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I’m writing this at the last minute – I simply forgot to write my post. This is never a good thing – I really need posts to “marinate” before posting to catch all my editing errors. There surely will be some grammar errors or misinformation, so bear with me. I’ve got the fam coming for Easter! I’ve got lots of prep to do so I will not have a newsletter this week. I don’t know how I got all this done this week, as you’ll see below. I don’t sleep much, that helps. I completed my Ukraine donation quilt this…
It’s been a packed week with a wide variety of action; I love it when I’m working different types of events! I volunteered to demo at Blue Line Arts in Roseville in conjunction with the “Forever Changed” exhibit, a SAQA Regional exhibit which focused on the lasting impact of the events of 2020-21. I demo’d free motion quilting and Frances Dack did a collage activity with children. Kinda funny how this all went down; Frances had a packed house of happy kids and their parents: On the other hand, I had TWO visitors, but had a grand time with fellow…
It’s been a great week since I last posted. I had a wonderful 3 1/2 day visit to the Minden, NV guild, the Carson Valley Quilt Guild. Oh so sad, I had to drive by Lake Tahoe on my way: Where does the lake end and the sky begin? They don’t call it “Tahoe Blue” for nothin’! While there, Christina from the guild took me on a hike. What I really want to do when I travel to guilds is hike, walk or see art. This was really all three: I did no color correction on any of those photos…
It’s been an up and down week. After months of dithering, I took the chance and tried to remove the blue wash out marks from my WHITE SILK quilt with cotton backing, cotton fabrics and wool batting. How’s that for a complicated mix. Oh, did I mention, there were several bleeders in there? I have talked with and written some of the best dyers and competition quilters I know about my dilemma, so I got solid advice on how to proceed. BTW, the whole very hot water + Dawn thing works for cotton, not silk. It all started out so…
I’ve got two posts again, on very different subjects, other post here. Dang, I had to go to San Clemente in March: San Clemente is the southern most city of Orange County and is known for its Spanish colonial-style architecture. It is unbelievably beautiful, even for SoCal cities. The vibe is gentle and laid-back, all the store owners offer friendly greetings and I didn’t get the tourist feel at all. I had visited 2 years prior and knew I would be tempted by the shopping on my afternoon off: I got off light with a few bracelets and a gauzy…
I’ve got two posts again, on very different subjects, other post here. What a treat – a real live quilt show with no masks or distancing! It was my first and what a joy it was to visit the Valley Quilt Guild‘s show in Yuba City. The mood was joyous, as we were all waiting for this moment. The VQG has not had a show for 3 years (I think) and they had a bumper crop of beauty and creativity. Please note, I may have missed some wonderful quilts. I talked to so many people while I was there…
Two posts this week, the other one is here. Yes, same photo to start this post – it captures the beauty of Asilomar. The Asilomar Conference Grounds are described as “A refuge by the sea”. It is a stunningly beautiful location, right off the beach in Pacific Grove, California. It is a protected parcel of 107 acres of a diverse, breathtakingly gorgeous and ecologically fragile restored dune ecosystem. Asilomar was built as a YWCA Leadership Camp built in 1913 and is architectural significant, with historic structures designed by renowned architect Julia Morgan between 1913 and 1928. I stayed in “Hearth”:…
Two posts this week, the other one is here. It. Was. Magic. I was already contracted for Empty Spools 2023 when Suzanne Cox asked me to teach as a replacement for Cindy Needham who was unable to teach this year. It was late in the game and I scrambled to get ready. Teaching at Empty Spools was a Beyond Bucket List event for me. ES is an iconic bastion of the quilting seminar world, a 37 year-old tradition now owned by Suzanne Cox and Gayle Wells. The standards are high and there are many students who have attended for years…
I had a grand time last week in my “Blooming Sheers” class at Meissner Sewing in Folsom. Every single student remarked at how fun they had. I am always thinking about great free motion quilting classes, what would that look like? I think this is a winner. One of my class samples for “Blooming Sheers”: Even the debris in the classroom was vibrant and pretty! I wasn’t sure if my students were going to be able to source colorful sheers or printed sheers, so I brought some of my stash along and I’m glad I did. Everyone appreciated the…
What a fabulous week! I taught a group of 12 from the South Valley Quilt Association at the San Damiano Retreat Center in Danville, CA. It’s been a while since my car looked like this and it felt great to be back at it! I wasn’t sure what all I might be teaching, so I brought the kitchen sink. The drive down was divine! It wasn’t until I began my drive that I realized that it was already spring. Of course I don’t have photos because…well I was driving. Trees were blossoming, the hills were velvety and green, the mustard…