Ping Pong
2026–38W’’ x 28H’’

I have been preparing work for several gallery shows. My focus has been on creating smaller joyful works. The first show is called Quilter’s Arcade. I have also been thinking of it as Defiant Joy. If you find that concept intriguing, I encourage you to listen to this U2 interview with the New York Times. 

Sometimes the best lighting of all is a power failure.

Douglas Coupland

Thursday night into Friday afternoon, Anchorage was under a high winds warning and 11,000 people lost their power. YIKES. Life without electricity is no fun at all. As we know, sewing machines and irons need electrical juice. 

Son #2’s band was preparing for their Halloween gig, but the barn where they play was one of many places in town without electricity. My husband loaded up our generator and headed to the gig. Because, you know, even without power, the show would go on. That’s the Alaskan way. If we cancelled things because of weather, we would never get anything done!

This got me thinking about all of the times we’ve lost power at the same time I was facing a major deadline (the mother of all my finishes). Power Outages and Deadlines are a terrible mix.

Candle light is a poor substitute for the bright lights of my studio.

One year, we lost power for about five days along with the rest of the neighborhood. A week later, in ANOTHER windstorm, a tree went down in our yard, and we were again without power! This time, we had to pay for the repairs and an inspection, and then we got our power back. Fortunately, my husband was so traumatized by the first power outage that he drove to Costco and bought the LAST generator they had in stock. 

I was working on quilts for the Bellevue Art Museum’s exhibition High Fiber Diet. My quilting was powered by that aforementioned generator, and I was sure I was going to die from carbon monoxide poisoning. It was all in my head. I was just super anxious about that show! 

A year later, I drove down to Homer, Alaska to install the show Cut-Stitch-Press at the Bunnell Street Art Center. The wind blew itself into a blizzard that grabbed the town’s power and turned it off.

I ended up stitching by the dim light of the faint February sun. This time, we were defeated by nature, and while the show was installed, the opening event was rescheduled.

It has been awhile since any power outages have collided with my quilting deadlines—thank goodness for small miracles! Still, this has been an interesting trip down memory lane. I am sure all of you have visceral recollections of power outages—it is a thing. Fortunately, this time, Chugach Electric saved the day, and the band played for a grateful dressed up Halloween crowd.

NEWS & EVENTS
COLOR CONCEPTS FOR QUILTERS

VIRTUAL LIVE WORKSHOP—STARTS NOVEMBER 3, 2026!

6PM-9PM East Coast Time
Tuesdays, November 3, 10, and 17, 2026


For quilters, color does not exist without shape and line. So, let’s explore these concepts together! This workshop is an exploration of all the things color is and can do. We will try to understand these things through lectures, demos, and practice. Each exploration of a color concept is paired with a shape. This will result in a nine patch quilt or nine small stitched color concept sketches. 

GAME OF IMPROV—Last Workshop for 2026!

LIVE VIRTUAL WORKSHOP 
Saturday & Sunday, December 5 & 6, 2026
1PM--5PM East Coast Time

This is a TWO FOR ONE Workshop. You sign up and a friend gets to attend for FREE!

SOUTHEAST FIBER ARTS ALLIANCE
Chamblee, Georgia 
HAPPENING DURING QUILTCON 2027
Quilter’s Arcade Show—January 12—February 27, 2027 
Artist Talk—Thursday, February 25, 2027 6PM-8PM 
Free and Open to the Public, but it is great if register to attend!
Round & Round Workshop—February 20-22, 2027  (Workshop is full, but there is a waiting list!)

EMPTY SPOOLS SESSION FOUR

Asilomar, California
LIVE & IN-PERSON
GET IN SHAPE! Workshop

Friday, April 23 – Wednesday, April 28, 2027

This class is small. Sign up for an intimate workshop experience in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Come share the experience with me! 

Improv @ the NEST 

Tuesday, May 18—Saturday, May 22, 2027
After Party Saturday PM May 22—Sunday AM May 23 
The second annual Improv @ the NEST is happening!

This is my personal retreat. We meet in the beautiful farm country of northwest Missouri for an amazing five days of quilting, instruction, yummy food, and MORE. You can sign up here. 

FLASHBACK PHOTO
Ten years ago, I was teaching in China! What an incredible experience that was. I thought I would be back again, but then Covid happened and live teaching came to a screeching halt. 

STUDIO SNAPSHOT

New work with Halloween attire. I am dressed up as a Quilting Diva! Happy Halloween everyone. It has been such a nice distraction, hasn't it? 

May you power through your outages. 

Maria