What a great conference. I was pleased to be part of the teaching faculty at the annual Road to California (affectionately known as “Road” to those who’ve been there, would like to be there, or have heard of it!) quilt show in Ontario, California.

I taught two classes, Blended Borders and Putting on the Glitz….both were two day classes. My students were enthusiastic, energetic and there to learn and have a great time. I enjoyed both of the classes thoroughly.

Everyone worked hard….and fearlessly jumped into new ideas and techniques. Everyone did fabulous work….here are a few examples of quilts from the Putting on the Glitz class..

One of my favorite things about a great show like this is the vendors……It’s a great opportunity for quilters to see all kinds of irresistible goodies that they don’t have the opportunity to see at home. My particular weakness (…OK, I have more than one of them but I’m only talking about one of them now!) is specialty hand-dyed or hand painted fabrics and this show had some great ones. They’ll be wonderful additions to my art quilts.

And most importantly…everyone seemed to be having a great time. By the way….who ever said you can’t talk on the phone and make great quilts at the same time? Obviously it’s very possible……!

Here’s more great work done by my  students. I’m always so happy when they send me a shot of their finished project….I think I’ve said this before, but sometimes when I see the name come in on my email, I don’t remember it ….but as soon as I see the quilt, I remember. I may have trouble with the name or the face….but not the quilt! Thanks for sending me your photos, everyone.

Susan Teece    Victoria, BC Canada

      Great job, Susan. She did a wonderful job of blending her colors by using lots and lots of shades and prints in each color. She was a student in a color blending class and really learned the principles well. I particularly love her vivid, dramatic colors.

Amy Fitzpatrick   Burlington, MA

Looks good enough to eat, huh! Amy created a beautiful harvest wall quilt using my Blended Borders technique. In fact, she’s really taken off with this technique and has sent me photos of several other great quilts she’s created using it. Good work, girl!

I just had to share….. I was thrilled to receive word yesterday that I was nominated for 2008 Teacher of the Year….an annual award sponsored by The Professional Quilter magazine.

Needless to say… I was thrilled to get the message. There are so many great teachers out there on the road who are really dedicated to inspiring and assisting quilters to learn new skills and have success. I’m really humbled to be in their company…regardless of who is announced as the winner later this spring.

I do love teaching. Before I was a “professional quilter,” I spent 15 years as a high school teacher (teaching art and English) and whether it’s sophomore English or quilting…..the principals are the same. My goal is for everyone to have success and feel good about what they’ve done.

Many thanks to a student out there who nominated me.

Once again….it’s the gorgeous colors that pull me into a new medium or idea. This time it’s those gorgeous little balls of wool…or other solftly luxurious fibers….called rovings.

It’s the new year  and I’m newly dedicated to spending time on creative exploration. That sounds easy enough…..but in my case my time is pretty booked with teaching, making art quilts, quilt designs etc. But like I said in an earlier post……I’m evaluating very closely whre my time is going and one thing is for sure….I’m going to spend time on whatever feels delightful to me.

One of the thing that I’ve wanted to do for a long time was knit…..ok, I know a little basic knitting but what I have longed to do was have time to knit with the beautiful and luscious feeling fibers out there.

In fact, one of my favorite fabric stores here in Spokane where I live has an amazing assortment of beautiful yarns that I have to pass through on my way to the restroom. I just squint my eyes and head directly for the door…..not daring to slow down for fear I may be compelled to buy some of it….and I haven’t felt I could spend the time it takes.

Well…..that brings me to the rovings. I decided I may not have time to learn to knit lovely things….but I’m going to take the time to work with my needle-felting machine and experiment  with what I can do with wool rovings and silk.

SO….that’s just what I did this weekend…I have to admit my first attempts were far from beautiful. The learning curve is definitely there…but I’m determined. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Believe me, my first efforts aren’t even worth the time to photograph!

You can see I’m at least off to a start with goals for the New Year. That makes me feel good. In fact, tomorrow I go to the gym for the first time this year. It may be a  little negative thinking here….but I’m not as optimistic that my gym experience will be as successful as my felting.

If only working out was as good as working with colors……