Beth Ferrier’s Blog

One of the great mysteries in my life has been how fabric gets wrapped onto the bolts. I know, it’s a goofy thing to wonder about, but it’s only 7 am and I’ve already be accused (twice) of thinking too much.

While in Chicago at the Troy Fabric warehouse event my mystery was solved. In fact, I was very nearly late for one of my lectures because I was watching these guys wrapping the bolts. I just love learning how stuff works.

The fabric arrives on the warehouse rolled on a tube. Sometimes a shop will order an entire tube, about a hundred yards or so, for special kits they may be doing. While most of us quilters love the idea of a hundred yards of fabric, few of us want a hundred yards on ONE fabric.

The tube is unwrapped and loaded into the machine. Notice the stack of bolt forms?

It only takes this fellow a few minutes to thread the fabric through all the guides. It was a challenge to get these pictures because these guys moved so fast.

 Isn’t it cool how the machine puts a fold into the fabric? He’s placing the bolt board (what are those things called, anyway?), getting ready to spin fabric into a bolt. It’s not unlike how we wind thread onto a bobbin.

You can really see the fold here, turning the fabric from flat to wrong sides together. He’s working really hard to keep those selvege edges perfectly aligned. If you ever get a messy bolt then you’ll know this is the step where they slacked off. It won’t come from Troy, though, these guys were very careful.

There’s a little meter on the machine that tells them when to stop, usually ten or fifteen yards. Here he’s taping the bolt to keep it tidy.

From here the bolts are wrapped in plastic and stored in the warehouse until a shop owner places an order.  I’d like a fat quarter of each please.

Quilt Market is this weekend. The planes landing in Houston will be loaded with quilters from around the world. Market is the wholesale show. I’ll be there to introduce my new book. Shop owners will be placing orders for fabric, some of which isn’t even printed yet. We’ll be on the look out for fantastic new gadgets, new trends and the next big thing. My camera is packed. See you there?

It’s the day before the day before Quilt Market. Tomorrow is my travel day. Once again I will hand over my quilts and class materials to the baggage crew. It’s my little leap of faith at the beginning of each trip.

My first job will be a Schoolhouse lecture at 4:20 in Room 371 B&C. Schoolhouse is a pretty fun deal, a series of mini lectures, some only fifteen minutes, others a half an hour, presented all day Friday, the day before the show opens.

 Think passing classes in high school, only on speed. And there’s even homework. Once the lectures are done (or the feet give out), attendees head back to their hotel rooms to sort through the tons of paper work they’ve collected. Many use this stuff to map their path through the exhibits.

Before the exhibit floor opens on Saturday, I’ll be teaching a Take & Teach class. I’ve been plugging away at the kits, preparing a lot of the steps so my students can get right to the fun part. With only an hour and a half for class, we won’t have much time to get to details, but we’ll be sure to cover the important parts.

Later Saturday morning, at 11 am I’ll be in EE Schenk’s Booth (1230) to sign books. I’m told we won’t have actual books, but C&T will supply book plates and send the books as soon as they’re in.

On Sunday I’ll be in C&T’s booth (1344) at 11 am and Petersen Arne’s booth (2136)  at 1 PM for more book plate signing.

You know, it’s a good thing I’ve had all this practice signing books. The first time someone asked to sign one of my patterns I was so flummoxed that I spelled my own name wrong. And it was my first name, the one I’ve had my whole life. I left out the “t”. Beh. It’s still hard not to giggle. I mean, come on! This is me, signing books.

For now I need to get back to packing. While I work I’ll be thinking of something pithy to write with my signature. Any ideas?

To say that we have fun in my workshops would be an understatement. While I’m oh-so-serious about bringing excellent applique, piecing or maching quilting tips and techniques to class, I must admit that I love my students’ laughter as much as their ”light bulb” moments when a new technique clicks home.

The ladies of the Cable Car Quilt Guild in Dubuque, IA were delightful, I must say. We had a good old time, to be sure.

Don’t you just love the super cool background fabric Barb chose? (Can you tell I took too long to snap the picture?)

Karen, one of the hardworking organizers, made great progress on her applique project.

And she kicked the stuffings out of the Sneaky Piecing Tricks class as well.

I’ve noticed that students often dress to coordinate with their projects. I’m thinking that maybe we surround ourselves with the colors and textures that we love.

Dubuque, IA is in a beautiful part of the country. The hills and valleys open up into incredible vistas. This flat lander wonders if folks remember to notice how incredible their part of the universe really is.

The drive to my next job, in Chicago, passed through more gorgeous countryside. Northwestern Illinios is also quite hilly. Our route traveled along a high ridge. One moment we would see farms and corn fields for miles to our left, and the next, the valley to the right would reappear.

Those corn fields, shading from green to golden, ran in perfect rows, up and over hills, only to tuck into little valleys. It reminded me of a cordoroy quilt, bunched and tangled over Mother Earth.

 We stopped for dinner in a tiny little town along the highway. Thinking we might enjoy a little frozen custard for dessert we pulled into a Culvers.

It was Saturday night, crisp and clear, perfect for the monthly car show. This is us, this is America. We love our cars, hopped up and decaled or sublimely restored. I feel sorry for those snotty coast-dwellers who think of us in the midwest as hicks, lost in “flyover land”. Just so you know, mister smarty-pants, it’s beautiful here, and we’re worth knowing.

It doesn’t get much better than this, a charming quilt shop, nestled into an historic downtown, and lovely people in charge of their first quilting conference. Pat and Ellen did such a terrific job of finding the very best students for me, cheerful, playful, and open to new ideas. What fun we had!

Pat’s shop is featured in the newest issue of the Quilt Sampler magazine. It’s just amazing, every inch is covered in samples and fabrics of every style.

Every nook is filled with marvelous finds. I’ll admit to leaving with a happy little bag full of fat quarters and some background fabric yardage, too.

Hannibal, Missouri is the hometown of one of my favorite people, Mark Twain. A story teller and philosopher, his observations were clever and to the point.

If you look very closely you can see Mr. Clemens waving from the center upstairs window. It was nice of him to drop by. On the weekends Becky and Tom Sawyer can be seen strolling the downtown area. I just adore old architecture and wish that I was much better with a camera. Most of my pictures came out blurry. Probably from trying to juggle a camera and a big bag of fabric. If I’d been smarter I might have taken the pictures first, but then I may have missed out on some of the fabrics, so perhaps I had my priorities straight after all.

Funny how life works out sometimes. Last month I had my first experience in renting a car for a teaching trip. Turns out I needed to rent a car to get from St. Louis to Hannibal. Being a pro at it now I elected to upgrade to a midsize car (at my own expense) and enjoyed a gentle ride through the beautiful hills of eastern Missouri.

Driving back to the airport before dawn on Sunday, I was treated to witness the sunrise over incredible vistas: valleys cloaked in a gentle fog, reflecting the pink of dawn, distant hills fading into the palest blue green. Often I thought I should stop and take a picture, but I didn’t. I just didn’t think that my little sliver of a camera and my lousey skills could ever do it justice. You’ll just have to go see it for yourself. When you get there, please tell Pat and Ellen I said hello.

Even though I have been a traveling teacher for more than a dozen years, I have never rented a car. When it comes to handling the hiccups of air travel, I feel pretty confident. But when it came to renting a car I was a big baby.

As is becoming all too common, I arrived just fine in Little Rock, but one of my suitcases did not arrive with me. Knowing that I had a four hour drive ahead of me, I decided to wait for the wayward luggage. It contained my teaching materials for the next day’s class and all of the quilts for the new book. The airline said it would take at least two days for the baggage to find its way to me, unless they decided to hold it for my trip home. Geesh.

Four hours later, with both of my bags packed into my car, I started off towards Mountain Home. Being able to rent a Ford Focus, the car I drive at home, helped me feel a little more comfortable about the trip ahead. The incredible thunderstorm that greeted me right outside of Little Rock put on an awesome show. High on the bridges I wished I was closer to the ground, rushing through standing water in the low spots, had me wishing I was back on the bridges.

But the storm passed. A few miles of fog lifting off the drying pavement gave me something else to worry about, but it too passed before long. The roads were in great shape. The traffic was very light and at last I made it, bedraggled and tired, to Mountain Home.

I must say, the members of the Hill n Hollows Quilt Guild are pretty terrific. As a program chair, Vicki is top notch, well organized, and charming. The students were so open to new ideas, and ready for fun. It was a delight for me as a teacher. I felt that they were playing along with me. It doesn’t get much bettter than that.

Too soon it was time to head home. This time I’d be making the long trip back to Little Rock during the afternoon. The weather was perfect, blue skies all the way. Taking the “scenic” route (although I think most of northern Arkansas would qualify), it was a blast to drive. Banked curves, hair pin turns, and breathtaking views opened before me. Once more, the traffic was really light so if I needed to slow to a crawl I could.

There are teachers out there who go boldly to far away lands, embracing adventure at every opportunity. I am in awe of them. I admit, I am a chicken. I’m sure that disaster awaits me at every turn. But I hang on to this quote by one of my favorite philosophers, Mark Twain who says, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” I may be shaking in my shoes, but on I go.

What do you fear? Do you let it keep you from following your dreams? What’s the worst that could happen? (Oh, wait, maybe we don’t want to go there.)

I’m off today, to Mountain Home Arkansas. After more than twelve years of teaching, this trip will bring my first experience with a rental car. I’m hoping for a Ford Focus, with Sync, so I can listen to my book on the mp3 player. I’ve downloaded The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, which should carry me from Saginaw to Mountain Home.

 I don’t know how much time or energy I’ll have at the end of my teaching days, so I wanted to post a heads up for the Sweet Peas coming this Friday. The Sweet Peas will be just a little more challenging than the Roses. The hardest part is the small, pointy leaves. I’ve put all the prepared pictures on a jump drive (so that’s what those things are for!). If time allows I’ll post a tutorial on glue basting these leaves while I’m gone. If not, it will follow early next week.

For the first time I’ve created full size applique diagrams. I found, as I laid out the center applique, that I really wanted a reference diagram, and I figured you’d want one too. Because these layout guides take several pages each, they will be posted with separate links.

You’ll need to trim and paste the pages together. The lines are extra thick so they can be seen through light colored fabric. If you’re using a dark background you may wish to trace the designs onto clear vinyl, which can be found at chain fabric stores. Some quilt shops also carry it.

There will also be an “Alternate Border” layout, which I will be using. My bed is a four poster. Any applique in the corners would be lost in tucks and folds. Who wants to work so hard on beautiful applique only to have it disappear? Not me!

Applique in the corners looks fantastic on the computer screen, or when the quilt hangs in a show. But my quilt is destined for my bed (well, actually all of my big quilts are destined for beds), so I designed this alternate layout.

But if you really love the existing layout, the full size diagram will be posted too.

If you’ve done as I have and created mirror image flowers you’ll find that they don’t necessarily fit perfectly, mine didn’t. Even though these are actual size diagrams we don’t have to be slavish about matching them. They are GUIDElines, not the RIGHTlines.

Oh, and the juries still out on whether I’ll add the berries to my design. I’m still stitching down the center applique. Once that’s done I’ll decide if berries are gilding the lily or the cherry on top.

It’s been a week since I returned from teaching for the American Quilters Society in Paducah, Kentucky. It’s taken that long to regroup and recover from the big push to have everything ready for classes. The kits seemed to be a big hit. All of my fears (that they would hate the fabric choices, think the kits cost too much, discover that the kits were missing some vital part, and on and on) were completely without merit. (Yes, Karen, “I told you so,” would be appropriate here.)

This was my first trip to Paducah for the show, let alone my first time teaching. The show was wonderful and the quilters seemed to be very happy to be there! Click here to see the spectacular winning quilts. The vendor booths were hopping, proving once again that quilters are the backbone of our economy. Even with the short time to shop between classes I found a couple of treasures to bring home.

After a couple of false starts my Challenge quilt was finished in the nick of time and packed off to Kentucky. In the end I added a light blue print to give the challenge fabrics a little breathing room.

It was a treat to see my quilt hanging with the others in the Pilgrim & Roy Invitational Challenge.

And nice to know that some folks liked it enough to take a picture. See, I told you that the quilt makers lurk at the shows to hear the comments about their quilts. Be nice! Save the critiques for the ride home, please!

 I thought that the quilts were especially terrific this year. Libby Lehman used rick rack to decorate hers, which made me really sad that I decided against the rick rack in the flowers at the last minute. One of the other quilts just knocked my socks off. It was hung at a right angle to the rest of the quilts so I couldn’t get it into the group shot.

 Sorry that it’s a little warped, because of the way it was hung it was tough to get a good shot. But wowsers! And like a dork, I didn’t write down the name of the maker. I wasn’t familiar with her name, and I couldn’t get it to stick in my head.

Just because I know someone will ask, here’s a close up of my quilt to show the quilting.

The collection will travel for the year. For information to borrow the quilts for your quilt show, click here. The quilts will then be auctioned off at the show next year, proceeds to benefit the National Quilt Museum. It was a really honor to be included again.

Mostly I have good travel karma. So far all of my travel adventures have come on the trip home. It’s a lot easier to take hiccups in airline schedules when there isn’t a group waiting for me to speak. I have missed connections, spent hours on the tarmac (in a raging thunderstorm), even slept in the airport overnight (more than once!), but all of these snafus have come on the trip home.

My trips usually begin with a connection at Detroit Metro. I like the Northwest terminal. To get from B/C to A we get to go through this really cool tunnel under the runways. The colors range from cool and frosty to hot and zippy. The music is kind of cosmic, underwaterish or outer spacey. I’m always sad when I have to run through to catch the next flight.

I’ve had Elite status with Northwest for a couple of years now, and it’s pretty amazing. The best part for guilds is that I’m not charged for my checked bags, and they can weigh up to 70 pounds before there is a charge. Now there is no way I’m going to pack a seventy pound suitcase (I’ve already messed up my neck, my shoulder, my hands and even had a double hernia, thank you very much), but if one suitcase weighs 54 pounds and the other ends up 45 I don’t have to rearrange stuff to avoid the charge.

Elite status folks get rebooked faster, which is very handy when I need to get myself somewhere in time for a lecture. And every now and then, I get bumped to first class, which is super nice.

This month I flew to Chicago for the terrific quilt show in Morris, IL and then less than a week later, I was off to Indianapolis, IN to visit with the fantastic guild there. I knew I would have plenty of time on my hands, with pretty long layovers so I packed myself a kit of applique to work on while I waited.

Everything a girl needs to applique on the go. A pile of glue sticks (which I discovered do not count as a liquid or gel and don’t have to be confined to a quart bag, whoo hoo!), a pair of blunt tip scissors, a couple of “magic wands”, a small cutting mat to work on and scads of trimmed applique shapes.

 I started by working on some darling little starry flowers for a magazine project (Fabric Trends, on the newsstands in June) and then moved on to work on the applique for Now & Forever. Applique is so portable, all I need is a quiet corner and a steady knee. By the time I returned home I had all of the magazine project flowers and about half of the N&F roses done and ready to sew. Where do you applique?

Almost all of the applique shapes for Now & Forever have been trimmed. Tidy little seam allowances quietly wait for their turn with the glue. For the next how ever long it takes you can expect to find a little zip top bag, packed with appliques and glue, tucked into my purse or tote bag. I’m off to Morris, IL in a couple of days for Pieces From The Heart Quilt Guild’s quilt show. I’ll be glue basting at the airport between flights and in the evening while resting up from a busy day of teaching. With any luck, by the time I head home on Sunday I’ll have all the flowers basted, docked and ready to stitch. See you there?

In early March I’m teaching at a quilt show put on by Pieces From the Heart Quilt Guild of Morris, IL. These ladies have been working hard to make the show a success. I have to admit, as an avowed quilt show shopper, the vendors list has me looking forward to my free time!

To make it easy for folks to register online they’ve put the classes up on eBay. Of course, the event planners asked my permission before posting the class, and I happily agreed. This is a first for me, and I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. It seems like a terrific way for a guild to be able to handle credit card (or pay pal) payments for classes without having to deal with a merchant account. It also allows for online registration without having to pay for a high end web page.

 What do you think? Would you buy a class on eBay?

And how about that “Miracle on the Hudson”? I just can’t seem to get that crazy water landing out of my mind. I’m not afraid to fly, but flying has become a bit of a test of wills. The vast majority of the time I arrive on time, with all of my luggage. My trip karma is good, all of my travel adventures, so far, have been on the way home. But each I time I leave for a trip there is always that little worry in the back of my mind that I won’t be on time for my lecture, and that there’s really nothing I can do about that.

As I watched the news unfold, seeing the folks plucked off the wings of that floating plane, all I could think about was how they were now all late for whatever they were heading to. (As if surviving a plane crash is nothing more than a hiccup in their travel plans.)

And then I thought about my quilts. My favorite quilts, would be under water, in the belly of the plane, for how long? How long would I have to wait to get them back? And what kind of shape would they be in after being wet for so long. (The good news, the Hudson is salt water at that point and salt helps to prevent colors from running.)

If nothing else, this amazing event has reinforced my habit of asking for exit row seating. Prized for the extra leg room, it comes with the bonus of being the first out. Works for me.