Monday, April 23, 2012

Good News! Get Atkins books on Amazon!!!

Illustration from Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery
For years people have been asking me why I don't put my books on Amazon.com and/or why I don't offer credit card  purchases.  Long story about the why... but the good news is, older dogs can learn new tricks, although not easily, mind you (LOL).

As of today, you can now purchase my two most popular books on Amazon.com!!!
Plus! You can pre-order my new book at a special, introductory price of only $16.49... quite a deal for such a comprehensive book with over 500 color photos and 250 pages!

You can help!

If you already have my books, and especially if you like them, you can help me greatly by posting reviews on amazon, especially for the first two titles above.  Or, simply go to the link and click on "like." I appreciate your assistance in getting started with amazon book sales very much!

Detail from cover of new book, available for pre-orders on Amazon.com

What about my other books?

I can't list Spirit Dolls, Finishing Techniques, or Rosie, the Uncaged Hen on Amazon.com, because these books do not have printed bar codes on them... two of them don't even have an ISBN number. If the amazon sales go well, I may reprint the covers so I can get them listed too.

Yes, you can order any of my self-published books from me if you wish (through my website). They will be autographed! However, I'm still doing it the old fashioned way with payments by check, cash or money order. I'm hoping the Amazon.com listings will make it easier for those of you who wish to pay by credit card or live in other countries.

Please note: Beaded Embellishment (by me and Amy Clarke) and The Complete Photo Guide to Beading are available on line or in retail bead, craft, and needle arts shops. However, I will not be selling these titles through my website. The reason is that my cost from the publisher is about the same as you can buy them on amazon. I'd have to sell them at full retail price. I'm guessing you don't want to pay that if you don't have to.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Quilt Show, Anacortes WA

On display at The Quilt Shop in Anacortes

Batiks in jewel-tone colors... Yummmmmy!

I love the floating flying-geese border!

The machine quilting is quite nice too!

Anacortes, WA, 20 miles west of the I-5 freeway and with a population of only 17,000 or so, is an unlikely haven for fabrics and fibers. Although it's a small town, the main street boasts two very fine fabric shops, Fabrics Plus (my fave quilt shop in the whole world!) and The Quilt Shop, an equally fine yarn/fiber shop (Ana-cross Stitch), and an amazing number of very talented quilters and fiber artists.

Quilting pals, Lunnette and Cathy, joined me in a two-day get-away last weekend! We shopped at all three Anacortes stores, spent hours both days at the 2012 Quilt Show hosted by the Fidalgo Island Quilters, saw the latest show at the LaConner Quilt Museum, ate at a fabulous new restaurant in Anacortes (Frida's), stayed in the Anacortes Inn, and had a blast! I tell you, there's just nothing more satisfying than three quilting fans, away from home, with hundreds of quilts to view and fabric vendors galore! OMG, we had so much fun! All pictures are click to enlarge...

This is one of my favorite quilts in the show: Color Study by Barbara Hylton

Her applique and quilting techniques are flawless; the colors and design gorgeous!
 Only one little problem... I forgot to charge my camera battery and didn't bring the charger. Ergo: not many pictures to show. Missing are some of my favorite quilts in the show. Oh well... they were all good, as you can see below!

What a fun play of color and design!!!

Sorry, I didn't jot down artist's name. If you know it, please comment!

Most interesting to figure out how these triangles join to create the illusion of circles!

Again, help! (no artist's name). Love the polka dot background fabric used to tie colors together.

Nancy Davis must have had so much fun strip piecing, then cutting 90 degree triangles!

I love all the colors and the happy-scrappy look!



Whole-cloth quilting intrigues me a lot, especially because it might be just what I need for some of the fabrics I dyed in Ann Johnston's workshop. However, judging from the totally excellent example below, it will be a big learning curve to do this type of quilting.

"Arabesque" by Laurie Weiner - fabulous example of whole cloth quilting!

I hope she won best of show for small quilts!
There were quite a few compelling art quilts in the show. But I only took one picture. This one was made by layering cut out shapes of organza over fabric, using it and the quilting stitches to bring forward the design. I'm impressed with both her technique and design skills.

Farmers Market by Arlene Anderson
Lastly, I give you two small quilts I thought were quite fun! Then the camera battery went dead forcing me to see in a more meditative way, hoping that good ideas and inspirations will stay with me...

Ruth Mazur used a "flip and sew" method similar to crazy quilting to make this!

It really didn't need the pansy fabric centers to read "flowers"
"Free Range Chicks" by Lanne Carr

A happy quilt... as much fun from a distance as close up!

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Snow Art by Simon Beck

Simon Beck - Click to enlarge all pictures!
Simon Beck... ah, I'm in swoon mode. Go here and click on photos to see more of this amazing snow art! During the winter ski season, Simon, leaves England and moves to Savoie, France, where he spends his days creating patterns by walking (plodding, trudging) with snowshoes through the snow covering the area's frozen lakes. He hopes to get them photographed before new snow falls, obliterating a day or more of his work.


I am including a couple of pictures, but if you're also captivated, you may want to visit the link above and look at his albums.  Read about how he maps them out. Simon began making these magnificent, geometric forms as exercise. Now, I think it's much more than that to him and to all of us who are enchanted by both the process and the photographs.

My friend, Phyllis, calls these "Snow Quilts"... perfect name!



This is Simon's "Tsunami Memorial," created March 11, 2012
 Never before have I given a single nanosecond of thought to traveling to France during the winter... (LOL, I abhor cold and snow.)... But now? It's on my bucket list for sure!