Amy is a guest on American Patchwork and Quilting Podcast

I'll be chatting it up today with Pat Sloan as one of the guests on the American Patchwork and Quilting Podcast, episode #392.

You can catch it LIVE here: http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/radio/index.html

After the airing, you can listen later at the same link. Just look for episode #392. This is the second time to be a guest with the lovely, fun, and talented Pat Sloan. The first time was episode #298 back in April of 2016. So much has changed since then!

Threads and a Hop

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and hopefully got some stitching in. As soon as I started stitching, I saw I would be doing some ripping. Bummer. The navy thread is just too dark on this blue. I just have to finish up these blue triangle in my big block baby quilt with a little ruler work and fills. Then it will be ready to bind and mail off to my sister.

Here's a pic as I audition threads. Clearly I need more darker blue thread. Really, you can never have enough thread of any color!

I also wanted to announce our Craftsy Instructors' Blog Hop that starts today, first stop with Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quilt Works. She's a talented instructor of paper piecing and she'll tell you about her class Paper Piecing the Quiltworx Dresden Plate.

There's a giveaway associated with this blog hop through Craftsy, and I will be running my own giveaway with my post on Tuesday! Craftsy will be pulling 10 names from those who use this link: Blog Hop Giveaway to buy any of the classes in the blog hop and the winners will get a free class!

Monday, December 7 

Jackie Kunkel  - Canton Village Quilt Works 

Kate Colleran - Seams Like a Dream   

Tuesday, December 8 

Wendy Gardiner - I sew  

Amy Johnson - Free Motion Quilting Adventures  

Wednesday, December 9 

Maureen Cracknell - Maureen Cracknell Handmade 

Thursday, December 10 

Jan Newton - Newton Custom Interiors  

Friday, December 11 

Laura Nownes - See How We Sew  

Saturday, December 12 

Kelly Ashton - Kelly Quilter  

Sunday, December 13 

Lindsey Stephens - Poetry In Yarn  

I'll be finishing this quilt up and sharing with you, plus I've got some nifty rulers to add to the shop and play with. 

Available Now! Quilting with Rulers on a Home Machine

I'm so excited to tell you that my Craftsy class, Quilting with Rulers on a Home Machine, is now available! It is the direct result of nearly 6 months of hard work plus the indirect result of several years of quilting, experimenting, and blogging.

There was a lot of sample making, step outs (projects that were partially done to move the teaching process along), a whole extra set of pieces made for rehearsal purposes, and a ton of writing and re-writing.

Some cross hatching variations in triangles. The ruler on the left was used for some of them, but the other ruler is for a completely different design, a dahlia.

There were tears and doubts too. Could I actually do this? Keep in mind that while my Youtube videos have well received, the only part of me on screen had been my hands.

It was so far out of my comfort zone, but you don't grow unless you push beyond what you've already done. So I pushed myself and I am really proud of the result. It feels strange to say it, but I'm proud of my work. Those who know me, know that I'm kind of self-deprecating (sometimes to an unhealthy level- but I'm working on it) so this is a big deal. I had a lot of encouragement from my husband and kids, some friends (especially the quilty ones), from the entire Craftsy team, and most of all, from my blog readers.

You may not realize it, but all Craftsy classes are shot over a very quick two and a half days after a lot of prep work done at home and via Skype, phone, and email. Then it goes through an extensive editing process. I didn't even get to see my class myself until a few days ago. I've decided that my biggest mistake was that I didn't smile enough.

You blog readers are especially important to this class. Over the last several years you have encouraged me with your complementary comments, your interest in my techniques, and your friendship. You've challenged me with your questions, helping me to become a better teacher. Without a decent blog following, I doubt there would even be a class.

So to thank you for your wonderful support, encouragement, and friendship, I am giving you a link that will take $10 off of my class, Quilting with Rulers on a Home Machine. Feel free to share the link with your friends. You have to use the link just above to get the discount. If you go directly through Craftsy, their regular price will apply.

In the class, I teach about the importance of the ruler foot, discuss and show various types of rulers, and demonstrate several different ways of using rulers to guide your free motion quilting (this class applies to sewing machines and sit down long arm machines). I show samples, quilt on camera, and share variations of the designs. It's pretty thorough, but I feel like there's still so much I want to share of this technique!

You can see this video trailer in better quality on the Craftsy site!

Don't forget that through Craftsy's wonderful platform, you can ask me questions and I will answer them as well as other students may chime in, and you can post projects that you have done using the technique. Your class never expires and you can watch it as often as you like.

Review: SewEzi Portable Table

For my trip to demo templates at the AQS show in Lancaster for Top Anchor Quilting Tools, I wanted a table that was at a comfortable height, sturdy enough to not bounce while free motion quilting, gave me a decent space to hold my samples, and was easy to carry into the convention center.

I decided to give the SewEzi Portable Table a try. I had seen another quilter using one at a meeting of the Virginia Consortium of Quilters. (Cool guild name, huh?) She said she loved it.

I didn't have much time to order the table and get it shipped to my house, but it came in plenty of time. I think it took less than a week to arrive along with the insert for my Janome 8200. There was a little assembly required to get the recessed platform for the machine put together, but it was easy enough to do.

There are handy handles at the top and along one side to make carrying easy. The case is constructed so that the handles aren't covered up.

At the bottom are these nifty wheels. They look like skateboard wheels and allow you to pull or push the table along from the top handle.

Above is a storage compartment in the case to take advantage of the space above the machine platform. Below, on the other side is a flat pocket for carrying the insert.

Everything folds up neatly. I found the locking mechanism for the legs very stiff and hard to lock and unlock, but a little WD40 may help with that. It's also an indication that they won't be too loose anytime soon.

My machine fit the table and insert nearly perfectly! I did adjust the platform a little lower than the directions specified for my machine. That was easily done using the various thickness of hard plastic washers included for the purpose.

The table's surface is nice and slick, though I did use my queen-sized Supreme Slider while quilting just to help where the insert and machine joined and to cover the two support screws to the left of the machine opening. The table is pretty small for using to quilt more than a table runner or topper. It's perfect for samples or piecing. Using regular tables against it to expand the surface should be useful for supporting a larger quilt. I also found it the perfect height for sitting in a regular chair at the quilt show. I had my own sewing chair in the car since I hate being too low or too high at the table while machine quilting, but I didn't need to use it.

There are all sorts of accessories for the table, including a tray for tools and such. I haven't bought any of those. There's a cross support on the left pair of legs that would be a great spot to make a hanging pocket for supplies.

A recessed area for a cup is at the right corner of the table. Perfect for my souvenir glass from the historic Revere Tavern. My Mom's cousin and his wife took me out to eat there while I was at Lancaster. It was begun by a relative of Paul Revere back in 1730. The food was excellent!

The SewEzi table was everything I hoped for. While not entirely wiggle-free, it was perfectly steady for sewing on. Before the show, I gave it a test run at high speeds and while it did shimmy a bit, it was at speeds above what I use for free motion quilting. If you were stitching long lines at high speeds, or are a speedy piecer, it might be a little bouncy. But I think that there's a good balance between sturdiness and portability.

There's a more heavy-duty table available, but it doesn't have the handy wheels. It's also quite outside my price range. The portable SewEzi table cost me $245 plus shipping which was an additional $35. I think it's money well spent. Now I will have a great table for teaching at different locations.

If you travel a bit with your machine, I can say I highly recommend the Sew Ezi portable table. These opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation or discount from the Sew Ezi company for this review.

Bobbin Quilting Fun!

I was so happy to take Michele Scott's Bobbin Quilting Fun class at the Charlotte AQS show. I had been wanting to do bobbin work for a long time. Leslie's posts and projects at Marveles Art Studios had inspired me to try it maybe 2 years ago.

Here are two of my samples from the class. I laid a single strand of Isacord (a 40wt thread) on top of the sample for scale. Theses threads would never work on the needle side of the machine!

I had even bought a fairly large stash of thick threads to use for bobbin work too! I am a thread addict after all. But I just hadn't done any.

Above is a sample where I needed to tighten the needle thread (top tension). This is also a great time to use invisible thread, which Michele encouraged us to use.

Michele took me from thinking, to actually doing. It was so easy, I don't know why I had waited so long.

Here's the 'top' of my piece, which is really the backside. Flip it over and viola! (There's that piece of Isacord for scale.

In case you're not familiar with the technique, bobbin work takes a lovely decorative thread and puts it in the bobbin. You quilt (or stitch, it doesn't have to be a quilting project) with your project upside down. This keeps extra thick or delicate fibers in the bobbin where they are subject to less tensioning and friction, not to mention, they don't have to go through the eye of the needle.

In the class, the Janome 8900 machines we used already had the bobbin case loosened to accommodate the thicker threads in the bobbin. Using my extra bobbin case at home, I reduced the bobbin tension screw a quarter turn and all was ready.

If you get a chance to take a class with Michele, do it! She's a riot. Bobbin work: another tool in my quilting tool box. Can't wait to use this in another project!

Quilt Published!

It's official! I've been published internationally in Magnet! Might sound a bit more important than it is, but I see it as a milestone anyway. Two complimentary copies arrived today from over the pond.

The artworks used in this magazine are absolutely amazing! And the articles are powerful, touching, and thought-provoking. It's a Christian magazine originally by the Women's Network of the Methodist Church, but is now a collaborative effort spanning many different Christian backgrounds. A British publication, it has a global focus.

After an initial snag with getting magazine quality photos of my Poured Out 2 quilt, I sent my huge graphic file off and this is what they did with it. I think it turned out well. In case you wondered, I did not write the article.

In the article, Amy Boucher Pye writes, "When we pray, we might sense something from God through an imagine in our minds. I once pictured a gorgeous crystal vase, filled with a sludgy, murky water. I saw God pouring in living water, displacing what was unclean. This showed me that I was created to be beautiful, reflecting God's light and life when the spirit cleansed me."

The following is my 'Artist's Statement' submitted with my entry of the quilt into the upcoming Sacred Threads Exhibit: "Second in a series inspired by my church's logo, this quilt represents the feelings, good and bad, that I experienced during my husband's battle with cancer. Time and time again, negative feelings threatened to choke my spirit only to be conquered by a pouring out of love and grace that washed away the scary thoughts. At the same time, I was pouring myself out for my husband and children, one still an infant and I was desperate to fill myself with the Living Water of God's love."

I am so happy to see my quilt used this way. When I made the original Poured Out and then this version, I had no idea what to do with them, other than to present the first to my church and to enter the second into Sacred Threads. It is hard to even think about what I poured into these quilts without tearing up and yet I can look at each of them and feel almost like I am looking at the work of someone else and be awed. It is clear to me that I did not make these by myself.

Artspeak mumbo jumbo perhaps, but that's how it is. And looking at the other artworks they use in this magazine, I can see that I am not alone.

You can also find Magnet on Facebook. And have I mentioned, you can find a Facebook page for Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures also?

Poured Out 2 is going to Sacred Threads Exhibit

I just got the news last night that Poured Out 2 was juried into this year's Sacred Threads Exhibit to be held in Washington DC this July!

Believe it or not, even though this was a goal I set for myself since seeing the 2011 exhibit, it was just icing on the cake for this week! In part because I was hoping for news from the jurying committee next week, but also because I had completely surprising news this week.

I was contacted about possibly using an image of Poured Out 2 as an illustration in a (non-quilting) magazine! After convincing myself (mostly) that it wasn't some sort of scam, I was over the moon! This quilt really 'speaks' to me and I am glad I will be able to share it with others. I am glad I will also be getting some professional photos taken of this quilt, because this pic just does not do it justice.

Now to keep my feet firmly on the ground, my little guy has the flu. My sewing room clean up has been somewhat delayed by laundry and snuggling time.

Art Quilt Explorers

I started attending a group in the nearby city for those interested in surface design and art quilting. It's an off-shoot of the guild there and since it's all about learning and exploring new techniques, it's called the Explorers.

It's a bit difficult for me to make the meetings since it requires a day time babysitter. I have had two friends tell me that after seeing my work on "Poured Out" that I need to pursue my quilting and they are interested in helping me do that by watching the kids sometimes for these meetings. Love my friends!

The small local group that I am a part of is very traditional and it seems that many are at a  beginner to intermediate skill level, so I am not able to find too much instruction or mentoring there, not because I am so advanced (I'm not), but because I am a bit "out of the box". They are however a friendly group and I hate that I can't attend more of the meetings. I have talked to the owner of the quilt shop who is the group's leader and we are beginning a new offshoot group that will meet at night. I'll be the main leader of this group, and while it won't be an art quilters group, we will be trying some new techniques and trying to appeal to the more adventurous and hopefully, some younger quilters.

But the Explorers group is quite fun! Last time we met, we decided on a challenge, to make a quilt inspired by a single photo and then we did some playing with fabric paint and stamping. And I really played! I've had a collection of paints for a while, Setacolor and Lumiere, but hadn't really played with them. There's a line from one of the homeschooling methods that I employ, which is, "Let the mother come out to play!" That line was in my head as I painted and stamped, ran my fingers across my painted work surface to make a design and printed it. Fun!

I haven't officially joined the  Explorers group as I need to attend a meeting of the main guild and pay dues. Something I'm willing to do, but just haven't arranged for yet. That group is larger and has more talented quilters in it, still nobody my age, and when a group leader asked if anyone was interested in Modern Quilting, the consensus was, "What's that?"

My point of all this? If most of your quilting interaction is via internet or magazines, get out and try to find a guild! There may not be a perfect fit, but it will stretch you as a quilter and it can be a lot of fun!

Quilt Show Shopping

Here are some pics from the quilt show. There were many vendors there and there was a huge quilter's shopping frenzy going on. Since this is the biggest show in the area, it is not surprising that the vendor area was packed. According to the "Quilting in America 2010" survey, quilting is a $3.58 billion dollar industry, with your average "dedicated" quilter spending $2442 annually on their hobby!

I am definitely a dedicated quilter but I guess I'm not your average one as recorded by this survey. The average dedicated quilter has a household income of $91,000, and we are far short of this number! Not that I will dispute that my purchases might be less than their average, but let's not focus on that number. I was just thrilled to be able to go to the show, and those expenses were plenty so I couldn't spend much money and I wanted to be very careful with what I bought.

So I knew I was in trouble when I found the book booth by Dover! Books are so seductive! I am trying not to buy many books now because I read them once, put them on a shelf and that's it. Some get thumbed through occasionally, but I am not a project girl, making the projects in the book. I just want to learn about the technique and be inspired. I bought three, but one of them was a children's picture book for my daughter, so that doesn't count. :-)

I bought "Amazing Ways to use Circles and Rays" by Renae Haddadin and "Custom Curves" by Karen McTavish, my favorite quilter with dreadlocks (OK, maybe the only quilter with dreads)

Mmmmmm, books!

Then there was Sue Pelland's booth. She's the creator of the Leaves Galore templates. I already have her 'norme' sized template/ruler and I've used it mostly for marking feather spines for quilting, but I need to try one of her quilt ideas. I bought a large package of Misty Fuse from her.

Then there was the booth that I could have done some serious damage at, but it was very crowded and my mantra at the time was "Use what you have". I did buy some So Fine 50wt thread to try with my King Tut and my So Fine 30wt threads. (More on that in another post.)

The only fabric I bought came from the Dippy Dyes booth by Lisa White Reber. She had some lovely hand dyes and I was on a search for some mandala style dyed fabric for some wholecloth quilting.

And then I tried the Sweet 16 Sit Down. Not impressed. First of all the tension was all messed up. The dealer then blamed it on some competing dealer coming by and turning the tension knob. The blaming annoyed me. Then they had no quilting gloves. I am very dependent on my Machingers. They had a hoop thing, but without gloves, it was hard to move their sandwich. And I found the end-on orientation disorienting. Something I could get used to I'm sure.

But then there was George. Sigh. They had machingers and Angela, the rep, was someone I was somewhat familiar with from MQR so she wasn't a complete stranger. I'm a bit timid and I hate crowds (I think I define crowds as more than 3 people in a grocery store aisle.) There was absolutely no problem with this machine! The table was just the right size to fit in the family playroom, which is my new sewing space. Too bad I can't afford it, nor justify the expense even if I could.

Janome (or anyother sewing machine company) you really need to make a machine like your straight stitch only machine 1600, but with an 11 inch throat and easily dropped feed dogs for under $1000 and good visibility and you would sell it like hotcakes!

Speaking of Janome, I stopped by their booth and picked up 2 new feet for my convertible free motion foot. They're actually for the 1600 on a frame, but I thought I'd try the one made for ruler work anyway. I've heard that some sit-down machine quilters can hold a ruler and move the sandwich. Let's see if I can be that dextrous. The other foot is useless to me, but they were sold in a set. It is just an open toe foot that faces the end of the machine for using your DSM on a frame. I also stopped in a Quilter's Rule and picked up a small long arm ruler to use with the new foot. I chose a small double S curve so I could try out some curved cross hatching as described in the Karen McTavish book.

And finally, I bought a few cones of Floriani Thread. It's a polyester 40wt thread similar to Isacord but shinier and less expensive. I thought it was worth a try. I also bought the all-important thread color card so I can order more if I like it.

Wow! I took me an hour and a half to write this post. Geesh. Gotta go.

A Happy Quilty Birthday

I've been a little neglectful here, haven't I?

Here's the latest shot of "Poured Out". I ripped out the feathers I started with the King Tut and restitched using Isacord and in a palm frond design framing the whole jug portion of the quilt. These pics are pretty high resolution, even if they aren't the best shots so you should be able to zoom and see the detail better. I really am unsure now about how to transition between the palm fronds and the fillers I want to use in the blocks. The cross was a recent addition to help balance the composition. In other news, I had a birthday this past week. It pretty much stunk. It's not an age thing though, actually I feel like I might be coming into my own since I turned 40 last year. But the day before and the 2 days after were pretty awesome, especially from a quilty point of view.

The day before, my hubby got the final word that he is to report for work this week at a new job. We're very excited, and of course after the cancer and lay offs, we definitely need a steady source of income. I also received a birthday card from my Dad with some birthday $ which was a nice surprise. Then a box arrived in the mail from a member on MQR. She had passed along a sock loom and thrown in some yarn and several large cones of Superior Threads Rainbows that she didn't want to use on her long arm. She also padded the box with some nice batting pieces.

Then the birthday came and well, let's just pretend that it was on either the previous or next day.

Then my new quilty friend came over with 2 totes of fabric she had culled from her stash. We sorted through it while we chatted and I only took stuff I really liked. Below is about half of the fabrics.

Nice, huh? Then Saturday, my neighbor and I went to a town about an hour away to check out a quilt shop there and their JoAnne's. We had a blast even though I was careful to not buy too much. While there, I picked up a flyer for the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival and showed it to her. She wants to go with me and if it works out, it will be a fun weekend road trip for us.

So I'm trying to delete my actual birthday mentally and focus on the good days prior and post birthday. All these blues in this pile are calling out to me......... What shall I make? When? So many things to work on!

A Fall Giveaway

Yay! I found a reason to be glad that hardly anyone reads my blog. The lovely and marvelous Leslie at MarveLes Art Studio is having a give away and blogging about it gets me another chance to win. So go on over to comment on a chance to win some lovely prizes.

I'm hoping to win a spool of Razzle Dazzle thread myself, but there's also the book "Bittersweet- Art to Heart", and some of Leslie's work too.

I love her blog, you will too. But most of all, I'm finding I love her kind heart!

Sacred Threads

I'm back from my trip to see the Sacred Threads exhibit near Washington DC. It was my first real quilt show, but I think it was fabulous! This is a show with a spiritual theme and the works are not judged per se, but rather limited only by suitability of theme and space constraints. Some of the works were mind-blowing beautiful, all were meaningful to their maker, and many really 'spoke' to me, and some I didn't care for or maybe just didn't 'get'.

I really couldn't look at the quilts that were in the grief category nor quite a few in the healing group, as my recent acceleration of creativity in quilting has been fueled by my husband's fight with cancer last year and I'm just too emotionally raw. I looked at a few and read the artist statements and began to get all choked up---it was difficult to maintain my composure after that.

We went on the day of the artists' reception so there were a whole bunch of the artists there, but since they were enjoying looking at everyone's work also, it was impossible for me to match artists to their work. I missed a great opportunity I'm sure by not talking with them, but I'm a social chicken and my line of "Could you tell me about your piece?" just didn't seem right if I had no idea of which person made which piece. A fine time for my shyness to take over. Sigh...

One of the committee members did chat me up as I was leaving and encouraged me to join SAQA to meet up with some like-minded quilty folks. She was incredibly nice, and even complimented me on my new bag which I made last week. I'll post pics of my bag soon; I love it!

Today I think I'll get to attend the local quilting group. It's been a few months since I've been able to go.

Gotta sew,
Amy