Dear Friends--

My teaching and lecturing calendar is filling up fast. I can't believe I've got guild appearances booked into June of 2011, and I'm juiced about teaching a beginner quilt workshop this summer at the Jersey Shore, specifically the fabulous Long Beach Island Foundation (love their rooftop Pilates class). The date will be posted soon on my website.

I'm hoping to meet as many of my readers as possible this year while on the road.

Here's your next opportunity: I hope some of you can attend one or both of the exciting fundraisers planned for the nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts on Thursday, March 4. First, there will be a tea at 4 pm with noted curator and author Carolyn Mazloomi on African-American quilts, and she's bringing some treasures from her personal collection. That evening beginning at 7 pm, we're having a dinner, lecture and silent auction and most of the luminaries on the AAQ board will be there because we meet in DC the next day. For details about the events, go to www.allianceforamericanquilts.org.

THE QUILT LIFE MAGAZINE IS OUT NOW!

The debut issue of the new magazine from Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, published by the American Quilter's Society, just landed in my mailbox on Friday and it was worth the wait. I think that with editor Jan Magee they succeeded in their attempt to do something different for quilters with an emphasis on sumptuous photography and good writing.

Each issue will focus on a theme and for this issue it's "inspiration." So you get to see how Australian quilter Pam Holland created a striking quilt featuring camels she observed and photographed at a camel race in Dubai. Just because you aren't likely to make a camel quilt yourself doesn't mean that you won't pick up some fresh ideas about fusible applique techniques. And when you get to the projects here, like a fun applique quilt from Alex Anderson, you get an inviting amount of context. You see what inspired her as well as getting the pattern and how-tos. There is plenty of practical stuff here. I can't wait to try Ricky Tims' trick for making one-seam flying geese blocks, and I got some good travel advice from quilt teacher Libby Lehman, who spends more days on the road every year than she does at her Texas home.

I was excited to see the debut of my regular feature "Look Who's Quilting Now," which showcases what I call an "unexpected quilter." In this first issue my profile subject is Kay Gardiner, famous as a knitter and half of the blogging duo Mason-Dixon Knitting. I can't wait to introduce you to the other amazing quilters I'm finding: I promise they won't be folks you've read about in other quilting magazines. Pick up the magazine to see how this feature works and drop me an e-mail if you have an unexpected quilter to nominate.

THE LATEST SKINNY ON MARK LIPINSKI

I can't divulge details about the brand new magazines (yes, plural) that Mark Lipinski is working on now. You'll have to keep checking the blog on his website, or become one of his Facebook friends for that.

But I can report the exciting news that Mark has just joined the board of directors of the nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts (of which I am president). I think he's going to be just the megaphone we need to get the word out about our amazing projects. Not enough people know that the Alliance website is a portal to more than 50,000 vintage and modern quilts from four centuries, not to mention a pioneering oral history project that includes interviews with more than 1,000 quilters from amateurs to A-list celebs. Wherever he travels and wherever he hangs his editor's hat, Mark will keep his cupcakes abreast of our resources, contests, auctions and news. And yes, if you come to the Alliance fundraiser in DC next month, you can hang out with Mark.

Meanwhile, for those who missed the latest twist, Mark recently announced his return to the online television show Quilt Out Loud, which he co-hosts with Jodie Davis. It airs on QNNtv.com, where you can go to subscribe. If you miss his wit and his deep knowledge of quilting since he left Quilter's Home magazine, you will love this. He left the TV show last fall when he had a dispute with the parent company of QNN, which also now owns Quilter's Home. He'll be taping new Quilt Out Loud shows soon, and the February show now airing was filmed before his hiatus. (But no, this doesn't mean Mark will return to the magazine he founded. Two editors who worked under him, Jake Finch and Melissa Maher, are valiantly carrying on, trying to maintain the magazine's snarkiness and add their own voices as quilting mamas.)

Q&A WITH ROBERT SHAW ON HIS FABULOUS NEW BOOK

There are few quilt books that I consider "must-haves" but one on my short list is the new book by curator Robert Shaw, American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007. Shaw explains in the introduction that what he means by democratic is that quilting is an art "available to anyone with basic sewing skills, an urge for self-expression and an eye for beauty."

His eye for beauty is well-trained indeed including his time as curator at Vermont's Shelburne Museum and one of the most significant features of this book is the wealth of little known or published quilt masterpieces. Like a chintz medallion quilt from 1820 that's covered with circus acts and animals and an African-American quilt from the late 1800s featuring undulating snakes. The book is a continuous revelation and celebration of America's quilt history by someone who has studied it for 25 years. And at only $40, this is an amazing bargain. I was so struck by this sumptuous book that I asked Bob Shaw to answer a few questions, and here is what I learned:

Q: There are several coffee table books on this topic available. Why another?
A: I have long seen the need for a truly comprehensive book on American quilts and quiltmaking. Rod Kiracofe's The American Quilt is wonderful but stops at 1950 and the Orloffs' Quilts in America was published in the early 1970s.

Q: Though there are familiar iconic quilts in the book, I feel like I'm seeing many striking examples that are fresh to me. How did you achieve that?
A: I wanted a mix of iconic images and fresh material and worked very hard to strike a balance. There are quite a few pieces in the book that have never been published before and may acquire iconic status down the line. I had a tiny photo budget but wanted to get as many museum images as possible to help validate my thesis of quilts as art. So I begged, pleaded, traded and still overspent my photo budget by several thousand dollars because I refused to compromise my goals.

Q: Who is your idea audience?
A: I hope that quiltmakers will buy the book but I also hope it will reach well beyond the traditional how-to quilter audience. This is an art book and I hope it will open new eyes to the importance of quilts and quiltmaking to the story of American art and history.

Q: What else should people know about the book?
A: Anyone who is interested can buy an autographed copy from me through my website. I'm available for lectures and I'm interested in teaching a college-level course based on the book. Also, I'm hoping for a museum exhibition tied to the book.

HANDBAG CHALLENGE WITH PRIZES FROM SINGER AND COATS & CLARK
I am well aware that most quilters make lots of things in addition to quilts. If you make handbags, you should know about a nifty contest underway. Leading this is an outfit called Handbag Designer 101, and you can download contest info at the website handbagdesigner101.com.

There is an annual Independent Handbag Designer competition and the prizes for "best handmade handbag" this year will include a new Singer Curvy sewing machine and a thread collection from Coats & Clark. The awards ceremony will take place in NYC at Parsons The New School for Design in June.

ART QUILTS FOR SALE AT SAQA SITE

Even though I'm not on the board, I often plug SAQA, Studio Art Quilt Associates, because it's such a fine organization for anybody who loves art quilts or wants to make them. They are always adding services and features and a cool new one is the regular online sale of quilts that have appeared in recent SAQA exhibitions. (As opposed to the fall auction of specially made quilts that are one foot square.)

Here you will find quilts by famous names and up-and-comers with prices that range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Go to saqa.com and click on SAQA store, then select "art quilts for sale." They will be grouped under the exhibit's name.

I hope you have a wonderfully inspiring and productive month. Feel free to share this e-newsletter with anyone you think might like it.

Quilt on!
love, Meg