AQS Classes

I taught 5 different classes in Nashville last week and they were all so much fun! The first picture shows students working hard on their "Mystery Blocks", they were finished in record time! In this class I give each student 5 kits for 5 different blocks, all with the same shapes but different colour variations. After each block is completed they try to guess what the quilt looks like and then I show them the completed quilt. At the end of the class they get the instructions to make all 5 quilts. Lots of fun and very low stress!

In the next two pictures students are creating their own "Give and Take Applique" designs, first from paper cut outs and then from fabric. We play with design mirrors to see what repeat shapes will look like and modify or change the designs. Its a very creative class and students learn that they CAN make their own unique designs. A VERY good class for the budding designer.

Nashville Visit

Last week Daphne Greig (my business partner) and I went to Nashville, Tennessee to visit and teach at the AQS show there. We had a wonderful time, made many new friends and saw some friends from previous visits to other AQS shows.

We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel which is a just complex all under glass with over 2000 hotel rooms, several restaurants and a large convention centre.


It was all climate controlled which was a good thing because the weather was hot and steamy outside! there were many walking paths, rivers and fountains as well as lots of water falls, very picturesque.

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of classroom work!

A Visit to the Cowichan Valley

I was back in the Cowichan Valley last Monday, visiting the Cowichan Valley Heritage Quilters guild at the home of my friend, Gloria Daly. I grew up in that area and many of the quilters remember the area as I do, without the moderizations and growth. I remember that I couldn't wait to leave after high school, it was too small a community to hold me back! Now I look at the area and think that it would be a lovely place to raise a family or settle down. How times and our perceptions change!

Gloria has a lovely back deck and patio set on 3 acres on rolling land just at the foot of Mount Prevost. A few months ago she had each guild member draw a card from a deck of playing cards and create a small quilt inspired by "their" card. The results are stunning and the quilts will be auctioned or displayed at a local seniors care centre. You can see the quilts hanging on display from a clothesline strung around the deck. Aren't they great?

Some of the ladies tried some discharge on black fabric with bleach pens....so much fun!

I also showed quilts from my most recent Fat Quarter Frenzy Two book and well as patterns and some quilts in an upcoming book due out this fall. It was a great visit, the temperature was perfect and the sun shone brightly. A perfect day!

All is Revealed!

The picture from last week of the beautiful sky was taken over Okanogan Lake in the interior of BC when we were camping.
I am always surprised at how much we can assume from all sorts of media because "they tell the truth"! We know that's not accurate, but we seldom take the time to find out for ourselves. Is that because there are many variations of the truth?
Anyway, we were camping on the west side of the lake and I turned the camera towards the east....so what was it?

Design, Design!!

Here are a couple of wonderful design ideas that I took from cushions! I love the circles and all the possibilities of the different shapes. The colours in the other pieces are intriguing as well. Isn't it amazing that design is all around us, we only have to be looking for it!

Garden Art!

My friend, Heidi Lund, has a wonderful garden and loves to add a bit of whimsy. I love the contrast of colour with the blue bottles! I'd better start saving them!

Show and Tell!

Daphne Greig and I had a Trunk Show at the Victoria Quilters Guild earlier in the week and flapped all the quilts from our new book "Fat Quarter Frenzy Two" by AQS. You can buy the book and have it autographed!! at http://www.patchworkstudio.com/

Lots of fun showing quilts that many of the viewers had helped test and review for us. Thanks to all!

Sunrise or Sunset??

Many years ago a movie was made in my community starring Jack Nicholson. We were all excited to see it when it finally came to the theatres. I recall being rather disappointed and betrayed to see they had filmed a sunset as a sunrise ( I was younger then!). I guess that's the fun of movies, nothing is as it seems....

So, is this a sunrise or a sunset? Leave a comment and I'll let you know on Monday, August 18th!

Surrounded!

Last weekend I took part in an "Instructors for Hire" at the Pacific Northwest Quilfest. Several well known west coast teachers each gave a short presentation on their specialized areas of expertise. We then assembled with our displays while guild programme people and shop owners discussed teaching and lecturing information and planning.

So here I am with some of the workshop samples I teach!

The entire Quiltfest was a great success...come see us in 2010!

My Friendly Neighbourhood Spidey!

I just about walked into this little one in the early morning but stopped and looked at how beautiful the lines were in the web. Just a wonderful gift to see this things so close that we often ignore them!

Historic House

This building is not too far away from us and I often walk by. It is now a private school for the primary grades but was built by Francis Rattenbury a well known architect who also designed our Legislative Building and some of the CP Hotels, most notably the Empress Hotel here in Victoria.

Francis came to a rather sad end when he was murdered in a case where "the butler did it in the sitting room with a hammer" (a slightly loose interpretation). Read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Rattenbury

The house is beautiful, I'd love to see it as a set for amovie!

An Awesome Studio

When I visited my friend Gloria Daly I asked to take pictures of her studio which is a fabulous size and very organized! She uses two rooms, one for stitching, classes, design and library/storage. The other room is her wet studio, so sinks, lots of counter space att he correct height and excellent lighting. both rooms have large windows and doors to the outside garden. I admit to a serious case of "studio envy"!

Gloria is a very talented designer and teacher, visit her website at http://www.studiogart.com/

Our Beautiful Summer

Our weather has been very good the last few weeks after a awfully wet spring. Hubby and I took for an early morning hike and I couldn't help but love this view. We live about 10 munites from the ocean and the best time for walking down to enjoy it is in the early morning (this picture was taken about 7:30am), I could do it every day! The mountains in the distance as part of the Olympic Penninsula in the United States.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Kermit sang the song, but you'll have to agree, this is one very green frog! Just about 1/2" across and I had to creep up for the picture. So cute, too!

One for the Bucket List!

Put this on the list of things I never thought I'd ever do!

My husband, Henry and I, went to a friends BBQ over the weekend and the next day Jim and Gloria introduced us to "skeet shooting". This is the sport where you yell PULL and they fire little clay pigeons (they're made of clay and therefore dead!) and you try to shoot them down while they zoom past at an unbelieveable speed. I managed to hit a couple much to my surprise!

I hadn't fired a gun for many, many years (that's another story) and had forgotten about recoil, so my shoulder is sore and will have a couple of bruises shortly. But it was fun, I learned a lot about different guns and and gauges, how important breathing and eyesight and proper arm position can be and that I really need to work on my upperbody strength.

So here's a couple of pictures, Henry's the tall guy.