Vermont Quilt Festival 2014 meet Thelma and Loiuse

As I have learned over the past month or so, it doesn’t take much to upset your plans. One week into my “retirement”, as I rushed from one task to the next, I managed to injure my foot. We are big walkers, hikers and bikers in this house, so an injury, especially one that keeps your feet up and out of closed toed shoes, sure can upset the apple cart. I learned the hard way that a pretty minor injury can keep you from your favorite activities and can certainly curtail all others. Driving a car is tough, especially a manual. So all those trips to the beach..haven’t happened yet. My trips to PEI...nope. Even quilting has been difficult because after a few hours of standing, the foot swells. A nuisance? Darn tootin!

As the healing progresses, there was one trip I have been able to take. Thanks to the lovely driving skills of my partner in many quilt related crimes, the Louise to my Thelma, I was able to get to the Vermont Quilt Festival In Essex Junction, Vermont. As we drove that long and at times, very windy road, me with one foot hiked up on the dash, we did solve a lot of world problems (well, quilt world problems). We also managed to find possibly the best maple walnut ice cream on the planet. Oh, and the BEST crab cakes ever. Go to Pauline’s, you won’t be sorry! And on the way home, the house special pizza at Pat’s Pizza won high marks, especially since it could also be ordered gluten free. But, I think Pat’s was in Maine. It was a long drive. We crossed three states..

While at the show, Nancy and I took two classes together, both very informative and enjoyable. The first day long class was Beginning Bead Embroidery with Fibre artist and beader extraordinaire, Lisa Binkley.

This was the class sample Lisa prepared for our day

Lisa was very patient, very organized, had great class samples, and was such a kind, pleasant person. She was extremely encouraging and although I recall her standing on a chair at one point to get people’s attention (there are always one or two in every class that never know when to be quiet), she kept a huge smile on her face. I have beaded for a long time, but it was great to get a refresher and just sit and play for a few hours. Seeing all the beautiful, detailed work she brought along to share with her classes was very inspiring. 

Lisa very graciously posed with me

The second day we took a class called Paint and Stitch: Peacock Feather with Susan Brubaker Knapp. Susan calls her technique thread sketching and we spent the day re-creating her peacock feather piece that adorned the pages of an issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. Susan uses a brand of paint that was new to me, so I was intrigued to give it a try while having her as my resource for any questions I had. It was great fun sitting and painting fabric and chatting with Sharon, a very interesting table-mate, also recently retired.

This is the piece Susan included in the Teacher Show

Once our pieces were painted, we started the process of adding the stitching. Susan is a very knowledgeable and organized instructor with a very sharing nature and she graciously answered many questions we had about materials other than the ones we were using in this class. She also brought along a huge selection of her pieces for us to ogle and somehow I managed to not take one photo of any of them!! Susan has just completed her first year as the host of Quilting Arts TV and I suspect her down to earth demeanour makes her an excellent choice for the position.

Susan also graciously agreed to a photo

Painting Fabric and More

When you consider my many years of working with fibre, my two years of longarming is not a big number and my textile interests are wide and varied. So, when we chose classes at Road to California with our focus on quilting, I still was most certainly not passing up the opportunity to take a class that involved paint and brush! I have been a fan of Mickey Lawler and her fabric painting technique for a very long time, so the chance to spend a day with her was the icing on the cake, so to speak, for me.

Mickey demonstrates one of her techniques

Even though she suffered a painful injury on the first day at Road, Mickey was delightful! She was very organized and informative, the class was fast paced, and best of all, Mickey is funny! She had us laughing over and over as she recounted personal anecdotes, all the while showing us new and creative ways to paint our fabric.

Mickey’s beautiful work

Mickey’s color chart

Mickey's class was on the last day of Road and after a full week, Lorette and I had new places to go and familiar to us people to meet, so we packed up quickly and set off as soon as the class was done. My hubby had just flown into the busy LAX and while I painted, was picking up this fun Escapevan for our next weeks journey.

We were amazed by how many thumbs up we got as we travelled in our van!

We hit the road and headed out, and the next day my freshly painted, damp fabric got to dry at the Joshua Tree National Park.

The days were wonderfully hot, the nights surprisingly cold and the area incredibly interesting!

This man always keeps me laughing!

Cholla Cactus

After what was already feeling like a long winter back home, the heat of the desert was so inviting and welcome to us. 

Octillo

We basked in our surroundings and marvelled at the views, especially enjoying the sunsets. 

Sun setting over Joshua Tree National Park

We often meet interesting people when we travel. After a night in the Anza-Borrego Desert and while hiking one of the trails, we crossed paths with a lovely couple from Washington, DC who are sheep farmers. She is a spinner and weaver and we ended up having a lovely chat about fibres as we stood in the middle of the path under the hot desert sun. I love that my travels randomly put me in contact with so many people with common interests. I think the key is to be open to the possibility and to wear a welcoming smile.

A little more about Road to California 2014

This morning when we got up, the temperature was -2! It only reached a wet, windy high of 8 degrees and someone remarked to me that if it really were the fall (which it feels) we would at least dress for the weather. No one wants to pull out their toques and mitts, but really? Well, if we were sensible, we would. But, sensible does not abound in these parts apparently. Today I saw more shorts and bare feet and bare arms than I have for days. Meanwhile I am wrapped in three layers, a scarf around my neck, shoulders up to my ears and anxious to get home so I can stuff a heated magic bag in my sweater! I am still sporting wool socks and flannel pj’s to bed and any tan I might have gotten last month while in Cozumel has long ago faded to pasty white. Sigh. 

Well, I am trying to keep warm thoughts and that brings me back to California. While there I had the pleasure of taking classes with numerous instructors. Lisa Sipes and Pam Clarke were both longarmers I had become familiar with and classes with both provided me with lots of tips, techniques and possibilities. Lisa is a relaxed, casual teacher and displays obvious skill on the longarm.

Pam is very, very organized and has developed a method of marking and quilting that is pretty much fool proof. As she says, when you have quilted as many quilts as she has, you need to be organized and use a method that you know will deliver.

I also had the pleasure of speaking with the very gracious, Alex Anderson of The Quilt Show fame. She was there representing the show and took the time to speak and pose with everyone and anyone. She was chatty and gave me a friendly jab of her elbow when I teased her about the trials of being a superstar! lol

Road to California attracts a large number of Canadians, mostly snowbirds who winter in Palm Springs, and mainly from the western provinces. On the day we were to take a class from Angela Walters who unfortunately got the flu and had to cancel, we posed with a couple of fellow Canadian classmates. We seemed to meet up with Colleen (second from the left) quite a bit and always enjoyed some laughs with her.

For a group that is missing out on a class with Angela, we look fairly happy. I know we were all very disappointed, but I think unexpectedly having a free day to spend shopping here...

helped keep our spirits up.

I normally don’t pose for photos since I am usually the photographer, but I am glad I did during that trip. It is proof positive that I did attend and that I did meet those great instructors and all those wonderful quilters! Looking at each photo takes me back to the moment and that particular experience and I remember something more about it each time.

I really think meeting so many friendly, generous quilters was one of the best things about going to Road. Every teacher relayed the attitude that if they could do it, you could do it. Every person shared information, offered assistance, moved over if you needed a seat. There were smiles, lots of laughs, oodles of positive vibes, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Encouragement for new quilters!

I am trying to encourage five creative, young women to become quilters..

Do you think these stacks of hand cut charm squares will help?? These great bags I received at Road from the Gammill dealer are just right for filling with some necessary piecing goodies. But, not so much to overwhelm..just enough to peak their interest.

And I am going to offer them a little workshop this summer, if they are interested. 

Note to self: add some chocolate..

More Classes at Road to California 2014

Looking back, I might have registered for classes that covered a larger variety of techniques. Maybe taking classes from instructors I wasn’t really familiar with might have been good, too. But, that is a hard call when you are picking cold turkey. Trying to get a working schedule was our aim and feathers was our focus, but we did take other classes on other themes as well. We packed that week and after our first big breath, we paced ourselves, crashed early and tried to stay hydrated and rested.

Wednesday saw us back in Gina Perkes's classroom. Gina is not only a great quilter, she is simply a lovely person. She is genuine and sweet and very talented. Her class handouts are detailed and I learned a lot from her. Her Mom and I chatted a bit while she sat near my machine and knit, and I also took a break and worked the room (as folk who know me know I am apt to do) and met some wonderful quilters from the US. There was a real mix of quilters, including a charming mother daughter duo. Another fellow classmate, Bonnie gave me some great ideas about where Rejean and I should visit once Road was over. Actually Bonnie provided me with lots of laughs as she would burst into a somewhat off-key version of, “Oh, Canada,” every time she saw me after that, no matter where we met! So funny!

The entrance and hallway of the convention centre 

After a day of stitching “Beauteous Blocks and Borders” with Gina, that evening was the Road's Show Preview Night. Our registration gave us two hours to go view the shows and perhaps rub shoulders with a few quilting “supa stars”..

This is just a taste of the shows inside..

To say the quilts were spectacular is an understatement. Lorette and I methodically worked the aisles and were amazed over and over at the workmanship, the detail, the expertise. Our new BFF, Karen Sievert’s quilt sported a first place rosette for Traditional, Large, Pieced and we were thrilled to see it in person. It was difficult to get a close up because of the way they quilts were displayed so I know you can’t see, but the white area of this quilt is covered in crystals! You can see a detail photo of this beautiful quilt on Karen’s website.

Day Two with Karen Sievert and Myrna Ficken

About twenty minutes into my class Tuesday morning I had my first ”AHA!” moment! We were taking the class "Feathers and Flourishes" with the amazingly talented, funny, funny Karen Sievert. Karen had just explained a method for quilting feathers and we were working on Gammill Visions. I stood at my machine, took a breath and quilted........feathers!! I think I shouted. And Karen, in her gloriously positive way, got just as excited as I did! lol Well, I took off after that and the piece I worked on in Karen’s class is one of my favorites, because of the comfort level I found so quickly. 

The morning flew by! It was a great feeling, a wonderful release to find the flow of stitching within and just quilt! Karen was an energetic presence racing from one student to another, exclaiming over work, passing out hugs and telling us hilarious stories that had us holding our stomachs. 

Tuesday afternoon saw us quilting on Innova longarms when we took “Feathers, Fun and Formal”, with Myrna Ficken, an APQS educator and dealer. Myrna has a fresh style with lots of angular designs and I have been a fan of her stitching for a while. She is a passionate teacher, wonderfully talented and I really enjoyed taking a class with her. Like Karen, she felt like an old friend that it was great to catch up with. 

Building on my stitching from the classes previous, I had a super productive afternoon as Myrna taught us how to create a variety of styles of feathers and also how to fold and curve feathers into boxes and corners and even pile them on top of one another! 

I think the greatest thing about taking back to back classes with different instructors was that I pulled things from each class and then built on them as I progressed through the week. Some designs I played with in Gina’s class got added to and refined in Karen’s. Then I played with them in Myrna’s class a bit more. By the time Friday rolled around, I had a swash of new designs I knew I would be integrating into my repertoire. The other interesting result of this week of classes and working on a variety of machines was that I am 100% sure I purchased the right machine for me when I bought my APQS Millennium. 

I think Lorette was thinking me a bit (well, probably a whole lot) crazy because at night I would lay my new samples on top of my bed at the hotel as a bedspread and sleep under them. By the time Friday came, I had almost a whole quilt..

Day One with Gina Perkes, Road to California 2014

My first class at Road was with the delightful, Gina Perkes. Lorette and I had decided that we were going to focus most of our class time on overcoming our hesitation of quilting feathers and Gina’s class, “Fantabulous Feathers and Fill” seemed a great place to start! Gina has a very fun, pleasant personality and she made sure we all knew how loved we were with constant praise and adoration. Her mom, Debbie often travels with her and she was equally as charming. Gina brought along numerous samples and invited us to take as many pictures as we wanted of her work, as well to use her award winning quilts to cuddle in if we got cold! Really! She assured us she uses them for just that purpose at home. I don’t recall anyone taking her up on her offer to cuddle with them, although we all took lots of photos.

We were learning to quilt our feathers and fill on the Charm, a new Gammill sit down machine, but as much fun as it was, I still prefer my APQS longarm. I have quilted for years on a domestic and with carpal tunnel and neck issues, I find it tiring. But, that didn’t take away from all the great designs we learned! And Gina was very generous in sharing tips that could make our quilting smoother and easier. As well, she was very generous in her praise of our efforts, constantly moving around the room, engaging with every student over and over.

Even with all the excitement of actually being in this class, it was all I could do to stay indoors! The sun was streaming in the windows, I could see palm trees just a short distance away and I was in bare legs!! No talk of polar vortex here! Eating lunch outdoors outside the Convention Centre was lovely!! And every time you sat down, you got to meet more quilters because even on these first days before the show and merchants mall began, quilters were everywhere and they were all excited to be there, taking classes and learning new techniques.

There is a photo on Gina’s blog of our class at Road and if you look at the left hand side of the picture, you can see my bare legs underneath the table where I was sewing!! You can see a bit of my head and sweater as well, but I would be hard to identify conclusively based on this photo. However, Gina very graciously posed with me as proof I was there - just in case I had to pinch myself later on in disbelief! Fun loving person that she is, first we took a selfie..

Then mom Debbie took a posed shot..