Wow…. four of my six classes in Paducah are FULL! I’m astonished and elated! Two classes still have spaces, so if you are in Paducah and want to come play, the descriptions are below–the evening class is total PLAY and the Saturday “drawing” class is art for the intimidated… you really CAN do it! I’d totally love to have more students in the Chunk and Jigsaw fusible class… the more the merrier for all, and it really will be a good class for the evening time…almost no brain power needed. And think I’ll bring chocolate!

Also, I’ve added a few classes in Maine. I’ll be teaching a machine quilting class on Thursday, May 8th (tentative but likely date) in Belfast–if you want more info, write me a comment and I’ll give you more details. As well, the Frayed Edges and I (well some of us but alas not ALL of us) will be at a book signing at Quilt Divas in Rockland, Maine, on June 14th. We contributed 8 of the 24 projects in Lark’s new Creative Quilting with Beads, and I am delirious that my pomegranate notebook is the cover image!

This project will also be covered in a 3-Sunday series of classes at Quilt Divas ( 3 hours each) on June 22 and July 13 and 20. The first session will be to make the notebook cover and begin quilting it. The second class will have you learning to ruche (scrunch) the fabric for the insides of the pomegranates, make the pomegranate appliqués and begin beading. The final class is to finish the cover. There is enough time between the classes to do the quilting and beading without killing yourself to get it all done. I have finally tracked down the beads I used (the store where I bought mine is going out of business) so students can buy these exact drop beads from me or Quilt Divas.

PADUCAH CLASSES

Chunk and Jigsaw Fusible Applique: Weds., April 23rd, 5:30-8:30 PM. This is a fabric postcard class in disguise! Learn my easy-peasy way to use up scraps and chunks of fabric, then we play and make fabric postcards, either from my patterns or your ideas. Kit fee includes parchment paper, 2 yards of Misty Fuse adhesive web, and two pieces of peltex (stiff interfacing, 4×6 inches). Additional pieces of peltex available at modest cost. When I first saw the time, I saw the 8, and thought it was a late evening class…eeek! But it is a perfect class for this time slot since it requires not very much brain power, and lots of play!

If You Can Write Your ABCs, You Can Draw Your Own Designs: Friday, April 25th, 1-4 pm. Most of us fear drawing, and think we just can’t do it! Well, I have a secret I’ll share: if you can write the alphabet in block letters, you can draw, and I’ll show you how. Once you’ve learned my way of using the alphabet to look at the world, translating shapes into appliqué or quilting designs is easy! Bring several pictures as starting points for you to create your own design with help from Sarah. The pictures can be of any subject matter that appeals to you: people, places, things, if you like it, bring it!

It has been a snowy season, with many cancelled meets, but the end has arrived. I’ve got pictures of the regionals (held last weekend), but not the state meet (yesterday) since I was at the karate tournament with Eli. Joshua placed fourth in his weight class in the Eastern half of Maine, despite lackluster performance on the mat (which he acknowledges). But all in all, Joshua did phenomenally well (especially considering he got hit by a car last July), and the Camden team did outstandingly well, too. Here’s one moment early in one of Joshua’s matches:

Still, Joshua did well enough that he was able to compete in States! Although he didn’t place there, the mere fact that 8 months ago he was in the hospital receiving his second transfusion after the accident and still on morphine makes it amazing that he has recovered so well! And just six months ago, he had recently given up using crutches and limped even when walking slowly!!!! Like the other 8th graders on the team (most of the team!), he plans on wrestling next year at the highly competitive high school level.

We had a priceless moment early on…. Codi is Joshua’s best friend; this year, his family moved to the neighborning town, so he’s on the HAL (Hope-Appleton-Lincolnville) team. Codi’s younger brother (a year younger) is a great fan of Joshua’s, and he brought this sign… WE LOVED IT!!!!!! CRMS is the Camden-Rockport Middle School, 135 is Joshua’s weight class, and JoshWah is how Joshua signs his name sometimes on his MySpace, with an umlaut over the “o” and “W”….

Here are the boys “waiting” (as boys will–mucking around) for the awards ceremony; that’s Paul in the red sweatshirt on the far right toting a goatskin leather bag he has had since Peace Corps in Niger in the early 70s:

And the individual awards… Joshua receives a 4th place finish:

And the boys in his weight class…. the winner receives the flow chart of matches showing the 1st place win:

Joshua’s best friend Codi, on the HAL team this year, came in second in his weight class and at states came in 4th in the state! WAY TO GO CODI!

Then…..the team results. Belfast, whose team is a combination of three middle schools in/near Belfast, won. Camden-Rockport came in SECOND in the region! WOOOHOOO! Here the boys are hoisting their trophy to the happiness of one and all:

Joshua’s girlfriend Kristina came up to regionals with Eli and me. She doesn’t like getting her picture taken, so I snuck this one with the zoom:

I also got one with her face, but the second shot, when she realized I was taking pictures is so much more typical and kinda funny that I’m posting that one instead:

And here’s Joshua with his one-man cheering squad, Nick, brother and best friend Codi, Kristina, and Codi’s mom (white shirt) and step dad John (walking towards the group upper left):

All in all it was a wonderful season. The boys on the CRMS and HAL teams got to practice together this past week; they’ll all be on the same high school team next year and were cheering each other on at the meet (as long as the opponent wasn’t someone on their own team!). It’s a wonderful thing…. the five towns are all kind of “Us”. It’s good to be from a small town, and it’s good to live in Maine. As the saying goes, Maine is “the way life ought to be!”

I’m thrilled to report that my art quilt Koi has been juried into Paducah and, provided the USPS has gotten it there, is already in that city waiting to be hung for the show! Long-time readers will remember this quilt, which is actually two-sided. I used quite a lot of my own hand-dyed fabric for this quilt, as well as commercial batiks. This is the front (looking down on the pond):

Here is the back (from the bottom of the pond, looking up at the fish bellies and overhanging branches):

And here is a close-up of the front:

and the back:

I am especially thrilled, since Koi didn’t get juried into Houston (will try again this year, since that is permitted), and since I’ll be teaching in Paducah this year… always good when the teacher has a quilt in the show, eh?

Lest any of you think your quilt teachers are getting rich on the teaching circuit…NOT!  I just got back from Staples, where (or is it an Office Depot? whatevah… a big box office store in Rockland) B&W copies are 8 cents each.   I made 920 copies which, including tax, comes to almost $80.  That is for six classes I’ll be teaching in Paducah.  Then I get to pay to SHIP that heavy box of stuff to Kentucky….. ahem….  Not to mention the time, gasoline, etc.  And the time to order the stuff for the kits, cutting the materials, doing the paperwork and accounting for the orders of materials, etc.  Oh well!

Real quilt content still coming, I promise…. just not today.  Gotta get this stuff packaged, boxed, and shipped first!  Box needs to be IN Kentucky by April 7th for teaching on the 23rd…..   a couple handouts just aren’t ready, so they will go in the suitcase with the quilts.  The teaching binders and master copies and laptop are going in the roll-aboard suitcase with ME! More anon my good friends…..

Egads how time flies. Now, why doesn’t the fat fly away with it? She said, grumbling a bit about still wearing the extra weight munched on during my first trimester with him…..

We are, of course, so proud of our wonderful boys. Eli had a grand 10th birthday at home, even though it was immediately after Mom and I came in from California! It was further complicated by the fact that Joshua had a wrestling meet after school that day, so time was short. But when we finally got home around 8, it was cake time:

And old age is creeping up on him… ten whole candles challenged him LOL!

And presents. … Eli wanted two things: an iPod (the iPod Shuffle from his generous Aunt Joyce died after Eli left it in his pocket and Paul did the laundry; electronics and water don’t play nicely together) and ski stuff. All Camden 4th graders get 3 free ski lessons from the local Snow Bowl (clever folks they are). Of course, now Eli, the kid who hasn’t met a sport he doesn’t want to try, wants ski equipment and a season pass for next year. So…. with generous gifts from Aunt Joyce and Nana, he is on his way to a decent set of used skis, boots and poles (we’ll be at the ski swap meet next November!).

And here, from Mom and Dad:

And there was one more thing….. Paul had asked me what I thought of this idea, and I said in about two years, maybe at Christmas… so of course while I was in California, Paul placed the order!

What’s this you ask?

A cell phone for Eli. Fortunately, we have a family plan, so the phone is free and a modest monthly charge in addition–we share 400 minutes a month which is enough for all of us:

It will be useful next winter–we can drop Eli off at the Snow Bowl, then when he’s ready to come home he can call (or heaven forfend, if he falls on the slope and needs help). Still… a phone for a ten year old? Remember when we were kids and there was ONE phone for the entire family? And my Aunt Katie, in the boonies of Wyoming, was still on a party line?