Jane Sassaman quilt artist, fabric designer, author and teacher

In my last post I was off to teach at Quilting Adventures in New Braunfels, Texas. I knew it would be a wonderful time because it was my second visit. But this week was even better than I expected! The weather was fine and smelled of spring and the hospitality was as grand and warm, as ever. And the students really stepped up to their potential!!! It was especially nice to have some familiar faces and old friends in class, too.

As you can see, a five day class allows time to work on complete compositions. Each project was a gem! I think several of the students even surprised themselves this week. Very satisfying to see such variety in one room!

The snow is gone and the landscape is a hundred different colors of brown. The light has transformed into “spring light”. Here is a beautiful new orchid caught by the evening sun. Since I am holed up in the studio this week trying to meet this years fabric designing deadline I thought I would let some of my talented friends take the stage.

This stunning quilt is called Infinity and was made by one of my talented Australian students, Margaret McDonald. It is Victorian paper pieced by hand and quilted by Sandy Campbell of Rowdy Flat Quilting in Yackandandah, Victoria, Australia. It is a joyous rainbow of energy!

The snow is gone and the landscape is a hundred different colors of brown. The light has transformed into “spring light”. Here is a beautiful new orchid caught by the evening sun. Since I am holed up in the studio this week trying to meet this years fabric designing deadline I thought I would let some of my talented friends take the stage.

This stunning quilt is called Infinity and was made by one of my talented Australian students, Margaret McDonald. It is Victorian paper pieced by hand and quilted by Sandy Campbell of Rowdy Flat Quilting in Yackandandah, Victoria, Australia. It is a joyous rainbow of energy!

I had hoped to post this blog more than a week ago. But as you can see, I have been busy. In fact, I have been half way around the world and back! Last week I was teaching at the celebrated Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was a first visit for both Velda Newman and myself and we had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming.

This is the beautifully restored Expo Center where the event was held. The vendors were housed on the expansive main floor and the classrooms overlooked from above. The Australian quilters welcomed us with enthusiasm and their unique sense of humor and friendliness. Although the trip was brief, we had an excellent adventure and I look forward to my next visit in July 2010.

Although it was summer in Australia, it’s still winter here at home! So this week we will be showing some new winter wraps to keep you cozy and looking good until spring. First, Willow models a coordinating hat and scarf featuring the Dusky Sweet Potato Vine fabric from the Prairie Gothic line. The hat is knit of bulky wool yarn and sprinkled with yoyo flowers. The scarf is lined with matching green polar fleece and trimmed with harmonizing striped ruffles which add femininity and fun.

Here we added a quilted purse to the ensemble. All very rich and extremely wearable.

This outfit predicts the arrival of spring! The saucy cap and scarf use pink polar fleece to guarantee this gear is energy efficient. The fabrics are from the Strawberry colorway of Prairie Gothic from FreeSpirit. 

This cowl scarf is another new design from the studio. It can be buttoned or unbuttoned depending on the weather and the look that you want. Like Willow, I prefer to keep the bottom corners loose to form a collar or dickey effect. This wrap is lined with butterscotch colored fleece to match the coordinating buttons.

We used the Midnight Teasel and Lace fabric with a checkered band for this variation. I think it has a nice combination of comfort and “attitude”… my favorite fashion statement.

Finally, we have a coordinating “Full Fud” topper with a cowl wrap. Even though the colors are neutral, there is a subversive sense of humor at play! This could work well with a formal camels hair coat or a shearling jacket. If you have to keep warm, you may as well have fun and look good doing it!

Thanks to Susan Tempin and Melissa Peda for their excellent sewing skills and attention to details, as always!

I had hoped to post this blog more than a week ago. But as you can see, I have been busy. In fact, I have been half way around the world and back! Last week I was teaching at the celebrated Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was a first visit for both Velda Newman and myself and we had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming.

This is the beautifully restored Expo Center where the event was held. The vendors were housed on the expansive main floor and the classrooms overlooked from above. The Australian quilters welcomed us with enthusiasm and their unique sense of humor and friendliness. Although the trip was brief, we had an excellent adventure and I look forward to my next visit in July 2010.

Although it was summer in Australia, it’s still winter here at home! So this week we will be showing some new winter wraps to keep you cozy and looking good until spring. First, Willow models a coordinating hat and scarf featuring the Dusky Sweet Potato Vine fabric from the Prairie Gothic line. The hat is knit of bulky wool yarn and sprinkled with yoyo flowers. The scarf is lined with matching green polar fleece and trimmed with harmonizing striped ruffles which add femininity and fun.

Here we added a quilted purse to the ensemble. All very rich and extremely wearable.

This outfit predicts the arrival of spring! The saucy cap and scarf use pink polar fleece to guarantee this gear is energy efficient. The fabrics are from the Strawberry colorway of Prairie Gothic from FreeSpirit. 

This cowl scarf is another new design from the studio. It can be buttoned or unbuttoned depending on the weather and the look that you want. Like Willow, I prefer to keep the bottom corners loose to form a collar or dickey effect. This wrap is lined with butterscotch colored fleece to match the coordinating buttons.

We used the Midnight Teasel and Lace fabric with a checkered band for this variation. I think it has a nice combination of comfort and “attitude”… my favorite fashion statement.

Finally, we have a coordinating “Full Fud” topper with a cowl wrap. Even though the colors are neutral, there is a subversive sense of humor at play! This could work well with a formal camels hair coat or a shearling jacket. If you have to keep warm, you may as well have fun and look good doing it!

Thanks to Susan Tempin and Melissa Peda for their excellent sewing skills and attention to details, as always!

I had hoped to get this blog posted a week earlier, but as you can see above, I have been busy. In fact, I have been half way around the world and back! I have just returned from an extraordinary trip to Melbourne, Australia to teach at the Austalasian Quilt Convention. This was the first trip to Australia for both Velda Newman and myself and we had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming. 

This is the lovely restored convention center where the event was held. The vendors were housed on the main floor and the classrooms overlooked from above. The Australian quilters

I had hoped to get this blog posted a week earlier, but as you can see above, I have been busy. In fact, I have been half way around the world and back! I have just returned from an extraordinary trip to Melbourne, Australia to teach at the Austalasian Quilt Convention. This was the first trip to Australia for both Velda Newman and myself and we had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming. 

This is the lovely restored convention center where the event was held. The vendors were housed on the main floor and the classrooms overlooked from above. The Australian quilters

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Here is a little quilt made especially for you! Thanks to all of you who take a few minutes from your busy week to check into the Idea Book.

Today there is a pristine dusting of snow… absolutely perfect for this day of celebration! Take the time to count your blessings today. Thanks again for your enthusiasm and support! 

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Here is a little quilt made especially for you! Thanks to all of you who take a few minutes from your busy week to check into the Idea Book.

Today there is a pristine dusting of snow… absolutely perfect for this day of celebration! Take the time to count your blessings today. Thanks again for your enthusiasm and support! 

The biggest news this week is the long awaited completion of my new updated website! Hopefully, it will be easier for this computer novice to make changes and announcements more easily and quickly. There are some nice new features, for example, if you click on the fabric photos you will be linked to a swatch page that also includes a nifty little slide show of all the Prairie Gothic fabrics. Plus my 2009 teaching schedule is listed and the quilt gallery is finally up to date. Thanks to Minh and Dan for all your hard work and patience! This is real progress!