Our First Teacher of the Month: Calgarian Ana Buzzalino!
WonderFil Specialty Threads
Just before the lights come on
Ana Buzzalino is a fiber artist and quilt instructor living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Ana Buzzalino
Ana has been a teacher on a variety of quilting techniques for the past 20+ years. Some of the recent workshops have focused on free-motion quilting, and on surface design. She is currently working on a new series of work that includes mixed media. She is a frequent contributor to Quilting Arts Magazine and Quilting Arts TV.
Ana’s quilts have won several awards at local and national shows, and have been juried into major International shows.
Ana has been part of our Teacher Program since 2009.
Q: How did you start quilting?
A: I was working in downtown Calgary and I went for a walk one day at my lunch hour. I ended up in Kensington and saw a beautiful 'blanket' in a store window, so I went in to ask the lady if I could buy it. She said it wasn't for sale but she could teach me how to make one (it was a quilt shop).So I joined a class and haven't looked back since!
Q: Where do you find your inspiration for your quilts?
A: Everywhere, really. Photos,words in a book, magazines...I have more ideas than I have time to create. So if I start a project that I don't like,I don't necessarily finish it. I only work on what I like.
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: I am doing more dying of my own fabrics, and a lot of free motion work. I will often do small protypes of pieces to make sure they will work in larger pieces. I keep these , and sometimes frame them as small art pieces.
Q: What are your favorite WonderFil threads?
A: I only use DecoBob or InvisaFil in my bobbin. In my needle, I love the 40 weight rayon ( Splendor) because it has such a great sheen and never breaks on me. I also love the variegated Silco (35 weight cotton) because it has such a silky finish.
Dawn over Heritage Park