Quilting will be on display this weekend

When Dusty Farrell wants to relax, he turns up the music, turns off the lights, sits down at his long-arm quilting machine and goes to work "at about 5,000 miles-an-hour."

Not everyone would think that was relaxing, he jokes; but it works for him.

Farrell calls it "Quiltin' in the Dark," and it's a technique that is garnering him a lot of attention around the quilting world. He uses UV-reactive thread and black light to create unusual and interesting effects. "I'm known for my feathers, for my spirographics and free motion designs," he says, as well as for his glow-in-the-dark quilts.

Farrell will be doing a lecture/demonstration on his quilting methods at the Home Machine Quilting Show, which will take place Thursday through Saturday, May 5-7, at the South Towne Expo Center. Farrell will also have a booth at the show and will be happy to answer any questions about venturing into the dark.

Salt Lake is one of about 25 shows Farrell and his wife, Stephanie, will do this year. They are owners of Country Stitchin, a quilt shop in Cambridge Springs, Penn. Farrell has a background in art and painting. "When we decided to open a quilt store, I wanted to find something to do there and thought my training in art could translate to quilting." He hit upon the idea of quilting in the dark at a quilt show when a thread company representative gave him a spool of thread to play around with.

Farrell's main advice for quilters is, "have fun. That's what long-arm quilting is all about. It's about having fun, not being perfect."

Quilters today, he says, are getting younger and are going off in all kinds of directions. It's a great way to find personal expression, he says, but advises quilters not to let the stress of perfection detract from the enjoyment.

He also advises them to take a chance. "I often sit down at the machine without a clue as to what I'm going to do. I just take off and go."

Marilyn Badger may be a bit more disciplined in her stitching, but has an equal amount of enjoyment in creating unusual designs. Her collaborative efforts with Claudia Clark Myers have taken top honors at prestigious quilt shows around the country.

A special display of those quilts will also be featured at HMQS this year, including "Sparkle Plenty," their first winner of the coveted Longarm Award at Paducah, Ky., in 2004, and "Awesome Blossoms," their Best of Show winner at the National Quilt Association 2010 show in Columbus, Ohio.