Inspiration Is Everywhere

While in Daytona for the quilt show, we rented a house. This was really for Bailey, because if we left her alone in a hotel room, she would either bark or cry. It was only 10 minutes from the convention center. There are many bridges over the water to get there and we would drive over one from the International Raceway Rd. I noticed that there were mosaic aquatic scenes interspersed along the bridge. So we left early one morning before the show opened, so I could walk across the bridge and take some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are perfect to study the placement of the tiles. These tiles are glass and I have plenty of inspiration for my next Fabric a Mosaic quilt.

 

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Mosaic Mania

I had the pleasure of sharing my Fabric Mosaic technique with 21 adventuresome women at the Daytona show. It's a brand new type of quilting that is unique and fun.

This was the sign outside my classroom door. I felt like I entered the big league.

The facilities at the Ocean Center Convention Center were top notch. The classrooms even had a section of wall to which I could pin my samples. It was perfect for my students to really inspect them.

 

The great news is they all loved the technique. They were given 5 different patterns to use and all of them were chosen. My little village, the most difficult, was the most popular. Many of them are determined to do them all - eventually. I really enjoy seeing how some of the quilters chose alternate fabric choices.

One student finished hers!

This is a 3 hour workshop and would be a perfect companion to a lecture about quilt inspiration from my travels. If your guild may be interested, have them contact me.

The show has been amazingly well attended with buses and buses of quilters arriving daily. They are all excited to have this caliber of show in this area of Florida and are not afraid to shop. I'll share more about the show in another post. It's time to get easy for another show day.

 

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Almost Ready

I realize I have not blogged for a while. I am so frustrated by lack of reliable internet. It's been al,post 2 months and it is a daily challenge. So instead of banding my head against the wall, I have been plugging away getting ready for the Daytona show. The dates are Feb 24-27. I think my booth # is 1507. If you're in the area, stop by. There's still room in my classes. Can you tell that I'm excited? I am ready to meet all those Florida quilters.

Here is a giraffe that I designed as a step out for my fabric mosaic class. I created it in both realistic colors and in the brightest colors. These pieces are not quilted yet. Do you have a preference?

Lots of people signed up for my class. I am so excited that so many quilters want to learn my technique. I have a student who took a Curvalicious class from me in Lewes, De, then stopped to see me in my booth in Syracuse and is now taking this class in Daytona! How amazing is that?

Wednesday night, 2/24, is the All Star Review. Faculty have 10 minutes to share a technique. I named mine "Curved Illusions". I am presenting 4 quilts illustrating how to include curves in a quilt. I finished this one yesterday and since it was made with reverse appliqué, I'm leaving it unfinished so everyone can see the back. It's got a very modern feel to it and I'm looking forward to quilting all that negative space.

We had some friends visit us from Canada yesterday. One of the must dos for visitors is the Sunset Celebration. There wasn't much f a sunset, because it has been very overcast. There are lots of street performers and a crazy cat man, but my favorite was this pig. Cute?

 

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Check Off Another One

I have a long list of projects to finish before my trip to the Daytona Quilt Show towards the end of February. Today I finished one of them. There is an evening program called "All Star Review". I am giving a 10 minute presentation, along with a bunch of other instructors. My talk is called " The Illusion of Curves". It's a 4 step presentation.This quilt, "Colorful Spaghetti" is the basic first step in adding curves to a quilt using linear curves.

It's cotton fusible appliqué on white dupioni silk, measuring 34"W x 25"H. As I started to quilt it, I decided to use it as an exercise in free motion quilting. You can see the quilting on the back better than the front because I used white thread on both the top and in the bobbin. Here's the back.

I am always searching for free motion quilting designs. There's a lot of inspiration out there on the net. I have a Pinterest board where I collect them. So I spent a few days searching and quilting. Here's a close up.

 

The biggest problem with Pinterest is that it doesn't always attribute the source of the design, even when it's a "how to". One of the designs that I wanted to try was nesting triangles. I'm not sure how the original quilting was done, but these are the steps that I chose.

 

First zig zag up one side.

When you reach the final triangle, reverse direction to echo it.

Continue echoing

When you have finished filling in the triangles on one side, repeat echoing the triangles on the other side.

I have one more sample quilt to make for my presentation. And if you're interested in attending the "All Star Review", it's Sold Out! That's a first for me, LOL.

But I know there is still room in both my mosaic class and my Baby Curvalicious class. Click HERE to get some details and to register.

 

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First Finish of the Season

Most quilters share their first finish of the year, but my year really begins when I am settled in Key West for the winter months. My first finish was started 2 years ago. I have spent the time since then, maybe not all of that time, trying to figure out if I wanted to add a border. If I bordered the quilt, did I want to add a traditional border or make it out of tiny pieces of fabric like the body. This was how I left it. The hot pink fabric did a nice job of containing it. I was motivated to finish it so I could share it with my students during my class at the American Quilt Society Show at the end of this February in Daytona. It measures 48"W x 38"L.

Some of you may have seen my first attempt at a traditional border.

The dark blue was just too heavy. I unstitched it on the drive down here.
I had to make a visit to the local quilt shop, The Seam Shoppe, at great personal sacrifice, to look for a border fabric. Actually, it's like a homecoming. I love the owner Cindy and her son, Nick. Not only is it a quilt shop, but they also do reupholstery and decorating. They do a lot of reupholstering for hotels, boat owners and homeowners. They do amazing work and sometimes with the oddest shapes.
Cindy helped pick this fabric for my border. I wasn't 100% convinced, but it seemed to be the only choice. After attaching

2 1/2" borders along the edges, I knew I needed to "curvalicious" it. (Pardon my self promoting.) Happiness!!

And here are some close ups.

I love the texture that all the little bits of the different fabrics provide. I've come up with a fun name for this new technique, Confetti Quilting. What do you think?

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Autumn at the Lake

Spending a few days at our place in the mountains. We missed the peak of the foliage colors, but just by a bit. It is still beautiful. 

It rained last night and it's still grey this morning, but it's so cozy with a fire in the fire place. 

The colors make me hungry (actually everything makes me hungry), so I may have to make an apple crumb pie today. 

I shocked my hubby when I didn't pack my sewing machine in the car. I decided to work on my Israel inspired mosaic minis. No machine needed!

I'm teaching it at the AQS show in Daytona Beach, FL in February. I can't tell you how excited I am to be included as an instructor. It has been a goal of mine for years. Im still pinching myself. It is one of two of my classes. I'm also vending at the show, so maybe I'll see some of my Florida friends there.