Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Quilters.
It is time to make your resolutions for the new year.
Will you share with us your quilting resolutions?
How about some of these:
Expand your color combinations. Try at least one project using fabrics you haven’t used before.
Take a class in a new technique.
Teach a class to friends, your guild, in a shop. You don’t need to know everything to teach a class. You do need to have an open mind and you should like to share ideas.
If teaching a class is intimidating for you, try learning one technique and doing a short demo. A good place to start is with the Tip sheets on our website www.kayewood.com, or the tip videos on www.kayewoodTV.com.
We will soon be setting up the Quilting the Kaye Wood Way Teacher Certification classes for 2009 and 2010. If you want classes near you, let us know. We may be able to set one up near you. We keep the classes small and limit them to quilting teachers or potential teachers.
Have a great 2009. And keep on quilting.
Kaye
2 By 2!
Hi Quilters
My new quilt and pattern are ambling along. Noah’s Ark, Noah and Noah’s wife are waiting for the embroidered whimsical animals who are frolicking two by two along their way to the ark.
Take a look at one of the TIPSY blocks that will be going to the ark.
The embroidered designs will soon be available from Kaye Wood Inc. along with the printed pattern and e-pattern.
Registration for the Arizona seminars is coming along fine. Also we have several people signed up to become certified Quilting the Kaye Wood Way teachers in the Phoenix area. People who have become certified will be listed on our website to help you in locating teachers and classes in your area.
We have had a few days of rain this week in Sun City. Sorry to say but that is winter for us. For those of you living in the north, I hope you are out and about enjoying the snow.
I hope you have all of your Christmas projects finished and ready to go. My wish to you is that you have a very happy and blessed holiday season.
Kaye
New Teacher Training Classes Coming To Arizona and Michigan
Hello Quilters
I promise no more comments about how nice the weather is here in AZ.
But, I do want to let you know about our new Teacher Training program for Quilting the Kaye Wood Way.
At the present time, we are starting this in Sun City, AZ. Hopefully, before I leave for Michigan in April, we will have several Certified Teachers in Arizona. Then, in the spring, we will begin having these teacher training sessions in Michigan.
Any of you who have been thinking about teaching quilting, here is your chance to be a Certified Kaye Wood Way Teacher. You can add this to whatever other quilting classes you are now teaching, or begin your teaching career.
Good quilting teachers are needed in quilt shops, sewing machine dealerships, quilt guilds, senior centers and many other places. A good travelling quilt teacher can make a good income, depending on how much he/she wants to work. You might be hired at a fixed income, or you might be able to set your own fees. If you like to teach and you want to increase your income, sign up to take one of our Certification classes.
Have a great quilting day.
Kaye Wood
Greetings From Sunny Arizona!
Good Morning Quilters,
In addition to enjoying the weather and the pool, I have actually been working on a new quilt pattern. It starts with embroidered designs of Noah’s Ark. Whimsical animals, two by two, march across and around the quilt top. Each block is what I am calling “Tipsy” blocks. You’ll have to wait for more information;-)
The charity quilting cruise plans are coming along nicely. Have you signed up yet? Go here for info:
If you don’t come with us, we will talk about you. And you will miss a fun time. There will be lectures, sharing, get-togethers, and other fun cruise related stuff as well as helping all the cruisers to make quilts for charity.
I’ve only been here a little over a week, but I have given in to my addiction. I have been to the closest quilt shop to buy fabric twice.
It would help my wallet if the fabric was ugly, but I find it hard to resist the wonderful range of colors. So I don’t.
Have a great day and go out to support your local quilt shop. Tell them I sent you.
If you can’t shop today, at least hug your fabrics.
Kaye
West Branch Seminar
Hi Quilters
We had a fun seminar in West Branch last weekend. What a great group of people. If you weren’t there, we missed you, but we talked about you. I really enjoy sharing all of my original techniques with you and showing you so many of my quilts. Lori, Brenda and Kathleen did such a good job carrying the quilts so you could see them up close. If you weren’t there,
Each time I do a seminar, I add new things so it is never a repeat of the last time. With that in mind, you will want to watch for next year’s West Branch seminar.
And I am always open to suggestions on how to improve the seminars.
If you have friends in Arizona, tell them about the two upcoming seminars in February. Details are on our web page. Some of you travel a long way to see my seminars, so why not come to Phoenix. We had people at the West Branch seminar from Canada, New York and Ohio.
As many of you know, I am now in Sun City, AZ. The temperature will be in the 80s today. My quilts are not here here so I am having separation anxiety. But they will join me shortly so all will be ok.
We are getting close to the cut off date of our quilting cruise scheduled for June 6-13, 2009. If you are thinking about it, get your emall deposit in soon. If you are not thinking about it, why not? What is better than sailing around with quilters? There is always a chance that the cruise line will pull the cabins reserved for our group if deposits are not made. Go here for more info: http://www.kayewood.com/tips/cruise_2009_.pdf
Have a great day.
Kaye
Quilting The Kaye Wood Way Comes To West Branch, MI
Hi Quilting Friends!
I hope to see lots of you at my Quilting the Kaye Wood Seminar in West Branch, MI, on Saturday, Nov 15, 2009. It’s always so much fun to share new ideas and techniques with you. I love to hear the amazing response to my original sewing and cutting tips that will save you time and lower your frustration level. These tips eliminate the “slow downs” in quiltmaking, such as ripping out stitches.
You’ll see some of these techniques, such as perfectly matched seams (many without any pins), the perfect easy Y-seam, perfect mitered corners on your quilt binding.
We hear lots of comments like, “This is so easy” and “Why didn’t I think of that”.
Have you ever wanted to make a Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt? With my quick tips, this design is easy to cut and piece. Have you checked out my Hexagon Video on YouTube? Forget those difficult flying geese methods where you have to pay close attention to the directions. They can be so much easier when you learn the tricks.
Think about some problems you might have run into in your quiltmaking. Let me know what they are and I’ll try to simplify and eliminate these problems. This is the part of quiltmaking that I really enjoy-the problem solving.
To get ready for Saturday, you might want to take a look at the tips on my website www.kayewood.com, or view some of the video clips on www.kayewoodTV.com.
See you on Saturday. Here’s a tip: when I do a seminar in West Branch, you see more of my quilts than when I teach anywhere else. You’ll be in for a treat!
Kaye
Donate Your Used Sewing Machine To A Good Cause!
Good Morning Quilters!
Are you cleaning out your sewing rooms? Do you have a used sewing machine you’d like to donate to a good home, and a good cause? Women in New Orleans are seeking sewing machines to replace ones lost in Hurricane Katrina three years ago. Diocese of Louisiana case manager Ann Ball said, “Women not only sew to provide clothes for their family but also do tailoring for customers and make Mardi Gras costumes.”
She notes that with many still struggling to put homes and lives back together; money for sewing machines is scarce.
Ball said she will distribute to needy clients any machines shipped to her.
Ball’s discovery of the extensive need for sewing machines by her clients was “a fluke.”
“One day, an elderly, feisty woman told me she missed her sewing machine because it brought her ‘peace of mind.’ She couldn’t begin to afford one; we were trying to get her plumbing for her kitchen and bathroom.”
The longer Ball listened, the more frequently she heard that “sewing machines are essential for many poorer households here, since the women not only make clothes for their own children, they also make Mardi Gras costumes and do tailoring for other people.”
Social service agencies do not consider sewing machines essential, so while deserving people can receive refrigerators or beds from agencies, sewing machines remain out of reach.
Nevertheless, said Ball, “I have clients who grieve over the loss of their machines. They simply cannot replace them now because they have too many other needs for their money: increased rents, increased utilities, furniture, school uniforms, supplies, etc.
“They not only used their machines to generate income but their sewing also gave them great peace of mind and tranquility,” she said.
On the “off chance” that Ball receives more sewing machines than she can distribute through the Office of Disaster Response, Margaret Jankowski, creator of The Sewing Machine Project http://thesewingmachineproject.org/, has promised to help.
According to its website, “The mission of the Sewing Machine Project is to give people a tool that will not only help them mend their own lives but also will give them a way to take an active role in the rebuilding of their community. Since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Jankowski has made five trips from her home in Madison, Wisconsin to deliver over 350 donated machines to New Orleans.” Sewing machines are distributed at Grace Episcopal Church http://www.gracecanalstreet.org/index.htm.
On the “off-off chance” that The Sewing Machine Project is unable to distribute surplus machines, Ball will work through the diocesan partnership with the Diocese of Honduras http://www.anglicano.org/ to dispense machines “for use in cottage industries.”
“I hope I can’t get to my desk because my office is overflowing with sewing machines,” Ball said. “And I have no doubt that every machine will find a grateful home.”
Machines may be sent to:
Ms. Ann Ball
Case Manager, Diocesan Office of Disaster Response
St. Paul’s Homecoming Center
6268 Vicksburg St.
New Orleans, LA 70124
The address is valid until the end of the year.
LoveQuilt Cruise Sails in June!
Hi Fellow Quilters
Things have really been busy lately. I just returned from the International Quilt Market in Houston, Texas. I walked the show, visited with lots of friends, had several meetings and had lots of fun. With me was Mary Kaeser, National Coordinator for the non-profit LoveQuilt Connection.
Mary and I met with Diane from Blank Fabrics. We will be coming out with at least one fabric to use for our LoveQuilt Events around the country. As time goes on, we will add more fabrics to this line. This fabric will be available through Kaye Wood Inc and also through shops nationwide. Sales from this fabric will help to support our national events.
There will be some other surprises soon on companies who want to support our effort to provide quilts to people who need a little extra love.
Now on our upcoming quilt cruise, scheduled for June 6-13, 2009. I chose this cruise because it will be one of the first going to the Turks and Caicos Islands, and I’ve never been there. I chose Carnival because they are relatively inexpensive, are very cooperative, and a little less formal than some of the other cruise lines.
As far as we can tell, this is the first ever quilting cruise where quilts are made for charity. The cruise will be lots of fun. After learning the techniques for the 6 Hour Quilt, our quilters can volunteer to help non-quilting cruisers to help with making the quilts. Our goal is to make 60 quilts during the cruise; these will probably be donated to Quilts of Valor, for our wounded warriors.
There will also be several lectures, sharing and group events for the quilters on board. Come aboard and sail with our quilters for a week of fun, sharing, learning and giving. You can see more info here:
http://www.kayewood.com/tips/cruise_2009_.pdf
Kaye
Home From San Diego, On To Houston!
I am back from San Diego. This trip was just for fun; no quilting business.
My husband and I flew out for a Jimmy Buffett concert. Yes, for those of you who do not know it, we are all parrotheads. Our sons from Alaska, Los Angeles and San Diego were there. And I even wore a parrot hat along with the required Jimmy Buffett shirt. We had space on the grass looking down at the stage. Of course, no one sits; we have to be able to dance, wave our arms, wave the fins, and all that stuff. I know none of this makes sense unless you are a Buffett fan.
Now that we are back home, it’s time to get ready to head to Houston for the Quilt Market. There is always so much excitement at this show-meeting up with old and new friends, seeing what is new on the quilting scene, forging new alliances and partnerships, and wheeling and dealing to help grow the quilting industry.
It is always great to see so many new people (authors, designers, sales reps, publishers, etc.) and new products. As long as new ideas come into quilting, we will keep bringing more new quilters into the fold.
So, off I go again.
Kaye
LoveQuilt Connection!
Hello Quilters
Have you jumped on the LoveQuilt bandwagon yet? I am really excited about all the plans that Mary Kaeser, our National Coordinator, is putting in place.
We are working on the 2009 schedule for these events. Included are Phoenix in January, Puyallup in February, and lots more including May 26-31 Reno Nv Creative Girlfriends, June 6-12 Cruise Miami, FL, Sept 24-28 Novi MI. If there is an event scheduled near you, please come, sit and sew with us for a few minutes. You can help make someone’s life a little better and learn the 6 Hour Quilt technique. And of course, join us on the LoveQuilt Charity cruise in June.
Let’s make enough quilts for everyone who needs a little extra love.
Kaye