Paducah 2016 (Plus Late FNSI Update)

I completely missed posting after the FNSI even though I made significant progress over the weekend and actually had something to share! I took the pictures and was all ready to post early Monday morning and then that nasty little thing called work got in the way. I worked like a crazed lunatic from very early in the morning to early evening trying to get as much done as possible before heading out to Paducah for Quilt Week (which ended up being more like altered work hours than an actual vacation, but I'm getting used to that...).

Anyway, last weekend I caught up on my 365 blocks (with the exception of the center - that's still on the "to do" list). Since this photo was taken I have completed another week of blocks. The instructions for assembling the center dark border were published last week so now I am motivated to finish the center so I can start assembling some of these little guys!

I also completed a couple more of the alternate blocks for Allietare so I could see it all together.  It's kind of a weird color combination but I think it works.  Gray now seems like an odd choice with everything assembled - but it was a mystery and you never know!  I decided to forge ahead.

So, decision made I decided to go back to finish the steps I missed leading up to the final block assembly.  I finally finished all the Santa hats!

Paducah was lots of fun this year.  I continue to feel that the show is being diluted - not that there weren't some really incredible quits there, but there were a few that you just had to wonder about...and there was really nothing new and exciting for sale by the vendors either.  Part of the problem was that I am still raw from the pain of the sewing room clean-out and was not inclined to purchase anything that required me to find a place for it, but I just didn't see anything I had to have.

I went to a lecture and took two workshops from Carolyn Konig of Australia. Poor Carolyn's luggage didn't all make it to Paducah. One of her suitcases made a grand tour of the US, heading from Dulles to Hawaii and then back to Dulles and then who-knows-where. It was still missing in action when I left on Friday. She had a couple of quilts and some of her supplies in the case that stayed with her but was forced to give her lecture and teach her classes without her notes and visual aids.  She managed to do a great job in spite of the challenges, however, and she did at least have two of her fabulous quilts to share.

One of the workshops I took was "Oh George!", a hand-piecing class based on the above quilt. Carolyn's technique is a little different from the way I learned and I was a bit slow, but I did learn a few valuable tips for working with curves and pieces like this quilt.

I think I managed to get about three of these seams sewn during class.  Those curves are a lot trickier to line up than straight piecing! I don't think I would live long enough to get a quilt full of these completed. I may need to cross this one (and the ones like it) off my list!

All Work and No Play

It's been such a long time since I posted!  I have been working on a couple of really big projects at work and have been putting in long hours, leaving very little time and energy for getting anything creative done!  I did take a small break to spend a few days at Paducah, shopping (I actually didn't buy that much, but had a great time looking) and taking a Sashiko class from Pepper Cory.  The class was wonderful!  I'm not sure if I will ever use the technique but it was incredibly fun to learn the history and give it a try.

I would highly recommend taking a class from Pepper.  She was a fantastic teacher!

We also had the opportunity to attend a little get-together with Lisa Bonjean of Primitive Gatherings at a cute little barbecue "boutique" in downtown Paducah.  Lisa shared her tips and tricks for wool appliqué and answered questions from the audience. The highlight of the night was a sneak peek at the 2014 summer BOW.  It is gorgeous!  It just posted this week and I'm already signed up.  I can't wait!

Lisa gave everyone who attended a great little pin cushion kit and also drew names for door prizes.  I was lucky enough to win one - a great kit and pattern for a table topper.  I finished stitching my pin cushion tonight.  I still need to fill it, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's a fun little souvenir from the event.

The day after returning home from Paducah we attended Hook-in St. Louis.  I actually managed to finish my Wool Club challenge piece on time (not counting the label...). I am not thrilled with how it turned out - it is okay, but not my favorite rug.  Thankfully it was a small piece and didn't take all that long to do.  

The hook-in was a lot of fun and I did a great job of restraining myself... until the end. Red Barn Rugs had a couple of rugs I absolutely loved - one that is fairly reasonable in size and the other is ridiculously huge. I resisted temptation until the last hour of the hook-in...then went to look again and she didn't have either of the patterns. I should have taken that as a sign and walked away...but in an incredibly weak moment told her to send them to me.  I am not sure what I was thinking - that big one will take me five years to hook!  I can only hope that she will lose that piece of paper with my information...