Stitch On!

Have you picked up the latest Stitch magazine?

These are my Ornament Tree placemats. I'm making a couple more so I can have them for the whole family. There are loads of great projects. Trisch's bag is so cute and Lisa's towels have inspired me to make some Christmas towels for my kitchen.  Be sure to check it out!

I have a couple of extra copies to give away.  Would you like one?  Leave a comment and let me know what you're sewing for the holidays.
Winners have been chosen!  Thanks for sharing your holiday project lists!

Tin Ceiling Quilt Comes Home

This quilt has been away since early this summer. I've missed it even though I was so proud to have it in the Scrap Art Exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. I breathed a sigh of relief when the Fed Ex man brought it home.

Since it was ready to hang, I hung it right out of the box in my hallway gallery.  It's a great place for it.  I walk by it all day long and it's protected from direct sunlight.  I may have to watch Bruno to make sure he doesn't rub up against it though.

A few more pictures in case you're like me and can't stop looking at it.

Sew It All TV...The Inside Scoop

Welcome to the set of Sew It All TV with your host Ellen March and her fabulous crew.

As soon as I walked into the studio I felt at home.  Can you see why?  Orange, orange and more orange. Orange everywhere and touches of lime green. Ellen even has the same orange totes I have in my studio. After a few seconds of gawking, it was right to work unpacking, prepping step outs.

I was looking forward to this magic chair, hoping it would transport me to the place where there are no bags under eyes, long sexy eyelashes, and flawless complexions, but alas there were no disappearing wrinkle creams or magic potions, so I had to appear as myself.

Angela was great and with a light touch she coiffed my hair and fixed my face (as much as this face can be fixed) and sent me on my way.

Kim, who is the go to gal for everything on set, helped me prep.  She threaded the machine and changed the needle (which I BROKE!) and showed me the ropes.  I spent a bit of time at the machine practicing.  You wouldn't think I would have to practice, but I am a creature of habit...sewing on my machine...no problem...someone else's...it's like I'm a teenage boy who took home ec just to meet girls and has never sewn a stitch.

The set was dressed with some inspiration from me.  Amazing that the sewing machine cover worked perfectly on the set!

Behind this table is where all the action happens.  Did you know that on TV you have to work upside down?  All the practicing I did at home, the step outs were facing me like I was watching TV...well, on set it was just the opposite.  Of course, makes total sense when you're there...at home, not so much.  Ellen was a terrific host, so at ease and supportive.  It's all a blur to me.  I think I did fine.  I guess we'll all be able to judge when the show airs.  Want to come over and have a watch party?  I think wine and salt and vinegar chips will be served! Or maybe I'll let you all watch it and you can tell me about it.

This is what you see as a guest on the show.  The crew, the camera guy, sound guy, etc.  The guys were terrific and turns out everyone of them had a Kansas connection.  They were either from Kansas, went to school in Kansas, or worked in TV stations in Kansas.  I couldn't have been more at home.  I got to know the sound guy the best.  You get to know someone fast when they have to put wires down your shirt and battery packs on your pants. Turns out that well endowed women are a sound guy's worst nightmare. Cords tend to shift more and don't lay flat like they should.  Double stick tape however, is a sound guy's best friend.

What you don't see is the director.  She is the voice behind the curtain, sort of like the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz.  Most of the time when you hear from her, you've messed up in some way.  I heard from her.  Thank goodness I met her earlier so I could picture her smiling face as I heard the words in the headset tell me where to start over.

In a flash it was over and I was grabbing my suitcase and running for the Super Shuttle to take me to the airport and back to my everyday workaday world and out of the stunningly orange world of Sew It All TV.
The show is currently airing season two. My episode will be in season 3. Stay tuned and be sure to contact your local PBS station and ask them to carry the show!

Exciting News!

I'm so happy! It's really happening...it's finally confirmed. The forms are filled out, the appraisal done, the quilt is packed and on its way! What's this all about?

Well, last spring a call went out across the country for pieces for an exhibit called SCRAP ART that will be at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in San Jose, California. I saw the call, but ignored it and then I got an email from my KC guild friend Trisch suggesting that I submit the Selvage quilt. I was flattered, but not convinced. Then I got an email from my friend in San Francisco who had read about the call for quilts locally and she made the same suggestion. With a little pushing and shoving from friends I submitted the quilt. To my surprise I got an email from the museum asking to use my quilt. I'm so thrilled and honored that this quilt was selected. Thanks to my quilty friends...you made it happen for me!
The quilt needed a hanging sleeve before it could be sent on its way. I used Libby Lehman's instructions for a "D" shaped sleeve. (Scroll to the bottom of the linked page to get the pdf.) Notice how the sleeve doesn't lay flat on the quilt. The quilt will hang better with this type of sleeve. This is how I make all the sleeves for the quilts I hang.
The exhibit opens in August and runs through November. I'm flying out to attend the opening reception for the exhibit. How could I not?

I have a favor to ask. My friend Mary Lou lost her blog of 6 years to the black hole of Google, who knows why, but those of you who have blogs know how devastating that would be. She lost all her followers and folks can't find her. Well, she's not lost, she's here on her new blog Mary Lou and Whimsy Too. If you don't know Mary Lou, check her out. She's a dynamo and into story quilts and improvising. Say Hi and tell her Jacquie sent you!

We've Come a Long Way Baby!

Modern quilting and the Modern Quilt Guild take center stage in the Kansas City Star! Yippeee! I'm so happy and proud that the movement continues to have a voice and be recognized.

When Shane took this picture at the Star photo studio, I thought it would be a little picture in the corner of the House and Home Section, but wowsers, a full page color pic of the Life in Technicolor quilt. Dang!
Yup, that's my quilt on the cover of the House and Home section of the Star. I'm shaking and beaming all at the same time.
I'm grinning like a silly school girl in this shot, but quilts make me happy. Lauren, of My Aunt June fame, looks so serious and focused. Lauren, how did you become serious and focused all of the sudden? We are quite the contrast of modern quilters, young and hip, and experienced (aka old)....I think it's great that as modern quilters we're kind of a soup to nuts kinda group and we all have a place.
You can read the article online if you're not in the area...if you are, pop out and pick up a copy! I got quite the look from the clerk at my local convenience store when I bought a stack of papers about as tall as I am. He said I must be "into" news. I said, today I am!

I couldn't end this post without thanking the many folks who have inspired and supported me over the last three years, many of them are mentioned in the article. I never could have imagined something like this for me or modern quilting. We've come a long way in a short time!

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!