The Summer 2011 issue focuses on the theme "Needle and Thread," with a special look at contemporary textile portraiture and an international array of art-quilt masters. Articles in this issue include the mysteriously optimistic inlaid-felt patchwork pieces and hooked rugs of Canadian artist Heather Goodchild; an intimate grouping of textile portraits rendered in lace, cross-stitch, quilt, and embroidery; the handstitched headlines and soft sculptures of Lauren DiCioccio; an international selection of recent works by art-quilt masters that explore light and shadow; and be sure to meet the winners of the 2011 Fiberarts Reader’s Choice Studio Contest! This issue also includes fiber works of a healing nature, from large-scale land-art installations to hand-dyed and hand-embroidered antique handkerchiefs, in our Emerging Artists Showcase; a review of American Textile Biennial Eight featuring eighty-eight tapestries from around the world; and stories of traditional textile-arts preservation and celebration from Laos and Southern China. Creative process articles include knitting with glass by Carol Milne; transforming 2-D textile designs into 3-D sculptures with Cameron Anne Mason; the intricate abstract embroideries of Bette Woolsey; and  a greener approach to dyeing with indigo by Barbara Shapiro.