Now is the time to take an online class with me because I’ve got six great classes coming up in January and February, AND because I have decided I won’t be teaching online again for at least six months and possibly not until early 2022! So sign up NOW so you don’t miss the chance!

First up is January at Road@Home (the online Road 2 California event). Go here to register or find more information.

T207 – Hawaiian Applique By Machine on Thursday January 21 2021 from 8 am to 4:30 pm PACIFIC (California) time, so 11 am to 7:30 pm East coast time in the US.

F137 – Easy Peasy Inside Out Bag on Friday, January 22nd 2021 from 1:30-4:30 PM PACIFIC (California) time, so 4:30-7:30 East coast time in the US.

S204 – Collage The Garden: From Photo To Flower on Saturday, January 23rd, 2021, from 8 am to 4:30 pm PACIFIC (California) time, so 11 am to 7:30 pm East coast time in the US. Although the class image is a flower, my technique works on ANY imagery you choose from people to pets to buildings to landscapes.

I so hope you’ll join me! Once February is over, I am taking time for creating art, taking care of family and taking care of home. I’ll still be teaching in person later in the year (we all hope) as well as in 2022. After that, who knows? I may well teach live and online in about year, but until then… this is your only chance! See you in class!

For months I’ve been wanting to mess around with some of the new patterns for masks in pursuit of something that is breathable, comfortable, doesn’t fog up my glasses, and lets me use fun fabric.

SO, I played around yesterday and DRUM ROLL PLEASE…. I think I’ve got it! up I merged the free PDF pattern for a 7-Dart mask from DIY Craft JP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCMFxT_VdWY  with the fairly prevalent “hatchet” shaped mask—the one made of two pieces of fabric for each side that curves from the bridge of the nose to under the chin.  The seven darts create a basket shape that holds its form well which results in a fit that doesn’t touch your face and is even better (a bit) than mine if that is your goal; I used their Small/Medium size.  The drawback, besides the tiny amount of extra time sewing darts, is that the long darts on the side interrupt the pattern on the fabric.  I wanted my sloths to make people laugh.  

If you forget where you saw this, you can always find the link to the PDF (along with lots of other good stuff) on my Resources page. Just google Sarah Smith Quilts or surf straight into my website, click on Resources, then scroll down to Mask: D*rth V*d*r Meets the Hatchet Mask. All those asterisks? Well, a certain movie mogul has copyrights and lawyers. But the triangular shape of the front reminds me of that black-clad villain.

Again, here’s the link to the free PDF!

Oops! Quick update: I forgot to go back and fill in the size of fabric after I fine tuned the pattern… I’ve updated the initial pattern (as of Dec. 31, 2020). You’ll need fabric about 8 x 12 inches for the outside and same for the lining. I’m clearly not one for measuring… I just got the pattern worked out, then I fold the fabric on the grain until it is big enough for the pattern to fit LOL!

Art should be like a holiday: something to give a man the opportunity to see things differently and to change his point of view. -Paul Klee, painter (18 Dec 1879-1940) 

So I’m part of Mt. Battie Modern Quilt Guild, one of two local groups. This chapter, part of the MQG (Modern Quilt Guild) is the smaller of the two and is almost completely comprised of members of Coastal Quilters (the other group) which is part of the statewide Pine Tree Quilt Guild (Maine is the Pine Tree state). For once, I decided to participate in a round robin sort of thing. This year, the group opted to have each person do a block for ONE member of the group, doing it every other month or so.

Let me tell you I was stumped. I started by pulling fabrics.

This past month was Becca’s turn. At first her prompt had me totally baffled: Paul Klee – Swiss/German Artist 1879-1940, use solids/read as solids, and she quoted several bits about his style and inspiration:

• Klee … greatly admired the art of children who seemed free to create free of models or previous examples. In his own work, Klee often strove to achieve a similar untutored simplicity, using the intense colors inspired by an early trip to North Africa and by line drawing in the unstudied manner of everyday craftsman.
• Klee suggests that color, shape and the faintest suggestion of a subject are enough to powerfully recreate in the eye of the viewer the actual feeling of repose the artist experienced in the original landscape.

Once I started pulling fabrics, though, I got excited. I googled Paul Klee…well first I googled Klimt and it didn’t seem to jive, then Becca corrected my mental jump from Klee to Klimt and things made more sense. I thought this quilt looked like good imagery for improv piecing:

I started with the pointy roofed houses and made two sets, then did some strips. I made my castle wall darker and shorter than his, but opted to have two towers reminiscent of the ones here. I used a few pops of the brighter yellow and ochre and the light green and the bright blue scattered hither and yon as in the original. I really liked the odd jigs at the top so left it up to Becca to leave them or trim.

At about 24 x 27 inches, it is a rather large “block,” but only took me a couple days to put together. There may be something to this improv stuff! Anyway, I had a ton of fun and am energized to dive into dyeing fabric and new work in January once the holidays are done. Hope you’ve enjoyed!

These just-perfect sized pattern weights, 3″ on a side, are not only just the thing for YOUR sewing room, but they make quick and easy gifts for anyone you know who sews!

Early in my year as a Michael Miller Fabrics Brand Ambassador for 2020, I decided to use some Marbles (MMF Basic collection) for a much-wished-for set of pattern weights. Most patterns on the internet were way too big–at least 4″ on a side. I wanted mine smaller, to fit into smaller areas. As I made them I thought what fun it would be to remember this year by using fabrics from each collection and project that I made in more weights. It’s now December, and here’s what I have….FUN! Even better, Here is a FREE Printable PDF so you can make your own. The printable version duplicates what comes next:

And some new info: My cousin said the rice filled ones can be popped into the microwave (briefly!) and make nice handwarmer’s, and a friend said she uses a combination of fiberfill for soft outside and buckshot for the center to add the heft that you need for a pattern weight.

ENJOY and stay safe–here’s to hoping next year at this time we’ll be like to something approaching normalcy with COVID controlled, almost everyone vaccinated, and holidays celebrated with a LOT OF HUGS!

Now Registered participants ONLY can SEE it … CLEARLY!

If you were enrolled in the Virtual Quilt Festival’s second Machine Quilting Forum on Saturday, you know there were serious transmission issues with my presentation that made the video just yucky. TOTAL BUMMERS, but now TOTAL JOY! Thanks to the hard working folks in the Education Department (who should have been taking today off) you can SEE the video through December 12th. After that, like Cinderella’s pumpkin, it disappears. To access it, follow the following steps:

Registered participants ONLY can follow these instructions – 

—Go to My Schedule (be sure to select the Saturday, Dec 5 schedule)

—Click on the class – 320 Machine Quilting Forum II

—A new page will open with the description of the class, recording link, faculty links, and attachments

—Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the PDF attachment and the link to “Sarah Ann’s Video” to watch the YouTube video

Here are some screen shots. They drew attention to the video by adding a text message in RED font in the class description.

Then this will open up on the next page. My friend Jenny K. Lyon prepared a PDF with links to her stuff, I prepared one for my stuff and the questions I received, and I was able to upload my presentation as an “Unlisted” video on my YouTube channel. The only way to access it is through your “My Schedule” portal. I promise, the video quality is VASTLY better!

Special thanks to Suzanne Hyland, head of the Education Department, who checked email on Sunday when she should have been taking a nap to recover from the frenetic pace she kept up for weeks to direct and pull off this debut event. MASSIVE THANKS to everyone at Quilts Inc. and, for me particularly, in the Education Department. I took three classes, attended three lectures, and would do it again–both present and attend–in a nano-second! Please let Quilts, Inc., the people who bring you International Quilt Festival Houston (and more) that you want MORE!