Four classes, a demo and a quilt show in nine days have been keeping me busy….
I started with a Fabric Origami Flower class at Pieceful Heart Fabrics. There was a full class ready to stiffen fabric and construct flowers and small boxes using the Flip Flop Flower pattern. I am glad to report everyone went home with completed flowers and even better, they were also still smiling…
That was Sunday… on the Monday I did an It’s a Wrap demo at Fabric divas and Tuesday I made Who’s Place place mats from Susan C. Shore designs for the store…
Too cute, with pockets for silverware in the wings…
Thursday, I drove through wind and rain to Iowa City, discovering various buttons and switches in the car, mostly by accident, on the way. Stephanie and I had decided the AQS show in Des Moines was worth a trip but ever one for efficient use of my time Stephanie had also booked me in to teach a couple of classes at her local store, Home Ec. Workshop…
So, after a quick dinner at Hamburger Inn, we crossed the street and prepared to teach my Beading Basics and Beyond class.
Beads were attached with care,
to produce a sampler of basic stitches, fringe and edge treatments…
and once again, people were still smiling as class came to a close…
We set off bright and quite early enough for Des Moines on Friday morning and had a great day out at the show. Lots of quilts, a little shopping and dinner at Fong’s pizza…
Then it was back to Home Ec. on Saturday for Let’s Make a Quilt! Stephanie and I co-taught the class to five beginning quilters…
We started by choosing fabrics, then moved on to basic rotary cutting skills.
Then there were 1/4″ seams to get to grips with, to pin or not to pin?
At the end of 5 hours everyone was well on their way to finishing their quilt top. And… they were all still smiling…
Home Ec. Workshop is a wonderful place in downtown Iowa City. Described as a “natural fiber fabric, yarn, knitting, sewing and craft supply store” they also have an espresso, tea and Italian soda bar with homemade baked goods… All day Saturday there were people coming in and out, doing a little shopping, sitting for a while… There was a knitting group meeting for a couple of hours in the morning… The friendly and welcoming atmosphere has to be due, at least in part, to the owners who have worked long and hard to make their vision for an inspiring and supportive environment into a reality.
Here is one of those owners, Codi, after a long day…
Thanks for letting me come and play! I hope to be back again before too long!
And so I set off home again. The sun was shining for my trip across the prairie on Sunday and I decided to include a side trip to Rockford… Steve surprised us all by taking the train and bus to meet me there and we spent a good afternoon with the grandchildren and their parents.
Monday (yesterday) found me back in Lisle at Pieceful Heart Fabrics for my fourth class…
Time to make some pots!
We wrapped clothes line,
sewed it all together,
and completed some great bowls,
and baskets.
And I was still able to convince the ladies to give me a smile.
My next class isn’t for 10 days. We already have a full house signed up for Machine Quilting 1. Better get back to the basement and do a little sorting…
