Good morning,

Unfortunately, I found out last week that the Fabric Painting Workshop at Heritage Park has been cancelled due to poor registration.  I was very saddened and disappointed by the news, but ...

If you were one of the people who did register for the class and would be interested in taking it in the future, drop me a line, and I'll keep you posted as to future workshops that I will be offering in the area. 

I worked hard during the weekend to try and finish some other projects to offer as workshops in the future.  Keep an eye out for future announcements.  In the meantime, enjoy the nice weather.  And don't forget to keep quilting.

Ana

There is still time to sign up for classes at the Prairie n' Peaks Quilt Festival which is being held in the Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass areas from June 10 to June 19th.

To read an article that appeared in the Crowsnest Pass Promoter and the Pincher Creek Echo, go here:  http://www.crowsnestpasspromoter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3053916

I am teaching two workshops on Fabric painting.  The price of the workshop includes everything you need to finish the project.  The only things you need to bring as extras are the sewing machine, and threads!  I hope to see some familiar faces there.

Until we meet again, keep quilting

Ana

Good morning,

Hope everyone is doing fine this morning.  I just wanted to let you know about a new publication by the publishers of Quilting Arts Magazine called 101 Patchwork Projects + Quilts which will be available mid-April.  It is available for preorder on the Interweave website.   I have a project on this new publication, which I hope you'll enjoy.

"This 196-page special issue features patchwork projects of every kind, including home decor, gifts, wearables and accessories.  With everything from quilts and pillows to slippers, bracelets, curtains, and much more, innovative sewers will surely find something that suits their taste."

I can't wait to get a copy.  Looking at the table of contents, I can see a few items that would be great to make, starting with the vase on the cover!

In the meantime, keep quilting.

Ana 

Thanks Ceci for the article in your blog (Patchwork y Cia), which I'm going to share here.

This is the story of one Joanna Rose, who's been acquiring red and white quilts since the 50's.  It turns out that Mrs. Rose has never seen them all at once.  From Friday to Wednesday March 30, all 651 quilts will be displayed inside the armory.

The armory display was a birthday present for, and from Mrs. Rose, who turned 80 several months ago.  "My husband asked me what I wanted," she said.  "I told him, two things: something I had never seen before and a gift for New York City.  I thought, one thing I've never seen is the quilts all at once."

You can read the full article in the New York Times here, following this link:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/finally-mrs-rose-and-the-public-can-see-all-her-rugs/

Look at the link ... they call them "rugs" ...

Here's a detail:

If you are in NY, I hope you get a chance to go see the exhibit.  It must be an amazing sight!

Any ideas?  Enough to go home and keep quilting!

Ana

Good afternoon,

On a snowy day here in Calgary, again ... we've had snow almost every day of the week, everything is white and the snow keeps piling up, despite the fact that Spring has arrived! 

I worked on a fabric bowl today, which I had never made before, despite that I've seen dozens of them made.  One of the ladies I work with lost her brother a few weeks ago, and is coming back to work next week, so we decided to have something nice waiting for her when she gets back.  We went to the Body Shop and bought some lovely bath salts, moisturizing cream and a diffuser.  We were going to buy a basket, but I decided to try making a fabric bowl instead.

Here are the steps I followed, as I "made" the top fabric.  First, I cut a 14" square of muslin to use as the base, adhered Wonder Under to it, peeled the paper and placed some larger pieces of fabric as the first layer.  I used green and some blue pieces leftover from paper piecing projects: 

I also used yellow strips, leftover from the tuffet I made at Christmas time.  It's so much fun going through the leftover basket I keep under my cutting table ...  Here's the first layer of fabric: 

I added more fabric until the entire surface was covered, some pieces overlapping

Then, I took some leftover yellow strips, and with the rotary cutter, cut them horizontally, vertically and diagonally across, very randomly, to create confetti.

I do that quite often with leftover smaller pieces, and place them in a glass jar, to keep for other projects.

To the fabric with the first layer of confetti, in yellow I added some confetti from the jar, with greens and reds.  Also added some purple bit and pieces.  Then added the following:  Angelina and some silk threads by Treenway in oranges,

Next, I placed a layer of Esterita Austin's Mistyfuse and a layer of lime green tulle; took it to ironing board and pressed it all under a teflon sheet.  This is what it looks like: 

Once that was all fused together, I used a variegated yellow and orange thread to quilt an overall curvy diagonal grid.  Trimmed, and following the instructions in Linda Johansen's "Fast Fun & Easy Fabric Bowls" completed my first one. 

And the back 

Now I can truly say they are very addictive.  As soon as I finished this one, I wanted to make another one; of course, I like it so much that I don't want to give it away!

If you've never made one, I encourage you to give them a try.  These are simple to make if you just use two pieces of fabric, instead of making your own, and I believe that without that added step, you could probably finish one in a couple of hours or less, especially if you don't do any quilting.  Great ideas for a quick gift.

Thanks for visiting ... and hope you keep quilting.

Ana