Look Me Up in Lancaster

Andi Reynolds here, sniffing wonderful things in the air. It’s not just Spring—it’s the start of Show Season in the Quilt world. A most exciting time!

Next week AQS will host the first of four shows in 2011. We will be at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 16 – 19.

Being at each AQS quilt show is always exciting for me, because as the executive book editor for AQS, I get to meet so many creative people with such interesting ideas. If you have given some thought to writing a quilt book, come to the quilt show and see me! Bring just an idea or a full-blown proposal or anything in between.

My office will be the Susquehanna Board room, which is on the fourth floor of the Marriott at Penn Square. The Marriott and convention center are attached; just use the hotel’s elevators and you’ll find me.

If you'd like to talk about a book idea, you can prepare in advance by reviewing our proposal guidelines, click here to read or print the guidelines.

You can also attend my lecture, Quilt Book Publishing 101, which will be Thursday, March 17 (Happy St. Patrick’s Day!) from 12 pm to 1 pm in the Southern Market Council Chamber. Southern Market is across Vine Street from the convention center. Ask for Lecture # 42805 at the Workshop Desk at the show.

Later that afternoon, also at Southern Market, I will moderate the Author's Roundtable. From 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm come hear what four AQS authors have to say about what it’s like to publish with AQS. This is your time to ask all the nitty-gritty questions you can think of about what it is like to write a quilt book. Invited authors are Kathie Alyce (Flip Flop Block Quilts); Dianne S. Hire (Vivacious Curvy Quilts); Sally Terry (Pathways from Quilt Top to Quilted); and Sue Nickels (Machine Quilting: A Primer of Techniques). Ask for Special Event # 42201—it’s free.

Both events should help explain the process of becoming an AQS author, but you don't need to attend them to talk with me. Walk-ins are welcome, or you may make an appointment by Friday, March 11 by emailing me at andi@aqsquilt.com. You can always ask for me at the Workshop Desk, too. 

I hope to see you soon in Lancaster!

Lancaster Instructor Sue Nickels: In Her Own Words

I started quilting in 1978 after my daughter was born because I wanted to make a baby quilt for her.

Sewing, knitting, cross stitch and other crafty things have always been part of my life. My major in college was art, so quilting seemed like the perfect thing for me. I have been quilting for 32 years!

I do have a designated sewing room/office. My favorite feature about my workspace is my sewing table and my BERNINA sewing machine. I have a table that is very deep behind my machine so I can quilt even very large quilts on my home sewing machine. The sewing machine also sits down in the table and the slide-on tray is flush with the table for easy movement of the quilt. I also have a nice design wall and good lighting. Next will be better storage space for my fabrics and supplies!

My quilting specialty is creating quilts using machine techniques. I teach machine quilting and machine appliqué for the traditional quilter. My classes are nice for beginners as well as experienced machine quilters. I am always striving to keep growing and to use my machine to achieve the best quality results. I am teaching mostly machine quilting workshops at Lancaster. I absolutely love to teach beginners because machine quilting seems very intimidating to most quilters. I love to show that anyone can be a good machine quilter with some good basics and practice.

My favorite story from a class (this was a 5-day retreat) was a student who forgot her power cord for her sewing machine and was so upset that she wouldn't be able to use her machine all week. She called her husband and asked if he could ship it to next day UPS. He could not find the cord at home so he went and bought one at the local shop and said he would ship it to her to arrive the next day. At about 6pm that same day- in walks her husband with the power cord -- he drove 5 hours to bring it to her! We dubbed him the best husband ever and a lot cuter than any UPS driver! (The kicker was when he asked where her original cord might be as he couldn't find it at home, she said she couldn't imagine where it had gone -- he went to sewing machine travel bag, dug around a bit and pulled out the original power cord and he wasn't even mad -- just said he was happy to see her!)

On a more personal note, I am a new grandma! Stella Holly Kavanagh was born May 21st and is now five months old. They live in Philadelphia and we live in Michigan, so we don't get to see her enough, but I will be a little closer while I am in Lancaster!

Sue is teaching the following classes at the AQS Quilt Show and Contest in Lancaster, March 16 - 19, 2011.

#42809 Machine Quilting Tips and Tricks (lecture)

#43503 Stitched Raw-Edge Applique – Tulips and Heart

 # 45501 Drawing Fabulous Feathers

#48101 Machine Quilting: Feathers and Stippling

#48502 Machine Quilting Basics; #48514 Machine Quilting Basics
This is the same class offered twice.



Click here to register for the Lancaster show and to sign up for one of Sue's awesome classes.