Welcome to my blog! Through these pages I’m excited to share with you my wonderful adventure of being a quilt-a-holic. I confess…I love quilts. I love everything about quilts! And most of all, I love teaching and sharing what I know with any who may ask.
Quilting is a huge part of my life, and I wear many hats within the field of quilting. I do repair and restoration; I am a long-arm quilter; I hold quilting retreats know as quilt camps; and the very best of my adventures includes my journey to become a Certified Instructor for Judy Niemeyer/Quiltworx patterns.
Let me tell you about a wonderful experience I had last week!
On Thursday, I had my very first trunk show! I did the program for my guild (Friendship Quilters of Western Colorado). I was as nervous as could be. Now, I have no problem getting up in front of people and speaking about any number of things, but generally not about myself. This was different, and in a very good way. Our attendance is usually around 45-50, but on last Thursday, we were over the 60 mark. Yikes! But it was all good. We all laughed, and we cried a tear or two, but mostly we laughed and had a terrific time.
After that, and on into Friday, I taught a class to 21 ladies!! It was a full house, and a wonderful success. Oh my, was it a blast. Most of the ladies were new to Judy patterns, and by the end of the second day, they were well on their way to mastering the Quiltworx pattern Cappuccino. I couldn’t be more pleased.
Let me show you some of the highlights of those two days.
Here is my Vintage Compass, (Quiltworx), made with Asian fabrics. It was only my second Judy pattern. Lots of good lessons learned on this quilt. I especially like how the quilting turned out using the Quiltworx digitized patterns for this quilt. The back of this quilt is just as striking as the front. Changing thread colors may be a bit of a chore, but it certainly has a dramatic effect on the over all presentation. I love this quilt! And here is the very first quilt I ever made!! It is an Eleanor Burns Quilt in A Day Log Cabin. After 20+ years, it is still just a top (held sideways) with no borders. I enjoyed making this piece, but once I got this far—I never looked back! Needless to say, this needs to make the migration from my UFO pile and into the completed pile, ready for the next trunk show. This was the very first quilt I showed. It is from my great-grandmother, circa WWI. A “Red Cross Quilt”. I am so very proud to have this beautiful heirloom to cherish. And here is an amazing quilt from my father-in-law. Beautiful hand quilting and pristine condition! An absolute treasure.Prismatic Star (Quiltworx pattern). I chose to make this from a kit and it’s a very striking color way for this quilt. These are not my first choice of colors, but I felt the best way to acquaint myself with these type of colors was to utilize a well designed kit. It proved an excellent learning opportunity, as I’m much more comfortable in working with colors such as these. Really enjoyed making this quilt…much more than I anticipated. A Fractured Paint Box (Quiltworx) made with a Chambray jelly roll. Fast — fun — and easy! Prairie Star (Quiltworx). A terrific pattern that I am now teaching at Fabrics and More as a “Block of the Month”. Our class is small, but the ladies are so enthusiastic about their work. Learning, and teaching, this quilt is turning out to be a very rewarding experience.
There were about 20-25 more quilts in the trunk show, but I’ll save those for another day.
The project for the class following my trunk show was a set of placemats made from the pattern Cappuccino (Quiltworx). Look at those smiling faces! These ladies have some beautiful beginnings to their projects.
It was certainly an exciting and fulfilling event. I feel so honored and pleased to have shared my first trunk show with my guild sisters.
