Quilters are just so much fun… even when you travel nearly 1700 miles, go to a state you’ve never visited before, and meet total strangers, you instantly feel at home!   This week I’m in Arkansas, and on Monday and Tuesday lectured and taught for the QUEST quilters of Little Rock…boy did we have FUN!

At the end of the day in my Tame Fussy, Fiddly Threads class

I flew down to Arkansas on Sunday, connecting in Boston, Mass. and Charlotte, N.C.  As things go it was uneventful, but I must say I loathe air travel any more!  I swear the thing that will eventually convince me to stop  teaching is airports and schlepping of stuff!   That said, it was wonderful once I arrived!  I was met by Sherri D., a friend from a small internet group.  When I booked the job, neither she nor I realized I was coming to HER guild!   So I got to meet her hubby, son, and spend time with her having a couple of happy meals there.  They even sang their Renaissance Faire Celtic songs for me!

On Monday, I gave “The Decorated Quilt” lecture to a full room (always more fun!), and in the afternoon I taught an intro to machine quilting class.

Because this was only a half-day workshop, we didn't do as much with the walking foot on, but I did have them stitch a circle and learn how to make parallel lines without marking. Then we dove into free-motion designs.

Lookit the heart-feathers on the right... I showed them how to mark a spine and guidelines, then wing it to make feathers... I just love that she was willing to give it a go and not be intimidated!!!!

I can't believe this student got so much done in such a short class! There were a couple ladies that, I can tell, are really going to take off with this!

The next day was the full-day class about threads that some think of as cranky threads!  As usual for my classes, I begin with a “slide”/digital presentation that covers the “must know before you start” stuff, and also keeps me on point and not wandering off into fun but time-consuming stories!  After all, I want them to SEW!  Because using fused fabrics to do things in all my classes would be hopelessly dull, I introduce some new stuff in some of the classes instead.  Here, as an alternative to sewn or fused leaves, we stencilled these leaves with Jacquard Lumiere textile paints (you can buy them at craft stores sometimes and from www.dickblick.com always).  I encourage students to use my patterns but re-design the layout or branch out completely on their own. I was thrilled with the results!

Aren't those colors amazing? I love how she varied the tones within sprigs of leaves

Here's how we begin: cutting a stencil out of freezer paper, then ironing it to black fabric. It looks so-so at this stage, but when they start peeling the paper off they are SO excited!

I WISH my photo were a tad more in focus! This lady used my gingko leaf pattern to make her leaf shapes, and I love how she streaked the gold onto the green...fabulous!

The subtle tone on tone black this student brought for the class is awesome for this project. She placed leaf shapes into a starburst pattern and decided they looked like flowers...isn't this gorgeous?

Luckily, program chair and absolute HOOT Evelyn C. suggested photos, so we all got together (including me in the photo…I’m kneeling on the right) and actually got photos of what everyone did! That’s the photo at the top of this post….. Can you tell we had fun?  After class, three of the ladies took me out to dinner at a local BBQ joint, Lindsey’s….OH MY!  I had chopped pork bbq, greens and potato salad, and was introduced to my first (but I hope not my last) fried pie.  It’s like a turnover…. think pie crust, dollop of (in my case) peach pie filling made from scratch, crust folded over to make a half-circle and crimped together and fried.   YUMMM!

Next:  a day with Sherri and Hot Springs Village Quilt Guild.  The HSV day is today, so I had best get my suitcases…we hit the road in about 20 minutes!

A brief book review before I head off to Arkansas (at 5:15 tomorrow morning…..blinkbleary-eyes)!  Executive Director of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Martha Sielman is published again with this portfolio of works depicting things “nature.”  It is another eye-candy book, and I am enjoying it greatly (and no, not in this one!).  There are 19 profiles of various artists, plus a number of galleries with works by many, MANY more artists.  The galleries include Flowers 1, Birds, Water, Animals, Leaves, Insects, Flowers 2, Trees and Textures.

Usually, I like to thoroughly pore over a book, reading and evaluating it cover to cover.   This spring is sufficiently busy, however, that I didn’t want to wait, especially since Lark Books (the publisher) was kind enough to send me a review copy.  The interviews with the profiled artists are nicely in depth, and I feel the questions responses give me a much better feel for the artist and how this work brings out their individual response to art and the world around them.  The artist profiles are roughly grouped into the same categories as the galleries.  For example, Ginny Eckley’s work–which often features birds–is just before the birds gallery.  Organizing the book in this way helps the viewer really see how the “voice” and hand of the individual artist are revealed despite similar subject matter.

This is a book I know I am going to want to savor over an extended period, and one which I will return to in the future.

I’ll be teaching in Arkansas for the QUEST guild in Little Rock then the Hot Springs Village Quilt Guild this week!  I’m home for just long enough to do laundry, then off to attend a workshop on dyeing silk.  I’ll post when I can!

End of the Championship Match....ELI WINS!

AND you better believe I am shouting as loud as I can!   We are so immensely proud of Eli…. there was a lot of pressure on him to do well this season (mostly from himself but so many others believed he could be a champ, too), and he was strong physically, mentally, and emotionally!  Eli won the Pine Tree Wrestling League State Championships, 138-lb. weight class today with an undefeated season! Eli is the first kid since 2003 (when Eli was in kindergarten) to win a State title from the Camden-Rockport Middle School (Oliver Bradeen in 2003 was the last–he went on to be a three-time runner up to State Champion in high school, too).

Here is a YouTube video of Eli’s Championship match.  Camden-Rockport coaches Paul and True are just to the right of the screen, the Bath team coaches are just to the left of the screen.  Eli is in red, the Bath boy is Justin Johnson, in blue.  (If you want to see it full screen click in the lower right of the embedded video to enlarge; press Escape to return to exit full screen mode).  FYI…at about 5 minutes in, you’ll see a break in the action.  The Bath kid tried a move, but Eli held him tight; when the Bath boy went down, he got squeezed and it hurt, so they took a medical time out.  Fortunately, he was OK.  Then after they resume wrestling you’ll hear me say “come on that was 7 seconds”–the scoring table forgot to re-start the clock!  The refs realized they had been wrestling enough time, so moved the clock forward to 2 seconds left, the match re-started, then  Eli  got the win officially, score 9-1, which is considered a “Major Decision” (i.e. by a big margin).

With forfeits and exhibition matches (4 of those, two with 145-lb kids, two with 131), Eli finishes his season at 34-0!  WOW!   I am totally impressed, and especially at the comments of the other adults.  After his first match, the REFEREE complimented him on his takedown.  During the course of the day and after Eli won, other coaches congratulated Paul (dad and Asst. Coach) and True (coach) on how good a wrestler he is, and how nice a kid he is, too!   Can you tell I am absolutely popping with pride?

This may be my favorite photo I've ever taken of Eli wrestling...it really captures the speed of the action, the strength and determination of the athletes!

MAJOR THANKS to Paul for the incredible amount of time he has given to CRMS over the past seven seasons, first with Joshua and now with Eli, and the time and devotion to honing Eli’s physical abilities and mental outlook, to True Bragg (coach) for what he has given not just to Eli but to the team over the years he  has been coach, and to Eli’s practice partners and the other coaches from the area who have helped Eli.   We are so blessed to live in a wrestling hotbed that, more than anything, is a welcoming (to us folks from away!), warm, caring community that takes care of and celebrates its own.

Here are some photos of the championship match:

The opening whistle sounds!

Eli dominated the match from start to finish, with one brief (scary for mom except it was over so fast) blip in the third period

As Eli said -- it's hard to do anything is someone grabs your ankle, hence using the move!

Look at the stretch on both boys! They need strength, flexibility, speed, mental agility, mental toughness...

End of the Championship Match....ELI WINS!--it's worth repeating again here GRIN!

Two happy and now-relaxed coaches!

Photo is a tad blurry, but I like it anyway...Eli (L), Paul (back), True (R)

Eli adds another bracket sheet to his room... Bath kid is next, and 3rd place with white ribbon. Congrats to all!

Paul looks at Eli's first place medal--the middle spins around

I cajoled the kids who went into a photo when we stopped at McD's on the way home. Far left is Elvis B. who also made it into the States, Coach True, teammate E., Eli, Paul behind Teammate H., and jovial chatterbox teammate T.

Thanks to the teammates who were able to attend today.  We’ll see everyone we hope at the end-of-season potluck on Wednesday at the school.   WOOOHOOOOOHOOOOOO!

CONGRATULATIONS ELI!

OK…so this is the Winter-That-Wasn’t for much of the eastern half of the United States.  We had a blizzard in late October, a “January cold” cold spell before Christmas, and a blizzard in early February.  That’s IT.  Then we had a couple days of summer about 2 weeks ago.  Then yesterday, this:

On the way home from exercise class at the Y in Camden, March 29th....

Approaching Hope Crossing (i.e. downtown Hope, Maine)

The willow hedge on the lower part of the driveway

The willow tree near the "corner" of the driveway. I love how the branches first flush yellow-green in spring, then the buds begin to swell and, here, catch the snow

home, looking uphill from the lower part of the driveway. One of these years we will paint and get rid of the awful dark brown on the house, but it doesn't need painting yet. But how did we get so lucky to live somewhere so beautiful, again?!!!!

At least it truly is beautiful.  And it will melt.  SOON.  We actually have a crocus that bloomed a month early in the garden, and the iris greens are already coming up!  I’m ready for this to be the last of the white stuff until next fall!

Tomorrow/Saturday the 31st:  State Wrestling tournament…send “good wrestling, good referee-ing” thoughts for Eli!

Yes, comment Number 34, from LindaMac, wins a copy of Creative Quilting With Beads and my Pomegranate Notebook pattern!   The hotlink on her comment, to her website, works, so I’ll e-mail LindaMac directly.  But Linda…if you are reading here, please contact me and send me your snail mail address.  If you don’t want to leave it in the comments, just write, I’ll reply “off the web” and we can do it that way!

I also thought those who surf in regularly, and did so before I announced the giveaway on various large lists, should get a special thanks, so I’ve picked another person from those first nineteen (who commented before March 27), and Number 2 (!!!) Bev in NC  will be getting my Pomegranate Notebook pattern (or any of my patterns of her choice).

Thanks for participating!