My Newest Mosaic Art Quilt

40" x 50"

I have fnished my newest mosaic quilt. I could have named it many things, but I've decided to keep it simple and call it Whitney Lake.  We have had a vacation home on Whitney Lake in Hawley, PA for 30 years.  There is so much Lynch  history there.  While our boys were growing up we spent a good part of the summers there.  There was swimming and fishing and blueberry picking.  There were video games on the rainy days and  a gang of boys that hung together and sometimes got into a little mischief. We spent Thanksgiving there and President's weekend ice fishing on the frozen lake.  I have wonderful memories of quilt retreats with girlfriends and students.  There was a little lull in our visits as the boys got interested in sports and headed off to college.  Fortunately, they both dated girls who loved it there too and both of them  married those girls lakeside. So it's a place with lots of memories.

I started the quilt 2 years ago using lots of photos to "stitch" together and construct the scene and thought often about those two empty chairs on our dock.  It has been a long road.  There was a 1 year hiatus where I just couldn't work on it.  Then when I finally returned to working on it I  had some issues with the lake water and contrast.  (Oh contrast, my nemesis!)
Here's an overview:

First the left side and then the right.

And now it's done, and it feels good!

I did debate wether to use a Curvalicious border since all of my mosaic art quilts include it for the border. So I scallopped the border this time and it's just perfect. My next post will have details of the  quilting and borders. You can purchase Curvalicious HERE and watch how to use Curvalicious to create an amazing border HERE:

"Whitney Lake"has now entered the inner circle of my most favorite quilts.
And what would a special quilt be without a special label.

It's a great time to finish a special quilt.

Grieving with Gratitude

I love my Virginia quilters!

This past weekend was the Quilters Unlimited show in Chantilly, VA.  I have done this show for 3 years.  It's really a wonderful show at a huge venue with lots of great quilts and many vendors. It's organized by a consortium of VA guilds and each guild has a different responsibility.  It's one of my best shows.  And thanls to this show, I have been invited to many of the guilds as a presenter.  

The invitation to be a vendor arrived while Don was pretty sick.  I didn't sign up.  I wasn't sure about the future.  After he passed away, I received an email from the Vendor Coordinators, Carla and Ellen, with their sympathies and gently asking if I was planning on returning.  I told them I just wasn't sure.  In their final email, they told me that if I didn't decide by a certain date, that I couldn't have "my spot", but they would always find a place for me no matter when I decided.  Their kindness and consideration helped me to decide to take the plunge and return for 2019, and I am so glad that I did.  As I wrote in my first sentence "I love my VA quilters".

They came and they came and they came.  Some came to give me a big hug.  Some approached and quietly told me how sorry they were.  Some brought actual finished projects from my workshops.  Some came to show me photos of their finished projects.  And some came to tell me to make sure I saw the Mini Mosaic quilts from my workshops in their show.  I was overwhelmed with kindness.  My heart was bursting. Some of them had meant Don at a quilt show, but they all knew how important he was to me and my success. To say that I was overjoyed that I had decided to come was an overstatement. 

Don used to come with me to all my shows.  I would demonstrate either Curvalicious or the Mini Mosaics and he was the cash register.  We made a great team, because I was interested in sharing my quilting and  he  was happy that I was making money doing it.  He even attended the shows when he was on the portable oxygen.  He was reticent and embarrassed but I told him that anyone who walked away or judged him because of that, I wouldn't want as my customer. It worked and he came.  But after a while he just didn't have the strength. I was sad not to have him with me, but I had some wonderful friends that came and helped me. Here's something that not many people know.  He was able to monitor my sales as I swiped credit cards.  He knew when my first sale was, when it was slow, what was selling and how I was doing by logging onto my Paypal account.  It made him feel connected and part of the action.  We would debrief every night and he would always say that he wished he could be with me.  

So instead of having my honey with me, I did the next best thing.

 She kept me company underneath my table resting on one of my quilts.

It's Monday, Again

I wish I was posting this on Monday, but if you check your calendar, you know it's not!  I was in Atlanta for the biennial Pomegranate Convention.  I was busy and had trouble  getting a good Internet connection.  So you're thinking, they have a convention about pomegranates? " Does it include eating? Does it include drinking? Or is there hand creme?  If it does I want to go!"

It's about needlework!! The Pomegranate Guild of Jewish Needlework has a biennial convention.  This year it was in Atlanta. It's empowering and enlightening to be together with such talented Jewish women from all over the U.S. and Canada.   I was honored to be teaching 3 workshops.  

My first class was called "Curvalicious 2 Ways".  Using Curvalicious they had the option of making one of 2 tablerunners. 

We had a full class and were iron challenged.  If you have been in any of my Curvalicious workshops, you know that they are very ironing intensive and irons pull a lot of current. I've blown the circuit at many venues and now I can add Le Meridien to the list.  That conference room can handle an unlimited amount of laptops, projectors, coffee pots, etc, but only TWO irons!  Quilters are resourceful and we always persevere. We used the outlet in the hallway and  one of my students even went up to her room to iron.

I love it when a student follows her own voice.  Saraj, did her own thing.  She used some Jennifer Sampou fabric that isn't even available in quilt shops yet.  

The next class was a dupioni silk pomegranate applique block.

I provided a kit and was surprised that most of the women in my class were not quilters and had never done fusible applique!  This was a lot to teach in 3 hours, and I had no time to take any photos, but believe me when I say that they all surprised me and did a great job. 

My final class was my Mini Mosaic Quilts.  We had a really packed house full of women that were so happy to be there.  It is so rewarding to teach this.  whenever I teach this workshop, the participants have a choice of 5 patterns.

I was not surprised that most of them chose to do the pomegranate.  Usually I have a pretty even split.

 Everyone was having so much fun, that sometimes I had a hard time sharing my tips!

This group of ladies did not want to stop!  Look at the smiles on their faces.

Two of the women in the class did not sew and did not want to finish the mosaic as a mini quilt. They didn't even want  to finish the entire piece.   I was challenged to help them finish it in an alternate manner.  I have to say I stressed quite a bit because I did not want their piece to be ruined with our experimentation.  But voila! It worked.  Maybe we've come up with a new way to make suncathers.

I had a wonderful time in Atlanta.  I walked away with so many new friends.  Some of them were Internet friends and other were brand new.  For more info about the Pomegranate Guild and to find out if there is a chapter near you visit their website.  I'm looking forward to the 2019 Convention in Calgary.  

The Mini Mosaic kits will be available for sale soon in my Etsy shop.  Make sure you sign up for my newsletter HERE, to be notified.  There will also be an instructional video.  I can't wait to share!

It's Monday, Again

It felt so good to sleep in my own bed last night after arriving home from the BIG quilt show in Paducah. There are two not to miss in a lifetime quilt shows in the US.  One is Paducah and the other is located in Houston.  When I was asked if I would like to have a booth at Paducah to sell Curvalicious, I said yes without hesitation.  Then I found out my spot was located not in the Convention Center, but in The Pavilion, affectionately known as The Bubble.  Paducah was a whirlwind of activity.  The entire city supports this show.  As a vendor in The Bubble, my view of the show was limited.

But, it turned out The Bubble was a great place to be.  There were lots of other vendors, easy parking and a great exhibit of Victoria Findlay Wolfe's quilts.

This is a quilt she called "The Beast".  I needed to be in the photo so that you could see the scale.  It measures 9' x 30' and is really called "A Garden For All Seasons".  I saw a photo of her on Instagram stitching the binding on by hand!

The nice thing about being located in The Bubble was that there was lots of light.  I never order electricity because it costs beaucoup bucks, so I don't have electrical lighting.  This natural lighting was the best!

So The Bubble became my entire world during the length of the show. 

The crowds were crazy at some times during the day.

Whenever I am vending, I try to get to my booth early before the show opens so I can walk around and see what the other vendors have, maybe do a little shopping and to see some quilts on exhibit.

The city of Paducah is quite artsy and they really support the quilt show.  We rented a house to stay in to accommodate my travel companion, aka Bailey, so I was able to see parts of the city while driving back and forth to the show. Here is a view of my visit from the passenger seat of my car.

Paducah had Pop Up Shops  before they became the current rage. Lots of empty stores get rented by small independent business owners for the week.  You can walk down many streets and run into a sale or a specialty shop.

It's a wonderful experience and I saw lots of girlfriends shopping together and laughing together and eating together.  There was a group of 9 women who met and came together as Air Force wives.  They meet every year at Paducah and choose a challenge for the next year.  A connection happened in my booth and they decided that Curvalicious would be their challenge for next year.  I was so thrilled and excited. I told them I would supply a prize. 

 I have a year to come up with something special.  I can't wait!

We arrived home on Sunday, and I wish I could chill on Monday, but  on Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be at Byrne Sewing Connection in Doylestown, PA for 2 lectures and a workshop.  I think there are still spaces if you're interested.  215-230-9411

On Friday, I'll be starting a new feature on my blog called "Stitchography".  I'm hoping you will really enjoy it and it might inspire your entrepreneurial spirit.  There will be interviews with various professionals in the fiber industry.  Stay tuned.

A Day With Quilters

Yesterday I spent the day with The Newtown Quilters Guild in Pennsylvania and a great group of quilters. Some came from as far away as Cape May. The day began with my Mini Mosaics workshop with practically a full house.

The participants are given a choice of 5 different patterns. A break for lunch revealed the most popular choice.

Great progress was made.

At night, my presentation was Turning Travel Into Treasures. I shared my quilts and folding fiber books that have been inspired by my travels throughout the years. I shared some crazy stories about trips to Mexico, Israel and Barcelona.

And then Show & Tell:

Thanks ladies for a great day.

 

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