Blog
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…
It’s not been a very Instagram-worthy kind of week. I’ve been prepping and putting together a goodie bag for my students and getting packed for the weekend ahead. I’m stoked about teaching at a retreat center for the South Valley Quilt Association. The group has not gathered together in 2 years and everyone is excited about meeting in person. The retreat center has a strict safety protocol so everyone feels comfortable meeting. I feel honored to be leading such an event. I’m prepared for a lecture on our first night and then 2 days of free motion quilting fun. I…
It’s been an interesting week. I took a great class from Cristina Arcenegui Bono from Spain – online of course. Gotta admit, I am getting tired of zoom, but sometimes it is so worth it to take teachers you would never be able to take otherwise. And it was worth it to take Cristina’s Pictorial Quilts class last Friday. If her name is not familiar to you, please click on her site and see the quilts she has made. Her pictorial quilts have ribboned at Houston and are just spectacular. I wanted to know how to do that! Okay,…
Soooo, I’ve been working on this quilt for over 2 years and…..I just finished quilting it! I’m not ready to reveal the whole quilt. That might be silly, but I have decided I don’t want to show the whole thing until it juries into a show. The idea of the quilt is that it is made with white silk dupioni with inserts of randomly pieced strips of varying widths. In addition, there are big ole honkin trapunto’d bubbles scattered across the piece. I love it. I think it is a very joyful piece and it makes me smile. I could…
This was my seventh year at Craft Napa and this year looked different than any other for sure. CN had two parts this year: an online portion and an in-person part. I am thrilled to be back to in-person classes, but many are not ready; my class sizes reflected that. But no worries, it was still the vibrant, creative, eclectic event, vibrating with energy and ideas. It’s hard to describe the vibe, but just know, it is unique. I had two classes this year and my students were The Best! Even with small class sizes, I was so happy with…
Wed, Jan 12 – This will be a quick post – I’m heading out the door shortly to go to Craft Napa! I co-presented this morning to the Northern California Quilt Council (NCQC) at our annual Jumpstart meeting. This year’s guild topic was fundraising. There are some exciting, innovative and new things happening in guild fundraising. I am proud of the work that NCQC does for the guilds, teachers and shops. I benefitted for years from their events and now I’m happy to serve on the Board. I am also excited to be teaching in person again. Next week’s post…
I’ve never gone 2 weeks without posting before, so this is a first. No one reads blogs during the Holidays! I’m back and a lot has happened: First, I must introduce our new family member: Yahaha is a 2 yr old Australian Shepherd female. We heard about her through a local source and we got her from a Utah breeder. Yahaha (more on that name later), was bred twice. She did not enjoy the process, so her breeder wanted to find a good pet home for her. She comes from a line of Shepherds bred for pets; she does not…
I love to pack a day! I had a simple plan that grew as the day went on: drive to the Bay area to meet up with Catherine Redford and maybe have a moment to drop by for a precious few moments with Grandson (and parents!). Driving to the San Francisco Bay area is something to be planned and timed. Traffic can be insane. I was to meet up with Catherine at 4, so maybe if I left at 9:30AM-ish I’d have some time to play while there. That was a reasonable assumption given that the commute should be 2…