Catching my breath

April has been an event filled month and I’ve been gone or at all day events for 14 days since mid-March. It’s all been great but it gives me comfort to know that in the next month I will teach just a few times locally and travel just once. I truly enjoy traveling and meeting other quilters yet I am itching to play with my neglected machine and get creative!

I was one of 30 that presented at the Northern California Quilt Council‘s Meet the Teacher event which drew about 200 decision makers from guilds and shops. NCQC is a blessing to all who teach and all who hire teachers in northern California. They provide a very well organized event that allows each teacher 3 minutes to talk about themselves and why you might want to hire them. I was pleased with the attendance and response to my pitch. I can’t imagine how difficult all of this would be for teachers, guilds and shops if there were no such centralized forum to meet.

I visited the Friendship Square Quilt Guild in the La Habra/Whittier area of Southern Ca for a lecture and workshop. What a vibrant guild! I had an enthusiastic response to both my lecture and workshop, which was gratifying. We had a few epiphany moments during the workshop which is so fun to be a part of.

In a touching gesture, when the Program Chair picked me up at the airport and delivered me to my hotel, she left me with a goodie bag that included chocolate-I was over the moon!

I couldn’t help but marvel at some of the businesses we passed on our way to the airport. A hookah lounge-who knew? Doesn’t every town have a hookah lounge?

On the home front, the remodel is going exceptionally well so far. I am so pleased with my contractor, Landmark Builders and my designer, Laura Neuman of Pepperjack Interiors . I had no idea how complex and synergistic design and construction ideas were until I entered into this remodel. There is a lot of thought that goes into each step whether it is the leg on a table, the height of a shelf or the length of a couch. After months of structural and surface decisions we are finally beginning on furniture and colors!

I’m excited about the new floors and how that is going to dramatically change the look of the home. Laura is helping me every step of the way, keeping me on task and on budget. And I LOVE this: If Laura says something should or should not be done, hubby listens. Imagine that!

Nancy Nix-Rice

I am a proud member of the Gold Country chapter of the American Sewing Guild and for once I was able to attend an event. Our Spring event featured style consultant Nancy Nix-Rice. Nancy goes way beyond “doing your colors” or helping with your wardrobe. She makes a clear distinction between being well dressed and being “optimally dressed”. Optimal dressing highlights the person, not the clothing. She really made an impact on me and I am now rethinking everything from my jewelry, accessories and clothing to my hair and make-up. What she describes is actually a very natural look.

I have not been able to attend an ASG event in maybe 2 years, so it was delightful to get to catch up with old friends.

Hubby and I were able to take a few hours off and go see the River Cats play the Salt Lake Bees on a gorgeous northern California spring day-what a treat!

And just today I conquered a major task/privilege-I found the Perfect Dress (maybe) for my son’s wedding in October. They will be married in a hipster bar event area in downtown Chicago. So that is a little tricky-needs to be slightly edgy, age and wedding appropriate, not too much so as to overshadow anyone else and it had to be comfortable!

The dress is wrap-style made from a divinely soft and forgiving knit, and the jacket is butter soft leather. It will even pack well and compactly! Lucky me, my son’s fiance is uber organized and sent a Pantone color swatch of the wedding to work from, so I know that I will not look odd in photos. This one is HUGE-now all I need are shoes and accessories.

I hope to touch my sewing machine this week and I hope by next post I have done something interesting on it. Do check out Nina Marie’s Off the Wall Friday which I will post to tomorrow.