Hello People!

I hope everyone had a great summer and is ready for Quilting Season! I do think October is the month when we are most motivated to get er done. 

Why do you think that is true? 

A.   Because significant others are watching football, which means there is more time for us to sneak away and stitch.
B.   The QuiltCon deadline is upon us.
C.   The belief that if we start now, we will finish all of our handmade gifts in time for the holidays.
D.   It just feels right to hunker down and make things.
E.   ALL OF THE ABOVE

My answer is E. ALL OF THE ABOVE. Whatever your reason for quilting, I am hoping that you are getting to it. 

I have some really cool news to share. Are you ready? 

First of all, I am leading a textile tour in Morocco with Amazigh Cultural Tours! Yes, it is true, and I want you to join me. It is going to be incredible! Here is the direct link to sign up and complete details.  It is going to be SO GOOD! The tour is happening April 13—27, 2024. You-Me-AND MOROCCO! If you want to know more, just email me at mariashell4@gmail.com. Let’s chat.

I hope you will check out Amazigh Cultural Tours on Instagram to see what my host organization is all about. @amazigh_art_tours 

My friend Tina Jackson @sewdreads is opening Art Nest Retreats in the Kansas City, Missouri area! How cool is that? I visited the 12,000 square foot space when I was in Kansas City last week. I encourage all of you to sign up for her newsletter. I am hoping to make Art Nest a regular stop on my teaching travels. It is going to be SEW good. I give it two BIG thumbs up.

I have TWO virtual workshops happening in the near future. 

I am teaching a Weekend Intensive of Making Prints! If you have never taken this class, now is the time! Taking this workshop is the gateway to SEW many good things.The amazing student work featured in this slideshow was created by Erin Nicole, Sarai Hopfe, Kate Winegar, Cathy Lane, Deborah Ryan, and Joan Delony. 

Making Prints is a complete exploration of creating simple units—stripes, polka dots, herringbones, plaids and more—by using improvisational cutting, piecing, and pressing techniques. EACH SESSION IS RECORDED and made available for student use.

Hone your improv piecing and designing skills, by signing up for this workshop here.

MAKING PRINTS

Weekend Intensive Virtual Workshop

Saturday & Sunday 8AM-12NOON Alaska Time (AKDT) (NOON-4PM Eastern Time)

October 21 & 22, 2023

I am also teaching BIG BOTANY in my favorite long format structure—four three hour sessions. This is a fan favorite, and I WON’T be teaching this workshop again in this format until the fall of 2024, but you can take the workshop LIVE & INPERSON at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops March 18—22, 2024.

If you want to take the workshop virtually with RECORDINGS in the next 12 months, then now is the time to sign up here. 

BIG BOTANY—Virtual Workshop
Wednesdays 2PM—5PM Alaska Time (AKST & AKDT) 6PM-9PM Eastern Time
October 25, November 1, 15, 22, 2023

This image is a screen grab from Instagram. If you want to see even MORE amazing work, check out #bigbotany on Instagram.

And last but certainly not least. Cindy Grisdela, Sarah Bond, and I are chatting again on Instagram. We just finished teaching Piecing Perspectives—Composing with Units on Madeline Island for MISA—the Madeline Island School of the Arts. It was amazing. We love teaching together and talking about all things quilting. I hope you will join us LIVE on Instagram at 3PM East Coast Time on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. We will be hanging out on Sarah’s Instagram page. Just go to @slbphilly to join in on the fun. 

I feel like I am just full of superlatives—in such a good way. I am grateful for all of you, and I hope you all have the space in your life to keep stitching. 

Maria