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I am skilled at taking something simple and making it complex. So, the quilt coat…. First, what pattern to use? I didn’t want darts, fancy seaming or lots of pieces. After culling through my existing patterns, I settled on the Tamarack by Grainline. I initially rejected it because it has a curved hem. I am not fond of curved hems, but I liked the rest of the pattern. I initially redrafted it to have a straight hem, only to then decide that the curved hem wasn’t so bad after all. I kept the curve. I realized too that I needed…
I started my quilt coat. And I’ve made some odd decisions that I must explain. Unfortunately the instructor for the class is ill, so I decided to forge ahead on my own. I may be doing several stupid things😊 First, a story. I was Program Chair for my local quilt guild, the Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild. Twice. On my first go round, maybe 2006-ish?, I hired Rachel DK Clark to come for a lecture and class. Rachel is a phenom; she is a prolific maker of exquisite garments (mainly coats), also makes fabulous quilts and is just a hoot.…
I am cobbling this together at the last minute. My world has not stopped spinning since before Thanksgiving and I keep on thinking it will slow down! My Thanksgiving was wonderful! Both sons and my Daughter-in-Law were here and it was a cozy family holiday. Our Grandson has reached a new development stage and it was so fun! He is almost 2 and a very chatty little guy. At one point he threw some food on the floor and of course, he was warned not to do it again. I casually said “Zero Tolerance Policy” and he parroted back something…
NOTE: I may take Thanksgiving week off, not yet sure. After spending many hours poring through my photos of the Houston show, purging the bad ones, deciding on which to postthen resizing and fixing each in Photo Shop, I chose to show the following quilts. Later, I discovered an entire stash of photos that I did not have in the mix! But I am weary; so yes, there is an entire group of amazing quilts that I won’t post. Sorry! One curious thing this year – I was most attracted to traditional quilts. I know, how odd for me!…
Here we go, Houston 2022 quilts!! This year was especially challenging, as I had extremely limited time on the show floor. So I ran around and took photos without the joy of lingering in front of them, drinking in their beauty and detail. Also, please note, there are NOTEABLE quilts that I don’t have photos of. If a lingering group was in front of a quilt I wanted to photograph, I just couldn’t wait until they left. I have no photos of some of the most remarkable quilts. And many times I do not post my photos of the big…
NOTE: I may not have a post next week. I hope to write it before I leave for Houston, but I may not have enough time. I also may not have a newsletter for this Sat, Oct 29. I definitely will not have a newsletter Nov 5th. Whaaaaat, you don’t get my newsletter? My newsletter is a two-fer, you get my blog post plus other entertaining, enlightening and sometimes silly stuff. You can sign up here. I almost forgot; I had 2 quilts hanging at the show: Round 2 of the Pacific International Quilt Festival, in no particular order; lots…
I decided to post photos from the Pacific International Quilt Festival this week and next, followed by the Foothills Quilters Guild show the following week. If you follow me, you will know that I don’t create posts ahead of time for later posting, I’ve always posted of-the-moment. Until now. I am prepping for Houston and other things personal and professional. I hope to get these posts ready so that I can concentrate on my prep work. Shhhhh, but there are entire areas of prep, samples and curriculum that I haven’t touched for Houston; I need to get on it!…
I needed to create two new class samples for my Yes You CAN Free Motion Quilt! class, as all my other samples had been sent out to other guilds/shops. I LOVE it when my To Do List actually includes “quilt something”. This is my intro class and I do teach it differently than any one else I am aware of – we do 5 different motifs in a beginner class. That way, students learn skill sets from each one that will apply to their future quilting, no matter the motif. Because of that, I felt the need to send out…
I had the pleasure of being the Featured Quilter at the Mother Lode Quilters’ Guild Show in Sutter Creek. I met so many people, engaged in interesting conversations and was generally treated like a Queen! Anelie Belden is the President and was a supportive and attentive host. I stayed at the Foxie Inn, a lovely bed and breakfast just steps away from the show. I took breakfast in the garden each morning and enjoyed an indulgent croissant breakfast. I was greeted with a beautiful basket from the guild: Tucked in there was the local paper with a feature article…
After a 3 year absence, it was time for the River City Quilters Guild‘s show! Clearly, it was a bumper crop year as there were so many fantastic quilts. Like always, keep in mind that some wonderful quilts are missing from this post because my photo was bad or I just lost track as I ran into people and chatted. So here we go: Interesting, there were 2 Best of Shows – one Traditional, and one Modern. Jan Soules took both! Oh this was beautiful! Jan uses fabric with such skill. Lin Squires’ quilting was the perfect touch and enhanced…