Hello good people-

It looks like we all survived QuiltCon 2023. It was a delight to meet so many of you in person. I received a third place ribbon in the Modern Traditionalism category. This is the first time I have placed in this category, so it is a BIG win for me. Thank you to the judges and all the great people who make QuiltCon a reality. 

For the past month, I have been on the road teaching. I created a pop-up studio in an Airbnb in Merriam, Kansas. It is amazing what you can do with a document camera, a phone clamp, and a ZOOM account. Also known as, Necessity is the Mother of Invention. 

I go back on the road next week!  After that, I will be home for the entire summer. I am looking forward to working on my next book, piecing the community quilt United States of Uterus, and getting out on my bike.

Here are the details about my next traveling teaching gigs. Maybe you will join me?

Big Botany—LIVE & IN-Person

Empty Spools Seminars—Asilomar, California

Session #4 April 21—26, 2023

Below is a selection of student work from Big Botany. 

Game of Improv—Live & IN-Person

Stitch— Durango, Colorado

Friday—Sunday, April 28,29.and 30, 2023

Riffing on Tradition—LIVE & IN-Person

Woodland Ridge Retreats—Menomonie, WI

Tuesday, May 2—Saturday, May 6, 2023

Riffing on Tradition – LIVE & IN-Person

Pacific Northwest Quilt & Textile Museum-La Conner, Washington

Saturday, May 27, 2023

I will be teaching virtually this summer from our cabin in McCarthy, Alaska. Making Prints is my next virtual workshop and a personal favorite. I think of it as my 101 workshop. So, if you want to start from the beginning, this is the workshop for you. Each session is recorded, and students have access to those recordings for 90 days. For a COMPLETE list of where I am teaching and exhibiting, check out my website. 

Making Prints–Virtual Workshop

Thursdays 2PM-5PM Alaska Time (AKDT)
June 8,15, 22, and 29, 2023

ON THE GRID

I have a new exhibition up at the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Textile Museum.  It is called On the Grid—Structure as Visual Aesthetic. Approximately 45 Color Grid quilts are on display for this show.

I am super excited to see all of these pieces together.

In Alaska, we are headed into Break Up season, so I thought I would share my quilt Break Up. You can read more about the quilt here. Break Up is what we call our mud season. It is the moment when it all just breaks up—the snow turns to slush, dirt roads become rivers, and almost over night every living green thing has a bud on it, but the best part of all is that the daylight hours go on and on. It feels so good! 

No matter what season you are experiencing, I hope you can get outside and feel some nature—the warmth of our sun, the chill of a north wind, the mud sticking to the soles of your boots, or in my case, SNOW! It is still snowing up here.

I am grateful for you and for spring!

Maria Shell