MAQ Recap

It's been almost 2 weeks since MAQ.  That doesn't mean that I've put everything away, but it has given me time to reflect and appreciate.  I just never thought that I would be in the position to do what I love as a job, to have women sign up to take classes with me, to reconnect with lots of people who have taken my classes in the past and to spend time with other professionals in the field that I am so lucky to call my friends.  So that's a summary of my time  at Mt Saint Mary's University with the Mid Appalachian Quilters.
I taught 3 classes - Silk Curvalicious Skinny Quilt, my new Medallion Mosaic and Mini Mosaic Quilts.  Sometimes I remember to take photos, but there is also Show & Tell on Saturday night to catch a view.
Day #1 Class : Silk Curvalicious Skinny Quilt

 Show & Tell

Day #2  Medallion Mosaic

This was its maiden voyage.  I was so excited to share it and more importantly to get feedback from my students.  Everyone made their own fabric choices and supplied their own fabric. I was curious to see what they chose. There was a minor problem that day. WE HAD NO AIR CONDITIONING!  But how could you be tooooo miserable when you're having so much fun?

Day #3  Mini Mosaic Quilts
Our new classroom.  I was moved to another building so that my classroom had A/C on Sunday.  Thanks to everyone who helped schlep all my stuff on Saturday night and made sure I was set up for the next day.

 Tiny Town transformed into a mountainside village!

Black eyed Susans

The dates for next year are July 12-14.  Go to www.MAQonline.org to sign up for info.

PS  The Torah covers for the synagogue in Germany are on their way.  According to tracking, they are in customs in Germany.  As soon as they receive them, I will share the rest of my process and the final photos.  Stay tuned.

Give Thanks

I just finished unpacking my car after teaching at MAQ and

prepping my classes to teach at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA that start on Thursday.  I even get to stay at the Hershey Lodge overnight.  I hear they leave a piece of chocolate on your pillow! I have 2 requests for speaking engagements in my inbox.  One to visit Indiana and the other is a quilt guild in Virginia.

Who would think at 62 that this would be my best, most wonderful year ever, as a quilter.  I owe it all to everyone who reads my blog, subscriibes to my newsletter, follows me on IG and FB, comes to my classes, books me to come to theieer guild, hires me to teach and buys my quilty stuff.  You have given me this life.  Don't get me wrong, I've worked really hard to get here. but I love and appreciate every single minute.  THANK YOU!

I started riding my bicycle again, so I brought it with me to Emmitsburg, MD.  My morning ride was just beautiful and such a great way to  start the day. I saw lllamas and horses, ponies and an amazing sunrise.

Whenever I got a little nervous about getting lost, I would look up to find the "Golden Mary" on the Mt St Mary's University campus.

A cafeteria full of quilters with lots of friendly faces:

I taught 3 classes at MAQ - Fishalicious, Choose To Fuse and Mini Mosaic Quilts and had a great group of students.  Here are a bunch of the photos that I remembered to take.

Since I'm not a gadget person, I always enjoy seeing the latest gadgets that my students bring.  This was an 18mm rotary cutter that slipped over the finger.  It cut like a charm.  We all started searching for it on our phones without any luck.  So it's either super new or has been discontinued.  Have you seen it? 

Here's an undersea backgound using fish fabric.  Fun!

" Choose To Fuse" is a fusible machine applique class featuring 7 different ways to applique using fusible web, including a fusible binding and a Snippet style nest.

And on Sunday, was my Mini Mosaic class.  I am continually amazed at how much people LOVE this class.  We're all crazy using tweezers to place 3/8" squares of fabric, and loving it.  Three of my students actually finished the mosaic in class!

If you would like to received my newsletter with lots of fun quilty stuff that also shares my upcoming teaching venues, CLICK HERE.

If you'd like to purchase a Mini Mosiac Quilt Kit,

CLICK  HERE.

Quilt Camp

Have you heard of MAQ? If you're a regular reader of my blog, you probably have. For those of you who have not, it's 3 days of quilting immersion where quilters can make friends with people who speak the same language and renew that friendship each summer. I just returned yesterday. This year there were 300 quilters who had the choice of 60 some odd classes offered by 20 different teachers.

Some people call it Quilt Camp. We sleep in the dorms at Mount St Marys University in Emmitsburg, MD, located not far from Gettysburg, PA. We eat in the cafeteria where I love to table hop. Sometimes I eat with my students. Sometimes I eat with other teachers and sometimes I eat with my friends from my quilt guild.

There are evening programs too. On Friday night, we are introduced to the wonderful volunteers who put on this 3 day quiltaganza. There are vendors, door prizes and a speaker.

This year I taught a silk applique class, the Curvalicious backpack class and fabric dyeing. I had the most wonderful students. I love the bond we form spending so much time together. Here are some photos from my classes.

The irons are set up outside of the classrooms for all to share.

Some students brought items from home to dye.

Here's a reincarnated pair of gardening sneakers.

And a t shirt.

Saturday night is Show N Tell. Students show what they have made during their first two days of classes.

The teachers present what classes they might teach next year.

It's such a great time. You should consider joining us next year. I promise that you will leave with new friends. You can check it out at www.MAQonline.org.

 

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Fabric Dyeing My Way

I have been juggling many, many quilty things. Soon I'll be able to share a magazine article about my mosaics and some news about teaching on a quilting cruise. I'm also excited and nervous at the same time about a trip to Houston at the end of October to exhibit Curvalicious at the largest wholesale quilt industry show. Right now I am working on prepping for a 3 day educational seminar in MD that starts on Friday. Oy!

On Sunday, I have a full class for my Fabric dyeing workshop. This is what it looked like as I was putting the kits together.

Most of the fabric in the kit is PFD cotton (Prepared for dyeing). That means there is no sizing or any additives that would interfere with the chemistry of dyeing. The black and white fabric is off the bolt from a fabric store. It needs to be scoured before it is dyed to remove any additives.

Yesterday was a dry run. Here's my dyeing set up. I used 3 different dyes from the red, yellow and blue family and combined them in varying amounts. It's important to be very organized. However, I'm quite messy, so I try to remember to wear gloves.

 

I use sandwich baggies to add the different combos of dyes to the fabric. I let them batch (sit) overnight.

Today was washout day. After rinsing until the water ran clear, everything went into the washer and then the dryer.

 

Here's a beautiful stack of fabric. I love all these colors.

I used a combination of PFD fabric, white on white prints and black and white prints. This is what it looks like when I divided them into the three piles.

PFD

White on white

 

And the black and white prints.

This was one of the black and white fabrics I started with.

I love the way this fabric dyed. I haven't seen any other fabric dyers starting with the white on white or any B&W fabrics. I love the results and think they are so interesting. I have been experimenting like this for a lot of years. It's fabric dyeing, my way.

My workshop is this coming Sunday. I think my students are going to love it.

 

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