It has been so strange here, as well as in other parts of the U.S. Our weather since December has been more like spring than winter. In fact, my oldest, Dana, has crocuses coming up right next to their apartment building. We have some snow one day and then for the next week we have temperatures in the high 30's and 40's. It's even made it all the way up into the 50's. Of course, the frost line is still there so when we get all the rain, instead of snow, it has nowhere to go. It just sits on top of the ground until the high winds evaporate it back up into the clouds - so it can come down again as snow or rain. We have a huge puddle in our driveway - we call it Lake Wilson - that is either great for the birds to bathe in or a solid sheet of ice. Lots of people are getting sick of course, and I can't help wondering what kind of bug population is going to make it through the winter instead of dying off and having to start over in the spring. It's sure going to be interesting - and probably very itchy.
So----what do you think of the new things?
I haven't heard from a lot of you this month. Those that I have, had questions about the Quilt Block Clubs so I think that is where I will start this month. An explanation of the Quilt Block Clubs: We have a lot of instructors out in the field that have pretty much quit instructing and others who are new and don't quite know how to get started. I thought this would help both sides. The quilt blocks come out once a month. There are three different sets. I thought this would give you a built-in class session, or sessions (3), that you could do each month. Each set teaches different things. At the end of the classes the students don't have to sew and quilt these into a quilt, they can put two (2) together and have a two-sided throw pillow. They can use each one individually and put a plain quilt block on the back and make a throw pillow. They can sew all the blocks together at the end of the year, put a piece of blanket material on the back and use yarn to tie it together as a throw for the back of the couch or for use in the car for trips. You could also frame the finished product with a wooden hoop or a regular frame. (You can pick up lots of frames in yard sales.) Just use your imagination on what to use the finished products for. The transfers are all great for putting on a shirt, also. You can use the quilt block to learn on - then put the transfers on shirts or pillowcases.
The Animal Quilt blocks are set up for outline and fill-in. These would be good for beginners. Children would love doing these colorful blocks. I have a couple schools that teach quilting classes to their students (elementary schools). These would be perfect to start a class at your school either during the daytime class times or in the after school latch-key times.
The Flower Face Quilt blocks give you a chance to teach shading and highlighting, how to use the Fiber Blenders to smooth the paints into the material and how to use them to smear the paint together in blending. These have you blending up to 4 or 5 different colors at a time. They, also, let you teach feather stroking as a technique to paint in hair and the fact that using lots of colors in hair actually make it look more real. This is an interesting class for everyone. 4-H groups could use this to make an entry-style project. You could get together with the leaders and teach them to teach, or you could run the classes yourself at their regular monthly meetings.
The Unicorn Quilt blocks take in even more techniques than the other two. The first thing that you teach is how to do a dry wash. You can use a brush or a small piece of rag. In either case, put a little bit of the correct color of paint into a mini palette. Take your piece of rag and stir it into the paint. Then using a sweeping motion (that you have moving before you touch down on the material) smear a little color into the sky and or grass. Don't put it on solid - just streak it on. You can always use more than one color. You don't have to change rags or palettes - just continue to add different colors into the palette and onto the sky and or ground. You'll be amazed at how well you will like this technique. Back off and let it set for a few minutes. After it is dry (you can even iron it dry) then you can start on the rest of the picture. Remember that the best way to cover mistakes is to start with the things farthest away and work up to the things that are closest. That way as you work on the next thing you can cover up the mistakes that you made on the last things. If you got sky or grass colors into other parts of the design - don't worry about it. You can cover any thing that you need to as you go on working on the rest of it. (You may have to multi-coat if you get 124-Light Blue into the unicorn that you are going to paint 101-White - I did. But with the shading and lots of paint you can't even see where I made a goof.) Almost everything in these pictures needs to be shadowed and highlighted. You have to use your Fiber Blenders all the time. You don't have to press down really hard with the Fiber Blenders all the time. You need to make sure the base coats are into the material. After that you can gently blend in the other colors that you use. You could use multiple colors in the mane and tail of the unicorns just like you do in the hair of the Flower Face Quilt blocks. Play with it and have fun. You should have fun with it - that way your students will have fun with it. If you are, or you have some perfectionists at the class, you really have to work at making them, or yourself, have fun. It's worth it. If everyone has fun, makes a nice Project, learns lots and don't get up tight ---- they will bring more and more folks to your classes. People like to have fun while they're learning new things. Remember that and have fun yourself.
So there you have it. Three different sets of classes all set for you to try. If you try - they'll come. They'll have fun - you'll not only have fun, but you'll make a little extra money in the process.
I set it up so that you could buy what you need. Let's use the Animal Quilt blocks for this example. AQ01-1: This is saying that you want the first in the series of the Animal Quilt blocks and that you want one of them. AQ01-6: This is a six pak of the first Animal Quilt blocks. They are all exactly the same. So you can order just one of a Quilt block or you can order six of them. One pak will cost you $2.25 and a six-pak will cost you $13.00. They come with the transfer and a blank quilt block. If you just want to do the Quilt block sets for yourself - just order 1. If you want to teach it to others, order 6 at a time.
You will charge folks for the pak that they will be using for the class. You will charge them $2.25 each for that. (No matter how you buy them.) Then you will charge them a class price. I charge $10.00 per person, others charge more or less per person. Then you will charge them for the supplies other than the 'pak' that they will need to do the class. In other words, you don't supply anything. They must buy their own supplies. At least that is how I would do it. In the schools - they charge a set price that includes the fact that the students are using the school's supplies. You can do that if you're more comfortable with it. Just be sure that you charge enough to reorder supplies as they are used up. Students need to at least have their own set of C369 or C371 Fiber Blenders.
The other thing that seems to be confusing folks is when you can buy the different Quilt block paks. You can order January's any time you want to after this. You can order February's any time you want to after this. What you can't do is order future paks that haven't come out yet. If you decide later that you want to do the classes - you can order any and all of the back ones - you just have to wait for the new ones to come out.
Okay. I sure could use some input on this. What do you think?
Animal Quilt Blocks |
Flower Face Quilt Blocks |
Unicorn Quilt Blocks |
AQ01 Animal Quilt Block Pak |
FFQ01 Flower Face Quilt Block Pak |
UQ01 Unicorn Quilt Block Pak |
AQ02 Animal Quilt Block Pak |
FFQ02 Flower Face Quilt Block Pak |
UQ02 Unicorn Quilt Block Pak |
Alrighty then - let's go on to other things. I hope that covers every thing that you need to know about the Quilt Block Clubs.
The Carriers now hold 60 paints. Terri re-did them a little. They look great! You can still use some of the loops for your accessories, but you can now use them for paints, too. You can get 10 paints per row.
This is an old transfer with a new face-lift. It's easy. It uses the Sparkle Paints. It gives you a new tote bag to keep or give away as a gift. It can be done in the colors suggested or in a different set of colors. This would be a good Bride's Gift done in the colors of the wedding.
I use tote bags by just sticking my purse down inside them, then putting stuff in them when I'm shopping so I don't have a bunch of different bags to keep track of. Since these are good size tote bags they hold quite a bit.
The February Special for 2006 includes the Transfer T4671, the White Tote Bag P1492, the five (5) paints you need for the project and a Sandpaper Blotter.
T4668 Hermit the Frog |
T4669 Dolphins |
T4670 Be My Valentine |
T4671 Pink Wonder |
T4548 Hearts |
T4267 Dalmations |
T4338 Clysdale |
T4408 Loons |
T4455 Hang In There |
T4516 Totem |
T4526 Strawberries/Mouse |
T4530 Eagle |
T4538 Owl |
T4540 Flower Garden |
T4546 Watering Can/Birdhouse |
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I am going to try something a little different. There are three (3) workshops that I do every month - Jackson, MI - Temperance, MI - Holly, MI. I have set up dates with these gals for the next two (2) months. If at the end of that time we don't have any folks coming that are coming from reading it in the newsletter (like 4-Hers, people that want to learn new things, people that just want to pick up their orders so they don't have to pay shipping, etc.) I will discontinue putting them in the newsletters.
The workshop in Temperance will be on the second Monday of the month for the next two months. It will start at 5:30 PM and I will stay until 8:30 PM.
The workshop in Holly will be on the third Saturday of the month for the next two months. It will start at 1:00 PM and I will stay until 4:00 PM.
The workshop in Jackson will be on the second Saturday of the month for the next two months. It will start at 2:00 PM and I will stay until 5:00 PM.
Let me know if you will be coming to any of these so that I WILL HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLIES to teach and to fill your orders and let the hostesses know how many to expect.
I always have a workshop here in Manchester on the third Thursday evening of each month at 7:00 PM.
The workshop in Lansing at the Ponderosa on Cedar St. is every other month on the third Thursday at 11:00 AM.
These workshops are open to everyone. If you don't use them, you will lose them. We cancelled two last month because no one but the hostess was going to be there. These workshops are for individuals, 4-H, Scouts, anyone that wants to come and learn or just come to pick up supplies. These are, also, a good place to come and see all the new things and set up your own workshops.
The Jackson area workshop is right off M50 just west of Napoleon. It's easy to get to and my sister always serves something to eat.
The Temperance area workshop is right in Temperance. This is good for folks that came to the Monroe Fair and all the 4-H clubs in the area. Diane always has a good desert and coffee and nibbles.
The Home Facility workshop is just 7 miles off I94 and since it is at the Office you can get anything you need. I try to remember to get nibbles for the meeting. The Holly area workshop is good for all those folks near Flint. Dee always has coffee on.
If the weather turns wintry and we have to call the workshop off - just call me and find out the new date. It will usually be within the next week or two after the original date.
This month I will teach feather stroking on the February Special tote bag. This is a good way to blend colors when you're using the Sparkle Paints. Everyone should know this technique, since it comes in handy on a lot of things, like the hair stroking in the Flower Face Quilt blocks. I think you will like this class. If the folks at the workshop want to do one of the Quilt Block Club designs, we can switch to that and continue to do it each month after that.
At all of these workshops, people can do what class they want. Everyone doesn't have to do the same thing. If any of these workshop groups want to start taking the quilt block classes, I will let you know in the next newsletter. For those of you who ordered P1289 - Placemats or C500- Carriers, they are back in stock.
We would love to show our readers what you've done with Cameo Paints. Send us ginger@gingerscameo.com or webmaster@gingerscameo.com some of your pictures and be sure to tell us about them and yourself.
See some of our past reader submissions in the Gallery
Just a couple more things to go over and I'll let your eyes rest up a little. The Spring Workshop is here on May 6, 2006. I have no idea what all we will be teaching. We have a couple of ideas. I know Halleen will be teaching one class and of course she already has it all figured out. I'm just not able to figure things quite that far in advance on classes.
I do know that we will be coming out with six (6) paints at that time. I figure if I put out six (6) in May and six (6) in November that will give you twelve new paints in the Line for the year. That way you won't miss the monthly paints. We can chart with these paints because they will actually be in the Line. Good thinking, huh? Registration will be $25.00 just like regular and bring a dish to pass. Be sure to bring things to show and share.
Thanks for all the Christmas cards. I especially liked the one from Nadine Reeves. It was from their golden anniversary that they celebrated during 2005. It showed her and her husband, John, when they got married and on their golden anniversary. It's just nice to have a face to put with the voice on the 'phone or the Internet.
For those of you that are French speaking, I have ordered some translation software. I don't know how well it will work, but let me know if you would like the newsletters in French and I will attempt it after I get the software in.
Okay, that's all for now.
I hope you all like what we're doing. Keep those suggestions and complaints coming. They are what make the Company what you want it to be. Rest your eyes for now, I'll write more next month.
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Page Updated 3-6-2006 |
