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It’s been a particularly busy 2 weeks! My 3-day seminar at Meissner Folsom was a great success. Seven eager students of varying degrees of experience gathered to learn as much as possible in 3 days. Unfortunately I was immersed in teaching and took only a few photos: This was the only “class photo” I took and one student was missing. One wonderful thing about a smaller class is that we can easily gather around a sample. I always teach with my camera and projector so that everyone gets a front row seat. But it is useful sometimes to have…
I’m making a run at completing my vintage quilt top in time to enter the Houston show. It’s a looooong shot but I’m trying, so I’m chained to my machine – dang! I have done the background quilting on all the blocks: And a few selected blocks (note that I have just sprayed at the blue wash out marker so it has not been completely washed out): I’m going to feather the dickens out of the sashing and border. I forgot that this quilt from Houston last year got me on this vintage kick. Isn’t this a fabulous quilt? There…
Oh what a glorious week it was ! I was privileged to spend 5 fabulous days with 14 free motion quilting students and it was a blast. We sewed and laughed and ate and got to know each other and quilted and even enjoyed a 2 min solo from our resident Dramatic Soprano. We came from diverse backgrounds with a spread of 3 1/2 decades and experience levels ran from never-done-this-before to skilled. I was so pleased that 14 quilters chose to join me! Asilomar is a spectacular location for a seminar such as Empty Spools. Quick scoop on…
NOTE: I’ll be teaching at Empty Spools next week and I may not have time for a blog post or newsletter. This week I will have a newsletter. The best way to follow me is through my newsletter – you get my blog post plus other interesting “curated content” (I just learned to call it that, snort!). You can sign up here for my newsletter. And I am active on FaceBook and Instagram too; I will be posting from Asilomar next week. It has been a this ‘n that kind of week with family time at Easter, working on my vintage…
My third quilt show in a row! I took a break and caught the San Francisco Quilt Guild Show on my way to Manteca to teach. They have not had a show since 2019. The show featured 2 artists, Joe Cunningham and Barb Strick, as well as an Exhibit of yellow quilts from Rodrick Kirakofe’s collection. The Event Center of St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco was an impressive venue that felt like an art gallery more than a quilt show. It was very well done. It’s always tricky to leave a parked car anywhere in San Francisco. I was…
I have been a proud member of the Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild since 2000 (I think). I love my guild! We have a lot of talent in a diverse range of styles and techniques. We ARE a “Fiber Guild” also. As you will see below, we have hand embroiders, garment makers, knitters and some that defy categories. Over the years we have brought in many national teachers who have had a huge impact on me. I had 40 min before the show closed to get my photos. I had literally just gotten off the plane (from teaching at the…
This was my first time to attend the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show and it lived up to the reviews I’d heard – smaller, but packed with lots of great quilts. Many of them were not the usual suspects, which I found refreshing. It is a petite venue, yet there seemed to be enough room to get a good look at a quilt if you had some patience. I LOVE that the Best of Show was a hand quilted beauty that took the maker 7 years to complete! It was a treasure. I don’t feel that it photographs well for some…
NOTES: I’m back in town and my store is open again! I only carry items I am passionate about. The most popular items are the Set Up Tips for Free Motion Quilting card, the Line Tamer ruler and the Supreme Slider. I still have stock on the Supreme Slider but once they are gone, they are gone forever. It is the best slider on the market and they are closing shop. I have so much to share with you! I have visited THREE quilt shows in the last 2 weeks and taught at both AQS Daytona Beach and the Indiana…
NOTE #1: Because of back-to-back travel gigs, I probably will not post next week (23d) and iffy for the following week (Mar 2), then I should be back on track. I will probably make my newsletter this Sat (18th) but not the following week (March 4). If you’re not signed up for my newsletter (which my readers really do love) you can do so here. NOTE #2: Because I will be on the road, my shop will not ship from Feb 21 – 26 and Mar 1 – 6. I do still have inventory of the discontinued Supreme Sliders. I will…
I had two back-to-back in-person engagements this week and I am so happy to be teaching in person again! I truly love to teach, and I’m happy to teach virtually or in-person, each has its advantages. I started out in Chico with an evening lecture for the Annie’s Star Quilt Guild, a vibrant guild of 200 members. There was a great turn out: Can’t you tell how friendly they were? And dang, I forgot to ask how they got their name. I presented my “The Beauty of the Imperfect” lecture which I am very proud of. I reached out to…