Our Farewell Supper!

You know that kind of high you feel when you’ve completed something really big --- when it’s been pulled off without a noticeable hitch ---when new friendships have been formed and continuing friendships strengthened in every area?

This is how I feel tonight! We had such a great time, all of us as instructors ---from the Quiltmaker Magazine Staff, to those of us who have participated in the magazine and were asked to be instructors for this very first of what I hope is many Quiltmaker Block Party retreats!

There was talk and discussion of how we all felt it went ---where we would like to maybe see this take place in the future…what locations? What time of the year? How to fit it in with existing schedules? Will any of us have our paths cross in our teaching travels in the near future so we can get together? I hope so!

We all left the hotel about 5:45pm after class was over and various boxes and bags and quilts and cases were emptied out of classrooms, loaded into our cars or prospective hotel rooms.

Weary and exhilarated at the same time, we walked out of the covered entry way, and out into the balmy Williamsburg August evening air for a 15 minute walk to The Trellis where we enjoyed a YUMMY dinner and animated conversation.

We did it! This event has been hanging on the horizon for a long time ---and we did it!

I hope you can tell by the picture how happy we are ---the only one missing is me, I’m taking the picture.

Tomorrow morning I start my journey home….that is AFTER I sleep til I wake with no alarm to buzz me.

Thanks, Quiltmaker! It’s been wonderful and I can’t wait to do this again!

I also can’t wait to play with the set of rulers given to me personally by Monique Dillard of Open Gate. She is such a sweet lady, and I really enjoyed getting to know her!

Right side of the table: Carolyn McCormick, Debbie Caffrey, Nancy Mahoney, Linda Howell.

Left Side of the table: June Dudley, Monique Dillard, Diane Harris

Not pictured: Me, Jennifer Chiaverini who left eary to go home, and Carolyn Beam who’s hubby arrived in town this afternoon and they were off enjoying an evening alone together. ((How romantic!))

Travel home safe, girls – let’s do it again!

iPhone-o-Gram! Midnight Flight Morning!

Day three at Quiltmaker's Block Party is Midnight Flight!

Some of the ladies are repeats from other classes we've had this week but many are new!

It's really fun to see what fabrics and colors they are pulling together and how great their blocks and quilts are going to be!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's slide shoe--all we've amassed at this point is a handful of four patches and a bunch if half square triangles.

After lunch we mi e on to diamond in a rectangle type units and block quarters will start coming together!

Winston Ways in Williamsburg!

SEW MANY FOUR PATCHES!

It’s like

Death-by-four-patches!

But there is something really soul centering about sewing pairs of scrappy red and neutral strips through the machine…choosing and matching and slicing and dicing and rearranging and sewing back together into the little 2” finished four patches we were working on.

Sew them all uniformly, spin the seams all in the same direction, they all automatically oppose seams when placed side by side by side.

Four-patch awesomeness!

Throw in a mess of half square triangles, along with a lot of trading to build more variety, and our blocks were taking on a life and personality all their own!

I have to chuckle at those who signed up for Winston Ways AND signed up for Midnight Flight ---because….tada….two of the units are the same, the 4 patch production and the half square triangles – so they will have everything I have said drummed into their heads for two days straight!

And I love spending time with them all. We had whoops and cheers of joy from one quilter when her half square triangles were turning out straight and measuring correctly –with NO SLIVER TRIMMING DOWN! Those are the best exciting moments.

The same goes for the quilter whose 4 patch strip set measured a true 2.5” and not 2-3/8”!

It’s the cutting AND the sewing that work together to give us the sizes of units we need. Remember not to skimp on the width of your strips when cutting!

These blocks were not for the faint of heart --- there are 104 pieces in each 12” block – and last night at the show and tell after Jennifer Chiaverini spoke, they proudly stood and showed off their beautiful blocks…..I may be a little bit biased, but I do think that my classes had the best blocks to show and share!

Class instruction also included some demos on how I sew my blocks with the rows of each block being chained, or webbed together. We spend a lot of time making sure that the triangles are turning the right way --- don’t mess it up in the assembly! Chaining them keeps them from getting out of order for me.

The pic at the top of this post shows two gals with their blocks webbed together, ready to sew those rows to complete each block!

Here’s what we got up to in class:

		Winston Ways, Williamsburg VA 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Today’s Midnight Flight class is the perfect ending to our first ever Quiltmaker’s Block Party ----stay tuned for more info on our next one to be held this coming spring in the Pacific Northwest! As details unfold I’ll let you know…

Have a great weekend everyone!

Evening Edition: Free Kindle Book!

Show and tell was great, the table prizes were awesome ((See last post!! A Kaffe Fassett Bundle and a new rotary cutter!)) and Jennifer Chiaverini’s presentation was delightful and inspiring.

I’m tucked back in my room, in my jammies editing down photos for tomorrow’s slide show and thought I’d pass on a little freebie that I just downloaded for myself.

It’s not my usual choice of genre ---but I found the book description and readers reviews to be interesting enough to consider it worth a try – it sounds like a good story!

Okay, and I’ll admit it – when I saw the hard copy print price was $25.95 it makes me feel almost guilty for snatching it up for free! ALMOST!

Spirit Horses by Alan Evans is free tonight in the Amazon Kindle Store.

Genre: Drama

In the hills of Tennessee, Shane Carson, a gifted, nationally-recognized horseman, is living the good life. When a mysterious mustang shows up on his farm, Shane doesn’t know how—or why—the horse appeared, but the horse’s distinctive brand identifies her.

She is one of the Spirit Horses, a rare, wild herd that runs free on the Shoshone reservation in Wyoming. Watched over for centuries in the tribe’s ancestral valleys, these exquisite horses, according to belief, provide a link to the afterlife.

When tragedy strikes in his life, Shane nearly loses his will to live—but for one promise he made to his young son: to return the mustang to her rightful home.

On this bittersweet journey, Shane finds a world where tradition reigns, and ancient beliefs transcend modern logic. In this magnificent expanse of blue sky and wide open spaces, love is alive, but hate, intolerance, and greed threaten to close in.

Review:

"A wonderful blend of Western, Fiction, Drama, Adventure, and Romance. A superb new voice in fiction who delivers a 5-star read."

Double check it’s still free – yada yada yada, you know the drill!

I’m gearing up for tomorrow’s Midnight Flight class. I thought I’d have more piecing time in the room, but the last couple of nights I’ve been so worn out by the time the evening’s activities were done that I just crawled between the sheets with my laptop to edit the next day’s slide shows --- which is what I’ll get back to after I finish sending this. Look for THOSE photos in the morning ----

Night Everyone!

iPhone-o-Gram! Evening Goodies!

What could be better than door prizes, great food, a room full of quilters, and a lecture by Jennifer Chiaverini?!

iPhone-o-gram!! Wildly Winston!

We are raising our rotary cutters high in day two of classes at Quiltmaker's Block Party here in Williamsburg, VA!

Loud cheers of happiness as quilters discover their half square triangles turning out square and the right size with the easy angle ruler!

We are spinning our seams on our four patches so they all will butt through the quilt with ease---

Much love from us to you wherever you are!!