TKDAA 2017

Apologies in advance for the lousy photos - I think it is about time for a phone upgrade (or to go back to an old-school camera).  This year's TKDAA was lots of fun albeit not terribly productive (as usual for me!). I was in Elly's "self study" class this year and spent my time working on a block for my SLAM quilt. It is amazing how long it can take to prep a single block! I finished the week with about a quarter of it stitched.

Elly was entertaining as always. There were so many beautiful quilts on display during the dinners, including a number of Sue Garman's designs.

Mary Koval shared several quilts and her vast knowledge of broderie perse applique in a luncheon lecture.

She brought along this recently-acquired album quilt to share with us. It is in wonderful condition!

Brenda Papadakis discussed her Dear Jane journey at a dessert reception.  The quilt behind her was made for George and Laura Bush by quilters from all around the world by the online Dear Jane group after 9/11.  Brenda has been trying to get the quilt to Laura Bush for years.  

Spending time with Brenda over the week and seeing other attendeess quilts and blocks makes me want to start another DJ quilt. I started three but have never landed on a color theme that inspires me to keep going. It's likely a fourth start would meet the same fate - and I already have more projects started than I can finish in my lifetime. So far I have controlled my impulses - hopefully the thought will fade soon!

Lisa has been busy posting Triangle Gatherings patterns!  I caught up on my 6" blocks over the weekend. I still haven't started any of the smaller ones.Below are blocks 8-13.

I also spent a little time working on bow ties yesterday so I could claim at least a little progress on one of my February UFOs. I only managed to finish 16 before it was time to make dinner but it's better than nothing! I shudder every time I see the total needed on the pattern card (3,023). Sigh!

I also worked a little on block 1 of Sue Spargo's 2017 BOM over the past couple of weeks but her BOM rules prohibit us from sharing pictures.  I hope to finish the applique this week so I can get to the decorative stitching.  The second block kit arrived Saturday so I am already falling behind.

I'm off to Kansas City for the Rock Creek Hook-in next weekend. I have made a little more progress on my Maggie rug but nothing worth sharing - still trying to get half of the background finished before moving on to do more of the fun stuff. I am still hoping to have that one finished before heading back to Janice's in June....an ambitious goal for sure!

Applique Academy 2013

I just returned from a wonderful few days at the Applique Academy where I took a class from Jeanne Sullivan.  She is an awesome instructor!  She teaches a prepared applique technique that might have actually changed my opinion of sizing and freezer paper.  I need to get a little farther on the block to make up my mind for sure, but I have to admit that even as a diehard needle-turner I wasn't minding the prep at all and was actually really liking the end result.

I was able to break away from the computer for a while on Thursday to visit an exhibit of Baltimore Album quilts at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Colonial Williamsburg.  It's an interesting museum - it's actually a collection of museums in a building that used to be the public hospital in Colonial Williamsburg.  The quilts were wonderful, but it was the overall display that really caught my eye.  The area was fairly dim with special lighting on the quilts and quilt block designs projected on the floor.



The museum had a nice variety of quilts.  While all Baltimore-style, they were quite different from one another. (Note that the lines in the photos are seams in the glass - between the dim lighting and  glass display cases it was tough to get a good photo!)

I was fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day to explore the museum and a little bit of Colonial Williamsburg. I didn't have time to visit any of the houses, but did stop in a couple of shops in the merchant's area and enjoyed a delicious lunch from The Cheese Shop.

I will post more pictures from the Academy and pictures of my latest work (my January Sue Spargo BOM blocks are nearly complete!) later this week.  I'm off to the sewing room to unpack my class supplies...which seem to somehow have doubled in volume over the past few days!