A quilt for Kate

This is the second of two quilts I pieced and quilted for friends of my daughter as thank you’s for kindness shown.

The new owner, Kate, chose greens and a simple layout for her top. I passed along some ideas for her to chose from and she liked the quilt she saw made from a quick sketch someone posted on pinterest with cutting dimensions and pressing instructions. The top sewed up quickly! Simone and I collected the selection of greens, I cut it all into 2.5 inch strips and then sewed randomly. Then I chopped these strips into the sizes of sections required and pieced 30 - 16 inch finished blocks. 

The before shot

The back is a lovely black cotton I picked up at Avonport Discount Fabrics last fall as we travelled back home from Yarmouth. It was our 28th wedding anniversary and remember being so grateful that my sweet and ever patient husband would wait while I fabric shopped and then not even ask about yet another bolt of fabric, let alone black fabric, that I was bundling into the hatchback!

I offered Kate something swirly or hearts as the stitch pattern and she chose hearts. Since I had just finished another quilt with hearts, it was an easy pattern to get back into it and I happily quilted away. I still have the binding to do which I will piece from the scraps left over and sew on next week.

I know Kate has just purchased her first home so I am hoping her new quilt will be a well loved addition.

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.

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..