A Workshop with Hill Country Quilt Guild

PAINTED SURFACES;        

A Two day workshop

The joy of painting onto fabric is that there are so many possibilities and so few rules. This is a time to set free your imagination, pick up brush and play. Apply the same techniques you use in creating the quilt top,—visual trial and error. Play with fabric paints to enrich your fabrics before you begin sewing—or at any time during the process. Use paints to add new designs or dimension to portions of your quilts, making the fabrics uniquely your own. The choices are yours and the magic is waiting to happen.

 

Creations

Creations is located in the cutest Victorian house

Creations has great stuff for the quilter and sewing enthusiast! They special in sewing and quilting fabrics,  Located in Kerrville, in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, they carry a wide range of fabrics, patterns and books for quilting, clothing, and stitchery .

Welcome to Kerrville Texas

A room full of happy quilters!

Great show and tell

In the summer of 1984 ten women met to discuss a common interest - their love of quilting.  From this first meeting evolved the Hill Country Quilt Guild.  The guild’s first project was a Sesquicentennial quilt presented  to the City of Kerrville. It now hangs on the second floor of the Butt-Holdsworth Library. They support and participate in those activities which encourage appreciation of fine quilts and quilt making.  This includes displaying quilts in windows of businesses, the downtown visitors’ center, and the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center.  Members made quilts for organizations in need.

Welcome to Fredricksburg Texas

Guild Show and Share

Home of the Vereins Quilt Guild of Fredericksburg. In 1996, the city of Fredericksburg, Texas held a week long celebration commemorating its 150th birthday.  As a part of that celebration, a quilt show was held.  The show was put together by volunteers who had a love for quilts and quilting.  During the course of planning and executing that show, it was evident that a number of women in Fredericksburg were interested in having a guild  where quilters could meet on a regular basis. 

Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. The Fredericksburg Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas.

My Favorite Airport Art - San Francusco

Sandy Drobny

Artist in Residence Program to Recology’s has grown into a world-renowned art program that has sponsored over one hundred Bay Area artists and inspired thousands of children and adults to care for our environment and conserve our natural resources.

Beau Buck

Sandra Barsness

Iris Rodriguez & Nicole Repack

Daphne Ruff

Seaview Weaving and Fiber Arts Guild

The Seaview Weaving and Fiber Arts Guild is not just a weaving guild, they have expanded their interests into all the fiber arts. Knitting, spinning, papermaking, printmaking, book arts, felting, silk fusion, card making, surface design on fabric, quilting, soft sculpture – if  it can be done with fiber, they do it.

Houston is on My Schedule

Immerse yourself in the joy of

     EMBELLISHMENT!
Join me in my workshops at the HOUSTON International Quilt Festival, October 28 - November 3, 2013

Super Fast Piping & Binding 
 Is binding the quilt your least favorite part?  Bindings and piping are a snap with this no-fail completely machine-stitched method.  In this class you will be making a sample to take home to keep as a ‘how to’ example for your own quilts. Binding will never be the same again!

Paint Stick Magic 
Make elegant fabric with the look of airbrushing! Paint sticks applied to cotton or silk is fun, permanent and has an exceptionally short learning curve. Come play with paint sticks while learning the tricks the professionals use in this informative hands-on workshop for both quilt and clothing makers. 

 Fantastic Fabric Foiling

Bring your projects to life with instant (and permanent) glitz and shine. We will apply foil using a variety of adhesives and make use of a variety of ideas that make it easy. Traditional and non-traditional quilters will learn how to incorporate foil into real show-stoppers!

Joining the Blocks - Quilt as You Go Style 
Learn to join pre-quilted blocks using several innovative techniques. Go home ready to make larger machine quilted quilts without all the work of trying to get it into your machine. The Quilt-As-You-Go method allows for more detailed quilting using a standard sewing machine since you're only quilting a small section at a time.  

Borders-The Final Chapter

Borders add something special! They can change the look of a quilt and add a wonderful finishing touch. Come away with ideas to beautifully frame your quilts. Learn how to repeat fabrics, color and motifs to plan a successful border. Melody will show lots of examples of traditional and innovative quilts. Tips and examples for quilting borders complete the final chapter.  

For the Love of Color

What you always wanted to know about color but were afraid to ask. Understand color concepts that quilters use – balance, pattern, texture, dominance and the many moods of color. We will play with a large variety of fabric samples, laying them out to experience for ourselves the magic we can create with glorious color.   

Thread Toppings

Thread is no longer a ‘Plain Jane’ necessity - it’s now available in many luscious colors and types. Steering your way through the sea of threads out there can be a bit daunting. Experiment while you learn how to match thread to the appropriate needle, make the tension setting your best friend and troubleshoot your way to fun and fancy

Friday Sampler

Details to follow

Spring is Finally Here!

I saw my first Daffodils today, I'm so glad spring is finally here! Daffodils are my favorite flower, maybe because ... they are flower that means spring. Daffodil, Narcissus, Jonquil. First, let’s settle the names. The official botanical name of the whole genus is Narcissus. Daffodil is the common name. Jonquil is a “species name” within the Narcissus genus. This means that certain daffodils are called Narcissus jonquilla. Some people, particularly in our Southern states, use Jonquil as a common name for the whole genus, but it’s really the species name for a minor group having multiple smaller flowers on each stem. So when you’re using the common name, all colors, sizes and types are Daffodils. If you get into the botanical or Latin names, they all begin with Narcissus (the “genus”) and end with a different “species” name.

Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative

Hello Quilters! 
Please forgive the "form letter" type email blast, but I wanted to make you aware that the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative will be auctioning all 236 quilts in our traveling exhibit "Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope. Since you have quilted one or more of the long, skinny "Name Quilts" for us, I was hoping you would be kind enough to let your fans know that they could own something YOU quilted while they support a very worthwhile cause. 
The online auctions begin March 1st and will continue (26 quilts a month) for 7 months. For more details, look here and feel free to snag anything you want photo, video, text, the works: http://www.alzquilts.org/quiltauction.html 
Why are we auctioning the exhibit? Because this is the last year the AAQI will be fundraising. 

# 25

Can't remember which quilt you stitched? Not to worry. Daphne, one of our AAQI volunteers, will email you twice: the first time will be about 45 days before "your" auction to give you plenty of time to include the auction information in your blog or newsletter, and then about 7 to 10 days before the auction starts as a reminder for FB, Twitter, and anywhere else you can think of. The more people bidding, the more money we can raise for Alzheimer's research. (All auctions run the first 10 days of each month.) But, if "your" quilt is one of the first 26 quilts to be auctioned, this is all the lead time you get. (There just are not enough hours in the day!)

#1:        Kathy Kennedy-Dennis (Houston, TX)

#2         Pat LaPierre (Bass Harbor, ME)

#3         Charlotte Warr Andersen (Salt Lake City, UT) 

#4         Nancy Hepp (Nipomo, CA)

#5         Vickie Paullus (Cincinnati, OH)

#6         Frieda Anderson (Elgin, IL)

#7         Susan K. Cleveland (West Concord, MN)

#8         Bobbie A. Aug (Colorado Springs, CO)

#9         Nancy Brenan Daniel (Tempe, AZ and New York, NY)

#10       Jennifer Amor (Columbia, SC)

#11       Gail Garber (Rio Rancho, NM)

#12       Eleanor Burns (San Marcos, CA)

#13       Diane Gaudynski (Waukesha, WI)

#14       Linda Carlson (Mexico, MO)

#15       Nancy Odom (Carmel, IN)

#16       Barbara Olson (Billings, MT)

#17       Linda V. Taylor (Etna, WY)

#18       Nanette S. Zeller (Southern Pines, NC)

#19       Nanette S. Zeller (Southern Pines, NC)

#20       Didi Salvatierra (BelAir, MD)

#21       Terri Kirchner (Mequon, WI)

#22       Beth A Hartford (Wadsworth, IL)

#23       Terri Kirchner (Mequon, WI)

#24       Vicki Paullus (Cincinnati, OH)

#25       Melody Crust (Kent, WA)

#26       Susan Brubaker Knapp (Mooresville, NC)
Thank you so much for this labor of love. Your artistry created a most impressive exhibit and now will raise money for much needed research. Please help us reach as many people as possible. Please give me a shout if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for your support!

Ami :)

What's New from Superior Threads

 

What's new is a polyester thread that has the high sheen of trilobal and the strength of filament polyester. It is a high tenacity (strength), high sheen trilobal filament polyester called Magnifico from Superior Threads. Use a 90/14 top stitch needle for easy sewing. I love the high sheen , it's almost metallic, but sooo much easier to use.

Threaded my machine with Magnifico, put The Bottom Line in the bobbin, and off I went! Great stuff!!!

A Day at The Sewing and Stichery Expo

Goodwill Vintage Fashion Show

From bustles to bandeaus, hoop skirts to mini-skirts, volunteers with Tacoma Goodwill’s Golden Oldies group presents vintage fashions spanning a century of styles.
“The shows are not only entertaining but an educational walk through history,” said Mary Kay Manley, Golden Oldies president.

For an out-of-the-ordinary experience, try a Golden Oldies Fashion Show featuring over 100 years of stylish dos and don’ts. When it comes to fashion fun and knowledge, the Golden Oldies stage a delightful event.

Highlighting a century of fashion highs and lows, from Victorian lingerie to over-the-top psychedelic flower-power suits, from haute couture to knickerbockers, the Golden Oldies provide an entertaining and educational look at the world of women’s fashions.

The included authentic originals and appropriate fashion accessories. After all, no stylish woman from the 1920s would be without her foundation support, bloomers, dark silk stockings, hat and gloves. An extensive vintage collection makes each show a unique experience and all shows are a real treat!

Today is Sew Expo Day

The Sewing and Stitchery Expo is the largest consumer sewing show in America. Now at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center in Puyallup, Washington.

Joanne Ross, Expo Director, says, “Sew Expo has something for every sewing enthusiast -- with more than 100 seminars daily, hands-on workshops, a variety of style shows, and 400+ booths exhibiting the latest fabrics, tools, and supplies.   It's like planning a party for 30,000 of your best friends.  We have guests from every State, Canada, Australia and Europe.  Attendees all over the world plan their annual calendar around the Sewing & Stitchery Expo.”

There is a huge vendor floor, a non-stop roster of demos on the Free Stage, and professional models on the Expo Runway, presenting six different FREE style shows every day.  In addition, there are daily hands-on classes where participants can learn a new technique and leave with a finished project.