Art Quilt Tahoe 2011 Recap

I'm a little behind on posting about Art Quilt Tahoe 2011, which was held Nov 6-11 at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center located on the south shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe.  This year marks the 5th year that Fabrics Unlimited was selected as the official quilt shop vendor for this fabulous Fiber Artist Retreat.  We got to rub shoulders with sought-after fiber artists Libby Lehman, Jane Dunnewold, Laura Wasilowski, Sue Benner, Rosalie Dace, Velda Newman, Sue Cavanaugh, Valerie Goodwin, and also some of the most talented art quiters around.

The week was filled with cutting, painting, silk screening, fusing, dying, foiling, discharging, thread painting, stitching, and more.  Every lunch and dinner was followed by a presentation from a member of the faculty about their work.  This year marked the 13th year of Art Quilt Tahoe under the leadership of Judy Bernard, and at least one student was in attendance who had been to all of them.  There were familiar faces as well as new students this year.

I was particularly happy to see the return of Sheila Frampton-Cooper from Southern California.  This was her 2nd year at AQT, but those of us who saw her work last year recognized her amazing talent.  Sure enough, Sheila took first place in her division at Houston Quilt Festival this year. No surprise there! I predict you will be seeing alot more of her work in magazines, galleries, and quilt shows. Be sure to check out her website at http://zoombaby.com/.

Sheila Frampton-Cooper

Sheila Frampton-Cooper

Tuesday night featured a Champagne Shopping Spree and Chocolate Fantasy at Fabrics Unlimited, complete with a chocolate fountain. Wednesday night presented a challenge competition.  Each class selected a team leader, who selected as many teammates as she wanted.  The challenge was to create a 12" block using 6 of some pretty ugly fabrics they were given and any embellishment technique they wanted to use.  And did I mention that this was timed?  They had an hour to create their masterpiece.The competitors were given a preview of the fabrics they had to use, so there was alot of planning and plotting during the day leading up to the competition.  Eight teams in all, everyone had a great time.  The judges were the employees at the facility so insure no favoritism in judging.  Sue Benner's team was the winning team and received a $250 gift certificate from Fabrics Unlimited. There was also a People's Choice award, which went to Libby Lehman's team. Here are some pictures of the competition.

Cheryl Olson - Jane Dunnewold's Team leader

Driving Miss Daisy Away - Laura Wasilowski's Team Project

Libby Lehman's Team

Rosalie Dace and Team

Velda Newman's Team Project

Velda Newman's Team

The winning piece from Sue Benner's Team

Valerie Goodwin's Team

People's Choice - Libby Lehman's Team

  

Thursday afternoon was the "walkabout" where everyone visited all the workshops to see the projects. It's amazing what the students do in a relatively short amount of time. Everyone had a good time, and many registered for AQT 2012 before leaving to go home.

The list of instructors for 2012 is amazing as always...Libby Lehman, Jane Dunnewold, Jane Sassaman, Paula Nadelstern, Velda Newman, Sue Benner, Lenore Crawford, Susan Shie, Katie Pasquini Masopust, Carol Shinn. Go to www.artquilttahoe.com for more info and to sign up. Some of these classes are already filling up, so don't wait too long!

More pictures!

Cheryl Olson's project in Jane Dunnewold Class

Velda Newman's Zinnia Quilt

Student Work from Jane Dunnewold Class in Surface Design

Student's Quilt

Laura Wasilowski

Student's Work

Velda Newman and Laura Wasilowski

Sue Benner and Libby Lehman Dancing

Student work in Sue Benner's Class

Can't wait until AQT 2012?  Check out our Art Quilt Supplies at www.FabricsUnlimited.net to help you get started with Art Quilting!

Sheri Lilienthal
Fabrics Unlimited
155 Shady Lane
Stateline, NV 89449
775-588-3211
www.FabricsUnlimited.net






Fabrics Unlimited's New Quilt Studio

We are very happy to announce the grand opening of our new Quilt Studio, located in the building just next to our shop!  This addition is in line with our goal of providing a full service quilting and sewing experience in the Tahoe Basin and beyond.  Paula T is our very talented and creative Long Arm Quilter, and she is anxious to help you finish your quilts with beautiful machine quilting designs.

The new machines arrived at the Quilt Studio in lots and lots of boxes via the UPS BIG truck.  It just so happens that the UPS driver is also a long arm quilter, so she was almost as excited as we were!! Here are some pictures of the big day...



The BIG UPS Truck

 



They're Here!!



UPS Driver is also a quilter!



Couldn't fit thru the walkway, so Jerry and driver got to carry each box.

 

Unpacking the boxes.







Guess what's inside this one?



Here she is!!



Mark is starting to build the table for the Fusion 24 Long Arm Machine

 

Whoo Hoo!!!



We hope you will join us for our official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting coming up this Saturday, October 15 from 10am-5pm.  Ribbon Cutting is at 10:30am.  There will be food, prizes, and demos. So please stop by the Quilt Studio at 256D Kingsbury Grade, Stateline, NV (right in front of our shop) for a demonstration and try out one of the machines. For those who are not ready to purchase but still want to quilt their own quilts, machines will be available for rent.

  

Paula will also be teaching free-motion quilting classes on your home sewing machine as well as classes on the quilting machines at the Quilt Studio. 

Please call for more info toll free 1-800-827-9389.





Hand Applique Retreat with Sandra Mollon October 9-14, 2011Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference CenterLake Tahoe, NV

We are so lucky to have Sandra Mollon coming to Lake Tahoe for a hand applique retreat at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center. Sandra is truly gifted and has made some beautiful award winning applique quilts. The thing that puts Sandra's quilts "over the top" is her creative embellishments. She uses inks, beads, hand dyed fabrics, and hand dyed silk ribbons.

I had the good fortune of attending one of Sandra's retreats in June. Anyone who knows me knows that I've never been a fan of hand work. (In fact, when I told one of my friends that I was going to the retreat, her response was "Who are you and what have you done with Sheri!") So I went to the retreat so that I could learn some of her embellishment techniques and figured I'd just have to sit through the hand applique part. To my surprise, I loved it all...including the hand applique! Sandra is a great teacher and is able to give attention to all skill levels so that the beginners don't feel overwhelmed, and the advanced quilters don't get bored.

I encourage you to go to Sandra's website (www.sandramollonquilts.com) and take a look at her work. She appliques everything from landscapes to intricate Baltimore Album quilts. Below are images of some of her work.

Sandra's next quilt retreat up in Lake Tahoe is October 9-14, 2011 at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center, which is located on the south shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe. Cost is $625, (about half the price of Asilomar) and includes tuition, gift bags, lodging (double occupancy), all meals beginning with Dinner on Sunday through Breakfast on Friday. Single occupancy rooms are available at a slightly higher rate. For more information or to register, call Sheri Lilienthal at Fabrics Unlimited, 1-800-827-9389 Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. As a bonus, you can get a $50 discount on the fees if you sign up and refer a friend who also signs up. Payment plans are available upon request. Space is limited, though, so be sure to sign up soon!

Happy Quilting & Sewing!

Sheri

Bias Quilt Binding vs Straight Quilt Binding

I recently learned that one of my quilting friends always uses bias binding on her quilts.  Now I know that you must use binding whenever you are binding a curved edge, but I wondered why go to the trouble of making bias binding for straight edges? And don't you use more fabric for a bias binding? My friend told me that she was told that bias binding lasts longer than straight binding.  Being a "research-a-holic" (is that even a word?), I went to the internet and researched bias vs straight bindings.  To my surprise, I found out a couple of things.

1.  Bias binding does wear better than straight binding.  This is because the bias has stretch and flow and moves at the edge.  Straight binding has only a couple of threads at the very edge and will wear out faster.  So if your quilt will get lots of use, the bias binding may be the way to go.  If you are doing a wallhanging, straight binding should serve you well unless you have curved edges.

2.  Bias binding does not require more fabric.  It takes the same number of square inches of fabric for both types of binding.  It seems to take more for bias because you are cutting straight strips across the width of the fabric for straight binding while bias strips are cut out of a square. 

Whichever method you use, I encourage you to use a folded binding rather than flat.  Folded binding is when you cut a strip of fabric (usually 2 1/4" - 2 1/2") and then fold it in half lengthwise, sew it to the front of your quilt matching the raw edges of your quilt and raw edges of the binding, then fold the binding over to the back of the quilt and hand stitch.  This gives you a double layer of fabric for your binding.  Flat binding is only a single layer and really won't last long.

Happy Quilting!

Sheri Lilienthal
Fabrics Unlimited
http://www.fabricsunlimited.net/

4th Annual Outdoor Quilt Show

Jerry and I are happy to report that our 4th Annual Outdoor Quilt Show was a huge success!  Thanks to all who attended, and a very special and heartfelt thank you to all of the volunteers who helped with setup, cleanup, and everything in between, including Margaret and Ralph James, Cathy and Dave Huffman, Cindy Flores, Nelly and Brian Peterson, Andee Wetenkamp, Judy Crawford, Dawn Pohlman, Annette and Jeff Kelley, Jean and Don Netzer, Karen Tucker, Terri Sherman, Lisa Bernardini, Sandy Weber, Jo Graden and her honey John, Bobbi Rosenberger, Bobbi Cole, Scott Cook, and my beautiful daughter, Julie Roberts, who dropped everything to drive up from Southern California to help when she found out I broke my ankle last week. I apologize if your name is not on the list above, as I know there were others who helped make the show a success. We are very blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people. We also appreciate the visit by "Fran Dresher" (aka Bethany Owen who stars in her 1 woman show at the Horizon Casino). Finally, thanks to everyone who allowed us the honor of displaying their quilts and projects.  It wouldn't be a quilt show without the quilts. (You probably ought to get started pretty soon on your projects for next year's show!!)

A Word About Frixion Gel Pens for Marking Quilts

Just returned from Quilt Market in Salt Lake City.  One of the hot new items was the Pilot Frixion Gel Pens for marking quilts because you can iron away the marks.  However, if you look closely, the advertising says that the marks turn clear when heated to over 140 degrees. "Turning clear" is not the same thing as "comes out of the fabric".  The fine print also says that the marks reappear at temperatures below 14 degrees.

I consulted with an award winning machine quilter, and she had already tested the pens.  She ironed them away, stuck the fabric in the fridge, and the marks came back.  Re-ironed the marks away, stuck the fabric in the fridge, and the marks still came back.  She also tried washing out the marks, but they still keep coming back.  Now if you live in the heat of the desert, the marks are less likely to come back than if you live in Minnesota or even up here in Lake Tahoe where 14 degrees is not uncommon in the winter.

Keep in mind that these pens were not originally designed to use on fabric.  They are great fun to use on paper.  Something else to consider is what the marks may do to your quilt over time.  Remember, we make our quilts to last a long time. So if the marks are really still there, just "turn clear", is that really what you want on your heirloom quilt?

I would love to hear what you think of this product..

New Classes at Fabrics Unlimited

It has finally stopped snowing, so come up to see us in beautiful Lake Tahoe.  We have a variety of new classes scheduled in May. Take a look!

•  Beginning Quilting (6 weeks) Begins Tues, 5/10 from 9am-1pm
• Quick Start Beginning Quilting (1 day) Wed, 5/18 from 8am-4pm - lunch included
• Beginning Sewing I - Pillowcase Sat, 5/21 from 2pm-5pm (Ages 16+)
• Beginning Free Motion Quilting with Jill Schumacher Wed, 5/25 from 10am-4pm - lunch included
• Fat Quarters Anonymous 4th Sat Monthly beginning 5/28 from 9am-3pm
• Party with Patrick - 4th Wed Monthly 6pm-9pm

 Call, come in, or sign up on line. 15% discount on class supplies purchased in the shop.

 

Also, AMGEN Tour starts Sunday, May 15 in Lake Tahoe for bike enthusiasts.  If you are planning to come up here via Hwy 50 from the Sacramento area, be aware that Cal Trans is closing Hwy 50 for 2 weeks at Echo Summit (the really scary cliff area) on May 11 (yes, 4 days before the start of the tour!).  Check out www.way2tahoe.com for updates and detour information.