Classes for Houston

Sorry I haven't written in a while - it’s been crazy around here. But what is new?  Had a wonderful time teaching at the AQS Grand Rapids show in August and can’t wait to do it again next year.  But now it's time to get ready for the Big Show and I don't mean the Ringling Brothers are in town!  I mean that other big Circus, the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas.  If you have never been you have to go once in your life.  It is always amazing and very creative and inspirational.  

I have been working hard on my quilt for the silent auctions.  Last years winner got a really good deal on a fabulous, one of a kind quilt designed and made by me.  Here is this years quilt called "Fuchsia". Who is going to be the lucky winner?  I can't wait to see.  And Mom, if you are reading this, you can't bid.

Thread work on the back.

This year at IQA I am teaching and then teaching and a little more teaching.   So I wanted to get you and myself prepared for the Big Show.  If you have signed up for one of my classes here is some more information about them.  Over the next few weeks I will talk about the classes and my process in dying the fabrics and answer any questions you may have about the classes and what to bring.  If you’re not signed up you will miss all the fun.  Plus, I share with my students tips and tricks that I have learned over the years and share any mishaps that might be going on.  Usually they involve me, myself and I and some wacky incidents. What am I saying? It always involves me and something stupid. Last year’s show was no exception - just read about my windy day dress incident in a past blog.  I don’t plan on repeating that one.

Here are the days and classes I am teaching:

Tuesday, October 30:       Fabulous Fusible Flowers  - Bluebonnet

Wednesday, October 31:  Fabulous Fusible Flowers - Zinnia

Thursday, November 1:   Fabulous Fusible Flowers - Bluebonnet

Friday, November 2:       Renegade Thread Play

Saturday, November 3:   Saturday Sampler - 10am - noon

Sunday, November 4:      Sleep in and see the show then go home and sleep some more.

So let's start with the Texas Bluebonnet Class. Now, if you are from another state you will notice that we all  have a similar flower called by a different name and they may vary in color and size in each state.  In Texas is it called a bluebonnet   Here in California it's called the lupine.

  

I even have an oil painting by my grandmother, Lois, that she painted of bluebonnets in a field in Texas. 

It is a fun and striking flower to have and make. And all skill levels are welcome. Grandma would have loved this.

The class includes a hand dyed fabric kit with all the flower and leaf fabrics to make your bluebonnet. I have been busy hand-dying the fabrics and they look great.

You need 1 yard of a background fabric that you want to see your flowers on.  If you are not sure what background to bring, it always safe to bring a lot to choose from.  I will help you make that decision and give you some great tips on how to pick the right color for your flowers.  Remember, we have a 2 hour lunch and you can always go shopping.  I know its tough but someone has to do it.

We don’t start with the background fabric - we start with the flowers then add the background.  I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Whee! 

Email me or leave a comment if you have any questions.

Australia

Australia was fantastic, even in winter. But I have to say, Joe was right, it is just like Southern California only they talk funny. 

Us in front of Berrima Patchwork in the cute historic town of Berrima, NSW.

Thank you to Sue and Tamsin for inviting Joe and I to their 

first of many Quilting In the Highlands.

That's my Rain Drops quilt on the wall that Tamsin won at last years IQA silent auction in Houston.
Wait until you see what I am making for this year's auction.

After our long 16 hours of flying we got right in to the swing of things. Tamsin took us all on a tour of the  cute town of Berrima in New South Wales.  They are known for their notorious prison and the trials that were held there.

 

 Joe trying to break into the prison  Maybe to get away from all us girls?

 The old court house that we toured. It's haunted, you know!

 This is a quilt that was made by many of the quilters in the area and donated to the
court house in 2006 for the town's centennial.

Carol, Sherry, me, Sue and Joe (teacher's pet).

 Carol Doak and Joe goofing off. Again.

 I still don't know who this is characters is but Joe liked him right way.
Maybe it was the hat? 

Australia has lots of characters so Joe fit right in.

Lots of cute little shops and cafes filled this small quaint town.  Plus, they have a quilt shop.

Every night there was  beautiful sunset.

All the teachers love Bernina.  Lessa Chandler, Carol Doak, Michelle Hill, Sue Dennis, and me. 

Thanks to Bernina for the sewing machines.

 Learned a quicker, better, faster, technique for adding the center to the hibiscus. 

The food was wonderful I think it was the best retreat food I have ever had.

 Joe and his favorite girls, Sherry and Carol Doak. It seemed like all we did was eat.  And yes that little Sherry ate that whole big sandwich.

Display of some of the teacher's quilts. Carlo Doak's quilt on the wall
and Sue Dennis' quilts on the table.

Michelle Hill's beautiful quilt. She taught the William Morris Garden Workshop.  
She has written 2 books on William Morris and his designs.

 My first ever Waratah class. It took me a whole week to be able to properly pronounce Waratah right.

 Showing the Renegade Thread Play.

 Class rooms where great.

 Leesa Chandler showing her applique tricks and techniques.

Sue Dennis and I.  Her work is awesome. 

 Carol and I in a race to see who can sign their books the fastest. I won!

Only because she has way more books than me. Darn.

Teacher book table. Those are all of Carol's books on that table, except for my Cutting Garden Quilts. Which I'm  happy to say is being reprinted!

 Love this color of Hibiscus. Hope i can remember how to dye this colorway again.

 When the green leaves are added magic happened. Greens have a special power to make or break your flower quilt.

By the second day the students fingers where getting sore from all the cutting.
There always is a lot of cutting.  

So happy to see that my hand-dyed fabrics turned out so good.  It was great to see the flowers on very different backgrounds.

Thank you Berrima Patchwork and Quilting.  Check out the information about next years 2013 retreat.

OK, here is a pictures of "The Dress".

The Wedding!

photo by Justin Mina

Well, we did it. We married off my only child this last week in beautiful San Diego.

And wow, what a wonderful wedding it was. The best thing I did was get the wedding planner. She did a great job.  It really does save you money (and your piece of mind.)  julie@thebestweddingforyou.com

photos by Justin Mina

But the funniest thing that happened started out as the saddest thing and I almost lost it when it happened.  I wrote about finding just the right dress a few blogs back. Well, I though I was set but when we arrived in San Diego I thought I better try that dress on one more time before the wedding, just in case. I have been traveling a lot which means eating out more than I like.  So I squeezed into my super full body armor lovingly called Spanks, followed by the dress.  It felt a little tight at first.  Then I started to sweat.  This can’t be happening. I called to Joe for help in zipping me up.  He can’t get the zipper up.  I feel sweat dripping in my eyes or were those tears?  OMG, the dress is too tight.  I am now experiencing the mother of the groom’s worst nightmare.  My dress doesn’t fit.  I burst into tears.  Joe tries to calm me down.  Do you think it could be just a little water weight?  No, this is just plain fat. Its OK, he says, we will just go and find you another dress.  Mind you, he is exhausted by this point. I had woken him up out of a sound sleep at 4am this morning to drive 8 hours from Sacramento to San Diego so we could miss any LA traffic to the OC. Thank God we did because we arrived in plenty of time to look for a new dress.   We Google the nearest Macys and off we go.  I am still in my Spanks which I can’t take off because I am still sweating like a race horse and you can’t peel spanks off a sweaty body no matter how hard you try. You can only be cut out of them. I need the Jaws of Life by this point.

At the store I grab the first dress I see and run into the dressing room and my husband becomes Mr. Joey, my personal shopper.  He starts throwing dresses at me 2 at a time.  And, by the way, he has great taste.  I think he got that from his uncle Quentin and Aunt Russ.  I quickly model them for his approval.  He was like a mad man and I have never seen him like this. It was awesome now that I think about it.   He didn’t even look at the prices. Then he found it.  A beautiful blue dress that fit.  He said I looked hot but I thought he was just trying to make me stop feeling like a loser.   He then took me to the jewelry department and bought me a new necklace for this dress.  What a guy.

That night for dinner I had a light broth and carrot sticks. Yummy! 

The next morning I felt a little better and a little lighter. Could it be?  Joe was in the shower so I reached in the closet and pulled out the first dress.  I know I must be a masochist.  I didn’t even reach for the super Spanks. And guess what?  It fit.  It was water bloating.  So now I have 2 dresses, but I wore the blue dress because Mr. Joey bought it for me.

When I arrive at the wedding my sister Cindy said Is that a Ralph Lauren dress?  Wow! You look so good.  I said I don’t know what designer it was and tell her the story of the 2 dresses. Today I looked at the label and Mr. Joey had no idea but he just bought me a Ralph Laruen designer dress.  I think I will let him be surprised when the bill comes.  Thank God we only have one kid and 2 dresses. 

Do you see what that is? It's a boxing kangaroo light-up pen that was given to me by my Australian friends.  I will be there in July teaching at Quilting in the Highlands out side of Sydney. Joe was not so sure he wanted to go with me - he thinks that Australia is like Southern California but with a much cooler accent (and no in-laws).  So I had to promise (lie to) him that if he goes with me  he will see LOTS of boxing kangaroos and we will certainly meet the real Tasmanian Devil.  Now he wants to come with me.  In fact, he says I had him at LOTS of boxing kangaroos.   Welcome to my world.  I can't wait for Joe's disappointment when the Tasmanian Devil's father is not wearing a Hawaiian shirt. My life feels like a bad cartoon episode. 

Here is one of the flower quilt classes I will be teaching.  It's called the Waratah.  I have no idea how to pronounce it.  Hopefully, the Tasmanian Devil will help out.

 Today is Thread Play day and tomorrow I dye the fabrics for the kits.  I think it turned out really nice.

 But first things first - I have to find where the boxing kangaroos hang out.  Any ideas?