Sad farewell and new endeavors

2018 has started off with great sadness and a lot of fun. Many of you already are aware that Dorothy, my dearest friend of nearly 45 years, passed away early in January. I miss her very much, of course.

I will be traveling to Colorado in April, to pick up some things that she wanted me to have. I won't have room in the car to bring back ALL of her quilting supplies, of course. But having her machines and a few other quilty things of hers will always bring a smile into my own quilty life.

In addition to an occasional wave of sadness, I am having great fun in the studio and the classroom.  I have become a regular quilting instructor for the Bernina In Stitches store in downtown Johnson City. Conducting workshops for the store engages all of the skills that I love to use: teaching, quilt design, pattern production, piecing, quilting, and making lesson plans. ... Ooops, I lied. I don't really like making lesson plans, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I admit, I get a little overwhelmed sometimes - but the fun is worth it! So, if you live in my area, check out the classes section of the Bernina In Stitches website to find out when my next workshop or clinic is scheduled. I've included a summary below.

News from the studio

Habitat for Humanity house-warming gift

What a great objective! Sally has a vision of presenting new Habitat homeowners with a quilt to help make their new house a real home. She pulled some elegant orientals from her stash, and this lovely quilt is the result. We used the Feather Puff pantograph.

A "Words of Life" quilt like Dorothy's

I discovered last week that I have the program for the April meeting of the Appalachian Heritage Quilters guild. It took me a minute to remember what the program was going to be. It is a trunk-show called "Beyond the 1/4" Seam".

One of the quilts in the show is the one called "Words of Life" that I had made for Dorothy last year. Well...I mailed the quilt to Colorado last November! Yikes. As it turned out, I wound up with almost enough blocks from Dorothy's quilt to make another one just like it for myself. So... I am hustling like mad to at least get the top finished in time for the April guild program. I am ready for borders - but don't hold your breath. Workshop prep has just taken over top priority!

New pattern on Craftsy: Murphy's Corner

I have a new pattern suitable for beginners on Craftsy called Murphy's Corner. It is a disappearing 9-patch and is super easy.

This sweet quilt is also the project for the Starting from Scratch class for brand new beginners that is scheduled 4 Wednesdays in May. See below.

Workshop schedule

All of the following workshops will be held at Bernina In Stitches in downtown Johnson City, TN. Contact Bernina In Stitches at (423) 283-0456 for more information and to sign up. Class sizes are kept small for lots of personal attention.

March 2018 

Finishing Clinics: Saturday, 3/10, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 

Sign up for 1, 2, or all 3 clinics!

 

Heart Song: Thursday, 3/22, 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Heart Song

  








  

 April 2018

Jack and Jill: Wednesday 4/25, 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Jack & Jill

May 2018

Starting from Scratch (for the brand-new quilter) 

This is a 4-week class and will meet once a week on Wednesdays: 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, and 5/30. It will cover everything you need to know to be confident in your quilt-making, talk the language of quilting, have a list tools you'll need, master the 1/4" seam, make nice flat borders, and more.


And, remember - it may be rainy and cold outside, but the sun is always shining when you quilt.

Have a great week! Now, let's go quit something.

Jeepers Creepers

Last month, the guild held the annual retreat in Abingdon, VA. My cute DH jumped at the chance to drop me off at the retreat on Friday morning, and then spend the day doing all of the touristy things around Abingdon that he's wanted to do for a long time. Among them was take the bike ride down the Creeper Trail. It is an old rail bed that has been reclaimed as a hiking and biking trail. It is a total of about 17 miles long. The bike trip sponsored by the local bike shop covered about half of them.

When he came to pick me up right after he got off the trail (I was a day-camper), I could tell he had a great time and could hardly wait to tell me all about it! He was all wind-blown, and I expected to see bugs in his teeth from flying down the trail.

He reported some beautiful views, but I think he had much more fun on the bike. The trail is NOT all paved. Much of it is gravel, and there were a lot of leaves to watch out for.

I'm thinking he is probably the oldest 10 year old in the Southeast! He was proud of all of the scraps and bruises he achieved in his 2 big crashes! You should have seen him when he managed to bandage up all of his injuries! He wouldn't let me take a picture of him, though. It would have had to be a birthday suit picture - and he just wasn't ready for that.

One of the crashes was because he tried to pass someone on a bridge and crashed into the side rails to avoid plowing into them. The other one happened on another bridge. He heard the compelling sound of a water fall. You guessed it, he turned to look at it -- and instead of enjoying a beautiful sight, flipped his bike, went over the handle bars and crashed into the side rail of the bridge. He can't help grinning from ear to ear anytime he tells the story. Well, what do you expect? He's 10.

News from the studio

Heart Song Workshops

For Blue Ride Guild in Johnson City, TN

Following their Dec. 1 meeting, several members stayed for a workshop on the Heart Song quilt. It is always a lot of fun! Everyone made good progress in the 3.5 hours, and one person completed her top! I certainly had a good time.

 





 

For Heavenly Stitches in Kingsport, TN

Six people participated in the Heart Song workshop on Dec. 15. One of the folks had never made a quilt  before, and hadn't had his hands on a sewing machine for decades. But he was game, took instruction very well, and stayed long after the workshop was over, completing all of the blocks with the help of one of  the store employees. Again, everyone made great progress! They were a lot of fun!



















But, I really don't know why no one would look at me. I don't think I'm that scary...

Upcoming Heart Song Workshop

The Heart Song workshop will be hosted by In Stitches in downtown Johnson City, TN on January 11, 9:30 - 2:00. This time, we will be celebrating Spring. A kit will be available. Watch for details on the In Stitches website and newsletter. Sorry about the quality of the picture -- my phone camera lens had a big smudge on it!

Learning for the week

The allergist's office can be scary! I wasn't too sure I wanted to stay. My appointment was on 10/31, and everyone - and I mean everyone was dressed the part!



Well, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Now, let's go quilt something.

Sharon-isms - food for thought

Have you ever heard of the website: Six Word Memoirs? It is a place where people can post a "story" in exactly 6 words. They can also post a picture and  a backstory that explains what the 6 words are about. Here is an example from the list of recently posted 6-words: "My crow's feet wear 15 Wide".

Well my husband is a frequent poster there. One of his latest was about a package of pre-cuts I got from Craftsy. As I was pulling my treasures out of the box, I exclaimed: "Straight cut! No pinking! Oh Boy!" As you may be able to see, the jelly roll edges are straight cut, but the charm pack is pinked. I really don't like to sew the pinked edges. You just never know where the seam line should be. I far prefer "straight cut".

By the way, the charm pack you see was a free gift from Craftsy! I also got a charm pack to match the jelly roll, and a pack of 1/2 yd cuts of the same line. Now the challenge is to remember what I intended to do with them!

News from the Studio

 

Heart Song Workshop

If you missed the Heart Song wall-hanging or table topper workshop I did for Appalachian Heritage Quilters guild last year, or will miss this year's workshop for the Blue Ridge Quilters Guild, I will be doing one for Heavenly Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Kingsport, TN on November 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Sign up at Heavenly Stitches.

Lessons Beyond the 1/4" Seam

On November 1, I will be doing a program for the Blue Ridge Quilters Guild in Johnson City called "Lessons Beyond the 1/4" seam".  Quilting isn't a hobby to many quilters. It is far more.

Sharon-isms

I love word play. You know, slap-stick phrases. Phrases that confuse, surprise, or disgust, whichever. But usually I have no control over when word play just blurts out of my mouth. Early on in our relationship, my beloved DH would occasionally start to giggle and quickly go write down something. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. One day it dawned on me. It must have been something I said. I'm really not trying to be funny - but it just comes out a little odd.

This week's Sharon-ism

"You don't have to look if you can't see."  (In a Target parking lot in response to a woman backing out of a parking place in her big, view-inhibiting mini-van without bothering to see if there was anything behind her - before cars had cameras.)


Okay, that's plenty of food for thought. Have a great week!
Now, let's go quilt something!