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Even seasoned quilters love learning new tricks to help them succeed when it comes to quilting.  Check out these great ideas from Joyce R. Becker (Episode 912) a teacher who has been around the quilting poolhall for a while.

1.  Change your sewing machine needle every time you reload your bobbin with thread-you'll save yourself some grief from thread nightmares such as thread breaking or shredding!

2. Make your own "heavy-duty" starch. Mix 2/3 concentrated liquid starch such as Sta-flo with 1/3 water in an empty spray bottle.

3.  When quilting, stitch at a consistent speed, especially when rounding corners.

4.  Always use a Teflon pressing sheet when pressing your designs.  Believe it or not, invisible thread melts if an iron is too hot!

5.  If you include a horizon line in yoru design, make sure that it is straight and level.

6. If you copied an inspiration from another artist, make sure you get written permission from the artist if it will be published anywhere or you could be sued for copyright infringement.

7. Have fun with your projects and laugh at your mistakes.  That's what I do.  There is plenty of laughter going on in my studio day in and day out.

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Sedona Star by Sarah Vedeler (Fabrics are Fizz by P&B Textiles, and Buttons and Blooms by Red Rooster)

We can sense the buzz about the 2012 BOM quilt all around the TQS website. Sarah Vedeler has designed a stunning quilt that--upon completeion--is sure to become a family heirloom.  Why not join the year-long 'block party' that begins with the first pattern installment on January 1, 2012? With two luscious colorways (Fizz or Buttons and Blooms), we know it will be tough to make a decision which one to choose  Should you decide to select the your own fabrics on your own Sarah even provides provided a blank schematic for you to play with.

Kits for each colorway will, of course, be available for you to purchase through the TQS Shoppe, where the quilting elves even now are busy cutting and preparing the kits. Look for the kits to be available in the TQS Shoppe around the second week in January. That still leaves lots of time to keep pace with the rest of the BOM participants.

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Click Here to visit Colleen at:  

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See what you can do after watching a show on TQS! TQS member, Carolyn Hughey (clhughey) watched Episode 907: Get UnRuly: Playing with Words featuring Tonya Ricucci and got INSPIRED.  Carolyn is going to fill the stockings with little suprises each time her grandchildren come to visit.  When was the last time a TQS show inspired you?

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This week's puzzle is by Sheila Frampton Cooper.  It is Life in the City and recently won an Honorable Mention in the Art Abstract Large category at the Houston International Quilt Festival 2011.

Here's what Sheila had to say about her quilt:

My inspiration for this quilt is simply my love of color, espcially in nature.  As a native of Los Angeles, this is my representation of life in the city -- the parks, trees, flowers, birds, busy intersections, my love of driving, and colorful people.  I truly enjoyed participating in its creation.

You can learn more about Sheila from her interviews with Sharon Pederson at festival. Click here and here to watch her interviews.

Life In The City - 36 pieces non-rotating

Life In The City - 100 pieces non-rotating

Life In The City - 100 pieces rotating

Life in the City - 255 pieces non-rotating

Life In The City - 252 pieces rotating

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Beginning December 9, 2011, a new exhibit will open at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. Quilt Journeys: Three Quilters follows the artistic journey of Doreen Speckmann, Diane Guadynski, and Dorris McManis.  

Doreen was one of the first artists to gain celebrity status in the quilt world and was featured on Simply Quilts with Alex.  Diane is one of the most respected and admired machine quilters in the world.  Dorris is most well known for having created one 12" quilt every week for an entire year.

"Like most journeys, it isn't the destination that is the story, it is the process of getting there and how they find their 'voice' during their journey that's interesting," said Judy Schwender, Curator/Registrar for The National Quilt Museum.

This exhibit runs through March 13, 2012. The National Quilt Museum exhibit was funded with a grant from the Murray State University Office of Regional Outreach.

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The quilts in the Art Whimsical category at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this year were derived from our childhoods, our mythologies, our histories, and our imaginations.  Explore the power of whimsy in these magical quilts.

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If you watched Gyleen Fitzgerald our guest in Episode 909 Techniques, Tips...and Turning "Trash" into "Treasure"  you discovered a quick and easy way to make pineapple blocks along with a number of variations. Gyleen wants TQS members to have a Trash to Treasure Pineapple Playground and TQS is willing to oblige.

First, check out the Show & Tell Area which has been set up under the Quilt Gallery button on the navigation bar. Click on Show & Tell and you'll see the Trash to Treasure - Pineapple Playground. Here you can submit photos of your entries and show off your latest pineapple creations.

Second, you'll want to make a visit to the Forum. In the Scrap Bag section, you'll see a new topic, Trash to Treasure - Pineapple Blocks. Here you can share with your friends and ask questions concerning your pineapple treasures.  Gyleen will be stopping by time-to-time to check in and see how you are doing and to help with any problems.

It's a Pineapple Party in the Playground, come along and join us!

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You recently watched Joyce Becker in Episode 912: Doubleheader Today: Landscapes and Longarm.  In the episode, Joyce demonstrated how she "builds" a mini-lanscape, adds texture with variegated threads, and finishes up by placing the quilt into a frame.  Here are some more wonderful examples of Joyce's quilts.

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Those Swiss Engineers never rest.  So Alex was surprised at the new "numbers" at the Bernina Booth in Houston 2011.