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.”

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!

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…