Beth Ferrier’s Blog

With the AQS show at Paducah less than a month away we’ve turned the studio into a workshop kit factory. My two piecing classes need the most prep work. Ordinarily the students would have received a supply list with directions to cut and sort their fabric before class. One of the classes even has a little bit of sewing in the prep work. For the kits, all of that work fell to me.

First I had to convert the directions from cutting for one to cutting for thirty. Good thing I like math, huh? Of course because the numbers were so large I would second guess myself, cut only half what the calculator said I should and then have to go back and cut the rest. Geesh.

This kit (for the Slick Slicing workshop) required a bazillion (which comes after a trillion if our congress is wondering how much to spend next) 2 1/2 inch strips and squares. I don’t use this short cut ruler very often, but for something like this it’s an amazing time saver.

Finally the pieces are sorted into numbered zip top bags. Each kit gets five bags. We’ll add thread, a sewing machine needle and the class note book, and pack them all into a nice string tie plastic envelope.

The fabrics for the Tools Rule! piecing class have been ordered and are on their way. In the mean time we’ll move on to the applique kit. To make thirty kits we’ll need templates for 120 large flowers, 180 small flowers, 300 leaves and 360 berries. Guess I’d better get back to work.

Some things you just say yes to, no matter what. When the wonderful folks at American Quilters Society ask if you’d like to teach at the show in Paducah, KY there is pretty much just one answer.

 The request came the day after my first book deadline, while I was in Houston at Quilt Market. I was already booked for the weekend of the show and ordinarily I would have just declined the invitation. But since AQS is a pretty big deal, and the group already camping out on those dates was able to shift to the next weekend, I was very happy to say yes.

 What I didn’t figure in was the amount of paperwork that would need to be done immediately. As in, before the next book deadline. As in, the instant I returned from Houston. Yikes! But  it all got done and now registration is open.

I’m thrilled to be teaching a ton of classes. One class is on a new applique technique that will be included in the new book.

Two piecing classes are available. The first is Tools Rule. This is a fantastic class for those of you who chop your stash up into strips or noodles or worms. Of course, the class will also include tons of my favorite sneaky piecing tricks and tips. (The fabric is way prettier than shown. I need to work on my photography skills.)

The other piecing class is Slick Slicing Tricks. I’ve squeezed lots of my very best sneaky piecing tricks into this little quilt.  Kits will be provided for all three of these classes, with lots of the prep work already done so we can get right down to business.

And finally, I’m teaching three classes on free motion quilting. It’s kind of funny. Guilds book me mostly to teach applique and piecing classes, but when I lecture most of the questions are about the quilting on my quilts. Even though I do mostly traditional quilts I would say that my quilting style is a little more contemporary. It is most definitely playful.

The first class, Romancing the Stitch, is an all day workshop that covers from basic design, specialty threads, bobbin work and fills galore.

Feathers and Ferns focuses on creating marvelous motifs in our quilting.

And finally, Beginning Free Motion Quilting is just the right class for those who have never dropped their feed dogs but would love to learn how.

Registration is already started and classes are beginning to fill. I’ve never been to the show at Paducah so it will be quite an adventure for me. Have you been? What words of advice do you have for me?

Of all the things my job entails, I love the teaching the best. This trip I had the pleasure of working with two groups. It was my first visit with the Orange Grove Quilters, but I was a repeat offender with the Quilters by the Sea. What an honor to be invited back.

What fun we had in a lovely, sunny room. My favorite part of the Hand Applique by Machine workshop is the last hour or so, when the student play with their applique motifs, designing their own placement. It’s such a different way to think about applique, the students relish the opportunity to freely play with their applique designs.

The Quilters by the Sea are a terrific bunch, friendly and fun. It was such an honor to be invited back! We had a great time chopping up fabric and sewing it together. It’s always a treat to see how different fabric choices change the look of the design. That’s a great bonus lesson in every class. Always take a moment or two to study your classmates’ projects. You can learn so much about fabric choices just by snooping around in class!

But all good things must come to an end. My sis picked me up at the end of the last workshop and whisked me off to the Pacific Ocean for a lovely dinner at the water’s edge.

Southern California seems larger than life to me, a simple girl from the midwest. It seems to be all those things that we see on tv: roller blades at the beach, blondes in convertibles, surfers catching waves, even in February. But in the classroom, we’re just quilters, joined together in our love of the craft, wherever we are. 

On Tuesday, November 27 at 8am Eastern Time, my Moondance segment will air again on Simply Quilts, on HGTV. Alex is as kind and generous in real life as she seems on television. This was my second time in the studio with Alex and I wasn’t nearly as nervous. Hope you enjoy the Sneaky Piecing Tricks that were demonstrated.

Just when I think I’ve seen it all, I have yet another opportunity to test my traveling-teacher skills.

Tomorrow I am off to visit the terrific folks in Lawton, Oklahoma. For the first time in my ten years of teaching on the national scene I have found that I just can’t get there from here. Well, I can, but, well, let’s just say it should be interesting.

The Saginaw airport is wonderful, just fifteen minutes away, really nice folks in charge and it can usually get me everywhere I want to go, eventually. I’ve flown from here to Brisbane, Australia. I’ve even gotten myself to Rome and Zurich.

That’s not to say that I’ve flown there directly. Oh, no, pretty much the only places I can go directly from here are Detroit Metro Airport, Minneapolis, MN or Chicago. But that’s okay because I can get almost anywhere from there. Except for Lawton, Oklahoma.

To complete this trip I’ll first visit Minneapolis (makes sense to head north to go south, don’t you think?), and then pop over to Dallas/Ft. Worth where I will have to gather my bags at terminal E and tote them over to terminal B so that I can get on yet another plane (a much smaller plane) to Lawton. So if you’ve got any extra travel angels who specialize in making connections flitting about please send them my way. Thanks ever so much!

The airport doesn’t look all that big on the graphic, now does it?  I’m hoping that lovely tramway down the middle will help me muscle my bags along. If not, I’ll be hopping a cab for a quick trip around the airport! That’ll be a story for the cabby to tell at dinner. On the plus side, according to the airport website there are several locations for a pedicure in the place. What else would a girl do with three hours layover?

Every June quilters from all over the world gather in Minnesota for their annual quilt show.  I gotta tell you, the folks with Minnesota Quilters know how to put on a show! When I first taught for them two years ago I was amazed at how big and how well organized the show was.

I’ll be back there again, for their 2007 show “Land of 10,000 Quilts”, June 13-16, to teach four classes. Two of the classes are already full, but there are spaces yet in the other two.

Without fail, the question I’m always asked during guild lectures is “how do you quilt your quilts?” I make big quilts and I quilt them all myself on my regular home sewing machine. My Machine Quilting Basics class is designed to answer all those questions, from start to finish. We’ll cover preparing the quilt, basting, using the walking foot and free motion quilting, all in one fun day at the sewing machine! This class is designed for everyone, from the absolute beginner to the experienced quilter.

While I am known best for my applique technique, piecing is my first love. As a designer, it’s my goal to create interesting designs that will help quilters improve and increase their piecing skills. My class, Fools for Tools was developed to showcase some of my favorite (and some of the smartest) tools available for quilters. Geared towards the confident beginner, this class is packed with clever cutting, piecing and pressing strategies that you can put to work on every project.

 Pre-registration for the classes continues until the end of the week. If you’re considering a quilty get away this spring, the Minnesota Quilter’s show in St. Paul is a fantastic choice. You’ll see gorgeous prize-winning quilts made by nationally known quilters, dozens and dozens of fantastic vendors and classes with some of the best teachers in the quilting universe!

The day after a nasty nor’easter cleared the coast I boarded a plane for Western New York state. The flights were mercifully easy and on time for a nice change of pace.

 A truly beautiful part of the country, Westfield, NY is filled with charming old homes, sparkling lakes and some of the nicest quilters I’ve met.

This trip was all about piecing. We had a glorious time hacking fabric into bits and chunks and sewing them together to make a wall hanging.

 These pictures are from our day of Sneaky Piecing Tricks. It was such a joy to teach these ladies. I have so much that I want to share, these students were open and receptive to new ideas.

As a teacher, it’s a challenge to pour as much information and sewing into one day as possible and still leave time for laughter and fun. Stress is for the workday! We’ll have none of it in class, thank you very much!

In the Sneaky Piecing Tricks workshop we give new meaning to being “all thumbs”. It’s such a simple trick, to use 1/4″ tape as a measure to align angled seams, but it’s a big ah-ha moment when you realize that excellent piecing isn’t magical, it’s all in the tips and tricks.