Mrgaret Make It Simpler Box
Quilting News from Anita Grossman Solomon



Anita circa 1960  
 
Here I am showing off the new dress my Nana bought for me.  Coming from a large family where hand-me-downs were the norm,  these gifts meant the world to me.  I can still  feel the fabric!


Detail of memory quilt  - created by Roberta Horton

 

Happy 2015!   
 
I'm generally not a "New Year's Resolution" maker, but this year I've decided to share a few fun ones with you in the name of greater creativity for 2015.  I hope you'll enjoy this newsletter and take advantage today of The Quilt Show's final day of free "legendary" episodes.   Details and links are provided below.

2015 promises to be a great year, so more to come soon!
Resolution #1:  Learn from "The Legends"  

Today's the last day to take advantage of The Quilt Show's free viewing of their annual "Legends of Quilting" interviews.  The Quilt Show has proclaimed Roberta Horton and Mary Mashuta as the 2014 Legends.  I claim them as my legendary friends!  Through New Year's Day, you can watch all of The Legendary Episodes online on The Quilt Show at no charge.  Mary demonstrates her clever "Sashiko by machine" method.  Roberta shows what she's been up to, as well as explaining how the wonderful "photo" quilt at the top of this newsletter came to be.  It's an in-home visit that includes their quilt room, studios and wondrous garden.  Click the link below to view:

2014 - Roberta Horton/Mary Mashuta
 

Once you watch this wonderful interview, you'll want to "visit" with other legends:

2007 - Virginia Avery

2008 - Jinny Beyer 

2009 - Libby Lehman 

2010 - Yvonne Porcella 

2011 - Eleanor Burns

2012 - Meredith Schroeder

2013 - Michael James

     

 
Roberta, Anita, and Mary 
Resolution #2:  Share your passion
iPhone screen capture photo
Joanna S. Rose has a passion for collecting quilts.  Lots and lots of quilts and she knows she's fortunate to have them.  So when her husband asked her how she wanted to commemorate her 80th birthday, she decided she wanted to share the red and white quilts from her collection with the world, in a special free exhibit in Manhattan.  "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts" was a game-changer for quilting in a lot of ways.  The revolutionary, dramatic display was awe-inspiring for quilters and the general public alike, and we will be forever grateful to Mrs. Rose for sharing this portion of her antique quilt collection in such an amazing way. Extensive information about the exhibition can be found here on the American Folk Art Museum's site
 
Wonderful all over again is the free exhibition app for Apple devices, recently updated.

Whether you are a modern, traditional or traditionally modern quilter, the Red and White quilts resonated with you and reminded us that "everything old is new again."

The drama of contemporary red and white quilts was on display in Houston last October as part of the International Quilt Festival's own Ruby Jubilee celebration.  I'm proud to have had my red and white Pineapple quilt on display for the event.   See it below.
Photo by Nichole Ramirez
Resolution # 3:  Take a New Perspective




 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
For most of us, New England fall foliage viewing = road trip.  But for a totally fresh take on nature's most dramatic color show, why not experience it from the water?  Join me for a truly inspirational journey on the Road to California's Fall Foliage 2015 Quilt Cruise. 
 
On this unique cruise through New England, you'll be inspired by gorgeous scenery and exciting, award-winning quilt educators sharing unique techniques.  With over 10 quilting workshops, open sewing and Janome machines with 24/7 technical support this will be a truly wonderful experience.  Additional quilt educators joining me on this seven day adventure will be Stevii Graves, Shelly Pagliai, Margie Ullery, and Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  
Resolution #4:  Recognize your 2014 successes - whether big or small. 
 
I logged many miles in 2014 and taught quiltmaking through both the Panama Canal and Alaska's Glacier Bay.  I had never been on a quilt cruise, but I appreciated the invitation to teach and I am so glad I decided to try something new. Now I have great memories and l gathered a few new "quilt friends" along the way. Looking back on 2014, I'm especially proud of the Coral and Indigo Pineapple Quilt Janice Petre and I created for the Robert Kaufman Fabric company's 30th Anniversary Kona Cotton Lookbook It's a magnificent "book" that captures 30 amazing "solids only" quilts and I'm humbled by the beauty of the Hornick Rivlin photograph of my quilt. 
Click photo for Robert Kaufman Fabric's Lookbook
Whether or not you choose to make any resolutions this New Year's Day, I hope you'll promise yourself to make time for quilting and everything (and everyone) that gives you joy in 2015.  

Quilty as charged,