January/February 2012
Thank you for visiting my website! It is hard to believe it is a new year... I have a very full schedule again for 2012. I am now scheduling for 2013 and 2014. 2011 was a great year- I traveled and taught extensively. I enjoyed all of the great guilds, exciting conferences and beautiful shops I visited. It was so nice to meet all of the enthusiastic and fun quilters from around the country. I look forward to another fabulous year!
I am happy to announce that the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative "Stanley Cup Quilt Off" raised over $17,000.00. Thank you to all who bid on the quilts and rooted for your favorite player. Thanks to my fellow participants- Alex Anderson, Hollis Chatelain, Caryl Bryer Fallert, John Flynn, Becky Goldsmith, Renae Haddadin, Pat Holly, Judy Mathieson, Mary Sorensen, and Ricky Tims!!! The Rotary Blades have bragging rights for the team that raised the most money. Hollis is MVP, her quilt was auctioned for the most money and Alex was the top root-getter! Thank you to Ami Simms and her team at AAQI for their tireless work to raise money to help fund research for finding a cure and raising awareness. My sister, Pat and I were able to be in attendance in December when Ami and her team presented a check for $30,000 to a University of Michigan research team. It was very moving and humbling to see the work actually being done to find a cure! Please visit this website: www.lsi.umich.edu/facultyresearch/labs/garneau to see photos and read about Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova (Research Assistant Professer, University of Michigan, Life Sciences Institute).
I have many exciting things in the works for 2012 and beyond. I am writing a new book on Whole Cloth Feathers, how I design and machine quilt these beautiful quilting motifs. This should be available sometime in 2013. I will update you when I have a more specific time frame. I have many wonderful trips scheduled for this year. I am teaching at Applique Academy in February, The National Quilt Musuem in Paducah in March and at Empty Spools Seminar in early April. I am teaching on an Alaska Cruise in June- this is the most beautiful cruise to attend! I will be returning to teach at Quilting by the Lake in New York in July. I am looking forward to being at Houston in the fall after missing it last year.. These are only a sampling of the places I will be in 2012- look at my schedule to see the full year! A very exciting event in 2013 is an Asia Cruise- we will visit Japan, China and South Korea! If you are interested in knowing more about the cruises go to: www.quiltcruises.com I hope to see you there!!! I am also excited to be teaching for my first time at Madeline Island School of the Arts in La Pointe, Wisconsin June 10-14, 2013. I will be teaching a 5 day Mastering Machine Techniques Workshop- for more information visit their website: www.madelineschool.com I will have a few more announcements later this year about some events that my sister, Pat Holly and I will be involved in! More to come......
From Sue……
My DVD “Successful Machine Quilting on the Home Sewing Machine” is still available! It covers all aspects of how I approach machine quilting on the home sewing machine. It has been very popular and may soon need to have a 2nd batch made!
The price for the DVD is $29.95 plus shipping and can be purchased from my store on this site.
Please enjoy a little preview of my DVD:
My blog is a little behind and I hope once my book deadline is met I can blog again. Thank you for your patience with me!
I am fully booked in 2012. I am currently booking workshops/lectures for 2013 and 2014. I look forward to visiting many you this year! Please look at the updated schedule under Sue’s Schedule for availability. If you have me scheduled to visit your group please check that all the information is correct and if you don’t see your group listed- contact me immediately!
I have also updated my workshops page, retiring a few workshops and adding a few new ones. Please check these out and if you have any questions let me know. I have also updated all of my supply lists to make them more accurate for you- the student! I have included information on the workshops page for students and groups to help make your workshop experience the best. Please read this helpful information section with my workshops! My biography and fees and requirements have minor updates.
I continue to use a camera and projector in the classroom for demos and it is a fabulous teaching aid. Because of this I have a few extra requirements in the classroom, please be sure to read this under classroom requirements. I have achieved my goal of having my lectures in power point. So for all my lectures, I will bring my own projector and computer and present my images using power point!
My Store has my two books (including the newest “Stitched Raw Edge Appliqué” co-authored with my sister, Pat Holly). My patterns are also available and remain very popular items. I also carry some of the quilting items I use and sell when I am on the road teaching. My thread line- King Tut “Tone on Tones” from Superior Threads is available from- www.SuperiorThreads.com. I am not currently selling these threads on my website.
I am now using a paper backed fusible web product called Soft Fuse from Shades Textiles for my technique of machine appliqué and I am selling this at my website store. I love this product- it is easy to use and never separates from the paper!!! My favorite marking pencil- Quilter Choice by Roxanne’s is for sale with the pencil sharpener that works best with it. I have also added to the store my favorite small scissors that I use for appliqué.
Please visit my Gallery of Quilts page which features a sampling of my quilts. I have the quilt my sister, Pat Holly and I collaborated on called “Tea at Tenby”. It won many awards - the most exciting was “Best of Show” at the 2009 Festival of Quilts in Birmingham England! I have included information about some of our other award winning quilts- “The Beatles Quilt” and “The Space Quilt” as I am often asked to explain the details of these collaborative quilts. My sister, Pat has been creating beautiful miniature quilts- look for her page in the “Gallery of Quilts” that showcases some of her work.
I am working on my next goal of creating new quilts in the next year, so look for these soon!
I am enjoying being a Grandma! My granddaughter, Stella is 20 months old! I will soon have new photos of her in my travel photos. .jpg)
Our yellow lab, Rubi, is still the best dog ever and her bestfriend- Bailey the yellow lab, my daughter, Jessi and son-in-law Ryan’s dog is enjoying having baby Stella in the house!
I hope to see you on the road this year, doing what I love to do- teaching machine quilting and machine appliqué. Thank you for visiting my website and please come back soon…
Fondly,
Sue Nickels
I am proud to be participating in the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, a program raising awareness and funding research for Alzheimer's disease. It has two parts: a traveling art quilt exhibit interpreting Alzheimer's in fiber art that will tour the U.S. for three years, and an on-going sale of small art quilts. All proceeds will go to Alzheimer's research. www.AlzQuilts.org