ellen edith has designed a new fabric called Tropical Breeze based on her experiences in Mexico. The focus fabric is a 12’ repeat with the sun, birds, frogs, butterflies, turtle & shells. The instant border runs selvedge to selvedge & the fabulous hand painted stripe can be used for bindings, sashing or blocks. Check out her website www.ellenedith.com/ for more details and information on ordering fabric and kits.

“Quilters” is the story of a pioneer woman and her six daughters, and blends a series of interrelated scenes into a mosaic of patches, or “blocks”, of a quilt that capture the sweep and beauty, the terror and joy, the harsh challenge and abiding rewards, of frontier life. The stories are communicated via music, dance and drama. In the end, when the various patches are assembled into one glorious, brilliantly colorful quilt, the effect is both breathtaking and magical.

Don’t miss this extraordinary stage production by Santa Cruz County’s premier children’s theater group, Kids On Broadway.  Shows are limited, so get your tickets now. Click here for more information.

Fans of art quilter, Vicki L. Johnson, will enjoy seeing her work at a two man gallery show in Folsom January 15 through March 11, 2010.  Rock, Paper, Scissors is a show featuring the watercolors of Dan Petersen and art quilts by Vicki L. Johnson.  The Gallery at 48 Natoma, 48 Natoma Street, Folsom, CA 95630.  To learn more about Vicki, go to www.vntgraphics.com.

In 2010, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles will launch a new signature event—the International TECHstyle Art Biennial (ITAB). ITAB is a juried exhibition of work by artists mining the expressive potential of fiber media and engaging new information and communication technologies in their artistic processes, as a medium of artistic expression, and/or in the content of their work. ITAB 2010 will be on view from August 17 to October 31, 2010 to coincide with the 3rd 01SJ biennial, September 16-19, 2010.

Submission deadline: March 1, 2010

Click here for more information

If you love Amish quilts be sure to visit the upcoming exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, California, November 14, 2009 - June 6, 2010. The exhibition features approximately 48 full-size and crib quilts dating from the 1880s to the 1940s. Quilts made by girls and women of various Amish communities in Pennsylvania and the Midwest are visual distillations of their way of life. The Amish faith embodies the principles of simplicity, humility, discipline, and community, but their quilts are anything but humble. Using a rich color palette and bold patterns, these quilts are truly a unique contribution to American textile history. The quilts highlight the beauty and complexity of the abstract patterns. For more information about the exhibit click here.

TQS recently shared images from the Esprit Collection that also features outstanding Amish quilts.  Watch the show here.

Tracey Brookshire, quilt designer, pattern publisher and long time PVQA member gets a mention on Barbara Brackman’s blog this week. Check it out:  http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com

On Wednesday, April 7, B&L Travel will run a charter bus To the De Young Museum in San Francisco. This is your chance to see the Amish quilt exhibition without the hassle of city driving (and parking). Relax and have fun on a bus trip instead! The bus will pick up passengers in Watsonville at 8:30 am and in Capitola at 9:15 am. You’ll be able to spend 3 hrs. in the museum. Lunch will be in the cafeteria on your own or bring your lunch. Included is a stop at Eddie’s Quilting Bee in Sunnyvale on the way home. We expect to get back to Capitola at 5:00 pm, Watsonville at 5:30 pm. The cost is $54 general, $50 60 years and over—this includes the entrance fee to the museum Call for your reservation: B&L Travel, 722-2313.

February 16-May 2, “Navajo Weaving in the Present Tense: The Art of Lucy and Ellen Begay.” The Begays carry on the tradition passed down by Lucy’s mother and try to create something new with every piece. Their work is strongly rooted in the Burntwater Navajo weaving style.

February 16 – May 9, 2010, Poetic License: The Art of Joan Schulze.” a retrospective of the prolific 40-year career of Bay Area fiber artist Joan Schulze. This exhibit surveys Schulze’s artwork from her early art quilts to the most recent fiber art col- lages that fuse photographic images with painted textures and mark-making for symbolic or suggestive effect.

March 13 – 14, Saturday and Sunday, 10am – 4pm each day “Creativity in the Material World:” a workshop with Joan Schulze. Join this inspiring creativity workshop and explore uncom- mon ways to think about designing quilts and other fiber art. The instructor [Schulze] will introduce photocopy processes and direct printing onto fabric. In combination with transfer drawing using oil pigment pastels and other layering ideas, ideas bloom. Come with an experimental and playful spirit.

Be sure and check the website for their latest ongoing and upcoming exhibits. http://www.sjquiltmuseum.org/