Moving Into the New Year

Well - it is now mid-month. My daughter is back at school - she is a swimmer and is back for winter practice. She is actually in Key Largo for the week where they intended to practice in an outdoor pool. It was too cold on Wednesday to practice outside - all these northern kids are still very cold!! Classes don't start til the 23rd.
My son is going back on Friday for classes started next Wednesday - we HOPE this is his last semester. 
Next week, just back to DH and me! But both of them are coming home for the summer. I am glad (I think!)

I am having a great time selling Texture Magic. Most of the stores take right to it. It is great. I will teach my first class in April at The Quilted Crow.  Can't wait for that.  I have learned a lot about direct selling from this experience.  My focus in the next two weeks will be to get to the local guilds and try some shows.  I also have two more proposals for classes to follow up on.

I am working on my TQS BOM - the Hugs & Kisses Applique, while restarting last years pieced BOM, and doing two other BOM at LQS - in addition to the list I am keeping at the side of the blog. And my most pressing project is picking the fabrics for the New England Quilt Museum Guild Challenge quilt I have designed for our guild. I have the design, just have to finish picking the fabric. I will incorporate TM in the swag border of this quilt.



Here are some great New Years pictures we took on our walk New Year's Day in Barnstable on Cape Cod. It was a gray day, but the ocean and salt marshes were still spectacular.  Kind of a quiet intensity.

Hopefully I will have more to share in the quilting realm soon

Peace

Mary

My Updated List and the New England Quilt Museum Guild Challenge and Teaching Quilt Classes

I did get my decorating done - we still have to buy a tree - I will only have a real tree.  But my creche is up - I made this ceramic set about 25 years ago and use it every year. Little Elfie is on  the dining room chandelier - he reports to Santa and has been around since my kids were little. The stockings (3 hand knit by me) and my husband's made by his mother, are on the mantle. I even got some shopping done. So Christmas preparations are progressing.
I made LOADS of fudge yesterday using my husband's uncle's recipe - it comes out perfectly every time.
I will post the recipe separately.

Quilt Lists and Projects
I, like most of us, struggle with a growing list of UFOs (unfinished objects/projects). I went through the boxes and bags in my studio and made a list of every project I had on index cards - it took 4 - 4X6 inch cards - LOTS of projects. I am determined to make a dent in all of these while I am still unemployed.
So to keep me honest I have posted the list on the blog. As they get done I will preface them with COMPLETED. The list is so long it doesn't all show. I have prioritized the first 6.

My issue is, I keep finding more things I want to work on. I have volunteered to chair the New England Quilt Museum Supporting Guild Quilt Challenge - to be shown at Images in Lowell MA in August 2010. The finished quilts will then be donated to the NEQM and used in a fund raiser at a future date.  The theme of the quilt is "From Lobstahs to the Green Monstah!" . For anyone reading this that is either not from New England or not a baseball fan  the Green Monster (in a Boston accent - Monstah) is the wall in left field at Fenway Park home the Boston Red Sox. I think Lobstah is self explanatory!

Well I had a light bulb moment , went to my EQ6 and came up with a very nice design - I won't post it til it's done - but I was very pleased.  The quilt is small  - only 36 Inches square. Our Guild is small, but I am planning to have the blocks paper pieced and lots of people will pitch in to make a block. So that will need to be added to the list. I will of course incorporate Texture Magic in there somewhere - it really adds to a quilt.

Then - I am doing two LQS block of the months, plus the www.thequiltshow.com block of the months - there are two - I still have to finish this years pieced one. Also, my quilting buddy Carol, and I will make a really cool bag - the easy on the shoulder design - I have a leather one from LLBean and I love it. I got the pattern at the Gathering in Nashua NH in November. She is a teacher so is off between Christmas and New Year and we will get it done then.

Add to that I am learning to long arm quilt at my friends MaryAnn and Dora's long arm studio - Mad About Quilts.  They rent out time on their long arm - it is great - only done the intro class so far, and know it will take a lot of practice, but with all the quilts on the list I will get a lot of practice.

I am also putting together a list of classes I would like to teach. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time. Making all the samples for my Texture Magic business led me to realize I had a lot of techniques and info to offer. I will list the Texture Magic Bags (they make fabulous classes) and I am working on one of the Eleanor Burns quilts (that's not on the list either - so needs to be added!) using charm packs - it will make a great beginner quilt, but it also uses the  scallop ruler to make a scalloped edge - giving a more advanced look to the quilt when done.

My DD is coming home from college tomorrow - YEAH! and DS will be home next Sunday. It will be good to have them both home. I have three dinners this week and will try to get to some quilt stores for my Texture Magic demos. - Oh that reminds me of another project - the Texture Magic Festive Stockings - great new pattern. My friend Carol did one up very quickly - In fact I think I will go do one up tonight.
The Patriots are winning right now (4th quarter - 7 minutes to go) so life is good.
That also means I can leave my house and do errands in about an hour and a half.
The game is at home, and it takes about that long for the traffic to abate after the game is over. You learn to plan around these things when you live in a small town that hosts a NFL team!

I will post the Fudge recipe later this week
Peace
Mary

More Texture Magic Projects

Well it's been a while since I posted, but I have been busy. Back in mid-October I started reping Texture Magic in Massachusetts. Since then I have been working hard to make my samples of the patterns made for TM to show at shops and demos.

The patterns are designed by Annie Unrein and they all work up really well. There are now 14 patterns that are available. I am hoping to get them in all the quilt and fabric stores in MA, but if you can't get them in your LQS, then check both Annie's web site or the Superior Threads web site.
If you live in MA and see this just contact me directly by posting a comment.

Here are the projects
Bubbly Music Babies - this is a baby quilt pattern, (Bubbly Babies) but I used "adult" fabrics. Both of my children played in the orchestra in high school (cello & viola) so I had lots of music fabric and I wanted to make a black and white quilt. I have not quilted this intentionally, so I can show the texturized pieces from the back and how they are pieced into a quilt. They are the black pieces in the center.





On The Town - is a great bag to make - I used rows of one of the decorative stitches on my machine to make the texturized center - I was very pleased with the effect. Also I tried Fast2Fuse in the body of the bag and Craftfuse in the pockets. The Fast2fuse was hard to turn right side out after putting the lining and the outside of the bag together, but it makes the bag stand up very well.





Serenity- The flap on this bag has wool batting in between the TM and the fabric. Then I outlined each leaf with a 35wt varigated thread I had in my thread stash. It was a lot of work, but worth it. I used magnetic snaps and put feet on the bottom as well. These are little features that are not in the pattern, that make the bag very finished.






Texture Magic Tote- A potential customer was not sure that TM would work for her customers - they support the more folk art, "no brights" quilters and crafters. She supplied me with the fabric for this bag - it is the small bag in the pattern - the pattern comes with two sizes.
It came out really well. The black fabric on the base has a very very dark gray pattern in it. To texturize, I went around some patterns free motion and then did a 1" grid with a serpentine stitch for the rest. The effect was great.



I am off to try some applique as I have two demos this weekend.

Texture Magic Totes and When Pigs Fly Part 1

Well, I have jumped in to my Texture Magic business. I am busy making samples to show to shop owners. There are now 13 Patterns for Texture Magic. I have set up my first demo to a shop staff meeting next Tuesday!

Here is the Textured Tote and Accessories. This took about a day to make all three pieces.
I loved the way it came out.
To texturize the fuchsia fabric, I just followed the swirls with gold thread. The geometric fabric, I followed the grid in the fabric.

Every Tuesday - is Texture Magic Tuesday and a new project is highlighted in "Mother Superior's Blog"
This week it is a great purse with interesting stitching and silk ribbon.

My other activity is getting ready for my guild's Exhibit. It is Saturday Oct 24 (Mansfield MA) It is a small exhibit, free and open to the public. We have done large shows as a guild before, but the guild is smaller now, so we went for simple. The space for the exhibit was free! So that helps.
I have to finish a challenge quilt for that show. It is the first time I have designed a quilt from scratch!! I used my EQ6, imported embroidery designs and everything! Now the quilt is not done, but I will give you a preview of the "inspiration" fabric.
When the quilt is finished I will post it - The name of the quilt is "When Pigs Fly". I had great fun with this.

Texture Magic Queen in Massachusetts

Today I started a new adventure - representing Texture Magic by Superior Threads to quilt shops, independent fabric and craft stores, home dec - any fabric related venue in Massachusetts (at least preliminarily). I can do shows anywhere in the US, speak to guilds, demo and teach.

I am very excited about this opportunity. Superior Threads is a very well known and respected supplier in the quilting industry. This new product, Texture Magic, is an extension of their line of products. They have engaged the services of Annie Unrein to make patterns elusively for Texture Magic. Right now there are 10 available!

I was thinking about just teaching this at LQS in my area - I loved this product from the time I first saw it. I had already made some samples so I could show classes what happens to the fabric when you apply Texture Magic.

Texture Magic Sewn to Fabric with a 1 inch Grid









Right Side of Fabric with No Steam









Texture Magic Side After Steaming










Fabric Side After Texture Magic does its Magic!









I can't wait to get started on this. I have to finish my samples and do my demo book(that should come shortly) and then I am off to the quilt stores.

Happy Piecing!