2011 Pacific West Quilt Show

The quilts: These two by Sonia Grasvik

Red Will Make it Better






Crow


and from the special exhibit Collective Stitches
Continuity 6: Red, Yellow and Turquoise by Bonnie Brewer with Melody Banks, Barbara Fox, Debi Harney, Pat Headwall, Marie Jensen. Jane Koura, Lucy Lowery, Jill Schoitens, Colleen Wise and Lynn Wolf


Continuity 5: Monochromatic Red with Faced Holes by Lynn Wolf with Melody Banks, Bonnie Brewer, Barbara Fox, Debi Harney, Pat Headwall, Marie Jensen. Jane Koura, Lucy Lowery, Jill Schoitens, and Colleen Wise

2011 Pacific West Quilt Show

Quilt Show Report! I had a great time! The hundreds quilts were wonderful, the isles were crowded, but not too crowded, the energy was high and there was a wonderful merchant mall. Who could ask for anything more?

The mall included the John Flynn Quilt Frame Company and Quilted Straight. The store is located in Port Gamble in Kitsap County, Washington, close to Poulsbo and Kingston. Great shop to visit!

Summer in Seattle

Last night at Gas Works Park, Seattle. I'm off to the Pacific West Quilt Show. I'll post something good tomorrow.

2011 Pacific West Quilt Show

General Information

Be a part of the celebration!
Join us in Tacoma, WA for the Pacific West Quilt Show.

August 26-28, 2011
Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center
1500 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402

QUILT SHOW HOURS
Friday & Saturday: 10 AM - 6 PM
Sunday: 10 AM - 4 PM

APWQ MEMBERS ONLY
APWQ Members Admission: $10 – valid for all 3 days
EARLY ADMISSION - Friday & Saturday: 9 AM
Beat the crowds! Current APWQ members will get into the show an hour early!
Update your membership today! Membership Form

ADMISSION
Non-Members: $10 daily; 3 day pass - $20
Sunday Military Family Day: $10 per family with active duty Military ID*
Tickets available at the door.
* To receive the $10 Military Family admission price, ticket buyer must present an Active Duty Personnel or Active Duty Family Member ID card at time of purchase.

EVENT REGISTRATION IS OPEN
Advance registration is recommended. Lectures and special events are filled on a first come basis.

I make quilts to decorate them.

Thread may have once been considered just a basic necessity of sewing, but happily it’s now available in so many luscious colors and types that it has become sheer pleasure to use. The design options inherent in thread have opened new doors to quilters and fabric artists of all levels of experience. You owe it to yourself to explore some of the possibilities.
To embellish successfully, I need to have a plan in mind. Here the green sash is the trellis and the couching threads represent the vines winding around it

Chatty Blossom: Cotton, rayon, metallic threads, and lots of couching all add to this quilt’s lushness.

The City Quilter NYC

My Last trip of the year is to The City Quilter in New York City. I'll be there on Saturday, December 3 with Bead Candy Quilts and Sunday December 4 teaching A Fine Line. Copies of my new book autographed copies of Stitching Through the Layers will be available.

Bead Candy Quilts Quick, colorful and addictive, these stunning mini-quilts are so much fun to make they should be illegal! If instant gratification appeals, this is the class for you! Finished quilt will be about 2 ½ x 3 inches

A Fine Line: The ‘what, why & how’ of quilting design. Discover the elements of winning quilting designs and how to apply them to your tops. We will explore how to maximize any project’s ‘wow’ factor with the creative use of the quilted line.

Thread Tuesday

Sometime the obvious is the simplest answer to any question. Round n' Round was quilted using only the walking foot. Any opportunity to get thread on the quilt's surface is a good thing. Heavy thread and a decorative make the stitching really stand out.

To make the perfect circles, I pinned a piece of paper to the quilt and stitched around it!

Artist Reception at the American Art Company

The artist reception will be tomorrow, Saturday, August 13th from 1-4 PM. See you there!

Metropolis 64"h x 44”W $2500

American Art Company
1126 Broadway Plaza
Tacoma, WA 98402

Tel. 253-272-4327
Tel. 800-753-2278

Thread Inspirations

My mind is always working. How can I take the ideas of the flowers around me and make them work in quilting designs that hi-light the thread? Humm....

Sneak Peak - Stitching Through the Layers

Stitching Through the Layers; The Art and Elegance of Straight Line Stitching
This is NOT just your grandmother’s idea of quilting design! Straight line quilting is now a hot trend in stitching through the layers. The right choice of quilting design will move any quilt one big step toward stardom. Using a wealth of luscious and detailed ‘how-to’ photos, this book will show you how to maximize the “Wow!” factor of your quilt by using the right stitching in the right way and in the right places.

Books will be available next month!

Association of Pacific West Quilters presents 2011 Pacific West Quilt Show

Be a part of the celebration!

August 26-28, 2011
Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center
1500 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402

QUILT SHOW HOURS
Friday & Saturday: 10 AM - 6 PM
Sunday: 10 AM - 4 PM

I'll be there Friday night to participate in the Instructor for Hire

Day: Friday, August 26, 2011
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Admission: $5

A group of 25 instructors will present their class projects and introduce themselves to guild program chairs and quilt show owners. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet these talented quiltmakers and see their workshop samples. Bring your calendars and book them for your next workshop or lecture!

Parisienne Rose - or How to use 15,000 Meters of Thread!

A strapless designer gown of brilliant red heavy silk taffeta imported from China. The woven jacquard fabric is covered with red and black roses. The gown is very close-fitting, floor length at center back and has a darted dropped waist bodice. The skirt is pleated in front, gathered and the bottom is hemmed with horsehair to give it shape. 71 small lace motifs trim the bottom edge of the gown and its ruffle.

The long evening shawl is an original design, made of shocking pink polyester fabric and lined with silk taffeta. It was sewn with pin tucks stitched with a 2.5 (distance between needles) and red thread slightly darker than the fabric for added dimension. The shawl has 86 small lace motifs that took 30 minutes each to embroider and 14 large ones, which stitched out in 68 minutes each.

The lace embroidery was created with 15,000 yards of fuchsia-colored thread and a wash-away stabilizer. It took over 100 hours to stitch the lace.

Both gown and shawl are highlighted with 5,000 hot-fix Swarovski crystals, in 2, 3 and 4 mm sizes.

"Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece" Auction - Starts Today!

Just a reminder: From August 1 to 10 the AAQI is going to offer 20 quilts in the online auction from the "Alzheimer's: From Heartbreak to Hope" exhibit. My piece Fade to Gray will be included.Please make a bid on my quilt. I am a huge supporter of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. They are an all-volunteer national charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. They spend no money on fundraising and all their profits fund Alzheimer's research. They have raised more than $550,000 for research...one quilt at a time. Help me help them.
Please pass this information on to quilters and quilt-lovers everywhere.
Thank you
Melody

FYI this auction includes these quilts by these artists!

I-371 Confusion ... Elsie Campbell (Dodge City, KS)
I-372 Gaps ... Cindy Cooksey (Irvine, CA)
I-373 Puzzling Memories ... Peggy Mages (Lake View, NY)
I-374 Fading Memories ... Linda Cooper (Burke, VA)

I-375 Holes In My Memory ... Donna Hudson (Seattle, WA)
I-376 Nevilyn ... Linda J. Huff (Algonquin, IL)
I-377 Losing My Mind A Piece At A Time ... Jannett Caldwell (Avondale, PA)
I-378 Russian Olive Trees ... Debbie Bowles (Burnsville, MN)

I-379 Brain Cramps ... Mary Stori (Clyde, NC)
I-380 Shattered Lives ... Timi Bronson (Salem, CT)
I-381 Remember When? ... Barbara Campbell (Pine Brook, NJ)
I-382 The Left Behind ... Claudia Comay (San Ramon, CA)

I-383 Once a Shining Star ... Helen Marshall (Waikanae, New Zealand)
I-384 Violets for Irene ... Mary Andrews (Grand Blanc, MI)
I-385 Forever Flowers ... Janet Jones Worley (Huntsville, AL)
I-386 A Day With Beebe ... Marsha McCloskey (Eugene, OR)

I-387 Mourning Too Soon ... Diane Gaudynski (Waukesha, WI)
I-388 Research Now ... There's still Time ... Nancy Brenan Daniel (Prescott, AZ)
I-389 Fade to Gray ... Melody Crust (Kent, WA)
I-390 A Bouquet For You ... Sue Nickels (Ann Arbor, MI)

Instant gratification - Beaded Fringes

Beaded fringes
Need some instant gratification? Try sewing a purchased beaded fringe to something. The something can be a blouse, lampshade, curtains or drapes or in my case a purse. About 6” of fringe finished off this purchased purse in a snap.

The only down side to this process that I can see is the fact that beaded trims are not washable or dry cleanable because of their delicate nature. But when was the last time you washed your purse?

Beaded fringes are available in many sizes, styles, colors and price ranges. They come with straight fringe, bell shaped, swaged, and with patterns.

Stitching with Flat Film Polyester Thread

You can fool the eye and make your stenciling look like organza fabric if you outline quilt with a flat film polyester thread.

When stitching with any of the flat film polyester threads (Glitter by Superior Threads or Sliver by Sulkey), use a Metallic or Topstitch needle, size #90/14. I like The Bottom Line by Superior Threads in the bobbin. This bobbin thread is smooth. It allows the top thread to flow smoothly through the needle.

Loosen the upper tension all the way down to a '1'. Position the spool on the vertical spool holder so the thread unwinds straight off from the side (like the paper comes off the toilet paper roll). These threads add sparkle and dimension to embroidery and quilting. Most of them are washer, dryer, and iron safe (medium heat).

Painting with Paint Sticks

Lavish Leaf: As fast, fun and easy as coloring with crayons, Paint Sticks add extra pizzazz. To up the excitement another notch, machine quilt around the leaf shapes with shiny thread.

If instant gratification appeals to you, there are a huge variety of pre-cut stencils available at your local quilt shop. Just tape one to your fabric and get started!

My favorite paints for stenciling are Shiva brand Paint Sticks. Easy to use, they are shaped like over-sized crayons and have about the same consistency. Amazingly, they can replicate the look of air brushing without your having to invest in or bother with special equipment. Paint sticks applied to silk or cotton are easy, permanent and leave a very soft hand.

I

"Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece" Auction

My quilt " Fade to Gray" was part of the "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece," a nationally touring exhibit about Alzheimer's sponsored by the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). It traveled for 5 years and more than 300,000 people had an opportunity to see it. After the exhibit retired I donated the quilt to the AAQI and they are offering it at an online auction August 1-10.
Please make a bid on my quilt. I am a huge supporter of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. They are an all-volunteer national charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. They spend no money on fundraising and all their profits fund Alzheimer's research. They have raised more than $550,000 for research...one quilt at a time. Help me help them. See all the quilt here.
Please pass this information on to quilters and quilt-lovers everywhere.
Thank you

Melody

Fun with Thread

Let's face it I love to play with my thread. I like just about as much as my fabric. This is a small sample that I painted and stitched. Note that I filled in the centers of some of the flowers with a little hand embroidery to imitate the look of real flower centers.

Eye Candy Quilts - Show and Tell

It’s a busy world. So busy, that quilters and crafters ask me for one type of project more often than any other: You want something that is fast and fun! The result, though, has to be absolutely beautiful.
I developed Eye Candy Quilts with this need for instant beauty in mind. These gorgeous mini-quilts so much fun to make, they should be declared illegal! Many of them, like the quilt opposite, measure just 2-1/2” x 3”. Since they are small, you can finish one in practically no time. The wonderful variety of embellishments, from beads, buttons, and bows, to silk flowers, trims and countless other little fancies will win your work instant admiration. Their size makes them a snap to display to, making them quick, easy gifts anyone will treasure.

What Kind of Thread To Use?

What kind of thread should you use? Any thread that you can, one way or another, get through the machine. If it doesn’t go through the needle, then you can always put it in the bobbin and stitch from the back side instead!

As you know, threads now come in a huge variety of sizes and fiber content. The first consideration in deciding what thread to use is to remember the thread rule. If you have mended a tear in a pair of pants and the thread you used was weaker than the fabric, if they rip again only your thread is broken and you can easily re-sew the seam. If the thread you used was stronger than the pant fabric, you know that if they rip again the fabric itself will have disintegrated and what you have left is a candidate for the rag bag. This rule applies when piecing your quilts, too. Machine quilting doesn’t add stress to your quilt; the stress points remain in the pieced seams, so I piece with cotton thread only in order to use a slightly weaker thread at the quilt’s stress points so the fabric isn’t accidentally damaged later.

Somehow the notion seems to have evolved that the bobbin thread should match the fabric on the back of your quilt. Not true! Quilting is a very important element of the overall design, so feel free to use a contrasting thread. And you might also want to keep in mind that machine quilting is much more fun when you don’t have to worry about the bobbin thread peeking through to the top. This just won’t be an issue if you choose to use the same color thread through both the needle and the bobbin.

American Art Company

I am pleased to be included in The American Art Company's 11th Contemporary Quilt Invitational. The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, August 13th.

The artist reception will be on Saturday, August 13th from 1-4 PM. See you there!

Metropolis 64"h x 44”W $2500
American Art Company
1126 Broadway Plaza
Tacoma, WA 98402

Tel. 253-272-4327
Tel. 800-753-2278
Fax 253-272-4907

Forks WA, An Old Fashioned Fourth of July

Forks, Washington Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Wet winters, warm, dry summers make this Olympic region a wonderland of water, lush-forests and recreation.
The Forks area is renowned on the Olympic Peninsula for its abundant winter rainfall (162.14 inches in 1997), warm and sunny summers, logging heritage and myriad places to hunt, fish and hike. Within a short distance of Forks are sparkling, lakes, pristine ocean beaches, ancient temperate rain forests, mountain glaciers and rushing rivers with the Peninsula's best steelhead and salmon runs. What a great place to visit!
Stated the day with a Pancake Breakfast, then on to the Art Show, a Parade, followed by a Salmon Lunch in the park.

Ended the day with a great Demolition Derby! Went home, too tired for the Fireworks!

I am NOT compulsive!

I finally sold my old sewing table, I'm sorry to see it go, but the new machine just doesn't fit. I know it is going to a good home but still...

When I opened the drawer I realized just how compulsive I am. I tie a lot of knots when I quilt so there are always lots of 3-4" pieces left over. I started keeping them. I know I will do something with them, I just know it!

Island Batik Donates $25,000 to AAQI

Moira and Adam Dewar

Hold on to your hats!

Moira and Adam Dewar of Island Batik, Inc. have donated $25,386.00 to the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative!

This is our largest donation to date. As in EVER!

Moira and Adam have been proud supporters of the AAQI through the Rose of Sharon project and have donated fabric for “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope.” But this! OH MY GOODNESS!!!

Adam said, “We are very happy to give this money to the AAQI. We think they are doing fantastic work.”

We are ecstatic! Jump-up-and-down happy! Over the moon! THANK YOU!

There are an estimated 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer’s. One in eight people age 65 has the disease. Right now. If you are a Baby Boomer, your age cohort is turning 65 at the rate of between 7,000 and 10,000 people a day. Chances are high that you will spend your retirement years either struggling with this vile disease yourself or taking care of someone who is.

Let Island Batik’s commitment to fighting Alzheimer’s be a challenge to every quilting industry leader to support the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. We fund research directly. 100% of the money that funds “our” research goes to budget, nothing to overhead. Our organization is run by volunteers and we spend zero money on fundraising. We are quilters doing what we love to do and making a difference. HELP US!

Thread Tuesday

Polyester embroidery thread -- Popular and economical, polyester thread provides an effect similar to rayon and comes in various colors. It won't shrink, fade, or bleed, so it's great for children's clothes. Rayon thread has a slightly higher sheen than polyester thread, but the two are interchangeable and perform similarly without breaking or fraying. When they're combined in a single design, it's hard to tell the difference.

Bobbin thread and Needles
Heavy weight. Usually Identified as quilting thread.
Bobbin; The same as the top thread. Or regular weight piecing thread.
Needle; Top stitching 100/16 or 120/18
Medium weight, all purpose polyester.
Bobbin; The same as the top thread. Or Machine embroidery thread.
Needle; Sharp or denim 80/12 or Quilting 75/11
Light weight, embroidery polyester thread
Bobbin; The same as the top thread. Or Machine embroidery thread.
Needle; Sharp 70/11, 80/12 or Quilting or embroidery 90/14.

Quilts of Valor

Went to sew at Carol's last week to make blocks for the troops. My friends and I made lots of blocks!

Found out the real deal. Blocks need to be 12" finished. Red, white and blue, is preferred and can be red fabric, white fabric, blue fabric or any combination. If you want to make a quilt or even a top, they can be anything! She will even quilt them! Just make sure it is 55-72" x 65-90".

Thread Tuesday

Stopping at a thread rack these days is like visiting a candy store -- there are so many delicious threads to choose from. All of these choices can be intimidating, even to the seasoned sewer. But experimenting with threads can expand your color and texture palettes and add new life to your designs, no matter what kind of stitching is you passion. For the next few Tuesdays I’ll look at the threads available to us and tips on how to use them successfully.

Thread, like fabric, is made from either synthetic or natural fibers, or both, and each has its own appeal.

Rayon thread -- This thread is very a popular choice overall because of its attractive high sheen, widespread availability, and consistent trouble-free performance, holding up to high-speed stitching without breaking or fraying. Rayon thread comes in a wide range of solid and variegated colors, as well as in a new "twist" thread composed of two or more solid colors twisted together to form a single strand, which adds automatic shading and dimension to flat designs. Most rayon threads are available in a standard 40 wt. and a thicker 30 wt. (in terms of thread sizing, the higher the number, the finer the thread).

Bobbin thread and Needles
Rayon#30 & #35
Bobbin; Machine embroidery or regular weight piecing thread.
Needle; Sharp, denim, embroidery or Quilting size 90/14.
Rayon #40
Bobbin; The same as the top thread. Or Machine embroidery thread.
Needle; Sharp 60/10, 70/11, 80/12, Denim 70/11, 80/12, or Quilting 75/11.

Guest Artist - Friends of Greenwood Public Library

Hi Melody,

Just wanted to let you know that we have finished our Star Bright quilt and are now selling raffle tickets on it and two other prizes. I have put all the information on our library's website.

We are offering tickets for sale by mail if anyone is interested--the info on how to do that is posted on the website also. If you were to mention it on your blog, we would really appreciate it!

We are getting lots of compliments on the quilt and the colors. It's quilted by machine in a design called Cowboy Stars, which nicely complements the pattern.

Judy Foucher
Greenwood Public Library
P.O. Box 279
Greenwood, BC V0H 1J0
Ph./FAX 250-445-6111

Fremont Fair

The Fremont Fair is one of Seattle’s most beloved neighborhood street festivals, featuring a weekend of eclectic activities that celebrate the quirky community of Fremont, the self-proclaimed “center of the universe.” Held annually in mid-June to coincide with the Summer Solstice, the event draws more than 100,000 people to shop, eat, drink, mingle, groove, and enjoy all manners of creative expression. Artistic highlights include craft and art booths, street performers, local bands, wacky decorated art cars.

It's always fun...even in the rain!
The street fair features nice art including glass Oberini Glass.

Guest Artist - Sherry Galloway

Sherry took a Simple Surfaces work shop recently, she sent me great pictures of a painted project. She says "I mostly finished a small project that I stenciled with the paint sticks. I’m very pleased with what it is so far. I have plans to add additional embellishments but wanted to get it to this stage for pictures. It is made out of salvage edges that were save by others for me.

I won’t be getting more as they (the donors) want to make one for them selves."

Sherry Galloway

I'm in love with a new thread.

I am busy stitching on the quilts for my new book Stitching Through the Layers; The Art & Elegance of Straight Line Quilting. And I'm in love with a new thread. Deco Bob by Wonderfil Threads. It is a 80wt - 2 ply Polyester thread that creates high definition for any quilt stitch. It is easy to use, I threaded the top with it, but a cotton embroidery thread in the bobbin and off I went. No tension adjustment necessary! Great for bobbin thread for machine embroidery, top & bottom thread for quilting, digitized lace designs, and excellent for hidden stitching. And it's available in 36 colors.

Quilt Show

Nababeep

What is the color of Africa? The namaqualand daisy exemplifies Africa in color. Brilliant yellow-orange with contrasting black. Violet...glowing cerise blossoms. The mass of color is intense and almost blinding in the clear african sunlight.

Even the place names of Namaqualand are captivating; Nababeep, Liliefontein, Kanariesfontein, Tweerivier.

This quilt is machine pieced using commercial cotton fabrics. The machine quilting highlights the use of specialty threads.

Thread - The Basics

There are so many standards of thread measurement that it’s difficult to keep them straight. The most common methods are weight, denier (DEN yeer) and Tex (weight in grams per 1000 meters of thread).

To simplify this thread confusion, think about thread as light, medium and heavy weight.

Heavy weight threads are Tex 40-90.
Medium weight threads are Tex 27-35.
Light weight threads are Tex 10-24.

When choosing thread, the best method is to use both your eyes and fingers. Look at the thread, feel it, and choose the type that will provide the results you want. Remember that one of the most overlooked properties when choosing thread is not the color. Often it’s the value, i.e., the lightness or darkness, of the thread that’s important. Do you want the thread to ‘pop’ or just to add texture? Trust your senses when you decide.