Featuring: Eleanor Burns
Posts On: December 19, 2011 (Free from January 23, 2014 through December 31, 2020)In our 900 series finale, beloved quilter, teacher, author/publisher (of over 100 books!), longtime PBS television personality, and 2011 TQS Quilting Legend, the irrepressible Quilt-in-a-Day Lady, Eleanor Burns opens her wonderful log home and spacious studio to Alex, Ricky, and the TQS gang. After Eleanor shares her quilting history and a generous sampling of quilts, we peek in on students at work on a quick-and-easy quilt using Eleanor's Fabric Frenzy pattern. Along the way, Eleanor demonstrates her technique for sewing partial seams, and takes Alex and Ricky on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the quaint town of Julian, CA, where they sample a slice of the famous local apple pie. All in all, a "delicious" experience you won't want to miss!
Featuring: Jamie Wallen
Posts On: October 12, 2015 (Free from January 7, 2017 through December 31, 2018)Jamie Wallen loves to play. His playground is his studio: he draws pictures with his longarm machine; he paints with threads; and he uses a grid as his field when creating a new design. When Jamie was a child, his mother took in mending, and he often fell asleep to the sound of the sewing machine. As an adult, he left a highly stressful nursing career after seeing an ad in a quilting magazine, and he took to longarm quilting as easily as picking up a pencil. Jamie shares how he strives to make threadwork look like a photograph, blending multiple shades of threads to create one color. He offers ideas about printing your own fabrics, as well as creating quilt designs both simple and complex by utilizing a grid and starting with basic shapes. To open the show, Alex demos a fun and fast quilted mini basket using just two squares of fabric and a piece of fusible batting.
Featuring: Katie Fowler / Joe Cunningham
Posts On: March 27, 2016 (Free from January 7, 2017 through December 31, 2018)Katie Fowler’s work was influenced heavily by negative remarks she received from her college art professor. It caused her to change her major from Art to Education, but it stuck with her, and returned later, forming her resolve to fight fear and negativity. Katie shows her quilts, and refers to Alice in Wonderland, and the need to face fears, jump down the rabbit hole, and enjoy the ride. Katie shares her paint, layer, stitch method of quilting, using PFD fabric and some amazing “play tools.” She walks Alex through the process, noting that mishaps can turn into new and wonderful discoveries. She coaches quilters to explore their creativity and move past external factors that may hold them back. To prove her point, she does something startling to one of her quilts in progress, saying “it’s about the process, not the product.” She also shares the wisdom she gained from a devastating fire that destroyed her studio. Later, Joe Cunningham gives a tour of his San Francisco studio and shares his design process.
Featuring: Rosa Rojas
Posts On: December 4, 2016 (Free from December 24, 2016 through December 31, 2018)Being a perfectionist and frustrated with her own traditional hand appliqué results, Rosa Rojas was determined to find a better, faster and easier method for achieving the beautiful hand appliqué she desired. The result was the Apliquick tools that allow a person to make even the tiniest of perfect circles. This Spanish designer and artist says that it is all about ‘letting the tools’ do the work for you. Addicted to appliqué, Rosa even shows you how easy it is to design and make your own Hawaiian quilt.
Ricky also has a demonstration of a twisted thread chain, by machine, that will add texture and interest to your quilt work. Variations and interest can be enhanced depending on the size and type of silk ribbon or cording used.
Featuring: Carolyn Hock
Posts On: January 1, 2017 (Free from January 7, 2017 through December 31, 2018)
We're kicking off our 2000 series with another fabulous Block of the Month designed by Sue Garman. Sue's quilts are designed as skill builders, and who better to teach us the ins and outs for tackling The Halo Medallion Quilt than TQS member and pattern tester Carolyn Hock. Carolyn has made a number of BOM quilts and other featured quilt projects on TQS. From Curved Flying Geese to Delectable Mountain blocks, Carolyn is here to share some terrific ideas for making your own version of the BOM quilt.
Do you hate cutting up pretty fabric when it comes to creating a border around a block? Ricky demonstrates how to spice up your block with a square in a square technique.
Featuring: Edyta Sitar
Posts On: December 31, 2017 (Free from March 15, 2018 through December 31, 2018)Alex and Ricky welcome back Edyta Sitar who is the designer of the TQS 2018 BOM quilt, the Patchwork Barn. Edyta loves designing and making all of her own quilts. She talks about loving scrappy quilts and using an anchor to tie the parts together so your eye can rest. When she isn’t going scrappy, she loves working in blue and white as the colors are versatile and timeless. She gives tips for fabric selection, including the Rule of Five, when only working in two colors.
Edyta is a big proponent of testing out ideas and techniques before making a quilt. She shows how working small can allow you to see how colors and blocks come together before making a large version.
Want more tips? Edyta also demonstrates a clever binding technique that reduces bulk in the corner. And if that’s not enough, she introduces a second color way for the TQS 2018 BOM.
Edyta also brings part of her large collection of her own and antique quilts for a giant bed turning on the set and talks about the children’s book she wrote that includes a quilt project.
TQS BOM 2018 - The Patchwork Barn Quilt Kit by Edyta Sitar
Apliquick - 3 Holes Microserrated Scissors
