Paradise Stitched
Sylvia Pippen
C&T Publishing; $29.95

Sylvia Pippen was introduced to Sashiko, the art form practiced in Japan for centuries, by her mother, who was raised in China. Shasiko, which means “little stabs” in Japanese is a running stitch done in white thread on indigo fabric. Today Sylvia uses Shasiko and adds appliqué designs to complement the traditional designs. In this book she suggests using a variety of applique techniques, including her favorite, which is the press-over heat-resistant Mylar method that allows her to form crisp intricate pieces. Once you’ve learned both the appliqué and Sashiko technique, Sylvia offers six projects that combine the two plus embroidery.The book includes a nice gallery of work and full-size pull-out patterns. A plus is Sylvia’s discussion on choosing fabric; she includes photos of a variety of fabrics and shows you exactly where to cut to get the right shading and light for your pieces.

Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.

Blendable Curves
Peggy J. Barkle
C&T Publishing; $19.95

If you or your students are looking to take a step beyond the traditional quilt block, this is a fun technique. Peggy Barkle takes two identical traditional blocks done in two colorways. She then stacks the blocks, cuts a free-form curve from diagonal to diagonal, shuffles the blocks so the blocks no longer match, and pieces them into a new block. Voila! You have a cool curvy nine-patch or a curvy log cabin or any other block pattern. Peggy starts with a simple nine patch, so you can learn the technique and then build from there. The book includes 10 quilt projects and a gallery of quilts by others. I really liked the idea of using this to create a background for appliqué, and her designs can lead to endless possibilities.

Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.

It is definitely spring in my yard, and it is so welcome after what I would call an excess of snow. Here’s the magnolia tree that is right outside my office window.

Last weekend was busy quiltwise for me. On Friday I stopped in at the new AQS show in Lancaster, PA. It is the new convention center, a nice facility filled with three floors of quilts and vendors, as well as a satellite location about a mile away. Shuttle buses ran between the buildings and parking areas. Practically the first vendor I ran into was IAPQ member Lisa Reber of Dippy Dyes. Lisa does wonderful hand-dyed fabrics and was thrilled that three of the quilts in the show featured her fabrics. They also worked wonderfully in Woodland Lei from Pacific Rim Quilt Company, which is shown in the back on the left. And, she was wearing her IAPQ pin!

For the first year of the show I heard lots of positive comments, and the quilts were wonderful. I know first hand that the bus situation needs some work – we waited too long for it to arrive – and I heard that Bonnie Browning was riding the buses to get ahead of any complaints. Way to go!

Following the stop at AQS I headed off to Bird-in-Hand where I was the guest speaker for the weekend at the Quilt Professionals Network. I had a wonderful time with this very talented group of quilt professionals. Saturday I taught my three-hour Quilting Passion to Profit class in the morning and then in the afternoon I shared my Open House: Quilt Studio Tour slide lecture. Don’t you just love to see how other quilters work? On Sunday I presented my Time Management (Mastery) for Quilters program. Along with educational opportunities, the weekend included plenty of networking time, and it was a joy to reconnect with quilters I’ve known over the years and also meet new professionals. Thanks QPN for inviting me!

And, during my three-hour class, we discussed selling benefits vs. features. One of my examples included buying if you think something will increase in value, and I shared the story of a gnome I have, only I couldn’t remember the artist. It’s Tom Clark and I purchased this because he created this gnome in honor of my cousin Gene McEver. He’s actually a first cousin, twice removed, and was an All-American football player at the University of Tennessee, in addition to being a coach at Davidson College, the home of Tom Clark. This collectible gnome is named McEver and is now retired. Here’s my gnome:

On my way back home, I fit in a stop at the Lancaster Arts Hotel to see an exhibit of Sue Reno’s quilts. Those of you have been to my booth at the old Quilters Heritage Celebration will remember that I always featured one of Sue’s quilts in my booth. This exhibit showcased quilts Sue made to celebrate the old Watt & Shand department store in Lancaster. This Beaux Arts building was transformed into the convention center. I’m a fan of Sue’s quilts and it was a real treat to see this collection. I did have a hard time picking a favorite! If you get a chance, make time to visit the exhibit.

The earthquake in Haiti was two weeks ago and the devastation has been hard to watch. Quilters are know to rise to the occasion with help in any situation, largely with making quilts for those afflicted, and I’ve been asked by several people if a quilt donation is underway. This time, though, quilts aren’t the immediate answer and will likely not get to their intended users. What is needed is money that will be used for food and medical supplies. I’ve made a donation through Episcopal Relief and Development. You can find lots of reputable organizations, including the Red Cross, Unicef, and Doctors without Borders, that will help the Haitians begin to recover. One way quilters are getting involved is by making quilts and selling them online to send the proceeds to Haiti. You can go to etsy.com and search for Haiti quilts and find examples of quilters doing this. Also, one of my friends, Jeanne Marklin, mentioned that a collection of tote bags, like those we get at shows, was being assembled to send for people to carry food and other critical goods. I’ll add details to this post shortly.

Turquoise. The Pantone Color Institute selects a color each year that is based on its general sense of the world’s mood. Pantone says that turquoise, combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of well-being.

“In many cultures, turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”

Do you feel extra stress during the holidays? Editing the Winter issue of The Professional Quilter always hits in mid-December and that adds somewhat to my stress level if I consider all the holiday activities I enjoy. I try to get adequate sleep, watch what I eat and drink, and get plenty of exercise. And, I let go of some of what I always do. This year my husband picked out our Christmas tree – without my input – and he is the tree decorator. We do come from families with different decorating styles. His family is a single-strand tinsel placer. I’m a free-for-all tinsel tosser. So, I’m fine with enjoying the end result. Did I mention, I will be the tree undecorator? And, I got most of my holiday baking done Thanksgiving weekend. Despite my attempts to handle stress, I must not be doing as good a job as I thought. I have laryngitis and it’s turning into a whopper of a cold.

If you are an IAPQ member and want to get a handle on stress, during the holidays and beyond, the audio from our monthly call is now available on your members page.  I talked with Meredith McEver, a licensed clinical social worker who teaches mindfulness-based stress reduction workshops. She taught us how to create a breathing space and led us in two different types of guided meditations. She also shared tips and solutions from her years of working in private practice dealing with clients and their stress problems. The audio is just one of the benefits of your membership in the International Association of Professional Quilters.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the United States, and I did want to take a bit of time to let you know how grateful I am for everyone who reads this e-zine, subscribes to The Professional Quilter, has joined the International Association of Professional Quilters or has taken our classes. I’m honored that you’ve allowed me to contribute in some small way to your business growth. It’s truly rewarding for me.

Does your family have any gratitude traditions with Thanksgiving? In my family, we all go around the table and share something we are grateful for about those at the table. I remember years ago, one of my sisters shared that she was grateful that I sewed. I probably took my sewing somewhat for granted, and I was grateful on my part to be reminded that it’s a special skill that not everyone has. Her gratitude really made an impression on me.

If you are celebrating tomorrow, I hope your day is filled with blessings of gratitude. I know my day will be.

I also wanted to share just a few of my favorite quotes on gratitude:

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent.
Cicero

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust

Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.
Christiane Northrup

See you next week and Happy Thanksgiving!

Join us in the PQ Café on Thursday, September 17 at 8 pm Eastern for our next call  Get Organized, Finally! with Morna McEver Golletz and special guest Debra Lipp.

Have you tried a variety of methods to organize your quilting “stuff”? Do you buy every new organizing gadget you see? Is your studio space disorganized and inefficient – and you know it could be improved – but you don’t know where to start? Or, are the  organization strategies you’ve tried just not working for you? Do you migrate to the kitchen table to work even through you have designated a space for sewing?

It’s possible that you’re trying to put the proverbial round peg in the square hole because you haven’t fully analyzed what does and does not work for YOU and why. You’re trying to use tools that someone else says will work for you. Debra Lipp, a Corcoran College of Art + Design-trained graphic designer, is a task analyzer and organizational specialist who works with creative people. She loves to understand an individual’s thinking process and help to discover what works for them – as an individual. And, lucky for us, she’s also a quilter/fiber artist.

This teleclass is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17 at 8 pm, Eastern Daylight Time. Registration includes the teleclass and MP3 downloadable recording, so if you can’t come to the class, you’ll get the recording to listen to at a time that works for you. Here are details.