This past Sunday night, Monday and Monday night we had our first glorious snowfall here in Maine! On Friday, Joshua said his science teacher had written on the chalkboard under Monday “Snow Day.” So what do you do on a freebie day at home? Build a big fire in the woodstove and, if you are Eli, read a book with Zeus the cat and ‘Widgeon the pug:

If you are Joshua, you eat while IM’ing your friends:

If you are Yeti the dog-beast, you do the same thing you always do:

If you are ‘Widgeon the adorable, and this is your first real snow experience, you do the pug-hop with glee and abandon at every opportunity:

It’s really true…. I knew it was because I had the signed contract, but the brochure to register for classes at Paducah arrived this week:

And guess what… I’m IN IT, as one of the teachers! Here is the class schedule. Each day’s classes run across the page, with the vertical columns showing which classes/teachers are in which rooms. I’m in the Roosevelt I (in the middle of the middle page) for portions of Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and in the Museum G1 room for one class on design on Friday afternoon. I’ve highlighted the places I’ll be, including (on the first day) the Awards Presentation to watch in awe and (I hope) the Sneak Preview (there is a teachers’ meeting after the Awards thing, so I may not be able to go).

Paducah prefers to offer half-day classes, and most of my regular classes (to learn more, click on the Classes link in the menu bar above) are full-day sessions. So, I offered to split some of the full-day classes into segments. I’m so thrilled…. one lady I met recently on a yahoo group has already signed up! WOOOOHOOOO! Anyway, here is what I’m teaching (and if you have questions about the suitability of a class or whatever, please write me!):

Wednesday morning, April 23 — Looks Like Hand Applique (but Isn’t) uses washaway paper / stabilizer to make a machine applique that looks like hand-turned (almost) but that is done on the machine. Best of all, no freezer paper to remove!

Wednesday early evening (5:30-8:30), April 23 — Chunk and Jigsaw Fusible Applique–this is the easiest and most playful class, so perfect for this time (which startled me…first I saw the 8:30 pm and gasped as I’m not a night person, but 5:30 to 8:30 works perfectly for this one!)

Thursday all day, April 24 — Introduction to Machine Quilting. This is my most popular class and fills regularly. It is suitable for folks who have never machine quilted a single stitch up to early intermediate–folks who have done machine quilting but want a lot of background about the basics plus hands on help and practice using both the walking foot and free-motion.  It is jam-packed with information, so bring LOTS of notepaper and be ready to learn!  I’ve not had a soul yet who didn’t quilt their name (and someone else could read it, too!) by the end of the day!

Friday morning, April 24 — Machine Quilting: Dabbling with Decorative Threads. This is the play part of my all-day “more machine quilting” class. I will have kits ($15 each) containing seven types of threads on ten “bobbins/ micro-spools” of Superior Threads so students can try 50-wt cotton, 40-wt. single-color and variegated polyester, 35-wt variegated cotton, a metallic, a holographic (the shiny fancy stuff!), and 60-wt “Bottom Line” polyester (the Bottom Line, a fine thread designed for use in the bobbin but also a fantastic applique thread for either hand or machine work)

Friday afternoon, April 24 — If You Can Write Your ABC’s, You Can Draw Your Own Designs. This is a brand new offering, and I’m excited (and a tiny bit terrified). I’ll teach you that even if you think you can’t draw, you really can, because you “draw” your letters every time you write. It will be a fun class and I hope it will help you learn to see the world in a new way–how to identify shapes and then use that knowledge in your quilting.

Saturday morning, April 25 — Nearly No-Mark Machine Quilting. This class overlaps with the Intro to Machine Quilting class, but focuses on the doing, not the basics and foundations you need to know to get the best results. If you think you know what you need to know about needles, machine basics, ergonomics, basting and such, but really want help only with the free-motion portion of the class, this is for you. Of course, I’ll have extra handouts for this class featuring different designs and processes so if someone wants to take both classes, there will be new material and more one-on-one time (I hope!).

Saturday afternoon, April 25 — All Star Review. I’ll be one of a LARGE number of teachers doing demonstrations on special techniques. I’ll be talking about Decorative Threads on the Machine. If I recall correctly, 400 people are allowed to purchase entry to these reviews (I’m doing the one on Saturday only, not the one on Tuesday). Folks are given a booklet of one-page handouts for all the teachers, then can go from station to station watching the demos. It is a great way to get a feel for the teachers (and hopefully I’ll be able to make some contacts that will lead to future teaching gigs around the US or, dare I hope, beyond!) and be exposed to a lot in a short time. During the last half-hour of the 2 hour period we are permitted to sell patterns, items and kits. If I have any leftover thread sampler kits, they and my patterns will be available here.

To read the class descriptions, class supply lists, kit fees and whatnot, please visit the Paducah class information webpages. The hotlinks on this page will allow you to download pdfs, including one for the full brochure, and others that are sections of the brochure. My classes are in the School of Applique, School of Color and Design, and School of Quilting and Finishing, as well as the Complete Registration Guide.

To register for the classes, click here.

And on Sunday, I have a FIVE-leg journey…yes, car shuttle to the airport 2 hours away plus five flights plus short drive… to get home.   I think I’ll be a happy blithering idiot by the time I get home.  I am thrilled, honored, praying and working hard to live up to this incredible opportunity, slightly terrified, and mostly excited about being able to teach in Paduch.

I’m thrilled to be able to share a wonderful new book about art quilting written by Deborah Boschert about our Frayed Edges Project called 5 Artists, 5 Views:

and yes, I’m in it / a part of the book. Some of you may remember that in August, The Frayed Edges (my mini-group) had an exhibit at the Camden Public Library (to see more, click here and here). For that show, I had an idea to create a group project: each of us would contribute one photo, then we would each make a small quiltlet based on those five photos. The project was SO successful that Deborah Boschert wanted to create a small book discussing the project and how others might do something similar.

Deborah has finished the book and blogged about it here, and best of all, the book is ready for sale in her Etsy shop for a modest $20 plus shipping; these books will make wonderful Christmas gifts (I’ve already ordered several!). I hope it will also be an inspiration for all art quilters, and would be art quilters who are looking for a way to start!

Deborah designed the book to be interactive. You open the lovely embellished vellum envelope (above) to find a book with interviews, hints, tips, ideas and inspiration, and a stack of photographs

including the five original inspiration photos (Kathy’s umbrella photo is on the bottom left) plus a photo of each of the 25 pieces in the 5 x 5 grid. When you read the book, you can sort through the photos to look at all five of the umbrella pieces, or stack all the ones by a given artist, or lay them out in the 5 x 5 grid we used to display them.

The booklet, half-page sized, is (I think) 30 pages. It includes:

• About the Project
• About the Photographs
• Artists
  • Hannah Beattie
  • Deborah Boschert
  • Kate Cutko
  • Kathy Daniels
  • Sarah Ann Smith
• Suggestions for Similar Collaborative Projects

I’m so thrilled Deborah has prepared this book, and that I am a part of it, and that we are all a part of The Frayed Edges! Wooohooo! I hope some of you will order and enjoy the book…and as always, ASK QUESTIONS!

I just love our little guild chapter here in the Camden region! As I’ve probably mentioned many times before, the Coastal Quilters are a chapter of the statewide Pine Tree Quilt Guild. This year we decided to have a test-run holiday bazaar during our regularly-scheduled Second-Saturday meeting. WOW!

It was packed for the first 90 minutes, and I actually make some money, sold a totebag, a small piece (At Anchor, mounted and framed), a pattern and some glass ornaments (of which I would like to sell more, rather than have them in my basement!). Next year we are thinking we should start at 9:30 or even 9, rather than 10!

As we approached lunchtime, the crowd eased up and we sat and ate and knit:

I am also in serious lust for this woman’s jacket–the plum and greens in the center.. I totally love love LOVE the colors!

My friend Betty and I shared a table, and (lucky me!) I snapped up one of her pieces before we opened. Now I have my very own Betty Johnson!

This photo shows the right side of the room with Betty (in navy blue in the center), Jan P. (big tote, burgundy top), and Polly Schuessler (blue top, on right), who had some glorious rag rugs. If my bathroom walls weren’t so awful to paint (wood siding) I’d have bought the white and lime and yellow rug and re-done the bathroom that weekend! Maybe if I have cash in summer and she still has the rug then……

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We all decided it was worth doing, and worth doing again, perhaps with more advertising!

I’m not that great at drawing the human figure, but I guess I’m getting better. A while ago I bought some artists figurines (here, at Dick Blick). I posed the female into the positions I wanted for the naiads and sketched them. I then outlined the sketches with dark pen, taped them to a work surface, placed plastic over (acetate sheet), placed PFD (prepared for dyeing) white cloth over that and painted them, minus hair (which I’ll do with free-motion threadwork).

My first attempt, using Tsukinenko inks, was a bust. Somehow I can never get the blending I want with those inks, whether using the sticks or a brush. So I tried So Soft paints, from a kit put together by Bonnie McCaffery. They WORKED! The paints are very creamy and soft, leaving a fairly nice hand to the fabric afterwards–not stiff and board-like! I ended up appliquéing the figures to the quilt by hand, and it looks good! In the interest of keeping things sorta secret, I’ll only show you part of one of the ladies, appliquéd and with thread-lace-hair: