One of the coolest things when you are a teacher is when a student writes to you with what she has learned and used from your classes.  Last week, I was tickled pink to receive an e-mail from Susan Molin who took my Fabric Postcards class at the Merrimack Quilt Guild in New Hampshire in late January.  The first picture I saw was this wonderful rhinoceros…doesn’t he just make you grin?

I think Susan did a fabulous job using the printed fabric, the yarn-edge finishing technqiue, and creative embellishments.  I had shared a piece or two that I did where I made the postcards first, then applied them to a quilted background (for example, the Mountain Seasons pattern in my book, ThreadWork Unraveled, is made that way).  The photo of the overall quilt, Jungle Play,  is a tad blurry, but I’m including it anyway so you get the feel for how she has done the piece:

Here is the giraffe–the “hair” for the mane is PERFECT:

and the gorilla–love those hanging-down branches:

I like how Susan has used understated quilting, creative beads and buttons, and couched yarn to the background quilt.   Very effective!  Thanks so much Susan for sharing with me and letting me, in turn, share here on my blog!

Hi all! I’d like to invite you to visit the page for the FiberArt For a Cause fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society. This may be the final one ever for the FFAC, and I’m pleased to have been part of the FFAC efforts for several years. This year, I’ve made two donations. You can see both here, along with the other MANY generous donations by many quilt artists. (Click photo to see it larger.)

For the Tote bag part of Tote Tuesday: I have donated a copy of my Threadwork Unraveled book, the January 2010 issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited with my last design series article, some of my hand-dyed fabric, a pair of my funky hand-dyed socks, and a spool of Rainbows variegated thread from Superior Threads.

I also made and donated an 11×17 inch quilt made from one of the lino-cuts I made recently. You can see details in the post below! Thanks for taking a look, and for popping over to the FFAC Tote Tuesday page to take a look.

Several years back, the indefatigable Virginia Spiegel set out to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.  Her efforts have taken various forms, in which I’ve been able to participate as donor of both art quiltwork and cash:  fabric postcards and art quilt auctions.  This year, she’s got another great idea:  Totes filled with goodies from various fiber artists.  I’m thrilled to donate a copy of ThreadWork Unraveled, a spool of thread, and a fabric postcard (yet to be made!) as the contents of one of the bags.  The goal is to have bags with affordable-for-most donations as well as a few fancier ones.

Logo designed by Jeanelle McCall of http://www.fivespoongallery.com/

Here’s how it will work:

ToteTuesday, a Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, will open Tuesday, February 2 and continue through March.

ToteTuesday will feature themed totes filled with unique, beautiful, and inspiring items from the worlds of art quilting, fiber arts, knitting, beading, mixed media and surface design.

You can expect totes offering original artwork, autographed books, hand-dyed fabrics, gorgeous yarns, beads, handmade journals, fun and useful materials/tools for mixed-media and surface design, online classes, DVDs, and much, much more.

A list of the more than 20 themed totes now in progress is here:

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/4265

100% of the proceeds will be donated directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. Fiberart For A Cause has already donated over $190,000 to the ACS:

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/NewFiles/ACSFundraiser.html

Here’s what will be in “my” tote:

Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 2 and be prepared to be amazed!

To visit Jeanelle McCall’s site, click here.

Yippeee!  It’s time for the winners of the Double-Giveaway here and over at Susan Brubaker Knapp’s Blue Moon River blog and website.  Yesterday, Paul’s minor surgery  (the reason for the delay) went well, we got home last night, he’s doing great, and this morning I asked both him and our younger son to pick to a number between 1 and 64 (the number of comments by deadline time yesterday).  Eli was first, and he picked the number for Carolyn who therefore wins Applique Petal Party

Carolyn wrote:

“I have been crazy in love with her bohemain bouquet for a long time. I may just have to take the plunge and go for it! Love the new petal party as well. I would be thrilled to win any of the great give aways! Keep up the good work!”

Paul came downstairs next, and he picked the number for Jane who will win Susan’s Pinata Purse pattern , who wrote:

quiltsmiles.blogspot.com

“Love her Bohemian Bouquet pattern, and I thank both of you for your generousity. Love your blog and I do enjoy stopping by to see what you’re up to. Thanks for sharing.

Jane”

I agree with them both…Bohemian Bouquet is one of my favorites of Susan’s, along with Round Red Barn and Glasgow Rose… I love more traditional quilts that combine circular designs with geometric/squared.  I also LOVE LOVE LOVE that quilt she is wrapped up in for her photo on her home page…great photo, great quilt!

Susan has picked the winners over on her blog, and I truly hope the winners enjoy ThreadWork Unraveled and my Nourish the Body, Nourish the Soul pattern.  The prizes will be in the mail post haste!

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