My Mind is Blown!

Back in 2002 I went to my first "real" quilt show. The quilts I saw were unlike any I had seen before. Quilting wasn't limited to log cabin quilts or sunbonnet sue quilts. They had grown into an art form. That show by the Minnesota Quilt Guild opened my eyes to many new quilt artists I had never heard of before.

Sharon Schambers

Hollis Chatelain

Caryl Bryer Fallert

And Ricky Tims

There were of course many, many others I was introduced to that day and that fall when I went to the International Quilt Show in Houston.

In the years that have passed I have attended many other quilt shows and always walk away with a sense of awe at the quilts and the minds of the people who create them.

This past week I got an email asking me to fill out a questionnaire about a new movie coming out based on the book "Persian Pickle Club". I read that book many years ago so figured, why not. The questionnaire asked about my buying habits and on line habits about quilting things. Many questions were geared toward - would I buy fabric or patterns based from the movie. Easy enough questions. When I was done they gave me a free subscription to "The Quilt Show" with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims for the 8th series. I enjoyed Alex when she hosted "Simply Quilts" on HGTV and I love Ricky Tims' quilts so this was a nice little treat. At least that's what I thought.

This morning I decided to watch a couple episodes. First off, they are done very well. They may be online shows but the quality and production value is definitely high. Episode 804 & 805 are a 2 parter on how Ricky Tims creates his rhapsody quilts.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Ricky Tims goes through step by step everything he does to create a rhapsody quilt. He shares all sorts of tips and tricks to make it easier and do-able. These 2 parts are basically a 2 hour seminar by Ricky. He has the camera person move in so close you see exactly what is happening at the sewing machine. He lets you in on his award winning secrets - and yes, they are really award winning as he has many, many awards for his quilts. My mind is totally blown by these two episodes! How can I one minute look that something like Bohemian Rhapsody and think "No way could I ever do that." and the next minute be thinking about making one because it really is do-able. That's the mark of a really good teacher. Now, I have to head over to his web site and check out his teaching schedule. I think I may be in trouble here.......


Oh - I almost forgot to add. If you are interested in seeing amazing quilts in person, the MN Quilt Show is in a few weeks and this year it happens to be in Duluth. I'll be there!

MQ Quilt Show and Conference
June 13-15
Duluth, MN