February’s nasty weather is usually a good reason to hole up in your sewing room and quilt!  So far we’ve had a pretty mild winter; no real snow to speak of and it’s not particularly cold either.  I hope you don’t let the nice weather stop you from using February as an excuse to take time to enjoy your favorite past time.  I’m not!   For me, it’s an opportunity to get a few projects completed and to catch up on the Block of the Month quilt that Sandi and I are taking with Kathy Baker at Sierra Sewing Center.  If you have a lot of WIP’s (works in progress :) it’s time to get em’ done!  If not, then here’s a gentle nudge from me to you: “Go on, head on over to your favorite local quilt shop and start something new!”  There is nothing more exciting that getting your hands on that gorgeous cotton quilting fabric!  If your reading this, I know you know what I’m talking about!

We are blessed in Reno to have several wonderful stores to choose from and I must admit I frequent them all!  One of the area’s best is Sierra Sewing Center (SSC). Since Linda Lasko purchased the shop several years ago it has grown from a wonderful sewing machine store with a little fabric and a great reputation to a true “Quilter’s Destination”!  She has a good eye for color and design and chooses fabric to please everyone.  Recently, she added a wonderful selection of Batiks  and I imagine that it is now the largest, most beautiful presentation in town.  There is an entire wall, floor to ceiling all organized by color!!  As soon as I get a couple more WIP’s done I plan to go to SSC myself to purchase those gorgeous fabrics and make a beautiful batik quilt of my own!

Winter is the perfect time to take some bright and beautiful fabrics out of the closet and complete a long awaited quilt! That’s just what I did with my “Jamaican Mama” quilt.  While attending Pacific International Quilt Festival with my friends, Sandi and Michelle, I purchased these beautiful fabric panels portraying Jamaican women in ordinary daily life doing tasks to care for their families.  Then later that fall to celebrate Rich’s 50th birthday we took our family on a cruise and one of the five countries we visited was Jamaica.  This quilt is made in memory of that wonderful time we shared.  In Jamaica, our youngest son, Andrew proposed marriage to our now daughter-in-law, Cara.  What a fabulous time it was to be included in that great event!  Watching him go down on one knee in front of everyone on the cruise ship during dinner brought tears to my eyes.  It brought me joy when Andrew gave me the honor safekeeping that gorgeous ring from our first meeting in the Dallas airport until he proposed 5 days later.  Each day we waited in anticipation wondering when he would ask for the ring!  So, this cruise commemorates a beautiful time in our lives and the choice of the Jamaican Mama’s is particularly fitting as that trip was all about family.

The quilt was an exercise in design for me as I just “winged it” and created the curved pieced frames around each panel followed by the appliquéd words and the blocks and borders.  No pattern, no plan.  The panel on the left depicts two mothers washing laundry with their babies strapped to their bodies and the panel on the right shows them coming back from market with their wares strapped onto their heads!!  Wouldn’t you love to have their physical strength??  I love the beautiful representation of their joy while lovingly doing their chores.  I imagine like all mothers everywhere many of their thoughts as they worked were filled with wishes for their children and their futures.  Thus, I created the reverse appliquéd words, “Joy • Love • Wish”.   I will be winging it again when I complete the quilting!!  Another learning exercise, as I don’t usually quilt anything of this size.  Every quilt deserves a label that includes the date of completion, the name of the maker (me), and the reason for the quilt.  I plan to put the date of the trip it commemorates and it will say, “Making this quilt reminds me of mothers, all kinds, from all lands.  We are all the same.  We find joy in taking care of our families, we wish and dream for our children’s futures, and we love with all our hearts.”

The girls love to select buttons from my huge collection, so I knew it would be exciting for them to have their own special button jars!  I found the cutest sewing tools and novelty buttons to include, giving them a nice start.  Even Rich got into the fun by cutting the fabric and felt for the jar tops with the circle cutter…his help was so appreciated as we worked late one evening getting them finished.

And the studio was abuzz with little girls dreaming of gifts for their friends and family!  Some girls thought ahead and made quilts for Dads and Grandmas….while others needed some quick, last minute gifts….and plenty of them.  The Delightful Stuffed Owl was made by many students and check out Sami’s stack of twelve fleece scarves she made in one lesson!  The ever popular, KCS Bean Bugs filled with rice were flying out the door.  They are quick and fun and the girls just love to make them!  Sofia made a beautiful sewn (Can you say meticulous child :) reversible Christmas Tree Skirt with gorgeous rayon lace!  Sofia takes pride and does beautiful work.  This tree skirt is sure to be cherished by her family for many years to come!

New projects abound for students to make for gifts and holiday décor.   I am excited to add so many new patterns this year!  I must confess that I went a little overboard amassing a collection of “25 days of Christmas” patterns and ideas to sew.   But it sure was fun thinking about the girls and what they will like!  They are just gonna love the Santa Claus placemats for sure!!  And the stylish Cross-Body Cell Phone Wallet and the Mini Snap Purse are sure to be a hit with Mom’s and Auntie’s alike!  Not to be missed is the masculine wool plaid wallet to sew for the important men in their lives.  Dads, Uncles and even little brothers will equally treasure it.

A wonderful four days was spent with girlfriends, new and old, quilting and sewing in the mountains of Lake Tahoe.  Juliet of Quilt in Tahoe is a fabulous hostess and we look forward to future retreats in her beautifully appointed quilt house!  This time I came prepared with a list of things to accomplish and I set out one by one crossing them off my list.  I must admit Sandi seemed pretty surprised or was it shocked?  I am usually am so excited to visit with my friends that getting projects done can take a back seat…a waaaay back seat!  Not this time…this time I ROCKED!

Summer’s fun and busy schedule with extra morning classes as well as afternoons has students creating all sorts of great projects!  
A few examples: Sydney finished a beautiful petal flower pillow, while Amanda worked for many weeks completing a lovely dress for her trip as a chosen delegate at the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C. in June!   

INSPIRATION!  ~ That is what I discovered in Portland at the International Quilt Festival! Inspiration times ten!  After walking the rows and rows of fantastic vendors and designers my head is just spinning with new ideas and focus for my business and my kids (students!).

I went with three of my best girlfriends.  We had a fabulous time hitting the almost 3,000 booths from around the country.  Two of my friends have quilting businesses of their own and Sandi and I have had dreams of going into business together…who knows, maybe someday….

Anyhow, I came home with some great new pattern lines to carry and some fabulous ideas for my kids.  Watch the blog in the future to see what is on its way!

Ahhhh…. a whole day to sew and a mini vacation day from my usual afternoon classes teaching kids to sew!  All my parents were great about rescheduling; hopefully understanding that my continuing education would be a benefit to their child down the road. 

My “Bestie” Sandi and I attended a Hunter’s Star quilting class at Sierra Sewing Center taught by Kathy Baker here in Reno.  Kathy is infamous among my quilting circle as a teacher in high demand, with many students becoming “groupies”, attending everything she teaches.  This is the first time I’d taken one of her classes and I can see why she has such a following!  Kathy is down to earth, very helpful, and no pressure.  The atmosphere in class is very fun, relaxed and low key.  And YES, she still gets down to business and teaches you every nuance of the pattern and the necessary skills to get great results.

Sandi and I settled right into working together as we always do, sharing ideas, getting caught up and just having fun!  And for once Sandi didn’t get way ahead of me!   
 
Oh, and were not “groupies” yet, but we did sign up for Kathy’s block of the month class starting in June….smiles…

The Reno-Gazette Journal has been good to me and my business!  Last year I submitted a press release when I launched my classes in February and was delighted with the support from the RGJ when they ran an almost monthly little blurb about my studio and classes in the Northern Nevada section Things to Do Today!  

Then in January this year Susan Skorupa contacted me to ask for an interview for the newspaper.  I was surprised and excited, as were my students!  Every girl that could be there that day was, and several parents stayed to be interviewed too.  It was fun to have Susan interview us and for Andy the photographer/videographer to take lots of pictures and video.  All the kids anticipated the results for weeks. When it finally hit the newspaper both in print and online we were all thrilled! To read the full article, click download file below.