A note from Karen Kay Buckley, BERNINA National Artisan, quilter, teacher, author, designer:

My quilt, Oriental Expression, is on the June/July 2010 cover of Quilter's Newsletter. I did all the applique and quilting on my artista 730. Also, in the magazine, they did a nice article along with some of the patterns used in the quilt. This is my 14th cover quilt. I am still amazed at how many times my quilts have been used on magazine covers. I know what is out there and it is truly an honor to be on the cover!

Detail

A note from Linda Teufel, BERNINA National Artisan:

My first blog ever and I just got my first text phone a month ago! I'm Linda Teufel, a BERNINA Artisan who loves to make art-to-wear garments, and author of the book, Koos Couture Collage. I am also a publisher and own Dragon Threads which specializes in art quilt books. Here is what we are working on for summer publication. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek!

Noriko Endo is a Japanese quilt artist who teaches internationally and has won numerous awards for her landscape quilts that have an "Impressionistic" feeling. (And she sews on BERNINA machines!) She loves the woods and nature and it shows in these works filled with details of small animals, birds, rivers, mushrooms and flowers. Each quilt holds so much detail that one could stare at them for hours!

Her new book, Confetti Naturescapes, includes a gallery of her work, tells about her life and has her confetti technique in easy steps so you can create your own landscape masterpiece. Full of beautiful photos, Noriko's book takes you through her process from selecting photos to stitching shadow details on the tree trunks.

Take a look at her website and try to take a class with her for a really delightful experience. (She'll be at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach this summer.) And please look at Dragon Threads' website and sign up for our newsletter so you'll be the first to know about new books and sales.

I love working on quilt books and collaborating to create a beautiful work on its own. This career enables me to use all the skills I learned from my other occupations - teaching high school home economics, buying and marketing for retail stores, catalog sales production and fashion design. Expect some exciting news soon on our next book!

By Debbi Lashbrook, BERNINA Educator

You know it is a good thing that most fabric doesn't have a shelf life!

I completed a quilt for my dad for Christmas. It was from a fabric that I re-discovered in my stash from a few years back... that is why I feel it is always a good idea to buy a little more than you think you're going to need - it just may take a while to finish your project!

The project was easy to execute and it was a great way to use a panel, a repeating stripe, and my embroidery machine. The panel prints were cut and raw edge appliqued onto the topper. The center snowflake was appliqued with the blanket stitch. The repeating stripes were cut apart and used as a border - a different stripe was used for the upper and lower borders than for the right and left borders. Embroidered snowflakes were placed in each corner of the quilt. (Note: The picture only shows half of the quilt.)

I made friends once again with the BERNINA Stitch Regulator and the project reminded me again or how much I enjoy free-motion stitching because I don't have to get that special rhythm down of how fast to move the fabric and how much to press on the foot control. For those of you who have never tried it, I would suggest that you go to your local BERNINA store and ask for a trial run. It really does make free-motion stitching fun!

A note from Jackie Robinson, author, designer, quilter, teacher, founder of Animas Quilts Publishing, and BERNINA National Artisan -

Earlier this month I stitched with some of my Canadian quilt friends at Bull River, BC. NOT a teaching situation - simply FUN! Top it off with the incredible food their chef provides for a Super-Duper weekend!

I'm working on blocks for one of the new quilts we'll be introducing at Spring Quilt Market. Happy Trails! Jackie

A note from Cindy Walter, designer, author, teacher, frequent guest on Quilters TV:

It is always fun to hear what my Bernina friends are working on through the blog. I'm working on lots of new quilts - projects are stacked on my work table and I will be sewing for months. I love to hear my Bernina roar! Here are two of my painted quilts.