I’ve got lots to share in this blog. First, I had another quilter email me a photo of a quilt they made using one of my books, “Applique Basics: Flower Wreaths”. It is hard for me to express how excited I am when this happens. I love to see finished projects from my books and patterns.
Rose Remund made this stunning quilt which she calls “Floral Wreaths”. Rose’s quilt has been accepted into the AQS show in Knoxville, TN this July. Good luck Rose. I’m rooting for you to win a ribbon.
My next adventure took me to Middletown, Virginia to the “Top of Virginia Quilters Guild”. It was a nice, easy 2 hour drive on Interstate 81. This is the church where the ladies meet for their workshops. Very interesting architecture and textures. And I love the red door.
And there were some beautiful stained glass windows.
Check out some of the flowers in the church gardens. Aren’t these colors amazing?
Here are some of the ladies from the guild hard at work during the workshop. I had a fantastic day with the ladies from the “Top of Virginia Quilters”.
I got home Thursday evening and unpacked and repacked to leave very, very early for my next adventure to Carson City, Nevada. I worked with a really nice group of ladies from the “Carson Valley Quilt Guild”. Marilyn and Sharon picked me up at the airport and we enjoyed some time together visiting a quilt shop, checking out the workshop space and seeing some of the area. This is the view from my hotel. Amazing.
Sharon was my hostess and this was her first time doing the job. She really went above and beyond the call of duty. When I got to my hotel room Sharon had this gigundus basket in my room. She knew that I ate vegetarian so she made sure I had plenty of snacks. This really is the largest and most thoughtful basket anyone has ever given me. I told Sharon I would have needed to stay for a week to eat everything in the basket plus the added items in the refrigerator.
While I was in Nevada I taught 3 workshops and did one lecture for the guild. Here are some of the ladies at the lecture meeting. They had one of the best show and tells I have attended. There are lots of great quilts coming from this guild.
After finishing the first day of classes there were no guild plans for the evening so Sharon took me on a 2 1/2 hour tour of Lake Tahoe. I have never been to Lake Tahoe and of course have heard lots and lots of great things about the area. I am here to tell you it is all true. Here are some of the things I saw on my drive with Sharon and her grandson. Gigantic pine trees and the sky was so blue.
I had a fantastic trip to Carson City mainly due to Sharon’s hospitality. That being said, there were a lot of guild members who made this a very enjoyable trip….Marilyn for making us go to the quilt shop (I had to be forced!!! Do you believe that?) and for sharing in some of our dining experiences…and to Pat for driving me to the airport hotel very late on Monday evening after the lecture so I could get an early flight the next morning….and to all of the students in my workshops. All combined they made this one very memorable trip. Great group of ladies. I am glad I crossed paths with all of them.
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New studio update. Lewie is building me drawers along one wall. He’s well on his way. The more it rains the more work Lewie does in the studio. On sunny days he has another job he’s doing. I keep hoping for more rain.
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When I was in Virginia a member of the guild stopped by at lunch to make a purchase and she brought this cute little gift for me. It is a little travel sewing holder. It will hold a small pair of scissors, some needles and a couple of spools of thread. How cute it that? I know I can put this to good use.
And then when you fold it in half it will not take up much space at all. Nice.
For the past many years when I have attended the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX, I see this booth that sells patterns for this box below. I always tell the vendor that if they sold them finished I would surely purchase one because I think they are wonderful. But, on my schedule I know I would never find the time to make it.
When you remove the lid the sides fall down and this is what’s inside. There are lots of little sections to hold scissors, needles, pins and the center could hold scissors. Inside the lid is a place for pins. I love this little box. And I now own one of these awesome boxes. My original contact for the guild in Nevada, Carol Graeber, made this for me as a gift. I could not be happier. Carol, thank you, thank you, thank you !!!!
My next trip takes me to Raleigh, NC for the North Carolina Quilt Symposium. I’ll be back in touch when I return with news from North Carolina.