Daily Blog - TheQuiltShow.com

Back to the Dirty Reality of Life

You can bet that both John and Sparrow were glad when I returned last night. This morning has been an accumulation of nothing! LoL. From paying bills (apprently not soon enough, no long distance service), to washing clothes, feeding birds and misc. errands, things are getting back into gear. However, that said, what is normal? What I neglected to mention this past month is that the front of our house (master bed and bath) has been turned upside down and inside out. Dan Uribe, Cheryl's husband, is lending his magic hand to our home. Apparently, soon, very soon, things will truly be back to normal.

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1000 Cranes

Story Submitted by: florence

In the spring of 2004, my mother began chemotherapy for a form of leukemia that had turned from very slow to very aggressive. That news was recent, and my grandmother was slipping away from us (at age 103!) when my sister-in-law in N.C. passed away from a sudden illness. My mind was a blur, thus some things were forgotten as we packed, so we ended up running errands at a mall the day before the funeral. A sidewalk sale at the bookstore beckoned, and of course, I had to buy a quilt book that was 50% off--I needed something to relax with! Thumbing through “The Big Book of Quilting” I came across a paper-pieced pattern of an origami crane. Immediately I recalled the Japanese legend that if someone folds 1000 paper cranes, their wish will be granted. I tried to visualize 1000 quilt blocks. 500 front and back? Not realistic, I thought. But I couldn’t shake the thought of 1000 cranes. When I got home, I did some research, and found that the legend is both ancient and modern. The modern part is from a young survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, who came down with Leukemia, and attempted to fold 1000 cranes before her death. I knew this quilt HAD to be made. I had paper-pieced TWO blocks before, both for community quilts made on Alex’s former message board for members in need of warmth and comfort as they went through difficult times. So how to make 1000 cranes? Ask your internet buddies for help! I put out a plea, and about 30 quilters responded--and many more offered prayers. The book said this block was of medium difficulty. I sent off the instructions, and sat down and started to make cranes. At the end of May, cranes started arriving. Even though some made more than one, it wasn’t 1000. But I was determined to do this somehow. Mom got thru the initial chemo well enough, and I kept sewing. In the end, 110 blocks were made by 23 quilters from 15 states, plus 70 that I made here in Virginia. I waited to see how many I had before working out a layout. In the meantime, another message board buddy found just what I needed, and sent me a link to a fabric printed with folded paper cranes! Problem solved! I ordered it for the backing. I came up with a layout that looked slightly oriental AND made a bed-sized quilt. With the quilt pin-basted, I tasked my children with counting cranes on the back (within the intended final size.) They figured that if they laid a penny on each image, then counted the pennies, they’d be sure the count was accurate. We were about 100 shy of the goal. Then I thought about quilting it, and realized that if I outline quilted each crane, there would be 180 MORE cranes on the back, and that put us over 1000. All summer, my Mom was out of town participating in a drug trial at Johns Hopkins. When I wasn’t running up and down the highway, I was focused on this quilt. By November, it was finished, and in December, she got the good news: remission. She’s still doing well, and she loves the quilt. Post Script: I searched on members of The World Quilt Community and recognize at least two of the participants in this project. :)

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Editor, Ryan Lynch, Assembles the Show

Meet Ryan Lynch from Chicago. He's now taking all the tapes and putting the shows together. What you eventually see are his magic of assembling and rearrangine camera shots to make the show flow logically. He is just another vital part of the production team. He has some great experience (Like the 2007 Bud Bowl for the Super Bowl), but we like that he's young and fresh and will bring us something a bit more unique. - thanks Ryan!

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Why Subscribe to Our Show?

While you may not fully understand the scope of our new project, I think most of you know there is a lot that has gone into the production of the site and the show. However, we do get emails with questions such as the one below. I hope my reply will answer the ultmiate question - Why do I have to pay?

Q: How come you are charging to watch your episodes, when we can all see your simply quilts
shows for free at HGTV and DIY websites? Seems like a waste of time when we have all seen
your techniques and different quilts made over 100 reruns a year.

A: Your question is a very good one. You might not realize that Simply Quilts did not come to you for free. You paid a cable or satellite bill and a portion of that bill each month went to HGTV or DIY. There are millions of people with cable so even if a few cents from your bill is distributed to those networks, it adds up to a significant amount of money enabling them to produce and deliver all of the shows you see on those networks.

In addition to the shows, we are producing a full-service quilt site that even without the video content is the worlds' first of it's kind and offers the opportunity for the entire quilt world to connect with each other. The entire project is unprecedented, massive, time consuming and costly.

This new site is like a virtual quilting magazine. Perhaps you don't subscribe to quilting magazines, but it's still the same - something you pay a small fee for so that it can be produced and delivered to you. All magazines function due to a combination of subscriptions and advertisers/sponsors - we are no different.

Our goal is to enrich and inspire quilters and keep the industry thriving so that quilt shops will continue to exist and that quilt shows will continue to thrive so that our craft/art will remain strong for many more years. We certainly understand that it may not be for everyone. We are offering the opportunity for those who are skeptical to watch the first episode for free once it posts.

We all pursue visions, hopes, and dreams. Whatever your dreams are, I hope that that you will pursue them with passion and that your life will be rich because of it. I hope that you will follow your heart just as we have followed ours even if others consider it to be a waste of time.

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That's a Wrap!

Whew!

It was an incredible ride getting the first six shows shot. The audience was awesome, the guests were great. The energy in each show was ourtrageous and tonight Alex and I are both having moments where we feel overwhelmed with the way it all came together.

We don't do it alone so it's time to let you see the crew.

Back Row Left to Right: Gregory Case (Photo Man), Dan Haberer (Director) Izzy Jimenez (Technical Director), Brian Day (Crew Manager, Camera/Audio), Wayne Evans (Camera), Brad Wallace (Jib Camera, Art Director), Bob Purcell (The Thead Guy), Cheryl Uribe (Gizmo Girl), Justin Shults, (Bad Bart)

Front Row: Beverly Price (Producer), Jeff Bilyeau (Videographer/Life Saver), Angel Hawthorne (Producer), Alex and Ricky

There were plenty of other people who helped in unofficial positions. It was a great few days - and now - - to editing......

photo: Elena Morera

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Happy Birthday Ricky

It has been a splendid journey, and what a way to celebrate the day! Happy ? Birthday Ricky! Until we meet in La Veta in June once again. NO, WAIT?! End of the month in San Diego for the RT Super Quilt Seminar (remember there is still a few days to sign up for this very cool event. Please visit www.rickytims.com ). We are ALL very happy campers today.

Photo by Gregory Case

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Bad Bart - The Audience Wrangler

Meet Bad Bart - aka Justin Shults, one of the J's in ARJJ - executive producers of The Quilt Show. At a quilt retreat in La Veta about 2 years ago, the students saw this statue and just HAD to buy it because it looked so much like Justin. They dubbed it the La Veta Quilt Police.

Not only is it a spitting image of Justin (a conincidence), but it is now the "Mini Me" of Bad Bart - the crowd wrangler "entertainer" for the audience during the warm-up and break. If you read any comments from yesterdays blog posts, you'll have heard mention of of Justin and Bad Bart - one in the same. It sort of a flip flop on the idea that the rule breakers get arrested. In other words, it is the quilt police that get arrested so the rest of us can break all the rules.

Photo by Gregory Case

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Summer edition of IQF to debut in Long Beach, CA

Houston - March 1, 2007 - Quilts, Inc. announced that a third edition of International Quilt Festival (IQF) will make its debut July 25-27, 2008 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach, California. The summer Festival will be an annual event.

"We have been looking for quite some time at starting a third edition of Festival - one that would serve a different geographical area than our current fall show in Houston and the spring edition in Chicago," says Karey Bresenhan, president of Quilts, Inc. and Festival's director. "After many site inspections and much research and consideration, we've decided that Long Beach is the ideal choice for the summer Festival's home."

The show will include many of the same features that quilters all over the world have come to expect from the Houston and Chicago Festivals: a wide variety of vendors, dazzling special exhibits of quilt and textile art, and classes, lectures and events for every style, technique, and skill level of fabric artist. In addition, it will also include features unique to the Long Beach show.

"Starting a new venture is always challenging, especially one of this magnitude," Bresenhan continues. "But we won't be resting on our laurels and reputation. We want the Long Beach Festival to have an identity of its own. As show organizers, we are constantly learning new things every year to improve the show experience for our attendees, who let us know what works and what doesn't. All of that collected knowledge has been put to good use in planning the Long Beach Festival and will help us in the future as we continue to create the kind of show our attendees want."

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Technology Tools Rule, part 2 - by Gregory Case

Ricky and Alex relax on the set on the eve of taping. - Photo by Gregory Case

Yesterday, I blogged about the future of quilting which is internet-based. Note that you are reading this via a web blog, at your own preferred location and time of choosing. The internet allows you to shift the paradigms of time and space—you can be anywhere at any time and as long as you can access the web, you can access The Quilt Show website.

While the future is internet-based, ironically, Ricky Tims' and Alex Anderson’s quilt show (wwww.thequiltshow.com) is sold out for all these six tapings and for those who are interested, the June taping dates will be announced soon. Literally, busloads full of quilters are converging in La Veta, making the trip to be a part of quilting history.

The reality is that the future also looks a lot like the present. Ricky Tim’s Art Quilt Studio & Gallery will create a destination place for quilters to seek out and visit. For those geographically challenged in finding La Veta, Colorado on a map, look near the southeast part of the state. Find Denver and head south. Go past Colorado Springs and Pueblo, and make a slight right turn at Walsenburg. La Veta is tucked in a valley with snow-capped mountains around it with a population of about 900. Today, the town folk were talking about seeing evidence of a bear roaming the alley behind Ricky Tim’s Art Quilt Studio and Gallery. Yeah, it is that remote!

The locals visited Ricky’s gallery all day. They expressed their enthusiasm for his new venture and are excited that La Veta will become even more of a quilter’s mecca a la Sisters, Oregon. I followed them and the ever-expanding crew of producers, lighting and photography directors, film editor, sound people, and more, to create an exciting new venue where The Quilt Show will be taped. I have the wonderful job as a quilt and textile photographer to photograph the behind the scenes events: the production meetings, the rehearsals, Ricky and Justin’s house with their three dogs, the quaint town of La Veta, etc.

Over a year ago, a quilting vision was created. Today, I believe Ricky and Alex have glimpsed the future of quilting. While it may blossom in La Veta Colorado, it will grow to be seen literally by the rest of world as long as one can access the web. No longer will the Midwest be fly over country as far as quilters are concerned. Soon, not only will Ricky and Alex have seen the future, you will too.

Photo by Gregory Case

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Quilters Buzz

www.quiltersbuzz. com is generously covering the tapings of The Quilt Show courtesy of Gregory Case. Thank you Gregory and Gina, you rock!

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