It's a New Day. Every Day!

 It is such an honor and pleasure to be the "guest artist" on The Quilt Show--for the 3rd time now.

In a new studio, this time in Dallas:

This show will air January 1, 2021, and be FREE for the entire year for everyone. It features a truly exciting quilt designed by Wendy Williams of Flying Fish Kits. 

NONE of the quilts shown here are "THE ONE", but you get the idea--Wendy's quilts are bright and bold, energetic and fun to make. This quilt was designed exclusively for The Quilt Show and will only be available on The Quilt Show for all of 2021--and, best of all, the patterns are FREE FOR STAR MEMBERS!

Look at the amazing detail of Wendy's work. Here is Round The Garden, a quilt she is well known for. It is full of such intricate hand embroidery and embellishments, you can stare at it for hours:

Wendy is a well-known designer and teacher from Sydney, Australia. Her work is influenced by the bright colors, creatures and shapes of her landscape. She is most known for wool applique with amazing embellishments. Our new Block of the Month quilt does not have any wool or embellishment and just a bit of very simple applique. 

Here is one of Wendy's designs I was thrilled  would be in the Studio for taping. It is the 2020 Block of the Month quilt for Material Obsession, a quilt shop in Sydney, owned by Kathy Doughty, where Wendy teaches lots of classes. I first saw this on Instagram when  a student showed her work and I was so excited by it. Wendy should have the pattern available for sale now, if not soon:

Wendy says she likes to make Sampler quilts and this Block of the Month definitely falls in that category--BUT it is not your usual Sampler. 

Just a tease--I expect the quilt to be revealed in October, watch for a big announcement:

I learned a "new to me" technique, of folded edge freezer paper piecing. Judy Mathieson wrote about this method in her 3rd book on Mariner's Compass quilts, published in 2005. In my copy of the book I have hand-written notes and highlighted sections so I know I read about this method way back then. For this quilt I actually used it and it is such a great method for this quilt and others that use many of the same patterns over and over. I am very eager to teach it to you:

 

COVID has made things a bit different this time around. To minimize the number of people on set, only Ricky is hosting--Alex and her husband John remained in CA, along with the amazing techno-guru Mary Kay Davis. Everyone wore a mask at all times. The guest artists were provided a form of mask with a clear plastic front that we could wear during the actual taping. At least this allows our face and mouth to be seen. If the guest preferred, they could wear their own mask, but masks are required for all.  I look forward to the day this show will air and people will say "MASKS--what is up with THAT?!"

And there is no studio audience. As the guest, this seems like it will make it easier for me, less nerve-wracking to have all those people watching hour after hour of taping. BUT, no laughter either--I am energized by the laughter of my audience and I want us all to have FUN, as we learn. Oh, well, just one more thing a little different this time.

If you are not yet a member of The Quilt Show I encourage you to try the super special price of $19.95 for 6 months, currently available--or $39.95 for a full year--the lowest prices ever for this subscription service to a world-wide quilting community. You have access to ALL 13+ years of shows and so much more. Including the current Block of the Month patterns, Afternoon Delight by Sue Garman, and you will be all set to start the 2021 Block of the Month quilt--by Wendy Williams, coming in January. 

I have been a fan of The Quilt Show for a lot longer than I have been involved "behind the scenes". Check out this post to see why you should join now: What The Quilt Show Offers One of the things I love most, is when someone sends me a note to say "I finally took your advice and joined--wish I had done it sooner!" This happens a lot.

It was fun and exciting and a bit scary, but I loved every minute of my visit to Dallas for taping. The new crew seemed to learn how The Quilt Show people work and what the plan is to produce excellent shows for our audience. Behind the scenes:

And it was wonderful to work with some of the best folks in television again--Zumi, Betsy and Shelly--all have worked to produceThe Quilt Show for at least 10 years. These are really good people:

 After dinner at The Ranch at Las Colinas 

I hope you will watch when the show airs January 1, 2021. You can bet I'll remind you.

Let's quilt,

Barbara