Archive for March, 2016

Quilting by the Bay in Panama City, Florida

Friday, March 25th, 2016

I get to travel to some pretty cool places and Quilting by the Bay quilt shop http://www.quiltingbythebay.com/ has to be one of the nicest quilt shops of all time.  The owners, Sandy and Al, are super nice people and very, very organized.  You know how I like to work with organized people.

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The shop had a gazillion supplies.

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A table with my products and supplies needed for the workshops was right inside the door.

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There were 2 gazillion bolts of fabric.  (I don’t know how much a gazillion amounts to…..but it was a lot.)

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Sandy and Al purchased the building next to them and renovated it for office use and the most incredible classroom I have ever seen at a quilt shop.  Two sides of the room had windows for excellent natural lighting. Then, lots of overhead lights, outlets on the floor under each table and each student gets their own table!!

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I was able to spend time with some old friends and make some new friends.  What is not to like about that.  Below is Sharryn hard at work.

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If you live any where in the area, you are very lucky to have such an excellent quilt shop.  And, if you live any where in the state or surrounding states, you should make the trip.   If you plan to visit Florida, you should make this one of your stops.  And, if you enjoy block of the month projects, you need to check out their website listed above.  Enough said.

 

Until next week….

 

Student’s Work, Illinois and Book Review

Monday, March 21st, 2016

I received a nice email this week  from two students who took my “Circular Garden” hand applique workshop.  They took the workshop together and are entering their pieces in their local guild shop.  The first one was made by Janette Tarr.

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And, this one was made by Sheva Farkas.

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Then, I got another email from Marlene McInturff.  She took my “Kansas Rose” workshop in February at the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival. Her project is completely finished!  And, it looks amazing.

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Thanks for ladies for sharing.  I love it when my students share.

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ILLINOIS

During my recent trip to Indiana and Illinois, I taught at the Threads of Time Quilt Shop and Retreat Center in Danville, IL.

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This is a fantastic shop and owners Missi and Bill were great. This is Missi. What a sweetheart!

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The retreat can house over 30 quilters.  They have huge classrooms, comfy sleeping quarters and four different work areas.

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Pack up your machines and head on out to Quilt Camp! To learn More about this great place visit http://www.threadsoftimefab.com

 

One of the ladies attending my lecture, L. Jeanne Krwin of Ivesdale, Illinois brought her finished

Magical Medallion quilt. Simply amazing. Great job Jeanne!

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As we drove around the area, we saw fields with hundreds of wind mills

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Then, as we turned down a country road, we came upon the best named town in all of Illinois, maybe in the United States.

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and my favorite

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To bad we don’t own it!!! As it turned out, the town maybe named for one of Joe’s ancestors. According to the local historian, the town was named for the founder’s favorite cousin, one  Theodorius Buckley of Philadelphia.

 

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BOOK REVIEW

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Joe and I listened to Nichols Sparks’ new book “See Me” on our drive home. It is definitely a must read or must hear.

Maria Sanchez, a young lawyer, is driving home one night and has a flat tire during a downpour. Colin, a tattooed young man with cuts and bruises on his face and hands stops to help. Maria reluctantly agrees and both are happy to leave the others’ company. The star crossed couple are later reunited by Maria’s sister and the two strive to find common ground on which to build a relationship. Maria, the daughter of immigrants who have built a large family restaurant and Colin, the spoiled child of a wealthy family with a criminal past.

Read it now or watch the movie when it is produced. Nicholas Sparks books are often turned into movies.

 

Until next week……

 

 

 

Bloomington, Indiana, the Indiana Heritage Quilt Festival, Book Review and Spring

Saturday, March 12th, 2016

Joe and I just returned from a 10 day road trip to Indiana and Illinois. Great to be home even just for a day. I must apologize for not posting my blog from Virginia, but forgot to hit the Publish button before we left. If you read below you will see it. Virginia is for Quilters.

I am very lucky to travel to so many great places, explore interesting locales, eat great food, but most importantly, spend time with the best people in the world: quilters.

This grand sculpture, “Red, Blonde, Black and Olive” by a local sculptor, Jean Paul Darriau, greeted Joe and I as we drove into Bloomington, Indiana.

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I gave a lecture for the Bloomington Quilters Guild whose program coordinator, Becky, was a blessing. I love organization and Becky, her guild members and officers were the best. To learn more about the guild visit www.bloomingtonquiltersguild.com

The members of the guild volunteer and donate to the community and to the efforts of the Indiana Heritage Quilt Festival. This wonderful show was celebrating it’s Silver Anniversary and it had been 16 years since I had last taught at the festival. I worked with Paulette who had organized the teaching staff and she was amazing. The show  is a must visit for many reasons: the workshops, the fabulous quilts and special displays, the great staff and board members and the diverse, culturally rich Bloomington area. If you have not visited, next year put it on your list. Really, get your calendar out and mark the dates!! You can view all the winning quilts by visiting their website www.ihqs.org

Here were some of my favorite quilts:

Jan Hutchinson of Sedgwick, Kansas  won First Place in the Art Innovative Category for “Sunflower Deco”

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The Show had a category for the 25th Anniversary of the Festival. Annie Gianaris of Fishers, Indiana won Third Place for “The Journey Continues – Hope Springs Eternal”

 

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Annie used 25 shades of gray fabric to create this wonderful piece.

 

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My bad. The name of this quilter was a blur on the photo taken of the label. If anyone recognizes the quilt and has the quilter’s name and info please email me. Thanks. I loved, loved this quilt and the color palate used. The border was exceptional!! Great job!!

 

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Look it’s raining on the quilt or is that in the quilt?

 

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“Everything” from Jackie Spenser of Bedford, Indiana has phenomenal applique. The batiks she used gave such a great texture to the quilt.

 

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Now that Joe is traveling more with me, I get to venture out more. Each morning, whether we are home or away, we rise early and walk for an hour. I love Indiana University’s campus and the use of the local stone for it’s hundreds of buildings. It was so peaceful walking early in the morning as we had the place to ourselves.

 

 

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The sculpture of a war correspondent sits outside the Media School.

 

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The Chapel is small but ever so quaint.

 

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The City of Bloomington has more of a small town feeling and hosts so many great restaurants. There are Indian, Korean, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan, French, Greek, Italian, Mexican, North African, Irish, English, German, Organic, Vegan, American, …  fine dining to casual to fast food and some very, very, very…

 

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The Up Town Cafe was our favorite: three times for breakfast and once for lunch. Their dinners looked amazing, but Joe would grab some take out so I could relax.

 

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On our walks, we found evidence that the winters in Bloomington are much colder than when I last visited 16 years ago: the locals are forced to knit sweaters for the trees!

 

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Here in Carlisle, we had a taste of spring this week. And, the snow has all melted.

 

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Even Kitty Carlisle got to bask in the Spring’s warmth among the growing flowers. Yes, she happily survived in her heated cat house this winter and I think she is never leaving!

 

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BOOK REVIEW

 

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On our drive from Virginia to Indiana, we listened to James Patterson’s new Alex Cross novel: “Cross Justice”. Dr. Alex Cross, the world re-known Washington D.C. detective and former FBI agent, returns to his boyhood North Carolina home after 25 years. Dr. Cross’s cousin, a local teacher, has been accused of the sex related murder of a student. The Cross family, including Alex’s grandmother, drive south for the trial to lend moral support. Dr. Cross can not stand by as the local judge, prosecutor and police department attempt to railroad the case and also accuse his family of other wrongdoings. They messed with the wrong man. Dr. Cross begins to delve into the matter, contacts his buddies at the FBI and assists his niece who is defending her cousin. During his private investigation which takes him from North Carolina to Florida and back, he learns hidden details of his past and assists the Palms Springs police in finding a serial killer. He is out for justice and this hometown will never forget his family’s fight for the truth. A must read.

 

I am off today for Panama City, Florida to teach. Joe asked if I was going on Spring Break and I said heck no, it’s Spring Work! Until next week  ……………….

The Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA

Saturday, March 12th, 2016

I just returned from Hampton, Virginia and the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival. I had not taught at this event for many years and it was nice to return to the area. Great students, great classroom space and a great show. Here are some of the ladies working hard in my Hand Applique class.

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I was thrilled to meet and teach three generations of the Mitchell-Alveraz family: from left to right: Cydnee, Dee and Barbara. What a fabulous family outing.

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Here are a few of the many wonderful quilts hanging in the show:

“Just Ruffling Some Feathers” by Gina Boone of Advance, North Carolina was awarded First Place for Best Longarm Machine Workmanship

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A close up

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Becky Brown of Montpelier, VA won First Place for Best Hand Workmanship for “Quental Vases”

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What I loved about Becky’s quilt was her stems. If you look closely she used not one, but two fabrics in the stems to give them more depth and dimension.

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“The Blood Remembers” created by Sandy Curran of Newport News, VA was awarded 3rd Place in the Innovative category.

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A close-up:

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Molly Y. Hamilton-McNally won First Place in the Innovative category for her quilt: “Moonflower”

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Close-up

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Got home last night and off this afternoon for Indiana. Until the week after next …  Karen on the Road Again!