2016 Benefit Auction

I love the Benefit Auction! I wish I had unlimited funds and unlimited wall space, I would buy a bunch of the quilts and display them. Look at my "show" from the Benefit quilts on my blog at sharonbuckart.weebly.com

Just wanted to share a couple of my favorites with you here:

Why don't you pick out your own favorites? Or better yet, you still have time to create that little masterpiece and send it in!  I'll be watching for it!

Necktie Quilts Reinvented by Christine Copenhaver

I was having an interesting email discussion with one of our members in TN, Christine Copenhaver. We were discussing the Marie Webster quilt challenge and how we went about answering it. She casually wrote something about her book that she had recently published and went on to tell me more about travel plans, etc. Whoa, your book? I was so excited when I looked it up on Amazon.com. Its entitled, Necktie Quilts Reinvented and it is so innovative. I have a terrible problem getting rid of a necktie, they are so beautiful and silky. And now I have a copy of the book!

Let me tell you a little about it. Christine elevates necktie quilts to a place where you have something you can really be proud of.. There are 16 projects in the book and it includes lap quilts, wallhangings, runners, a table topper and a pillow. She covers cleaning the ties, how to cut them the easy way with no templates, and how to stabilize slippery fabrics so that rotary cutting is easy. She has the projects classified as to skill level also. I love her explanations, they are simple and straight forward and really outline what to do. Check it out for yourself!

Write me with your happenings too. We love to know what all of KY and TN are doing in the art quilt world!

New Book from one of Our Own KY-TN Region SAQA Members:

I put out a call for what you all are doing, even asking about books and articles you may have written, and Kathy Loomis wrote me back, "Well I have a book!" I was so thrilled! Kathy is always busy and does fantastic work. This is a breakout book that takes us away from the bondage of a traditional pattern and lets us work pattern free. Here is some information about it from Amazon's createspace and also a link to purchase it if you are interested.

Link:
 https://www.createspace.com/5403666

Make one-of-a-kind quilts without a pattern!
Break free from cookie-cutter designs! Quilt artist Kathleen Loomis walks you step by step through the process of creating a truly original quilt from scratch. With Pattern-Free Quilts, You'll learn how to:
* Choose colors and fabrics with confidence
* Sew first, plan second
* Hone your eye for design
* Improvise without fear
Start by sewing simple rail-fence blocks, then unleash your inner artist! With this versatile method, you can create:
* Quilts of any size
* Super simple beginner projects to intricately complex art quilts
* New quilts from the fabric in your stash
The book's gallery includes 26 photos of finished quilts to inspire you. Copy and paste this link to see inside the book and read reviews: http://artwithaneedle.blogspot.com/p/read-what-other-bloggers-have-to-say.html
Kathleen Loomis, whose quilts appear in national exhibits, bring warmth to beds and welcome new babies, believes that designing is the most joyous part of quilt making. With Pattern-Free Quilts, Kathy inspires every quilter, from novice to expert, to dare to design.


Remember we want to see what you are working on! Send me some pictures!

Look at the Sky for Inspiration!!

Just wanted to share these awe inspiring clouds - they look so textile!!!!!!!!

Also this old quilt top displayed at a swap meet. The vendor added a frame with chicken wire stretched within and a vintage photo clipped in it. Wild!

Well January is more than half way gone and we have lots of events coming up. The auction at the 2016 Conference in Philadelphia is one we can all participate in, even if we are not there! Make an art quilt, just 6 x 8" and donate it for the SAQA conference... in fact in the words of SAQA:

The Inspire - Connect - Engage (ICE) Spotlight Auction is an opportunity for all SAQA members to have their work showcased at the 2016 SAQA Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
We are looking for pieces 6” x 8” (portrait or landscape orientation), which we will display in mats with a 4.5" x 6.5” opening and place in clear cellophane sleeves. These pieces will be sold through a silent auction at the Conference Banquet. All proceeds of the sales will benefit SAQA's exhibition programs. Please note that unsold pieces will not be returned.
This size of artwork can be quick to make, showcasing your voice and raising funds for the organization which helps us all. Plus, it’s your opportunity to collect work made by fellow SAQA members. What a win-win!

​Notice that the mat is going to fit over a part of the work, so the featured quilting you need to do is even smaller than 6x8. So easy, yet you will be exhibited in Pennsylvania! I'm going to do it! just follow this link to see how to get started and register:
​http://www.saqa.com/about.php?ID=3120

And lets all make some ATC's, artist trading cards. In case you missed the newsletter about that, its an inspirational thing and a sharing thing that will help us meet the members in our area. The cards are all little, 2.5x3.5 like a business card, and then we can share them or just photo them and get some new inspirations. Like tiny art quilts! I already have some coming in! Its very informal, contact me if you want to mail one or send me a pix of what you are working on!

Happy New Year!!!
Its 2016!!!

Just wanted to share the ATC's I mentioned in my last post. I made mine the really easy way, by taking a piece of sample work and cutting it up into business sized cards, finished the edges, added some embellishments and signing the back.

The ones I got in trade were a fabulous sampling of styles, some were all fabric, others were paper and some were mixed media.

I have heard from one person so far that would like to trade some ATC's. Anyone else interested? Let's get some things going in TN and KY in 2016!

Sharon Buck
buckhotelcarsonsprings@gmail.com
sharonbuckart.weebly.com

Happy New Year to Everyone!

I still haven't made any resolutions but I plan to make more art quilts and loosen up and have more fun doing it. Sometimes I think we get so focused we forget how much fun it is to play. I recently got a chance to go to a regional SAQA meeting in FL and they asked us to bring a dozen or so ATC's. I barely know what those are: Artist's trading cards. So I asked and yes make them from textiles, size of a regular business card, 2.5 x 3.5 or paper, or mixed media. Just enjoy the process. One good piece of advice is to make a larger quilt sample and then slice it up to the smaller sizes and bind the edges as desired. That's quicker than one on one for each one, especially since I made them all the night before. It was such a freeing exercise! We could set up an ATC trade via snail mail here in TN/KY. Is anyone interested?

If you can get to the area northwest of Knoxville, TN, Clinton to be exact, a well established quilt shop is going out of business due to the death of one of the partners. I just found out, the sale starts 12/31, but they want to sell off everything as quickly as possible.

726 Clinch Avenue, Clinton, TN

Sale at Quick Qut Quilts – 50% off all fabric, patterns and notions in the Sale Room and 40% off all regular price fabric, patterns and notions. Thursday,  December 31, 10 AM – 4 PM, and Saturday  January 1, 10 AM – 4 PM. Due to the  current situation, all payments must be made in cash or by check.

This is an opportunity to stock up on a lot of fine fabrics.
I also thought I would mention there are a LOT of fabric shops in this area, so if you come, check out these. Times and distances are calculated from Morristown, TN courtesy of SAQA member Tina Sams.

Stitch ‘N Time Fabric Outlet

2223 Broadway Dr, Bean Station TN

865-993-2357

12 min, 8 miles

The Cherry Pit

115 Bruce St, Sevierville TN

865-453-4062

55 min, 37 miles

Holloway’s Country Home

3892 Cosby Hwy, Cosby TN

423-487-3866

45 min, 40 miles

Garden Quilts

215 Rivers Edge Ln, Sevierville TN

865-365-1436

60 min, 40 miles

The Pattern Hutch

926 Centerview, Pigeon Forge, TN

865-428-1361

65 min, 45 mils

Tennessee Quilts

114 Boone St, Jonesborough TN

423-753-6644

65 min, 54 miles

Mountain Stitches by Susan

601 Glades Road, Gatlinburg TN

865-436-0077

70 min, 56 miles

Sewing Machines Etc

8419 Kingston Pike, Knoxville TN

865-690-7770

57 min, 57 miles

Gina’s Sewing Center

10816 Kingston Pike, Knoxville TN 

865-966-5941

62 min, 62 miles

Discount Fabrics

2030 Old Hwy 25 E, Tazewell, TN

423-492-0422

43 min, 34 miles

Iva’s

1020 Old Knoxville Hwy, Sevierville TN

865-428-8008

51 min, 36 miles

The Sewing Center

716 Parkway, Sevierville, TN

865-365-1408

59 min, 38 miles

Dizzy Divas Fabric Shop

5404 Millertown Pike, Knoxville, TN

865-474-9921

44 min, 44 miles

Magic Cat Quilt Shop

206 Clovefield Ln, Knoxville TN

865-579-4402

55 min, 48 miles

Mammaw’s Thimble

4319 Papermill Dr, Knoxville TN 

865-588-8818

53 min, 51 miles

Sewing Bee

107 E Jackson Blvd, Jonesborough TN

423-753-7399

66 min, 55 miles

MidSouth Sewing Center

7240 Kingston Pike, Knoxville TN

865-249-6381

57 min, 56 miles

Pappy’s Quilting Place

3426 Sevierville Rd, Maryville TN

 865-980-0950

85 min, 60 miles

Don't forget to contact me with all your quilt news for TN/KY and show us what you are working on, we would love to see it! Also, remember our regional call go to saqa.com for the Regional Response to Marie Webster Quilts due January 6. Also, are you a JAM? Apply to be a juried artist member by January 1, 2016.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Sharon Buck
buckhotelcarsonsprings@gmail.com
sharonbuckart.weebly.com

Fall Fun

Back in the olden days, once the harvest was in it gave the ladies more of a chance to gather together and quilt. Today I stopped by a hand quilting group and participated for a while. I am not much of a hand quilter but what a great social occasion that afforded our ancestors. Plus they were creating much needed bed coverings and expressing some of their inner artist.

Hope you are having a productive fall! I would love to see what you are working on. Please email me about your projects and we can post them here.

Wasn't the SAQA auction the greatest? You can still participate!!

Do you have a special pet? Maybe we should do  little pet art quilt! This is Cocky Doodle Doo and he is oh so cocky!

Hope to hear from you all soon!

Sharon Buck
www.sharonbuckart.weebly.com
KY-TN Regional Representative SAQA