NEW WEBSITE!!!

So I've left you all hanging about the mermaids and sailboats...Wanna' know what's been going on? A NEW WEBSITE!!! My good friend Bob has done an incredible job of getting my website set up and ready to role. Check it out at: http://www.bethanyquilts.com/ Don't forget to subscribe to it! And check out all the cool tabs and links...(some of which are complete and others in the process of updating).

Of Mermaids and Sailboats ~Part 1~

I have been stitching away! Here's a sneak peek of what's next...stay tuned!

ALL NEW DESIGNS ~Part 2~

Here are the rest of the pictures from the 2 day quiltathon. Weee! It was a challenge but so worth the effort. I was delighted to be able to use several of the new stitch motifs I learned at MQS. I did not think that I would be able to master them less than a month after my business trip. I consistently practiced making the feathers & before I knew it - I was stitching them on this quilt. As for the ribbon candy quilting...I had actually decided before MQS that I couldn't do it. I was happy to discover during a class at MQS that I was WRONG! Guess what my instructor Linda Taylor made me practice for 20 minutes straight? Yes...you got it...ribbon candy and more ribbon candy. Now I'm a ribbon candy pro.

Sandy King did a beautiful job with her choice of fabrics and pattern. I loved quilting her quilt for her. Thanks Sandy for letting me have fun with it.

Feathers in the corners & borders...

As I was quilting the quilt I had no idea that I was simultaneously creating a whole cloth quilt on the backside. I was delightfully surprised at what I discovered when I unloaded the quilt out of the machine.

Here's a good view of the feathered medallions, ribbon candy, swirls and border feathers...

The skinny feathers in the sashing added movement to the middle of the quilt and tied in the border feathers...

Upclose photo of the border feathers...

I'm so proud of how well the ribbon candy quilting turned out!

The swirls were the perfect motif to fit into the small center squares...

Stitching around with ALL NEW DESIGNS!!!

Here are a few pics of the quilt that took me two days to quilt. I was so excited to be able to use several of the new techniques and designs I learned at MQS. As you can see in the photos (and several more on the way) I used 4 different feathers to fill in borders, sashing, corners and the center diamonds - and TONS of ribbon candy quilting in the braid sections. I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge and I learned a lot along the way. I surpassed many of my goals with this quilt and can't wait to feather the next one! *The part that surprised me the most when I took the quilt off the machine was that the back looked like a wholecloth design! I certainly didn't plan that! So don't miss the photo of the back of the quilt at the end of this post*

Sneak Peak!!!

Well, as you all have seen, I've been talking for the last 4 blog posts about MQS. Now you will start to see the fruit of that business trip. I arrived home so inspired to try out the new ideas I'd seen. I've been slaving away for the last 2 days over a little masterpiece. The quilt has 4 different feather motifs, swirls and tons of ribbon candy quilting. Stay tuned because there's LOTS of exciting new pictures coming soon! I can't wait to show you all!

MQS Rocked!!!

The week I spend at MQS was so worthwhile and inspiring because of what I learned from these talented quilt artists and because of the many new friendships I started. It was an absolute BLAST getting to be a Teacher's Angel (teacher's aid) for Karen McTavish and Sue Patten. I also enjoyed all the classes I took with Myrna Ficken, Mary Nordeng, Sally Terry, Linda Taylor, Claudia Pfeil, and Gina Perkes! You ladies were fantastic! Ultimately I came away from MQS with several new long arm quilting patterns to offer my customers and my brain is still buzzing with new ideas everyday. Going to MQS was like diving into the deepest end of the pool...I am excited about challenging myself with a seemingly endless array of stitched designs. I am also thinking very strongly that I might try to design a show quilt next year...hmmm. This was probably one of the best business trips I have ever taken. I LOVED it and can't wait to go back next year. Be sure to check out each teacher's website - they are all linked to their names. **See the two posts previous to this one for more information on Claudia Pfeil and Gina Perkes.

Karen McTavish

Myrna Ficken

 Linda Taylor

 

                            Mary Nordeng                                        

Sue Patten

 Sally Terry

The Crazy German Artist!

The quilting in the above photo was done by German Quilt Artist Claudia Pfeil.

Meeting German quilt artist Claudia Pfeil was one of the biggest highlights of my week at MQS. She has such an outgoing, lively and sometimes crazy, personality. She's not afraid to say and do just about anything! It was a delight getting to know her. Ornamental Pfeathers, the class/demo I took with her was nothing short of inspiring. Her creativity drives her to keep stitching at an intense pace. During the whole demo, she rarely stopped sewing. From one feather to the next, her creativity kept building. It was fascinating to see her in action.

        She also made sure to have the essentials handy....she had CHOCOLATE. Not just any chocolate...yummy German chocolates. She passed around a basket of them halfway through class. The Giotto truffles were my favorite. Later in the week, she kindly gave me a whole package of them...so now she is my friend forever :-)

In the photo above we are holding up a feather that I got to help design. After demonstrating several of her gorgeous feathers, like the one seen above, Claudia asked for 3 volunteers to design new, preferably challenging feathers for her. I raised my hand along with 2 other women. We didn't actually sew or draw the entire feather for her, just the spine - simple line drawings for her to follow with her machine. Mine, as you can see from the photo was quite curvy. When she started to stitch mine she asked: "Who's is the drunk one?" I guess you could say it looks that way. The funniest reaction we got from Claudia was when one of the other 2 volunteers handed in a feather design with a right angle in it. *It was certainly challenging! Claudia pretended to be flustered and jokingly glared at her students saying: "Alright WHO gave me this one?!" The student gingerly raised her hand. Pointing her finger at her, Claudia said, "Well, I'm going to remember you!" The whole class laughed. Claudia stitched all 3 of our feather designs beautfully. Then I asked her if we could "pretty please" have them since we designed them...she said yes.

A little bit about the Artist: Claudia has won several major awards at both American and European Quilt shows. She has won several ribbons over the years at MQS, including viewer's choice in 2009. At this year's European Quilt championships, her quilt Cordoba *seen below* won Public Choice and first prize in long-arm quilting. She is the mother of two sons and owns a quilt shop in Germany. She is an APQS representative. She also travels across Europe and America offering classes and workshops.

Favorite Claudia Quote: "Don't breathe! Just quilt!"

The following photos are posted with the permission of Claudia Pfeil. These photos of her award-winning quilt, Cordoba, were taken at MQS.

All photos stitched by Claudia Pfeil

My First Day at MQS - Gina Perkes

My first class: Fantabulous Feathers and Fills started bright and early at 8:00 Monday morning. I was so excited to finally be starting my long-anticipated week of classes at MQS. Award-winning quilt artist Gina Perkes, was ready to roll when we got to class. I learned SO much from her. She had a variety of her own unique designs to share with us. She not only demonstrated her designs, but also carefully explained the best techniques for how to do them. I highly recommend taking a class with her! The photo above is one her motifs she shared with us.

A little bit about the Artist: Gina has won several awards, such as IQA's "future of quilting" top award in 2008. She has been a guest on both "Linda's Long Arm Quilting" and Ricky Tims' & Alex Andersons' "The Quilt Show." In 2007, Gammill asked her to be their National spokesperson. She does gorgeous quilting and has made several award winning show quilts such as the one seen below. She lives in Payson, Arizona with her husband and three kids.

The best part of Gina's class was Gina. She was so laid back and fun to be with. I enjoyed interacting with her and thought that the way she handled the class was excellent. We learned so many skills, some of which were fairly advanced, without stressing!

Gina brought her award-winning quilt, Silken Defiance, for us to get an up close look at. When I asked her permission to post pictures of it she jokingly said: "Absolutely as long as you mention that I'm a super cool teacher with super cool techniques...LOL!" So let me just say...here's a super cool quilt by a super awesome teacher! To view a full shot of this quilt, go to Gina's website here.

On My Way to Kansas!

Just last Sunday I was in the air headed to the Overland Park Convention Center in Kansas. I have been planning a trip to the Machine Quilter's Showcase for months now. I was so excited when the date for my departure FINALLY arrived. MQS, for those of you who don't know about it, is a fabulous way to spend the week taking classes from international, award winning quilt artists like Karen McTavish, Sue Patten, Claudia Pfeil, Linda Taylor...and the list goes on! There was also an extensive quilt show, vendor mall, and lots of fun evening activities including a banquet with guest speaker Kaye England - she was a hoot and a half! Long story short...I had a blast and did not want to go home. I do not have much time to blog right now and will be posting lots of photos soon! In the photo below my good friend and fellow longarmer Angela and I are our way to MQS. Stay tuned! More exciting stuff coming soon!