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I’ve got two completely different subjects this week, so you’ll see two posts. I took a class this week from Spanish quilter Cristina Arcenegui Bono. If that name is not familiar, I’ll bet this quilt of hers is: Cristina has been quilting professionally for over 15 years and I met her at Houston in 2019. Her work has ribboned at a number of major shows including Houston and Paducah and she is now teaching internationally online. Cristina’s work is delightfully whimsical and I wanted to learn how to quilt more whimsically. Cristina offered a class a Road@Home, Appliquilting, and I…
It seems like it all happened in one week with Craft Napa (both as student and teacher), a virtual lecture, a few family events and Hubby had a bit of dental surgery. I hope to have a boring few weeks now! First up, Craft Napa. I LOVED the virtual format….as a student. I’ll get to the teacher part in a minute. I took 2 days with Margarita Korioth, learning Instant Paper Cloth and Hand Applique with Paper and Fabric. Oh. What. Fun! It was like Kindergarten, only better. We were cutting out paper, playing with a new technique and just…
It’s a short post this week. Most of my time has been consumed in prep for this week, with too many major events crammed together. Yesterday went well with a high of 75 attendees to the January Jumpstart for the Northern California Quilt Council. I serve on the Board of NCQC and Rochelle Rosales and I did a presentation for participating guilds on “Successfully Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers”. A lot has changed for guilds and NCQC hopes to help guilds navigate these tumultuous waters. NCQC has been instrumental for me since I began teaching. Until COVID, I got the…
Yes, I thought I was done with this table topper. It was all quilted and photographed, but….I just needed to swish it in water for about 5 minutes to make sure all the markings were gone. Here’s a refresher in how it looked before I washed it – note that crisp, white binding: Ah, but all did not go well with when it hit water: It immediately started to bleed. This is not the first time I’ve had a bleeding issue with dupioni, it’s the 4th time that I remember. Much of the dupioni sold here is made in China…
What a year, aye? I don’t normally do an end-of-year wrap-up, but this year was a doozie and needed one. I have accomplished more in this year than ever, so let’s take a look: Remember when there were classes and hugs? It really wasn’t that long ago! I kicked off the year with a wonderful Start With a Square class at Craft Napa. I LOVE Craft Napa and I’m excited to be teaching again for the 6th year. This was just a wonderful class full of creativity, synergy and fun! We were so innocent then, lambs to the slaughter. Little…
I wasn’t sure I’d post today but I thought that I might bring cheer to some of my readers. I’m sharing my home with you today. Like most of you, we’re shut down and it’s a shame to not share our decorations with others. Usually our home would be full with our boys and my DIL and it’s so sad to be here alone. We certainly have many blessings, among them the impending birth of our first grandchild! Oldest son who works ER got vaccinated yesterday. Oh will the day come when we all have access? Soon? Let me share…
NOTE: I had written last week that I did not intend to write a newsletter or blog on Christmas (next Thursday!!), but I may change my mind. I’m going to wait and see. Also, In this week’s newsletter I will include an article explaining the closing of the International Quilt Association which sponsored part of the Houston quilt show. The show will go on, so don’t panic. I always include a link in my weekly newsletter to each blog post, so it’s the best way to keep up with me. You can sign up here. What a fun week! I…
It has been a very eventful week, but there aren’t a lot of photos to support that! It was the week of the virtual Houston Quilt Festival and it was a jam-packed: I am not going to show a lot of screen shots because to me, they pretty much all look alike. I was a panelist for both of the Machine Quilting Forums, presenting on Cutwork as well as an overview of free motion quilting. Each Forum had close to 500 attendees! If it were held in-person the limit is (I think) 150. Now you see why Forum fills early…
This will be short. I am getting ready to LAUNCH today. I will present at 10AM PST at the Machine Quilting Forum of the Virtual Houston Quilt Festival – “Easy Peasy Cutwork”. Then at 4PM PST, my big presentation to the general audience, “Quilting is a Contact Sport!”, yikes! If you have heard the lecture by the same name before, rest assured, this is a different lecture. Some of the stories will be the same, but the content is very different. And on Saturday at noon I’ll be part of a second Machine Quilting Forum and talk about “Yes You…
The pies won. They’re not made yet, so it came down to pies, or thoughtful blog post and the pies won. I am excited about Thanksgiving this year, the last without a grandchild. Life will change and next year there will be a wee one to celebrate with – can’t wait! Both boys and DIL will be here, along with masks. We are doing raclette again this year (photo from a few years back) which is perfect for social distancing. We’ll have 3 tables and 3 grills! How bizarre is this world? Oh, and that little pile of quilts next…