An Amazing Trip To Denver and The Quilt Show

I know it has been  a while since I have blogged.  It has been crazy busy and I was hurriedly trying to finish a quilt for my trip. I wanted it to be my centerpiece.

There is so much to share about my trip to Denver.  It is way too much for one post and because it is all about my quilty life, I want to share it all.  Fair warning - lots and lots of photos.

Post #1 - My visit to The Quilt Show

Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims have one of the longest running quilt related shows.  It's an Internet subscription show.  I was a guest on the show in 2011, when my  first book was published.  I was thrilled when they heard about my Mini Mosaics and invited me back.  They video in Centennial, Colorado which is right outside of Boulder.  

I packed most of my quilts and step outs into my carry on bag. I wanted to make sure they arrived with me.  In case you are wondering, they are checking the size of your carry on.  If it doesn't fit that template near the boarding gate.  they make you check it.  I was happy that I listened to the warnings.  My checked bag had my lesser important quilts and my clothes. Fortunately, everything arrived with me. Oh, and I had a quilt with me in my personal bag that I finished binding on the flight.

I rented a car and drove to the studio and was welcomed as if I was a long lost friend.  It was the day before I was scheduled and got organized. Maria Shell and her amazing quilts were being videoed.

I was able to watch from the control room.

The next day I arrived at the studio to see all of my quilts hung on the set.  WOW! What a feeling! It took my breath away and I tried not to cry.  How did I get here?

Each segment was taped individually.  Before each segment we planned in general what we would talk about or demo.  it was very easy going, with no memorization.  First they had to"mike" me.

We started in the conversation area and talked about what I had done since the last time I visited and where I had travelled.

Then Ricky and I went over to the demo area and with the producer and others, planned the next segment on Mini Mosaics.

It worked out very well.  I showed them all the step outs I brought for the demonstration and  they chose what to share to fit within the time allotment.

My last segment was with Alex about how to use Curvalicious 

to create a quick and adorable baby quilt.  

Here they are hanging on the set.

Here are a couple of photos of what you won't see when you watch the show.

 Lots of lighting and cameras.

 The audience

 Lighting my quilts

The audience can watch the show on the screen.

They taped 10 shows in 5 days.  Now the shows head to the editors.  These shows will be available in 2018.  I think mine will be available in March.  They will provide me with a link for free access to my show.  I will be sure to share.  I will also share some video that I shot in my upcoming newsletter.  If you want to see more, sign up HERE.

Breaking News!

You never know who you are going to bump into when you leave your house. (My mother used  to tell me to always wear clean underwear, just in case.) I was so lucky to see Alex Anderson of The Quilt Show at the Lancaster Quilt Show  a couple of weeks ago.  I was pretty surprised that she remembered me from when I taped the show with her and Ricky Tims back in 2011. She wanted to know what was going on in my quilting life.  This led to our video call that was just posted on The Quilt Show's blog and you can see it here: http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/blog.php/blog_id/5550

as well as see my episode about my Mexican tile quilts and Judaica textiles for free!

Watch Me On The Quilt Show For Free - This Week Only

This is the week you can check out The Quilt Show for free from this blog post.  If you are not familiar with the show, it's on the internet and the hosts are 2 of today's pre-eminent quilters.  You may know Alex Anderson from Sinmply Quilts, which was a fabulous show on HGTV for many years.  Ricky Tims, not only makes beautiful quilts, he also makes beautiful music. They have amazing chemistry and are both so knowledgeable.  The show brings the latest and the greatest about the quilting world into your home.  You can watch it any time of the day or night.

That's Alex on the left and Ricky on the right. I'm in the middle.

If you click on this link, you can see an episode all about my quilts inspired by my trip to Mexico, my Judaica, including silk torah covers that I have made and a bit about my love of bicycling.There's also a slide show with a bunch of my quilts.  Did you know that both Alex and Ricky have made chuppot (Jewish wedding canopies)?




Here we are holding up my quilt, "Merry Menorah".  It's available as a pattern.



 Anyone joining during the week will have an opportunity to see my show and other fun things. Alex and Ricky offer a very friendly, interactive online community. They are offering my blog readers a 20% discount to join.  Enter this code: 165791354796.

It was an experience of a life time.  Watch it and let me know what you think. 

The Quilt Show and ME!!!!

I thought it would never come.  It felt like a dream when it was happening.  Last August I flew out to Colorado for the taping.    That was 9 months ago.  Today on The Daily Blog, there's a slide show preview of my visit with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims on the set of The Quilt Show.  It is so amazingly professional. You can see it here:  The Quilt Show and Me!  Pinch me, I must be dreaming.  Is that really me?
And if you haven't seen enough, check this out on Facebook. Click on Play.
Stay tuned for the entire episode.

The Quilt Show

I have a secret that I have been keeping for several months.  I wasn't told to keep it a secret, but I guess I was afraid if I shared it with the world at large that it would disappear.  I was invited to be a guest on The Quilt Show.  It's an internet subscription quilting show with two of the quilting world's superstars - Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.  They saw my upcoming book, Quilt Fiesta, at the Spring wholesale quilt market.  In addition to my quilt inspired by Mexican tiles, they also were very interested in my OyVey! Quilt Designs and Judaic patterns.  Alex's son had recently married a Jewish woman who was born in Israel and she had a keen interest in what the quilting wold had to offer for the Jewish community.

Two of my wonderful friends flew out to Boulder Colorado, the day before the taping, with me from Philly to help.  Thank goodness for friends.

We stopped at the studio first to unpack my quilts. Torah covers and demo items  THEY HAD A SHELF WITH MY NAME ON IT!  I know it's only a paper label on a wire rack shelf, but it was really exciting to see mt name.  Reality.

We returned the next day for the taping.  I met some of the people that I had talked with on the phone.  I met Alex and Ricky.  And I met Darra  Williamson.  They tape 2 shows in one day.  Darra was the morning guest who wrote a book with Christine Porter about a modernized version of 12 months in the life of Sunbonnet Sue.  It was a good idea to watch her throughout the process.  She was a great role model.  You can see some of her quilts behind her on the set.

The audience of 40 people were the same for both the morning and afternoon taping.  Prior to both tapings, they "taught" the audience how to clap and laugh and show intense interest.  The set had 3 areas for different segments.  Most of the audience was local.  At the lunch break, they changed their clothes and then took different seats in the audience. 




The main demo for my show was about the secondary patterns formed where the corners of my "Mexican tiles" came together.  I put in a lot of time making a low tech, medium tech and high teach version of how to visualize this.  I brought every single quilt that was in the book.  I brought all of the Torah covers I had ever made.  And all the quilts from patterns that I had ever written.  To say I was prepared was an understatement.  The only thing I didn't know was how it was going to be presented and what we were going to use.  I had a brief conversation with Alex and Ricky during the morning.

But we didn't get specific.  The audience went to lunch.  The crew had lunch.  We all had lunch.  It was 2PM and I still didn't know what we were going to use.  To say I was nervous was an understatement.  But then it was my turn.  Ricky, Alex and I chose the quilts to be hung on the set.  We talked about the opening segment.  We talked about an opening and then about what to say to segue way into the next segment.  And then it was time.  My buddies were ready in the audience in the Princess chairs.

We filmed 4 segments and an after the show segment.  We started taping around 2:30 and went until 5:30.  Before each segment, we talked about what we were going to do and I just followed their lead.  Ricky and Alex were just awesome and definitely knew what they were doing.  We had a wonderful producer, Shelly Heesacker, who led us in and out of every segment, among many other things. (She is also a producer for Oprah and Dr. Phil.)  I started with a pit in my stomach that started at the base of my chin that slowly disappeared over the course of the afternoon.  It is still an unreal experience and my feet still have not touched the ground.

If you want to see a little bit of the fist 4 shows they taped go to The Quilt Show blog and scroll down to the Aug 10th posting.    After they finish taping this season and editing the shows, they will decide the order in which the shows will be aired in 2011.  Then we'll know when  it's my turn.  I'll keep you posted!