We have the pleasure of having contemporary artist and quilt designer, Denyse Schmidt writing on QuiltersBuzz for the next few posts! Denyse has quite a following of “modern quilters” who are inspired by her  free-style quilting methods, designs and fabrics.

Here is our chance to hear from Denyse about what's new at the DSQ (Denyse Schmidt Quilts) studio, her  fabric line, Flea Market Fancy, and other new projects and products..

So here’s Denyse:

“Warmest greetings fellow hand-craft devotees, and thank you to Gina for asking me to appear here in my own words. The idea is for me to let you know what's on the DSQ horizon project- and product- wise, and I will do just that, but first I want to tell you what a huge fan I am of all the smart and inspiring crafty blogs out there.

I talk you up whenever I get the chance and read when I can. I would love to have time to put my two cents in once in a while (and feel a little guilty that I don't) – but balance is elusive these days, and there is a long list of stuff I have to do, and an even longer list of things I want to do. I know you know what I mean.

I was particularly impressed with Kim's post on Dioramarama on March 14, including the links to what Jane and Liesl had to say and everyone's comments.

This is the quilting world I want to be a part of! I love your honesty, intelligence, and this amazing community of sharing. You guys rock.

If you'd like my opinion of patterns vs. no patterns, why my fabric collection is designed the way it is, etc., come to one of my workshops sometime and we can talk about all that and more. (More details on the “MakeWorkshop”  held in the former American Fabrics building in Bridgeport, CT--shown here in photo-on next posting.)


 

















               I keep hearing great things about the response to my first fabric collection for FreeSpirit Fabrics called “Flea Market Fancy” (FMF). Cia Blum at Cia's Pallette told me that she had to increase her bandwidth for the first time to handle increased traffic from FMF orders! And Joelle at Purl Patchwork told me that FMF has been outselling other collections!

Thank you for all your support and enthusiasm. I can't tell you how gratifying it is. I hope the excitement continues – I'd love to see collection stay in print for a while. One of my personal frustrations with purchasing fabric is not being able to get more of a particular pattern a year or so down the road – but consumer demand dictates new, new, new, so manufacturers need to deliver.

Plans for more Flea Market Fancy and a New Collection!

 And yes, there are plans for new and more. Look for additional colorways for FMF at Quilt Market this fall (so in store by late winter I think), and a whole new collection in spring 2007.”

But wait there is more….Stay tuned for more from Denyse in upcoming posts!