Houston's Samplers and such

Come and say hello at the Meet the Teachers stage where I'll be talking about:
A Few of My Favorite Things

Thursday, Mixed-Media Sampler
Painting Like A Pro!Friday Sampler
Eye Candy Quilts










Saturday Sampler
Paint Like Monet

Houston - All Painted up!

More Classes:

Paint Stick Magic

Make elegant fabric with the look of airbrushing! Paint sticks applied to cotton or silk are simple, fun and permanent. This revealing hands-on workshop is for quilt, doll and clothing makers.

(My all time favorite technique!!!)

Fantastic Fabric Foiling

Bring your projects to life with instant glitz and shine. Foiling on fabric is easy, fun and permanent. This informative hands-on workshop is for both traditional and non-traditional quilt and clothing makers.

(I do love all things shinny!!)

More next time!

Houston - I'll be there with some great workshops!

Super Fast Binding and Piping!

(Taught Monday night after Market, perfect class for finishing UFO's!)

Is binding the quilt your least favorite part? Bindings and piping are a snap with this no-fail completely machine-stitched method. Come and learn a piping and binding technique to make your quilts stand out in a crowd. In class you will be making a sample to take home and use on your own quilts. Binding will never be the same again!


For the Love of Color
What you always wanted to know about color but were afraid to ask! Using a wide range of fabrics, you will be introduced to a variety of color concepts. Learn all those scary terms: value, tint, and tone, with simple easy to understand exercises. (I'm all about color!)
A Fine Line: Creating the Quilting Design
The ‘what, why & how’ of quilting design. Traditional and non-traditional quilters will explore how to maximize any project’s ‘wow’ factor with the creative use of the quilted line. (The quilting! Need I say more!)





More next time!

Eye Candy Quilts

Introducing my newest book:

Eye Candy Quilts: Super-fast fun with beads, buttons, baubles and more

Go wild with beads, buttons, baubles and any other little fancies that can be sewn or glued onto fabric! Eye Candy Quilts is a fast, fun craft for anyone who loves to embellish—or to experiment with new techniques!

• Make mini or postcard-size quilts—perfect for quick, inexpensive gifts that showcase your artistic side.
• Indulge your love of beads and baubles of every kind—you’ll find techniques for shi-sha mirrors, dangles, ribbons, lace, rickrack, and, of course, beads.
• Learn to work with “found” objects, such as antique jewelry or sea shells—no matter how glittery, shiny or awkward to sew.
• Have a party! Invite your friends to join the fun by making Eye Candy Quilts for every occasion.

With chapters on planning, design, embellishment, and so much more, Eye Candy Quilts will busy your fingers and fire your imagination!

Autographed copies will soon be available on my web site!

Quilt Show

China Rose 45"w X 55"h

I express my love of nature and color through the medium of quilting. Inspirations frequently come from gardens. Formal Chinese gardens offer peace and tranquillity through the use of artistic screens and harmonious botanical forms.

The flowers are hand dyed fabric, hand appliquéd to commercial cotton fabrics from my collection. The piecing was done by machine. The machine quilting adds the final texture.

Improvements?

GENERAL APPEARANCE
Color impact could be improved
Loose threads should be cut (threads shadow)
Remove basting threads and/or pencil marks
Edges wobble or ripple

PIECING
Piecing needs improvement
Corners and points should meet precisely
Block size should be uniform
Straight lines should be straight
Shadowing-through detracts
Stitches should be secure
Piecing thread should not show

APPLIQUÉ
Appliqué needs improvement
Design should be centered on block
Curves should be smooth
Points should be sharp
Stitches should be even
Stitches should be unobtrusive
Background shadows through

BORDER
Border techniques need improvement
Border should compliment central design
Corner miters should be done carefully
Borders should be straight
Sashing inconsistent (not aligned)

BINDING
Binding techniques need improvement
Batting should fill binding completely
Corners should be stitched closed
Width of binding should be consistent

QUILTING
Quilting techniques need improvement
Density of quilting should be consistent over surface
Stitches should be of even length
Stitches should go all the way through
Beginning and ending of quilting threads should be invisible
Quilting design should enhance design
In the ditch quilting should stay in the ditch
Tension on quilting stitch should be even

Positive Comments

GENERAL APPEARANCE
Excellent visual impact
Stood up well against stiff competition
Colors and fabrics well chosen for quilts style
Innovative use of color
Innovative use of pattern
Well balanced design

PIECING
Piecing well done
Block size is uniform
Straight lines are straight
Curved seams are smooth

APPLIQUÉ
Appliqué well done
Design well centered on block
Curves are smooth
Points are sharp
Stitches are even
Stitches are unobtrusive

BORDER
Border well done
Border compliment’s central design
Corner miters well done

BINDING
Binding well done

QUILTING
Quilting well done
Stitches on back are even
Straight quilting lines are straight
Curves quilting lines are smooth
Quilting pattern appropriate

Quilt Judging: From the Organizers Point of View

The purpose of judging a quilt show is twofold: one is to award excellence, and the other is to give critique. ‘Critique’ is not criticism. A critique is defined as ‘a critical analysis or review’. A good critique should point out the areas in which the quilter has demonstrated success, as well as suggest areas which need improvement.

Questions to be answered:

1. Consider a philosophy. This needs to be something simple like: “To promote the art of quiltmaking and encourage excellence.”

2. Which are more important?
Originality vs. technique
Quantity vs. quality

3. Categories should be well defined.
Lots of categories = Lots of winners. Usually fewer quilts per category.
Fewer categories = Ribbons will have more meaning. Usually more quilts per category.

4. How many ribbons will be awarded? Must all ribbons be awarded? Will Honorable Mentions be awarded? How many?

5. Does the committee want to reserve the right to move quilts to more appropriate categories, if necessary? If yes, must be stated on the entry form.

6. Will scribes be provided? Confidentiality by the scribes is a must!!

7. Entrants for the category being judged should NOT be in the room while that category is being judged.

8. How many quilts are expected? How much time will be available?
1 quilt = 5 minutes = 12 quilts per hour
8 hours = 84 quilts (This includes a 30 min. lunch and two 15 min. breaks.) This is a very fast pace. This also requires scribes that can hear, spell, write legibly, and keep up. This will also require the quilts to be laid flat on tables, in categories, ready to be judged. (Quilts can be judged hanging, but this will take a bit longer) Someone other than the judges to keep track of the time is helpful.

It saves time for judges to judge categories separately then work together to give special awards.

Borders: The Final Chapter Workshop

I'll be leading a borders workshop at
QuiltWorks Northwest in Bellevue WA, Saturday, February 20.