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Well this week’s trip was a true adventure. I taught a two- day free motion class to 18 students and also lectured to the Hi Desert Quilt Guild, a rousing guild! And surprise, surprise, I was invited to an 80th birthday party, plus I caught the first half of the local orchestra’s concert that featured youth talent. Wow, who knew? Traveling to teach and lecture holds its surprises. The Hi Desert Guild is in Ridgecrest, CA, in the Mohave Desert and home to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. Interesting stats (these may be a bit off; I’m going…
I have a very well developed skill of taking something simple and making it complex. Here I go again. I’m going to be taking a Quilt Coat class with my local guild, the Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild. The instructor, Diane Karna, sent out directions for prep work before class. The idea was to take an old quilt and cut it up. I grabbed this photo from Diane’s site, an example of the pattern we will be using. I wrote about my process last week that led me to a beautiful piece of hand dyed silk that I had pre-quilted…
It’s a catch up week, lived in 3 segments: a visit to the Quilt Guilds of the North Quarter (QGNC), prepping for a class to make a quilted jacket, and I FOUND 3 quilts in my home! First, a visit to the QGNQ Meet the Teachers event last Saturday. QGNC serves and supports the quilt guilds of far northern California, mostly smaller guilds. I have not visited for a while and it was a great visit! Country Quilts and Crafts, a new-to-me and I think new shop in Willits, hosted the event. They have a great selection of fabrics and…
I am catching up on my domestic and work life this week after a super busy Spring. I taught a delightful group of newbie (mostly) free motion quilters at Meissner Sacramento last weekend and I took exactly two photos: I am sooo proud of Sally, who took the class last year and came back for a refresher. She has completed SEVEN projects in the meantime! That warms my heart; she has taken her quilting life into her own hands and enjoying the results. And get this, this quilt was for HER – what a concept! I really don’t think…
I packed a lot into my 28 hour visit to SoCal! One of the wonderful things about traveling to teach and lecture is getting to visit places as a traveler, not a tourist, and meeting other quilters. I visited the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild over the weekend and hung out in Santa Monica and Brentwood, oh my! The guild was absolutely fabulous and I was thrilled to teach free motion to a Modern guild. I would love to see more free motion on Modern quilts. Literally every person I interacted with was a delight. I found Santa Monica to…
It was the best Easter ever, except of course the original Easter. I had both boys and wives plus my 5 yr old grandson and almost 2 yr old granddaughter. Oh it was so much fun! A kinetic and creative 5 yr old Grandson + an adorable almost 2 yr old Granddaughter = lots of joy! It was beyond what I expected, just so delightful almost every minute. The weather was perfect the entire time – mild and sunny, with cool evenings and a gentle breeze. Easter Sunday’s egg hunt was so cute, just a simple scattering of eggs: The…
NOTE: No newsltter this week. I will be enjoying Easter with my family. You know it’s been a good time when you are sad to leave. Yes, I was super sad to leave QuiltAway 2026, the San Francisco Quilters Guild‘s semi-annual retreat. The SFQG is a 250 member guild, created in 1981. Eighty members attended this year’s QuiltAway retreat that has been going on semi-annually for 34 years! The guild has a diverse base in many ways; I am guessing here, it seemed like almost half of the attendees were under 50, and a lot of them were much younger.…
This is one reason you go to Empty Spools. There are many others! For 42 years Empty Spools has hosted some of the most influential and inspiring artists from across the globe. The very foundation upon which current textile art and quilting stands has been built in part by those who have taught there. I pinch myself that I have taught there for 5 years and am scheduled to teach in 2027. I had the most wonderful visit this year in Session 1. My class was packed and full at 20. This is an independent study class where each student…
I was happy to be in town for the Valley Quilt Guild show in Yuba City; I don’t always get to make the show. The Valley Quilt Guild Show truly is unique and it starts at the entrance: The guild makes a new windsock each year. It’s so cool to see it fluttering in the breeze. And their welcome tables reflected the current year’s theme, “Three Part Harmony”: Other welcome table: And then you enter the cavernous space to see a display of previous year’s windsocks. This is just a portion. They have made a windsock every year since their…
I have never gone this long without posting since I began my blog in 2010. I have a lot to catch up on here and I’m starting with my visit to AQS Daytona Beach. This was my third time to teach there and this trip was very different from previous visits. The Daytona Beach show was concurrent with QuiltCon. Although each show has its own audience, I do think QuiltCon had an impact on the turnout for Daytona Beach. It was a great show! But there were not that many attendees. Of my 5 events, 2 almost filled, and my…