Empty Spools 2025

I did a lousy job with photos and this post will probably not reflect the absolutely joyful, inspiring and fabulous time I spent teaching at Empty Spools. I’ll do my best, but I took zero photos of in-class time.

I make the seminar essentially what I am going to call “Assisted Independent Study”. I added a bit of structure by having something to start every morning and afternoon: a topic of discussion, a quilt and the lessons learned from it, lessons on a variety of fills and/or learning new techniques. Then I circulated through the room for the rest of the day working one-on-one with each student.

The considerable time in between allowed each student to work on what they wanted. I love that! Some brought projects, some picked one up from what I brought, and some wanted to work on getting better at fills and combinations. Inspiration was freely dispensed by all and circulated around the room. It was a bit of a kumbaya experience😊

I had The Best mix of 15 students, every single one a delight! I had students with zero experience free motion quilting and yet some had juried into major international shows (more than once!). I poured out everything I knew about free motion quilting and my students drank deeply. The class felt very cohesive and united, just a joy!

And we had an amazing geographical mix too: Calgary (Alberta, Canada), Tucson, Portland and Seattle.

I am always a little shy about taking photos of students at work. Not everyone likes their photo on social media. But I erred on the side of too much caution and I only have a group photo. The “goofy” photo is my fav:

It was a rainy week at Empty Spools, no surprise since we were the first session in early March. I don’t have any beautiful sunset shots; I have this instead:

I walk in the wee hours, before the sun is up. For that reason I don’t walk the beach, and instead walk the surrounding neighborhoods. Oh, but there was beauty at that ethereal time of day!

The grounds there are lovely, and the evening lighting is just so pretty:

Every evening has an event except the third evening. Teachers typically go out by themselves for dinner that evening. Although I have no photo to prove it, Priscilla Bianchi, Vicki Conley, Julia McLeod and Pearl Pereira joined up for dinner and we had a robust discussion about all of life! One of the best things about teaching at a venue like Empty Spools is having time to hang with other teachers.

A few random but important events:

The last evening has a Round About after the evening session at Merrill Hall. Students can visit all the other classrooms to see what they are doing, and also to see if they might want to take that teacher next time.

I was so pleased, my classroom packed out with visitors!

I gave me great joy to see that much interest in my classroom and the fabulous work of my students. Many visitors expressed interest in taking my class next year. Yippeee! And one particular visitor….

spied a class sample and liked it so much that she bought it! Lisa Ellis is an internationally recognized artist, known for her exquisite Cathedral Windows quilts. She is also a collector and I was so very deeply flattered that she wanted this piece!

That piece by the way is/was the class sample for my upcoming Alaska cruise! Don’t worry, I’ll make another. I’d love for you to join me!

One of my students, Connie, made an exquisite Sue Spargo Tradewinds quilt. It was so cool! She brought it along to class to figure out how to quilt it. When she brought it out at the evening meeting, a crowd gathered to admire it!

In case you were wondering how we kept our stamina up, chocolate was involved. At this point the Lindt Dark Chocolate Truffles were gone, sigh.

One of my students traveled from Canada and I brought along my extra BERNINA for her. This is how she expressed her thanks; chocolate works every time. And each chocolate piece was a work of art, both by looks and taste. Yummm!

Empty Spools celebrated its 40th anniversary this year! This shows all the teachers for Session 1:

Suzanne brought a group of signature quilts that celebrated the 25th anniversary. Look at this All Star cast! Sadly, many are no longer with us. What treasure:

Suzanne is one of the original owner/organizers of the seminars. She is a gem of a person! I had to get a photo with her:

The organization has been sold and Suzanne will stay on a bit for a smooth transition. The new proprietors:

It’s a whole new generation and I am so excited to see where Wendi and Penny will take us.

And Vicki, a student in last year’s class brought her completed project. Wowsa!

Her top was completed when she arrived last year and we talked about a quilting plan. Vicki went home and got to work, creating this beauty with metallic thread.

Okay, so right here, I wanted to add a gallery of all of my student’s work and right now I can’t figure out how to add it. Here is what each student showed at the Walk About. I am. SO. PROUD!

A few parting shots:

Banana Slugs are a real thing! Did you know that Banana Slugs are the mascot of UC Santa Cruz? For real!

And here, I’m saying a sad/happy good bye to my classroom, Oak Shelter. She was indeed a lovely shelter for a bucolic 5 days.

I will be teaching next year; I am so excited! The 2026 brochure is out and registration begins on April 26, 10 AM PST. Truly, some classes instantly fill, so if you are thinking about going, create a plan and be at the keyboard when registration opens. I hope I see you there.

’ll be linking up:
Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday