I was really happy to go to Quilt Market and Festival this year, if anything, to get some respite from the aftermath of the fires in Northern California. I was not nearly as prepared as I would have liked to have been for Houston, given the disruption, but I was thrilled to go! I shared a lot of images on Facebook and Instagram, but for this blog entry I am culling the list down to just a few images that gave me great joy:

Leslie Tucker Jenison’s second fabric line “Urban Garden” with RJR Fabrics made its initial debut, and Leslie employed the talent of both Jamie Fingal and Deborah Boschert (to name just a couple) to make art with her line. This fabric line will be on sale at your local quilt shops in early spring, and I can’t wait to hoard some!

This booth below was a Market favorite, it popped up in a lot of social media feeds, and it is understandable why: “Foundation” by Shayla Wolf for Windham Fabrics.

Next up, Playful Fabric Printing co-author, Melanie Testa came out with her debut fabric line, “Floribunda!” with RJR Fabrics. If you like a jewel-toned palette coupled with unique prints with a personal touch, this line is for you!

Another quilt in detail:

I too had a formal presence and promoted “Playful Fabric Printing” in the Craftsman’s Touch booth at Festival. I was so happy to promote this book. It truly is a great resource if you are curious about creating your very own, unique fabric collection.

Below was a busy lady! Victoria Findlay Wolfe promoted her new Partial Herringbone Seam Quilt with tireless enthusiasm during the show. This class is sold out at CRAFT NAPA, and it is understandable why. The construction of this design is pretty brilliant. (Victoria still has a handful of seats for her two-day, four-ring double wedding class, though!)

On a quilting business note,  F&W and Quilts Inc. collaboratively came out with the latest Quilting in America 2017 survey. Survey says our industry is still doing gangbusters since the last survey was conducted in 2014, and the industry is seeing a strong buying power from people under 45. I mentioned to John when we discussed the study, though, that it would be nice if maybe next time, this study delved a bit more deeply into specific social media channels, time spent on each, etc. Anybody who is investing advertising dollars into paying ads on social media would find this breakdown helpful.

Back to quilts…this was my favorite one from the show. It is called “Home.”

This piece is by Kate Themel and her narrative reads, “My studio is where I feel most at home. It’s a place where I I can dance around, sing, talk to myself, swear, or drop things on the floor. I can express myself without worrying about having nice manners. I never need to dress up to spend a day I’m in the studio. Blue jeans, or pajamas, it’s all good.”

I agree. I came home, and took a hike in my neighborhood. Vineyards in autumn, my patchwork view:

I am definitely looking forward to cooler weather and hibernating in my studio. I, too, am getting ready for Craft Napa, which is just a few short weeks away, and ordering all of the loot for attendees. If you are thinking of coming, there is still space! Please join us! We also plan for a fun and unique opening ceremony to ring in a creative 2018.

In the meantime, it is raining here…what is not to love about this picture?

With gratitude,

Pokey

I’m honored to be closing out Melanie Testa and Carol Soderlund’s author blog hop for their brand new book, Playful Fabric Printing that is now available!

As the publisher, it was a pleasure to work with these two talented artists so this book could at long last see the light of day.

The book is chock-full of techniques, color recipes, and step-by-step instructions for printing your own fabrics using thickened dyes and low-tech, easily accessible tools.

I get asked all the time, why thickened dyes vs. fabric paint? I actually like to print with both. Paint sits on top of the fabric, and when dry, it can have a bit of a stiff hand to it (depending upon the brand and type)–sometimes this is wanted as it adds wonderful texture. I use fabric paints most especially in my art quilts and fabric collages. However, when you use thickened dyes (dyes with print paste added), the dyes act like paint–you can stamp, screenprint, monoprint, etc., but when you wash the dyes out, you are left with a fabric that has a very soft hand, and plays really well with commercial fabrics for quilts and projects.

My Latest Print Session and a Hack for Batching

The other day I plucked some lemons from my Meyer lemon tree for stamping. I like to layer color on my prints; I often first monoprint a background color with thickened dyes, let that layer dry, and then apply a Thermofax screen, stamp, or stencil, letting each layer of thickened dye dry before applying another layer of print work.

Once I think a piece of fabric is finished with layers of printing, and the fabric is completely dry, it’s time to “batch” the fabrics so that the dyes permanently soak into the fibers. (If you skip this step, most of the dyes will completely wash out when rinsing.) Batching takes time and a moist environment, and traditionally you batch fabrics overnight by rolling the printed fabrics in plastic and placing in a dark bathroom or closet.

This means waiting to use the fabrics…and I do not like to wait.

However, Carol and Melly  taught me the best hack ever: creating your own steam system where the fabric dyes set in just 20 minutes.

Meet what I like to call Cousin Itt:

See the resemblance?

The directions for assembling this steam system are in the book, and for me, one of my biggest take-aways. This easy-to-assemble steam system means I can walk into my studio in the morning, and just a few hours later, come away with stacks and stacks of printed fabrics that I can then quilt with immediately. All you need is a a rice cooker with a steam basket, metal duct, wire mesh,  cheesecloth, newsprint, foil, and a towel, among a few other tools for assembly. Below I am showing some local quilting friends how this steam system works.

To the left in this photo, you can see that the metal duct is sitting in the rice cooker with a steam basket (with some water on the bottom). I am holding the inner tube (rolled wire mesh with cheesecloth stitched around it) where you wrap your fabrics with layers of newsprint. Once you’ve rolled your layered fabrics and newsprint around the inner tube and secured with masking tape,  set this inner tube inside the metal duct. Place a towel on top, then wrap both the top and the bottom with foil to keep the steam from leaking out. Set your timer for 20 minutes, and when done steaming, the fabrics are ready to be rinsed and stitched.

I have so many plans for quilt making with my prints, and I am really looking forward to experimenting with the numerous techniques and dye recipes in this book.

So to close out this blog, I want to ask the following question. Leave your answer in the comments area, and I will randomly select a winner to get a free copy of the book.

Question: If you could create your own fabrics, what motifs would you feature? And if you have printed your own fabrics and they are viewable online, please share the link so we can see!

To see the other blogs in this blog hop (many with techniques and demos) click the following:

Melly Testa
http://melanietesta.com/blog/

Carol Soderlund
http://www.carolsoderlund.com/blog/

Lisa Chin
http://somethingcleveraboutnothing.blogspot.com

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
http://www.balzerdesigns.typepad.com/

Judy Coates Perez
http://www.judycoatesperez.com

Carrie Bloomston
http://www.carriebloomston.com/blog/

Lynn Krawcyzk
http://smudgeddesignstudio.com

Leslie Tucker Jenison
http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com

I have finally recovered! Our second edition of CRAFT NAPA went so well, and it was a welcomed bit of respite from the outside world for a few days.  Some fun facts: We had nearly 200 students (up from 113 last year), 12 teachers for 33 workshops, an Artists’ Market, Wine Blending Competition, and a three-hour tour on the Wine Train to close the four-day event.

A few of us after a day of workshops:

So grateful to BERNINA of America and Meissner’s Sewing for providing BERNINAs for 3 full classrooms and sewing stations in others. Below is Jennifer Gigas, tireless as always, on the opening night of the event, offering up a free BERNINA sewing machine.

There was a lot of opining at the Artists’ View Luncheon where our teachers fielded honest and candid questions from students about manufacturers, supplies, inspiration, best practices, and copyright issues. I took so many things away from this luncheon, but here is a fun fact, explained by Victoria Findlay Wolfe: If you have Accuquilt dies, they will work on your Sizzix machines. Sizzix dyes will not work on your Accuquilt machines, so if you have both, the take-away is Sizzix can handle both!

What some old UFO’s morphed into after Lynn Krawczyk’s UFO workshop…

THANK YOU BERNINA of America and Meissner’s…these machines for free-motion quilting and piecing worked like a dream.

During CRAFT NAPA, we discussed a lot about design and color, including how to repurpose vintage blocks:

Leslie Jenison explaining how to use vintage blocks to turn into a modern quilt.

We studied art history and challenged ourselves to make mini-collages with minimal tools like strips of paper from brown paper bags:

We blended wine led by a vintner who gave each team some measuring cups, beakers, bottles of Merlot, Malbec, Cab Franc, and Cab Sauvignon to create a winning blend (chosen by blind judging).

We took this wine blending pretty seriously; the winning team got to have their wine bottled and given to all participants. (It turns out my team, “The Crafting Winos” won…but I swear it was not rigged!)

We studied shapes and movement in art (and admired Carrie Bloomston’s arm muscles).

We sold LOTS of fabric and supplies at the Artists’ Market. A peek at Jennifer Sampou’s booth…

40 of us closed the event with a wine train excursion, a three-hour tour up Napa Valley and back on a vintage Pullman train.

This was an incredibly fun time together.

But for me, one of the shining moments was hosting Open Studios with Melanie Testa and Carol Soderlund, the two authors for PLAYFUL FABRIC PRINTING. On Saturday these two artists turned the central area at the Embassy Suites into a dye studio and signed books for the masses.

Totally normal to sign books while donning dust masks and mixing dyes, right?

I surprised them with a cake that included the cover of their book…

They loved it, and I made them cry (there is a video of that on Facebook). It was my goal to make them cry. 😉

What made me cry was the ENTIRE cake was eaten, and it hurt me immensely to cut up the cover. But the cake was dee-lish (yellow cake with vanilla icing and a lemon filling).

All in all, it was a such a fun time together. Craft Napa was about making art and embracing our community. Next year’s dates are January 10-14, 2018, and I have plans to change things up. Please save the dates. Until then, thank you, and CHEERS!

Wow, 2016, I have to give you credit. You sure were interesting! This was certainly a year of extremes, and I am choosing to focus on the positives, because– with much gratitude–I can say I had a lot of them.

A few examples…

My dream of building and completing the dream studio space and to share it with friends has become a reality. My studio space/ art barn is done.

The inaugural Craft Napa took place at the Embassy Suites/Napa this past January! We had about 120 students for the first go, and thanks to Meissner’s Sewing and BERNINA of America, we had such a successful first retreat!

We screen-printed, made improvisational quilts, free-motion quilted, collaged, laughed, cried, ate great food, and made wine together.

And students made some incredible art:

Soy wax batik examples from Melly Testa’s workshop.

And for those of us who have spent time together in this industry over the years, we reminisced during the reception in my art barn.

When it was over, some of us took a silly picture to commemorate the success. Yes, I am sitting in a piñata I commissioned to thank BERNINA for sponsoring. I had filled this piñata with Aurifil thread that every student had a chance to whack and grab during the retreat.

A few months later…we had a photo shoot for our first book: Playful Fabric Printing by Melanie Testa and Carol Soderlund. Picture below shows all of the step-out piles, in order (by chapter) to be shot.

It took nearly a full week to shoot and we were inspired during the shoot to take some other artful shots, too, like reflections of tiny mason jars filled with dye placed on cement.

Indigo Perez, location photographer and artist, doing her thing:

A detail of this styled shot ended up on the cover.

And as all good photo shoots should wrap, we had a pizza party with wine, swimming, and a dog on a fruit floatie.

This year, too, I was able to create a few quilts. Here are three that were extra special to me. One for a dear friend and special former colleague of mine, Carmen Beck for her newborn daughter…

Quilt in the piecing stage; I got the pattern from the magazine Quilt Moderne, by Michelle of Sew Demented.

This kid is going to be BOSS of quilting someday…look at the confident expression as she stares at the Best in Show quilt at Quilt Festival!

I made this too, for my new Godson, Hunter (pattern by Elizabeth Hartman, baby by Lindsey and Fergal McLelland).

I was very worried I would drop him during the baptism…

Thankfully, I did not.

And there was this art quilt, my quilt to honor Yvonne Porcella, for an exhibit I put together to celebrate her life. I dubbed this quilt, “Go Forth and Fruit.” Yvonne has been one of my greatest mentors and someone who challenged me and guided me in my career over the years.

One of Yvonne’s sons, Greg and his wife to see the exhibit debut at Quilting in the Garden at Alden Lane this past September.

And finally, just yesterday, I got one advance copy of Playful Fabric Printing. I am pretty happy with it.

Lastly, I feel so blessed I live here in Napa. I took this picture in early February of this year of the budding mustard flowers. I can’t wait to have everyone for the next edition of Craft Napa in less than two weeks.

I wish everyone a blessed new year!
Pokey Bolton

Printed books eclipse ebooks for me, every time. As someone with a publishing background, I am so happy to at long last share that Crafting a Life, LLC, is publishing. Yes, publishing, as in print.

First up, a co-authored gem of a book by surface design, colorists, and quilters extraordinaire, Carol Soderlund and Melanie Testa. The content is a must-have for anyone interested in making or designing their own fabrics—or an entire collection–from scratch. It’s about combining your own pictures, sketches, drawings, ideas, or favorite color schemes with low-tech, inexpensive and readily available tools to create one-of-a-kind fabrics for quilts (art, modern, traditional) or sewing projects.

Carol and Melly also illustrate (in great detail with step-by-step photos) how to creatively use a variety of surface design techniques to achieve just the fabric you are seeking.

It’ll be full of recipes for color, techniques, and exercises, and yes it will be an e-book, too.

This book will also be manufactured in the United States, which means we wont be waiting months for a ship from overseas to deliver the content. Furthermore, I am teaming up with talented people with whom I used to work at Quilting Arts/Interweave––Larissa Davis and Larry Stein––as well as Indigo Perez, among others.

Will there be other books or printed offerings down the line? Yes. But I am going to be a bit choosy, and I am not dependent on churning out a number of books or special interest publications in a given time.

Release date will be announced shortly. For now, I just want to celebrate that I can finally share this news, to toast these two talented artists, and the team of people who are helping bring this endeavor to life!

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I’ve attended the Long Beach show since its inception in 2008, both as an exhibitor and a member of the Quilts Inc. staff, and I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite memories from over the years. Warning: this is a people-centric (not quilt-centric) post!

• Editors on a Plane

2008

This was an especially hilarious memory. After a long day of editing in the Quilting Arts/Interweave office, we scurried home, grabbed our luggage, and took a late night transcontinental flight from Logan to Long Beach…where the editing fun didn’t cease. As soon as we took off, out came the red pens!

Helen Gregory and Barbara Delaney opting to not watch the FREE Direct TV on Jet Blue but rather edit. Again.

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• Touting an Extreme Manicure

2008

Alisa Burke sporting an extreme manicure with her lime green hands.

Alisa Burke was one of our founding artists at Make It University!, and with her workshops, successfully convinced quilters that paper and paint can be just as fun and exhilarating as fabric and thread.

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• Channeling My Inner “Chariots of Fire”

2008-2013

My morning solo runs in Long Beach, coupled with a music mix of Southern CA artists, made early mornings (typically dreaded at home) my favorite time of day.

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Every year, I ran the length of the beach to the pier and back before the show opened, and although I chose a Doors playlist over Vangelis, that quiet time running on the beach made me feel like I could outrun anything or handle any (possible) quilt mishap.

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• Getting By with the Help of My Friends

2009

From left to right: Jamie Fingal, Judy Coates Perez, Leslie Jenison, Pokey Bolton, Melanie Testa, and Jane LaFazio

I’ve gotten to know this crew pretty well, and the beauty of these prolific art quilters(besides their talent) is they are not cliquish, but rather inclusive–of everyone, embodying the spirit of the greater quilting community. (And they are pretty darn fun, too, as anyone who witnessed “Surviving the Runway” can attest.)

I got to marvel at and hug other quilt friends, too, like Maggie Winfield, who always dressed to the 9’s for the show:

2010

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And I got to know other artists who have a rather beautiful spirit:

2013

Sheila Frampton-Cooper

Julie Herman (left) of Jaybird Quilts

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• Show & Tell….I Got to Play, Too

2009

“This Thing Of Ours” by Pokey Bolton. My sister-in-law, Sally Murray posing with me in The Silver Screen exhibit.

With the Silver Screen exhibit I finally had a reason to turn my obsession for “The Sopranos” into a quilt.

Upon reflection in reading my narrative for this quilt (below)–given the passing of James Gandolfini–I wont see my silver screen wish come true, but it will always be my favorite  TV series!

My Narrative:

Fans of HBO’s “The Sopranos” know it isn’t just a TV show about wise guys. There’s a bit of Tony in all of us: impulsive and selfish; concerned friends will rat us out; living with the guilt of whacking others (so to speak); distrustful of those supposed to have our backs; and deep down, a little panicked that—in the end, and despite our best efforts—the ones we love most will fly away.

 Not only were heavy issues and the ensuing plot lines handled masterfully by David Chase and his posse of writers and actors, but the show was also hands-down funny. It’s no wonder millions of people waited patiently during the long hiatus between seasons to find out what would happen to the Don and his crew next. I can only hope that the intensely disappointing, anticlimactic last minute of the series finale was conceived for one reason, and that is…the movie’s getting made! Here’s to “The Sopranos” making it to the silver screen.

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• Witnessing A College Degree Put To Good Use

2010 (or 2011?)

My niece Lindsey Murray, a recent proud Boston College graduate in this shot, blowing hot air into a plastic dolphin. I think she passed out a couple seconds after I shot this.

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However it was the Long Beach show where my Lindsey bought her first quilt kit, and made her very first (of many) quilts:

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•  “Somebody Pinch Me: I Won! I Really Won!”

2013

Colleen from Redondo Beach rendered speechless when she realized she had the winning ticket for a new 550 model.

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Helping to host the Iron Quilter challenge was a total hoot (for full, in-depth coverage with LOTS of photos, visit this page). However, the best moment for me was watching a very lucky attendee win a new BERNINA. She was so shocked and grateful…I teared up.

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• Coming Home With Loot!

2013

My kitty, Khaleesi disapproves of my dog-themed fabric.

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What quilter doesn’t love to come home with gobs of fabric?

• Being With One of My Greatest Mentors

2013

Sittingwith Yvonne Porcella, Founder of SAQA, My Mentor, Cheerleader…and Friend.

Yvonne Porcella has been one of my biggest cheerleaders and supporters. Perfect example: years ago at a BERNINA retreat before a TV taping, she saw how stressed I was with segment preparation, cleared off a pool table in the hotel bar (and made it clear no one in the bar could play), assisted me in setting up my sewing machine, and helped me finish everything, all the while being careful not to slash the green pool table felt with her rotary cutter. It was wonderful to catch up with her at the Dinner@8 supper at the Hyatt.

Lastly…

Working alongside some of the best people I know.

2013

With Ruth Polanco, Show Director

2010

And with Lindsey Murray McLelland and Sally Murray of Interweave

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With love to Long Beach! I know it’s not on the roster for next year, but you never know what will happen down the line. Until we meet again…

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