Taping at The Quilt Show

I had a blast last week taping an episode of The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims! Of course I was super nervous thinking about it, but the producers and staff were so organized and Ricky and Alex warm and welcoming, so the nerves went away and I just had fun.

I flew to Dallas on Wednesday with my 50 lb. suitcase full of quilts and demos. I stopped by the studio to lay the quilts out on a table to relax from the flight and get a tour of the set. I was the first guest in this round of taping, so there wasn’t another guest to watch, but I felt a lot more comfortable just seeing the place where it all would happen.

My first glimpse of my quilts hung and lit the next day on Thursday was breathtaking! The team did such an amazing job with them–I’ve never seen my work look so good.

 

Ricky kidded me that I really need to get comfortable with color!

The first segment is a Show and Tell/Get to Know You with Alex and Ricky. We chatted about my quilt journey and how Alex and I both began quilting before rotary cutters were a thing–handmade cardboard templates and scissors all we had to work with. Plus I had a minute or so to talk about the quilts on the wall.

The producers for the show were incredibly thorough–talking with me on the phone several weeks ahead of time and then via email up until the taping to get details for this conversation and for my demos. I found myself telling Executive Producer Shelly that one of the reasons I’m an artist today was a 7th grade humanities class with a very dynamic teacher that ignited my love of art and artists. I don’t think that tidbit made it into the conversation, but it was interesting that I hadn’t thought about itfor ages until she asked her questions. And there’s a segment at the end about my family’s quest to visit all the National Parks–which isn’t quilt-related at all but was a fun conversation.

The first segment was about my Improv Puzzle quilts with Alex.

There were large TV screens backstage so the producers and staff could see how things looked on the screen. This section was really fun–I love to talk about how basic log cabin blocks can be transformed with a few simple improv techniques–and Alex seemed to like it too!

 

The second segment was about cutting fearless curves with Ricky–who loves curves.

We chatted about simple ways to cut curves without a template, as well as the more advanced method to design the curves as you go along. Both of these techniques are in my new book, Adventures in Improv Quilts, which is due for release next month.

It takes a whole staff to set up the shots, plus multiple cameras to capture both the big picture and the details.

I’m tremendously grateful to my friend Deborah Boschert who came to the set to give me moral support and took most of these pictures.

If you visit The Quilt Show blog, you can catch a short glimpse of one of my segments from the control room.

The show is expected to air in late October and I’ll be sure to post an update when it’s available!