Thursday, October 31, 2013

Kaffe Book Signing

 Last night was 
Pre-View night
for International Quilt Festival
From 5-10 pm, the public
could enter in on a special ticket.
The first two hours are just
for Special VIP Entrants.
My big moment was to look
2 booth spaces down
and see 
Kaffe Fassett and
Liza Prior Lucy
at a book signing.



I am a BIG
Kaffe fan.
The only fabrics I collect
are 
Kaffe Fabrics.
In fact, during our little break
in between Market and Festival
I sewed in my hotel room
making a quilt
with Kaffes :)
With Halloween
both Kaffe and Liza wore
big Spiders on their heads.
Cute
 Another BIG moment:
After the signing, as
Kaffe and Brandon walked down aisle
they paused at our booth
and commented on how much they liked
my Indian Blanket quilt
(the one hanging under our sign)
Kaffe noticed my quilt!
Big Moment!
Niser Holland's 
* Day Trip ( with Flying Geese to the left)
is made with Kaffe fabrics.
 We have been traveling a lot the last few months
with quilt conventions
and another part that I have loved is reconnecting with friends.
Heather Purcell (Mother Superior)
of Superior Threads has been at the shows in 
San Jose, and then here in Houston
and we have been visiting each others booths.
I used to work for Superior Threads
when we lived in St. George,
and it's been so nice to catch up
and find out the happenings back home.
 It's been pouring rain the last few days here in Houston
but it hasn't discouraged the shoppers.
These ladies stopped by our booth
and were ready to 
SHOP!
Look at these bags!
The fabric reps have left after Market
and new and wonderful booths have been set up for Festival.
 Pat purchased this cute vintage lamp
for our spot right before the doors opened.
It's a good thing I spend most of my time in our 
booth, or my $$$ could be in trouble.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Pointless Quilt

All  300 booth spaces
from 156 Vendors
are now down and dissembled
from
Pacific International Quilt Show 2013
It was a wonderful week.
Now we head home to Arizona for a few days
before flying out again early Thursday morning
to Houston.
This is the busy season for Quilt Shows.
There were so many wonderful quilts
at PIQF
that I had a hard time deciding which ones to 
photograph
I would love to have
Pointless
by Linda Basanga
Winchester, CA
on my sewing room wall.
Linda wrote:
"After being presented with the
Black and White With A Twist Challenge,
and after working through and discarding
more design ideas than I care to mention,
I happen to notice my scissors lying on 
the cutting table and I thought
'That's it! That's the design!'"

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Vintage Spool Pin Cushion

 Today was another fun day
working at 
Pacific International Quilt Festival
The crowds have been so large
we haven't had time to venture far
from our booth.
Across the aisle
I saw this darling pincushion
designed by
I've seen vintage dish plates glued to the top 
of glass candlesticks,
but this is the first I've noticed 
this type of use for a canning jar.
Wonderful way to display old threads
and to create a unique pincushion.
Verna Mosquera
The Vintage Spool
Specializes in "Romantic and Timeless Quilt Designs"
You can learn more about their patterns 

Friday, October 18, 2013

Venetian Menagerie Quilt

 Pacific International Quilt Festival
honors the Best of the Best in quilting
from around the world.
With nearly 1,000 quilts and displays
this week has been 
a visual overload.
In this World Competition
Venetian Menagerie
By Melissa Sobotka
won a 1st place ribbon
for 
Best In Country, United States.
How does one select the Best
with so many outstanding entries?
Consider the honor in receiving such a ribbon!
 A wonderland of imagination 
and technique.
 Melissa wrote
"Inspired by a photo I took of a display window in Venice. 
The dramatic still life was a menagerie of masks, 
art and oddities.
Raw edge fused applique constructed from
cotton batiks and enhanced
with Tsunkineko Inks.
Old Master art is transferred with computer printing."
I felt transported back in time
to unique, exotic cultures.
Amazing!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

My Brother Lives In A Redwood Forest

My brother lives
in a Redwood forest
deep on a mountain side
near the ocean
in Northern California
John Steinbeck wrote that
"No one has successfully painted
or photographed 
the redwood trees.
The feelings they produce
are not transferable."
 Often ranging in height 
from 250 - 300 feet tall,
these giant
Redwoods are known as the largest trees in the world.
 Yesterday we hiked 
through
Henry Cowell Redwood State Park
with only the
sound of the creek and rustling of leaves underfoot.
 We carried in a picnic lunch and dined
by the Historic Lime Kilns
built in the 1870's
 During their peak,
this forest was a busy area 
providing lime to make 
mortar and plaster for construction.
Local lime was in great demand 
while San Francisco was 
being rebuilt
after the 1906 Earthquake
 But now, all is quiet,
and serene.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Another Check on the Bucket List

 I'm in the Bay Area
preparing for 
Pacific International Quilt Festival
San Jose is my home town
and I came in a few days early 
to spend some time with family.
While I have been home 
I placed a check mark 
on my 
Bucket List
My brother-in Law
recently purchased a 
Harley- Davidson motorcycle
and offered me a ride.
 I've never been on a Harley before :)
It was quite fun to stroll around the 
scenic tree lined streets of Pleasanton, California.
And then we hit the freeway....
Zoooommmmm!
I think if I ever get back on a Harley,
I'll request we stick to the tree lined streets.
Oh my.
 Those things can go from
0 to 70 miles an hour in just a few seconds.
 When we got back from our ride,
my brother (who is an amazing cook)
had prepared a fabulous meal
of Caribbean food.
Jerk Chicken
Coconut Rice and Beans
Caribbean Slaw.
Yum:)
I'll keep you posted on 
the events from the 
Convention that starts on Wednesday.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Seam Fix Seam Ripper

Recently I was in a local quilt shop
and saw the
on display right at the front counter.
I've heard of this nifty little notion
and for $7 thought it was worth a try.
Have you seen it 
or tried it yet?
In a perfect world, 
we would not need seam rippers.
But, in MY World
I need to keep one 
close at hand :)
You use the seam ripper part first,
and then rub the fabric with the white rubber ends 
to clear away the stray threads.
I gave it a try, and it really works!
I have a friend with arthritis
who struggles with finger dexterity
and she feels this tool is quite helpful.
Heirloom Creations 
has done a short little demo
on You Tube
After watching the video
I found out there 
are also
 Electric Seam Rippers?!!!
oh my

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Is Your Ironing Board Toxic?

 The other day when I took Sharon Schamber's Workshop
she mentioned that many quilters are using 
Ironing Boards that emit toxic fumes.
I had never considered the possibility,
but now that I think of it, 
it makes complete sense.
Do you ever 
get headaches
become dizzy
or smell fumes as you iron?
The inner
chemical ridden  Polyurethane Foam
or
Teflon coating
may be a contributor.
I'd be quite happy to give up ironing my clothes,
but as a quilter,
 NEED (yes need!) to press fabrics 
on a daily basis.
I've found several solutions that can help.
 I purchased a pre-made
14" X 19"
from Sharon's daughter Christy (Purple Daisies)
There are a lot of perks to this pressing board
including the fact that they are non-toxic,
 and made with 100% Cotton Canvas exterior
with Warm and Natural Batting underneath.
(the back)
Added features include
the use of a hard surface that helps in accuracy
by not distorting the size of your piece.
* see additional features 
Or, if you would like to make your own
Pressing Board
Sharon offers a
Free Tutorial 
on You Tube
Thanks Sharon!
And if you would like to recover your 
ironing boards 
with non-toxic materials
Rachel Hauser (Stitched In Color)
offers a great Tutorial
*and my friend Cathy Underhill from Australia
(Cabbage Quilts)
recently did a post
HERE
on how she made a large
Pressing Board 
(using Sharon Schamber's Tutorial)
to fit the top of a
green sideboard in her new
quilting studio.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Sharon Schamber Workshop

 On Saturday I attended a Workshop
provided by our Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild
taught by 
Award Winning Quilter
Sharon Schamber 
and her daughter Christy Fincher
I learned to make a
New York Beauty block
using Sharons' 
Piec-lique technique.
Have you ever tried this technique?
It's a little bit like paper piecing
except you use a glue method 
rather than sewing on paper.
 The class was full, and it was so nice to have 
both Christy and Sharon moving between stations
to help us individually.
 We all worked away 
 Piec by Piec
 I always love these kind of workshops
where you see the same block
come alive in various fabrics.
 My favorite block was Danni's.
Sharon showed us a method where 
you can also add another insert
in the arched sections.
 My block
I still have some sections to sew together.
Of course, I had to use (Kaffe) Triangles 
for my back ground fabric :)
 The Piec-lique method is quite popular with many quilters.
Bari Ackerman (Bari J.)
is a member of our guild 
and was in the midst of making a Double Wedding Ring
using Sharon's technique.
can be found on 
Amazon.com
Sharon brought a few of her quilts
from the book.
Showing her amazing quilting
that she does on a domestic machine.
I learned so much from this class
and am so happy I had the opportunity 
to learn from one of the best
in the Industry.