What, no snow?? -ha!!!!!!

So much for no snow. Hand stitchers is postponned until next Tuesday. We will meet in conjunction with the Art Group. You may choose if you would like to Zentangle or handstitch. See you then.

How did that happen? Town has finally cleared the piles of it from the curbs and corners. It looks like we might just get through the weekend without any more. Tuesday is February first, so you have until Monday to tell me officially which workshops you want to take this month in order to get the supply discount. Email, comment here or leave a phone message, wouldn't it be good to take a workshop and see some friends, and spend time away from the home you have been snowbound in?
This week is handstitchers, and the BOM on Saturday. It is not too late to join us. This month special technique is color washing with paint to alter the colors of fabric. It can make stunning tie dye and batik effects, or be much more subtle and simply provide a bit of shading for the petals of a flower. Bring some fabrics, and your paints if you have them, but the classroom set will be available. You may want some small deli containers with lids to carry wet fabric home in. Often the hardest part of this process is letting everything dry. If you tend to be messy wear old clothes.
Next Tuesday, the Art group will be playing with Zentangles. This style of patterning is very addictive. You need the most minimal materials, no artistic talent, and just a few minutes of time. Bring a piece of paper, a pencil with a point, and a thin black marker ( I use a micron ) That is it. These designs are beautiful and have so many applications to textile work, quilting and stitching that I think everyone should try it. If you can't wait for the class, check out http://www.zentangle.com/ the back issues of the newsletter have some tangles stepped out for you to copy from and play with.
Lastly, I want to put out some teasers that we are working on for this Spring ( Yes isn't it good to think about Spring? ) We may have a special guest speaker who will totally inspire you. "Improv" is a semi free form piecing quilt that uses oodles of odd scraps. The sample in the book uses only plaid scraps, I used greens and earth colors from the William Morris quilt, and you could pick the scraps from any project to keep things coordinated, or be really random. This method is related to string quilts, scrap quilts of all kinds, and even Crazy Quilts.
I have been playing with a product called Texture Magic that we will use in a project called Framed, which will probably run in April. We are also looking to do a strip pieced or made from striped fabric kaleidoscope that just about anyone can do. I am hoping to begin the kids after school program this spring also.
If you read regularly, you may remember me mentioning the Red Hook Bicentennial Quilt Project. I am chief designer, and will be looking for sewers this summer. We will also be running some special events that will lead up to the celebration in 2012. As we work out the details I will keep you all posted.