From Marti Michell Quilting Blog

A Little Quilt History

2011-03-29T17:18:00.013-04:00

"Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts" from the collection of Joanna S. Rose is now on exhibit in NYC. One of the beauties the American Folk Art Museum is using to advertise the show is a stunning circular optical illusion quilt.

I remembered seeing such a quilt in Cyril I. Nelson's 1985 Quilt Engagement Calendar published by E.P. Dutton, and I was sure Ms. Rose had purchased that quilt for her collection. The text below the photo of the quilt in the calendar (last week of September if you have it) notes that a second quilt, almost identical and "obviously by the same hand" came to light a week after the Dutton quilt was photographed. It's probably safe to say that quilt is the one in the exhibit! The red and white circular piecing and the 4 corners on the calendar quilt are identical to the Joanna S. Rose quilt. The calendar quilt does not have the curlicues at the N-S-E-W positions and the very center is white rather than red. Fraternal twins - maybe the quiltmaker wanted to see if the quilt looked different with a different center? And did she prefer the one with or without the curlicues?

I remembered the year of the Dutton calendar and the red and white quilt, in particular, because I had purchased a quilt in 1984 that had similar op art piecing:

The circular center is 15" and consists of 468 pieces (!) with a button at the center. I think the center was pieced by one person and the quilt was finished by someone less skilled, although the Mariner's Compasses are very good. The Dutton quilt is dated c. 1920 but the fabrics in my quilt hark back to the late 1800s.

The blue fabric is all the same print. See where the dark color appears to have migrated and some of the white areas look green? That tinge is probably from oil left behind where fingers repeatedly touched the fabric. The day I bought the quilt, I had told the dealer he could leave it hanging up and I would come back later. As I was writing the check, at least 5 people ran their hands over the center area and expressed astonishment that it was really pieced. Who knows how many hands had tested the quiltmaker's skill? We decided then to take the quilt down!

If you go to the Red and White Quilts exhibit, I hope this story adds a little to your enjoyment. If, like us, you don't get to go :( you can scroll down on the Museum page (link at top of this post) and choose one or more of the digital & social media ways to see the show. :)

Sand Sculpture

2011-02-08T02:00:00.003-05:00

When I say I quilt, it is very common for people to say, "Oh, I just don't have the patience for that!" Now, I don't think it takes patience to quilt. I think it take patience and a lot of skill to do sand sculpture!

When Richard and I were in Hawaii right before Christmas, we admired and enjoyed these sculptures in the Waikiki Sheraton. They were created by Jill Harris and Thomas Koet of Sensational Sculpting. Thomas is the World Champion of Sand Sculpting.

We thought they looked way too much like us! Or is it we looked way too much like them!

If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium

2010-01-21T11:18:00.013-05:00

As a traveling quilting teacher, I have occasionally woken up with that "where am I?" feeling. But, I can say, if the wallpaper features candy kisses...

...you are probably at Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA, and the event is the Quilt Odyssey. I was very pleased to be on the teaching staff for the 10th anniversary event in July 2009. If you've never been, it is a very nice event. The vendor area has something for everyone but is not overwhelming. There is a very nice quilt show and the class participants were very enthusiastic.

In addition, I got to have a fun dinner and catch up with Jennifer and Dave Kay who were vending. For several years Jennifer was one of my most productive sewing associates. She also frequently traveled with Stacy and me to shows. She and Dave now manufacture Homesteader mid-arm quilting machines and have a very nice computer controlling unit, adaptable to any mid or long arm machine. Here we are with one of the Homesteader machines:

I got to say "Hi" to Chuck Myers. Here he is with one of the Aurifil displays:

Marje was not in the booth. I call Chuck and Marje the Johnny Appleseeds of Aurifil thread. For several years, they have travelled the country doing quilt shows and carrying the full line of Aurifil thread. They have undoubtedly been the first people to introduce many quilters to the wonders of using Aurifil Make cotton threads as well as Aurifil's wonderful wool thread. In full disclosure, as they say on the TV news shows, I am the US Spokesperson for Aurifil, so I especially appreciate their efforts!

A Quilt Shop in Every Port

2010-01-21T10:59:00.011-05:00

For those of us who love fabric, we recognize that fabric is a perfect souvenir. When we completed the Alaska cruise this summer I said to Richard, "I have never been on a trip where it was more convenient to stop, shop and buy fabric." Even better, each shop had a slightly different focus. So to benefit all of you who may take an Alaska cruise, I say "be prepared to buy fabric!"

I mentioned Changing Tides in Juneau in a previous post. My favorite part of that store was the Barbara Lavallee designs, but they also feature some other unique Alaska artists' designs as well as being a complete quilt shop and offering cross stitch and yarn.

In Sitka, Abby's Reflection had special fabric just with Sitka designs. A must if you are doing an Alaska memory quilt. There was one non-Alaska fabric I was particularly searching for and even though Abby's Reflection was the smallest of the shops we visited, she was also the one that had the fabric I really needed - and it was on sale! That is why you have to go to every quilt shop on the trip!

Totem poles have always fascinated me and we saw the best ones in Sitka on this trip. Here are Stacy, Jeff and me at a totem pole photo op!'

We did a search to find more totem poles for anyone who would like to see more of them. They're amazing! Check out "Alaska in Pictures".

All of the shops were easy to get to, but The Silver Thimble in Ketchikan was the closest to the dock. Here is a picture looking from the deck to the small shopping mall that houses The Silver Thimble.

During the cruise season they double their store space and house a huge selection of Alaska friendly fabrics. The store is owned by Betty and Bill Gale. Ten years ago when I taught on my first Alaska cruise, we arrived in Ketchikan very early and they kindly opened early for us. Furthermore, one of the local quilters was also a reporter for the local TV station and she came to the shop and interviewed me - what fun! Betty and the crew at the Silver Thimble also specialize in kits of Alaska memory type quilts. If you think the people accompanying you may balk at visiting a quilt shop in every port, but you want one souvenir quilt, this would be the shop that has made it the easiest to buy and buy quickly!

Our ship made one last stop in Victoria, BC. Satin Moon is not as easy to get to as the others, but worth the visit. The store and the Website are both very tourist friendly.

My recommendation is to visit all of the Websites and be prepared for how you are going to include your favorite place to shop at every port on the cruise. Also, the order in which I mentioned shops is from the north going south. Some cruises will stop in the reverse order.

On our previous trip to Alaska, we also toured on land. If you are fortunate enough to get to do the same, there are wonderful quilt shops in Anchorage, Fairbanks and a couple of towns in between! It is a great state for quilt shops as well as unbelievable scenery!

P.S. Does having my name on Beyonce's Website put me one degree away from her name or one degree away from her? Scroll down that page to find Eleanor Levie's book Skinny Quilts and Table Runners. I guess if it's skinny, Beyonce knows about it! :)

I Adore the Art of Barbara Lavallee

2010-01-21T10:30:00.010-05:00

Around 10 years ago, Richard and I went on a quilters cruise to Alaska for the first time. I taught on a cruise sponsored by Dee Lynn and Audrey Waite, who also run Quilt Camp in the Pines in Flagstaff, AZ, each summer and quilting in the Desert in Phoenix each January. On that trip to Alaska, I was introduced to the charming art of Barbara Lavallee. I can't look at her work without smiling.

Fast forward to this past summer when I was thrilled to be one of the Featured Artists on the Quilt Camp at Sea Alaska Cruise. Yes, it was during the summer (June 29 - July 5) but who cares that I'm just getting around to some of the stories! It was a perfect trip for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration and our entire family went.

Here Richard and I are enjoying the sun on the desk as we had a glorious day cruising Glacier Bay.

When I read about our first stop in port, I was very pleased to see that Barbara Lavallee would be at Changing Tides quilt shop in Juneau to meet quilters and sign books. It turns out that Jan Nardone, the owner of Changing Tides, has been responsible for making Barbara's designs available in cross stitch and quilt patterns. For more info see www.alaskastitching.com.

On my first trip to Alaska all of my Barbara Lavallee purchases were paper, so I was really pleased to be able to buy fabric items. Here is one of the quilts made from Barbara's designs hanging at the store.

After getting my purchases signed, I asked for a picture with these two lovely and talented ladies. Left to right are Jan, Barbara and me. As we chatted, I discovered Barbara is just as charming as she is talented.

There were over 125 people in our group. Because of tight schedules, I didn't even get to visit with all of the teachers, but here I am with JoAnne Gordon. She was teaching hand applique and loves Aurifil Mako 50/2 so much that she winds bobbins and gives them as handouts in class.

The Barbara Lavallee wallhanging project that JoAnne is holding was very appropriately her class project on the cruise. It's called Eskimo Yo-Yo. If I have my story correct, JoAnne makes many of the original applique designs for photography of the Barbara Lavallee patterns.

Another one of my favorite artists is the painter Rebecca Barker, who was the other featured artist on the cruise. Rebecca's very appealing "quiltscapes" are frequently transformed into calendars, greeting cards and jigsaw puzzles, and I am a frequent purchase of them. It was very nice to get to talk with her. Visit her Website to see why I love her work. www.barkerquiltscapes.com

Catching up with technology, as well as the 1850's at the Wisconsin Fiber Arts & Quilt Museum.

2009-08-07T18:20:00.010-04:00

Catching up with technology … or trying! That is, we took these pictures in May at the Wisconsin Fiber Arts and Quilt Museum University Days, but between internal memory, lost connecting cables and you don’t want to hear the rest of my sad story, this is the first time I have had all the pictures together and it was such a fun event I can’t resist sharing.

The fledgling museum has acquired property in Cedarburg, Wisconsin on which many buildings from the 19^th century still stand. The plans are drawn and most of the money raised for a major renovation of an1850s barn that will be a first class textile museum with climate controlled storage, research rooms and galleries. In the meantime, the small farm home has been refurbished for shows that change quarterly and the barn is used for large events in its current condition – rustic, but wonderfully rustic!

Luella Doss, a long time friend and a pioneer in every aspect of Wisconsin quilting affairs (i.e the state quilt search, the Wisconsin State Guild, etc.) was the person who asked Stacy (our daughter and also a quilting professional) and me if we would put together an exhibit for the museum and also teach at the University Days. As the time approached, they begged Richard to come along as he has volunteered printing of brochures for the Museum, among other things.

It was crisp, but clear and beautiful as we arrived to be greeted by beautiful poppies that would become our landmark for the correct corner for the museum.

Tents and extra “facilities” were already in place around the museum grounds when we arrived, including a display of the drawing of the future museum.

In the meantime, our classes would be held in the barn. Now I knew Luella had said classes would be in the barn and as an Iowa farm girl I have a real fondness for barns, but, I admit, I didn’t really envision this degree of BARN! Here is Stacy standing in front of the barn as we got ready to unload.

After the initial surprise I fell in love with the whole concept and was envious of the imagination that would say, “We’ll hold classes in the barn, have a potluck lunch and raise some more money for the museum ."

This is a view of my kaleidoscope class.

There was lots of good food -- just like there would have been at an old-fashioned barn-raising and quilting bee.

Look how beautiful this quilt looked against the barn boards:

Yes, those are openings between the boards – built that way to prevent spontaneous combustion, I’m told. Fortunately, it did not rain.

As a bonus, we three Michells got to spend time with my sister and her husband, Mary and Dave Fuchs and their son Mark and his family who all live in the Mequon/Cedarburg, WI area.

Klavon's In Pittsburgh

2009-08-07T17:23:00.012-04:00

If you like ice cream and you are nostalgic about the "good ol' days", you'll love Klavon's.

We discovered it when we were in Pittsburgh for Quilt Market in May, but had temporarily lost the pictures.

I hope you will enjoy seeing the Michell Marketing crew enjoying.

Brenda Asmus, Marti Michell, Diane Gabb, Stacy Michell, Mary Huey - Richard Michell took the picture.

Check out the phone booths.

The drug store originally opened in 1923. The original Art Deco soda fountain, the fixtures, inlaid Terrazzo floor and even the banana split dishes are all in place.

The store was recently reopened by the Klavon grandchildren and here I am clowning with one of the Klavon grandsons.

See and enjoy at Penn Avenue and 28th Street in the Pittsburgh Strip District.

www.klavonsicecream.com

What's a Blog without Pictures?

2009-06-23T12:36:00.013-04:00

I finally had to admit my camera was lost and I didn't think it is ever coming home! Unfortunately, I had not yet downloaded pictures from Spring Quilt Market or University Days at the Wisconsin Fiber Arts & Quilt Museum. (I'm trying to get some photos from other people.) And I didn't have a camera for the Heartland Quilters Retreat in Illinois or my visit with the Smoky Mountains Quilters Guild in Franklin, NC. :(

But here is my first picture with my new camera! Stacy and I took Richard to see "Jersey Boys" at the Fox Theater on Father's Day. Oh, what a night - we all loved it! Since you aren't allowed to take pictures at the performance, this playbill cover will have to do. Or, to paraphrase a theater saying, "In today's blog, the roles usually played by live actors are being performed by a still picture!" This is a scene close to the end of the first act, where the actors are cleverly positioned with their backs to the audience and the bright lights flood the audience to simulate the "blindness" performers experience from stage lights.

Of course, Richard and I remembered how much we loved the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons the first time around, so it tickled me that Stacy was marking some titles she wanted to add to her iPhone!

I baked TWO cakes!

2009-06-23T12:16:00.015-04:00

For most people, baking two cakes isn't news. For me, I'm sure it was the first time I'd done any baking in this century! I actually had to buy cake pans! The 9" x 13" Pyrex™ pan, acquired by my mother when I was a mere child, broke about 5 years ago and it hadn't been replaced yet.

Last February, when I was in Arizona, my hostess, Mary Lou Evans, took a chocolate cake to the guild meeting, It drew rave reviews. I flinched when she said it only had four ingredients, as I prefer limiting my recipes to three! However, I took the first opportunity to stretch my culinary efforts for one of the office parties - my hand shot up to bring the cake for Kathy's birthday party. I discovered chocolate is not her favorite cake, so I went out on a limb and decided spice cake mix and apple pie filling should work as well as chocolate mix and cherry pie filling. I looked at a few recipes on the Internet to bolster my confidence and plunged in! Both cakes tasted delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Mary Lou!

These are not "dump" cakes; they are actually stirred. Also, I read a hint for adding a Tablespoon of maple syrup to purchased frosting for the apple spice cake - an excellent tip. To make the apple spice cake, substitute the ingredients shown in [brackets].

Cherry-Chocolate [Apple Spice] Cake
1 package fudge cake mix [spice cake mix]
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie fillling [apple pie filling]
1 Tbsp almond extract [vanilla extract]
2 beaten eggs

Combine the four ingredients and stir until well mixed. Pour into a greased and floured 9" x 13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting [purchased, add 1 Tbsp maple syrup, or use recipe with substitution]
1 C sugar
1/3 C milk
3 Tbsp butter
6 oz. chocolate [butterscotch] chips
Ground nuts, optional

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in chips until smooth. If using nuts, stir in now. Pour over cake while still warm.

(I actually cooked the frosting and put it on warm as recommended, too!)

Do you quilt in inches or centimeters?

2009-06-04T10:12:00.006-04:00

I quilt in inches, but a lot of students in my classes both here in the U.S. and abroad are metric quilters. After many years of observation and conversations about quilting tools, we came up with what we think is a very usable "universal" ruler. It's now part of our My Favorite Ruler line and is available in two sizes.

One end of the rulers shows measurements in inches and the other end gives metric measurements. In between are additional measurements to make it easy to convert from one system to the other. We think this configuration will make it easier for metric-thinking quilters to use books and patterns "written in inches" and vice versa for Americans using European patterns.

Stacy made a little movie about the rulers at the Spring Quilt Market. If you quilt in centimeters, please ask about the Universal Rulers at your favorite quilt shop and let us know what you think.

I'm heading Down Under soon

2009-05-28T15:57:00.012-04:00

I'll be teaching in New Zealand and Australia late this summer. I've taught at events in both countries almost annually for many years and am looking forward to seeing old friends and teaching new quilters.

Here are some photos from one of my recent trips to New Zealand. I love the flora and fauna, and we made some fun quilts in class.

New Zealand is home to a living fossil called a "tuatara." It's a lizard-like creature with some unique characteristics whose descendants go back 200,000 years. You can learn more about them on Wikipedia.

Nancy's Notions Warehouse Sale

2009-05-18T15:52:00.011-04:00

Around the beginning of May, I was in Beaver Dam, WI, for presentations at Nancy's Notions. The groups are large (50-200 people), so the room is equipped with a camera and several monitors to make it easier to include how-to demo's and visuals. The best part was my camera operator and even hostess was Donna Frenske. Donna has been part of the creative and production team for Nancy Zieman's "Sewing with Nancy" TV show for 25 years, and she made it very easy for me.

Jinny Beyer was another one of the speakers. We are long-time friends. I was a speaker at her third or fourth Hilton Head seminar. Jinny and Carol Porter and I had dinner one night - what fun! If you've heard a rumor that Jinny is retiring, don't believe it! It seems people got confused because she just held her 29th and final seminar a few weeks ago. Jinny was proofing some pages of an unbelievable book project she's been working on for several years and I got to see a few pages. It's beautiful, and amazing!

Carol and I became friends about 10 years ago and we bonded instantly, but as long-distance friendships are, we never get to see each other often enough! Many quilters connect Carol with her company Heatherworks and her best-selling colorwash quilt designs. Carol, however, is multi-talented in many needlework areas and she has been snagged by Clover to develop project design and educational materials.

Here I am with Carol on the left and Nancy Zieman and Mary Mulari on the right. Mary is very talented. those of you who watch Nancy's shows will know she is a frequent and popular guest.

As a bonus, I got to have lunch with my sister Mary, her husband Dave, and their son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Dawn Fuchs, who all live in Mequon, WI. There will be plenty more "family reunion-ing" when Richard, Stacy and I return to Wisconsin in a few weeks. Stacy and I are both teaching at Quilts & Fiber Arts University on May 29 and 30, quilts that we have made are being displayed in the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts now through July 19, 2009.

I really like this photo of Stacy and me from the museum brochure. Stacy looks great in pink! The quilt is called "Magic Steps" and is from my book, Log Cabin ABCs.

Michell Family Day

2009-05-18T14:31:00.012-04:00

My best Mother's Day present came a few Sundays early. It just happened that all the Michells (Stacy, Richard and I) were going to be in town the same Sunday that our son, Jeff, would also be in town. Jeff lives with his wife and boys in Seattle and would be passing through Atlanta on his way to a bridge tournament in Pigeon Forge, TN.

Neither Stacy nor Jeff had been to the Georgia Aquarium yet. Richard and I had been twice with out of town guests, but we still wanted to do the behind-the-scenes tour and everyone was up for it. We had a ball! And it was a real treat to be just Mom and Dad and the two kids for a few hours. It had been years since we'd done that.

The Aquarium is beautiful, and we couldn't have had a better time. Our tour party consisted of our guide, Tyrone, the four Michells, and a very nice couple from San Jose, CA. We couldn't tell if they were naturally quiet or just overwhelmed by us! We asked a lot of questions and learned a lot about how the fish are fed, how the tanks are cleaned, how the heaters work, etc.

Our aquarium is the world's largest, with over 8 million gallons of water. It houses 500 species, some of which you won't see anywhere else in America, in 60 habitats. It has over 12,000 square feet of viewing glass.

Here I am with a friendly grouper:

The Aquarium is home to many whale sharks. They're called whale sharks because they can be as big as some whales, but they don't have bone skeletons like whales do and are a true shark. Ours are just kids. This little guy could be as big as a school bus one day.

If you ever get to Atlanta, put the Georgia Aquarium on your list of things to do. And take the kids if you can!

I went to Chicago but did not see the quilt show!

2009-04-29T14:08:00.006-04:00

The back-to-back Chicago and Paducah shows created travel and logistics nightmares for many quilt show vendors, and we were no exception! Our solution was that Stacy drove most of her product for both shows and all of the booth paraphernalia to Chicago in a cargo van. Then, between shows, she would drive to Paducah on Monday. Meanwhile, I flew in to Chicago on set-up day and left early to fly home on Sunday so that I could drive to Paducah from Atlanta on Monday! Whew!

Our booth was the second booth from the convention center door, where we unloaded the cargo van. The same door was directly across the road from the hotel. Even the restroom was conveniently located at the end of our aisle. We didn't even get to see much of the show as we walked to our booth. In addition to being vendors, I taught two classes and Stacy taught one, and between us, we did three of the evening Sampler presentations. Thank goodness for Diane Gabb, who lives in Chicago. She is one of several show staff we really depend on. In her regular life, she is, among other things, a quilter, certified quilt appraiser, CPA and From Marti Michell educator. At shows, her steady demeanor and attention to detail keeps us balanced!

For the record, my students said it was a great show. If you visit Flickr and type "Chicago Quilt Festival" into the search field, you'll find many fun photos of quilts that were on display. The attendance seemed very strong, although I did not hear official numbers, and our sales were as good or better than last year. As always, the best part is the communication with quilters from around the world!

Speaking of Quilters Around the World
Back in February when I blogged about my trip to Holland, I showed a few photos of Belgium quilter Mieke Duyck's Sunburst blocks. She recently sent us a photo of the finished - beautiful! - quilt and I thought I would share it with you here. Click on the quilt for a larger photo.

Spring Day in Atlanta

2009-04-29T13:09:00.006-04:00

Atlanta is blessed with perfect weather and climate for azaleas and dogwoods. Blossoms begin to peek out the last week or so of March and any time after the first of April, become magnificent! On Monday before Bettina had to catch her plane home, we toured some of the beautiful residential areas and then had lunch outside in the sun. She missed the show by just a few days!

Bulloch Hall Quilt Show

2009-04-29T12:43:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, Bettina and I went to the Bulloch Hall Quilt Show. Bulloch Hall, in Roswell, Georgia, was the childhood home of President Theodore Roosevelt's mother, and it is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bulloch Hall Quilt Guild meets there each month and holds an annual quilt show. It is always a very nice local show in a lovely setting.

A special treat this year was the exhibit of two of the six sets of the Vintage Revisited challenge quilts organized by Mary Kerr. "What would happen if a set of [antique] blocks was divided among a number of quilt artists and each was left to create a quilt in her own unique style?" I had seen three of the sets at the New Jersey State Convention when I taught there last year and really liked the concept as well as the results.

Here are two of the snapshots I took at Bulloch Hall. Click on the photo to go to a larger version. You can find the makers' names and see more quilts at the Vintage Revisited Website.

Bettina is the originator of the "quilt challenge" idea. She arranged the first quilt challenge that I ever knew of when she was coordinating the National Quilt Festival at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. The reason I remember it so well is that the challenge fabrics she selected were from the first Richmond Hill line that I designed for Springs Industries in 1986. (In case you are wondering, the Hoffman Challenge did not start until 1986.)

Atlanta was hopping when Bettina came to town

2009-04-29T11:39:00.011-04:00

For some years, six or seven traveling quilt teachers, including Bettina and me, got together for a December slumber party in Iowa. It was a treat to travel without suitcases of quilts, share like experiences and enjoy our friendship. All of the others were within driving distance, I always flew in. I'd always say, "When is someone going to fly down to Atlanta and see me?"

So, a few weeks ago when American Airlines had a good sale, Bettina called and we picked a weekend for her to visit Atlanta. There was no agenda, just a planned get-together. we can't remember for sure our very first meeting, but our friendship goes back around 30 years. From 1978 to 1985, Bettina was a quilt shop owner in Columbia, Missouri, where she and her husband still lives. Richard and I owned Yours Truly, Inc., from 1972 to 1985.

The Terracotta Army
The day before Bettina arrived, Anne Dawson, my secretary, reminded me how much she had enjoyed the special exhibit of nine soldiers from China's Terracotta Army at the High Museum of Art. It was closing that weekend and became one of our non-scheduled events. I picked Bettina up around 1:30 and we drove past the Carter Center and the Martin Luther King Center to meet Richard. He took MARTA (Atlanta's rapid transit system) to Art Center Station and we had just enough time to appreciate both the Terracotta Army and the final of three exhibits from the Louvre.

We had dinner at Atlantic Station, a new live/work/shop area near midtown that was built on the site of an old steel mill.

The Greater Atlanta Shop Hop
Saturday was a busman's holiday*. Bettina and Stacy and I went on the Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop. It was a first for all of us! The theme was Remembering Childhood and all of the shops created their own memory. Nine shops participated, but we were able to visit only five. It was a lot of fun, and, of course, we added some things to our fabric stashes. *free time spent much the same as one's work.

Tiny Stitches' theme was "Read Me A Story and tuck me in with a quilt!" and Maetha was the Princess with the pea:

At Little Quilts, Mary Ellen was the ringleader for Under the Big Top:

Intown Quilters celebrated Summer Vacations. Here's a photo of Cheryl with her new Aurifil thread display. Aurifil is my favorite thread and I am the U.S. spokesperson for Aurifil. All but one store we visited had Aurifil, but Cheryl had the most!

At Sweet Home Quilt Co., in Conyers, it was time to dress up in Grandma's Closet. Here is owner Melisa holding a picture of her at the age of four doing exactly that!

At our last stop, Karen and staff at A Scarlet Thread were celebrating a Birthday Party.

I'm sorry we didn't get to the other shops - Quilts and Fixins, Jonesboro; Red Hen Fabrics, Marietta; Patrick's in Covington and Heritage Quilts & Fabrics in Newnan. But I'm sure a good time was had by all!

Visiting Tifton

2009-04-29T11:03:00.006-04:00

I left the office in time to drive to Tifton, GA, for dinner with some of the members of the Wiregrass Quilters Guild. Even though it was early spring, the azaleas were in full bloom in South Georgia, so beautiful!

My hostess, Caroline Benefield, had invited a few ladies over for dinner, and Margo Martin brought a really good baked bean dish. I asked her if I could have the recipe to share on my blog, and she photocopied her recipe card for me (it has the notation "very good" in a corner, and I can attest to that!). The recipe pushes my limit of 5 ingredients, but I don't count ingredients in cans or bottles! Thank you for sharing, Caroline. :-)

Ranch-Style Baked Beans

I was happy to also have time to stop and have dinner with Suzanne Leimer, who owns Suzanne's Quilt Shop in Moultrie, GA. Suzanne has been one of our customers for a long time. I design the blocks for the online Patchwork Parties, and Suzanne's has been one of the 12 participating shops since the Party began in 2006. We talk on the phone, but it's all business, so I really enjoyed our visit.

Unless you live in the area, or are a fan of wild Burmese chickens, you probably don't know about the town of Fitzgerald has the largest population of these birds. They roam the streets at will. The Wild Chicken Festival, with antique cars, crafts and a rattlesnake roundup was the same weekend I was teaching in the area.

Friendship Quilt - Photo Update

2009-04-28T19:43:00.007-04:00

There are now larger pictures of the quilt and 30 of the blocks on our Website. I hope you enjoy them!

My Very Special Friendship Quilt

2009-04-21T12:28:00.026-04:00

In 2004, I was selected to receive the Silver Star Award at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I was very flattered to be chosen for such an honor. The award is presented annually "to a living person whose body of work has positively influenced, promoted, and developed the art of quilting." The banquet was attended by about 500 quilters, many of whom I've known throughout my career, and it was a wonderful evening.

What I did not know was that many of the people in attendance had also made a block or sent a signed a brick for a friendship quilt that was hanging to one side of the stage under black curtains. It was so dark in that corner, I didn't think there was anything there at all. Just when I thought the banquet was over, Richard went to the microphone and Patti and several others left their tables to go toward the side of the stage. As they wheeled out the quilt frame and removed the curtains to reveal the surprise, Richard talked about the friendship quilt and how happy everyone was that the secret was never found out! There were dozens and dozens of phone calls, letters and packages going back and forth for months - I never had a clue! Nor did I have a clue that Richard was making me a quilt, too - his first quilt!

We recently hung my Silver Star Friendship Quilt in the stairwell at our office and everyone stops to look at it, but not as often as I do. It's so special to me, for many reasons.

It was the best surprise ever. I was so happy my family and so many friends involved with the making of the quilt had attended the banquet. They were able to see the quilt in person and I was able to say hello and gather hugs and enjoy the evening even more. I was so touched by everyone's thoughtfulness in designing their blocks. There are blocks depicting book and pattern covers from our Yours Truly days, even blocks made with YT fabrics, and lots of my favorite colors and block patterns. I can't list everyone here who participated in making the quilt, but the whole story and many more close-ups will soon be on our Website. Click on each block for a larger view.

This is Sally Paul's block. Sally and I have enjoyed a long friendship and I miss spending time with her. She is a high school art teacher.

Gudfinna Helgesdotter, who doesn't prefer applique, made a beautiful depiction of Iceland's volcanic landscape. We have been friends with Gudfinna and her husband for many years. They have a lovely shop called Virka.

Rita Weiss and Linda Causee at American School of Needlework put the cover of "Quilting for People Who Still Don't Have Time to Quilt" on their block. I did a series of "...Don't Have Time to Quilt" books with ASN.

The quilt is large and we didn't have a place to hang it, but we took it out whenever we had visitors who wanted to see it. It has always been fascinating to look at! We recently relocated our offices and the stairwell was the perfect place to hang the quilt - the way the stairs are built, we have a wonderful view of the quilt from upstairs and downstairs. I see it whenever I walk out of the sewing studio, and the variety of block styles, techniques and colors makes it "new" over and over again. I <3 this quilt!

I hope you enjoy these pictures of my friendship quilt. And if you're in the Cedarburg, WI area, you can see the quilt in person at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, through July 19.

Update!
I just discovered an online quilt festival and posted this quilt there. To see over 400 quilts (!) visit Parkcitygirl's blog:

LaVeta, Colorado with Ricky and Alex and Sharon

2009-04-11T14:41:00.003-04:00

When I returned from the Maryland trip, I had less than 24 hours to unpack, pack, sleep and catch another plane. This time my flight was to Colorado Springs, CO, the first trip I had ever made to that airport. Because I normally fly out of Atlanta, a big and busy airport, I have a great appreciation for the fact that I can fly direct nearly anywhere in the world. Changing planes seems like a hardship to me. Because I fly so often in and out of such a big and busy airport, I have a real appreciation for flying in and out of such a small friendly airport as Colorado Springs. They even have free wi-fi throughout the terminal. (If you travel with a computer, there is a wonderful list of airports with free wi-fi at http://www.wififreespot.com/airport.html)

I have to admit that, when Angel Hawthorne, the producer for Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson’s The Quilt Show on webTV, called to invite me to be a guest on the show, I was pleased. But, when she told me they would tape in the Colorado mountains in the middle of March I was skeptical. Is is really smart to tempt the snow gods? I guess so! When we landed in Colorado Springs it was the most gorgeous day I had seen in weeks – we are talking 72°, sunshine and blue skies! Now, there had been snow two days before we arrived and a week later they had 24”, but on March 14 it was beautiful!

Sharon Pederson, probably best known for Reversible Quilts, and I would both be taping the next day (the Ides of March) so we had planned to drive together to LaVeta. Sharon is from Vancouver, British Columbia, but had flown in from Tuscon and was waiting at the airport. It took only a few minutes to meet, rent a car, haul out the bags and be on the road to LaVeta. The two-hour drive gave us a nice opportunity to get acquainted. LaVeta is not the end of the world, but as people like to say, “You can see it from there!” This quiet little town is hardly the place you would expect to find a very professional crew taping a WebTV show with a live audience. But that is what we found. Sharon taped in the morning and I was in the afternoon. Ricky and Alex are both so poised and professional and easy to work with, and the audience was wonderful. It went all too fast! Here I am on the set with Ricky and Alex.

“My” show will air sometime between July 1 and December 31, 2009. You can bet I will keep you posted! For more details about all the shows, see

www.thequiltshow.com/.

A New Reference for Flat!

2009-03-26T15:50:00.002-04:00

Being raised in Iowa, I always felt the brunt of people saying that Iowa was one flat cornfield. To me, it is beautiful, rich, productive, rolling farmland—a patchwork of corn, beans and hay fields, dotted with white farm homes!

When Richard and I moved to Kansas for his first job after college, I learned to defend Iowa by comparing it to Kansas, which is really flat, but tilted. I think driving to Colorado from Wichita, Kansas, you drive at a slight angle uphill all the way.

But, after enjoying several very nice drives around Easton, St. Michaels, Royal Oaks, etc., in Maryland, my impression was that the elevation never varied 5 feet. That is flat! I could probably ride a bike there!

Harris’s Crab House
On the way back to the Baltimore airport, Sherry discovered I had never “picked” a crab and decided I shouldn't leave without that experience. Before:

And after!

The most obvious thing about picking crab is that it is a lot of work for the amount of food. Locals and other afficianadoes know it is not just about the food, but also, and more importantly, the fun and the attitude adjustment that goes along with picking crab! It wasn’t the season for Maryland crab, so we were actually eating Louisiana crab. Sherry assured me that Maryland crab is the best! She was a great coach, but I’m not sure I could do it again without a refresher course! I found a great tutorial on picking crab here.

A Little History about Quilting Books

2009-03-24T12:14:00.010-04:00

A nice bonus of my trip to Maryland was having a chance to catch up with Susan McKelvey. Our friendship goes back a long time. Today, quilters are easily overwhelmed by the enormous quantity of books available. Back in 1969, when I started quilting, there were virtually no current books about quilting. In 1972, my husband Richard and I started a patchwork kit company called Yours Truly, Inc. It quickly mushroomed into a full quilting supply company with fabrics, notions, batting, patterns and kits made under the brand name "Yours Truly".

The few quilting books published in the early ’70s by traditional publishing houses were not available to quilt shops. In 1975 Gail Giberson’s father, who published tole-painting books, published Primarily Patchwork by Gail and Marjorie Puckett, and it could be bought by quilt shops and fabric stores. Inspired by that book, we felt we could do the same. After all, at Yours Truly, we had Richard’s knowledge of the printing industry, my journalism degree and eye for talent, and Pat Wilens’ technical and editing skills. Pat was our graphics supervisor at the time.

By early 1978, we had become the first company to publish quilting books exclusively for quilt and fabric stores. Our first book was Successful Machine Appliqué by Barbara Lee.

Susan McKelvey was one of “our authors” with her first book, Color for Quilters.

We were also the first publishers of Marianne Fons and Liz Porter, Mary Ellen Hopkins, Jean Wells, Cheryl Bradkin, and Chris Wolf Edmonds, as well as several other talented quilters who are no longer active in the industry.

In the years from 1978 until 1985, when Yours Truly was sold, we printed and sold close to 2 million copies of books. Several of the titles remained available for another 10 or 15 years. We have always been very proud of the Yours Truly books and their impact on the quilt world.

The Bayside Quilters – Easton, “Delmarva”

2009-03-24T11:41:00.016-04:00

Ever since I read James Michener’s book Chesapeake, I wanted to visit this area. A couple of years ago, Sherry Burke called and extended the invitation on behalf of the Bayside Quilters of Easton, Maryland, on the “Eastern shore”. It is on the Delmarva Peninsula that is shared by parts of Delaware, Virginia and Maryland. For many years, that long peninsula was not connected by bridges to either Maryland or Virginia.

Sherry and her husband Terry had been my hosts when I taught in Nashville, Tennessee in 1991, and would be my hosts again. I was not disappointed; it was a beautiful area, not to mention a beautiful home on the water! Sherry says they feel like their blood pressure drops 15 points when they cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Cathy Morin picked me up in Baltimore and gave me a great tour of Annapolis on the way to Easton. It is a charming and historic town. If I knew, I did not remember that Annapolis was also the temporary capital of the United States during 1783 and ’84 and was said to have been George Washington’s choice for the permanent capital. The guild was great and very nice, and I had two great days.

I’m Afraid to Cut this Fabric!
In the Kaleidoscope class with the Bayside Quilters, Janie Kelting showed up with a fabulous 1974 Indonesian fabric. It had major family attachment. She was thinking of making a special project with it and thought it perfect for the Kaleidoscope block.

Isn't this a great fabric? It's going to make a great Kaleidoscope quilt!

Because of the very limited quantity, I recommended that Janie make multiple photocopies of the fabric from selvage to selvage and cut paper pieces to see if she liked the newly created designs before ever cutting fabric. This is a good idea any time you want to "try out" a special fabric, especially if the quantity is limited.

Another way to audition blocks before cutting fabric is by working with mirrors, as discussed and shown in our book Kaleidoscope ABCs. For one of the quilts in the book, I previewed a Jinny Beyer border stripe to see how the blocks would look:

Then I couldn't wait to cut up the fabric! All the blocks in my "Stunning Stripes" quilt came from that one border stripe.

The more I thought about Janie's fabric, and the more she and I talked about it, we both wondered if it is a textile that should not be cut, but treated as a whole cloth quilt instead. How do you feel about it?

Ever Had a Marionberry?

2009-03-09T16:05:00.005-04:00

I first learned of Marionberries a few years ago at Don's Drive-In, a great restaurant in Portland. The Marionberry is a hybrid blackberry created by the Oregon State University Agricultural Research and Development team and released into production in 1956. It is distinctively sweet, yet tart, a real delicacy if you love berries! The Marionberry was named after the county where it was developed. If it had been named after the head researcher, it would have been the Waldoberry! 90% of the Marionberries grown in the world are grown near Salem, Oregon, in the Willamette Valley, making them a frequent delicacy on Oregon restaurant menus.

If you are ever in Puyallup for Sew Expo, or any other reason, and you would like to sample this luscious delicacy, then go directly to Don’s Drive-in just across the street from the Western Washington Fairgrounds, where Sew Expo is held.

One of the first years that we went to Puyallup, we went to Don’s for lunch and discovered that they are famous for homemade pies. I spotted Marionberry pie on the menu and a tradition was born! Ever since, we treat ourselves to piece of Marionberry pie on the day we set up our booth. Mmmm!

Got to See the Grandsons!

2009-03-09T15:50:00.005-04:00

…and their parents, too! Our son and his family live in a Seattle suburb, so the annual Sew Expo trip always gives us a chance to see them, even if it is briefly. When we first put up our Website, we included this picture of me with the boys.

I’ve been meaning to update that picture and got a chance to pull them aside at a restaurant for a picture. This is what they look like now.

Ooops, the really tall one in the back is painted on the wall of the restaurant! There are only two grandsons. Carter just turned 17, and Conrad is soon to be 13. This picture is the proof of what I knew was coming - I am now the shortest one in the family!

How do you say "Puyallup"?

2009-03-09T15:10:00.012-04:00

I go with "pew – all – up", but some say "pew- Al – up" What I know for sure is, it is not "Poo –al – up"! It is always viewed with fear of mispronunciation. I noticed when there was major flooding there in January, putting Puyallup in the center of national news, those broadcasters chose to say simply "Washington"!

Whatever you call it, Puyallup is the home of the Western Washington Fair Grounds. Several of the buildings on the fairgrounds are used for the Sewing and Stitchery Expo. Specifically, the Showplex building shown here is where you would find the From Marti Michell/Michell Marketing booth.

Our booth is always decorated with lots of quilts. This is one side of the booth:

The show started slowly as everyone in the Seattle area woke up to a surprise snowstorm on the first morning of the show. Traffic was jammed, school openings were delayed and some schools were closed. Many people’s plans for trips to Sew Expo that day were disrupted. Fortunately, the snow did not last long and it turned out to be a very good show.

One of the unique things about this show is the large offering of 45-minute lecture/demo classes. My talks were all held in this huge white tent.

Here are about half of the 200 people at one of my lectures.

And here are the other half! :) Thank you everyone for spending time with me!

The shows are hard work, but I have a great show crew. Each one brings different areas of expertise to the group, both quilting experience and “real world” skills, but most of all they bring smiling faces, good spirit and wonderful attitudes! They are great to work with.

Shown above, from left to right, are Brenda Asmus from San Antonio; Diane Gabb, Chicago; Marilyn Paul, San Pedro, CA; Me; Chris Kenck, Seattle; and Stacy Michell, Atlanta. All but Chris are From Marti Michell Educators and we are working on Chris! Stacy has her own company and her Shades Textiles booth is right next to ours, but at shows we think of ourselves as one team. Not pictured is Richard Michell, who came out for a long weekend. It was fun to have him help hold quilts at two of my lectures and be in the booth during some of our busiest times.

Quilting is a Passionate Hobby

2009-03-09T15:03:00.003-04:00

You might have read in an earlier post that I was headed for the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA. This was the 25th anniversary event. The 25,000 or more attendees are dedicated sewers, quilters and stitchers. So dedicated that one gal was telling us that she had even included in her Christmas letter that she and her friend Nancy already had their tickets and hotel room for their trip to Sew Expo. Only problem was that the spell check feature on her computer accepted her typo bragging about her trip to the “sex expo”! Oops!

Another lady said she and her husband had hoped to be in Hawaii for their 40th anniversary this weekend, but it hadn’t worked out. "So," she said with a happy smile, "I got to come to Sew Expo after all!"

But, my favorite was the lady who said her husband was scheduled for hip replacement surgery on March 11 (Expo ended March 1). There was a cancellation and he had a chance to move it up to February 24. She said, “I told him, it is your choice, but I’m going to Sew Expo this weekend!” Then she smiled and said, “Besides, it gives him a chance to bond more with his children if I’m not there!”

Arizona in February

2009-02-24T11:44:00.014-05:00

Next I was headed for the Thumb Butte Quilt Guild in Prescott, AZ. We have a rather mild winter in Atlanta, but I must admit when I booked these events some time back, I thought longingly about Arizona's February sun. Before I left the hotel in Vegas, I got a phone call from my hostess in Prescott, Susie Martin, saying, "It is snowing in Prescott - but we expect it to melt!" To get a decent airfare, I had to fly from Vegas to Salt Lake City to Phoenix. I could have driven this trip in about 5 or 6 hours, but one-way car rentals are very expensive, so I decided to fly. Susie, who used to travel a lot on her job, graciously offered to pick me up, so I did not have to take the shuttle 1 1/2 - 2 hours to Prescott.

A Long Sunday…
8:30 AM Leave hotel to allow extra time for the broken Tram at the airport.
10:40 AM flight. Leave gate and sit on tarmack 20 or 30 minutes before departure. Wonder if I will make the connection in Salt Lake?
1:30 PM (Mountain time) Land in Salt Lake at Gate B-6 and have 10 minutes to get to E-73. Yes, they were as far apart as they sound--further!
1:40 PM Miss my flight, it just left the gate! Call Susie. I'm on standby for the next flight in another hour and a half. The flight will depart from—-you guessed it--Gate B-6!
3:20 PM Make the flight.
4:30 PM (Pacific time) Land in Phoenix but only two bags are there. My third bag with my clothes will be on the next flight to Phoenix.
5:00 PM Susie and I soothe frazzled nerves at the Cheesecake Factory while waiting for the third bag.
6:30 PM Rescue the bag and start the almost-two-hour drive to Prescott in patchy rain and snow.
8:30 PM Get to hotel in Prescott. Whew!

A More Fun Monday
Prescott is a wonderful mile-high town (meaning its elevation is one mile above sea level). One friend described Prescott as a wonderful place to live year-round, but added her neighbor on the right was from Wisconsin and only came for the winter, and her neighbor on the left was from Phoenix and only came for the summer! Susie picked me up at 8:30 AM and we headed for the guild meeting and my trunk show lecture. The weather was looking rough and many of the people who live further up the mountain were not able to get to the guild meeting :( but we had a really nice Seven Sisters Simplified class. These are just a few of the blocks.

By the end of the day there was enough bad weather that we canceled plans for dinner, but the next morning was picture perfect!

Who would have guessed 8" of snow at the hotel and 18-25" the higher up the mountain you went! Only about half the class could get out of their driveways, and several straggled in as the streets were plowed. I have to tell you, I was looking forward to sunshine and 70, not snow and 30!

In spite of the weather, Susie and two of her friends, who had all participated in the Saturday Sampler program at Odegards in Flagstaff, managed a neat surprise for me. The program featured the blocks from a block-of-the-month quilt that I had designed. All three had set their blocks in a different way, and different from the arrangement in the BOM quilt -- Susie even duplicated four to make her quilt bigger -- and they all brought their quilts to show me! How cool is that? And aren't they beautiful:

Quail Country Quilters Guild
By late afternoon, the roads were clear and Mary Lou Evans, my hostess for the next guild, picked me up. She took the low road to Cottonwood, not the high road over the mountain. (Good move, Mary Lou - no snow!) Mary Lou is the Quail Country Quilters Guild program chairman, driver and hostess extraordinaire! She and her husband Mike have a lovely home and wonderful guest cottage. It was so pleasant and charmingly decorated that I threatened to stay!

In addition to another very good class group and a trunk show lecture, Mary Lou treated me to a visit to Jerome for a little shopping and dinner with some of the guild members. Jerome is a unique town hanging off the mountains. It's home to a store called Nellie Bly:

This has to be the world's best Kaleidoscope store, and I love Kaleidoscopes. Jane Lloyd, the manager, was informative, charming, patient, cheery and a good salesperson, everything a manager should be! She showed me how easy it is to take a picture through the eye piece of a "teleidosope", which has a clear glass marble at the end. She said she sends teleidoscope pictures to her grandmother for quilt designs! (Maybe she said her mother. It seems like whenever anyone relates anything about quilting, a grandmother is in the story!)

Of course, when I got home, I took a picture of my fabric collection with my new teleidoscope!

After class on Thursday, we went to beautiful Sedona for lunch. I can never see enough of the red rocks.

Later in the afternoon, we visited with Mary Beth Groseta, who owns Quilter's Quarters, and after a quick fabric fix, we were off to Phoenix. I was taking a red-eye home (flight time 12:50 AM Friday morning) and took advantage of a little free time to have dinner and catch up with my longtime friend Dee Lynn. Among other things, Dee and Audrey Waite run Quilt Camp in the Pines in Flagstaff. I have taught there so often, I've lost count, plus I taught on three wonderful cruises that they organized to Alaska, the Panama Canal and Australia & New Zealand. We had a good visit and soon after, I was headed back home to "refuel" for my next trip.

Home for Valentine's Day

2009-02-24T11:43:00.005-05:00

Now I have a short bit of time in the office to catch up, start new projects, repack suitcases, do laundry, etc. We even had plans to go to Richard's Rotary Club's Valentine's Day dinner party, but that got jinxed and instead we had a visit to a doc-in-the-box! Final touches on preparation for the big Sewing and Stitchery Show in Puyallup, WA, was the main focus of my week. One big truck shipment had left while I was out of town, and we put together another shipment on Wednesday that included the class handouts for my lectures there.

Las Vegas Strip Quilting

2009-02-20T17:59:00.015-05:00

What a trip! Thursday morning, Feb.5 I was off to Las Vegas. It was an easy flight, but repairs are being done on the tram between the D terminal where Delta lands and the main terminal. There is no walking option, you must take the tram. In addition, I think there must have been several planes unloading at the same general time. It took almost one hour to get from the plane through the long lines to the tram to the terminal. At least we did not have to wait for bags at the luggage carousel!

This was a store event. I had been invited to teach at Quiltique, a beautiful store in Henderson, NV. Here I am in the shop with Jan Tabesar, one of the owners.

Quiltique is a unique store with four owners: Jan and her husband Bob and their daughters Jennifer and Kara. Each of them bring special and unique talents to the mix for one beautiful store.

We had an evening trunk show event and then two days of classes. The first was Not your Grandmother's Hexagon which featured a rather new class, Interlocking Hexagons, inspired by our new multi-size Hexagon ruler.

What I can't stop talking about is the Four fat Quarters Log Cabin class on Saturday. This version is shown in my book, Log Cabin ABCs:

The fabrication technique works like a charm if you follow the instructions and this group was spectacular! No one made a major mistake—well, we hate to call anything a mistake—no one chose an alternative method! I felt so lucky! It was probably a signal to hit the strip, but Sunday morning I left town without even dropping a quarter in a slot machine! However, I did hit it big with some new fabric (of course!).

From Marti Michell's Spring Show Schedule

2009-02-11T13:45:00.007-05:00

The hard part of doing shows is all worthwhile when quilters stop by and say "Hi!" It is even better when you say "I love your templates!" or have a story to share with us about quilts you made using our tools or patterns. When you ask for something we don't have, we call it informal market research. We hope to see you - and hear from you! - at one of the following shows. Click on the show name to go to its Website.

February 26 - March 1, 2009
Sewing and Stitchery Expo
Puyallup, Washington

If you live in the Great Northwest or can get there, we would love to meet you face-to-face in our booth #936-938 in the Showplex. Every year, 30,000 enthusiasts confirm that this is a fabulous show for classes, inspiration, entertainment and shopping! Check out the schedule - I'll be giving two 45-minutes lectures on "How to Build a Log Cabin (Quilt)" and "Why Use Six Fabrics in a Quilt if You Could Use Sixty!"

It is very cool for Richard and me that our daughter, Stacy, is a second-generation entrepreneur in the quilt industry. She "is" Shades Textiles, and she will be vending in the adjoining booth. People love her hand-dyed fabrics, but now is also known for her fusible applique designs and Shades SoftFuse. This paper-backed fusible web is so soft, you can't even feel it! Come by the booth and try!

April 17 - 19, 2009
International Quilt Festival
Chicago, Illinois
Booth #1743

From Marti Michell and Shades Textiles will be vending side-by-side once again. We are both teaching, too, so maybe we will see you in a class or at the evening Samplers.

April 22 - 25, 2009
AQS Show
Paducah, Kentucky
Booth #1935, Expo

You guessed it - the very next week, we are side by side in Paducah. Please stop by our booth and say hello.

"Partying" at Home

2009-02-11T12:51:00.005-05:00

I have a week at home to catch up on things that happened while I was gone and prepare for events coming up. We're finishing up the block instructions for the next Patchwork Party. The new Patchwork Party starts on March 15 and runs through June 15. We actually made the blocks in December. We have to work ahead so the shops can place their fabric orders. My team includes graphic designer Patti Bachelder and Harriett Fox, who assists with the sewing, writing and proofreading. This is the sixth set of blocks we have designed since Debbie Luttrell came up with the idea and organized the Party. I wish I could post pictures, but everything's a secret until the Party kicks off! But you can see previous Parties here.

Stacy, our daughter, had left on January 12 for the Tokyo Dome Quilt Show while Richard and I were returning from Charleston, SC. When the Dome show was over, she went on to South Korea to teach. I was happy to pick her up at the airport and trade travel stories. It is a small quilt world - it turned out I had seen two people in Holland who had been to the Tokyo Dome show and seen Stacy.

Of course, I watched the Super Bowl. We kinda wanted Arizona to win, since they had rather unexpectedly knocked Atlanta out in the first playoff game and they were the underdogs. But then we kinda wanted Arizona to lose because they knocked Atlanta out in the first playoff game! I like to say I really watch the game to see the ads and the half-time show, but I found both of those disappointing this year, and the game was great! That's the kind of game you like to see in championship playoffs. The game could only have been better if it had gone into overtime!

We got things shipped out for February events in Las Vegas and Arizona, and I went on to repacking the quilt suitcases and my clothes so everything will fit into two checked bags and one carry-on. Because I fly Delta so much, I'm a "medallion" flyer and it used to be that I could check three bags and carry on one. Now, since they joined with Northwest, it is just two checked bags. I admit it makes the traveling easier, but it sure makes the packing more difficult!

A Quilter's View of Cologne Cathedral

2009-02-11T11:39:00.008-05:00

(We've edited this post to add the church and now if you click on the images, you'll go to larger pictures.)

Sonja's husband, Phillip, took the train over to Arnhem late Monday and on Tuesday, the three of us drove to Cologne, Germany, to see the famous Cologne Cathedral and then back to Amsterdam. Cologne Cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world and it was hard to photograph from our vantage point. You can easily find information online about its history, but, ever the quilter, I was as interested in the floors as anything else!

When quilters look at this tile floor, we see Square Within a Square and Variable Stars:

The floor came first, but in my book Six is for Hexagons, a design similar to this tile floor pattern is called Stars Among the Tumbling Blocks:

Below is a cool version of Jack's Chain. When we introduced the multi-size hexagon ruler, one of the quilts I planned to make was Jack's Chain. I've made several other quilts using the hexagon ruler, but Jack's Chain is still on the back burner.

I saw many beautiful "appliqued" mosaic floors like this one:

and some amazing mosaics that would make terrific border patterns:

Cologne Cathedral is huge, and I took many more photos than I can share here. But, to give you some idea of how big the church is...

Sonja stood by a nearby statue so we would have a series of photos to show scale. See the signs going around the statue?

This is what they say:

Now, imagine that "statue" perched on top of one of the church spires! And putting it up there in the 1880s. Amazing!

Patchworkdagen in Holland

2009-02-11T10:29:00.010-05:00

Our two patchwork days were packed and hectic, but very gratifying. The people were wonderful. We had participants from Holland, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden and Belgium, and probably other countries, as well.

Willy Alers and her daughter-in-law Janine from 't'Quiltgebeuren were in the first class. They claim to be the greatest fans of From Marti Michell templates in Holland! I say thanks! What I know for sure is that they make some wonderful quilts with our tools. Janine had shown me a wonderful piece last summer in Birmingham, England. What I loved is that the patchwork part is a mystery quilt of ours. She reduced it and made it with Set N of the Perfect Patchwork Templates, framed it and added the stitchery. This trip they had some other quilts and I did not have a chance to get pictures; I've asked if they will send them so I can share them with you here.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Mieke Duyck from Belgiuim. She is a teacher at The Patchwork Studio and was one of my translators some years ago when I was invited there to teach.

Mieke is an enthusiastic template user and she brought a terrific project she is working on with our Set F Sunburst templates.

I have done a two-color Sunburst, scrappy traditional Sunburst and even my "Provence Memory" quilting using Set F, but I don't think I would have ever thought to use Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the Sunburst. They are beautiful blocks!

When the show was over, I experienced another first. (Isn't it great that we can still have firsts?) We were treated to dinner with the Rhinetex staff at a restaurant that was attached to a riding academy and stables! Our table looked directly into the riding ring!

April Update
Meike sent us photos of her beautiful finished quilt!

Shopping in Arnhem

2009-02-11T09:56:00.008-05:00

I had part of Saturday off, so Sonja and I walked and shopped in the city of Arnhem, where we were staying. I got a kick out of seeing the little Smart cars. We have some in the U.S., but they have always been more popular in Europe. Here is Sonja next to a vehicle that is really designed for city living, especially for the handicapped. It is so cute, and would be perfect in our American golf cart communities. Bicycles are more popular in European cities, too. There were dozens of bikes parked across the street.

It was sale day everywhere in Arnhem. Two store windows really caught my attention - mannequins had been dressed in shopping bags! They were eloquent. And they made me think it could have been a challenge on the Project Runway TV show, to create a garment out of shopping bags!

Then it was back to business, and quilting. Some of you may know that I am the U.S. spokesperson for Aurifil thread. Since I was in Holland, and Rhinetex distributes Aurifil thread, Elena Gregotti and her assistant Davide Moro flew up for a meeting. We usually get together in the States when they are over for Quilt Market, but that is always so hectic.

Now that this wonderful Italian-made thread is readily available in the U.S., I use the Mako Cotton 50/2 exclusively for piecing. Some people believe in piecing with a scant quarter-inch seam allowance; I think this is because they are using a coarse, thick thread. I say, use Aurifil and sew an actual quarter-inch seam allowance - your patchwork will be flatter and much nicer to quilt. This thread is virtually lint-free, and you can also get more on the bobbin. I love it!

Seeing Old Friends in Holland

2009-02-03T17:07:00.022-05:00

One of the wonderful things about my life as a quilting professional is the joy of meeting so many quilters around the world. Some I only know briefly and others become good friends. My latest adventure took me to a wonderful show in Holland, where one of my special treats was visiting with some long-time friends.

In the spring of 2004, Sonja Eerhart was inquiring by email about our Drunkard’s Path templates. Sonja and her husband live in The Hague (Den Haag), and it happened that the International Quilt Festival was going to be there a few weeks later. After a couple of emails, Sonja discovered that I would be coming to the Festival to teach and she offered to pick me up at the Amsterdam airport.

Oh, my gosh, don’t say it if you don’t mean it! I travel with large suitcases of quilts! Which means trains are not fun. Coincidentally, Katie Pasquini Masopust was on the same plane. Sonja had a big car and was able to give us both a ride to our hotels. It was tulip time in Holland, and Sonja stopped the car so Katie and I could enjoy the spectacular tulip fields.

The next thing we knew, Sonja was taking us to the famous Keukenhof Gardens. Keukenhof folks claim the Gardens to be the most photographed place in the world. It was definitely one of the highlights of all my travels and I was happy to help with the photography "statistic"!

My original plans were to meet my friend Liuxin Newman, the Thimble Lady from Australia, at the airport but there was a problem with her flight. She didn't get to share the beauty of the Gardens, but on the last day of the show, Sonja and her husband, Philip, drove us around so Liuxin could see some of the tulip fields.

Over the years, Sonja and I have had several occasions to spend time together and there is always email in between.

All of that to say, once again, Sonja met me at the Amsterdam airport. We drove to Andalst to meet with Rhinetex, one of our wholesale distributors of From Marti Michell products. I would be giving 4 classes/day for shop owners and teachers, and Sonja is fabulous at keeping me organized! After getting everything set up for classes on Friday, Sonja and I had dinner with Alex Rodriguez, who is the Sales Manager of Benartex, Nancy Halvorsen of Art to Heart, and one of the Benartex fabric designers, as they were also in Holland for the show. I had never met Alex and had only visited with Nancy briefly in the past, so there was another bonus.

I was happy for the opportunity to catch up with old and new friends, and looking forward to sleeping late the next morning to catch up on the time change.

I'm Blogging!?

2009-01-20T16:30:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I have a blog. It sounded so easy. Now I'm afraid to say anything because somebody's going to read it. When I go to teach, people ask me questions about where I've been and what I do and about my life, so I thought I would share some of those things here. But I can't right now - I'm scrambling to get ready for a trip to Holland! Get used to reading things like that - some days it seems like I scramble more than I quilt. But it's all about quilting - if you love quilting, come along with me!