A Week of Contrasts

Wednesday I returned from a wonderful teaching trip to Florida. I had workshops in Sarasota, Naples and Lakeland. As always, the hospitality and camaraderie was amazing. One afternoon I got to visit the Naples Botanical Garden and this little display of Air Plants was fascinating!

They were simply suspended on weighted fish lines. Each one had a personality of its own. They looked like weird and wonderful pieces of jewelry.

Needless to say, I was drawn to all the curlicues and spirals... some of my favorite shapes.

Look at the movement in this one! It looks like a wild green whirlwind.

I just wanted to wear them all. There are definitely some quilt ideas brewing from this dramatic display. The sun was shining everyday in Florida, but when I got back home the skies were leaden and grey. What a contrast! But I like contrast, so it was fine with me. It's always nice to be home.

So back in the studio there is lots to do, as the book deadline is coming soon. Plenty of writing and finishing of quilts will occupy my time this month. Here is a new Early Birds top that needs quilting. But look as this great view from my studio window. What a better place to work and play?

You may enjoy the special Valentines blog at Quilt Inspiration featuring hearts "Sassaman Style". Guess I'd better start thinking about some new Valentine ideas for 2012.

The Glorious Mess Begins!

These have been sublime autumn days. It is still warm, but we have had to turn on the heat a few times already. The vegetables are pretty much at an end except for the pumpkins and gourds. The flowers are still glowing, especially the hardy dahlias and mums. The zinnias seem determined to out shine them all!

But in the studio the GLORIOUS MESS has begun, as production for Houston Market is in full swing.
We have started cutting into the new Early Birds fabric for quilts, aprons, tea cozies, purses and pillows.
A big part of the fun is making fabric combinations for each project.

Luckily, I have some helpers to give these ideas life. Since the fabric arrived so late we are really having to hustle. We are setting up a moch booth in the corner of the studio to test out our plans. I am even sewing in my sleep, it seems! I'm not complaining, though, since this is the best part of designing fabric... seeing it come to life as fun and usable objects. But time is short!!

All thoughts of the new book have been temporarily set aside. But now is a good time to let you know it is underway and due out this spring. I am so pleased to have Dragon Threads as my publisher for this new venture. We are calling it "Patchwork Sassaman Style" and it is all about using big, bold and beautiful prints. And we will be featuring lots of pieces made with my FreeSpirit fabrics, including Early Birds. I will keep you up to date, as we have lots of ideas to share as the book comes to life. Check out editor, Linda Teufel's latest blog and she will give you some more backgound on our project, including our sunny quilting cruise!

Communication Breakdown

I feel like I have just returned from the Twilight Zone. After the big power outage we have been hit with storm after storm. I love storms, but it seems that it can't just "rain" anymore. Lightning hit our Internet tower and we were without a connection for over two weeks... not amusing when you are getting ready for a teaching trip. I really felt disconnected and discombobulated. Boo hoo! This is my apology for being absence for so long. The Internet was down again yesterday, too! So I rushed to get this posted today before something else happens.

It was also 100 degrees and humid during the communication breakdown and we had to begin taking photographs for the new book (more on that later). At this point, I have at least 50 quilts made with my fabrics that need recording and more on their way. So we soldiered on and prepared the studio for a photo shoot.

Greg set up a clever rigging for the lights and I was his assistant. Technology has changed since our last big shoot, so it was a bit nerve racking, especially since I couldn't go on line to get any tips. All went well, however, and we have another batch to do this week. But the weather is cool and lovely, so the studio will be more comfortable and the routine is established.

Here is a stack of quilts awaiting their turn in the limelight. It has really been fun to dig through all these past projects and revisit some of my favorite fabric designs. The book will be a nice record of the past eleven years of designing for FreeSpirit.

I am also making some new pieces for this venture and this is the latest. I am a minimalist at heart, even though some of my quilts are over-the-top with pattern. I quite like the simplicity and starkness of this design. The quilting should be just as clean and clear as the top.

I appliqued the quarter circles to 12" whole blocks and attached then with topstitching. The Willow Wands fabric is from the current Garden Divas collection and the rest of the fabrics are from various previous lines. This is a good design for mixing and matching from your stash. In this case, I used blues, green and pinks for a comforting and cool feeling. It also has huge graphic impact but is easy to put together... perfect for a dorm or baby quilt.

Here are some pillow cases that would be welcome in the dorm room, too. School started here this week and there were scrubbed and bright little kids and their parents on almost every corner waiting for the school bus... such memories.

Next week I'll take you on a tour of the vegetable garden, beware of mosquitoes!

Back in the Picture

Yes, I will admit it! I have been hibernating in the studio since my return from three delightful classes in Florida! My flight left O'Hare the day of the biggest blizzard of the century. It was a tense day all around. But my flight managed to take off before the worst of it, so the rest of the trip went as planned.

But after three weeks on the road, I was way behind in my fabric designing schedule! So I've had to put in some mega concentration to get the new line finished by March 1. I'm very happy with the results and have been printing the designs for shipping on Monday. I seem to measure my life by projects and it is always an exciting time when one goal is completed and another venture begins.

But there has been another project brewing during my absence! My Greg is the energy behind this adventure and I was a willing, but quiet supporter. But now that it's finished, I'm grinning from ear to ear!

My studio is connected to the garage and a large screened porch. Here you can see the garage is just a door away. Since we don't have an attic or basement the garage was filled with everything but cars. So Greg moved all the "stuff" into the porch, which we don't use much anyway, so we could turn the garage into extra studio space!!!!

Here is the cold day the door came down and the new wall was installed.

Windows came next, east and south. Basically, we are replicating the existing studio, but in reverse, as the windows are on opposite walls. Lighting and saffron colored paint made a huge improvement and laminate flooring finished it all off.

The new view looks like this! Pardon the mess, but many displaced objects are being parked in my room as we look for shelves and tables to fill the new work space.

Can you believe it? Now I can spread out!!! Time for a trip to Ikea.