It is hard for me to know where to start this blog. And I mean that in a good way. I guess the best place to start is in the beginning. This trip was actually organized quicker than most. Shelly Nielsen contacted me in December to see when I was available to teach and we found I had some open time in May. Seemed to me to be a good time to be in the “great white north”. And it was. Shelly was helping a local shop owner, Linda Freund, owner of Rumpled Quilt Skins, organize a special quilting event weekend. Linda’s shop is more heavily focused on machine related projects but she wanted to venture into another area….hand applique (scary for some). Linda is without a doubt the most organized shop owner I have ever met. Prior to my arrival Linda had emailed me several times and made sure that all the items that I use and recommend for my applique would be available for her students.
Shelly picked me up at the Calgary airport and we had a nice time chatting during our drive to Okotoks. The area truly is beautiful. As we made our way to Okotoks we could see the Rocky Mountains in the background. Okotoks has a nice downtown area with lots of little shops and on the edge of town sits this wonderful old building that Linda and her husband have restored.
The front of the shop is filled with all the items you would expect to find in a quilt shop. But, I have to say they were displayed beautifully. Linda has a good eye for design. The initial impact when you walk into the shop is warm and welcoming.
After passing through the shop’s store front we came to the classroom. This is one of the nicest quilt shop classrooms I have worked in. Each student had her own table with plenty of space to work. Here are some of them at work.
In the above photo I want you to notice the brick box that sits mid way near the top of the back wall, at the edge of the ceiling, next to the exit sign. See it? Well, when the shop was being renovated they found a little surprise in this open brick area and decided to keep it. Some of you might think this is strange or creepy, but I found it to be fascinating.
Yes, it’s a bat. But, it’s a dead bat. Apparently he’s been hanging around for a long time (sorry I could not let that one pass) and brings good luck to the shop. It seems to be working.
And I forgot to mention, but as you can see in the pictures, the classroom walls were filled with quilts to give great inspiration. Here is a picture of me and Shelly getting ready for class. Shelly had read some of my previous blogs and knew how much I liked my chai tea latte so she took me for my chai fix after class every day. Love you Shelly.
The last day of classes I taught my Oriental Flower workshop which is a machine applique workshop. This is a newer workshop for me. It is based on my quilt, Oriental Gardens, or as the pattern is named, Japanese Garden Quilt. I packed a lot into this workshop and to date no one had ever finished this project during the 6 hour class time. Finishing in 6 hours was never an objective for this workshop. I honestly thought I had put so much in this block that no one could ever finish the applique during class. But, now I can say two people finished by the end of class. I was amazed. Here is a picture of the whole class.
The only bad thing about this trip is that I got very sick. Who knows from what? Flu? Bad food? I’ll never know. But I would have loved to take more photos of the surrounding area. Instead I ended up every day and night after classes in my hotel room, in bed. You’ll just have to trust me. The quilt shop and the surrounding area are very worth the stop. I know I would love to return to more fully enjoy the area. The students, which included many of the shop’s teachers, were outstanding. One of the teachers made a very special Thank You card using one of my applique designs and all of students signed the card. Each student wrote a note. I shall cherish it always. I have a little box where I store such treasures. If I am having a bad day, which fortunately does not happen often, I open the box and read some of the cards I have received. It makes me feel better very quickly.
Linda, Shelly and all of the students treated me like a queen. They took great care of me during my visit to Rumpled Quilt Skins. I appreciated everything very, very much.
You can find more information about Rumpled Quilt Skins at http://www.rumpledquiltskins.ca/