April update!

It’s getting to be a thing, this last day of the month, just under the wire, update…

At the end of March I was looking forward to a few more days at home, catching up on things and possibly using my new sewing machine. Let’s see how I did!

I’m booked to sit and sew at BERNINA of Naperville at the beginning of June so I needed a sample of our project. Take a bright spool of multi-colored variegated 8 weight Eleganza and a fun print. Start stitching. Nothing too difficult but definitely fun 🙂Use Sue Spargo’s Storage Pod pattern and ta da!

A useful pot to put things in.
Or, here’s another one I made earlier.You can sign up to join me over at the shop website here. Admission includes everything you need to make your very own storage pod. Sounds like fun?

I needed to sew something on that new machine so I did. Just a 10″ square and a string art walking foot spiral…

I was so pleased with the built in dual feed and 20D foot. The back was excellent too!I used a 10″ Quilters Select ruler to keep my lines straight and minimize marking. Something to add to my Super Spirals classes.

Time to Zoom. A completely new class. Walking Foot Quilting – Take the scenic route and add hand stitching. Three, two hour classes combining two of my favorite things, walking foot quilting and hand stitching with the folk from STITCHES. Could we do it?

YES we did! Ten happy stitchers in the third class. We had time to learn and refine our walking foot techniques before we made a sampler of six hand stitches and then combined everything for the win. We even took a class photo.The days were passing and it was time to get out and about again. I packed my bags and drove southeast to the Mudsocks Quilters Guild in Fishers Indiana, just north of Indianapolis.

The members get together in the morning for their general meeting. Business, lots of lovely show and tell.
This next one was the maker’s first quilt!And then time for me to take the stage. Looking right,in the middle,and to the left.A good turn out for Lessons Learned While Quilting. We adjourned to a local restaurant for lunch and then met up again at a different location for three hours of free motion fun, where we had such a good time I forgot to take pictures. I hope everyone is practicing at home…

Back to Naperville and lots of TV to catch up on. Let’s stitch! Richard and I had been asked to come up with some kits for an event and then it was cancelled but we had ordered all the things already… Let’s make lemonade?

Spring butterfly wreath printed on a linen/cotton blend and stitched with six colors of hand dyed perle cotton from House of Embroidery.
The threads stitch out so well on the linen blend.
Or if you would rather have a yellow and red butterfly?Same design, just with the colors switched.Aren’t they pretty? I’m going to be selling the kits when I am out on the road. Ask me, I have lots of them, I will have them in stock for a while!

We traveled to Rockford for Easter. Joanne went too. Do you remember this quilt top I put together in February last year?I had all sorts of ideas but in the end I just quilted it with a grid, added a binding, washed it and took it with me for Emily and Bonnie. Yes! It matched the Elmer book I ordered just perfectly. Teddy can enjoy it too one day.

Emily tried very hard to get her baby brother to pose for the camera.One last trip in April. Here are the North Shore Quilters in Fox Point, just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Another group that meets in the morning with a workshop in the afternoon. We shared Lessons Learned While Quilting followed by a dimensional embroidery stitch class. I had driven north the day before but drove back in the rush hour 🙁 They were worth it!! It’s so good to be out and about again.

I zoomed with The Appliqué Society last Saturday. They have members around the world and there were several participants logged in from outside the USA. Zoom certainly works well for an international group.

I need to be making kits for future classes so obviously I have been sewing again! 🤣

I showed a few teasers on Instagram as I progressed. Rows of fishes and seaweed.

It took me few days of stitching in between kit assembly.

Here’s Keep on Swimming, 18″ x 24″, finished with facings. Matchstick organic curves combined with hand stitching on a jelly roll race inspired background constructed with 1 1/2″ strips of Kona solids.
I received my contract to teach at International Quilt Festival in Houston yesterday. I have three walking foot classes, including a Take the Scenic Route one so there is going to be more sample making in my future…

May is going to be a busy month. I’m off to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival on Wednesday. It’s in West Friendship, Maryland if you fancy a road trip? I’m looking forward to experiencing my first ever Sheep and Wool Festival. I will be sure to take pictures of the sheep.

That will be followed by zooming with STITCHES at home Expo. There are still some spots in my classes (take a look here) Remember everyone gets a front row seat in Zoom classes. I will also be zooming with the Peninsula Wearable Arts Guild of the SF Bay Area  before I head off to Hilton Head, South Carolina and the Palmetto Quilt Guild the third week of May.

But wait, there’s more! I’m set to drive west to the Des Moines Area Quilter’s Guild before the end of the month. They first contacted me in January 2019 and were on my calendar for March 2020 so I’m very pleased that we have been able to reschedule. I’m doing two lectures and two days of teaching. We’ve had a new car on order since August last year and it’s set for production the second week of May. I’m not holding my breath but perhaps it will be ready in time? Otherwise it’ll be another 650 miles or so on my little Toyota Yaris…

If I get any spare minutes I will be in the dining room assembling kits!