Quilt Market Fall 2014 - School House

I just returned from Quilt Market in Houston. I attended a few school house sessions and it informative and fun. School house is set up in 30 minute sessions with 5 minute breaks to reach the next class. We are given a list of classes’ available (approx. 10) for each session and there are 14 sessions.  It reminded me, and many others also commented on this, of high school halls as students rush to the next class.

Each session has someone speaking about a new technique, a just released book, or a topic discussion of interest to shop owners and industry persons. My favorite was on Business Cards. What makes a good impression vs. a poor impression. It was an excellent class.

I cannot go into the details as it is Jo Packham’s class. Jo had an excellent hand out and slide show of good and poor business cards to support her theory.  I can say, use quality paper, put all pertinent information on large enough to read, and use both sides of the card. 

Watch for future blogs about Quilt Market.

Training on my Statler machine

I just returned from Lori Clayton’s shop “Threads Run Through It” in Phenix, Va. Lori is my long arm deader/service/trainer for my Staler-Gammil long arm machine.  I have had my machine since August and knew the bare basics of using it. Further training was available but time wasn’t until now.

I drove about 4 hours thru the Shenandoah Valley region and on Skyline Drive famous for the mountainous and fall foliage. It was a bit early and the colors of autumn were only hinting of what is to come.  Another week or so will be beautiful there.

Lori welcomed me into her home and shop. I learned a lot about what my long arm machine can do. I am eager to apply all I learned to quilt some of my many UFO’s.  

Thoughts of 9/11

Today most of us remember the events of 9/11. I spent the day reflecting on those events of that day.  It started as a beautiful autumn day. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 70’s. My daughter was in school and I thought I might spend some time at the second hand book store. It was early yet and the morning news shows were still on. I, like many saw the events on TV and could not believe what I was seeing.

I live just over an hour’s drive from Washington D. C. Many of the people in our area work in the D.C. area. When the next two tragedies happened the phones started ringing. The common question was is your family member there? My husband did not work at the Pentagon at that time. My husband phoned and stated he was on his way home.  An hour or so later our son-in-law phoned from Hawaii and asked what was going on.  He was on active duty and had been awaken and told to go to work.

In the aftermath of the Pentagon tragedy in the D.C. area is that everyone either knew someone or one to two people removed that were directly affected by the tragedy. Many of our school children had a class mate affected in some matter. It was an event that has changed us and in some ways brought us closer in times of difficulty in our community.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those touched by the 9/11 tragedies. God bless and keep you in his hands. 

Planning a milestone

On Sunday my family – husband, two daughters and family gathered together for lunch. This was a planning luncheon. We have a milestone event happening in October.  We are planning a party to celebrate 3 birthdays.

My husband turns 65, and my two girls each have milestone birthdays also. I do not think they want me to give the numbers away.  At this time in our lives (husband and I) are happy to wake up in the morning to be worried about our age.

Anyway we made our plans for the party. We settled on a day, style of party and food selection. Now we need to prepare our guests lists and get those save the date notice out there. Watch for pictures in October.

Photo Shoot of Quilts

This week I took a car full of quilts, 18 to be exact, to my publishing house. I have been working on a book idea for a few years but this year I have been seriously applying pen to paper.  This week was the appointment time to take photographs of the quilts.

My friend Renelda, also a quilter, and my granddaughter went with me to help. It is a 3 hour drive and we talked all the way; although my granddaughter being a teenager did listen to her IPOD and slept much of the way. We planned the trip to arrive early in the area so we could stop at some quilt shops for the ‘Row by Row’ patterns at the shops.

The publishing house is always a treat to visit as it sits on park like acreage in fact they call it a ‘book farm’. It has statues and sculptures everywhere.  There is always something you haven’t seen before. With the summer sun shining on the pond my granddaughter could walk the park to enjoy the sights while I met with my editor.

After the short meeting we met with Morgan the photographer. Morgan is a lovely young woman who was very knowledgeable in her profession. We were able to take some wonderful photos in a minimum of time. The colors are bright and the images are clear and sharp. The close up photos of the quilts show the quilting stitches wonderfully. I have the CD of the photos already and I am very pleased.

We made our return trip home satisfied with a job well done.

Downton Abby Comes to Delaware

 

This weekend I joined my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter for a trip. We drove 3 hours north to Delaware’s Winterthur. Our purpose was to see the Downton Abby costume exhibit currently on display. The exhibit was wonderful beyond words. I have always loved making period clothing and costumes so this was a real treat. Upon entering the room was a large photo banner of the building used as the Downton Abby façade.  Many people, including ourselves, stood in front of it to have our pictures taken.

The clothing was displayed on manikins usually in groups of two to five items. A backdrop photo of the scene in which it was used was shown. Story boards explaining the process in the design or making of the item was displayed alongside. The insight to these garments is  inspiring.

When the season’s script has been completed, the costume department has 7 weeks in which to complete the entire wardrobe for the season. I find this feat amazing. The department often finds fragments of lace, fabric, etc. of the time period. Often a garment is made around the incorporation of the fragment. The colors, textures, trims can convene without words an emotion or mood of the scene. It is a science in its self. I cannot begin to pick a favorite garment. I loved them all.

The exhibit continues thru January 15, 2015, see it if you can.

Quilt Guild Anniversary

Quilt Guild Anniversary

One of the quilt guilds I belong to just had their 10^th anniversary and a celebration dinner was held at a local Country Club. We dressed for dinner and a wonderful meal. The tables were decorated with folded Fat Quarters to create an 8 Pointed Star and each guest at the table received a Fat Quarter to take home.

The moment a person walked in the room, they would notice a slide show presentation of photos flashing on a screen.  Hundreds of photos, which were taken during the 10 years of Show & Tell, workshops, and Retreats, were compiled together for the slideshow. We saw members who have moved or their hair styles that have changed. It kept drawing one’s eye back to the screen throughout the evening.

We had speeches from founding members and past presidents, some of whom have moved away. Comments were made about our hopes for the future. Some of the evenings show & tell were of first and recent quilts made by members. It was a perfect statement of how far we have come.