February 2022

I just realized that tomorrow is the first day of March… if I don’t write a blog post tonight I will have missed February… What can I say? I have been busy!

After all the excitement of Road to California I had a fun few hours at BERNINA of Naperville for an English Paper Piecing Sit and Sew. Here are a few of the intrepid hand stitchers who came out to try their hand at some curved piecing.

I zoomed and took a Trip Around the World with the Block Party Quilters of Bellevue, Washington. I Learned Lessons and shared my Walking Foot Quilting class with the Ninigret Quilters of Rhode Island, and then there was the Happy Scrappy Improv class for STITCHES at Home… all the things. Almost too many things… there is a story to tell but just know it worked out OK in the end…

AND THEN it was time for QuiltCon 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona.

I took an early flight on the Wednesday and was at the Convention center by 11 AM local time. Richard had called in the troops and set up went smoothly. The Global Artisans booth was ready in plenty of time for the doors opening at 10 on Thursday.

Looking good?My comfy chair gave me a good view over the proceedings! Vivika stopped by to say hi and we practiced our selfie skills.Who needs Uber when Richard picked me up in his super-sized Jeep from the hotel in the morning? I could watch (and hear) him approaching as he pulled off the nearby highway off-ramp.I could only stay for the first two days of the show… I did manage to get around all the quilts and the vendors before I had to return home. There have been lots of pics on social media and mine were not the best… Suffice to say it had been a few years since I last attended QuiltCon and it was good to be back.

Ever onwards. I took a late flight home on the Friday evening. The airport was very busy and our flight was delayed. It was after midnight by the time I met Steve at Midway.

I was home just long enough to do the laundry and put the last bits in my suitcases before I was back at the airport at 6 AM on Sunday morning.Time to fly South to Texas for Applique Away on Galveston Bay! Four days of classes on Galveston Island. The classroom was bright and airy for our wool appliqué workshops.It was lovely to be teaching two day classes. The retreat was celebrating its ten year anniversary and some students come back every year. I had four hardy souls who took both my classes and then ten more that took one or other of them.

One lunch time I walked to see the Gulf of Mexico. It was very grey.The last evening we enjoyed a banquet dinner. I was the after dinner entertainment… I managed to get almost everyone looking happy for my traditional photograph 😀Four days really does go fast when you are having fun!

It was another late flight home but I had all of Friday to relax and get ready before I was back in the Zoom studio again. Time to meet the Capitol Quilters Guild from Raleigh NC. I managed to get a pic before everyone had left the room…Yes, I have been busy?

I have squeezed in a little stitching. I embroidered three more of the Turtle Hand mini batik panels. Fun with Embroidery is a fun class but it needed some better pictures for my show proposals…

A daisy with a bee,A shell, embellished with chain stitch, fly stitch, french knots, cross stitch and a whipped star,And a turtle, swimming with some whipped backstitch and lazy daisy seaweed.Today’s featured image is one of my favorite Sashiko designs stitched with a ball of variegated Wonderfil Eleganza thread. Sometimes I just want to stitch something and the printed cleaning cloths hit the spot.

The first few months are always busy ones for me and 2022 is proving to be no exception. My calendar is good and full. I have been filling in proposals for upcoming shows and fielding guild emails so I’m hoping it is the shape of things to come.

I will have some good news to share shortly… I will definitely be posting again soon!