FUNKY ROOSTER

Tomorrow (Monday) I head back home after a rewarding 5 days with the Gulf States Quilters Association.

Students in my "Funky Rooster' workshop awed me (and each other) with their creativity......I only wish I could post the projects of all 18 students.....grrrr....this site (or my knowledge of how to post on this site) limits me to 5 photos (actually nearly the number of quilts that I managed to capture in focus with my camera!)

These projects are based on my Funky Rooster design....where all the motifs will ultimately be attached to the background using various beading techniques.  Isn't it great to see how our individual spirits show up?

After another fabulous meal at a local Baton Rouge restaurant....it's time to put my feet up and turn the light off....see you all soon.

GULF STATES QUILTING SEMINAR

With years of teaching behind me......I have to say, Southern hospitality is alive and well at Gulf States Quilting Association.  It's heaven for us lucky instructors on this year's faculty in Baton Rouge, LA.

The following photos are work of  just some of the very talented students in my Wool Collage Embellishing workshop.  The focus of this class is 'bead applique', (motifs attached with beads). During the morning we create the design, and in the afternoon, students begin the beading process.

Sadly, I'm limited in the number of photos I can post (and of course with the quality of photos I managed to take during class) but I want to share the work of these energetic, fun, and eager to learn quilters from whom I heard so many heartbreaking Katrina stories.  

ATLANTA AIRPORT

On my way to teach at Gulf States Quilting Seminar in Baton rouge, I traveled thru Atlanta's airport on Wednesday.  My layover was over 3 hours so I decided to explore the massive terminals.  I was rewarded when I spied this fascinating display of 'found objects" in terminal T.

Several vessels were created by Karyl Sisson, amazingly they were made entirely of cloth measuring tapes.

This pig sports all sorts of recycled items, ties, keys, plastic toys.....I loved it!

Fiber art was represented by Susan Shie's work.  It was a pleasure to view her piece, (even looking through glass display cases!)

Tina Fung Holder comes from Wisconsin.  Her work features beaded safety pins.  I found it to be far more sophisticated than the materials imply.

The Gulf States Organization certainly is one of the best organized groups I've worked with in some time.  Southern hospitality at its finest.  With one lecture, 1 full day workshop already completed, I have 3 more full-day classes ahead and am looking forward to working with the eager, friendly students.  This show celebrates it's 25th anniversary.....tonight we will be treated to birthday cake......yummm.

I'm teaching my new wool collage workshop today and already have my camera in my travel case to snaps photos of students work  to share with you dear readers.......stay tuned..... 

HITTING THE ROAD AGAIN

I've been having a terrible time posting to blogger these last two days.....not sure why, but glad I finally got logged on since I'm leaving for the Gulf States Quilt Seminar in Baton Rouge, LA - BEFORE the crack o'dawn tomorrow. I'm presenting the opening night lecture tomorrow night, which has caused some stress the last 7 days.

Last week during a demo, I realized my digital projector and camera were not interfacing properly and since ultimately, I didn't have the time for repairs, I had to purchase a new one.


My replacement projector arrived quickly, so the next step was to learn how to use it! With my lap top and camera connected......sitting in any available space to reach the projector, which needed to be positioned to project onto my wall so I could navigate the menu. (meaning, learn what the heck this thing does!) Note, the owner's manual close at hand.



So, you ask, what's the big deal? Look at all this stuff.....technology is supposed to make life easier. I hand carry all this equipment, plus the actual projector and my laptop since it's too delicate to be packed in checked baggage. My arms are 2" longer after every trip.



The packing process for every trip takes at least 1 day. I'm teaching 4 full-day classes, so this is just the beginning of the workshop materials that need to be packed. The guest bed is already loaded with quilts that must accompany me as well.


Yup, the suitcases are nearly full, and guess what? I have yet to pack any of my personal items.....such as important things like clothing! Note, I even have to pack my purse in my checked luggage because passengers are limited to two carry on bags. A few items such as my wallet are transferred to my computer bag which is one of my two carry on bags. (seen between the two larger suitcases which are checked baggage.)

The smaller roller board suitcase is my other 'carry on'. In it I carry any workshop kits, all of the projector cables, tripod, remotes, etc. and as many quilts as possible. The quilts are safely stored in a water proof bag. Seriously, I can't even carry any toiletry items, or even a change of clothing, there's not room. I just have to pray my checked bags arrive when I do. More and more flights these days are commuter planes, and in that case, this bag is 'gate checked'....which makes me a little nervous. I'd rather have it where I can see it.

This packing routine has been repeated so many times now after 16 years travel teaching, you'd think I could do it in my sleep. But, each trip is unique with different class and lecture combinations, so there is no short cut for this important task.

I hope to be able to post during my travel, however the conference is being held at the Marriott Conference Center where free wireless is unlikely. My camera will be at hand though, ready to report news from what I'm sure will be a great seminar.

RESOURCE

Recently I received a copy of "The Quilter's Catalog: A Comprehensive Resource Guide", by Mex Cox, Workman Publishing.  It's a brick of a book, (598 pages) covering every aspect of the quilt world.

I was especially happy to learn I've been referenced on 4 pages!  Today, I have lots of 'grunt' work scheduled around the house......so I'll be humming these words from Chapter 5, Great Teachers: So Many Ways To Learn:

 MARY STORI - Beading for Quilters -  A Former Cooking Instructor, Mary Stori is arguably the best-known teacher of beading and embellishment techniques for quilts and garments.......  

the description continues...concluding with a reference to my website.

I'm grateful!

RAIN, SWEET RAIN!

Western NC has been experiencing a fairly severe drought for over a year.....but lately the rains have come!

Though this photo may not give you the full impression......this morning the rain completely obscured our long range mountain view.  The temperature was a balmy 55 degrees....and it's only the beginning of March.....we are loving it!!!

The roadway turned into a mini stream.

And our creek along our property was alive with noise as the water again was gurgling rapidly down the mountain.

BUT....yikes....'the husband' just reported we are under a winter storm watch as the temperature will drop as a new storm system comes through tonight.  If we are lucky it will be snow, not ice.  Our power lines are underground, but many leading up here are not.  The loss of electricity due to ice may mean days without power.  We'd seriously considered getting a whole house generator, but they are SUPER pricey, so naturally, we didn't.  Of course, a few days w/o power will surely cause us to reconsider.  We've been lucky so far, I'm trusting that will continue.  Stay tuned.......

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

Karen Combs tagged me!  Tagging is merely a friendly game of cyber-tag, that has become a source of entertainment in the blogosphere.  Be sure to visit my buddy Karen's blog by clicking on her name to see her exciting patchwork illusions quilts.

So, today I've been asked to share seven things about myself that you may not know....heck you may not care either!  I'm asked to tag seven other bloggers to do the same.  

Read on......

1.  I LOVE pizza.  Hey, I'm a quilter....what'd you think the first reveal would be about?  Of course it'd be about food.

2.  'The husband' and I were married 41 years ago (March 10th) -  at the Chapel of the Bells....in Las Vegas.  We'll celebrate extra this year, since last year we forgot it was a big anniversary!

3.  I am very directionally challenged and hate to drive.

4.  I'm not a night owl.

5.  I enjoy watching what some might refer to as junk TV, such as  Orange County Housewives & the Last Restaurant Standing, Top Chef, Project Runway, and any of the endless real estate shows on HGTV.

6.  Bluegrass is my favorite type of music.

7.  I'm getting addicted to listening to audio books on my ipod.  It makes our twice daily walks seem to go faster.

Many of my pals are quilt professionals who also blog.  I'm sure you'll enjoy visiting their worlds.

Georgia Bonesteel  - An icon in the quilt world!  

Mary Lou Weidman -  Her quilts make you smile.

Jane Sassaman -  I got acquainted with Jane years ago.  We were both members of Facets, a Chicago area invitational art critique group.  Now the rest of the world knows and loves Jane's work.

Gabreille Swain  - An applique artist who can make her needle stand up and take a bow.

John Flynn -  Engineer turned quilter who continues to improve the tools we use, not to mention creating wonderful quilts himself.

Pokey Bolton - The mastermind behind Quilting Arts Magazine.

Melody Johnson - An artist who owns color!  Melody has helped to set the standards for blogging;  consistent posting, great photos, and interesting subjects.

Say It Ain't So!

The GREAT Brett Favre announced his retirement today.  The day had to come......but still it's sad for Packer fans everywhere.  This photo tells it all.....what a guy!   

Beading 101

I'll be presenting an introduction to beading at the Fiber Arts Alliance March 4th meeting.  The group, an offshoot of the Asheville Quilt Guild, meets the 1st. Tues. of the month at the Girl Scout building, 64 WT Weaver Blvd., Asheville, NC.,   Noon-1:00 PM is social time/brown bag lunch if desired, followed by a meeting from 1:00-3:00 PM.  There is no charge to join FAA and all interested parties are welcome.   Meeting content varies from show and tell, to demonstrations (usually given by our own members), and other educational activities.

To allow everyone in my workshops to have a front row seat, I use a digital projection system which speeds up the learning process. 

Typically, my beading workshops focus on 'technique' - rather than 'project'.  This is the sampler students create in my 3 hour 'Decorative Beading' class.  Pretty neat stuff that's much easier to do than it looks!

So, why bead???  Here's a BEFORE view of one of my felted wool projects which could be used as a table runner or narrow wall hanging.

Here's the AFTER view.......need I say more?  I much prefer the texture, color, sparkle, and additional pattern the beadwork provided.

SNOW!

The promise of mild winters was one of the lures that moved us from Wisconsin to NC.  I'll admit, our blood has thinned after only our 2nd winter here.  It's been cold this week....in the 20's, going up to the 30's in the daytime.  Now, in WI, we'd think that was balmy!

Tuesday night and into part of Wednesday we had a storm storm......puny by midwest standards but because the terrain is steep with endless curvy roads, it tends to paralyze folks.  We are amused.  Looking from our back deck, we were greeted by this beautiful site. 

So, we get a taste of winter's beauty, and happily it's gone within a day or so.....no shoveling required.  Our 5" of snow was nearly all melted before the sun went down.  Today our temperature will get to 50....life is good.