No…make that a double-double drawing!  Several years ago, Susan Brubaker Knapp (website here) and I met online through the QuiltArt list and became internet friends.  We FINALLY got to meet in Houston at Market this year.

Our quilty careers have been moving forward (a good direction) on parallel tracks, and we both were published this year for the first time!   So we are having a doubly-fun giveaway:

Over on Susan’s Blue Moon River Blog, she is giving away a copy of my book ThreadWork Unraveled AND my Nourish the Body, Nourish the Soul pattern, and here I’ll be doing a drawing for her beautiful Applique Petal Party pattern booklet AND her Pinata Purse pattern!   I’ll draw a winner at random from those who post by noon on Monday (oops) Wednesday, Dec. 16.  Read on for more enticing details!

Here’s Susan’s full quilt:

Applique Petal Party is an interesting new hybrid:  pattern plus booklet with detailed instructions.  Inside there are nine fold-open full sized patterns for all 16 blocks and the border, all with clear lines and notes.  There is also an 8-page booklet (8 1/2 x 11 inches) including:

• Needle-turn applique basics, with sharp photos clearly illustrating tricky bits such as getting sharp points for stars and leaves
• Making Bias Vines
• Fabric Requirements for the 73 x 73 inch quilt
• Cutting instructions
• Sashings
• Constructing the quilt
• Borders
• Finishing and Quilting
• Binding and labeling; here there are three brilliantly well done photos to illustrate how to do a double-fold bias binding on the ever-challenging scallops.  Well, they won’t be challenging any more, because they show clearly how to do them!

Here are two detail photos:

I love that on the back cover there are four small quilts made from a single block in this pattern, but in totally different colorways.  If you love the pattern but just aren’t a pink person, these will give you an idea of how versatile and beautiful this pattern is.

Susan’s publisher, C&T, is really leading the pack with innovative publishing and support options.  Even on the pattern they invite teachers to use the pattern for classes, and offer support via the C&T website.  Here’s a link to Susan’s pattern at www.ctpub.com ; click on the “google preview” for a tease of what’s inside.

Pinata Purse is a fun one to feature a favorite fabric— and you get lots of look. Just like a Mexican Pinata is covered in fringes of paper, this purse is covered in fringes of fabric.  I could see doing a rainbow thing with the fringe, or a colorwash from light to dark…LOTS of fun possibilities.  Plus it’s a great shape with a nice, useful pocket across the entire back.

Susan is a quilter and graphic designer who lives in North Carolina with her husband and children. You can purchase Applique Petal Party, or any of her wonderful patterns (be sure to check out the Round Red Barn!), at Susan’s website.

To be entered in the drawing to win Susan’s Applique Petal Party OR her Pinata Purse pattern, visit Susan’s website and blog.  THEN Come back here and leave a comment here on my blog telling me something you like over at Susan’s!   On December 16th, we’ll both do drawings:  Over here, the first number (comment number) drawn will win Susan’s Applique Petal Party , the second her pinata purse pattern!  Thanks for joining in the fun,

Cheers, Sarah

Sometimes, spam isn’t always bad…. from today’s “catch”

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

I’ll be back soon with a real post…..

The weekend after I returned from Houston, Deborah Boschert flew up from Texas for a glorious Frayed Edges reunion.  It is SO WONDERFUL that Deborah can manage to get up here…almost every year!…since she moved to Texas.  We miss her daily presence, so appreciate her visits so much!

Deborah visited various ones of us spending the night (tho Camden is too far flung for her to reach, alas!), but on Sunday we had a wonderful sleepover at Kathy’s house!  Thanks bazillions to her hubby, Bruce, for taking a night away with his family so we could run amok!

Kathy always decorates for the season, so it is lovely to visit.  Look how she used candy corn to anchor the bittersweet—lovely!

Since our sleepover was on a Sunday night, we had various family-kid obligations (well, Kate, Hannah and I did).  Hannah missed lunch, but here we are:

Then I had to decamp to Topsham, where Deborah used to live, for Eli’s last two soccer games of the season–and learned that her daughter used to play on the very same fields (directions:  go to the parking lot, then take the path through the woods to the fields… I kid you not, those were the actual instructions!)!  Here’s the goalie supreme (red shirt) in action:

By the time I got back to Kathy’s house, Hannah was there, and Kathy’s book group at the China Village library was over.   We had a blast making ornaments… I was the poop in the group and didn’t get kits made–just too much to do and too stressed after Houston and getting the pre-ordered books out, but the others came up with such wonderful projects….Here’s Deborah working on a felted wool rose-ball (from Hannah!)

and of course we indulged in some potent potables… I don’t even remember what this drink was (Kate brought it) except that it was tasty!  I am SO not a drinker of mixed drinks, so I don’t know what ANY of them are!

as we got up to go to dinner (we did potluck…I brought lunch, Kathy did dinner, Kate did breakfast, Hannah brought munchies) I loved this picture:  the chaos of friendship! Stuff and gifts and projects and crafts everywhere!!!!

and then two shots of us at dinner (which was delectable…but why am I the only one to have seconds????)

and then another of Kathy’s charming goodies…a little needle felted wool cozy, with embroidery and stitchery and beads and buttons…. sigh…. beauty on a daily basis wherever you turn in her house! 

It was my birthday not too long ago, so Deborah brough prezzies to celebrate assorted birthdays over the past year…. here we all are with our lovely pieces:

Don’t we all look so happy?!!!!  What a wonderful day… And that was just Sunday!   I decided I’d split the visit into two posts, then started processing the photos and realized I’d best make it three!  So I’ll share the rest of the visit over the next week or two.

One of the lessons learned is to  get your class a good title AND a good class description.  I clearly failed on the Chunk and Jigsaw Fusible applique!  The class had only 7 students, but I opted not to cancel (I was given the choice), figuring getting paid for seven students is better than none, and they had already planned and prepped, and I had spent more money and time on kits and materials for this class than any other, so I might as well.  In reality, the class is using fusing and other art techniques to make fabric postcards (or slightly larger) pieces in the class.

Well, it turned out we had a ball!   I decided the best way to organize things was to demo the fusing first, have students fuse up a stash of fabrics (thanks to IQA for providing extra ironing stations in the hallways….due to electricity charges and wiring you can only have two irons in a classroom, clearly not enough for full classes!), then move to art techniques in the late morning and afternoon.  I set up an “Art Smorgasbord” in the back of the room, with materials and supplies for various techniques at three tables / workstations.

At the end of the day everyone put their stuff up on one of the foam core sheets and we all took pictures (photo above).  Among the techniques we tried were angelina (a hairy fiber that is sparkly which you can emboss with a stamp), making your own stamps from rope, glue, “stuff” (such as metal washers), foam sheets (I used Darice Foamies from Wal-mart…an adhesive backed foam that you can cut with scissors), painting on fabric, freezer paper stencils to stencil, couched yarns and other stuff, making your own cording from yarn, strips of fabric and whatnot, scrunching/texturing fabric…. and finally, my favorite finish for postcards:  the couched-yarn edge.  I made sure everyone tried every technique or had some of the materials to take home and try.

Here Auian made the most adorable reindeer…she had brought many Christmas fabrics, and I am totally in love with this guy!:

and her friend Tanyel made some wonderful postcards with her to-die-for selection of African fabrics:

Marie used both African and regular quilting fabrics and my Little Brown Bird pattern to make her own, slightly larger quiltlet… wish I could see this one when it is done! I was SO excited… early in the day I did a small exercise that helps folks understand that drawing really can be easy if you just break it down into basic steps and concepts…and Marie said she actually thought that now she might really be able to draw, and she never had before…WOOOOHOOO!!!!!  I think what I love best about teaching is when I can help a student realize that the really CAN do it!

and

Our fantabuloso Janome rep (who helped with the machines, and tips and all sorts of fun stuff) got to join in the fun on Thursday since we were so few– it was truly a pleasure to have her in the classroom helping, she was everything you  hope a classroom company rep will be!

Renee worked quietly over on the side of the room and boy did she cut loose!  Her mom and dad are both artists, and you can tell she is comfortable in a creative, free-form environment.  Plus, her taste in colors and fabrics and mine overlap a lot… I loved what she has done in these cards:

Mary’s frog and lily make me think of spring.  I also shared in the class how to use some funky tape-yarn to “bind” or edge-finish a postcard.. that’s what Mary has done on the top edges here:

Stacia had fun with abstract design and Angelina:

I’m not positive, but think this one may be Stacia’s also:

Kitty said she likes to work in series, and this is part of her seasons series:

She also used the paintsticks and a stamp I had made of cardboard and glued twine (done in the shape of a tree)  with the Shivas to color this cloth for future use:

Last but not least,one more beauty from Renee:

It was a great class to end my first teaching stint in Houston.  Because the class was so small, it was very informal and we got to sit close and work together to do some truly fun stuff!

I’ve just sent in my application to teach again next year in Houston…here’s to hoping!   Thanks to ALL my students, it was truly a privelege to be able to come teach and to have you in my classes.

Quilting Arts is having an online studio tour today (visit there to get the links to all the other studios…way cool, Cate!), so I thought I’d share some of what I like best about my studio.

1.  It is at home and my family is close by!

2.  My thread stash (hence the title of my book:  Threadwork Unraveled!) :

3.  The design wall, fabric storage and table!  I’d love to have full-height walls, but I don’t, so this will suffice.  I used 2″ thick rigid foam insulation covered with a flannel sheet for the design wall.  The storage is based on Carol Taylor’s and is custom made but oh-so-worth-it.  The work table is an old Ikea table that served as our kitchen and dining table for 20+ years.  When the boys got big enough to kick each other under the table, we got a bigger dining table and I got this for my studio.  I built a platform with 5/8″ plywood and tall casters/wheels.  The height is a perfect work surface, I ‘ve made storage underneath, and the table has good history/karma!

4.  My big, flat cabinet/surface for my sewing machine.  Since I got the big room (the one over the garage), I also got to host the guest bed, a gorgeous antique my late Father-in-law bought in New York City nearly 50 years ago; the bed dates to 1780!  I used to store my quilts on it, but the boys wanted to come in and flop on the bed…so…..

5.  I finally re-vamped my quilt storage.  Small pieces are in the plastic boxes, protected with a buffering layer of cloth.  Large quilts are rolled (blogpost about that here and here) and tucked into boxes under the bed:

6.  When I got fed up with not having ANY closets, I “made” one out of one of the narrow window bays.  At last, all the painting supplies are in one place, journaling in another, mixed media (ditto), shipping , etc.  Batting and shipping boxes are behind the antique Hoosier (1930s era kitchen cabinet):

So that’s it, my favorite bits.  But best of all,

7.  it’s home!