In January I was busily prepping for my video production with iQuilt, a new online production by AQS (American Quilter's Society) and sponsored by Bernina. They have started on-line classes similar to Craftsy and Fons & Porter. I have to say it is better because I will have one with them! They already have lots of wonderful workshops to pick from. I hope you will pick mine when it is released. If you are a member of American Quilter's Society you will get a discount.
I had frequent video conferences with my producer. A very new experience for me. I felt like a dinosaur to my very young producer, Cara. I had to quickly make my sample and get pieces ready for filming. I called it Explosive! It is a class that will demonstrate how to make the stars in my new book Kaleidostars.
Finally the day came to film. They flew me to Denver, Colorado on Sunday January 24 and I was whisked to a hotel in Littleton. This is the view out of my hotel window. It just looks surreal!
Production started Monday morning. I had terrible butterflies in my stomach that morning, but the production crew was so nice and really put me at ease. It went a lot easier than I had thought. Luckily I did not have to memorize a script (at my age I'm lucky to remember what I did yesterday)! I have taught this class many times and I was comfortable with the process. Here I am with my producer Cara. We are rehearsing for the next taping.
Every morning I had a make up artist work her best to make me beautiful for filming!
We taped 6 sessions: An introduction; choosing fabrics; finding designs with mirrors; cutting instructions, including how to get perfect fussy-cut pieces; piecing the blocks; and finishing the quilt, including sewing on a mitered border. Here I am piecing the blocks. The Bernina 570 QE sewing machine I worked on was a dream!
Now to the giveaway! Since it is Valentine's Day and I love all of the wonderful quilters that I have met along the way, I am giving away a copy of my new book to one winner. In addition to that, I will be giving away a 17" or 13" set of Kaleidostars templates to two lucky winners. For anyone who leaves a comment I will send them my newest 1/4" seam gauge used to get those perfect 1/4" seams every time. The secret to my accurate piecing! Be sure to LEAVE A COMMENT TO TELL ME WHY YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF MY NEW BOOK AND LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN. I CAN'T CONTACT YOU IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS.
The video class is expected to be released at the end of March. Just in time for my birthday! What a wonderful birthday present it will be! I will be posting more information about it as it gets nearer. I will also be blogging along with Electric Quilt about how I designed my quilts in EQ7 and will have more giveaways then too. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT.
As always; Do what you love and love what you do. Thanks for reading, Toby.
