We're on our way to Nashville this week for QuiltCon with Debbie Maddy and Lisa Bongean in tow.

QuiltCon - the annual quilt show event presented by the Modern Quilt Guild. The fun starts on Thursday and runs through Sunday - February 20 - 24. This is the first time QuiltCon is in Nashville and we're excited to be there with the Moda Bake Shop booth.

Do you know shibori and sashiko? Debbie Maddy does. While there won't be any actual shibori-indigo dyeing in the booth, we think it's a good bet that you might see some of this...

Shibori is the Japanese word for a variety of ways of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and securing it before dyeing. The word comes from the verb root shiboru, "to wring, squeeze, press." Rather than treating cloth as a two-dimensional surface, shibori gives it a three-dimensional form by folding, crumpling, stitching, plaiting, or plucking and twisting. Cloth shaped by these methods is secured in a number of ways, such as binding and knotting. (Thank you, Dartmouth.)

These are fabrics from one of Debbie's shibori collections. While these fabrics are printed, the designs come from shibori textiles that Debbie has tied, knotted and dyed.

She'll also be demonstrating sashiko stitching using both traditional white threads on indigo, and mixing it up a bit.

Sashiko literally means "little stabs" and it is a form of decorative reinforcement stitching from Japan that started out of a practical need during the Edo era - 1615-1868. Traditionally used to reinforce points of wear or repair worn places or tears with patches, sashiko made the darned piece stronger and warmer. The running stitch technique is often used for decorative purposes in quilting and embroidery. The white cotton thread on the traditional indigo gives sashiko a distinctive appearance, though decorative items sometimes use red thread. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

Lisa Bongean will be there sharing her expertise on working with small things - a lot of them.

This is Lisa's Memories of a Masterpiece quilt from Red & White Quilts. It's made with a lot of 1" finished half-triangle squares - units she made using the triangle paper she created for Primitive Gatherings.

Do you have any of Moda's mini charm packs? You might need - want - more of them.

This is a rug Lisa made using mini charm squares - Mini Charm Rug. It measures 20" x 41" and can be made with 28 mini charm packs. Or 1,150 2.5" x 2.5" mini charm squares. Got scraps? It's really cool - and it can be made in any size.

We're sure both Lisa and Debbie will have a lot more to share, as will we.

Booth 524. If you're in Nashville, come and say Hi!