2018 Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festival

When the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival was in Phoenix earlier this year, I went with my official quilt/sewing expert – my mom, Cyndee – to see what was new since the last time we went.

The textile-arts-focused expo moves around the western United States throughout the year. It features a mix of local and national/traveling exhibitors, demos, and seminars. Some exhibitors offer open make-and-take projects for a small materials fee (usually $3-5).

Here is a sampler of who and what we saw at the Festival…

Fabric and Patterns

Elkhorn Quilt Company – Based here in Mesa, Arizona, Debbie Dominy specializes in modern quilts and a curated collection of contemporary fabrics. You have to catch her at an exhibitor booth, since she sells exclusively at quilt shows and festivals.

IG: elkhornquiltcompany

African Everything was founded by Mary Ogwel (a.k.a. “Basket Mary”) to help women lift each other out of poverty. Her imports span the continent and include coiled bowls, hand-painted batik fabrics from Tanzania, beaded wire bowls from Kenya, and artisan baskets from Ghana and Tanzania.

Online shop.
IG: @africanbaskets and #basketmary
IRL: Saturdays at Downtown Phoenix Public Farmers Market (8am – 1pm) + Uptown Farmers Market (9am – 1pm)
Extension of Maendeleo Imports and Thank You and God Bless (TYGB).

England Design Studios – Designer/owner Cynthia England developed her own style of quilting called “picture piecing” for her beautifully detailed quilts. The technique allows you to reuse your pattern, does not waste fabric, and makes it easy to fix mistakes. She now sells her patterns, kits, and books to help others learn picture piecing.

Spirit of the Artisan – Formerly Stitch in Time, Gale Carson continues find and import gorgeous artisan textiles from Southeast Asia, including vintage Hmong embroidery and Thai silk batik, as well as hand-loomed silk, Ikot, cottons, and wools.

the-sampler.com’s booth is covered with day-glow quilts and vibrant All About Color fabrics! They also sell patterns and quilt kits.

FB: AllAboutCColor

Rochelle’s Fine Fabric and Quilting had all kinds of odds and ends, but what really caught our attention was the woman with the scissors through her head! It’s just one of the gag headbands they offer – you can also choose from options like cleavers and plungers. They sell other novelties, as well as handmade aprons, mesh totes, and patterns.

FB: rochellesfinefabrics

Embellishment + Decoration

Chenille-It: Nannette Holmberg invented a type of bias tape that allows you to easily get a chenille-edge effect. She had examples of it lining quilt squares and embellishing sweaters.

Laura Murray Designs– Just as we were visiting this booth and puzzling over a product called “Paintstiks,” we heard Laura Murray was about to give a workshop about them. So we rushed into the seminar building and slid into some seats. After watching the demo, Paintstiks seem pretty neat – kind of like a sophisticated crayon that you can use to make patterns on fabric (or other porous surfaces like paper).

FB: lauramurraydesigns

Taylor Made Iron-on designs has all kinds of bling for embellishing fabric. They also had a t-shirt with a U.S. map captioned “Been there, done that,” so you can decorate the states you’ve visited with iron-on rhinestones or embroidered RVs, etc.

Jewelry

Bob Miller continues making rad steampunk accessories! He also does custom craft-themed jewelry with teeny scissors or sewing machines or knitting needles. You can make a fob to decorate your keychain or claim your favorite crafting scissors at his booth’s make and take.

Karen and Chuck Nolke – It was great to see these artists again and talk to them about their team process for creating the one-of-kind jewelry pieces in their collection. She chooses colors, he fires them, and she then adds paint, which creates a unique layered look.

Etsy: karennolke

Guilds

The Lacey Ladies of Arizona (chapter of the International Organization of Lace, Inc.) were super excited to show off their different types of lacemaking, often talking over each other!

Their annual Lace Day event this year will be on November 17, 10am-4pm at Beatitudes Life Center in Phoenix.

Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild demonstrates traditional spinning and handweaving techniques. They have monthly fiber artists’ meetings October through May.

FB Group: Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild

More Info

Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festival

Upcoming 2018 shows:

Orange County, CA September 27 – 29
Puyallup, WA October 18 – 20
Tucson, AZ November 15 – 17

Phoenix event

January 31 – February 2, 2019
Admission: $10 for all 3 days.
Largest of the Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festivals.
Held at the Arizona State Fair Grounds.
The closest parking is the South Lot at the Fair Grounds. Enter through the McDowell Gate at 17th Ave and McDowell Rd.)
Parking $8.

We were guests of the Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival.

September 24, 2018September 24, 2018

Wonder

“Travel and magic both have the ability to deliver this cataclysmic death blow to any sense of certainty that you have.”

-Nate Staniforth

One of the best kept secrets about adulthood is that adults don’t have all the answers.

We’re just better at faking it, as if imagination and curiosity were beneath us. As if childlike wonder was only for children.

But it’s good for all of us to remember our actual place on this vast and baffling planet, to sit back to appreciate the beauty of everyday magic, to marvel at what we can’t explain.

I loved how the thread of wonder ran through a recent episode of the podcast You Made It Weird.

In their 2-hour-plus conversation, comedian/host Pete Holmes and his guest, magician Nate Staniforth, talked about the things that challenge your assumptions about reality – like traveling or having children or seeing a really good magic trick.

You can close yourself off, or you can open your arms to the mystery and be amazed at what unfolds.

A final thought from Nate Staniforth:

“Wonder is such a slippery, ephemeral experience. You can’t bottle it up and keep it. And if you could, it wouldn’t be wonder. So the idea is not to find it once and then say ‘I’ve got it,’ but it’s to keep looking for it.”

PodRec!

A podcast episode recommendation for you – hopefully, the first of many!

You Made It Weird
August 15, 2018
guest: Nate Staniforth

September 17, 2018September 17, 2018

Car Games

Both Phillip and I grew up in road-trip-taking families before the time of iPads or backseat DVD players.

Back in that age of analog entertainment, there were books and snacks and fighting with your sibling(s) and staring out the window.

We counted Volkswagen “slug” bugs, spotted the letters of the alphabet on road signs, looked for license plates from other states, and tried to get truckers to honk.

I didn’t think about this type of games not being universal until Phillip and I were driving our friends from China to go on their first camping trip and realized this was another new thing for them.

Of course, it makes sense that not everyone went on road trips as a kid, and, therefore didn’t play road trip games. I just hadn’t thought about it before.

What did you do on long trips growing up (whether you took a car, train, bus, etc.)? Did you play any games like these?

September 10, 2018September 10, 2018

August 2018 Photos: St. Mark + Dr. Seuss

We were in Italy a year ago, and I’ve been thinking about the trip and the stories I still want to tell.

The Lion

I recently posted a photo of the bronze winged lion that towers above Venice’s main square, Piazza San Marco.

Because the mythical creature is the symbol of St. Mark/San Marco, who is the patron saint of Venice, it has come to also represent the city itself. (And you can spot winged lions all over the place!)

***

The Lorax

Anyway, the other August photo I wanted to share is a panoramic shot from inside the Geisel Library in La Jolla (San Diego).

It’s a glass wall covered with facts about Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) and the history of the unusual building.

My favorite part was this quote from The Lorax:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

When you think about it, that sentiment about caring enough to take action is oddly in line with something St. Mark (quoting Moses) wrote:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

September 8, 2018May 23, 2023

5 Museum Day Picks in Arizona (+ a few elsewhere)

On September 22, many museums across the U.S. are offering free admission and/or planning special events as part of Smithsonian magazine Museum Day. You can search their list and then download a ticket for a free general admission (good for 2 people) to the participating museum of your choice.

I found 5 Arizona museums – 1 in Tucson and 4 in the Phoenix area – that I’ve visited and would recommend. They’re listed below in alphabetical order, followed by a few bonus suggestions from Indiana, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

1. Desert Botanical Garden
Phoenix

While not a museum in the traditional sense, the Desert Botanical Garden participates in Museum Day and was actually where we went last year.

There are cactus and succulent galleries, a wildflower trail, a contemplation garden, exhibits on historical peoples of the Sonoran Desert, cafes with patio seating, and art sprinkled throughout. Located in Papago Park near the Phoenix Zoo, it beautifully showcases the plants of the Arizona desert and is one of the top places I recommend to Phoenix visitors.

2. Heard Museum
Phoenix

Another place at the top of my Phoenix must-see list is the Heard Museum!

It’s an extensive museum of American Indian art, culture, and history, focusing on the tribes of the Southwest. They display both traditional and contemporary art, including jewelry, ceramics, katsina dolls, and textiles. There is also an immersive exhibit on the Indian boarding school experience.

3. i.d.e.a. Museum
Mesa

Formerly known as the Arizona Museum for Youth, the i.d.e.a. Museum is an art and science museum with interactive activities and exhibits for kids.

It’s also where I’ve given my journal workshop during Southwest Maker Fest the last few years.

4. Museum of Contemporary Art
Tucson

Tucson’s MOCA hosts rotating contemporary art exhibitions in an airy space converted from an old fire station. They also have a fabulous little gift shop with jewelry, prints, and gift items by local artists.

It’s located in Downtown Tucson, just across from the Tucson Convention Center (and Tucson Music Hall, where we saw Riders of the Purple Sage).

5. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Scottsdale

SMoCA is an art and event space with a permanent collection and exhibitions in the areas of contemporary art, architecture, and design.

Bonus non-Arizona recommendations:

Fishers, Indiana–

Conner Prairie

Conner Prairie in Central Indiana is a living history museum that I loved visiting as a kid! I remember candle-dipping demonstrations and sitting in on a lesson in an old-timey one-room schoolhouse. Even though I haven’t been there in years, it made me smile to see it on the Museum Day list.

Seattle, Washington–

Museum of Pop Culture

The Experience Music Project (EMP) was recently re-named the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). It makes sense, because, while they do have an atrium devoted to constantly-playing music videos (“Sky Church”), a towering guitar sculpture, and galleries for Seattle legends like Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana, there are also exhibitions on sci-fi, video games, fantasy genre archetypes, and other subjects besides music.

Housed within a striking building designed by Frank O. Gehry, MoPOP is located at Seattle Center, near the Space Needle.

Washington, DC–

I think DC’s lesser-known museums can sometimes get lost in the shadows of the more imposing, free-admission Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall. If the cost of admission is what’s keeping you away, then Museum Day is a great opportunity to finally visit!

National Museum of Women in the Arts

My mom and I loved participating in a National Museum of Women in the Arts community day. I hope to visit again and check out more of the artwork!

Newseum

I very much wanted to visit the Newseum while we were in DC, but I just couldn’t fit it in. It’s a museum about the news, specifically how breaking stories are covered and the importance of a free press.

For more exhibitions and museum events, check out this fall’s Happenings List!

At the Museum of Pop Culture/EMP, we were guests of Visit Seattle.