The Ladies of Worcester

I'm back from the last show of the Expo season, in Worcester(pronounced WOOSTER, and they teased me about my lack of any charming accent????) It was a really fun show with lots of laughs and many new quilty lady friends, not to mention the awesome shuttle drivers.
We had a HUGE booth and tons of great stuff.This trip completes my first year of teaching with the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo. After 8 shows....it still amazes me that we come into a large empty convention hall, and by the end of the day on Wednesday, the entire space has been transformed. We are surrounded by creativity at every turn.Dozens of sewing machines and sergers appear in every imaginable corner. Fabric, patterns, muscle relaxing tools, cutting,measuring and pressing tools, nail, fabric and glass paint (yes, I bought every color!) Food vendors (especially the ice cream guy) beautiful handmade jewelry (OK...I bought lots of that too).The classrooms are set up and ready to go!!! It would just seem like magic, except that we, The Cotton Candy Women, are right in there unloading and setting up too.(Oh gosh....I hope we brought enough Do-Sew this time!!!) Wednesday night we somehow manage to drag our sorry selves back to the hotel, and pray for enough energy to go back in the morning! Overnight, a miracle occurs. At 6:30 a.m. the alarm goes off and we're up and running.I have no idea where the energy comes from. (Mr. Folger and Mr. Starbuck perhaps?) Most of my energy comes from the ladies in the classes. We come together for a short time, but I hold each moment close to my heart.The shock of the 6:30 alarm fades quickly in the warmth of laughter and sharing. I feel extremely blessed by this wonderful opportunity.

The "MAGIC" continues until the final BIG DRAWING on Saturday afternoon. Mark draws the names of the door prise winners, then...the whole expo begins to dissolve like a chalk drawing in the rain. Within 3 hours...the vibrant creative space turns back into a pumpkin!!!It would be fun too see a time lapse video of the whole process. It's always shocking that everything get done in such a short time!!I expect that as time goes on...I won't be as amazed by the whole thing, but for now, I feel like the country mouse in the big city. At least I don't walk around with my mouth hanging open any more. ( If anyone sees me doing that, please let me know! I'm trying to look COOL!!!!!)

Partners In Crime Quilt

I finally got permission from the second of two"Partners In Crime". We tried to get together every couple of weeks to plan and assemble our guild challenge quilt.
Teri, Barbara and I had so little free time that we would get together for a couple of hours to plan, and assign homework. Then, we took our ideas and basic guidelines home to do the actual work. A few weeks later, we would get together again, cross our fingers and assemble what we had so far.
After another evaluation, we could move onto the next part. This one turned out WAY better than we originally planned.
This quilt was for our guild challenge "Months That End In ER". Well....We decided that all of the months end in "ER" SOMEWHERE in the world. If the photo of the whole quilt were larger, you could see the detail in the hanging down fringy stuff. We made long charms with each month spelled out, in a different language. We hung the month names hidden in the fringy stuff above the season panel that the month is in.

Cleveland Expo

I think I can safely say, "A Good Time Was Had By All." Well...I had a good time. Adorable Jenny took the Really Really Broken Dishes class on Thursday morning. Also Dashing Dennis, from one of my postcards groups, was able to come. It was a lot of fun reconnecting with old friends and meeting some new ones.The Really Really Broken Dishes and Hearts class are made possible by Marlene, the EXPO queen. It was her idea to work in teams (due to time restraints) and then share the "parts" with each other. It's worked out amazingly well. Everyone gets up and moves around the room to use the different sewing machines and to swap "Parts". It's so interesting to see everyone discovering connections to one another, that they wouldn't have known before! Well done, Marlene!!!! Everyone leaves with a finished block, a full size pattern to make a quilt in her own color choice and the mastery of a new skill using a couple of old products in new ways. We go to Wooster Mass. next week. I sure hope it's warm there.

How Does THIS Happen ?

All the other icicles are hanging vertically. What's going on with this one? HOW does this happen?

Cell Phone Holders

I've been having fun with Cell Phone Cases too. These are made from a preprinted, fusable base, made by Quiltsmart.They have 2 interior pockets and can fit credit cards and IPODS also!!! They're made with only 3 folds and 2 sewn lines!!!

Purses

O.K.....I've had so much fun reading everyone's Blog, I'm ready to give it a try.(With the understanding that it's so easy that anyone can do it!!!! We'll see......)

I'm determined to start but unsure of "Where"??? It's like trying to speak while sitting on my hands!!! On a journal page or collage..... you can use charms, pictures, fibers, paint, torn bits of books or headlines, stickers, polymer stuff, rhinestones, beads, etc. Being limited to words only, will be a challenge!!! I've been making journals and box purses lately. Hopefully, we can do a class next year at NEORQC.