Daily Blog

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Yesterday I got back home (Ricky is in the sky as I write), from Consumer BU. It is safe to say that the guests were pretty much Bernina lovers who wanted to see first hand what all the veiled secrecy has been about regarding the new machine. Not only did they get to see the machine first hand (it has over 70 exclusive features) but they also got to meet the heartbeat of the company. Far left to right: Mr Dryer (he is currently running the whole show in Switzerland), Mr. Ueltschi (he is Mr. Bernina himself), myself and Mr. Favre(he is President of Bernina USA - and the person who said yes to underwriting the jump start of  the Quilt Show). We learned that it took 6 years to build this machine and over 100 engineers. Bernina listened to us and built a machine designed by us - for us - very cool! To learn more about the 8 series, go here. Also, it was GREAT meeting so many TQS members - Thank you for coming!

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That´s right - before you know it the 4th weekend in September will be upon us - Join us at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore Ca for a most beautiful and unusual venue for a quilt show. This is our 11th year and it just keeps growing stronger. Check out the Alden Lane web site to register for lectures and classes - Also, if you want to submit a quilt, we can´t wait to see it. Also, the t-shirts are designed and we are ready to go at it in our t-shirt booth - oh yes, we are multi talented here at TQS! LOL John and Alex the T-shirt makers.............

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When it rains, it pours. Such is the case of the next few weeks for all the directors of ARJJ. We simply want you all to know that there will be a lot of personal events happening - on a major scale - that will most likely hinder our abliltiy to blog, post comments, or reply on a daily basis. We appreciate your understanding. It´s not often that our conflicts occur at the same time.

So - what´s on the docket?

Alex and John go on a quilting cruise.
Alex and John´s son gets married.
Ricky hosts a La Veta Quilt Retreat
Ricky and Justin will be away celebrating Ricky´s parents 60th wedding anniversary.
Ricky will be in Birmingham England for the Festival of Quilts.

Heading into September, Ricky and Alex will be gearing up for taping of Series Four in early September.

Anyway - there is a lot going on in our personal lives during the next four-five weeks, so your good thoughts are much appreciated.

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Gregory Case on the job

Gregory Case A.K.A Photo Man has been hard at work capturing images from this most challenging episode (Episode 302).  See behind the scenes through Greg´s keen eyes.  To view the slides click here.

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Hey everyone. As mentioned over the weekend, the Kool Kaleidoscope DVD is at the manufacturer and we have been told a shipping date of early August. This means good news for everyone who is interested in getting a copy hot of the press. The DVD will regularly sell for $24.95 but you can pre-order an advance copy that will ship directly to you when they are in the warehouse for only $21.95. Don´t miss out on the pre-order special.

Watch the trailer below. If you missed the Kaleidoscope Music Video - click here.

Order your copy today through the Ricky Tims Online Store (not TQS Shoppe)- click here.

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Take six less than loved "challenging" fabrics, three artists, and two producers with a surprise and you have the makings for a very lively show. Join award-winning fiber artist, Sally Dutko, Alex and Ricky as they demonstrate how to work with challenging fabrics. Learn useful tips and tricks while seeing some very unexpected quilt results. Our lips are sealed, but to watch the show click here.

Photo by Gregory Case

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(Scroll Down to see Ricky´s Kaleidescope Video--It´s Great)

This is one of my favorites of Alex´s Quilts. Yellow is seldom a predominate color in a quilt.  It is the cover Quilt for "Simply Stars--Quilts that Sparkle".  I think the colors of this quilt really do sparkle.  This book really solidified Alex as a Star Enthusiast.  

 It contains 13 12" Split Le Moyne Star blocks and the quilt is 67" x 67".  It is machine quilted by Susanne M. Rasmussen.  The book is out of print, but Alex has a hand full left.  If you want one of the last copies, click here.

By the way, check out the airplane blocks by GrannyFran in the quilt gallery.

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Don´t delay -register NOW to view the brand new Bernina 830 Series high performance sewing and embroidery machine tomorrow- July 21, 2008, 6:30 pm CST. To learn more about this amazing new machine click here to grab a front row seat on the world wide web! This machine is INCREDIBLE - And the Webcast will be Fun!

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Night of 100 Stars

This is the first quilt of Alex´s that made it into a book.  It is in that wonderful book by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, "Quilts, Quilts, Quilts".  This is the start of why Alex is known for Stars.  Tomorrow you will see more stars.  It was a pivotal moment in Alex´s quilting.  Alex was struggling to be called an "art quilter".  There was a unspoken war going on between traditional and art quilting.  After doing this quilt, Alex realized that you have to do what makes your heart sing.  Do you feel you are labeled or are you open to the entire quilting experience? 

This quilt was hand quilted.  Watch for the corner turn Alex makes.  Remember to learn how to hand quilt and draw quilting patterns in Alex´s Classroom.

By the way, you need to hide the camera once the cat realizes it can take a self-portrait at arms length.

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Some of you may be familiar with the Kool Kaleidoscope that I´ve been teaching since 2001. Two years ago I began a DVD project that shows how to make these dynamic, easy-to-make, quilts. However, a little thing called The Quilt Show came along and the Kool Kaleidoscope project had to take a backseat for a while. Well, I´m happy to announce that the DVD is at the manufacturer and it will release in early August!

For the DVD I composed a new piece of music called Northern Lights - not to be confused with Pam Holland´s video on the Adelaide Northern Lights. I used my new music composition to create a music video featuring the quilts from the DVD gallery. The DVD and the printed insert for the DVD feature 21 Kool Kaleidoscope quilts. However, this music video version features them in a very unique way. Hope you will enjoy it. This video is also contained on the new upcoming DVD.

In addition to the piano and keyboards, I dug out my trumpet and violin for this piece. Turn up your speakers or put your headphones on. Not recommended to watch if using mind altering drugs.