I just spent a fabulous week out in Denver recording the 4100 series of the PBS show, Love of Quilting! As always, I had a wonderful time! I can’t wait for you to see all the quilts and techniques Sara and I showcased in these episodes.

Do you have a favorite block? Sara loves pinwheels and Dresden Plates. On the show we worked on the Bountiful Sunflowers quilt by Natalie Crabtree in the Sept/Oct 2022 Love of Quilting magazine. That’s the quilt hanging there behind me on set. Don’t you LOVE the colors?

I have yet to do an entire Dresden Plate quilt of my own but I’m fascinated by how many different shape those blades can be. Pointy ends, round ends, skinny blades, fat blades, whole circles, half circles, quarter circles… SO MUCH FUN! That photo is Sara showing me all the steps to her method and how she is going to teach it on camera.

My days start EARLY. It takes about an hour and a half to get my hair and makeup done. After figuring out what I am wearing so it doesn’t clash with the quilt project, I run over to get my microphone on. That can be a bigger ordeal than you may think. Some fabrics are “scratchy” and as I move the microphone picks it up. Once the audio guy gets that done, I hop over to the set to make sure I have everything laid out for each step we’ll do on camera. Or, if Sara is teaching the quilt, I’ll get up to speed on her methods so I understand how it will all go together.

Once I’m confident in how the show will flow, I’ll show what I’m planning to do with Sara, our producer, Vanessa, and the sewing specialist, Eileen. They are all so incredibly talented and can quickly point out if there is a step I’m missing or need to explain in a bit more detail. Next, we walk the crew through the project. The camera crew is so incredibly talented as they follow the flying hands through everything!

One of the quilts I teach in the 4100 Series is Petals On My Path. This two block quilt features split rectangles. Have you used that unit much? It is incredibly powerful! My favorite way to make them is with the Studio 180 Split Rec ruler. That ruler is AMAZING! But, you can also use a regular ruler with some Glow Line tape to tweak a regular ruler into a specialty split rectangle ruler! I find so many uses for that tape. It is 1/4″ wide and is semi-transparent. I love it!

Of course, at the end of the day, Sara and I go out for dinner and a drink to relax after our long hectic day. One of our favorite restaurants is in Golden, Colorado. Take a look at my swanky drink! Isn’t it adorable? It was almost too pretty to drink…. almost. 🙂 That one in the photo is the Rogue One!

I can’t wait for you to see all the other quilts from the 4100 series. We showcase building off set column quilts with half blocks, dive into quilt theory and how it will help break down borders for machine quilting, how to use strip sets to speed up piecing, how to use wide back ombre fabrics for piecing, different methods for making V blocks, using 3D elements on quilts, color theory for fabric selection and SO MUCH MORE!!!

Look for the next season of the Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting show on your PBS station soon!