2019 Houston Festival, "Had Me A Blast"

Where to begin?? 

Here is the pack out for classes and other presentations.
Could be worse;)

 Quilt shown is 'Harvest Nights' available here:

http://www.nestlingsbyrobin.com/small-wall-hangs.html

Arriving in Houston and my first time going alone without my 

designer friend, SuznQuilts.

We have been going to Houston together for 10 years.

 Here is the wall of 2019 Houston Festival Faculty 

and I am blown away to be included

 amongst these amazingly talented women!

I am bottom row, 3rd from the right.

 There was a cool wall that had photos of 

classes that still had openings.   

Quilters are visual and being able to see the 

pic right there was helpful.  

I know this because I was listening:)

 It was the Sapphire year and the 

Blue and White exhibit was 

extraordinarily hung and

exhilarating to stand within!
PLUS, I was completely over the moon to be
able to spend the day walking the exhibit
with Pepper Cory!! We have known each other
for years but only have enough time for what I call
"drive by hugs" whenever at Market.
This year schedules allowed for quite a bit more! :)

 I taught my, 'Swimming Seahorse'

class to a group of fantastic women who

were real sports about the weird disco

lighting we dealt with at the beginning.

 These next 3 pics show the room that

the Sampler Forum is presented in.

The top pic is my presentation of 

FABRIC COLLABORATIONS.

Here is my view of the door and everyone lining up 

to come in.  When they were allowed, people came 

in racing to the quilter they really wanted to see...

it was fun to watch!

The pic below is of my SCRAPPLIQUE'

presentation.

This forum is great for getting to see how a teacher 

presents her ideas and what the idea is but done

in a round robin setting so you can move

from teacher to teacher as you see fit.

 I signed up for 2 MEET the TEACHERS 

presentations so here is the schedule

and the space allowed for talking to quilters.
I had a stage and a microphone...

So Much Fun!

 As someone who doesn't cook, I am 
always impressed by those who can whip stuff up.
I need a recipe!

My Awesome roommates, Tara Reilly and Debby Brown Quilts, cooked for me. Debby Brown Quilts made this butternut squash risotto which was cheesy and creamy and delicious. And, we are in the same issue of Quilter's World right now where I have a cute design within but Debby writes a regular column to help you with your machine quilting problems like thread breaking. She is a wealth of information!

"I’m honored to be published in the same magazine as the incredibly talented Robin Koehler. Check out the latest issue of Quilter’s World Magazine for Robin’s pattern and my machine quilting column. #debbybrownquilts @nestlings1 #quiltersworld #quiltersworldmagazine #quilting #quilts #quilt #machinequilting"

Entrance to Festival and me with my Faculty Tag:)

I have dear dear friends in Mobile who let me 

take advantage of them on my way to and from 

Houston with a free room to stay.

Della has been a mentor, a big sister, 

and the most amazing cheerleader

anyone could hope for in life!

I am honored to call her my friend and this was our view on my

way home...sunset over the bridge with a margarita in hand.

Thank you to everyone who came by to say HI and listen to my presentations 

and look forward to coming to your guild!

RSVP Designers with Studio E Fabrics

Last year I was invited by Pepper Cory to participate in a group designer challenge.  I am very particular in where I choose to Donate my time but I would do just about anything for my dear friend, Pepper!

Scott Fortunoff, CEO of Studio E Fabrics, thinks highly of Pepper as well and it is evident in this blog post here where he cracks me up:...As Always.

It was quite an honor to be amongst some of the best and bright designers of our time!

The parameters were that the block finish at 16" square, use her line of Peppered Cottons with Studio E, and that the block look like us (the designer).  It has taken me many years to actually see "MY Style" although others seem to see it just fine.

She gave me quite a bit of teasing about being an over achiever because I sent in 2 blocks when really it is because I am a terrible decision maker!  I knew she would love "Gingko Romance" since she was the color impetus behind the design which also became my first published design with Quilter's World in 2010.

Such a simple log cabin based block with lovely leaves and hearts fused to it.

If you haven't worked with Pepper's shot cottons yet, you are missing out!  They are so soft and the subtle color changes with the light due to the weave are sublime!

"Gingko Romance" can be found

on my website here

The second block I sent in is SO ME!  I can see it from the swirly embroidery to the circle embellishment to the floralesque applique and in such vibrant colors!!  I just love this one!

Here is one of my pups keeping an eye on me as I stitch:)

The original was hand applique but when it came time to make the pattern,  I chose to make it fusible applique and more user friendly. There is some hand embroidery but it adds so much:)

Have I told you how much I hate dealing with the threads from fusible??!!!  I don't have this issue when working with hand applique:)

That little pop of bright green is so exciting to me and I had to control myself not to add too much more!
It would look fantastic in any color way though!

The pattern comes out on Mother's Day, May 13th

but preorders are now happening.

Be the first on your block to have one!

Pepper and Studio E will present RSVP Designers at Spring Market in Portland with a finished quilt from the blocks collected last Fall.  I am sad that I won't be there to see it all together. Pictures please from anyone that attends Schoolhouse:)
Keep stitching!

DaGMT

For those of you perplexed about the post title, it stands for Drop and Give Me Twenty:)  It isn't too late to join us...just click on the link in Beth's name below.

So, I know it doesn't look like much but this is my other handwork the last 2 days...I have hand pieced 7 Drunkards Path blocks and have an 8th one on the pillow:)  I took a class with Pepper Cory, Queen of the Drunkards Path, about 2 years ago.  This block has always intrigued me and then I found out how much more you can do with it!  Curved piecing intimidated me for years and I hoped that a class would boost my confidence...well how could it not when the pieces are so big:)  Still after being all cut, they sat in my closet scaring me from the dark.  Now that I have pulled them out and taken a deep breath, they are actually getting done. I am still a bit nervous about stretching them too much but they are coming together nicely.  I will still have to find a way to add applique because that is what I do!!!

My friend, Beth, is getting so much more done...check out her blog and join us:)

My Sunshine Award

Imagine my surprise one day when I was awarded the Sunshine Award by a fellow artist. Thank you, Delilah.

The Sunshine Award is an award given to blogs that have positive and creative blogging. The Rules for receiving the award are:

1. Post the Logo in a blog or on the sidebar.

2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers that you follow.

3. Link the nominees with in your post.

4. Let the nominees know they have received the award by leaving a comment on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to the person who gave you the award.

Now I get to pass this Sunshine on to 12 Creative Bloggers and bring sunshine into their day.

I have selected the following blogs and hope you enjoy them as much as I do:

Katherine Sands

Susan Brubaker Knapp

Sarah Ann Smith

Lyric Kinard

Celine Perkins

Jane Davila

Lisa Call

Joanie Gagnon San Chirico

Nancy G Cook

Wen Redmond

Pepper Cory

Pati Fried

Susan Sorrell

Leah Day

Ok, I cheated and added 2 extras but it is so so hard to just pick 12... my creative friends are like Lays potato chips :) and I still had to leave some behind.

Thank you to all of you and the others I couldn't list for sharing so freely with your knowledge and humor.

Skinny Kitties by Pepper Cory

Meet the "Skinny Kitties"
Over the weekend I quilted this wonderfully whimsical sample showcasing Pepper Cory's new fabric line for Avlyn Fabrics.

I have long thought there weren't enough gray or brown fabrics around and now that problem has been solved. There are some fantastic accent fabrics in this collection. Be sure not to miss them at Market next week or ask your local quilt shop about ordering them for the shop. There is something for everyone in this line.