It's Good Here

My ladies (and one guy - hi David!) rocked it in the two Perfect Circles classes at QuiltCon. Such committed participation, consumption of chocolate, choruses of 80s ballads, and a collection of circles. I had a great time teaching, a seriously great time. I hope all my students felt the same. And my volunteers were incredible.

QuiltCon was a fantastic event. The Modern Quilt Guild, especially Heather, did a wonderful job putting on a big show. A quilt show, merchant mall, classes, lectures, and more don't come together without a heck of a lot of work - hard work - and loads of dedication. It was a committed team that pulled it together and an amazing group of volunteers that delivered.

One of my favourite moments of the entire event was listening to a lady scream on the phone to a friend about this amazing show she was at. The lady had merely wandered in from the RV Show going on in the next exhibition hall, but she was staying and exclaiming her delight at the quilts. She said she wanted to go home and learn how to quilt RIGHT NOW after seeing that quilts could be so much more than what she thought they had to be.

Indeed.

It was a busy weekend between teaching, taking classes, and yes, drinking beer. I never got to a single lecture, missed an entire aisle of the merchant mall, and only saw the show in it's entirety the last half hour it was open. There was a book signing and quite a few gentle hugs. And a lot of neon one night. There was the chance for longer conversations with friends, old and new, yet some missed ones as well. For those of us working in this industry it was nice to be here, in a much more relaxed environment, compared to Market. Spending time at meetings talking about real life instead of contracts and pitching ideas. It's still work, but we had the chance to breathe a bit more. 

Of course, that may have had something to do with being in Austin.

Circles Everywhere - QuiltCon Prep

Phew. Finished my QuiltCon prep with less than 48 hours to spare. It might not have been that stressful if I hadn't decided to make all new samples for my class. If you're in my class be prepared to be overrun with circle blocks! Despite the work tossed around and in between school, dance classes, naps, and swimming lessons I had a lot of fun. Circles are just awesome. I may have mentioned that before.

It was great to just get in my fabric and play. Some wonderful colour combinations, finally using up some of my treasured text prints., and even cutting into my Indian cottons. I do hope that the students in my class appreciate the effort.

My QuiltCon schedule looks something like this:

Wednesday - Leave ridiculously early for the airport so we don't get stuck in customs like we did when we went to Spring Market. Fly. Eat BBQ, compare to Kansas City.
Thursday - Teach Perfect Circles. Drink Beer. MQG Leaders Meet-up. See the bats at the bridge.
Friday - Teach Perfect Circles. Convince my husband to wear the Adidas track suit I got him for the 80s party.
Saturday - Yoshiko Jinzenji pillow class. Lunch and catch part of the show and lectures. Lotta Jansdotter Printing class. Drink beer. Hang with my SIL and her Mom too.
Sunday - Denyse Schmidt Improv class. Book signing in the Stash Books booth 1 pm. Back to class. Drink Beer.

Of course, this schedule, particularly the beer drinking part, is highly dependent on my husband. Despite his terrible experience at Market he is coming to another major quilting event with me. I know it's because he loved everyone he met so much, and not the possibility of beer, BBQ, and visiting the new F1 track. Or because we are travelling without our kids.

If you see me in Austin feel free to accost me and say hello. I am loud and brash, but very friendly.

Branch Out

I fancy myself a decent free motion quilter. No, I won't win any prizes for my quilting, but I do think I can do some fun things. That being said, it is good sometimes to push your limits.

This weekend I took a machine quilting workshop from Ana Buzzalino. Ana is a member of my Flying Needles Quilt Guild and an amazing quilter. She can do incredible things with a New York Beauty Block. And her art quilts, which involve painting and stitching are at a level that is both beautiful and well-recognized. Oh, and she is ridiculously nice, genuine, and funny.

Ana's style is so far removed from mine. That alone would discourage many quilters, particularly those of us who identify as young and modern, from taking a class with her. It shouldn't, though. It should inspire us to try something new and push our boundaries.

When you take a class from someone whose work is different than yours the best thing to do is immerse yourself, learn something, then figure out how to apply those lessons to your own work. Do not let style, age, or perception keep you from a new challenge or experience.

I am so glad I took this workshop. Sure, I love dense quilting, but maybe not as dense as Ana was teaching. I still doubt I'll try silk or rayon thread, but she had great tips regarding thread, period. I have more intent in my stitching, some new patterns to try and new inspiration for my own, and I'm heading into the next round of quilts with a boost of confidence in my free motion skills. And next month she's teaching feathers!

Bunnies

Easy sewing, right? A great project for beginners, right? Apparently Lotta Jansdotter doesn't know my kids.

At Market, Lotta Jansdotter gave out these cute little charm packs, pre-printed with a pattern for a little bunny stuffy. Even she commented that they would be a great first-time sewing project, or at least a fast one for the experienced sewer.

So I thought I would bring my little packets out one cold afternoon. The Monster has been begging me to teach her to sew after all. We reviewed our lessons from playing with sewing cards and embroidery hoops. We redrew the pattern, marking dots for where the needle would go in and out. We picked a giant needle to make it easier for little fingers.

I'm happy to report that there were no tears. This, in an of itself, should make it a successful venture. When The Monster is learning something new and can't do it perfectly from the very first effort there are almost always tears. No tears and only minor frustration, but frankly, they were bored. They kept asking if I could just do it or could they try on the machine. At that point I should have put the project aside, to be picked up later. Did I do that? No, of course not. I made them finish, by helping a lot. We had the distractions of pins, scissors, and the red pen we used for marking. Oh, and tiger costumes. When it got to stuffing their interest was renewed. And after I closed them up they went to town with a pen to draw on a face.

And they haven't asked me to sew again.