Teeheee…can you tell I’m excited?  My Video workshop, Art Quilt Design from Photo to Threadwork (with Fabric Collage and Machine Quilting) is now available as a digital download on the Interweave Store here (both regular AND [!!!!] High def) and available for pre-order here on my website and on the interweave site.  If you pre-order your DVD from me, shipping is free from now through September 24th (and a modest $3 after that).

Now available!!!!

I haven’t downloaded the video here at home yet, but I think I am at least as excited about this as about the entire DVD:

The Closing Credits…son Joshua is there, too! I had so much fun playing his music on my iPhone to get psyched before and celebrate after taping, too!

Yep, JOSHUA’s MUSIC, written, performed and recorded by my firstborn son, runs during the closing credits!!!!   You can hear the entire song on SoundCloud, here.  (Note:  link coming soon…gotta listen to the video to hear which song they chose but too eager to get this posted to wait for the download to finish–will update on the 11th.)

And as always, THANK YOU to Janome America.  They have sponsored me with a sewing machine through their Artist and Teacher program for a VERY long time, and I am incredibly grateful for their generosity and support.  I’m also thrilled that the dealer in Colorado,  Quilter’s Stash of Windsor, Colorado, was able to arrange for me to sew on an 8900–as I do at home–on the DVD set.  It made taping so much easier to be sewing on a familiar machine!

To celebrate, I will be having a bloghop giveaway in about ten days (September 2013) and another one in November 2013, just in time for the holidays.   Stay tuned for more on the bloghop and giveaways!  Now I’m gonna go float up in the clouds somewhere!

Just for a giggle I thought I’d share some behind the scenes with you all.   I can say that the dress and make-up (or rather, total lack of make-up) is rather different than when I usually teach!   Here I am waiting for the web seminar on the Mechanics of Machine Quilting (at the interweavestore.com) to begin:

Sitting with my laptop, waiting for the web seminar to begin!

A web seminar is sort of like a live radio broadcast with some slides thrown in.   I prepared the slides and notes, then share them via the internet with Laura at Interweave.  She works magic on her end, and using the GoToMeeting process we have a broadcast.  Each person gets an invitation to join the meeting (or seminar) via the internet.  Just before the appointed hour, you click on the email link, and it opens up a viewer for each person:  the Presenters, hosts and viewers.

The other side of the laptop! (Think of the great and powerful Oz behind the curtain….)

The Welcome screen is what was being displayed at that particular moment.  On the left is a printout of the screens with my notes to myself in case I lost track of where I was.   I will admit, I was more nervous than I thought I’d be—hope it didn’t show!  at least not much.   On the right is the Go To Meeting control panel, which showed Laura and Cate and me online; at the moment, I had my microphone muted while Cate did the intro.   On the lower right is a section where Cate Laura and I could communicate by typing notes to each other without having to speak aloud for all to hear (like when I managed to not have the correct software open at the start…OOOOPS, Sarah!).

It went well, I had fun (even with the nerves), have now finally had lunch and am now ready for the rest of my day:  raking dirt behind the garage, grocery shopping, picking up Eli after sports, and the usual evening stuff.   I think I need a nap, chocolate, or both!

Hi all!  I’m happy to report that if you want, you can now sign up for my September 5th Web Seminar on the Mechanics of Machine Quilting with Interweave/Quilting Arts!

Learn how to get ready to machine quilt with Sarah Ann Smith. Set up your space and materials so they help (and don’t hinder) you!

Here is the link:
To buy it in the store: http://www.interweavestore.com/mechanics-of-machine-quilting

And here’s what QA/IW says about the live Web Seminar:

• Preparing your workstation and tools for an effective quilting session
• Which needles and thread are best for specific projects
• Proper sewing machine tension
• How to baste a quilt in order to get smooth, even layers
• Practicing good ergonomics so you’re comfortable while you’re quilting
• Making sure your vision is in good standing to accurately see your projects and workstation
• And more!

Practice makes perfect, and machine quilting is no exception. Sarah will not only run you through the elements of this process, but she will also encourage you to be comfortable with your beginner status. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn machine quilting techniques from the start!

Don’t worry if you can’t tune in on the 5th!  The Seminar is recorded and you can listen in at any time at your convenience.  To learn about how this works (you’ll need an internet connection for your computer or tablet), visit the hotlink above.

There will be more links and information in the coming days.  There is already something on FaceBook!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuiltingDaily
Twitter: https://twitter.com/QuiltingDaily
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/quiltingdaily/

And I’ve added a link to my  Pinterest boards–I’d love it if you’d follow me!

All of the boards are here:  http://pinterest.com/sarahannsmithq/boards/

and the one just for teaching and publications:

http://pinterest.com/sarahannsmithq/sarahs-teaching-and-publications/

Today, I’m celebrating 8 years of blogging (SHRIEK…how can it be that long?) by announcing my upcoming Quilting Arts Webinar, an online seminar on getting started in Machine Quilting, which will be on September 5, 2013, at Noon East Coast (US) time.  I’ll be talking all about what you need to do to get started in machine quilting–the prep work that goes before the actual quilting.  And to answer the obvious question first, What’s a Webinar?, it is an on-demand web seminar.

Tips and tricks for getting ready to Machine Quilt in Sarah Ann Smith’s              Quilting Arts Webinar, Sept. 5, 2013

The links and advertising for the webinar will go live soon at Interweave.com, but I wanted to give all of  you a heads-up! and let you know first!  You’ll need an internet connection (which you obviously already have if you are reading this!).  Once you sign up, you’ll receive instructions on how to open the page in your browser and “sign in” and listen in (and see some slides) and even ask a question.  The Webinar will run 60-90 minutes.  If you can’t tune in at Noon on the 5th or need to leave, that’s OK because they record the webinar and you can listen in when it is convenient for you!!

When I teach, I like to tell students that machine quilting is sorta like painting a house:  if you don’t sand and spackle and prime that peeling paint on the windowsill, you’re not gonna get a good result.  It doesn’t matter if you have the best paint, paintbrush, and painter, if you don’t get things prepared well, your results won’t be as good as if you DID prepare AND understand what it is you are doing and why.  So I’m going to talk about the “whys” of the prep part of machine quilting.  Then you’ll have your machine working WITH you, not against you.  I hope some of you will surf on in and join in the webinar.  If you can’t be with us at noon on Sept. 5, however, you can STILL download a recording of the webinar, all the information I share and the Question and Answer session.

I’ll confess right now:  at first I didn’t “get” why anyone would pay $20 or more for a webinar.  Then I listened to some of the QA webinars, and OMG what a TON of information.  For a modest price, and you can listen in at your convenience.  They were fabulous!

One of the goodies that comes with attending the Webinar is QA often gives attendees a discount for future purchases (though I’m not sure how long the discount is valid) including my book, which they carry.  THEN,  my DVD on “Art Quilt Design From Photograph to Threadwork with Fabric Collage and Machine Quilting” will be available for download in mid-September and on DVD about October 1st!  WOOT!  More on that in a future post.  (Yes, I am teasing you!)  More, including hotlinks, when they go live!

Lookit what arrived in the mail today!   My September/October issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited, with my Metallic Threads article mentioned ON THE COVER!  I’m thrilled with the layout and how the article looks and reads, and hope you will be too.  You can find MQU at Barnes and Nobles (on Sept. 1) as well as order this and back issues online, here.

Machine Quilting Unlimited…notice the Metallic Threads on the left, that’s my article! WOOT!

I LOVE Metallic threads, and once you learn a few basics it really isn’t difficult to use at all!   My book, ThreadWork Unraveled, talks all about threads including metallics, but for the skinny on just the metallics, it’s covered in this six-page (!!!) article.

The opening spread on the Metallic thread article. The golden eagle quilt on the left, 13 x 13 inches, is a wholecloth quilt using one of my murky “background / forest floor” hand-dyes.

I was thrilled that my buddy Jim VanderNoot, who lives in Pennsylvania but will be returning to the best place on Earth (well OK, the are other really great places too, but Maine ROCKS) when he retires in a few years (or sooner we hope in the local guild…Jim is a welcome addition!), let me use his “Celebrate!” quilt for the article.  Jim’s a fabulous quilter, so I can’t wait until he and his wife get to move north.  Thanks, Jim!

Here’s the last page of the article with Jim VanderNoot’s quilt on the top–love his sense of whimsy and UBER LOVE his quilting. That’s my Garuda Dances Under the Ocean Moon on the bottom, made with Princess Mirah Bali batik fabrics.

AND…drum roll for thorough readers…. MQU has a “Web Extra,” a free PDF download of my 2008 article on sewing machine needles.  Click here to visit MQU’s Web Extras page and find the link.

I’ve finally finished the major house chores–well, except for painting ALL the trim on the garage–done, so hope to get back to a regular blogging schedule soon!   In the meantime, hope you can lay your hands on a copy of this magazine and enjoy this and the other great articles.  MQU is  one of those magazines that I read cover to cover AND keep all the back issues!   Thrilled to be able to write for them again.

P.S.  And one benefit to this article… in the past I had avoided bobbin work like the plague.  But I thought it would be good to include bobbin work in the article.  Guess what… I now LOVE using the Razzle Dazzle thread–I figured out a way to use it and still fill my need to SEE what I’m doing with something that needs to be worked upside-down!   So add one more technique to my arsenal…and a few more spools of thread to my stash.