JWD Publishing Blog

We are excited to be one of the stops for the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Blog Tour!  We hope you have been following the tour all week long.  Look at the bottom of this post for another chance to win a copy of Quiltmakers’ 100 Blocks.

Stars upon Stars:
Because I love stars, I find myself designing lots of star blocks. My plan for this block was to create a design with slender, elongated star points, which could provide a sense of delicacy and dimensionality. Wanting understated beauty, I selected fabrics in muted hues. I used silk fabrics for my stars, although I do not recommend it. I found it a technical challenge to have clean, sharp points with the silk I used, which had a mind of its own. Hint: Using a dry iron with silk star points is a must.

     I have been creating quilts and textile art since the early 1970s. Currently, I find my time taken up with teaching and lecturing; writing books, particularly about color and design; creating quilts and textile art; and being the owner of the pattern company JWD Publishing.

Another chance to win a copy of 100 Blocks!
Just leave a comment on this post by 10:00 pm PST on Sunday, November 15th, 2009, and we will pick a random winner!  It doesn’t matter what you write, just make sure to leave a valid email address (so we can contact you if you win). Here’s our contest rules.

Make sure to visit the 100 blocks blog tour, as they have some great giveaways going on.  Also, look for 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers in your local quilt shop, or purchase it at www.quiltmaker.com/100blocks.

Also, make sure to join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jwdpublishing.

To celebrate two of our designers (Joen Wolfrom and Teresa Fields) being in 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers, we are giving away a free copy to one of our blog readers. 

Just leave a comment on this post by Thursday, November 12th, 2009 PST, and we will pick a random winner!  It doesn’t matter what you write, just make sure to leave a valid email address (so we can contact you if you win).

Here’s our contest rules.

Make sure to keep following the 100 blocks blog tour!

Tennessee Quilts, a magnificent quilt store in historic Jonesborough, is currently exhibiting the quilt Memories of Monet by Joen Wolfrom.  We think you’d love to take a quilt field trip to Tennessee Quilts to see Joen’s quilt and browse through the shop’s amazing 8000+ bolts of beautiful fabric. Tennessee Quilts is one of the best quilt stores in the U.S. You’ll love it!  They have also joined over 100 fabric and quilts shops in the FabShop Hop, a virtual shop hop offering some great prizes (more info).

BTW, Joen will be teaching a 2-day color class and a 3-day design class at Tennessee Quilts November 10-14, 2009. If you’re interest in either class, contact Tennessee Quilts or register online.

Tennessee Quilts
114 Boone St
Jonesborough, Tennessee
http://www.tennesseequilts.com
linda@tennesseequilts.com

Cindy Walter greets Andrew Dunlop of Tiffanies Treasures,  our favorite (and only) New Zealand distributor.    

The Gleesome Threesome: Ricky Tims, Joen Wolfrom, and Libby Lehman at Quilt Market

Boy, either the lighting is really bad or we’ve had an exhausting day. Behind us is Ricky’s booth where you can see portions of two of his beautiful quilts, as well as a poster featuring Ricky’s newest CD, Christmas in a Small Town (you’ll love it J).

Quilt Market in Action

A smaller attendance than usual made Quilt Market a more leisurely event for attendees to search for the perfect items for their customers. Looking down the aisle on the right, you’ll see a glimpse of Teresa Field’s new Snap, Grab, & Go quilt, as well as stacks of Ricky Tims’s luscious hand-dyed fabrics.

Three days of talking, breathing, seeing, and feeling quilts is now over.  Most prevalently seen:  smiles on faces; heavy bags hanging over shoulders; tired feet screaming for pity;  and lots of friends to see, hug, and laught with…………………Paula N, Alex A, 4 and 6 sisters (Barb and Mary with Kathy), Heather (aka Mother Superior Thread), Ricky, Mary S and sister Nancy, Charlotte, Libby, and more.  It’s like old home week……..So much fun; so much to see; so much to talk about; so little time……

George R. Brown Convention Center

Today we find Houston in the rain. Coming from sunny Seattle area, we were amazed to find ourselves settle into a dreary weather day. However, inside the George Brown Convention Center was filled with positive, hopeful thoughts. Hundreds of vendors were working hard to prepare their booths for Quilt Market. A few dozen vendors made presentations at Schoolhouse, an activity that gives quilt shop owners the opportunity to meet with vendors and see the products they have to offer. Our late afternoon Schoolhouse session gave us the opportunity to show our newest patterns, which we love: Honey Bears by Alex Anderson, Summer Breeze by Christine Porter, In a Pickle by Larisa Key, and Snap, Grab & Go Tote and Quilt Ensemble by Teresa Fields (aka Quickie Chicks). We also introduced Ricky Tims’s Arabian Nights and Cindy Walter’s Poinsettia Christmas ensemble of beautiful painted table runner, placemat, coaster, and wallhanging. Ricky, Christine, Charlotte Warr Andersen, and Teresa Fields introduced their quilts, answered questions, Tomorrow is the first day of Quilt Market. When I left the convention floor just before 7pm tonight, vendors were still working hard to finish putting their booths together.

Tomorrow is a day of hope and excitement. We hope everyone has a great day tomorrow―both the creative vendors who sell their products and the shop owners who select products for their quilting clients. Here’s to three great days of great surprises and findings.

Market is coming up this weekend!  Cindy Walter, Christine Porter, Ricky Tims, and Joen Wolfrom will be at our booth (600-601) this year, so come on by and see our brand new patterns!

We also will be providing a schoolhouse presentation at 3:10-3:40pm in Room 371F on Friday, October 9th. 

More info about the new patterns to come on our blog and website!

JWD Publishing is excited to announce that some of its authors will be featured at the Contemporary Quilt Show exhibit at the Binghamton University Art Museum beginning on September 10th.  This exhibit features quilts by pioneers and contemporary leaders in the field, including Ricky Tims, Paula Nadelstern, Joen Wolfrom, Ruth McDowell, Judy Dales, Hollis Chatelain, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Libby Lehman, Alex Anderson, John Flynn, Sally Collins, Margaret Miller, Kaffe Fasset, Becky Goldsmith, Linda Jenkins, Sharyn Craig, and others.

This show also includes two other exhibits: The Evolution of Natural Fibers; Vibrations: Color Resonance in Antique Quilts, 1860-1940. Movies and demonstrations are available for viewing.  Best of all admission is free!

Here are the details for the show:

Full-Spectrum: Natural Fibers, Quilts & the Textile Arts
Quilt Exhibit  September 10 – December 5, 2009
Full-Spectrum:  Natural Fibers, Quilts and the Textile Arts 

Binghamton University Art Museum
4400 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, New York

Tuesday, Wed, Fri, Sat  12 – 4pm;  Thursday  12 – 7 pm
You may listen to the free quilt audio tour with your cell phone.  Jack Braunstein is the curator. For more information, visit http://artmuseum.binghamton.edu.