Quilting Adventures

Kate and I had adventures in vending in the new AQS Lancaster Show location. Set up and, especially breakdown, were a real trial but that is part of vending, unfortunately. What fun it is to drive with a GPS; mine is called Carmen (like in Where in the World is Carmen San Diego). Smart that car makers build them right in to the dashboard now; on a ten year old Chevy cargo van, the GPS is a separate accessory. John had adventures in lecturing to two groups of 200 quilters and friends. His adventure continued with teaching Super Nova, an advanced class, to a group of quilters with mixed levels of experience. We all survived.

Here are some quilts that caught my eye. Linda Pool’s applique quilt is called “Icing on the Cake”. It has spectacular, tiny applique and cording and hand quilting. David Taylor did a masterful job on “Christmas Chickadee” which is machine quilted. And “Loki” by Jodi Scaltreto made me smile every morning when I walked by.

The downtown part of Lancaster is old and very interesting. A couple of mornings, Kate and her friend walked over to the Amish Marketplace to get our lunch; it was tasty and so fresh. I wanted to bring fresh fruit home, but a 2000 mile trip is hard on durable things; can’t imagine the damage fruit would sustain.

Two more shows to do this spring and John teaches in Chicago; better get busy cutting kits…

Brooke

Another Road Trip

Today we are doing the last of the packing of my van for the drive to Pennsylvania.  Kate will meet me Monday evening so we can vend at the brand new AQS Show in Lancaster.  It is exciting and we like the area; Kate and I have a favorite shop or two, if I can remember how to get there.  That is what the new GPS is for.

John leaves Tuesday for a guild show and class in Illinois.  He is scheduled to lecture twice; we just helped him sort through his quilts and I can tell he is looking forward to it. When you think how much time goes in to selecting fabric, piecing and then quilting, it really is true that each quilt has a story.  Hours and hours of a quilter's life are wrapped up in the quilts and I suppose that is why Show and Tell is so much fun for both the teller and for the listeners.

A lot of quilt activity went on last weekend; there were bits of thread all over the house by Sunday night!  The Supernova wall hanging is a class sample for Illinois, bright and black, and not for beginners.  We have had the Imperial Compass pieced and waiting to be quilted for at least a year so I am so happy John had time to quilt it for the show in Lancaster.  We will hang it in the booth and the pre-cut kits are ready; I think this kit will be pretty popular.

Well, spring is always an adventure.  When John had his construction business, March was just the most worrisome month.   The crews were always itching to get to work, but there was ice and mud and bad weather and lots of nerves.  Now we don't have equipment to dig out of the mud or forms ruined by ice and cold and it is great to be able to enjoy early spring with all its variations.  I hope flooding rivers aren't part of your spring, though, wherever you are.

Brooke

I Thought It Was Spring

A little cold snap is heading our way; it is probably a good thing since some of us were getting a bad case of spring fever. I was able to take a short walk along the highway last weekend and even picked up some of the mysterious plastic bags that blew in around our house during the winter. The late winter/early spring sunshine is just delicious and I can't wait to see our crocus. We have no sunshine today.

John got back late Friday afternoon from vending and teaching in Virginia and North Carolina. The van turned over 200,000 miles on the way; it is an oldie but a goodie. The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival was successful and his classes and lectures were good also. He said there were lots of husbands at his lecture; that always makes it fun for him, and instead of a lapel mike, he had a “rock star” microphone; that was fun too!

Here is a picture of another Storm at Sea Miniature John quilted this weekend. It is washed and blocked and ready to bind. If you are interested in the quilting pattern that John often uses for Storm at Sea quilts; Kate has drafted it and it is on the website now Website  Look in “John’s Workshop” and then in “Free Lessons”.

We still have vans to unpack but it is income tax time and I have an honest-to-gosh shoebox to sort through, so better get that out of the way. I’d rather help Kate put away the batik fabrics she just got.

Brooke

Another Author's Report

Kate and I are back from vending in Washington State.  We had a great trip, the weather was very nice, we got to see apple trees and daffodils in bloom and the sky cleared on Monday so we got to see Mount Rainier as we started our drive east.  I found goodies to buy, but Kate restrained herself.  It was fun to visit with all the quilters, many of whom already had the Multi-Frame and stopped by to give progress reports and encouragement.  It is good to be back in Montana; thank goodness most of the ice has melted out of the driveway.

John is still back East, teaching in North Carolina.  Here is a link to a very nice, informative report on the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Conference, lots of beautiful pictures of winners.  Take a look, there is a little picture of John at work toward the end of the article.  Meryl Ann Butler's Report

We have another show soon so time to unpack, repack and reload.  Pennsylvania here we come!

Brooke