AQS Quiltweek Lancaster!

Talk about an amazing week... whew, it went by soooo fast!

I was blessed to again teach for AQS - this time in Lancaster, PA. My week started on Monday with travel. It was really nice riding from Philly airport - I recognized so make signs - King of Prussia, Reading, it was like I was back on my old stomping grounds (well, close).

Tuesday was judging day. This was a new experience for me. I was a little anxious as first, but I'm so glad I took part in the process. Such an amazingly talented group of quilters out there right now -- some of the pieces were beyond beautiful, all amazing, but some just stuck out more than others. I guess that's what it is like with all shows - narrowing it down to the absolute best of the best. I'm thankful I had my place with two other knowledgeable judges - I think we had a good balance. And now you know why I didn't have an entry. In case you haven't already seen, here is the link to the winners.

Wednesday started a full day of teaching:

A full house in my Build-A-Stitch class.

And an afternoon of Effortless Trapunto:

And here's a peek at just a few of the student's projects:

And then on to Thursday, which started with Piece & Applique the Longarm Way.

And a selfie with not only a student, by also one of my clients! It was great to finally meet Deborah in person. 

And a full house in the afternoon's Doodle Quilting class.  This class is soooooo much fun! 

And Friday was feather day!

Look at this fantastic sample that Linda stitched up in class! 

And then... right when I thought my week was going wonderfully it hit. Friday night while the rest of the world was sleeping I was wide awake with one of the worst stomach bugs I've had in a long time. I managed to get a tiny amount of sleep and pulled myself together for Saturday's class. Many thanks to the students who helped me load the machines Saturday morning as I was still in a lot of pain and not quite myself.  We took it slow, spent a few minutes extra at the whiteboard, and then got on with class - yes, with loads of hydrating water and lots and lots of hand sanitizer!

So here is Saturday mornings Big Border Breakdown class - this was an awesome group of ladies - and about an hour into class I was managing pretty well. And, a local photographer also popped in and snapped a gazillion picks of the students working away. I've gotta tell you - there were some talented border breakdowns happening and I wish I was feeling better to have snapped some pics - you would have been so proud of these ladies, I know I was!

Even with being sick - it was a fantastic week in Lancaster!

In case I missed seeing you - here are some of my upcoming teaching events:

MQS - Cedar Rapids, Iowa - May 11-14, 2016

Quilt Odyssey - Hershey, PA - July 21-24, 2016

I look forward to maybe seeing you soon!

Oh and I can't forget! Over on instagram, Kathryn @lovebugquilts shared her at-home doodle quilting practice piece -- look how awesome, she's definitely got this!

Vintage Alfred Shaheen

So a bunch of quilters have been buying and quilting up vintage Alfred Shaheen panels for a special exhibit at MQX Manchester.  The exhibit will be at MQX Springfield as well. Well, over the past many months I managed to purchase three panels with every intention of having them all quilted for the show. Yeah.... ummm... every intention fell through the cracks and I managed to finish one. I'll be Fedexing it as I'm already late -- story of my life. I will (eventually) finish my other two, I've got fantastic plans for them... hey, maybe in time for the Springfield show?

Anyway, I'd like to share some of the quilting process pics of my panel - the finished one is to the left.  I've named this Moth Parade -- partially because as of late I'm totally obsessed with moths, and also because they are some moth-looking butterflies to me.  Oh, and this time I used a layer of Hobbs 80/20 topped with Quilters Dream wool.  Normally, I use two layer of wool, but thought the linen could use some added stability from the 80/20.

Okay, now to the process pics:

 

And here is front and back views:

And, of course, the label:

So, if you're going to be at MQX Manchester (unfortunately, I won't be there), make sure you check out the Alfred Shaheen exhibit and snap some pics for me!