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Podcast 211 – Finishing up and moving on…line
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Running time: 01:17:02 Size: 74.1 MB

 

Here’s the rest of the Quilt Competition and Judging conversation. This one covers:

• Credit and copyright of designs when inspired by someone else vs. outright plagorism

• Handquilting vs. machine quilting

• Designing using a royalty-free block and calling it “unique”

• Two examples of designs that were plagorized and the original desired were told not to claim their creations as their own

• Using antique designs in designing a quilt – isn’t that considered plagorism?

Let’s start a new topic. Email me your ideas and I’ll present them in a podcast!

My online classes have become Open Term, which means that they start for each registrant on the day that they receive their login and password, rather than being at a schedule time as they were before. What does that mean for you? That you can sign up whenever you’re free and the class will run for YOU either for 12 weeks or 30 days, depending on which class you sign up for! Hooray!

So, if you go on vacation for two weeks, you won’t miss anything – but will be able to view each lesson at your convenience. Any time, any day it’s convenient.

Here’s the scoop:

The Quilter’s Palette – a sampler of techniques (12 weeks)

So unique, a true learning sampler.

Quiltmaking 101 – a sampler of fine quilt making (12 weeks)

Learn everything there is to making a quilt from A-Z. Great for beginning quilters or those who have been quilting for years. You will learn everything I know about quiltmaking in this workshop.

 My most popular workshop: Exploring Fabric Choices, a very special workshop

When have you ever taken a class in how to choose your fabrics? Never? Oh, I’m not surprised. But this is the most important workshop you will ever take. (The quilt above are the blocks that used in my demo on The Quilt Show, episode 209)

It’s available to sign up for until September 30th, for 30 day access to the class, then, like all good things in the Disney Vault, it’s going away for an undetermined time.

You can click on the links above for each class. Exploring Fabric Choices doesn’t have an introductory video, but you can see a sample on The Quilt Show.

In other news, guess what’s coming?…

International Quilt Festival of Ireland

Wanna go with me? You can! Here’s the link to my tour itinerary.

Can I go with you if I don’t live in San Jose? YES! You can join us from where you live, anywhere in the world, but you need to register under my tour link.

How many people can go with you? I am limited to 40 participants, so don’t delay if you’re interested in attending.

Is it going to be like all of the other big quilt shows I go to? What’s different about this one that would make me interested in going?  The festival will be held in the quaint village of Galway on the NUI campus, not in a convention center. Please visit the website (link above) to see all of the events and activities planned by the show organizers. My itinerary is unique to other tour guides itineraries. And there is a special non-quilters program for those who don’t quilt to come along with you!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Now for the GIVEAWAY! With great thanks to Easy Canvas Prints!

(Here’s the one that I want to have a 16 x 24 canvas print made. Fun family! ; ) This was taken last year and we have all changed so much since then. Cambria, of course is bigger, Karen is expecting baby girl #2, Robin is in Mexico on his mission and Kirsten, Guy, Ryan and I have all lost weight! Pictures will make you do that…)

Here’s the precious one of our kids that captured their personalities perfectly:

My kids…

So, I know you want a canvas print of your own, right?

Follow these instructions:

Leave a comment for me, here, and let me know why you like canvas prints,

then

go to Facebook and LIKE Easy Canvas Prints, to be a valid winner. You can click on this link to go directly there.

You also need to live in the contiguous United States to win. Sorry Alaska and Hawaii : (

If you aren’t the winner, you can still win! Just by LIKEing Easy Canvas Prints on Facebook, you automatically receive 50% off on your next order and FREE shipping.

The winner will be chosen on Friday night, September 16th — good luck!!

Now, I’m doing another GIVEAWAY, but you have to go to the Classroom site to see it.

Don’t forget the CHAT, tomorrow night, September 14th at 6:00 p.m. pacific — especially if you have any questions about the online classes. If you click on the word CHAT above, it will take you to the directions to the Chat.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this podcast!!

©2011 Annie Smith All Rights Reserved

Congratulations, quilters! Thanks for commenting, all of you. You gave me even more food for thought, and things I need to talk about for the podcast.

Farm girl Quilts– Emily

Just Around the Corner — CaroleM

Perfect Fitting Pieced Borders — Gretchen

Quilting Those Flirty 30’s — AshleyD

Send me your addresses so I can drop these in the mail to you asap. And thanks for playing : )

Podcast 210 – Quilt Police, Part Two
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Running time: 01:12:00 Size: 66.1 MB

Wow!!   What feedback and more questions!!

I think I must have struck a chord or a nerve with y’all. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE IT!! I love your questions and your feedback and just hearing from you altogether. It’s lonely out here in cyberspace — and, if I don’t hear from you, I don’t know that you’re there.

So keep the coming!

Here’s the rundown of today’s podcast:

I’m answering all of your questions and sharing your feedback and comments, like:

• Entering a quilt that is a pattern designed by someone else

• Machine quilting from a longarm or a domestic machine

• To enter or not to enter… It’s a matter of self-confidence

• Giving credit where credit is due

• Other things that disqualify a quilt

• Criteria for special awards

Here are some pictures of the quilts that I recently judged and my comments on them:

The Best of Show quilt

This quilt is a familiar pattern and I saw a couple of them in competition – but I have no idea whose pattern it is. The color is amazing – no? What’s more amazing it that this quilt was the most perfectly made quilt in competition. Everything was straight, the quilting and binding were perfect and there was not a stray thread or hair anywhere.

Judge’s Choice

This is my pick. This quilt was also impeccably done – clean, precise and clever. I’m not an Art Quilter, but I really appreciate the creativity in pieces like this. I think the title is “The Holy Family Watches Over the Salinas Valley”. The Salinas Valley being “the salad bowl of America” and the area where I live is the produce capital. I thought the theme was clever and each of the motifs in the quilt represented that. The cauliflower was made with hundreds of tiny white beads clustered together.

Best of Show

This quilt was decided by four judges, who judged unanimously. When you have more than one judge, it must be unanimous – no matter what. Also a perfect quilt, every point was perfectly at the seam, the applique and quilting beautiful, colors, etc.

My Judge’s Choice

Of the four judges, this was mine. This quilt is mind-blowingly absolutely perfectly pieced. There are no repeats in the fabrics – each is unique. The quilting was perfect – it is perfect. I could not believe what I was seeing. (Sorry that the picture is not clearer — I had my camera on a slower setting than I realized and I didn’t see it til I got home and uploaded my pictures.)

ALSO — I do not take any pictures at the time I am judging. I want to be really clear on that. I go back to the quilt show to view all of the quilts and take pictures then.
(Especially to see those I haven’t judged if I’m with a group of judges.) In that case, I only see the first place quilts when we choose the special award quilts, like the Best of Show).

I am always inspired by quilts and what better place to find inspiring quilts and workmanship than a quilt show?

If you have more questions or issues that I didn’t cover, please email me! I’ll add it to a new podcast!

Here’s some more Eye Candy for you:

Cambria’s mommy just got a new camera and the pictures are so remarkable.

Yes, she IS a monkey!

Ok, so some how I realized that I have been posting my pictures to the blog way too small!

I am changing my ways, so you can actually SEE what I’m posting. Sorry — but everyone has a learning curve — (I bet you’re happy that I have one too ; )

So, in the future, the pictures that I post of quilts will be much better…

Ok — here’s the giveaway! Choose one of the following books that you would like to win, and then leave me a comment and let me know how the book you have chosen would inspire you and/or help you to create a quilt that you would consider entering into a show.

I’ll pick the winners on Friday night, Sept. 9th — good luck!!

Happy Quilting!

©2011 Annie Smith   All Rights Reserved

Podcast 209 – Officer Annie and the Quilt Police
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Running time: 01:04:30 Size: 61.9 MB

Several times a year, I get to be a bona fide member of the Quilt Police.

(Photo courtesy of Anna of craftygirlsworkshop.blogspot.com)

No, not one of those women who take the title upon themselves to point out everything that is wrong with your quilt — but a real official Quilt Judge.

So, listen to the podcast to find out more about what it’s like to be a Judge — and what judges look for when they judge quilts. It would take more than an hour to talk about everything having to do with quilts in competition and judging – but if you have any questions about what I talked about, or if I didn’t cover something you want to know about, please email me at annie@simplearts.com.

For an actual pattern for a Quilt Police, visit Debra Gable’s website, Zebra Patterns. Here is a picture — absolutely fabulous!

Isn’t she great?!

Talking about “great” here are a few pictures of the one who kept me from podcasts on my trip to North Carolina…

Cambria loves technology…

and her mommy…

and her daddy…

and flowers…

and her slide, which makes her say “Wee-e-e-e-e-e!”

she loves to color and wear necklaces…

and swim…

and me…

but not beans… ; )

Happy quilting, more to come!

©2011 Annie Smith   All Rights Reserved

I really don’t know what’s wrong with me…

I’ve been in North Carolina for a week now, and do you think it has crossed my mind at all to do a blog post?! Oh, heck, no — and that’s obvious, until tonight. : (

I’ve been in the planning stages for two new podcasts that still need a little more coordination before they can be posted — but hey, that shouldn’t keep me from reporting on my time here.

When I travel now, I use an iPad (the first version, so no internal camera) and as much as I love it, it still won’t allow me to upload photos to my blog. So I’ll have to rely on WebGuy to do it for me… You got that, WebGuy?? Photos below:

This last weekend, I taught a two-day workshop at my favorite
store in Chapel Hill, Thimble Pleasures. I love everything about the shop and had a great class of students– Debra, Robin, Marnie, Barbara, Mary, Linda, Ella, Karen and Bev — who all played with FABRIC. I love to teach when I come to NC to visit my son and his wife, and of course, Cambria:

Picture here

My days are filled with hanging out with her, and so much fun. It’s so blasted hot here that we pretty much stay indoors unless we’re running to the air-conditioned car and then running into an air-conditioned building. Ryan is taking me on a souvenir-eating tour of the greater Raleigh area. So far we have visited The Hibernian (pub food), The Pig (BBq), Dixie Belle’s (BBq), Daniel’s (to-die-for Italian, Ryan’s favorite), Morrisville Deli, Sunrise Biscuit Cafe, Goodberry’s (Frozen Custard), and LocoPops (Gourmet popsicles) and that’s just the first week. I have one more
to go!
We’re spending the weekend in Williamsburg, VA, home of our German Ancestors. I hope it’s cooler there — and there’s sure to be more souvenir eating and hopefully a couple of quilt shops in my future.

Here’s one more photo of Cambria’s new swoopy-do, courtesy of her new hair stylist: Me!

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Oh, by the Way, do you happen to know what a “New Traffic Pattern” is? I saw the advertisement on the side of the road today, but I don’t think it has anything to do with quilting… : )

…. Kim Plohocky!!!

Congratulations, Kim — and thanks to everyone who took the time to comment, and those who visited Cori’s web/blog site too.

Stay tuned for more quilty goodness!

Program 208 – a Surprise “Find” in Utah
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Running time: 00:22:51 Size: 22.1 MB

Just before Market, I had the opportunity to go and visit my dear friend, Karen, who always takes care of me and is my partner in crime at the Utah Quilt shops. I walked thru the front door of Quilt Etc. in Sandy, Utah and what did I see?

Ok, so does this quilt send you into orbit, or what?!

I just went nuts. I had never seen a quilt quite so charming with little creative details and I had not heard of Cori Blunt or Chitter Chatter Designs before. It seems that Cori and her over-the-top mind-blowing quilt designs was a well kept secret in the state of Utah.

No More!

I had to have that pattern and this one:

This one is Cherry Tweet (Queen size) and the one above it is Very Cherry (wallhanging). Don’t you think Cherry Tweet would be a great wedding quilt?

Ok, here’s what I think of Cori Blunt: unbelievably, mind-blowingly talented! Her applique and design work reminds me of the Disney Animation brain-trust. Can you tell that I was mightily impressed by Cori and her quilts?

So not only is she an amazing quilter – she’s a savvy Mom of five kinders and sweet! You’ll find out more about Cori when you listen to the podcast.

Luckily, I was able to meet her at Market, when she had her very first booth:

and here is a quilt that she made of her daughters. No surprise that I love this one too!

What a great way to create a portrait quilt of your children or grandchildren!

Ok, so Cori is also extremely generous…. here’s the giveaway:

There is a giveaway here on my site and one on Cori’s too.

Here are the details: (please READ, don’t SCAN )

Listen to the podcast, then go and visit Cori’s website ChitterChatter Designs and her blog Creativity Among Chaos. Leave a comment for Cori on her blog and then come back to here and leave a comment for me – and tell me what you think is amazing about Cori’s talent.

This is a perfect giveaway for someone who loves applique, hand or my machine method. Which one do you like best?

I will choose the winner on Tuesday night, July 26th and announce on my blog the next day. The winner will have 48 hours to email their mailing address to me. A new winner will be announced if I don’t hear from the winner in time allowed.

I really think you’ll enjoy finding out more about Cori and Chitter Chatter Designs. Enjoy!

©2011 Annie Smith All Rights Reserved

the Winner of A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue is: Katie M!

and the Winner of Machine Embroidered Quilting and Applique is: Desiree Kumpf!

So, winners, don’t forget to send me your mailing address —

Sorry for that agonizing delay. I’ve been recovering still from my accident and trying to plan some scathingly brilliant new things — and of course, time slips away.

Ryan, my son, calls me out today and says, “Mom, do you know how long it’s been since you’ve done a podcast ?!”

I have two coming up, packed with inspiration and prizes that you will not believe — so stay tuned! Please? ; )

 

The winner of Country Comforts is… Jocelyn!

Congratulations, Jocelyn — don’t forget to send me your mailing address.

And, if you haven’t left comments for A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue, you have until midnite, tonight to do so —

Now, on to today’s book:

Machine Embroidered Quilting and Applique

by Eileen Roche

This is a Create with Nancy book, which means there is a DVD in the back that is hosted by Nancy Zieman, featuring the book! How cool is that?! (Well, so cool in fact that I have two more Create with Nancy book titles that will be a part of the book review and giveaway in the near future — for real!)

So I have to tell you, this book is a Machine Embroider’s, machine quilter’s and machine appliquer’s DREAM book.

Eileen is considered an Expert in the industry, as she is, also, the Editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine

All of the instructions in the book are accompanied with detailed photos so you can see exactly how Eileen means for you to follow along. There are sidebar comments by Nancy Zieman throughout the book as well.

The projects in the book are simple, cool and do-able.

If you have an embroidery attachment to your sewing machine that is collecting dust because you haven’t taken the time to use it, or have been afraid to get started – this book is for you. Believe me – I have an embroidery attachment and just reviewing this book made me want to set my machine up and get going. Really — what have I been waiting for?

Eileen’s blog is filled all kinds of inspiration! And she does cool Stitching Sisters events.

To take a video peek at the book, click here.

For a chance to win this gorgeous book:

leave a comment on my website, after visiting Eileen’s blog (click on the link above) and leaving a comment for her (and your name will be put in the drawing a second time). If you let me know that you watched the video, your name will go in again.

I will pick the winner on Saturday, July 9th. So good luck!!

I have a surprising copy of a new book, A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue

a collaboration by two stellar quilters and authors, Christine Porter and Darra Williamson.

The book features 12 small quilts,  22″ x 26″,  offering a quilt for each month of year — themed!

For example, in January – Sue goes skiing, in February – Sue delivers a Valentine, and then, in March – Sue participates in March Madness! That’s collegiate basketball for those of you who don’t follow… ; )

I love the wit and whimsy of the quilts in this book — including the “Sue Says” sidebar tips. The quilts either made me smile or laugh out loud with the clever designs that Christine and Darra chose, like June’s “On a Quilting Cruise with Sunbonnet Sue” and July’s Sunbonnet Sue at the BBQ.

Christine and Darra met in 1992 at a Jimmy Beyer Quilting Seminar, They traveled between England (Christine’s home) to the U. S. (Darra’s home) to work on the quilts and the book together — a great collaboration.

For your chance to win this fun book, filled with technique wisdom from, uh, “Sue”:

Visit Christine’s website and Darra’s blog entries on the SeeHowWeSew blog

Leave a comment me here if you want to be in the drawing, for Darra on her blog for an extra point (Christine doesn’t have a blog), and I will pick the winner on Thursday, July 7th.

Lots more to come!