The Craftsy Experience

I spent the week in Denver filming a new Craftsy class.  Thought you might want a peek into my time with the Craftsy team.  

I walked into the studio and was greeted by this...pretty uptown, right?  This was a change from my first Craftsy experience and they even spelled my name correctly!

Yup, I got my own private dressing room.  Last time I changed clothes in the make-up room behind a screen.  Speaking of make-up, I didn't get a photo of the amazing Danica.  She's awesome.  The girl can, with the sweep of a brush make bags under your eyes disappear and she made me feel pretty.  Everyone should have their own Danica.

The dressing room was a colorful place to relax, though I didn't have a minute to sit in that chair!

My studio this year was much larger and decked out to be a great place to film.

There were some display ideas in the studio that I might have to steal.  It was hard not to help myself to that stash of solids and that rack of Aurifil thread.

JC was my producer.  She had a great way to keep me focused on the camera with a quick smile and a flick of her finger.  Because of JC, I was better at teaching to the camera this time.  That camera can be intimidating.

She also referred me to a restaurant in downtown Denver that had the best brussel sprouts I've ever eaten.  Craftsy folks take care of their talent!

Marshall was my shooter for my first class and for this class as well.  It's great to already know someone on your team.  I can't brag on Marshall enough.  He's of course a talented camera guy, but he's also inquisitive and has such great instincts.  His feedback and ideas make my classes better and he's such a nice person to boot.

Marshall is a make it work, MacGyver kinda guy.  For one segment he used quilting books, gaff tape and a piece of gum to get the camera at just the right angle to capture my work at the sewing machine.

My third team member, Lily, was my switcher.  Lily makes sure everything flows together in the class and that all my flubs get erased.  That smile says it all.  She was so much fun to work with and so artistic and talented, but the poor girl was stuck behind her monitors freezing to death.

Thank goodness I had a few quilts with me.  I may have to make Lily a quilt that she can keep.  

 It was hard to leave with the quilt and know that Lily might be an ice sculpture the next time I see her.

 I got to use some fancy technology too.  The is a Wacom Tablet.  My sons will be proud of me that with a couple of minutes of instruction I was on camera drawing away!

Filming at Craftsy is a lot of hard work, but so much fun too.  It's the people that make the experience enjoyable.  My team was so encouraging even when I took about 10 takes to say one sentence and turn my head the right way!

Thanks JC, Marshall and Lily.  You are AWESOME!

Hidden Gem

I received an email from the International Association of Creative Arts Professionals today and the President said that we tend not to brag about ourselves.  She said women especially tend to promote others and not themselves.  I'm not much for awards and pinning ribbons on things and talking about my accomplishments makes me uncomfortable.  I don't take compliments well or easily.  She reminded me in her article that that is a skill we need to develop.  My husband tells me that every day.

We do good things and we should be proud of them and not afraid to share.  So, as a first step today I'm sharing that one of my students nominated me for the 2014 Quilt Teacher of the Year award that is sponsored by ICAP.  The award is in its 28th year and I'm pretty proud and thrilled that one of my students took the time and made the effort to nominate me.  The quality of my teaching and my students' experiences are important to me.  I work hard and a I am always working to improve as a teacher.  You would think after 30 years I'd have it down, but I can always be better.  Thanks!

I also had a fun experience walking Bruno tonight.  A guy on the street carrying his groceries stopped me and asked if I was the lady who made the quilts and he pointed to my studio.  I said yes and he told me he and his wife walk by every morning and they were hoping they would run into me.  He told me that my quilts were modern and elegant and that I did exceptional work.  It made going out into that bone chilling cold a little bit easier.  I especially loved the word elegant.

 This is my newest quilt called Hidden Gem.  It's my minimalist version of a sixty-degree triangle quilt.  I photographed it at night so you may not be able to see that the triangles are white, gray and navy with the one little teal hidden gem.

 Hidden Gem will be a pattern that will be coming soon with an announcement, so stay tuned.  I also used this quilt to experiment with some "spirograph" type quilting.  I'll have much more to share on this as well.

As you can see, Bruno spent a little time breaking in this quilt.  It passed the Bruno test, so it's all good.

On Sewing Machines

One of my readers asked if I would explain my sewing machine choices.  Right now I am sewing on two machines.  One is the Brother, Nouvelle 1500s.  It is a lockstitch industrial machine much like the Juki with which I think folks are more familiar.  It is my newest machine.   I bought it last fall for a little over $600.00. I also have a Bernina 153 which I bought used in Kansas City a few years ago.  Originally it was intended to be my travel machine.  I have two machines set up so I can be piecing and quilting at the same time.  I need to take breaks when I'm quilting and I don't want the hassle of changing thread etc to be able to piece while I'm on quilting breaks.  I treat my machines with care and clean, oil and change needles regularly.  I cover them when not in use to keep the dust away.

 I have learned over time that for me, both in quilt design and in sewing machines that I love simple and uncomplicated.  I want to stress that I don't endorse any sewing machine company and no one pays me to state my opinion.  I bought my Brother last fall after having so many frustrating days with my Bernina 820 which is now a very expensive dust collector.

 I sew for a living and I need a machine that is a workhorse and is dependable.  I bought the Brother because it was simple, it was from a local shop where I know I can get it repaired if needed, and it was available for me to take home that day. The best thing about my Brother is that after I got it home and took it out of the box, I was sewing in less than 10 minutes. No training, no fuss no muss, it simply sews.  It has beautiful stitch quality and a pretty long harp space for quilting.  As you can see it has one large knob to adjust stitch length, reverse, needle down, a thread cutter and four feed dog settings.  It has a walking foot, which isn't very well designed, but I've put my thinking cap on and made adaptations to it to help it work better for me.  I piece, straight line quilt and free motion quilt with it.  It also has a nice extension table.

 My other machine is the Bernina 153 which is a lower level computerized machine,  I've never had an issue with it and it has never been in for repair.  I piece and quilt on it as well.  It doesn't have a large harp space for quilting, but when I need that great Bernina walking foot, I use that machine for quilting as well.  It slows me down having to deal with the smaller harp space, but slow and steady is fine.  I bought the larger acrylic extension table to help during quilting.

 Sometimes I switch the positions of the machines from the desk to the table depending on if I'm piecing or quilting on that machine.  The table provides much for room in the back and on the left for supporting a large quilt.

I have worked on many brands and models of sewing machines and I have watched students struggle with over engineered machines.  Machines will not sew for us.  For me, gadgets and gizmos get in my way.  I want to be in control of my machine.  I don't want the machine to control me or how I sew.  It was an expensive lesson to learn.  As I travel and teach I continue to find that simple seems to be better.

I am still looking for that machine that has the right combination of features that will work best for me.  I do know at this point that more is not necessarily better.

To Anonymous who left a comment on my Proud to Be post, I left you a response in the comments in case you are interested.

To the rest of my readers:  I've eliminated Anonymous comments from now on.

QuiltCon Announcement

It's official, QuiltCon 2015, the convention and quilt show of the Modern Quilt Guild, is one year away.  Mark your calendars and get ready.  I'm so excited I can barely speak.  QuiltCon 2013 was great and we learned so much from planning and executing that event.  QuiltCon 2015 is going to be bigger and better.  Tacos for every meal, fabulous quilts, modern quilters from around the world, opportunities to learn and grow.  It doesn't get any better.  Find out more on the MQG blog.

I sure hope to see you there!  Austin here I come!

Chicago Studio

While I'm unpacking from a wonderful trip home to Kansas City and Lawrence and packing for a trip to Albuquerque, I thought you might want to see some pictures of the studio in Chicago.  It's taken me much longer than expected to get it organized and working the way I want it to.  I think a larger space is tougher to organize.  I hope the pictures give you a sense of the space.  My studio is organized for work and filled with things that are special to me or that inspire me.

The studio is the lower level of our condo and it is three spaces in one, office, studio and our family room.  

I like an organized space, but understand, I vacuumed for you so there are no scraps or thread on the floor.  I cleaned for the photo shoot and the closet doors are closed so you can't see what's shoved in there!

Enjoy!