You have asked for it, and now here it is!
I am so happy to announce QuiltingStash TV is finally HERE!

There are three ways to enjoy the show

1- Download either the video OR the audio podcast version of the show from iTunes (click the button below)

Downloading via iTunes will allow you to save the show to your iTunes application and sync it onto your iPod, iPod Touch, or iPhone for later viewing.

Or

2- play the video here on the blog page by clicking the video below!

Running time: 00:17:22

3 – Click the podcast button below and download the file to your computer to listen to directly or sync on your iPod.

Running time: 00:17:22 Size: 16 MB

Quilting is such a visual craft and while podcasting allows us to listen about quilting while we’re on the run, videos will help me show you some of the things I could only talk about before.

If you’re wondering, I am still going to blog on this website and do audio-based podcasts when it’s appropriate. I also do want to introduce video-based podcasts (called vidcasts) to my “stash” of tools.

To view the video, you can either download it from the iTunes podcast location or simply click the vidcast link above! Pretty easy, huh?

In this episode, I tell you about projects I’m working on, and share with you a few things I saw at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California.

Here is a list of items I mention. Please browse and visit links to these sites:

Robin’s Eagle Scout Service Project

Gina Halliday’s Threaded Pear Online Store

Tracy Souza’s Plumcute Designs™

Bareroots embroidery patterns

Clover™ needle threader

Thread cases – where to find them on the cheap!

Wildwood fabric line by Erin McMorris from Free Spirit fabric

News about Mark Lipinski

Don’t forget to check out my online quilt classes HERE.

We are having so much fun in my online classrooms. Students from all over the world are making quilts and sharing them with each other and YOU. Be sure to visit the classroom main site and look around for the picture galleries that are filling up with our student projects.

Be sure to send me an email so we can add you to our mailing list for special offers on my boutique, special giveaways, and discounts on classes at Quilting Stash Classroom!

Click HERE to drop me a line – be sure to include:
your real name
your real phone number
your real home address

We don’t sell or give-away any of your personal information to anyone. We use it only for the purpose of sending you cool stuff and letting you know about special events and products available through Quilting Stash.

Be sure ant let me know what you think about the vidcast format. Please leave a comment and tell me your two cents! I’d love to hear from you.

Happy Quilting,

Annie Smith

Hi, this is Robin – Annie’s son. I have a special request for all Quilting Stash listeners and readers.

I am a Boy Scout – from Post 706 in Morgan Hill and I am working on the last project before I achieve my Eagle Scout rank.

Because my Mom is such a huge quilter and fan of quilting, I thought I would make my project a quilting project! I plan to make 100 comfort quilts for a local hospital to give to extended-care pediatric patients. These kids often have to undergo painful treatments or surgeries and they might appreciate the extra comfort of a quilt they can take with wherever they go. They will also be able to take the quilts home with them when they leave the hospital.

When they leave the hospital, these 36″ x 44″ tied quilts will continue to give them comfort and help them realize that they survived their medical ordeal. It will be an optimistic object in their lives.

There are three ways you can help: donate materials, donate a completed quilt, or donate money for materials.

If you want to make a comfort quilt for my project, please make it from two solid, 1 yard pieces of 100% cotton fabric and sandwich a piece of medium loft, polyester batting in-between. Tie the quilt every 6 inches with embroidery floss, trim the edges and stitch around the quilt with a zig-zag stitch to finish it. Very basic. When you have completed your quilt(s), please send them care of SimpleArts, 14938 Camden Ave. Ste. 29 San Jose, CA 95124.

If you want to just send me any spare materials, here’s what I need:

• 100% cotton fabric – 1 yard minimum
• polyester batting – 1 yard minimum (medium loft)
• thread – for sewing the quilt edges (white is good)
• embroidery floss – for tying the quilts (any color)

Please send the materials as soon (use the same address as above) as possible as I have about 100 volunteers gathering in two weeks to put these quilts together in a youth service project.

If you want to just donate money so I can purchase the materials I need, please CLICK HERE, and donate via the SimpleArts donation button. Make sure to put a note in the donation form that the money is for my Eagle Service Project.

Thanks,

Robin

Recently I completed the very first class for Quilting Stash Classroom. It was the Quilter’s Palette sampler quilt.

We had over 60 participants from 7 different countries – most of them from the US. Feedback on this class was remarkable! I am so proud of it’s success; we have 19 finished quilt tops already and many more nearly done!! Isn’t that great?!

These quilters should be congratulated for a job well done! Please go to the Student Gallery link and view their completed quilt tops. Be sure to scroll down to the Sesson 1 gallery. Their completed quilt tops begin around page 11.

Once you’ve seen the pictures, be sure to come back here and make a comment about which finished quilt top strikes your fancy and why! Students would LOVE to see your comments.

Running time: 00:37:28 Size: 34 MB

I had a lot of fun sitting around the kitchen table in Mimi Dietrich’s home and talking about Baltimore quilts, Diary quilts, and other things.

I got a chance to meet long time listener of the program, Linda Kabota from Thailand. She brought me some really cool goods:

Not long ago, I made chocolate chip cookies from the recipe in the Lizzy B girls latest book, “Whimsyland.” I commented on this blog how I burned my fingers attempting to rescue a hot sheet of cookies coming out of the oven.

Lizzy B girls to the rescue one more time! They sent me a pair of homemade hot pads with a note:

Nobody can have a bad day when you get a care package like the one I did from Aurifil threads! These spools are fantastic!

Don’t forget to check out my online quilt classes HERE. Here’s a picture of student, Pat Leask, in her work area – watching the online videos and working on her project! She looks right at home. Pat, why aren’t you in your JAMMIES?!

Be sure to send me an email so we can add you to our mailing list for special offers on my boutique, special giveaways, and discounts on classes at Quilting Stash Classroom!

Click HERE to drop me a line – be sure to include:
your real name
your real phone number
your real home address

We don’t sell or give-away any of your personal information to anyone. We use it only for the purpose of sending you cool stuff and letting you know about special events and products available through Quilting Stash.

Running time: 00:28:13 Size: 26 MB

Yeah, if it were only a real vacation, not a working one — but I’m not complaining!! I had the time of my LIFE this Summer. Beginning in January of this year and my Quilting Stash Coast-to-Coast trip, I had no idea that I would be traveling so much this year — all having to do with quilting (well, almost all!).

Here is the run-down and highlights of my Summer:

North Carolina:

Thimble Pleasures Quilt shop has moved from Carrboro to Chapel Hill. To see pictures of their NEW fabulous store, click on this link: New TP Quilt Shop

Where Celeste and I had dinner: Mama Dip’s, a North Carolina institution!

A Southern Season all foodies need to apply ; )

Baltimore, Maryland:

I met Barbara Burham — an incredible quilter who decided to recreate an antique Baltimore Album quilt that she bought on eBay.

A block from the original quilt. You can see the stains and deterioration of the quilt and fabrics, but you can also see the beautiful detail in the hand applique and quilting.

Here is the new block. Barbara used fabrics that would most closely mirror the fabrics in the original quilt. Marty and Barbara worked together to create quilting that would best represent the original quilt as well. This quilt is a MARVEL!

Mimi Dietrich and Marty Vint, discussing Baltimore Album Quilt history in the Baltimore Historical Society Museum.

Mimi, Barbara, Marty and me with Robin’s ‘Thinker” at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The museum has an extensive collective of Rodin pieces, as well as one of the best restaurants that I have ever had lunch at – not cafeteria fare by any means. If you go to the museum, plan on eating there — you’ll be amazed!

Pennsylvania:

On to Pennsylvania to meet up with the Red Rose Quilt Guild — this was my very first trip to Pennsylvania!! And it was a great one!

One of the many Amish quilts in the collection at the Lancaster Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Inspiring!!

Here’s a link to the Central Market.

The Lititz Area Event Calendar so you can find out more about the area and what’s happening.

A little trip to the Wilbur Chocolate Factory… the give out freebies to everyone. This is one of their signature dipped marshmallows. The castle that you see behind my little friend is ALL chocolate. Wilbur Buds, the first original “kiss” is heavenly.

John Sutter is buried in Lititz – best known for the gold that was discovered at his mill that began the Gold Rush, my state’s history. It was cool to see how he influenced Lititz as well.

My hostess, Vicki’s past Presidents quilt. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Here is my bud, Julie Broderson, Quilting Stash listener and contributor, who is responsible for bringing me out the Red Rose Quilt Guild. It’s always a pleasure to meet and hang out with listeners!

And on I go to Liz’s of Lizzie B Cre8ive:

Valley Forge Park is in Liz’s ‘backyard” — she rides bikes there with her dad.

The Log Cabin Quilt shop in Bird-in-Hand – fabulous fabrics at even more fabulous prices.

Liz and Christine looking at the detail of this wonderful quilt, that was for sale. It was a steal!

The Kling House is a great place for lunch – Liz’s favorite.

The Old Country Store, quilt shop area. They have an online store — and their prices are amazing!!

Quilts for Sale! Isn’t this one on the bed a beauty?!

Here is Liz and me, contributing to each other’s delinquency…

Guess whose shose are who’s? ; )

Here’s a link to the Dansko Outlet ONLINE — I had no idea until I did this podcast that you can get their great shoes at great prices online.

New Jersey:

Quilting Stash listener, Debbie Markowitz, from Jerusalem, Israel, was visiting family in New Jersey and stopped by Aardvark & C. to meet me!

To hear more about my New Jersey trip, listen to the podcast with Mark Lipinski.

Now — on the road with “the band” – Pacific Lights (formerly Sleepwell):

Halfway into the trip, we finally crossed the border into Texas. The boys were so happy to get out of the trailer-pulling Suburban!

I hope you liked their new release, “Move Me” on their new CD Sunnyside.

The boys also enjoyed a little impromptu street concert in Tempe, AZ on a hot summer night:

They drew a good crowd — that is, until they had men on horseback…

Who shut them down… well, it happened to the Beatles too ; )

I’m “thinking” that I had a pretty great Summer!

I’m happy to be home for a little while, as I will start traveling again in October and November and December and … you get the picture…

I hope your summer was great, too!!

©2009  Annie Smith  All Rights Reserved

Running time: 00:28:09 Size: MB

Elly and I had a brief window of time to chat at the end of session 2 of the Empty Spools Seminar last March. What strikes you most about Elly is what a gentle and gracious lady she is… then you discover that she has a great sense of humor.

Visit Elly’s website to learn all about the Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy, celebrating it’s 15th year in 2010!

As an Artist in Residence, I will teach “Exploring Fabric Choices for Applique” on Thursday, February 11th.

©2009  Annie Smith   All Rights Reserved

Here I go — something I thought I’d Never do. One of these days, I will learn not to say NEVER…

Mine is the one in blue.

How could a mom resist those darling faces? So, I’m meeting up with them in Denver today — to chaperone for 10 days. And I thought my Coast-to-Coast road trip was bad ; )

The boys have just released a new CD “Sunnyside”. Below is a list of places that Pacific Lights will be playing for FREE at a local mall! Come and listen, bring your teenagers and we’ll do a meet-up where the guys are performing! If you’re going to join us, comment below and I’ll be on the look-out for you. I’ll be right outside the entrance —  and we’ll be there 30 minutes before and 1 hour (or more!) after the performance.

All performances are P.M.

August 5 — DENVER, CO, Hot Topic store: Northfield at Stapleton Mall at 5:30

August  7, & 8 — DALLAS, TX

August 9 — AUSTIN, TX, Hot Topic, Barton Creek Square at 6:30

August 10 — EL PASO, TX, Hot Topic storeCielo Vista Mall at 5:30

August 11 — ALBUQUERQUE, NM, Hot Topic store, Cottonwood Mall at 3:30

August 12 — PHOENIX, AZ, Hot Topic store, Village at Desert Ridge at 6:30

August 13 — SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — location will be announced soon

HOPE TO MEET YOU THERE!

Running time: 01:12:00 Size: 33MB

My bud, Mark Lipinski, caught up with me at our favorite Morris Plains, NJ quilt shop – Aardvark & C. Actually, he surprised the heck out of me — which you can see on Mark’s blog, June entry.

Mark and me at Aardvark & C.

Mark surprised my Exploring Fabric Choices students too–

Pat, Ellen, Lisa and Claudia.

Mark’s Smurfy shoes after slogging around in the chicken coop — ew!

How cool does “Quilt Out Loud” sound?!  I can hardly wait to see it, so I have to join up now.
Ok – so did you write down the code? If not, go back and listen – and tune in.

Don’t forget to visit Mark’s website at marklipinski.com to keep up with Mark’s whereabouts.

The Pickle Road Garden class registration info is up and the introductory video is available for viewing by following the classroom link.
Class begins on August 7th – so don’t delay. You’ll want to get your fabric selections set up in time for class.

The Quilter’s Palette class is just finishing up and there are student photos in the Gallery section of the classroom. The next Quilter’s Palette class will begin on August 28th and the registration for that class will be up soon as well.
In addition, the Spring Retreat information is available by clicking on the Retreat link – I’m doing two sessions at Clear Lake in March and April in 2010.

Happy Quilting!

©2009  Annie Smith  All Rights Reserved

Hi All,

Many of you have asked for a sample video to see whether your connection has the umpf to play Quilting Stash Classroom videos. I have just released an introductory video to the Pickle Garden Road to tell you a little more about the online class and to help you test the throughput on your home systems.

I’m pretty sure if you are able to see this video, you’ll be able to watch the lesson videos and participate in the online class. Give it a try and CLICK HERE!

Annie