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Ricky liked "Hank", the Texas Horned Lizard created by Carol Morrissey, so much that he purchased him for his home collection.
Star Members can watch Carol at work in Show 1908: Postcards and Photorealism.
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Cyndi is sharing photos of many of her challenge quilts and celebration quilts. To learn more about Cyndi's work and techniques, Star Members can watch Show 1908: Postcards and Photorealism.
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To celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, we want you to be part of Canada’s biggest Quilt Bee!
The Big Quilt Bee will be held June 14-17, 2017 at Quilt Canada 2017 in Toronto, ON. We’ll have sewing machines, longarms, midarms and an army of volunteers ready to work on quilt tops and stacks of slabs made by hundreds of Canadian quilters. But your help is needed!
Our goal is to make and donate 1,000 quilts for kids at Ronald McDonald Houses across Canada!
Here’s where we need your help. We need lots of quilt tops and 12 ½” slab blocks incorporating at least one piece of special Canada fabric.
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RARE Science works directly with patient families and foundations to find more immediate therapeutic solutions for children with rare diseases.
This year RARE Science is partnering with TQS (and a number of other great organizations) to bring you... the FIRST Ever Celebrity RARE Bear Auction! This is your opportunity to own a signed bear made by the quilt world's most talented artists while helping a great cause.
Meet "Ali Bear-ba" by Lea McComas
Lea writes,
"Motivated by the loss of his twin sister, Ellie Bear-ba, at the age of four to a rare disease, our hero, Ali Bear-ba sits atop his magic carpet. He travels into the great unknown in search of cures for rare and confounding diseases. He takes his cue from the Ali Baba of folklore and uses the phrase “Open Sesame” to unlock the path for physicians, researchers, and families to find their way to the elusive therapeutic treatments that will bring relief to precious loved ones."
Artist Lea McComas has traveled the world exploring and collecting handmade textiles and researching techniques for surface design. Some of her greatest experiences occurred while living in Turkey. When asked to make a Rare Bear, she reached into her “very special” textile stash and found inspiration for Ali Bear-Ba in the pieces of antique kilim that were used to make his vest. His “Magic Carpet” is a hand woven mat acquired while living in the remote Turkish village of Karatepe, where Lea studied local weaving techniques.
Star Members can watch Lea in Show 1609: Transforming Quilts from Real Life.
Click here for links to see more Celebrity RARE Bears.
Lea has had a lifelong passion for textiles and fiber arts. She sewed her first garment at age 6, and became a quilter at age 16, learning skills from her great aunt. Her first quilt was hand-pieced and hand quilted. Her first original design in 1986 was chosen as the Missouri state winner of the Great American Quilt Festival. It traveled the world as part of a 3-year traveling exhibit of the Museum of American Folk Art and can be viewed in the book All Flags Flying: American Patriotic Quilts as Expressions of Liberty.
In her twenties, she was introduced to the world of spinning and weaving, and involved herself in everything from helping to sheer the sheep, to collecting plants for dying, to developing patterns for knitting. Lea designed and knitted sweaters from her own hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn.
She traveled overseas in her thirties as a teacher for the Department of Defense. Five years in Turkey provided new opportunities to explore textiles. There, her first summer vacation was spent living in a remote Turkish village learning to weave kilims. This assignment was followed by 4 years in Okinawa, where she acquired a love for Japanese textiles and an extensive collection of kimono fabrics.
Lea returned to the states in 2001, and resided in Boulder, CO. There she rekindled her interest in quilting and was exposed to the amazing world of art quilts. Simultaneously, she began a study of classic European art, and developed a keen interest in portrait and figurative art. Her current techniques and works are a synthesis of these passions as she uses thread and fabric to create realistic pictorial works.
Lea has written articles and her work has appeared in publications .She was a featured artist in the books Cutting Edge Art Quilts, and Art Quilt Portfolio: People & Portraits. Her first book, Thread-Painted Portraits: Turn Your Photos into Fiber Art, was released in 2014.
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RARE Science works directly with patient families and foundations to find more immediate therapeutic solutions for children with rare diseases.
This year RARE Science is partnering with TQS (and a number of other great organizations) to bring you... the FIRST Ever Celebrity RARE Bear Auction! This is your opportunity to own a signed bear made by the quilt world's most talented artists while helping a great cause.
Meet "Sir Mandelbear the Perfectly Imperfect" by Katie Fowler
Sir Mandelbear the Perfectly Imperfect was born out of a fascination with fractal geometry. He is named for Benoit Mandelbrot, a famous mathematician. Mandy’s “coat” is made from pieces left over from the quilt in Episode 1807 of The Quilt Show. (Click here to see the original quilt before it was cut up.) Mandelbear’s maker, Katie, isn’t very interested in making things perfect. She is more interested in finding the joy in doing. Therefore, Mandy’s back and leg seams aren’t perfect and he’s a little overstuffed (just like his maker). That said, Katie thinks Sir Mandelbear is perfectly imperfect!
Star Members can watch Katie in Show 1807: Fearless Quilting.
Click here for links to see more Celebrity RARE Bears.
I am an art quilter. That's a dangerous thing to say in the art world. People often respond, "Oh, my great Aunt Whozee made quilts." My pieces are not bed coverings. They are personal and meaningful expressions of who I am and my interpretation of the world around me. My pieces go beyond the literal meaning of the materials. This makes them art.
Creative Life Coaching
www.katiefowler.net
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From our friends at the TQPM Small Kennel Quilt Team:
"October is national Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month and some quilt industry professionals are partnering with the Petfinder Foundation to create awareness of Shelter Dogs (and Cats) that need “ furrever” homes. It is an unusual combination but one that is working beautifully to help our furry friends.
These quilters are animal lovers and are helping shelter animals in ways that are new and unique. So join us in the October Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month and see how we are helping and how you can help. We invite you to “Piece for Shelter Pets”.”
The Quilt Pattern Magazine (TQPM) partnered with the Petfinder Foundation to form the TQPM Small Kennel Quilt Team after Hurricane Sandy. The two organizations help animal shelters affected by disasters by sending Kennel Quilts for the displaced animals. Sewing essentials are needed for Kennel Quilts, therefore Aurifil Threads, BERNINA USA, Island Batik Fabrics, Quilty Box and Benartex Fabrics have become partners.
Below, you will find the link to the Blog Hop Schedule to see what each company is doing to help. You can also read those you’ve missed. You’ll want to view the video of Petfinder's celebration and enter to win the Happy Hounds Petfinder Bundle – opportunities not to be missed!
Blog Hop Schedule:
10/5 – The Quilt Pattern Magazine/Nan Baker of Purrfect Spots
10/7 – Aurifil
10/12 – Island Batik
10/14 – Quilty Box (Instagram)
10/19 – Benartex
10/21 – Petfinder Foundation
There are so many shelter animals that want a home. This is a great time to check with your local shelter for your “furrever” friend or you can check out Petfinder.com. However, if you can’t adopt at this time, there are numerous other ways to help and that will be shared on all the blogs. Please join us in this effort and Remember to Adopt –don’t shop!
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It is likely that kennel quilts will be needed to help with the recovery of Hurricane Matthew. If you join the TQPM Kennel Quilt Team, You will be notified when help is needed. Click here to join the team.
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There has been a lot of talk in the quilting world that shops are closing...magazines have ceased publication and shows have canceled. There was a collective gasp when a well known shop closed it's store front in NYC! As quilters started an emotional panic across social media, you could hear the threads unraveling. Sure, I am going to miss those shops...(I still miss Miniature Quilting Magazine) but the world evolves, change is inevitable, people retire and nothing stays the same forever. So, instead of focusing on the negative side of change, I look for the silver thread. Online shopping is not going away...so, if you want to have a local quilt shop then you had better shop there. Subscribe to a favorite magazine. Freshen up your quilting book shelf with some new quilt books. Support your favorite designers. Embrace the change and look for the positives in our quilting world. Victoria Findlay Wolfe just opened a retail shop in NYC! Sally Frey and her business partner Jacque opened Stitch in Ferndale California! When one door closes, another one opens.
G and I traveled down to Ferndale to check our Sally and Jacque's new shop! Ferndale always makes those 10 best lists for places to visit with its Victorian architecture and small town feel where you could almost believe it was a different century. With a mixture of quilting talent, an eye for fabric, and a long history of teaching, they have created a wonderful shop in the heart of Ferndale.
The store front is inviting and they have a wonderful little classroom space. Offering a wide variety of classes, they also have a back up space for larger classes just a half a block away in a fabulous hotel where they hold quarterly retreats. Stitch is filled with fabrics for every taste...including wool! You can check out my interview with Sally on our Quilt Roadies YouTube Channel.
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| This picture slideshow made with Smilebox |
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Just so everyone knows - RICKY IS FINE!
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I’m just thankful to be alive. Here’s the synopsis from my past two days.
I’ve been on a solo teaching tour (driving alone that is). I first taught in Albuquerque and left for Phoenix on Friday morning. On that drive I began to experience kidney stone pain. I almost escalated to the point of pulling off into a ditch and calling 911. Thankfully, it stopped short of that and began to subside. I was able to do my gig in Phoenix on Friday evening and all day Saturday.
I left Phoenix right after the lectures to drive 4.5 hours to Gallup where I was to spend the night. From there, Sunday morning, I was to drive on to Canon City, Colorado for another event and lecture Sunday night and Monday. Canon City is about 1.5 hours north of La Veta, CO where I live. The drive Sunday was a fairly long drive - 8 hours or so.
Just after dusk, on Hwy 260 east of Payson, AZ, about 5 miles before Heber, AZ, I passed a car with bright headlights. Instantly, as soon as that car went by, a deer was in my lights. I hit the deer at full speed before I could even react and hit the breaks. The air bags deployed and the car (Audi) breaked by itself. Of course it took a second for me to even register that what I was experiencing - which was like a dream. The airbag was in my face and the dust it creates made a fog. I DID hit the breaks but I think the car was doing its own thing and stopped on its own.
Of course, I was dazed, but within 15-20 seconds, Audi was calling my car (a feature I didn’t even know it had) and a human was asking if I was okay. I was. They called for assistance and they even knew where the accident was located. I managed to get out of the car and off the road to safety, but it was still very scary because the cars that were coming were not slowing down and my car was still in the right lane - dead - not even able to get it into neutral to push if off the road. It took a few minutes for other people to stop and assist - and get flashing lights going as a warning to keep everyone standing by helping and other drivers safe.
I won’t go into the rest of the story but suffice it to say, I’m very fortunate. The car will be in AZ for a while - assessing damage - repairs etc. Diane and her husband (Bernina dealers in Phoenix) drove 2.5 hours to collect me and take me back to Phoenix. We arrived about 2AM. I have a flight this morning out of Phoenix and will still make my lectures in Canon City, Colorado on Sunday evening and Monday.
Kidney stone, dead deer, destroyed new car (which was brand new early February) - what a memorable trip this is turning out to be! Feeling Thankful. It could have been so much worse.
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