Amy Butler at the Festival of Quilts

It was great to meet Amy Butler on The Cotton Patch stand at the Festival of Quilts the week before last (it only seems like yesterday...!) She was able to chat to customers, sign books and inspired a few people who don't sew yet to do so (excuse the pun).

Her relaxed approach in her book "Midwest Modern" is quite inspiring with beautiful photography illustrating examples of how she and her husband David have used fabrics to great effect in their own home. As part of the post-Festival de-stress I spent part of an evening reading the books and can hardly wait to work out which projects I'm going to do from one of her other books "In Stitches".

Plans have been formulated for a few evenings with the sewing machine at my house with my niece Elllie who, together with her sister Anna, suddenly want to make pillows, throws and bags. If Amy can inspire teenagers to sew then this has to be good for the future.

We hope that Amy is able to make a return visit next year and if you didn't manage to see her at the Festival this year we suggest you make a date in your diary for mid-August next year when the Festival of Quilts returns.

Festival of Quilts at the NEC - Setup Day

Well its been a long day (and not over yet) but we are pretty much there in terms of setup for the Festival of Quilts!

We hope many of our customers will be able to make it to the show. Here is a sneak preview of the gorgeous Kaffe Fassett/Amy Butler Rowan stand. Kaffe and Amy will both be signing their books (including their new ones) at stand D20.

Meanwhile across the aisle on stand E20 we have Marti Michell who returns to the Festival of Quilts to give demontrations on the stand when she isn't teaching lectures - there are still spaces on her Stripping lecture on Sunday.

Ricky Tims will be signing his books, DVDs and CDs on stand E20 too so if you would like to meet Ricky who is not only a talented musician and quilter but is utterly charming as well! Please visit stand E20 where we will have lots of his books, DVDs and CDs and a schedule of when he will be on the stand.

We've only had chance for a quick look at some of the quilt galleries. It looks like this year will surpass all previous shows and we thought that last year!

We look forward to seeing you soon...

Project Linus Quilts Newsletter Summer 2008

In the latest Project Linus Newsletter from the Midlands region, Joy has an update on the Quilt Block Orphanage.

To see the latest Newsletter click here.

Joy will be at the Festival of Quilts so why not stop by and say hello while you're there.

Newsflash - Ricky Tims at The Cotton Patch!

We are delighted to announce that Ricky Tims will be signing copies of his books, DVD's and CD's at the Cotton Patch stand during the Festival of Quilts (14th to 17th August at the NEC, Birmingham, England).



Further details of the timings of the book signings will be posted on our stand on E20.


Ricky is well-known as both musician and quilter and together with Alex Anderson co-hosts the popular online TV show - The Quilt Show.

To quote from his website


"Ricky Tims has successfully blended two diverse passions into one very unique and interesting career. His skills as a pianist, composer and producer have been evident by the thousands who have heard his music. His success as a quilter is equally significant. He is known in the international world of quilting as an enthusiastic and encouraging teacher, an award-winning quilter, and a talented and spellbinding speaker. His innovative and entertaining presentations, feature live music and humor combined with scholarly insights and wisdom. His quilts have been displayed worldwide, and are highly regarded as excellent examples of contemporary quilts with traditional appeal."


Ricky has an exhibition of his quilts at the Festival of Quilts and will also be performing on the Friday night at the Birmingham Metropole Hotel at the NEC which we're very much looking forward to although apparently his entrance won't necessarily have the impact of his foray onto the stage in Paducah accompanied by much dry ice and riding his Harley!






Along with his best-selling book "Convergence Quilts", we also have "Rhapsody Quilts" plus the follow-up books to Rhapsody Quilts - "Feathers and Urns" and "Baskets and Flowers". For more details on these books, his DVDs and his newest products the extra-wide freezer paper please visit our website.

You can listen to his music ahead of the show by following this link.

For more details of the Festival of Quilts and to check on availability for Ricky's talksand workshops please visit the Twisted Thread site.