The Painting Technique

Many have asked about my painting technique on the pelicans and want to know how I learned. I was able to spend a week with Sharon Schamber in a small group week-long retreat. During this retreat I created Oliver, my owl quilt. I have used the techniques I learned from Sharon in so many of my quilts over the years - like I have said before, if you ever get the chance to take one of her classes, do so! Her wealth of knowledge is unimaginable - you will learn so much, I am proud to call her my friend!

So, back to the painting technique. If you are unable to take one of her classes, you can order one of her DVDs on her daughter Cristi's website, Purple Daisies Quilting. The DVD is entitled Quilt Fairy (Concept, Design and Construction), and it was based on the techniques covered during the week-long retreat. This is the next best thing to having Sharon there with you in person.

I've taken what I learned from Sharon and added my own style to it. Yes, I do some things differently, but the base technique is still there -- you have to take what you learn and make it work best for you - adjust, adapt, change, but most importantly learn, as much as you can!! Try new techniques and practice - not every piece will be perfect, but I'm sure you will learn something new with each piece.

Hopefully this answers the questions many of you have commented and emailed me - keep creating!

A while ago my friend Cristy of Purple Daisies asked if I wanted to collaborate with her on a quilt.  Well... yeah, of course!  She had been embroidering it for some time, and then it spent some time on the road hanging in her booth, and finally it found its way to my door in early October.  And, of course, it needed to be finished before Market.  Ready... go!

Before we get to all the fabulous pictures, here are the details:  the pattern is by Cristy's Mom, Sharon Schamber, another of my very dear friends.  The pattern is Scarlet Serenade -- Sharon has made it super easy for everyone to recreate her amazing quilt through applique and beautiful embroideries.  You can buy your very own embroidery design DVD here.

Now, to the pictures -- isn't this the best part!

All basted and ready to go!

Here's a peek at how amazingly beautiful the embroidery and applique looks:

And some of the quilting:

And the back:

And the full shot:

I am beyond happy to be a part of this amazingly beautiful quilt!

Home from Houston

Home from Houston.  Festival was a blast!  I was there three days and it totally feels like a few hours.  Everything has blended into one giant blur.  Glad I managed to take some pictures, it helps to jog the memory.

My day started at 3:30 am on Thursday.  Honestly, Wednesday never really ended I just took a short nap and started Thursday super early!  I get to the airport only to find out I could have slept longer -- like 2.5 hours longer!  So, I sit... and sit... and sit some more.  Finally they let us board the plane - one step closer to Houston.  I really shouldn't complain as there were many people in the NE not flying at all thanks to Superstorm Sandy!

Pictures -- I took a few - some I'll share and some I won't (those that received these via text are probably still giggling).  Anyway, I'll start with candids, you'll have to wait for another post to see some of my favorite quilts from the show.

So anyone that has walked through the Hilton Americas Lobby has seen this fountain wall... Nat and I being the curious bodies we are just wanted to see if you could actually touch the water... yup!

So then I had to rush over to the Gammill booth and formally meet the Gammill peeps.  This is Betsey - isn't she just the cutest - a truly wonderful person!

 So while I'm there I've got to stitch, right?

That's Betsey and Dave watching.  Once I'm truly in the zone I don't even know anyone is there.  And no, I don't normal hunch down like that when I stitch.  The tables are set for "normal" peeps -- you know me, not anywhere near normal - LOL... no really, my table is set much higher than these.  It was great meeting the Gammill family!

Then a quick run over to the Purple Daisies booth to visit with Cristy and Sharon.  Oh and see that super cute purple sample behind me... I stitched that for Cristy using Sharon's embroidery designs and then quilted the background fills.  I didn't get a picture with Sharon (strange I know), but here she is creating her magic!

From there it was over to the Meander Publishing booth to say hi to Clouds in My Latte - she was hanging in their booth making people stop in their tracks (at least that's what I've been told).  You can also see and read about Clouds in the Sept/Oct issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine.  Here I am with Vicki Anderson in front of Clouds.  And a big shout-out to Lisa for schlepping my quilt in her luggage so it could be there in time for Market and Festival (((HUGS))).

The rest of the day is a blur... I do remember hearing my name from across the second floor... Bonnie McCaffery was calling me.  I'll share more on that later.  Then we caught up with Candace (a facebook friend) and spent the afternoon wandering the vendor booths.

And we even managed to run into a good friend, Eyvonne, one of our Journeys Thru Art members:

Then off to dinner...

Good times - great company!  And the scenic journey back across the street...

 

Day two started similar... in the Gammill booth.  Seriously peeps, I can't go a day without stitching!  And who wouldn't want to stitch on these brand new beauties!

Then Nat and I walked through all the quilts... beautiful, amazing, inspiring quilts.  More on that in a separate post.

Then it was time to meet up with Bonnie McCaffery.  She wanted to film Wonderlust to inlcude in her vidcast of Festival.  Of course, I was totally honored!  Here she is setting up and the both of us in front of Wonderlust.

Oh, and Bonnie totally taught me a new stance -- Lisa calls this the "hot mama in front of your quilt" stance!  Thanks Bonnie standing like this is way cheaper than plastic surgery and makes you look amazing!  Yes, all the rolls and chins are still there -- they're just hiding while the picture gets snapped!

Here's a pic of Natalie and me with Gail Thomas (wonderful quilter and friend) in front of Belief, Intuition, and Faith a collaborative quilt by Sharon Schamber and Gail.

And, back in the Gammill booth -- Alex Anderson decided to try out the new sit-down Gammill.  Oh, and make sure you visit Gammill's facebook page.  They are having a name that baby contest.  If they pick your name you could win a brand new sit-down machine!

And finally back home, my hubby is happy that I took more pictures than spent dollars!  Here's a peek at my purchases -- not too bad, very proud of my controlled-spending self!

Some amazingly wonderful things happened while in Houston and I can't wait to share them with you -- soon, but, that is all for today.  Another post soon with some of my favorite quilts from the show!  Happy Day Quilties!

Catch up... not ketchup, that would be messy!

Oh my, this is going to be a VERY LONG post.  Sooooo much has been going on that I don't even know where to start.

I guess I'll start with Mabel since she is weighing on my mind the most.  We finally got her regulated to the point that she was getting insulin at 50 units am and 45 units pm -- this was keeping her urine glucose in check.  Well, right when you think things are okay... NOT.  Memorial Day she had her first diabetic seizure.  Break out the karo syrup and attempt to get it on her tongue while her teeth are clenched shut... it was rough, we got through it.  No insulin that night.  Tuesday morning no sugar in pee, no insulin, Tuesday night, pee glucose at 500, dropped her down to 40 units of insulin... this went on with no rhyme or reason until Thursday morning... forty minutes after her insulin she had another seizure.  Rushed her to the vet for blood work, okay.  Get home, within minutes another seizure.  The vet says the best part of this is that we had blood work one hour after a seizure and one hour before a seizure, apparently speaking "vet" this was the best opportunity for blood work to see what was happening during the seizures.  Turns out her blood sugar was almost zero - so close to diabetic coma... okay, can't even go there mentally.  It also showed that her fructosamine was mid-high.  I'm not a doctor/vet but apparently this shows what has been going on with her for the past 6 weeks.  She most definitely needs insulin.  So now we are back to 20 units am and 20 units pm.  Apparently Mabel is just like the rest of this house and runs hot and cold... never a middle ground.  The vet decided that instead of following her urine glucose levels, we'll just track them and use her thirst levels for insulin adjustments.  All I can say is thank God I work from home and can monitor her as much as possible.

I guess my weight loss would be next.  I haven't lost any weight in almost three weeks, I guess the good in this is that I've been adding carbs back and haven't gained any weight either.  Strange part is my weight is moving around, if that makes any sense at all?  Here are three pics to date, the right being the most recent, still weighing the same, fat's just moving somewhere?  Oh goodness, I'm wearing shorts too, I haven't done that in a very long time!  See, I told you I have a bunch of these shirts, super thin oh-so-comfy t-shirts (now getting super baggy).  Oh, one more thing, in case I haven't mentioned this, thank you all for being so very supportive through this!

Up next... a recent trip to Joann's to use up my expiring coupons resulted in an awesome deal.  I purchased yet another 6.5" ruler.  I own two, well three now, but this way I am able to lose it, just like the others!  I also got some bigger mirrors (12") for wholecloth designing.  But the best deal was a faux-silk (yep, did the burn test) in a luxurious copper-penny color.  Ready, it was originally 21.99 (a bit high for faux I think), marked-down three times to $6 and since it was 50% off Red-Tag fabric I got it for $3/yard.  WOW, that was a super unexpected sale! 

Isn't it gorgeous!  I am amazed that is is faux - it catches the light and adjusts color just like real silk, but yet it melted like plastic.  Guess it's just a really good faux silk - as beautiful as it is, I will accept it!  Here is a little peek of what is going on it... sorry, but that's all you can see right now!

See, I told you tons of stuff going on over here...

On to old/new business.  A while ago I received some embroidery files from Cristy at Purple Daisies.  For those of you that don't know, she is daughter to the amazing Sharon Schamber (someone I am both honored and proud to call friend).  Anyway, Sharon has been working on digitizing her beautiful quilting into embroidery files.  Let me tell you, they are amazing!  I had made this super cute mini-quilt using the files Cristy sent.  For those of you that don't know me well, I created it, quilted it, binded it, and the put it on the table and covered it... normal-ness in my house.  Well, I just found it the other day and shipped it right off to Cristy with an apology for being my own forgetful self... gotta take the good with the bad right?  Anyway, here are some pictures

These are from the Sea Foam Feathers collection and they are absolutely beautiful!  Make sure you visit Cristy's website and order some for yourself!

Oh, almost forgot, Wonderlust has been accepted into Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA -- if you're anywhere near there at the end of July make sure you stop in to visit it for me!

I have two more bits to share with you, but they will have to wait until next time!  Happy Day Quilties!

Synchronicity

Synchronicity, coincidence, fate -- call it what you may.  Everything happens for a reason.  I say this a lot, mostly because it is true.

Let me start with that fact that I don't usually take classes, for a few reason, namely my ADD - it is very hard for me to stay focused long enough to learn and also to not disturb the rest of the class.  This mainly is why I very rarely sign up for classes, also because I'm finicky -- the class must be a technique that I don't know, it can't just be yet another way to fuse something -- I've got to come out of that class saying wow, I can really use this in my creative process.  So, in my history of quilting to date I have taken two classes.  The first was a week-long retreat with Sharon Schamber -- you can read all about it on my other blog (just search Oliver and/or Sharon Schamber retreat as there are way too many posts to link each one).  Anyway, that class was where Oliver was born and started a special spark in my creative genius.  My second class was just yesterday.  One of the guilds to which I belong had signups for a class with Bonnie McCaffrey.  Well, turns out, so many people signed up that they had to hold a lottery as there were only 20 spots in the class.  I was lucky enough to be chosen in the lottery.   Before we get to the synchronicity part.... let me tell you, I suck at domestic machine quilting.  Yep, totally suck!  There is a good reason why I'm a longarm quilter, no one in their right mind would possibly even bother to look at anything I'd quilted free motion on the domestic.... don't believe me?  Let me share my practice piece that I did at home so as to not totally embarrass myself in class

Okay, stop it!  Pick yourselves up off the floor, stop laughing, wipe the tears from your eyes, and say it with me... I suck!  I think back to all those quilts I quilted on the domestic and say how?  But then I realize because all I did was meander, easy peasy!  Now my brain only wants to do amazing things and my domestic capabilities are nil.  So after my left brain explained this to my right brain I felt much better, and could totally accept my sucky stitches.

So starts Bonnie's class...  did I mention I was supposed to follow a line?  Oh no!  A line, and I was supposed to stay on it, can't be done!  Here is my wiggly, giggly, oh so glittery project:

I must say, the thread Bonnie suggests is YLI Candlelight... LOVE!  I also must admit that I can't wait to try this technique on the longarm.  I came away from this class with so many ideas blooming, the only difference was they were blooming in the longarm garden.

So, a little paint, some beads and in only three hours I had a super cute new technique piece of fabric, oh, and also a cute pic of me and Bonnie... notice she's the cute one, me, I'm the one with frizzy hair, sixteen chins, and googly giggly smile and thanks to magic of photography I can now see how much weight I really need to lose -- another day another post.

So, if you're new to this world and haven't heard of Bonnie, check out her website http://www.bonniemccaffery.com/ so many fun and exciting things!!

So, on to the synchronicity part...
I was honored enough to be included in dinner with Bonnie and two of my quilty buds.  Wow, what a fantastic evening... dinner did go on for almost 4 hours, I'm sure the restaurant was more than happy to see us leave, but the ideas, discussions, and general wonderfulness that happened was great!  One amazing thing that happened was Bonnie decided to do a vidcast of our art group, Journeys Thru Art, and showcase our door challenges.  What!  Holy crapola, you aren't kidding!  So... breathe, yes, we spent this morning filming and laughing, and nervous knot bellying (oh wait, maybe that was only me), and then we even had lunch!  Bonnie is an wonderful person, and really does make you feel at ease in front of the camera.  Haha... I say this now, when I see the vidcast I'm sure I will be totally freaked out by myself, but we'll deal, when it's time!  Oh, and the best part, I'm sick with an awful cold and my voice is equivalent to a strange squeeky toy.  So when you finally watch the vidcast, please remember I was sick, I really don't squeek!

And, for the totally synchro part....
I've been talking and talking about doing videos of my longarm quilting... guess what?  No, really, guess!  Okay... Bonnie just happens to be a fantastic videographer!  So, it's not happening yet, but soon, okay sometime in the kinda' near future, Bonnie will be filming me... yep!  Just as soon as I can figure out a plan you'll be able to view, rewind, fast forward... just don't pause, I am positive I'll look awful or have some seriously stupid look on my face, really, I do that, so please don't pause unless it's to look at stitches! 

Not to worry, I will keep you all informed when all of this is happening.  I will most certainly send out a link when the vidcast is on her website.  And I will most definitely let you know when, where, and how to purchase my video... now, to contain it all and come up with a plan...