Minnesota, Here We Come!

We are beyond excited to announce that we have been invited to teach and lecture at the 2022 Minnesota Quilters Annual Quilt Show and Conference in St. Cloud, MN. Registration opens for the general public on February 1, so you have time to plan. We would love to see you at the show! Take a look at what we will be teaching. And then click the link above to see what this great show has in store for you!

Floral Elegance

Class: Wednesday, June 15, 2022; 8:30 AM–4:30 PM

This elegant vase of flowers is a wonderful introduction to basic wool appliqué and ribbonwork. Your friends will be in awe of your skill when you show them your block, but you can decide whether to tell them how easy creating these exquisite blooms really is. The class will begin with the basics of wool appliqué, as we prepare the vase and leaves. And then we will become florists: using only three new techniques, we can create all these beautiful blooms. You will be amazed how a simple running stitch can be used in different ways to create petals for our pansies and chrysanthemums, and wire-gathering does the trick for our roses. A couple of basic embroidery stitches for stems will add the finishing touches. And all the while, fun will be the focus!! 

Full kits will include all material needed to complete the block: background fabric, wool for vase and leaves, all ribbon in colors pictured, embroidery floss, and pattern.

Floral Elegance

Potstickers

Class: Thursday, June 16, 2022; 8:30 AM–11:30 AM

Potstickers are not just for dinner anymore! We designed these plant ornaments to add some fun to our potted plants, but you could just as easily create any kind of ornament with these sweet patterns. Who doesn't love having a quick and easy project to do? In this class, we will learn the basics of wool appliqué, as well as the simple embroidery stitches needed to complete your potstickers. You will have a choice of three different sets for your class project. Are you ready to add some patriotic pizzazz, fall flair, or Christmas cheer to your potted plants? They will thank you—and we will have a lot of fun in the process! Which set will you choose?

Full kits will include all material needed to complete your chosen set of potstickers: wool for background and designs, embellishments, embroidery floss, flannel backing, and pattern. You need only provide the bamboo skewers or dowels for display.

Patriotic Potstickers

Fall Fun Potstickers

Christmas Potstickers

In the Garden

Class: Thursday, June 16, 2022; 1:30 PM–4:30 PM

Join us for a walk In the Garden as we learn the basics of wool appliqué and embroidery. Again, you have a choice of which project you want to do. Whether you choose to create Cornflowers or Violets, we will begin by appliquéing the leaves with wool. Simple gathering techniques magically turn ribbon into stunning blooms, and a few basic embroidery stitches become stems, leaf veins, and flower centers. We will have a fun time discovering that there is more than one way to grow a garden! 

Full kits will include all material needed to complete your chosen block (Cornflower or Violet): flannel for background, wool for leaves, ribbon for flowers, embroidery floss, and pattern.

Violets

Cornflowers

The Stories In Our Quilts

Lecture: Friday, June 17, 2022; 10:30 AM–11:30 AM

What do quilts and stories have to do with each other? Everything, actually! Have you ever had a piece of needlework passed down through your family and wondered who made it, how they made it, and/or why? These are the stories of our families—part of our history. So often these gems are tucked away in a chest or put on a closet shelf. But there is a wealth of information within those stitches, if only we knew their stories. Our quilts give us opportunities to tell our stories. Enjoy an hour of storytelling as we share some of our favorite quilts (old and new) and the tales they tell.

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

Do you have that week in June planned yet? What a great opportunity to have some fun stitching. Vendors, a variety of talented teachers, lectures, seminars, and of course QUILTS! What more could you ask for? Hope we might meet you there!!

Minnesota Quilters, Inc. 43rd Annual Quilt Show and Conference

River’s Edge Convention Center

10 4th Street South

St. Cloud, Minnesota

www.mnquilt.org/mq2022

​

Teri's Travels: The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

I (Teri) have been to a lot of quilt shows. And I've read about the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show for years and always thought it would be wonderful to attend. This summer, I was able to check off that bucket list item during our trip across the US. This show is not just a quilt show. It is an experience that is impossible to describe in words—or pictures—and even begin to do it justice. But I will try to give you a sense of the magic. 

Beware—you might be planning a trip to Oregon next July, on the second Saturday!

 

At this point in our cross-country trip, we had driven nearly 3000 miles, so my husband thought he should get the oil changed in the car while I wandered the quilt show. (Poor him—I know who got the better end of that deal.) He dropped me off and went on his way, and I walked into town. My first stop was City Hall, a fine welcome. 

Tribute to Sisters, by Jean Wells Keenan

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show began 44 years ago, when Jean Wells hung some family quilts outside her quilt shop in town; the following year, she hung over 20 quilts made by her students. A tradition was born and the show has grown, with some 1200 quilts hung throughout the town of Sisters, who welcomes around 10,000 people to see them on the second Saturday of July every year. The quilt above was hanging in the hallway of City Hall—Jean Wells Keenan's depiction of the Three Sisters mountains, which she gifted to the town for their new city hall in 2007. 

I was drawn through a doorway to see this magnificent piece of collective art. Seventeen separate panels are hung together, each portraying the beauty of Whychus Creek; the river ties them together to create one masterpiece of fiber art. 

 From this angle, you can really see the river in one continuous flow.

Two Rivers, Three Sisters is on permanent display in Sisters City Hall. Commissioned by Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the project draws attention to the campaign to revitalize the two rivers that frame the Sisters Country: Whychus Creek and the Metolius River.

All that, and I was only in City Hall. Sisters is quite a quilty town!

 The colors of the quilt are perfectly coordinated with the colors of this tea shop.

 The quilts are grouped according to color and style.

 There was plenty of room to wander and see the quilts.  

 

 Yes, there were a lot of people wandering the streets and viewing the quilts.

Admire some quilts and grab a beverage!

 

 Even this tree trunk was bedecked with a fabric garland!

 

 More than just a clock shop!

 An appropriate quilt for the nursery!

Nature's Abundance, by June Jaeger

 2019 Raffle Quilt; Sponsored by the Stitchin' Post 

The proceeds of the annual raffle quilt are split between the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and the Kiwanis of Sisters, for programs like the food bank or local scholarships. 

 The Stitchin' Post quilt shop was an inviting stop.

The 2019 Quilt Show Poster, Bountiful Living, by Kathy Deggendorfer, hung in the window of the Stitchin' Post. I bought a panel of this lovely poster to commemorate my day in Sisters.

 The shop was buzzing with busy shoppers.

The town was welcoming, the crowd was friendly, the quilts were fabulous, and the weather was perfect. They say it takes a village, but in this case, the entire village participates in this incredible event. Over 400 volunteers work to organize, hang, and return the quilts—including the volunteer fire department. What a village! Thank you, Sisters!!