Red Shoes

When I stepped into Sheila's studio to get my professional head shot, she said, "Wow! Red shoes. I'm in the presence of a confident woman." I never thought that my wearing red shoes and especially these red shoes said nothing more than I like fun shoes. Of course, they also have to be comfortable and I hate spending lots of money (I got these from amazon.com for $35). Also in the quilt world, colorful shoes are not unusual. So my question to you is, "Do red shoes mean a confident woman?"

Teacher of the Year!

Great news to share! I have been nominated again for Teacher of the Year through the International Association of Professional Quilters. I was nominated the first time for the 2004 Teacher of the Year. The amazing Mary Stori received the honor.  I will receive a notification of the results after March 30 and the winner will be featured in the Spring issue of The Professional Quilter magazine.  I have 17 questions to answer and must submit everything by January 13.  This will take time and thought. Also another reason for my head shot! Life is good!

Wordless Wednesday- Blast form the Past

Photo by Carol Esch and used as her Christmas card to me this year

Thankful Tuesday- Lynn Kunz and Vivian Helena

Lynn Kunz won my Memories of Kyrgyzstan ATC blog giveaway and sent me this wonderful fiber postcard as a thank you. I was touched by her kindness.  Thank you Lynn. I promise to pass your kindness along.

I got a few emails asking if my journal covers were reusable (removable). Yes! For me, that was the point. Vivian Helena shared with me some photographs of her beautiful journals which were made like postcards then applied to the journal with white glue. She promises to post them to her blog soon. Now I need to work on expanding my journals. Thanks Vivian!

The quilt world is full of wonderful, giving people. I love my community!

Professional Head Shot

I hate getting my picture taken. I am not pretty. I am not photogenic. I have needed a professional head shot for while and could not put it off any longer (needed for book, Italy, etc.). Sheila Rutledge, of Captured, Inc., made it painless and easy even though she was in a body cast! (thrown off of a horse). Thanks Sheila! It felt great to get this done and off my ever growing to do list. It does indeed make me feel more professional! Tomorrow I have a "meeting" with the person show is going to market my book, Quilts in the Attic: Uncovering the Hidden Stories of the Quilts We Love. (Voyaguer Press). It's good to have all these new experiences. They are certainly keeping me on my toes. By the way, I'm also excited to see that Amazon now says that my book will be available after December 25 instead of arriving on February 15.

Journals

I began keeping journals in Composition books more than thirty years ago. They were cheap, yet sturdy. A great size for carrying around and storing. Nearly fifteen years ago I decided I would like to make a cover and I included a bookmark and a place to put a pen. Now I'm thinking about adding a pocket since I always seem to be picking things up and somethings simply sliding them into the pages is not safe enough.

I love black and white fabrics with hints of red so that's what I used for my first journal cover. I amazed at how well it has held up since I carry it everywhere. One of the fabrics (the black and white polka dot on the left) is fading and there is wear on the edge, but overall I am still happy with it. Making and giving these as gifts is something I do often. I will teach how to make them in the first class in Italy. It is also one of my workshops.

I am back to writing my book on my technique. It's time.  Also time to play again! Enjoy!

Italy Here I Come!

I am thrilled to now be able to share with you that I will be teaching at the Abruzzo School of Creative Art in Italy fro August 22- 29, 2012! I am so honored and happy.  I also applied because it's been a while since I have done something that scares me. I think it is important to keep pushing at my comfort zone.

Locanda dell'Asino d'oro, the school's location, is situated approx. 6 minutes from the ancient city of Sulmona and a couple of minutes from Averil Stuart-Head’s, the CEO, home in Introdacqua, a medieval village. Sulmona is approx. 2 hours east of Rome and is very easy to get to from Fumicino airport. 

I will be teaching "No Time to Quilt: An Artful Approach to Quilt-As-You-Go." It is my own technique. On the first day, we will make journals to learn the technique and provide each student with a unique place to capture not only what happens in class but the entire experience. I'll share some of my journals tomorrow. Then we will begin creating a quilt that represents the Sulmona area.  Check out the school's website for more details.

What have you done lately that has pushed on your comfort zone?

Advent Elves

one of my elves

 How often do you jump into something without thinking it all the way through? Me? It seems I do it often. This was definitely the case when I decided to make 44 inch advent elves for my two great nieces, Alexis (11 years old) and Makayla (6 years old) and cousins. I saw some elves in a calendar and thought they were cute and would make the perfect gift. However, the price tag of $187 (each) plus shipping made them too expensive for my pocketbook. Hence, the idea of making them. I didn't think that I would be sewing 50 pockets or how much stuffing they required (48 ounces) or how much time they would take to construct. I wasn't sure once they were finished that the girls would even like them. Shipping also posed problems. They would only fit in a golf box so that cost me $20 then another $30 to ship. It's always good to have a friend who follows along in your folly as my friend Barbara did.

I wrote stories that I put in each pocket along with some props--tissues when the story gets sad, envelopes with the letters that are written in the story and a sparkly notebook to write answers to questions. I plan to do this every year and want to add more props next year.

Barbara's elf

I am also happy to report that the elves were a hit! Both girls are sleeping with them nightly and they are placed on the couch side-by-side with a blanket placed over their legs while the girls are in school. They also wait for each other to read their stories out loud to one another. So it was worth all the time, effort and money.

Each year I seem to find a project that takes more time than I imagined so I'm curious to see what happens next year. Enjoy!