To say that things have been hectic is an understatement… I think I had several books ready to review in early September!  So at long last here is the first:

Quilting in the Limelight: the Life, Art and Techniques of an Award-Winning Quilter by Philippa Naylor, published by Dragon Threads, 2008.

My favorite part of the book was the peek into Philippa’s life, both  in Saudi Arabia and then the move back to the UK while they renovated a lovely old home.  My second favorite part of the book is the photographs from which she draws inspiration, and which inspire me in their bold graphic layout, colors and careful cropping.

The book covers:

• 1-Beginning
• 2-Saudi Arabia
• 3-The journey home (they drove from Saudi to the UK!)
• 4-House Renovation
• 5-A change of Direction
• 6-Gallery (an extensive chronology and evolution of her quilts)
• 7-Workplace (as in, her studio, how she set it up, things to think about)
• 8-Equipment and Materials
• 9-Starting a New Quilt
• 10-The Quilt top and precision piecing
• 11–The quilting adn trapunto design
• 12-Free motion machine quilting
• 13-Piping
• 14-Mitered binding
• 15-finishing

Let me just say that I will NEVER be likely to do the precision piecing that she does!  I will, however, be tempted to wholecloth quilting….you can tell those of us who are so passionate about the quilting.  Eventually, we all give in to the urge and just skip the pieceing and/or applique and just quilt quilt quilt a piece, a wholecloth piece!

I very much enjoyed the detailed in-progress photos of her free-motion quilting, plus all the photos of the backs, where you can sometiems better see just what she has done.  The close-up photos are wonderful, too… just as good as being there in person to see JUST how she did that! In this example, how to bury a knot invisibly…well done (both the knot and the photos).

My only quibble with the colorful, inspiring book–which is a nearly-square format 11″ tall by 10″ wide–is that on the reverse side of the pages that have nine photos (laid out like a nine-patch block) is that the narrow grid of white between the photos shadows through to the other side of the page, and I find it very visually distracting.  I wish the paper (which is a lovely glossy white and showcases the photos well) were heavier, to prevent the show-through.

I also like how Philippa spends so much time on the finishing details.  As a garment-maker who learned under some wonderfully demanding teachers (and became even more picky myself about my own work), I really appreciate that she pays so much attention to the fine finishing, and shares how to do it well!  (Yes, I know…I try to beat my type A tendencies into submission, but they are indeed there!)  In sum:  I enjoyed it, I recommend it, and I’ll be likely to refer to it again, both for the eye candy and the fine instruction on finishing details.

Hi all!  Just in time for the holidays (and adding to your wish list, giving, or–even better–taking off the list and into the “ordered” category), it is time to share a bit more about my book, ThreadWork Unraveled.

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I’ve had many orders, for which I humbly thank every single one of you!  I know you could buy it for less from Amazon, or without shipping from your local quilt shop, so I am so happy to be able to autograph a copy just for each of you!  Some folks have asked for more info, so I thought I’d share the Table of Contents (above), Index (below), and a couple pages from inside, as well as hotlinks to two wonderful reviews.  To see these photos larger, please click (or –to get it to open in a separate window or tab– right click if on a PC  or Command-click if on a Mac) to open it up larger.

My dearest friend, Marie Z. Johansen, blogged about my book and shared some pics here, and Dawn Goldsmith of Subversive Stitchers gave me another rave review here.  I have to say, I was stunned and thrilled at BOTH.  I didn’t know Dawn before, but had surfed in to her blog.  I was quite happy when she asked me earlier this week to guest blog on her spot, so I will be doing that…next week I hope!   Last but not least, there are a number of nice reviews (including from both Marie and Dawn) at Amazon…and yes, I totally understand if you need to save a few pennies and order from Amazon instead of from me.  Personally, I LOVE shopping at Amazon, tho it is hazardous… my pile of to-read books is precariously tall!

The book has three major sections:  the Basics, Applique, and Quilting.  Here’s the start of the Basics:

And from that section, the discussion of Marking Tools:

Here’s the start of the Applique section:

And how I do a test stitch-out to see which thread will look best, plus the start of the Machine Quilting section:

There are a number of projects which help you learn about your machine (tension settings sampler), plus some fun and lovely ones like Mountain Seasons:

If you’d like to see more pictures from inside the book, you can visit the AQS website for a Look Inside at some of the “eye candy” with quilts from guest artists, or visit the blogs I mentioned above—those are hotlinks.

If you have any questions about what else is in the book, just write and ask!  I sure hope you like it, Cheers, Sarah

Despite being a relatively unknown teacher, I was thrilled that my Wednesday class was FULL!  It is called Tame Fussy Fiddly Threads for Machine Quilting, which is really my “More Machine Quilting” class but with a better name.  It is for folks who are comfortable with free-motion quilting.  You don’t have to think you are good at it, just willing to try it!

The photo above shows the four 15″ square samples I made for the class.  (Click on the photo for a larger view.) The one on the top left is on the cover of my book.  Since I kit up the threads, and the ones I used in that sample didn’t match the kits, I decided I needed to make up three new samples to match what was in the kits because many students want to “make it just like that.”  I always encourage students to make it their way, but many will follow the class sample for practice.

When I teach this class locally and for guilds where students have their own machines, we work on a thread tension sampler (the pattern/instructions are in my book) so folks can learn how to achieve a balanced tension no matter which combination of thread, needles, fabric and batting (well, there may be impossible combinations, but we talk about that, too).  However, I learned the hard way in Paducah in Spring 2008, that doing a tension sampler on a borrowed classroom machine isn’t the best idea.  SO, I developed the leaf sampler so students can actually make a small item in class while testing different threads and tension settings.  I also hand out the instructions for the tension sampler so they can start on it when they get home to have their own personalized ready-reference quilting tension guide.

Anyway, the morning was spent making the freezer paper stencil template and painting:

The colors the students combined were GREAT!  I loved the pink and green tinges to the copper and gold:

Here are three happy students….the lady (my classroom helper…thank you!) on the left used a gray/black print that looked great in the real… it didn’t photograph as well, but is really cool:

The one in the middle used the Brytes thread, a heavy poly from Superior Threads, for the stems very effectively:

Lynn was one of the few who totally wanted to go her own way…yippee!  Instead of using my leaf, she drew and stencilled an oak leaf:

And here is Lynn  in the middle of quilting—thanks to Janome America for sponsoring several classrooms of machines!

And of course, a whole bunch more of fun quilting and stencilling and quilting.  Some students preferred to mark guidelines for their stems and vines:

and even more pictures:

I really like Barbara’s composition, colors and that swirly vine:

and here’s a detail:

Next post about classes, I’ll share the Fun Fabric Postcards class!

Quilt Market is THE trade show for the quilt industry.  It takes place every fall in Houston, and in spring at a sequence of cities around the U.S.  I had only been once before–in 2003 I think it was–in Portland, Oregon, with my dearest friend Marie.  What an overwheleming experience and eye-opener!  I knew within 30 minutes that I did NOT want to do the “designer and have a booth at Market” thing for my career, but that I DID want to be a part of the industry.

This year, AQS really  put on the extra push to get my book into print in time for Market, and arranged book signings both in their booth and in Peterson-Arne, one of the major distributors to quilt shops.  The photo above is the AQS booth, and you can see that they included two of my quilts on their wall, including The Wall right under the AQS banner (with my book smack dab under it!), and Tea over on the right.  The two projects on the table are in the book!

Marge Boyle, the AQS marketing person, put together some very nice name cards and easel-display thingies which I was able to use later when doing book signings at Festival, in my booth, and later here in Maine at book-signings.  Thanks Marge!  Here is the close-up of the center of the booth’s wall:

The booth was at the back of the hall….right near the ladies room!  As Libby Lehman walked by while I was signing, one of the editors immediately went over to say hello, brought to introduce her to me, and we gave her one of my books.  Needless to say, I felt quite sheepish–I mean, I’m just me, and she is the Queen, Master…Empress??? of Thread (except she is so nice and friendly those all sound too uppity–she’s just the master!).

To my utter delight, on Thursday one of my students from MOnday came dashing in…she was in Libby’s class that day, and of the three books Libby recommended for machine quilting, MINE was one of them!   MY OH MY!!!!   It is SO AFFIRMING to have someone with Libby’s expertise and stature say good things–after all, she doesn’t know me from a hole in the wall, and for her to think I’ve done well… WOW!   I know I did my best, but it sure makes you feel wonderful to know that someone who is THE expert agrees that I’ve done a good job.  PHEW!

And a view of another table in the booth:

Life is good!

At LONG Long last, the cases of books have arrived and I will begin shipping pre-orders, with the first orders being shipped first.  All items will be sent via US Postal Service (USPS) Priority Rate Flat Mail envelopes, both domestic and International–the equivalent first class mail.  Since this service is eminently reliable in the US, I won’t contact each of you individually; please DO let me know if there is a problem!   For international orders, the USPS tracking ends when the package leaves the US, so I will send each person living outside the US an e-mail to let them know the package is en route.  I hear that these envelopes take 1-2 weeks to be delivered to Canada, but not sure about Australia.  Someone let me know?  THANKS!