Daily Blog

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Ricky here!

I just had the great pleasure of presenting seminars and a concert for the Sunset Slope Quilters of Grand Junction Colorado over the weekend. Whoo-hoo and a shout out to all who attended!

The six hour drive from La Veta was worth every mile, but the scenic route I took to come home (adding 3 extra hours) was even more spectacular. I took over 1000 photos, deleted only 200, and posted 40+ of my favorites in my Facebook photo album. 

You won't be disappointed - take a look at them.

While your there, LIKE my Facebook page and follow my comings and goings - rantings and ravings - and who knows what else. Does color inspire you?

SEE THE PHOTOS _ CLICK HERE!

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If you watched Alex's video where she throws an engagement party for her daughter Adair and future son-in-law Jerry, you may have noticed some pretty table toppers and centerpieces highlighting the decorations. Now, Alex is going to show you how she made them using the cool BERNINA Stitch-in-the-Ditch sole for your walking foot.

5 Lucky Winners!

BERNINA is so excited about sharing their new walking foot attachment, they want to give them away to 5 lucky TQS members.

5 Lucky Winners will have a stitch-in-the-ditch sole added to their stash of sewing accessories. It's easy. Just email to stitchditch@thequiltshow.com (copy and paste into your address bar if it's not automatic) and put "Stitch-in-the-Ditch" in the subject line. One entry per person. The contest ends Monday, October 3, 2011 at midnight Pacific Time.

If you are not one of the lucky winners, this attachment is available from your BERNINA Dealer.

Watch Alex throw an engagement party.

Watch another video detailing the BERNINA Stitch-in-the-Ditch sole.

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A lot of quilts these days are strip pieced, made from layer cakes, and quilted in a day.  Is anyone using templates anymore?  Are there times when nothing else will do?  Let us know; Templates, Use 'Em or Lose 'Em?

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This year at the International Quilt Festival in Houston a team of volunteers lead by the nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts will interview 64 Texas quiltmakers for the Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.) oral history project.

The artists to be interviewed are all included in the forthcoming book by Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars III: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1986-2011. Interviews will take place in a dedicated space on the Festival show floor

Q.S.O.S. is a grassroots oral history project launched by the Alliance in 1999 to record, archive and present the stories of today's quiltmakers. Volunteers record quiltmakers' stories in "guided conversations" centered on a quilt chosen by the interviewee. The recording is then transcribed by a volunteer and shared on the Alliance's website. Q.S.O.S. interviews are then archived by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Finished Q.S.O.S. interviews now include more than 1,000 conversations with quiltmakers from the U.S. and abroad.

You can read Ricky's interview, here.

You can read Ricky's Dad's interview, here.

Q.S.O.S. volunteers at Festival will be recording Texas quiltmakers' stories while following a simple list of standard interview questions. Free training from experienced Q.S.O.S. project staff and volunteers will be provided via instructional videos on the Alliance's website, www.AllianceforAmericanQuilts.org, available soon, a free Q&A webinar offered on several dates and a review session at Festival on Wednesday, November 2.

Many volunteers are needed. Jobs include: interviewers, scribes, registration desk attendants, photographers, and data entry/backup assistants. This is a grassroots effort; professional experience is not required.

All volunteers will receive free admission to the show on the days that they work. Each Team Q.S.O.S. volunteer will also receive a Q.S.O.S. lapel pin and t-shirt, and a goody bag of fabric and notion treats. We will offer special thank you gifts from sponsor Moda Fabrics/United Notions for those who conduct multiple interviews.

A public Q.S.O.S. lecture will also be conducted with our own Alex Anderson. Alex will be interviewed by Meg Cox on Saturday, November 5 at 10:30 am in the Festival Theater (located in the exhibit hall area).

To find out more and register online to volunteer for Team Q.S.O.S. at Festival
Visit the Alliance for American Quilts website:
www.AllianceforAmericanQuilts.org/qsos/2011IQFinfo.php.
Or email qsos@quiltalliance.org.

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In honor of Quilting in the Garden this week at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, CA, we have two quilt puzzles, one from each of the two featured artists at the show.  Ladies first, it is Verna Mosquera's, Enchanted Autumn, followed by Rob Appell's, Percula Clownfish, part of the Endangered Species Quilt Project. You can see the work of both these artists in Episode 806: Having it All with Hand Applique featuring Verna Mosquera and Episode 812: Protect our Planet...with Quilts featuring Rob Appell.

Enchanted Autumn - 100 pieces non-rotating

Enchanted Autumn - 100 pieces rotating

Percula Clownfish - 100 pieces non-rotating

Percula Clownfish - 100 pieces rotating

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Hey, you BOM stars! It's your favorite time of month; the newest BOM patterns are ready for you to start stitching.  This month you will complete all of the basket blocks, assemble the basket borders, and add them to your quilt center. When the work of Month 11 if finished, you will have one more month ahead of you – at which point you can complete your quilt.

For inspiration, and to keep that momentum going, be sure to check out all the wonderful photo submissions of members currently working on the BOM.  Join in the fun.

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In their latest BERNINA Educational Video, Nina and Susan show you how to attach a binding using a decorative stitch and your #20 open foot.

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The Series 8 DVD arrived today.  Order now in the Shoppe.

Series 8 includes shows with Susan Carlson, Edyta Sitar, Ricky Tims making a Rhapsody quilt, Darra Williamson, Christine Porter, Verna Mosquera, Ronda Beyer, Gregory Case, Jo Morton, David Taylor, Alex demonstraing paper piecing, Sue Spargo, Cheryl Lynch, Rob Appell, Wendy Grande and much, much more!

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Inspiring, fun, wacky, and wonderful are all words to describe Tonya Ricucci's quilts and here she shares a few "choice words" with you.  Notice the Stars quilt, ala the Stars quilt by Alex Anderson in Quilts, Quilts, Quilts. Tonya reduced the size of the blocks and put them in a spectrum of color rather than in a random distribution.

You can see more in Episode 907: Get UnRuly: Playing with Words.

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Most of us have this problem.  The stash is getting too large.  The ruler bin is full.  We discovered we have enough rotary cutters to fill a tool box.  The question is what do you do with your surplus?  Do you donate it to your guild? Do you have a garage sale? Do you sell it on Ebay or Etsy?  Are there other places online where you can sell your goods or donate them to a charity?  Submit a comment and tell us how you say goodbye to your extra supplies!