I celebrated finishing my rough draft with a clothesline bowl…
Next up on the list was a Happy Scrappy Improv quilt using a bag of scraps from my good friend Tina at Turtle Hand Batiks. I have to admit it was a bit tricky, working with a bag of patterns, to come up with something reasonably cohesive and interesting. The two orange strips were added right at the end and involved opening seams and slicing through the top…
I think the all over 1/2” grid quilting pulled it all together and the coconut buttons added a fun touch?
Steve wanted to go to the Arboretum, so we did! It was dog day, but we avoided the crowds by going over to the West side where we were rewarded by being able to watch this heron fishing for its dinner.
I still had more to do before I could leave for Paducah. I packed up all my book pieces and sent them off in two packages early Monday afternoon. That’s a whole lot of stitching hours represented in those boxes!
(Thanks to UPS… they arrived safely on Friday 🙂 )
Time for that road trip. My friend Sue arrived early on Tuesday morning. We loaded up the car and set off South. I had allowed for an hour time change but there wasn’t one (!!) so we arrived in good time for my teacher’s meeting at six. The drive was uneventful which is just what you hope a 380 mile journey will be.
The show itself opened on Wednesday morning. I was in Paducah as a part time teacher with three classes, all in the evening. Fortunately Tina had room in her booth and I was able to sit and sew and chat for a few hours which made the days pass quickly. Students from previous classes stopped by and it was fun to catch up.
I laid out my schedule in my previous blog post. I had it firmly in my mind when I picked up my supplies and set off for my first class…
Oops! No, it wasn’t to be free motion quilting… Wednesday was definitely Happy Scrappy Improv.
Deep breath Catherine, a quick walk back to the hotel, change the bag and back again… nobody need know…
Welcome to our improv piecing class!
Lots of happy thoughts and stitching going on…
And just three hours later we had some little quilts!
It’s the stuff of my nightmares, turning up for the wrong class but in my dreams I’m always late… I had allowed plenty of time and all’s well that ends well. I made sure to check my schedule for the next two days… I had everything the wrong way around. Really Catherine?
On Thursday we had the unveiling of the World’s Largest Quilt Cake, with Mauro Castano from Cake Boss.
It was very impressive, made to celebrate the 35th anniversary of AQS QuiltWeek.
There was cake for everyone!
So Thursday evening was my Wrapped in Scraps class.
Twenty students all making clothesline wrapped bowls.
No prizes for completed bowls but we had a few!
Didn’t they do well?
That just left the Free Motion Confidence Builder class…
But first I was back with Tina. We managed a quick pic together before I left her on Friday afternoon.
I need to take some photographs of the project I was working on… next time?
Back to some free motion stitching. Another full class. We kept the Juki ladies busy. The machines worked well but we always have questions!
Everyone looks so serious but we had a good time, really! All levels of experience were represented including one lovely lady who had never dropped her feed dogs before… it’s all about the practice 🙂
Classes over, Sue and I decided we needed to go out to eat. We went in search of catfish at Strickland’s. It lived up to the promises. My grilled catfish was excellent. (so was the steamed broccoli!!) Definitely one to add to the list for when you are in Paducah.
In case you are wondering I did look around the show while I was there. Lots of people have posted quilt pics so you can look at theirs…
I’m just going to add one. My friend Tracy Husch-Lissak from Naperville won a ribbon for her Gear, There, Everywhere quilt. She made it for her husband and we had seen it at our guild meeting. I was so excited for her when I spotted her name on the winners’ list. I had to get a photo.
Tracy has a business, Kept in Stitches, making memory quilts (including t-shirt quilts). I always refer people to her if I get queries. She really does a good job of listening to her clients and has made some great quilts.
Time to drive home…
Sue and I had promised ourselves a trip to Garden of the Gods on the way home. Everyone thinks Illinois is completely flat but down the southern end there are hills… and some interesting rock formations which we wanted to see for ourselves.
We found them!
If you know me then you know that I don’t like heights and steps without hand rails… I might have had to ask a younger couple to rescue me at one point… but there were spectacular views from the footpath. I did not venture off it once!
Then it was back on the road and home again…
Wednesday already. My bags are unpacked, some edits have been taking place, I’m working on a piece for Quilt Market and getting ready for my next quiltie trip.
But first, on Friday I’m headed into Chicago with all the girls for the weekend. We’ve been promised cupcakes in our rooms…
