In addition to teaching classes at Quilt Festivals, Val also has taught at local community colleges around Seattle (e.g. Bellevue College, South Seattle Community College) and at ladies retreats. Though she is currently taking a break from traveling and teaching classes, Val occasionally offers a local class. Classes will be listed on this website as they become available. Small hands-on classes in Val's Sea-Tac studio may be available down the road. Enjoy these photos and class descriptions from some of Val's favorite classes.

Past Classes, Shows, Fairs,
Festivals and Events

International Quilt Festival / Chicago
April 16-18, 2010
Donald E. Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL

IQF Classes taught by Valerie Vavrik:

Digital Fusion - Combining Techniques for Fabric Art   FULL/Sold Out
9 am to Noon, Thursday, April 15

Students learned how to combine inkjet printing with other art making processes while creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind textile creations to quilt, frame or use in some other creative way. Val provided images and all products (e.g. Blending Pens, Brayers, Transfers, Stamps, Silkscreens) we used to create one layer at a time. Students had fun experimenting and learning how these easy and versatile processes can add to creativity. We created two art pieces in class (one utilizing a digitally printed fabric sheet, and one on a piece of recycled kimono silk with a jacquard pattern).

Kits contained tools and information on where to obtain materials for the methods students may want to use at home.

Fabric fusion is usually defined as a technique in which a fusible product is utilized to apply pieces of fabric together with a hot iron. However, digital fusion involves combining digital textile printing with more traditional surface design techniques. By combining modern and traditional techniques, layer by layer, students learned how fun and easy it is to create a very unique art piece to be used in many ways. Val brought lots of samples to inspire ideas on ways the unique finished art pieces can be displayed.

Creating Fine Art on Fabric with Your Inkjet Printer   FULL/Sold Out
2 pm to 5 pm, Thursday, April 15

Students benefitted from the instructor's research and experience printing on fabric using an ink jet printer. We discussed printers, ink, fabric sheets, digital cameras, scanners, all-in-ones, software, and more. Samples were shared to inspire new ideas. Students learned how to make their fabric images soft, colorful, washable, and permanent. After-printing techniques like tea staining, and dyeing were also demonstrated.

The beginning of class was lecture style with some demos and lots of information being provided. Students had plenty of opportunities to ask questions. Then we divided into small groups and created collages which students printed on fabric using an inkjet all-in-one printer. Students received silk and cotton fabric sheets to use in class and/or print at home.

Utilizing Photoshop Elements 7   FULL/Sold Out
9 am to Noon, Friday, April 16

Adobe Elements retains the core functions of Photoshop, but simplifies the interface (and costs a lot less). This was a presentation-style class with detailed take-home handouts. Instructor used a notebook PC with overhead projection to demonstrate for the class. Most of what was demonstrated also works on earlier versions of Elements.

We covered the basics (red eye removal, resizing and cropping images, repairing faded or damaged photos, diminishing wrinkles and blemishes, removing dust & scratches), and students learned how to optimize higher resolution images for printing and lower resolution images for web/monitor viewing.

Students learned the differences between the various file formats, how to use the tools in Elements, create a duotone, add spot color, utilize layers, create soft edges (vignettes), Notan and more.

Val taught students how to set up their digital camera to get the best image possible and went over scanning basics for getting old photographs into Elements. Val shared where students can obtain some Photoshop add-ons and tools not included in Elements, many for free. Students received inkjet printable fabric sheets to print at home.

  Digital Printing on Fabric
  10:30 am to 1:30 pm, Saturday, March 20, 2010
  Quiltworks Northwest, Bellevue, WA

Learn to combine inkjet printing with other art transfer methods while you create a beautiful, one of a kind piece of fabric that can be quilted later. The instructor will provide images and products for the class.

We will be creating one layer at a time using different processes. Have fun experimenting and learn how these easy versatile processes can add to your creativity.  Students will receive information on where to obtain additional materials/tools for methods you wish to use at home. This class has ideas galore.

If you would like to see this class
offered again ask Quiltworks Northwest:

International Quilt Festival / Houston
October 12-18, 2009
George Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX

IQF Classes taught by Valerie Vavrik:

Omiyage: Personalized Gifts - The Digital Print Way   FULL/Sold Out
9am to 5pm, Wednesday, October 14

Omiyage is a Japanese word for gift. A gift made from fabric is very intimate, and printing your own fabric makes for a unique, very special gift. Printing digital images on fabric opens up new possibilities for unique and special gifts.

The morning session covered the basics of digital printing, elements of digital design, and printing fabric sheets. Informational take-home handout material was provided so we'd have more time for hands-on. Students were divided into groups to design and print a creative collage fabric sheet which was used during the afternoon session.

In the afternoon, students worked on two projects, one using a preprinted silk fabric sheet, and one using the group-created collage made in the morning session. The projects were constructed with hand work utilizing silk ribbon and thread. Students received materials for additional projects to do at home (or work on in class if time allows).

Included in the kits were a Creative Textile Tool ($30 value), cotton and silk fabric sheets, needle for hand sewing, River Silks ribbon, hot-fix crystals, and craft items needed for the projects.

We embellished our fabric gifts with appliques, ribbons and crystals.

Friday Morning Sampler:
Getting Your Family Photos on Fabric
10 am to Noon, Friday, October 16

Over 30 Festival teachers at separate tables around the room offered continuous demonstrations of particular techniques and methods. Students circulated around the room informally. Enrollees receive a booklet of one-page handouts from each participating teacher.

Val showed how easy it is to convert a color photo to black & white, add a touch of color to a black & white photo, create a duotone from a black & white photo, create a vignette effect (soft edges around your pictures), and then print that photo onto fabric.

Mixed Media Miscellany:
Tea-Staining to Give Your Fabric Prints a Vintage, Antique Look
10 am to Noon, Saturday, October 17

Twenty-one teachers at separate tables around the room offered continuous demonstrations of particular techniques and methods that can take your quiltmaking and/or crafting a step further. Enrollees received a booklet of one-page handouts from each teacher and circulate around the room informally getting lots of new inspiration.

Val showed how to take a fabric print and give it a vintage look by doing a tea-stain/dye. Students got to take home a mini "Declaration of Independence" fabric print they tea-stained themself while learning of various techniques to give your fabric print texture.

Sunday Sampler:
Restoring Vintage Photos & Art Using Photoshop Elements
11:30 am to 1:30 pm, Sunday, October 18

Twenty-nine teachers at separate tables around the room offered continuous demonstrations of particular techniques and methods. Students received a booklet of one-page handouts from each teacher, then circulated around the room informally.

Val gave an introduction to Photoshop Elements and showed students some of the magic you can do with photos using Elements. She showed some before and after examples of photos and gave attendees an achievable game plan for learning Elements. The handout introduced the various Element tools and what each one was used for.

For more information about the International Quilt Festival, click on their logo:    

Art of Digital Printing on Textiles Workshop
9:00 am-12:00 pm, Saturday, August 8, 2009
South Seattle College, Seattle, WA

Students learned about printers, scanners, digital cameras, software, inks and inkjet fabric sheets available today for printing on fabric.

Then, using fun materials provided by Val, the class designed some beautiful collages right on the glass of a scanner and printed them on fabric. We also tea-stained a cotton print of the Declaration of Independence, and dyed a mini silk fabric print with instant-set COLORHUE silk dyes.

Silkscreening the Easy Way - No bulky screening equipment required!
10 am to Noon, Saturday, July 18, 2009
South Seattle College, Seattle, WA

Val showed students how easy it is to silkscreen with PhotoEZ Silkscreens. Students used some of Val's silkscreens to create a beautiful one-of-a-kind silk scarf in class. Val demonstrated the COLORHUE/shaving cream technique which the students used along with some Jacquard Lumiere paint to add some shimmer to their art. Some of the students then overdyed their silkscreened scarf with COLORHUE dyes using some different techniques to create beautiful patterns.

Students received kits with a silk scarf, 3 primary colors of COLORHUE dye, a brush, a small bottle of Lumiere paint, and half sheet size silkscreen of their choice to use in class and take home.

International Quilt Festival / Chicago
April 17-19, 2009
Donald E. Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL

IQF Classes taught by Valerie Vavrik:

Embellish It Know-How - Jazz up your Photos, Images & Artwork using Photoshop Elements   FULL/Sold Out
9am to Noon, Friday, April 17
Hyatt Regency O'Hare

Yes, you can embellish with Photoshop Elements and your inkjet printer! I'll show you how to put more than one image on a page, create a vignette (soft edges around your pictures), add a touch of color to a black & white photo, create a duotone from a black & white photo, all before printing them on fabric. You'll also learn how to get the look of lace, beads, angelina and more printed right onto a piece of fabric and other fun things you can do with this awesome program.

Creating Fine Art on Fabric with Your Inkjet Printer   FULL/Sold Out
9am to Noon, Saturday, April 18
Hyatt Regency O'Hare

Learn more about ink/printers, scanners/copiers, digital cameras, software, fabric sheets and pick up some money saving tips about digital printing equipment.

Discover how the quality of digital printing is being raised to a fine art form and experience exciting new uses for images on fabrics. Fabric sheets are furnished for your future use, and many informational handouts are included in the class.

$20 Materials fee covers inkjet fabric sheets to take home.

Saturday Night Sampler:
Restoring Vintage Photos & Art Using Photoshop Software
6 pm to 8 pm, Saturday, April 18
Hyatt Regency O'Hare

Learn how to restore your old family photos from an experienced art restorationist. We'll cover everything from lightening, darkening and removing red eyes from photos to repairing scratches and tears, fading and stain removal.

Learn how the various tools in Photoshop Elements work and which tools work best for which tasks.

Art of Digital Printing on Textiles Workshop
10:00 am-2:00 pm, Saturday, February 7, 2009
South Seattle College, Seattle, WA

Students learned about printers, scanners, digital cameras, software, inks and inkjet fabric sheets available today for printing on fabric.

Then, using leaves, pine needles, etc. from the Arboretum along with materials provided by Val, the class designed collages which we printed on fabric. For our next project we tea-stained the Declaration of Independence, and then finished with an exercise combining fabric printing with silk dyeing. Students dipped or painted their silk fabric print with instant-set COLORHUE silk dyes. We concluded with a mini-lesson in Photoshop tailored to student interest.

Art of Digital Printing on Textiles Workshop
Saturday, December 13, 2008, 1:30-4:30 pm
Bellevue College, Bellevue, WA

Students learned about printers, scanners, digital cameras, software, inks and inkjet fabric sheets available today for printing on fabric.

Then, using leaves, pine needles, etc. from the Arboretum along with materials provided by Val, the class designed collages which we printed on fabric. For our next project we tea-stained the Declaration of Independence, and then finished with an exercise combining fabric printing with silk dyeing. Students dipped or painted their silk fabric print with instant-set COLORHUE silk dyes. We concluded with a mini-lesson in Photoshop tailored to student interest.
For more information or to request future classes by Val:    

International Quilt Festival / Houston
October 30-November 2, 2008
George Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX

IQF Classes taught by Valerie Vavrik:

Creating Fine Art on Fabric with Your Inkjet Printer   FULL/Sold Out
9am to Noon, Tuesday, October 28

Students learned all about ink/printers, scanners/copiers, digital cameras, software & fabric sheets, picking up money saving tips when purchasing digital printing equipment.

They also discovered how the quality of digital printing is being raised to a fine art form and experiencing exciting new uses for images on fabrics. Fabric sheets were furnished for the students' future use, and many informational handouts were included in the class.

$20 Materials fee.

Restoring Vintage Photos & Art Using Photoshop Software   FULL/Sold Out
10am to Noon, Wednesday, October 29

Students learned how to restore their old family photos from an experienced art restorationist.

Val has years of experience restoring images from antique books digitally to their former glory.
We covered everything from lightening, darkening & removing red eyes from photos to more extensive
repairs (scratches, tears, fading and removal of stains).

Students learned how the various tools in Photoshop Elements work and which tools work best for which tasks.

Pictured on the left is Val's family memory quilt as an example.

Art of Digital Printing on Fabric
Friday, October 10, 2008
South Seattle College, Seattle, WA

What a fun class with a creative group of people! Using an inkjet all-in-one copier, we printed on fabric sheets the beautiful collages developed by this talented group of class participants with decorative embellishments and a photo they brought to class.

We also printed the Declaration of Independence on cotton poplin fabric sheets and then tea-stained them for a vintage look. Then Val demonstrated some silk fabric dyeing techniques utilizing COLORHUE instant-set silk dyes.

At the end of the class students received a sample pack of silk fabric sheets to print and experiment with at home.

This class may be offered again in upcoming quarters. You must sign up through South Seattle College to take this class.

Click on the South Seattle College logo for more information.    

Leavenworth's 13th Annual Quilt Show
Friday, September 5-Sunday, September 7, 2008
Festhalle, Leavenworth, WA

Family Events of Leavenworth's 13th annual "Meander Through Quilts" in the Village included Hoffman Challenge Quilts on display throughout the village. There were over 200 quilts in the show. The featured guests were Joyce Becker and Louise Trew. On Sunday we were enterained by a puppet dance from Louise Trew's granddaughter Hailey.

Val taught classes in the Festhalle during the show: "Dyeing Silk Scarves" on Friday, and "Fun with Japanese Braiding" on Saturday.

This year Theresa was able to come and enjoy the town of Leavenworth. This is a fun show that Val looks forward to every year. Shopping, wine tasting and eating are definitely perks.

Quiltfest 2008
August 8-10, 2008
Washington State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle, WA

The Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters' 8th biennial juried & judged exhibit of the finest quilts from Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Northwest Territories, Oregon, Washington and Yukon.

This is the first year Quiltfest has been at the Washington State Convention Center. It outgrew the Seattle Center. The new location offered a larger space for more juried quilts, special exhibit quilts, vendors, lectures, and workshops!

Ginny Eckley from PhotoEZ Silkscreens came all the way from Houston Texas to be in the booth with Val demonstrating her silkscreens. Theresa came down from Blaine, WA to help us cashier.

Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
Thursday, January 24-Saturday, January 26, 2008
Phoenix, Arizona

Val's friend Torri Katz and her mom Darlene Burnett (who lives in Arizona) helped at this show.

Val taught classes on Kumihimo (Japanese Braiding) and Silk Scarf in a Bag.

People continue to be amazed at how easy and quick it is to dye a beautiful silk scarf in such a short time with the COLORHUE instant-set silk dyes.

Since there is no heat setting required you can layer color upon color pattern without waiting for the scarf to dry inbetween.

Val enjoys demonstrating dyeing the scarf right in the bag it comes in with the included dyes and pipettes with nothing additional needed except about a half cup of water.

International Quilt Festival
November 1-4, 2007
Thursday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm
George Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX

The Silk Experience welcomed 5 new teachers to Houston with unique processes for silk fusing, reviving silk ribbon embroidery and embellishment, silk shibori, silk discharge presentations and an exciting jacket design class. Not to mention the six returning silk artist with new subjects, indicating the amazing versatility of silk. Takuo Hirata, from Kamakura, Japan, returned with a fascinating lecture about the current movement of the Japanese to preserve the "golden age of silk" from a new and different angle.

V V Prints shared a booth with Maggie Backman from Things Japanese. When Val wasn't in the Silk Experience classroom, she was selling fabric sheets, silk scarf kits, japanese braiding kits (kumihimo), image CDs and other fun products.

Savvy Silk Purse Class     FULL/Sold Out
Thursday, November 1, 2:00-5:00 pm

Utilizing an acrylic purse form, images from our Fairies CD or Hirata's Winged Creatures CD (printed on our silk fabric sheets with an ink-jet printer) students created a stunning purse embellished with Kristal Wick's fancy trims, handmade beads & bangles (including authentic Swarovski rhinestones).

With assistance from Kristal and Val, students assembled and decorated the purses, leaving with a very functional, completed work of art! This class filled up quickly.

Northwest Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
November 15-17, 2007
Thursday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm
Western Washington Fairgrounds, Puyallup, WA

For more information:

The Art of Digital Printing on Textiles Class
Saturday, October 13, 2007, 1:30-4:30 pm
Bellevue College, Bellevue, WA 98007-6484

Iron-on transfers are okay for t-shirts, but not much else. Benefit from Val's research and experiences printing on fabric using an inkjet printer. We'll discuss printers, inks, fabric sheets, digital cameras, scanners, all-in-ones, software and more. Learn money saving tips and examine samples designed to inspire new ideas for showcasing your photos. Bring a photo (or you can use one from Val's collection) and we'll print it on fabric! With technology changing so fast, if you've tried fabric printing or have been thinking about it, this class will teach you how make your fabric images soft, colorful, washable, and lightfast. You will take home a printed cotton poplin and silk fabric sheet. Fee includes materials.

Leavenworth's 12th Annual Quilt Show
Friday, September 7 - Sunday, September 9, 2007

Family Events of Leavenworth's 12th annual "Meander Through Quilts" in the Village included Challenge Quilts on display throughout the village. There were over 200 quilts in the show.

Val taught two classes in the Festhalle during the show: "Dyeing Silk Scarves" on Friday, and "Fun with Kumihimo" on Sunday. Kira demonstrated spinning Alpaca yarn with her spinning wheel on Saturday. We sold some of Kira's Alpaca yarn in our booth and showcased some beautiful purses, scarves and other items made with Alpaca.

We have already signed up to do the show again next year as it is one of our favorites.

Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
July 19-21, 2007
Denver Merchandise Mart, Denver, CO

This was our first time at this show. It's always fun to do a show in Denver because I get to visit with my sister and her family. My sister helped with set-up and was there for the beginning of the show. She learned how to do the Japanese braiding (see above) and is now hooked. She asked me to leave a couple kits behind for her.

Val's nephew Nick was there helping for the whole show. He learned how to do Japanese braiding, and showed that guys love them too. We gave his hemp choker a spikey end that looks very cool and masculine. Nick also made himself a hemp wristband. Nick's older brother Tony (who starts college in the fall) wanted one too, so my sister promised to make him one.

While in Colorado I had the opportunity to visit with Kristal Wick (who is teaching a class in Houston making purses using some of our images) and see the two prototype purses. I also had lunch with a possible new vendor who has some amazing software to create kaleidoscopes (see New Products).

We met so many nice people at the show and saw a few familiar faces from the show I did in Colorado in February, 2006. They were happy to see us back there and purchased larger packs of the fabric sheets.

We so enjoyed the mini puppet shows mom (Andria) and grandma gave little Maya that we asked to take pictures for our website. We are going to be bringing the handmade puppets to future shows since children (and adults) enjoy them so much.

22nd Annual Block Party Quilters Club Quilt Show
April 13-15, 2007
Issaquah Community Center, Issaquah, WA

The theme of the show was SPIRIT RUN and the featured artist was ROXANNE CARTER.

My former Sunday School student Allison helped at the show as my cashier.

Our best selling item was the new polynosic blouses. Almost everyone who touched the blouse ended up buying one. They feel like silk, but can be washed along with your laundry, are great for traveling, and are breathable and lightweight. Perfect for silkscreening.

Another of our favorite local shows. Val assisted Maggie with her Versatile Silk class and helped in the Things Japanese booth for part of the show. Val's friend Torri also helped Maggie during her class on Saturday.

Val wore one of her newest products, the Port Authority Signature Polynosic Blouse (silkscreened by Ginny Eckley).

We offered a special promotion with the polynosic blouse where you got a discount price and a little plastic bottle of gold paint.

Northwest Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
November 16-18, 2006
Puyallup, WA
Our booth was located upstairs in the Pavilion. Torri helped set up the booth and get everything looking nice before she had to leave for Bible study.

We sold lots of silk scarf kits for Christmas presents (great gift idea),fabric sheets, silk ribbons and CDs.

We couldn't help noticing the cool Japanese braiding going on in the booth next door to us. Val wondered how the River Silk Ribbon would look braided and had to try it.

Val's friend LouAnn came to help on Saturday, so Val was able to actually try it with the River Silk Ribbon. The braids come out very tight, intricate and beautiful. The first braid was done in pastel color silk ribbons, the next incorporated some cocoons and hankies.

Val is experimenting with adding some Fun Fur and other yarns with texture to the silk ribbon to make some awesome braids.

We ordered a bunch of the soft disks used for braiding and will be putting together some kits with our River Silk ribbon.

Our special guest from Japan, Takuo Hirata, presented a special lecture on Friday at the Festival entitled "The Silk Stocking Story." The elegant era of rustling silk dresses and silk stockings resulted in an explosive demand for Japanese raw silk to be imported to America dating from 1876 to 1929. Hirata is a descendant of silk producers, and his own grandfather came to America and was directly involved in the profitable silk stocking trade. Thanks to his grandfather's letters, carefully recorded notes, and wonderful photographs, Hirata was able to transport attendees back to a fascinating age, when silk was the queen of fashion.

Trish Grant (left), president of APNQ (Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters) was one of the first to purchase one of Hirata's new image CDs. When Hirata wasn't in our booth autographing his limited edition set of art postcards and image CDs he was photographing the quilt show.

Visit Hirata's website at www.HirataDigital.com

We introduced our new Silk Scarf Dyeing Kits at this show. Torri and Val had a blast dyeing silk scarves and silk cocoons during the show. There was a lot of interest in the colorful scarves and cocoons. Several people asked if they could purchase the dyed silk scarves.

Val made ornaments for the Christmas Tree that will be on display in Houston at the International Quilt Festival. The white tree will be decorated with all silk ornaments and garland. It will also be on display during the class taught by Carla Peery on Dyeing Silk Cocoons.

Leavenworth's 11th Annual Quilt Show
Friday, September 8 - Sunday, September 10, 2006

Family Events of Leavenworth's "Meander Through Quilts" in the Village included Challenge Quilts on display throughout the village. There were over 200 quilts in the show. Leavenworth is such a charming village. My friend Bev who was helping at the show said it felt like we were in another country. Frank Calapristi strolling through the Festhalle in his lederhosen playing the accordian was a nice touch. We enjoyed Bavarian, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, French and American cuisine in the wonderful restaurants in town.

We enjoyed seeing the quilts on display in the various shops and restaurants all over town. Even the Starbucks looks Bavarian.

We stayed at Mrs. Anderson's, a charming bed and breakfast just a half block from the Festhalle. Al and Dee were great, the room was comfortable and clean, the food was good, and there was a quilt store downstairs from our rooms.

Here's a picture of Dee in her shop.

We were invited back for next year and have already accepted!

In our booth we featured Fun with Silk kits, COLORHUE Instant Set Silk Dyes and River Silk Ribbons.

The highlight for Val was meeting Laurie Wheeler and her daughter Sara from Camano Made Handspun Yarn & Designs. It was fun to film Laurie spinning from our cocoons, hankies and rods. And Sara was hand spinning silk thread from the cocoons.

It was very cool to see how this is done. Up till now I've only seen the cocoons used whole in fiber art creations. Laurie even spun some of the rods with the wool for an interesting texture blend.

Sara modeled some of our garments and scarves in the fashion shows. Val and Amber had fun dyeing silk cocoons and fibers and Amber made her little brother Zack a colorful cocoon necklace after he saw hers and wanted one of his own.

Each Spring Quilters Anonymous presents a spectacular quilt show at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, WA. This year was special as they were celebrating their 25th anniversary.

QA Members work on their quilt entries all year long. The QA show is the oldest and largest annual guild show in the Pacific Northwest.

Val gave a class every day on how to print on fabric. People love seeing how easy it is and how beautiful the finished products look. Much nicer than the iron-on transfers.

Jean and Paul from River Silks Ribbons helped us introduce our newest product. The ribbons were very popular, and many attendees had experience working with them and were very happy to find them at the show. The collections especially were very well received.

For information about Quilters Anonymous, click on their link below.

Saturday was especially fun as we got to enjoy Maggie's grandkids having a blast silkscreening with Ginny, and dyeing silk ribbon, cocoons, carrier rods, hankies (not the kind you blow your nose in) and silk/bamboo with Val. Too much fun!

The Fun with Silk kits are available at:
www.funwithsilk.com.

Internationally-known speakers presented pre-show workshops, seminars, fashion shows, and creative venues to excite the creative juices.  In addition, there were in-booth make-it take-it workshops, daily door prizes and more! We were well located in a great spot where we could see the fashion shows.

The best part was being able to work with my sister again in the booth (as well as her husband and two younger sons). I wish they could do all the shows with me. This is my second show with Louise and Vince (they also helped out in Chicago in 2004). Tony worked late with me Thursday helping set up the booth, and he and Nick helped out in the booth after school Friday and on the weekend. Louise's husband Vince did a fantastic job selling and cashiering while Louise and I took a lunch break together on Sunday (before the fateful Seahawks game). This show helped us introduce our fabric sheets and CDs to a whole new market of very nice people.

For more information about Creative Festival shows, click on the link:    

Northwest Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
November 10-12, 2005
Puyallup, WA

VV's Victorian Prints was in booth #1111 for this festival where we sold our vintage art CDs, cotton and silk fabric sheets, crazy quilt packets, silkscreens, kits and more! Jessica wasn't able to make it, but her younger sister, Sarah, helped out. She too was a great cashier.

Thank you to my friend Kandy for having such great daughters!

Several customers who had purchased fabric sheets from us at local shows earlier in the year came to buy the bigger packs. One customer said she had purchased a pack of fabric sheets from every vendor at the show and found ours to be the best. No surprise there, but it was nice to hear it confirmed again. I love hearing from customers how much they love the fabric sheets.

Since we were on the aisle we got to display the big, beautiful fabric banner Willetta made for us for Houston. A lot of people came into our booth after reading the information on the banner.

There was a lot of interest in our upcoming Babyland CD which will be released before the end of the year. Wait till you see the precious silk baby quilt Carol made with some of the images. We decided not to display it at this show since everyone in Houston who saw the quilt wanted the CD.

Judy, who made most of our pillow and wall hanging samples was able to come to the show and see her work on display for the first time.

Teresa White, who made the crazy quilt and little boxes, also came by to visit with her husband and some friends. We made some Christmas ornaments out of the little crazy quilt packet materials and hung them on our little tree along with some of the actual packets.

It was so much fun making the ornaments that Val came up with some new product ideas. We will soon be introducing exciting new ornament kits featuring our vintage images which require no sewing.

This was our first Rusty Barn show, but it will not be our last. We've already signed up for the 2006 October show and plan to also do the Phoenix and Denver show in 2007.

VV's Victorian Prints was proud to be one of the exhibit sponsors at the International Quilt Festival and Market.

As part of the Silk Experience group, we co-sponsored The Silk Road Travels to Houston exhibit, featuring historical and contemporary silk art forms and processes. Eleven talented artists were invited to exhibit their contemporary silk works, utilizing modern processes and technology. And in addition, John Marshall exhibited his wonderful collection of historical Japanese textile art forms. The exhibit featured silk garments, quilts, dolls, wall hanging and embellished accessories.

This was our first time to go to Houston (and our second quilt show out of Washington state).

At Quilt Market we found some beautiful ribbons, beads and Mother of Pearl buttons to add to our crazy quilt packs. We also met some potential CD distributors in Japan and Australia.

At Quilt Festival we sold a lot of fabric sheets, CDs and some new products we got just for the show: Angelina dragonfly, butterfly & flower stamps, sparkly beautiful fiber packs, silk fun kits, hand-dyed silk cocoons, carrier rods and hankies, 11 x 17 silk fairy fabric prints for painting and more.

We introduced two brand new CDs - Vintage Automobiles and Wildflowers. Val was unable to finish Babyland in time for the show, but it will be coming soon.

The people in Houston were so nice. We made some new friends and met a lot of very friendly people. Didn't care for the freeway system, but we were able to get where we needed to go thanks to the helpful Houston pedestrians we asked for directions.

Val's Silk Hand hanging art piece was accepted to be part of the "A Show of Hands" traveling exhibit.

For more information about these shows, click on the link below.

This quilt show was practically in our backyard. Teresa and Rachel helped at the show, and we tested our new booth layout plan. We displayed a lot less wall hangings & pillows, added some greenery, lights and fluffy texture and were very happy with the way our booth looked.

Teresa's crazy quilt and victorian lady boxes were on display and received lots of compliments. We sold little crazy quilt packets for the first time. This is one of the new products that will be available in Houston. We will also be unveiling our 3 new CDs - Vintage Automobiles, Babies & Wildflowers - in Houston.

We showed visitors the July/August and November/December issues of Quiltmaker which featured some of our products. What a nice group of ladies (and men)! This is a show we would like to participate in every year.

The Evergreen Piecemakers Guild fed us well with homemade soups, sandwiches, dips, and delicious desserts. We met some new friends and even found some new products that will fit nicely with our product line to introduce in Houston.

Puyallup Valley Quilters 2005 Quilt Show
August 5-7, 2005
Puyallup, WA

VV's Victorian Prints was happy to be invited to be part of this show. My friend Rachel helped me set up the booth and helped out the first day of the show. I got a chance to meet some wonderful quilt shop owners who were also vendors at the show. Received all kinds of good helpful advice from the friendly folks at All About Quilting in Tacoma.

Meeting one of the featured quilt artists, Teresa White, was a highlight. We will be working on some projects together and both Teresa and Rachel agreed to help out in Houston.

We introduced our new line of rubber stamps at this show. We had one Angels set and two Fairies sets. They will be available on the website soon.

Rikki helped out on Saturday,and Bob helped (his first show) on Sunday. It was fun to try something new. Interestingly enough, we sold mostly CDs and cotton fabric sheets. Turns out many of the rubber stampers/scrapbookers also sew. Of course, most of our samples were wall hangings, pillows, etc. We also experimented with selling a crystal embellishment kit. The crystals really dressed up some of our wall hangings. Rikki did a fantastic job putting on the Crystals Saturday night so we'd have them on Sunday.

I expect we'll do well with the rubber stamps at the next quilt/sewing show when we have some samples. They work great on silk scarves. Can't wait to try them on silk clothing.

For more information about Heirloom's rubber stamp/scrapbook shows, click on the link.

Camano Island Quilters 9th Biennial Quilt Show
April 8-9, 2005
Stanwood, WA

What a beautiful place to come for a quilt show. Jessica and I drove through the pouring rain after she got out of school on Thursday and headed north. Since I've always wanted to visit Camano Island (just a stone's throw from Stanwood), I made reservations at a gorgeous bed & breakfast called Inn at Barnum Point. The huge house sits all by itself on the point surrounded by water and wildlife.

My bed was next to the fireplace and had sweeping views of water and sky. Jessica's upstairs loft bed in the clouds was a girl's dream come true. Our only regret was that we only got to spend a few hours each morning and evening in the room enjoying the views since we were at the show all day. The innkeeper, Carolin Barnum Dilorenzo, made us feel so welcome, even getting me special chicken and portabella mushroom sausages for breakfast when she learned I didn't eat red meat. If you're looking for a relaxing scenic getaway, check this out. I definitely hope to return. Carolin's bath teddy made a guest appearance at the quilt show in our teddy bear display when I forgot to pack my childhood teddy.

After the show on Friday we headed up to RoozenGaarde to see the tulips (something else I've always wanted to do). Jessica loved walking on the soft squishy ground around the tulip fields. Owned by the Roozen family, specializing in growing Tulips, Daffodils and Irises, their operation is the largest in the world, covering Skagit Valley with more than 1,200 acres of field blooms and 15 acres of greenhouses. Each fall, the 3 acre show garden is planted with over two hundred thousand spring-flowering bulbs, providing a gorgeous display of color during the early weeks of spring.

Each Spring Quilters Anonymous presents a spectacular quilt show at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, WA. QA Members work on their quilt entries all year long. The QA show is the oldest and largest annual guild show in the Pacific Northwest.

For the first time, VV's Victorian Prints had a booth in this show where we featured our vintage art CDs and cotton & silk fabric sheets. Val had a bad cold and was unable to talk above a whisper which made the "Printing on Fabric" demonstrations interesting. Rikki Marohl and Jessica Hruby (who were helping Val at the show) were lifesavers. Rikki was Val's speaker/voice box for the demos while Jessica (pictured above) manned the booth. Val whispered directions to Rikki who delivered the information to attendees. Quilters who'd been using iron-on transfers to get images on fabric were excited to see how much nicer fabric prints are.

For information about Quilters Anonymous, click on their link.

Sew and Stitchery Expo
March 3-6, 2005
Puyallup, WA

VV's Victorian Prints CDs and fabric sheets were showcased in the Quiltworks Northwest booth.

This is the largest, most comprehensive consumer education and trade event for the sewing industry in the United States. Sponsored by Washington State University, this annual event draws more than 32,000 people from as far away as Spain and Australia.

Our favorite local quilt store, Quiltworks Northwest in Bellevue, invited Valerie to demonstrate and sell her vintage image CDs and fabric sheets in the booth. Be sure to meet and thank Quiltworks Northwest's new owner Stacie Baumeister.

Pacific Northwest Quiltfest
August 13, 14 & 15, 2004
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall

VV's Victorian Prints had a wonderful time at APNQ's bi-annual quiltfest in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. We demonstrated how to use our fabric sheets to create your own fabric designs and turn vintage art and photos into beautiful quilts, pillows, wall hangings and much more. The cotton poplin fabric sheets proved to be so popular that we ran out Saturday afternoon. We should have a new shipment to fill backorders and future web orders within a week. We also showed people how easy it is with the silk 3-yard rolls to create beautiful one-of-a-kind silk scarves and ties.

We introduced our three newest CDs at the show -- Dogs 1, Dogs 2 and Puppy Dogs -- displaying two beautiful purses and a mini quilt made with the canine images. Jessica, Val and Theresa enjoyed meeting and talking with attendees and vendors from the local quilt community, and from Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Canada.

For the first time, VV's Victorian Prints was part of a major national quilt show outside Washington state at the International Quilt Festival's second annual spring show in Rosemont, Illinois. My sister Louise and her husband Vince flew in from Colorado to help (and saved the day when I got very sick with a cold the second day of the show and couldn't even talk). Louise, I wish you could be at all my shows. You are a super sales lady!

In our booth we displayed quilts, wall hangings, pillows, lampshades and other items you can make with our vintage images. We introduced VV's Victorian Print's new slogan, "Quilting Is My Passion." Vendors, customers and even the staff at the hotel we stayed at were sporting our pin, wearing our t-shirt and/or drinking out of our water bottles! (Thank you Rosemont Embassy Suites for the hospitality. Your staff is the best!)

We enjoyed visiting with cousins in Chicago during the trip (below is a picture of us with our cousin Eddie). Our cousins made sure we did not go hungry, preparing some wonderful meals, taking us out. etc. Thank you Judy for bringing us the wonderful lunch and then staying to help us work in the booth. Sharon, the Indian dinner you prepared was awesome. We had so much fun seeing all of you!

Wall Hangings, Framed Prints, Pillows and other items made with images from VV's Victorian Prints were on display and for sale in the Northwest Artist's Gallery in the SeaTac Mall from November 1 through December 31, 2003. Owner Val Vavrik was in the gallery on Saturdays to talk to customers and demonstrate how images are cleaned up and restored.

Class Description: Val Vavrik, owner of V Vs Victorian Prints, scans drawings and etchings from her personal collection of over 1,000 antique books, cleans them up on her computer (removing stains, tears, pen marks, etc.) and saves the restored images on CD. She currently offers 20 different CD titles (e.g. Angels, Children, Fairies, Japan, Kitchen, Patriotic, Pets, Medieval Times, Night Before Christmas, Victorian Women). The high-resolution images can be printed on fabric sheets and then sewn into pillows, quilts, wall hangings, ornaments, clothing nd all sorts of creative crafts projects. Val will show images from her CDs and bring samples of projects that can be made with the unique images. Val will also demonstrate how to size the images, add color and print the images onto fabric sheets.

Call me naive, but when I signed up for a crafts booth at Oktoberfest in Leavenworth I did not realize what the event was. After the first day when we realized Oktoberfest was primarily a big beer garden with dancing and partying we changed our approach. We focused on selling vintage art tattoos and removed the vintage art prints from the frames and sold souvenir pictures of attendees with their tattoos and beer mugs. By selling tattoos and frames with digital photos we were able to recoup some of our expenses. We did meet a lot of fun people and got to know some very nice vendors from Leavenworth and surrounding areas as well as a lot of young men from various branches of our military on leave. Many vendors sported our vintage art tattoos, including some of Eastern Washington's finest from the Sheriff's Office. We will definitely participate in another event in Leavenworth down the road.

Even with all the new products, CDs were still the best seller by far. Seems most people like to make their own stuff. People were especially inspired by the beautiful, unique wall hangings and a few even plan to make a medieval quilt. We requested pictures of their finished products and will post them on this website as they come in.

Return to Home Page