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Unless you've been absent from TQS this week you already know I'm heading to South Amercia in a few days on a tour with quilters. We have so many of you who are new to TQS, that you may not know there is a set of video travel blogs from my trip to Japan in November of 2007. In addition to all the other fun on our site today, if you're looking for more good TQS fun - and you missed those videos - click here and scroll down to Novemember 8, 2007 for the first of seven videos of the Japanese tour.

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In seeking out more friends of the of the TQS family - look who else I ran into??? AccuQuilt and Superior Threads -

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Here are four images of the progress of the Colorful Swoops. First is the original line drawing followed by the partial coloration you saw two days ago. The final two are with solid black lines (which might be easier to have printed) and a version with more subtle, but obvious colorful outlines.

Its unfortunate that you can't see this full size, so here is a detail of it that is a bit more to scale - it's only a swatch. Okay - I'm done - gotta go pack.

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Sign up before February 1 and lock in the Margaret Miller show and the Sue Nickels show.  Starting February 1 your membership will start with Show 403.

"WOW WOW WOW If you need to see a show..this is it!!! So much inspiration in such a small amount of time Margaret Millers choice of color is just gorgeous, her quilts are outstanding...and I need to get my hands on her templates!!!
THANK YOU MARGARET AND ARJJ, A FANTASTIC SHOW!!"

"This was one of my favorite TQS shows. I learned so much! I have already watched it twice and will be seeing it again. Thank you TQS and Sue Nickles."

Join/Renew Now to see these shows and the rest of Series 4.  For info on Series 4, Click Here.

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February is a few days away and beginning on February 1st, Sue Garman's second BOM video lesson will launch. The quilt is specatular, the instructions are fat with information, and these short video classes are the icing on top. Be sure to visit the BOM banner on the right sidebar beginning February 1 to get the next installment for this great quilt! Check out the promo below.

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You would think that since I'm leaving on a big trip that I could stop designing and start packing - but when your motivated - your motivated. I did this design as a variation on my colorful theme? I wasn't expecting this to emerge - it just did. Is this a fabric you would like? I'm just putting it out there. Yes? No? Stop? Go?

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Photo by Gregory Case

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The creative process for creating a new line of fabric continues. While I liked the designs that I shared on The Daily Blog earlier this week - - I kept thinking, "the fabric is pretty - but it's just not me." So what defines me? The first answer is color! The second is wild. My hand-dyed fabrics are extremely colorful and my quilts utilize bright colors. So, it was back to the drawing board.

I had an idea to work from line drawings - doodles if you will - a process I'd never done before. I scanned the line drawing into the computer and began using Photoshop (which I always use) to color the designs was very successful.

The first two images are basically finished - and a third design is posted to help you understand the process. In the incomplete design, two 'ribbons' have been filled and one 'swoop'. The black lines of the final design will be altered once all the coloration is done. The process of filling and changing colors and value takes time. Once finished, the black lines will be altered to be colorful instead of black - more like the lines in the previous two images The lines are there to accent the shapes and separate the colors - but in a more subtle way. Your thoughts please.

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Hey everyone. Beginning on Thursday, February 5th and running through Monday, February 16, you can visit the Daily Blog right here at TQS and take a virtual South American tour with me. The daily entries are based on our itinerary - not my actual experience. I won't have any type of connectivity to the Internet during the trip - I don't even plan to take a laptop - so these blogs will be a way for you to keep track of my travels and you will learn a bit about the daily destinations. I've put lots of hyperlinks to web articles and photos so hopefully you'll find it all very interesting. For me, the best part of creating these blogs in advance was that I got to take my own virtual tour of each day and I feel more excited than ever. I plan to take lots of photos and some video. What would you most like for me to share with you when I return?

 

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Story Submitted by: LynnEl

I began quilting for the first time in my life in May 2005. Having six children kept me from having much time to myself. So now that they were all on their own, I found a friend who took time to teach a group of us how to quilt. I fell in love with quilting and have found opportunities to quilt all the time since then! In September 2006, I joined our local quilt guild, Illini Country Stitchers. One day, I found a fabric that I just couldn't leave in a store, so I bought some and made a quilt top with it – the pattern was called Just Can't Cut It. Great pattern. After I had made the quilt top, I decided that, because the fabric had tulips on it, I would finish the quilt and give it to my 23-year old daughter, Catheryn, for her 2nd wedding anniversary, which would have been May, 2007. For some reason, I told her in an email that I was going to make this quilt for her - and she was very excited and wanted to see a picture of it. I told her she had to wait to see a picture, but I did tell her it had beautiful tulips on a black background - as the main focus fabric. On November 8, 2006, my daughter, Catheryn, and her husband, Steve decided to go fishing on a lake in Utah called Strawberry Reservoir. They also took Steve's brother, Kimball and his friend, Mike. The four of them got in the 14-foot aluminum boat and motored out about a mile into this 7,000-acre lake that beautiful morning. About 11:30 a.m. a storm moved into the area and within minutes they had 4-foot waves attacking them which sunk their boat out from under them in 30 seconds! They were all four left in 40 degree water, with their heavy clothing, boots, etc. Steve just kept yelling, "Swim and pray, swim and pray!" Yes, they had life jackets, but one did not - Mike. He held on to a gas can which kept him afloat. Kimball and Mike swam one direction, Steve and Catheryn swam another. Steve and Catheryn, being small in stature, succumbed to hypothermia, while Kimball and Mike, being large men, kept swimming as hard as they could for 2 hours - thinking all the time that Catheryn and Steve were coming too. After they made it to shore (a total miracle) they laid there in complete exhaustion, and numb. Kimball and Mike then walked barefoot for 2 miles through the mountainous terrain to get to the street for help. They were treated for hypothermia. Catheryn's and Steve's life jackets were found that evening; their bodies were found 9 days later. I lost my gorgeous daughter and wonderful son-in-law that day, Nov. 8, 2006. Catheryn never got to see her quilt. I took the quilt top with me to Utah (we live in Illinois). When the kids were finally found and we were preparing for their funeral, I wrapped Catheryn in her quilt, kissed her cheek, and told her that she would never, ever, ever be cold again. I miss her terribly, but I know she is happy and safe and that she and Steve are waiting for us to be with them someday. I know that they are watching over us even now. I am grateful for my strong faith in my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. In January, 2007, I remade the quilt and gave it to my mother for Mother's Day, as a replica of Catheryn's quilt. Steve and Catheryn were only married for 18 months. She had just graduated with her bachelor's degree in August a few months earlier. I am so glad that I was able to attend her graduation from the University and from Life! LynnEl Springer