The Sweetest Place On Earth

Hershey, PA is named The Sweetest Place On Earth and oh boy, is it ever.  Milton Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company and a town sprouted up around it.  Herhsey chocolate has certainly become an American staple and thanks to its success Milton Hershey became a great philanthropist.  Hershey and his wife couldn't have children so they used their financial success to open the Hershey Industrial School for lower income children  and then founded the Hershey Foundation that also supports  the Hershey Museum and Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Theatre and the Hershey Community Archives.

I was contacted in February and invited to teach at Quilt Odyssey.  Over the course of 18 years, it has become a summertime mecca for quilters with an amazing quilt exhibition, vendor mall, and classes by nationally known teachers.  Although I would only have 2 1/2 days at home after MAQ, it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down.  The entire show takes place at The Hershey Lodge.  Upon check-in they give you a Hershey Bar!

There is the Hershey imprint everywhere.  My room was in the 5th Avenue wing.  I passed through the York Peppermint Patty rooms to get there.  And what was on the wallpaper in the bathroom?

I had my own classroom, since I was teaching 3 classes over the course of 3 days.  AND in each classroom there was a basket of - drumroll please:

Hershey Miniatures! for the class to share.  It was refilled EVERY day.  To be honest, I had to move it.  They initially had it located on my table in front of the room and it was just too easy to grab one every time I walked by.

They have a variety of chocolate delicacies in all of the restaurants.  I heard the chocolate martinis were yummy delicious.  One day, for an afternoon snack, I had an iced chocolate bar latte.  I'm glad it was my last day, because I could have had one of those daily.  I'm glad that it was a hike between my hotel room and my classroom.

I had 3 great classes with creative and enthusiastic students.

Day #1 was Sewing with Silk and it's all about how to quilt with dupioni silk.  These were my samples.  Each student had a colorway choice and received a kit with the silk, stabilizer and instructions.  They were then allowed to swap colors with my box full of fat quarters.
Here's a student sample.  (BTW, I had 2 extra kits and they are now in my etsy shop.)

Day #2 was my Folding Fiber Book class.  At the beginning of the class, I shared my samples and then each student shared the story that they wanted as the topic of their book.  I was blown away by their stories.  They each worked on their pages.

Day #3 was a full class for my Mini Mosaic Quilts.  This was the calm before the excitement.

The students were given 6 different patterns and I always take a poll to see the most popular and the ones that are not so popular.  The Flowers and Tiny Town were the winners.  The Pear was the loser.
If you're interested in checking out the patterns, you can visit my etsy shop by clicking HERE>

Here are some of the works in progress:

I was going to leave right after class on Saturday, but my students convinced me that I had to stay for the Saturday night Show & Tell.

Mimi Dietrich and Norma Campbell were the very funny MCs.  The evening started with the teachers parading into the full ballroom throwing fat quarters into the crowd. After thank yous to the staff and the head honcho, aka Missy Molino,  students shared their projects in various states of finish.

If you haven't been, put it on your "must see" list for next summer.  I hope I am invited back and then maybe I'll see you there!

I Love My Students

I never thought I would end up being a teacher.  I went to school to be a Chemist and spent a bunch of years in a lab, making things.  I always loved to make things, whether in a lab or out of clay or out of fabric.  I never thought I would end up sharing what I had learned with others.

 

In 1999 I started teaching in a lovely quilt shop, called The Country Quilt Shop, in Pennsylvania.  My first class was Landscape 101 using patterns I had designed.  I learned so much about teaching in those first few years.  Teaching a hands on class like quilting, there is a balance when demonstrating one step at a time.  Do you wait for everyone to finish a certain step or teach at the pace of the faster student? Do you teach with a single voice or learn to teach using various voices because students learn in different ways? These are issues I didn't have a clue about until I stood in front of a classroom.  Sometimes I think I should give back the fees to all my initial students! I learned so much from them about teaching and about quilting. 

 

If you asked my students now, I think they would say I am a pretty good teacher. 

 I got my education on my feet. 

 

Sometimes, as a designer, I get lost in the trees.  Students help you to see the forest as well. 

I was teaching my basic Sewing with Silk workshop.  I designed the class to create a wall hanging with a choice of 3 different colorways. I had also used 3 different settings - all half square triangles.

So why was I surprised when a class full of creative women, decided to use their own arrangements  and shapes for their HSTs? There were square table toppers and elongated table runners as well as my original wall hanging.

 

So during my stay in Key West, only working with silk, I took their lead and made a new layout using a bunch of HSTs that I had put aside. I loved how it turned out.  Instead of binding, I used a facing to finish it. You can find my favorite method, by Jeri Riggs, HERE.

 

 

Giving Thanks – Quilters’ Blog Hop Party

It's getting close to Thanksgiving.  It's a great time for me to thank all of you who visit my blog on a regular basis and those that are new readers.  It has been such a joy for me to share my quilting comings and goings in what has become a career, and of course to share my bicycling exploits too.  I live my life wearing quilting colored glasses.  I also have a website that has a gallery with lots of my quilts which are not quite traditional and lean more towards art:  www.CherylLynchQuilts.com

 

I have decided to join Michele Foster of the Quilting Gallery  and lots of other bloggers on this blog hop giveaway.  Click here  to see what other bloggers are participating with wonderful giveaways. All the links will be posted on Thursday afternoon.

 

Recently, I have been doing a lot of quilting with dupioni silk. 

 

It is an exciting, beautiful and elegant fabric. 

It can be used with a traditional pattern or in something more contemporary. 

 

I decided it would be fun to share this fabric that is hard to find and some patterns,

so I opened an etsy shop, called Sewing With Silk.  I think I have some really good prices and I just added a bunch of new stuff.

 

For my giveaway, visit my etsy shop. 

 

I have put together these fun kits called Trios.  They contain 3 fat quarters of silk, stabilizer and my tips for sewing with silk. In your comment, tell me which Trio you would choose if you were the winner. Make sure you come back if you don't include your e-mail.

 

Don't forget to come back on the 26th to see if you have won

or sign up with Bloglovin' if you want to be notified. 

 

 

The Enchantment of Silk

I tend to go through phases with interests, with food and even with quilting.  I have been in a dupioni silk phase for a while.  It is a beautiful, elegant fabric albeit with certain challenges.  The biggest challenge is that it frays even if you just look at it cross eyed. 

 

Dupioni is a coarsely woven fabric that should not be displayed in the sun. Since it is woven there is no right or wrong side.   Washing it removes the sheen and the sizing.  It needs to be stabilized for piecing.   A light weight woven  fusible stabilizer is the best. 

 

This is my most recent silk piece.

It is not quilted yet.

This is one of my most favorite silk pieces:

It's called "Roundabout".

 

I have been teaching dupioni silk workshops with great success this year. 

 In one day, quilters have learned how to tame this difficult but beautiful fabric.  Part of the beauty of it is the way it changes color depending on how the light hits it 

and the slubs add a wonderful texture.

 

I decided to design kits to share this amazing fabric.  The kits use various techniques to learn how to manipulate it.  I've named them Silk Samplings.  They measure 12"x12" and each kit contains everything needed to finish the wallhanging except for the thread and a sewing machine. Right now there are 3 different designs and they are available in a limited amount in my etsy Shop called Sewing With Silk.

 

 "Chrysanthemum"
This kit includes the dupioni silk, cotton for the backing and the binding, interfacing for stabilizing the silk, paper backed fusible web, batting, the pink velvet for the center
and the pattern with directions.  It focuses on fusible applique.

 "Hardware"
This kit includes the dupioni silk, interfacing for stabilizing the silk, cotton for the backing and binding, batting, paper backed fusible web, all the embellishments and the pattern and directions.
The focus of this kit is piecing and embellishing.

"Whimsy"

The kit includes the dupioni silk, interfacing for stabilizing the silk, batting, cotton for the backing and the batting, buttons, paperbacked fusible web, the pattern and directions.  The focus is on creating fusible applique from the silk. 

 

They all can be finished in a day and are a great entrée into the world of silk and would make a beautiful gift.  Since this is an initial offering and there is a very limited amount, act fast. But, contact me if they are sold out before you get a chance to purchase the one of your choice. I will be making up more kits depending on demand.

 

My shop: www.etsy.com/shop/SewingWithSilk

 

 

 

Pomegranates

Yesterday I was in a bit of a punky mood.  Was it because it was raining and grey here in Eastern Pennsylvania or am I having Henry withdrawal?  To lift my mood, I re-visited the photos I took during a recent workshop.  The workshop was titled "Chic Shin".

I designed it especially for this group based on my Embellished Beauties,

 using lots of silk, beads, sequins and buttons.

Shin is a Hebrew letter that stands for  many wonderful aspects of Judaism.

 

This was the biennial convention of the Pomegranate Guild for Jewish Needlework and this year they met in Philadelphia, so I was very lucky to be invited to teach. The guild is named after the pomegranate because it is a significant symbol with a rich history in ancient Jewish culture.  In addition tradition says that there are 613 seeds inside of one and this corresponds to  613 good deeds, or commandments.  (I don't know of anyone who has counted!)This beautiful fruit also grows abundantly in Israel.  Many of the ladies wore beautiful pomegranate jewelry.

 

I had a great group of ladies in my class that came from all over the country - California, New Mexico, Long Island and of course lots from NJ and PA. Here we all are at the closing dinner:

It looks like they all had a good time.

I met a bunch of quilters that I have gotten to know on-line.

Diane, Cathy and Me

 

Plus I got to meet Lauree Feigenbaum.

Lauree is the owner of 1-800-Dreidel. 

It's an on-line site that carries lots of Judaic crafts and fabric, including my patterns.

 I have done business with her for over 10 years and we had never met.

 

I provided kits for the project and I have a few extra. It includes all of the materials along with directions.  If you would like one, visit my etsy shop called "Sewing With Silk".  

 Hurry, because I don't think they will last very long.

You can find my book there also that has a lot of other embellished projects. 

 

Rumor has it that the next meeting in 2015 will be in Arizona.

Keep tuned.

 

Wednesday's Wanderings #34 - Sewing with Silk

I have spent the summer following the Silk Road.  It's not the Silk Road from days gone by that  was the trade route for Chinese silk across parts of Europe, the Far East and parts of Africa.

 My Silk Road is my journey of experimentation with dupioni silk.

I just finished this top with the bi-colored leaves. It's made completely from silk dupioni.  In the photo it is basted and I'm waiting for an aha moment to figure out how I am going to quilt it.  It measures 30"Hx38"W.  The green scallop in the border is done using jumbo rick rack. 

 I will probably embellish the rick rack with beads or buttons.

Over the past 6 months, I have been making these 12" x 12" pieces out of silk. 

 I have tried different techniques to really learn how to work

with this gorgeous but somewhat tricky fabric.

The scrolls were added from the reverse side with a beautiful raspberry decorative thread.

 These have become some of my favorite colors. 

 I found the anodized washers on the Internet.

The guys at the hardware store thought I was a bit kooky.

  (I'm used to that.)

This zinnia interpretation has the luscious pink velvet as its center.

This is my WW. The center leaf was a practice piece

 and for the rest I used scraps of silk left over from the quilts I have been creating.

I want to make one more dupioni quilt from the scraps I have left over.  It's on my summer "to do" list.  I hope I don't run out of time.

I have added more silk fat quarter kits to my etsy shop.  It's a nice selection for experimenting.

Click here:  Sewing With Silk

The 1356 Mile Project

When going on vacation, the first thing I plan is what I am going to bring for handwork.  Sometimes it is an easy decision. Other times I have to come up with a new project.  I gather  all my materials along with my designs, thread, needlecase and scissors and put them in a zip lock baggie. It becomes difficult at this point to not start the project until I am on the road.  It is especially difficult if I am very excited about it.

The road trip that I just completed was from Pennsylvania to Key West, Florida - a total of 1356 miles.  We planned it over 2 1/2 days so that we could have a short visit with my sister-in-law. There was a bonus while visiting my SIL.  She asked if I would like to go see this house covered with lights.  I don't think she knew how much this Jewish girl loves Christmas lights - the more, the better.  Check this out:

The whole yard was fenced in.  Families were waiting for them to open the gates so the children could wander around.  We didn't wait.

For my project, I prepared all the applique and fused it to the background. It measures about 16"x20".

 I used 3 strands of floss to stitch everything down through only a piece of low loft batting.

I am not going to quilt it since I am placing it under a piece of glass.  I like using the batting to prevent my stitches from puckering.

 The project lasted me 2 days. I did run out of a tiny little bit of cotton floss. 

I love my little country houses.  It will be placed in a glass topped night table in the Poconos.  But I won't be able to do that until after the winter.  I'll keep you posted.

 Today is also the last day of The Blog Hop Party. I thank everyone for taking the time to visit my blog and my etsy shop to look at my dupioni silk.  I have used a random number generator to pick the winner.  The winner of a trio of silk is: Ariane.  Congratulations!  Your hydrangea colorway will be on its way as soon as I get your address.  Look for my e-mail. 

Also, to celebrate that I surpassed 200 Followers - yippeee! - I have chosen another winner that will receive one of my dupioni silk collections.  The winner is:  Peggy.  Congratulations and what fun this has been.

You Have To Be In It To Win It!

The BLOG HOP PARTY begins on Saturday, Dec 10th. It is going to be huge with lots of give-aways.   I am posting this today to make sure that my blog makes the cut and is included in the tour.

Welcome to everyone that is visiting my blog for the first time as you participate in the  biggest Blog Hop Give-away that I can remember.  My blog focuses on quilting.  I share techniques, inspiration and lots of photos.  My work is eclectic and ranges from traditional to pictorial to modern to artsy.  It runs the gamut. I love sharing what I have learned over the years.  As I am writing this you have the opportunity to win something from over 250 blogs.  That is huge. 

And to all of my regular readers, I hope you take some time to visit some cool new blogs and win something. (Just remember, I want a finders fee.  LOL) You need to visit the Quilting Gallery for the links to all the blogs.

To celebrate the opening of my etsy shop, Sewing With Silk, I will be giving away a trio of silk dupioni fat quarters.  The trio includes my tips for working with silk as well as fusible stabilizer to "tame" the silk.

To be eligible to win the silk  give away you must:
1.  Become a Follower or be a Follower
2.  Visit my etsy shop and choose your favorite dupioni trio colorway
3.  Leave a comment, making sure you include your trio color choice and an e-mail address where I can contact you if you win.

A random winner will be chosen on Saturday, Dec 17th.

Join the fun and visit lots of blogs.  Maybe you'll win something.  Good luck.

No Shopping For Me

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Here on the east coast of Pennsylvania, the weather has been just beautiful and unseasonably warm.  So it has been easy to walk off that dinner.  I have been busy in the Studio working on some holiday gifts and will share my projects soon.

I am so thrilled that my etsy shop,  Sewing With Silk, has been featured by Sew Cal Gal on her blog in the Fun Friday category.  You can still go visit and have the opportunity to win some free silk!

Big News

I have gotten  so many e-mails asking me about my silk projects.  The questions range from how to quilt with silk to where I buy my silk. I  have shared my tips for sewing with dupioni a few posts ago.  Now I want to make the silk available in quilter friendly amounts, aka fat quarters.

So on this auspicious day of 11-11-11, I am so excited to be opening an etsy shop, called Sewing with Silk.  You can buy silk dupioni there in assortments with or without directions.  You can use it to recreate my quilts or just to add a bit of elegance to one of your projects. 

Click to come visit:     Sewing with Silk