Winners All Around!

 

We have a winner of the Indygo Junction Friends of a Feather pattern and fat 1/8th of hand dyes!

….drum roll…..

Laurie Parrack!   Drop me an email with your info and the pattern and fabric will be on their way!

 

I am deep in the midst of manuscript writing for my next book to be out in January 2014!

I am thrilled that so many love Pieced Hexies.  

They are addictive that’s for sure.

 

 

So as I sit here for another day with Illustrator creating and playing with colors and textures my police scanner squawks out the neighbor happenings to me.   Over the years my ears have learned to dim it out the info until something exciting happens or an address close to my house is mentioned.

Like just now.  Someone fell on their bike a block over and an ambulance is in route.   Hope they are ok.

 

In the studio I listen to either music (some of it by these Police) or the dim of cable news.   I have tried to break the habit of the need for white noise but I just can’t.  If nothing is on my brain starts to think to much. 

Does that make sense?

Surely I cannot be alone win my need for static noise.

(ps I have tried audio books…I land up mind drifting and loosing all track of the story).

 

And before I click the post button I wanted to share this great winning deal.  Today is day two of Craftsy’s Great Summer Sale.  Some classes are up to 75% OFF!  Yes Craftsy has awesome quilting classes but I also have several foodie, knitting and sewing classes in my stash on Craftsy. 

These are a few that have caught my eye and tumbled into my basket.

        

Click on the images above or the Sweet Summer Sale image to go right to the site for sale pricing!

Big News Tomorrow!

My friend Wendy Butler Berns

I have known Wendy for many many years.   She used to reside in the Chicagoland area and then she ran north behind the cheddar curtain like my dear son and now lives just outside the Madison Wisconsin area.

Wendy and I have had our paths cross earlier this year when we were taping episodes for this upcoming season of The Quilt Show. 

(hint: my episode will be airing on July 15th!)

Wendy is also one of the original educators on the Craftsy site.  

So I asked her to give some insight into her classes and this was our exchange.

Wendy, What topics do your Craftsy courses cover? My  "Free Motion Quilting and More" course covers everything you need to get started with machine quilting!  Preparing the quilt for quilting, creating a sample for use with the walking foot and one for the darning foot.  I also cover my tips on threads and needles.  The course has proven to be very successful for students ready to jump into machine quilting.  My course "Pictorial Quilts with Machine Applique" covers my detailed steps for creating pictorial quilts starting from a line drawing or photograph.  The outline follows my book "Photo Album Quilts" which is now out of print.  Students are enjoying experimenting with original design using my machine applique process.  The third course is "Art Quilting 101".. I love to encourage students to jump in and experiment with the spontaneity of working small.   We explore embellishing with threads, fusible designs and adding 3-D texture to our pieces... lots of inspirational ideas.

I also wandered to Wendy’s website to see what she has been up to.  I have seen this quilt in person and of course it is a favorite.

….and then I visited her pattern page.

 

Yep. this one won me over immediately.

 

 

Check out Wendy, for a Craftsy class, a great pattern or to teach/lecture for your guild.  She is a great person so spend some time with!

Enjoy your day,

Laura Wasilowski–Guest Blogger!

Meet Laura Wasilowski! She brings a smile to my face every time I see her or one of her joyful quilts.  She and they literally light up a room.  And now she can light up your computer screen with her Craftsy class. 

Hand-Stitched Collage Quilts

Laura shares whimsical designs for three small, single-block quilts that you can create along with her. You'll add fusible web to your fabrics and learn how to protect your tools and work surfaces. Cutting out free-form appliqué shapes and composing your artwork are a breeze - your creativity and improvisation are encouraged! Then it's time to add details and texture with a wealth of hand-embroidery stitches, from lazy daisies to French knots. Laura will show how to make more than a dozen stitches, and help you finish your quilt with batting, a colorful border and options for hanging. Bonus: Laura's e-book "Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts" (a $14.99 value) is included free!

And Laura even has kits to go with her Craftsy class if you wish.  You can find them here.

How did you become an art quilter?
I learned to sew as a girl in 4-H. When I went away to college, I was placed in a costume department through my work-study program. That was where I learned to dye fabrics. When I moved to the Chicago area, I was introduced to quiltmaking by a neighbor, Janet Dye. The first exhibit I ever saw was of Amish quilts—the colors and patterns were overwhelming and amazing.

Through a network of quilt friends, I met my friend, Melody Johnson. Together, we started Artfabrik, where we specialized in making hand-dyed fabrics and threads for quilters. Soon I realized I could take all that yardage I was dyeing for other people and create this thing called fused art quilts. Now my work is a blend of 2 art forms, surface design, and quiltmaking.

Why do you choose to fuse?
I became a fuser, because I wanted to create quilts that told stories about my family, friends, and the landscapes that I see. Fusing makes the process of creating complex, pictorial collage quilts fast, easy, and fun. It is the most direct route from that idea in your head to the implementation of the idea into fabric. Fusing is an improvisational art form that shows the makers hand.

CLICK ON THE CRAFTYS CLASS TITLE CARD ABOVE TO GO RIGHT TO LAURA’S CLASS! 

Enjoy!,

Pyramid Hexies

I love a good treasure hunt. 

The latest find has arrived home and I am so happy to share.

The minute I saw it on eBay with a “BUY IT NOW” option it was all over.  The ebay app strikes again.   A bit more than I usually part with for a top but it is a setting I have never seen before and I am loving the Red, White and Blue solids.

Just rows of triangles/pyramids.

Simple and Dramatic.

Straight to the point as they say.

By the slight sheen to the fabric and a touch of age smell I am thinking a bicentennial quilt.

It is pretty big at 80 x 82 at this time.  The edges have been cut straight so I can easily add a border.  I am thinking some 6” Sawtooth Stars in patriotic fabrics will do the trick.

 

 

Looking closely at the setting I see some inspiration for other settings.

I am loving this quilt top!  

And also in the genre of a treasure hunt, the following landed in my email inbox this morning to share.

Looks like Craftsy is having their seasonal “BIG SALE” this weekend.  This one is with a twist.  New classes will be on sale each day.  Friday thru Monday at midnight. 

You can click on the image all weekend to check out what the new offering is.

 

Today there are some goodies.  Fabric Patterning with Wax Resist and Celtic Cables (knit class) are in my basket!

A great way to spend my evenings during next weeks trip to Arizona.

Meeting Carol Doak

I have to admit up until about 3 years ago I didn’t foundation piece more than a handful of times in my 20 years of quilting.

But lately it’s a staple at Wild Angel Studio.

So imagine my happiness when Carol Doak and I crossed paths not once but twice in a month! Denver and Charleston!  

How often do you get to have dinner with a quilting icon? 

I did twice!

It was wonderful to hear her stories of her quilting life, and we shared a few chuckles over like experiences.  And I listened intently to her words of wisdom.  She is a plethora of information.

 

 

 

And we shared furbaby pics. 

Her Bailey is adorable.

 

 

Obviously one of those encounters was when we were both in Denver shooting our Craftsy classes.   Carol’s was a bit delayed in release due to her schedule but it’s live now!

WOW! 

Learning from a master with 20 years in the field teaching is fantastic.

 

 

Her “binder clip” tip is priceless and had me reaching for my never ending Office Depot list.

Even if you have foundation pieced many more years than I, lesson 4 which is filled with many more wonderful tips is worth the price of admission.

 

Carol has provided a link for 25% off on her workshop if you click on her picture.

Now I am back to viewing, and printing, and cutting, and sewing.  

                         “Don’t forget to cut your fabric exactly larger than smaller.” –Carol Doak

A Special Discount for my blog readers!

My Craftsy workshop is LIVE!

 

And if you click HERE you can get the workshop for 50% off!

ENJOY!

Anticipation….

 

Ok admit it if you are of a certain age you are humming Carly Simon’s tune right now while thinking about this ad from our youth.

 

 

The wait for me is almost finally over.  Well somewhere between 7-9pm CST the wait will be over….somewhat.

 

Nope not a tax refund (still waiting on that).

 

 

My Craftsy Class, Pieced Hexies : Beyond English Paper Piecing, will be LIVE!

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my it seems like ions ago now that I filmed the class when it fact it was just 6 short weeks since.  Scheduling delays (with my being on the road) and then a snowstorm delay….I kept wondering will this ever finally happen?

 

 

 

And now the anticipation is, the party invites are out,

will they come?

 

 

 

p.s. either late tonight or early tomorrow I will post a link on the blog that will take you directly to the workshop.  

Craftsy Taping 101

Wow what a day yesterday was!  I planned to blog last night but a 5 hour “nap” got in the way!  But this is fine.  I will putter a bit after posting this then it’s back to bed for a few more hours of sleep before the fun begins again.

Yesterday started with my 7:45am pick up by Danica, Craftsy’s awesome hair and makeup girl!

And then the rollercoaster began.  Due to an accident (not involving us) of Denver’s Light Rail well we got stuck in the hotel parking garage for 20 mins.  :(   But Danica’s awesome reverse driving skills got us out of the jam and on our way.

Breezed thru hair, makeup, wardrobe.   Just a note future Craftsy students I curtailed the 8 wardrobe changes to just 4.  I’m not a big “clothes” person and convinced my wonderful producer that 4 outfit changes for 8 lessons will suffice.  At least for my class. 

Then onto the set.  And unfortunately my crew, Rachel, Andrew, Shawn & Drew (yes two Andrews!) were having some prop and then technical difficulties that set us back….a few hours.

See the window….I hope you like it.  it was a pain to get to look like daylight streaming thru.  I wanted to tell my crew it was ok if it was “night” out since I am a nocturnal quilter.  But I didn’t …too early in my relationship with them to poke a little fun.  But will definitely mention it today. :)

After the window, well we had a camera issue, a sewing machine issue, a power issue,  and then a dead microphone issue.  And it wasn’t until a little after 11am that we started to shoot.   I could see the strain on their faces as we were so behind schedule. 

I nailed the first segment in record time with little retakes and voila it was smiles all around.

This is a pic of what is just beyond the actual set.  Andrew sits behind the computers makings sure everything syncs up and looks good.

Jason is looking over to check the lighting balance.   Rachel is kneeling down to check notes.

Once we got going there was no stopping us.

We got thru filming 5 segments.  We filmed 4 of the 8 lessons and then went back and reshot an entire lesson with a new camera angle that we all decided we liked better.  Nailed that reshoot in one take.  The entire lesson.  whew

 

 

 

 

Finally we have daylight streaming thru the window.

But now this quilter needs to get back to bed for tomorrow is another day “on set”.   Oh yeah I am hip to all the filming lingo now…. sweeping out.