Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Lancaster Quilt Show Wrap-Up

Open for business. 
 This is a photo of my booth at the Lancaster quilt show at The Continental. 
The nervousness disappeared as soon as I started my demos and I had a blast! It was 4 days of sharing Curvalicious and how it came to be.  The reception was over the top.  People were surprised at the process.  My favorite moments were when I saw the light bulb moments and the oohs and ahs when I shared the batik Curvalicious quilt top.  But, my absolute best was when a quilter came by at the end of the demo, declaring it was too difficult for her and the other quilters told her in no uncertain terms that it was not difficult at all.  They got it!  131 quilters are converts.  Thank you.  Thank you for believing in my product.

I met so many new people and I have to say that quilters are the best.  You asked about my teaching schedule and that prompted me to get myself organized.  Click on the header above if you're interested in taking a class or hearing a lecture.  I also have to thank all the people I know that stopped by to cheer me on.  I couldn't always chat, but our eyes met and I knew you were there. 
And of course I couldn't do it without my helpers. 
 I love you all.


What's next for Curvalicious after this debut? Stay tuned!




Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Ready, Set, Go!

Here's my booth at The Continental on Rte 30 in Lancaster.
I set it up today and Weds morning I will be "open for business" with lots of help from my friends. Thanks goodness for friends, I don't know what I would do without them.
 This side of the booth looks pretty good.
This side is missing something.  It's missing quilts! Five quilts to be exact.  
You can be sure they will be filling those empty spaces early tomorrow morning.
I'll be demoing Curvalicious hourly.

I was so nervous before the booth was set up.  This is my first quilt show and I don't know what to expect.  So, the question is why do I keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone? I know lots of other people do this too.  Why? Can't I just be happy staying in my studio creating quilts? 

Some days I get this huge burst of confidence and commit to participating in a new project.  Then as the time is near, my confidence starts to evaporate and I start to panic. I get nervous and stressed out and start to curse.... a lot.  How did I get myself in this situation? 

Please pardon my last minute jitters.  As they say in show biz, as soon as the curtain goes up, I'll be fine.
Then I'll end up putting myself in this stressful position again.  Why?

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Juggling

I just can't believe that I have been home less than a week  and I am back in the rat race, but as my friend Terry says, "It's all good!".  And it is, except that we had 8" of snow.  If I hadn't spent a day with my grandson Henry, I would be so annoyed, but it was so worth it to be home and see him and the huge smile he had for me. 

Last night at my synagogue, we had Art Shabbat.  There was an exhibit of art by temple members who wanted to participate. The exhibit only lasted 3 hours.  We were allowed to show three pieces and I chose these small framed ones.

This is from a series of small quilts I made titled "Leaving Home".  It was inspired by loving and letting my kids head out into the world on their own.
"Chic Shin" was a workshop I taught at a conference for the Pomegranate Guild of Jewish Needlearts.  
I backed it with a beautiful gold and white fabric.  The shadowbox frame was purchased from a second shop.  I spray painted it gold and added the black dots.  It made this piece look so elegant.  
The exciting news is that it was purchased!

I'm sure you will be able to tell what inspired my third piece.
Key West!
It was a postcard size piece that I mounted inside a frame.  
It was a white frame that I painted turquoise and embellished with buttons.

The next item on my agenda is the Lancaster Quilt Show.  I have a booth at The Continental Inn on Rte 30 across the street from The Host Farms.  I decided to take the plunge and share Curvalicious with a wider audience. I am scared $$tless, but I know I need to do this.  In addition to the tool I will have lots of dupioni silk and kits.  It starts on Wednesday and lasts until Saturday.  It's their 25th year, so they are having a huge raffle basket with lots of vendors.  There's a shuttle bus that goes to the AQS show downtown.   I have some great friends that will be helping me out.  
So if you're in the area, come by and say hello.  I will need your support.

Today was the opening of registration for the summer quilt symposium where I teach in Maryland. It's a great 3 days of hanging out with quilters, learning and laughing and eating, although quite frankly the food leaves a lot to be desired!  I thought I would share the three classes I am teaching:
Easy pieced dupioni silk lone star on Friday

My Curvalicious Pillows

Sunday is Beachalicious day.  I found out today that this class is almost full and registration just started! Excuse me while I jump up and down. I'm not used to being the popular girl.

MAQ is really the best value around.  Check out their website: