Our Congratulations

Being selected as a Master Award winner at IQA Houston 2009 is quite an accomplishment. Our congratulations go to all that were honored.

Today we will share with you three of the top Master Awards.

The Founders Award sponsored by International Quilt Festival

"Garden of Dream" by Fusako Takido of Shizuoka Shi, Shizuoka Ken, Japan.

The World of Beauty Award sponsored by eQuilter.com

"Hearts and Garlands" by Liz Jones of Leominster, Herefordshire, United Kingdom

Robert S. Cohan Master Award for Traditional Artistry, Sponsored by RJR Fabrics.

"Santa Claus Has Come to Kirara's Hometown!" by Ayako Kawakami of Funabashi-City, Chiba, Japan

Texture Magic Tuesday/ Owl Softies

"Hoot 'N' Annie"
What could be a more appropriate name for an owl softie made by designer Annie Unrein?
Adding Texture Magic for the owl's tummy is the perfect touch.

You can make several toys out of one half yard package of Texture Magic.
Hoot 'N' Annie can be purchased on our web site, along with all the other Texture Magic friendly patterns designed by Annie.

Try texturizing some Minkee or other plush fabric to look like feathers.

And as Annie has said "Just be warned: against all your good gift giving intentions, these little cuties might prove to be too lovable to let go!"

On The Wings of A Dream

Our congratulations to Caryl Bryer Fallert of Paducah, Kentucky for winning Best Of Show IQF Houston 2009 for her quilt "On The Wings of A Dream".

Caryl won the $10,000 prize sponsored by Handi-Quilter for this self portrait.

The outline of the white bird was stitched with Brytes by Superior, heavy #30 white topstitch thread.

The remaining details of the bird was stitched with #40 white topstitch thread.

On The Wings of A Dream took 15 months to complete, and represented for Caryl, starting a new life in a new place.

With the loss of her husband in 2006, Caryl drew a series of designs to fulfill her life long dream of learning to dance.

You can read more about Caryl's experience in designing and creating her award winning quilt on her web site.

Texture Magic Tuesday/ Bags by Linda Hopkins

Linda Hopkins, owner of Sonoran Silks, is a professional quilt maker who's award winning quilts, patterns and wall hangings have appeared in magazines and national quilting catalogs.
Lately, she has been playing with Texture Magic in the design of two bags.

"The tote bag is a pattern of mine called Totes des Fleurs. The instructions for the grid work are on the main page of Patchworks.com., a great quilt store in Sayville NY. I used silk dupioni and Quilters Dream Select as a batting between the fabric and the Texture Magic." Linda said.

Linda will be teaching both bags at Mulqueens Sewing Center in Mesa, Arizona

"The red and black purse pattern is a free download from Exclusively You at Leisure Arts. Linda made several adjustments to the pattern.
I micro stippled around the poppy motif using Superior's Bottom Line (#625) black thread. The poppies were outlined in a matching color to the poppy and minor thread play was added. The beaded poppy closure was a free standing embroidery from Jenny Haskins Lotty's Poppies that I beaded and then backed with Ultrasuede. " Linda continued.
Thank you Linda for sharing with us your beautiful designs. We look forward to seeing your use of Texture Magic in future projects.

The Art of Display

When we attend trade shows, there is a real art of display when setting up a booth.
After years of trial and error, we have learned a lot.

Sometimes we have items that are difficult to display.
We want to make sure you can readily see what each article really looks like.

We take a lot of pictures because we may never be able to reproduce the exact setting again.

Wobbling Cones

Education is our number one priority, and we love to answer questions. One of our readers asked how we work with wobbling cones on a thread stand.

Q: What do I use to insert in the large spools with the overly large openings to keep them from wobbling about? I assume there must be some type of cone to place over the thread stand.
A: If the wobbling is a problem, stuff a wad of batting inside the cone opening and it works great.

We recommend always using our heavy duty thread stand for cones.

Join us at Road To California

We would love to have you join us at Road To California, January 15th-16th, in Ontario, California.

Southern California in January is beautiful, with the average temperature around 70 degrees. We might even get Bob to wear his Hawaiian shirt.
Bob will present two lectures and Superior Threads will teach two hands-on classes using Texture Magic.

Road To California is celebrating their 15th year, and will be held at the Ontario Convention Center.
You can read more details on their web site.