Archive for » October, 2011 «

Brenda Johnson’s wedding gift

I thought you’d enjoy seeing this portrait made by Brenda Johnson. She was in a “Making Faces” workshop that I taught in August in Dayton, Ohio. Brenda wrote, “I just had to send you this. I just made my second attempt at making faces since your class. This is for a wedding gift… Thank you again for your inspiring class. I am excited about doing some new things like this, an adventure in sewing…I know that I’m not done making faces! Ps, You can see that I got the guts to actually quilt and finish this one.” You did a great [ ... ]
Category: Making Faces portraits  Comments off

Bloggers’ Quilt Festival

Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side is hosting another Bloggers’ Quilt Festival. If you’re coming from that site, welcome! I’d like to share “Windblown” with you, especially if you’re new to my site. This is the quilt which I entered into the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I am thrilled to say that I was notified that it won one of the top eight awards for that show! I can’t wait to see which one it will be!!! You can find out more about this quilt by following the [ ... ]
Category: Windblown  17 Comments

Traveling with my iPad and Baggallini

I don’t think I’ve mentioned how much I’m loving my iPad birthday present. My sweet hubby did good! The only question was how to carry it when I travel. I generally don’t carry a purse. If I can’t fit it in the pocket of my jeans, either I don’t need it or I ask sweet hubby to carry it. But sadly, sweet hubby isn’t always with me everywhere I go. Plus, when I travel, I need to carry my camera, cell phone, chargers, etc. I figured I better break down and buy a travel purse. I haven’t carried a purse [ ... ]

Color workshop for ECQG

Our last hearty breakfast – after this we’re back to making our own — oh, no! Then a short trip to a nearby church for the hands-on color workshop for East Cobb Quilters’ Guild. This class was smaller, maybe 10 or 12 quilters, which meant there was lots of opportunity for discussion and questions. I started by explaining basic color theory using a series of 24″ square quilts that I’ve created. Many are fused, one-day color studies which I made to illustrate specific points or certain attributes. I love showing ways color can change [ ... ]
Category: color, teaching  Comments off

Trunk show for ECQG

I often don’t sleep well when I’m traveling. Okay, many nights I don’t sleep much at home, either. We were so blessed that the guild put us in a suite. I was able to tiptoe out of the bedroom and get some things done in the sitting room. Another reason to love my iPad. I keep thinking ahead to the next workshops I’ll be teaching and specific tasks that must be done. I have to write it all down if I’m going to remember everything! We started the day with another fabulous breakfast. The wait staff is so attentive here, trying [ ... ]
Category: other quilters, teaching  Comments off

Making Faces workshop with ECQG

All breakfasts should be like the one we had this morning! Made-to-order omelets, bacon, fragrant coffee. Biscuits with gravy for DH. Pancakes, if we wanted. I love breakfast. After pouring another cup of coffee to go, we met our hostess, Jan, who escorted us to the venue for today’s class for the East Cobb Quilters’ Guild. There were 23 ladies signed up for my “Making Faces” workshop. What fun! Because this technique requires you to sort of think in reverse, it is sometimes a little confusing. I reassure them that, yes, it really will [ ... ]
Category: Making Faces portraits, teaching  Comments off

East Cobb Quilters’ Guild

Today we got up early and started our drive to Georgia where I am scheduled to teach two workshops and speak at the East Cobb Quilters’ Guild. They are located near Atlanta, Georgia. My sweet hubby and I had such a relaxing drive down. Because we left so early, there was no heavy traffic through the bigger cities. We enjoyed the sunrise over the tree-covered hillsides and had a leisurely breakfast. We arrived at the hotel early, ate lunch, and had a nice nap. The quilt guild blessed me with a welcome bag [ ... ]
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Glorious Gold wins second

I just picked up my quilt, “Glorious Gold,” from the lovely lady in my quilt guild who orgainzed the “glorious” quilt challenge. If you were reading my blog at the beginning of September, you may remember my adventure in paper piecing, bleeding fabrics, and fusible rhinestones. I was unable to be at the meeting where everyone displayed the quilts that were made for the challenge, so Sue took care of my quilt for me. My quilt won second place in the vote! As part of the prize package, I received a beautiful, handmade fabric wallet, a [ ... ]

2011 AQN Retreat Day 2

Day two of the AQN retreat arrived. I was recruited to teach a “Making Faces” workshop to these extremely talented ladies. Yikes! Since the group was so large — 40 people attending — and many might not be interested in using a digital photo to create a portrait, I offered to do two workshops simultaneously. For the main workshop, I taught my method for manipulating a digital image to create a pattern for a fused applique portrait. For those self-starters who preferred to have fun and work freely, I offered the “Playful Portrait” option. It was a challenge working [ ... ]
Category: classes, Making Faces portraits, teaching  Comments off

2011 AQN Retreat Day 1

I got back from one retreat on Wednesday and left for the next retreat on Thursday. Not a bad deal! The second retreat I went to was for the Art Quilt Network, which was started in 1986 by Nancy Crow. We meet twice a year. One of those times is usually in Columbus, Ohio, which is quite convenient for me. There are some really amazing artists in this group! I could easily feel very intimidated, but everyone is so friendly that I pushed those feelings aside and concentrated on absorbing as much as possible. As soon [ ... ]
Category: classes  One Comment
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