Spring brings Tulips

Good spring day to you.

Each day brings warmer weather and here the earth is awakening. My tulips are starting to peek out of the ground. I anxiously await their brightly colored blooms.

This art piece has inset hexagons that remind me of reflections in a drop of spring rain. Offset with black and white strips which could be piano keys, we could be "Singing in the Rain".

Recently sold artwork

This past week I said "good-by" to Red Hot Chili Lily. It's always a bittersweet moment when a piece of artwork is sold. Your art so much becomes a bit of your life.

But it's also a fabulous opportunity when you can share yourself with others. "Go forth, little flowers, and bring joy to your new world."

Ann's hand painted fabric

The wonderful part of the attending a class is that you learn new tips and techniques. Many times, the students are as inspiring as anything that the teacher could present. I am constantly amazed at the talent of my students and I am constantly being "taught" by them.

In our recent serger class "Simply Leafy 2", one of the students, Ann from Waukesha, came with a fabulous fabric that she hand-painted. When the supply list called from a leaf print and Ann couldn't find one that suited her taste, she made it. Quilters are so clever!

Thank you, Ann, for sharing with the class your technique for creating this special fabric.

If you have the opportunity to attend a class in your area, don't pass it by. You never know what you may learn.

FVTC Sewing and Quilting Expo Workshop

In the Friday workshop class "Simply Leafy 2", we explored our sergers and the challenges of using different serger stitches to create a serged quilt project.

We used both the flatlock stitch and the more common overlock stitch as the students created a decorative background and appliqued leaves and stems.

"Simply Leafy 2" is one of the projects from my newest book "Serge and Merge Quilts". In this book, I took up the challenge of using my serger as a quilting tool. It is filled with quilting projects that incorporate the three most common serging stitches; the overlock, the flatlock, and the rolled edge, into creative, traditional and contemporary art quilts.

Look for "Serge and Merge Quilts" at your favorite quilt shop or you can contact me for an autographed copy.

FVTC Sewing and Quilting Expo

Unfortunately, the weekend is over and as I overheard one participant say "All year long I look forward to this event and then it goes so fast."

I'm speaking, of course, of the FVTC Sewing and Quilting Expo held in Oshkosh, WI. This was the 9th year of this well-run event (thanks, Marie Thull, all of your staff and volunteers) With over 600 pre-registered students plus others, classrooms were filled, show quilts were admired and vendors were perused in search of new additions to "the stash". The meals included in the registration fee were excellent and we all went home over-fed, over-stimulated and over-tired but with wide smiles on our faces.

I had the privilege of teaching at this event and thoroughly enjoyed it.