workshop, Art Quilt Design From Photo to Threadwork, with Fabric Collage and Machine Quilting. My first guest blogger-reviewer is my friend Marie Z. Johansen of Musing Crow Designs. (And yes, I’m going to make you read this post to find out how/where!)

To order a DVD, visit my Store page !

IN case you just can’t wait, you can order the DVD from me or, to order either the DVD or a digital download, visit Quilting Arts’ Interweave Store, here. And, of course, you can enter the various giveaways thanks to the generous quilt artists who are helping me give away copies.  We’ll have two or three posts a week from now until the first of December.   Just surf in here regularly to see who is reviewing and how (and where) to leave a comment for a chance to win this workshop.

One of Marie’s colorful traditional (!) quilts–I remember when she made this!

11-13 afternoon:  Quick alert:   Marie lives on an island, and the underwater cable that has all the island’s internet on it has gone down AGAIN and they are tossed back into the dark ages (like the 1980s before cell phones and internet), so her post is delayed.  I’ll update here when her post goes live, probably this weekend.  The giveaway dates will expand accordingly!

11-15:  Update!  Marie’s post has gone live thanks to a brief return of her internet!   It’s here.

In case you haven’t already found Marie on the internet, I’d love to introduce you to a true Best Friend Forever:  Marie Z. Johansen.   Ya know how sometimes, maybe just a few times in your life, you meet someone and hit it off, and you know that no matter where life takes you, what happens to either of you, you will always be in touch, always be friends.  If you end up, as we have, living on opposite sides of the nation, when you get together it’s as if not a day has passed.  I’m privileged to call Marie my friend.  She’s also an amazing artist, crafter and person!

Marie’s digital imagery; the photo is of Mount Baker, and if I recognize that tree on the right, taken at the Anacortes Ferry Landing, probably while waiting for the ride home to the island.

We met when I lived on San Juan Island, probably somewhere around 1999.   Marie is someone who loves all sorts of art, from art quilts, traditional quilts, textiles of all sorts (she once worked at rug conservation), was a pilot, works in mixed media, loves animals and fountain pens, is a FABULOUS photographer, reads voraciously, blogs and journals, well…can you tell why we get along so well?  (We travel together well, too!  Here’s to Houston next year, Mrs. J!) And oh!  She is allergic to some sorts of wool (the itchy kind!), but I didn’t know that when I made her some felted wool slippers on year; guess what–they worked!  That gift (I plead guilty) led to her obsession with knitting, and she has so far surpassed me there!

Marie love tradition with a twist, as in this colorful Baltimore Album style bouquet.  Right click to see larger.

Marie blogs about books and writes reviews at Under the Willow Tree.  She sells her jewelry on Etsy (those summer glow earrings are incredible! wish I could wear those colors!) and her felted bags at Musing Crow Designs.  For the felted bags, be sure to SCROLL DOWN, but cover your keyboard to protect it from the drool….

Marie Z Johansen’s felted bags, one of a kind, available to custom order here.

As I’ve browsed Marie’s blogs and sales pages, I am reminded what a wonderfully interesting person she is–it comes across loud and clear in her blog.  I think what I love about her blog is you NEVER know what’s going to turn up!  She reviews books and products (from pens to quilt tools to whatever!), muses about life, and is generally just someone you want to know!   So please surf over to Marie’s blog to read about her review of my video workshop and find out how to enter the giveaway for a DVD copy of my workshop.

PS:  San Juan Island, Wash., where Marie lives, has had an incredible flash back to the 1980s, with long distance telephone, cell phones and internet out intermittently (and all day for a number of days) of the past 10 days due to a problem with an underwater cable to the island.  If you can’t reach her blog on the first try or the post isn’t there, please be patient and pop back in later.  She’s got the post ready, but may have connectivity issues that are out of her control.  Murphy’s Law, eh?

Hi all!   Guess what?  The first bloghop and giveaway was so much fun, I’m doing another with the help of some internet friends!   The schedule this time will be a bit flexible due to travel for Lisa, an extended internet outage for Marie, and U.S. Thanksgiving in late November.  On the appointed day, I’ll post a bit about each of these wonderful, creative women, and they’ll do a quick review of my video workshop, Art Quilt Design:  From Photo to Threadwork with Fusible Applique and Machine Quilting.

To order a DVD, visit my Store page here.

You can also order either the DVD or a digital download, visit Quilting Arts’ Interweave Store, here. And, of course, you can enter the various giveaways thanks to the generous quilt artists who are helping me give away copies!

Here’s a tentative schedule:

• November 14:       Marie Johansen 
• November 16:       Brenda Gael Smith
• November  19:      Jaye Lapachet   
• November 23:      Susan Brubaker Knapp
• November 27:      Daphne Greig 
• November later:   Lisa Walton  
• Early December:     me! with the Grand Finale including goodies from MistyFuse and Havel’s Scissors!

Thanks to Quilting Arts/Interweave for donating review copies as well as some DVDs and downloads.   For the three reviews done outside the US (Brenda in Australia, Daphne in Canada and Lisa in Australia), they’ll be offering a free high def download.  The three reviewers in the US will offer a DVD to be mailed (by me).  And for the Grand Finale I’ll do the same as I did last time:  anyone around the world is free to join in, but I might ask for a bit of help on postage if the winner is outside the US.

In between all this fun, I’ll continue to share the fun I had in Houston and blogging about what I’m up to now that this year’s teaching is done!