Four Snails

 

Any block that captures the illusion of movement is fascinating to me. The snail’s trail is one case in point.

I have been wanting to make a quilt with this pattern for about ten years. But with me being me, I had to think about it for quite some time and decide what sort of fabrics I wanted to use.

I had also been wanting to make another quilt with a contrast of neutrals and saturated tones. Generally, the assumption is that the neutrals will fade into the background and support the stronger colors. But when I found this tiny Asian neutral print of butterflies and lady bugs, I knew just what I wanted to do: The neutral print will be the focus and the darker colors, the background. A fun twist.

Quilt University Closing

A few days ago, I received a newsletter from Quilt University in my inbox. I have been very busy, so it took me a bit to open it up and read it. Since summer is eminent, it is always fun to see what courses they are offering while I am on holiday from school. One summer I took an online pictorial quilting class from Marilyn Belford, and it was excellent. I have to say that it moved super fast and that I was well aware of the fact that I would not complete a project within the time the course ran, but all the information was downloadable and available to me at any time in the future.

For those of you who are not familiar with Quilt University, it is an online establishment dedicated to teaching and improving the skills of all types of quilters. The classes are broad in range—both traditional and contemporary. There are suggested assignments but no deadlines and no grades. The teacher--and the class as an online forum--are there to assist you through your creative and technical process.

Unfortunately, some good things do not last forever. After reading the newsletter’s insightful opening article by guest writer, Linda Schmidt, I was saddened by the following announcement:

IMPORTANT NOTICE
Quilt U will close at the end of 2013.  Carol's sudden death took the wind out of our sails.  It’s just not the same without her.  The teachers and I agree that an orderly shutdown is the best way to honor her memory.  Because Quilt U normally goes on hiatus for the holidays, the end of the year is a natural stopping place.
It also gives everyone one last chance to take those classes they were putting off for whatever reason.  You won't be able to "catch it next time".  To plan ahead, print out our Calendar and mark what you missed.  Registration opens six weeks before a class starts.  I'll continue to send a monthly newsletter to remind you that a new batch of classes is open for registration.



I don’t know about you, but this left me a little sad. I am wondering if there is any way that the management could reconsider, revise, or adjust.

What do you think?

Their website can be found at: http://www.quiltuniversity.com

Malibu Without Corners

 

It’s hard to believe that I have finished paper piecing the border blocks for Malibu Sunset—that is, everything except the corner blocks. They are certainly trying my patience. It would be nice to blame my troubles on some half-baked pattern maker, but I was the one who drew the pattern. Oh well, it will all get accomplished in time.

Ann Turley Speaks to the Cotton Patch Quilters

On Thursday evening, we were treated to a delightful trunk show by Ann Turley of Fallbrook, California. Ann has been on my radar for many years now. She has judged at several shows where my quilts were competing. They were always large shows, and for one reason or another, my quilts were always assigned to another judge—never Ann. But I always knew that Ann was out there. The thing is, I didn’t know a whole lot about her.

That being said, it was really special to hear her speak at my very own guild.

Besides being a trained judge, Ann is also a creator of lively and excellent art quilts. She also lectures and teaches quilting workshops.

Ann has taken many quilting and art classes herself. She shared many examples of different assignments and challenges which she has completed. The picture below shows Ann explaining her process of modifying an orphan churn dash block into an abstract composition, which is the red and black quilt on the left. Behind Ann are some of her artistic wall hangings. The whimsical giraffes were certainly a favorite of mine.



Ann discussed all kinds of things with us from fusing, layering fabric with a paper collage, composition, and color theory. Can you tell that her favorite color is orange?



Below is a wall hanging that Ann made at one of Ricky Tim’s workshops. We all had fun interpreting the abstract design.



For those of you who could not attend the meeting, you definitely missed a delightful, informed, and humorous speaker.

Riley’s Perfect Heart

Little Cousin Riley had her heart surgery this morning and came through with flying colors. I didn’t think that the hospital would allow her to bring her own quilt, but she certainly did. It kept her nice and cozy. Grandma said she was snoring up a storm.

Dad just posted on Facebook and said she was home, running around like nothing happened. God is so good.


  

Angels for Riley

A big “Thank You” to all the angels who have been praying for my little cousin, Riley. She has recovered so quickly from her respiratory infection that her heart surgery is back on for this Thursday, the 18th. She has received her quilt and has already “bonded” with it. She likes to wrap it around herself.

Godspeed and blessings, Dear Riley.

Amazing Online Fabric Vendor Review: Fabric Shack

Don’t you just love it when a favorite fabric that you have been eyeing goes on sale? Or in this case, an entire line of fabric. And on top of that, the vendor actually sent me an email and alerted me of the fact.

Well, that is exactly what happened to me. Fabric Shack in Waynesville, Ohio had a gorgeous collection of large scale fruit prints and blenders by Timeless Treasures that I had been drooling over for a couple of months. Then lo and behold, they went on sale. Just 4.99 per yard! Lucky me!



Of course, I had to throw in a few batiks, which were also on sale, to round out my order. They were 6.98 per yard.



I have been doing business with Fabric Shack for years and years now and have never been disappointed. Besides having great prices, their service is courteous and prompt. They charge only 1/2 price for Priority Mail shipping in the USA and most foreign countries. I don’t know about you, but shipping charges can certainly be a deal breaker for me, especially in light of the recent increases by the post office and most of the major shipping companies.

When you get a chance, you can take a look at Fabric Shack’s online store here:

http://www.fabricshack.com/

Prayers for Riley

 

It looks we need to call in all the Prayer Warriors. I know that many of my readers certainly qualify.

My little cousin, Riley, whom I wrote about in my previous post is very ill and at Phoenix Children’s Hospital getting chest x-rays. Her heart issue is compromising her immune system, and now it appears that she has either pneumonia or bronchitis on top of the two ear infections that she was already battling. Unfortunately, this means that her heart surgery date has been postponed.

All your prayers and positive thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Butterflies for Riley

 

My little cousin, Riley, is having heart surgery in just over a week from now. She is a mere 15 months old. I hope that this quilt I have made for her will bring comfort and healing. Off it goes to Arizona tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Leaves in the Abstract

 

Cat Potatoes

Two of my professional pets, AKA companion animals, have gained a bit of weight over the winter months. They are essentially house pets that can go out to the garden when I am around to supervise them.

 

Panda doesn’t look too chunky here.

 

 

This is another view. The curly tail is beginning to be reminiscent of another animal that you might recognize.

 

 

The overhead shot tells it all. During spring break, I really encouraged her to go for a walk in the garden every day. Three minutes later she would be back inside, sitting on the couch and WATCHING TELEVISION!  Since I finally got a TV a couple years ago, Panda has definitely turned into a couch potato. She doesn’t care what she watches. Anything is fine. Cooking shows are great.

 

 

Zee agreed to go outside, but you can see how far she got. Big lump.

 

Sixteen More Sunsets

Over the last few days, I have completed sixteen more border blocks for my Malibu Sunset quilt.  With the previous eighteen, that makes thirty-four. Eighteen more to go.