Spring is in the air

Have to admit I've had a little spring fever lately...kinda hard to stay focused on that to do list if ya'know what I mean....Can't say I've felt like spring cleaning...although I certainly need to! Nope, just been distracted by lots of fun stuff - from day dreaming to quilt deadlines to taking time for just me...and yes, one day I actually broke down and got donut holes and a kalache. Don't know if I deserved it or not, but it certainly made me smile!

I wish I had time to truly "document" things...it's fun to look back later and recall special memories or special events. Photos never forget, but neither does the mind if a memory is truly something special. Sometimes all it takes is a special song or someone to remind you of a particular time and place and the mind rushes ahead and says "I remember that!"  Life is certainly special and I hope to never take for granted the things I have experienced and the people I have shared the journey with.

 I'm hoping that my mind remembers what I learned last Monday when I had the opportunity to take a thread painting class with Nancy Prince. I have wanted to learn how to "thread paint" for years! There just never seemed to be the right time or opportunity to take a class.

I wish I could say that the beautiful barn and tree was the result of my class - instead my duplication of her project is a WIP - work in progress, and with spring time deadlines it's going to have to be on the back burner for a while.

Nancy is a fantastic teacher, explained things well, helped when she was needed and just a boat load of inspiration. I will say this - I totally enjoyed my class with her and felt like this time I really learned something! I have so many ideas of incorporating this into future quilts!

In between day dreams, donuts and learning something new I worked on a stunning customer quilt. The photo doesn't really do this king-size beauty justice. The colors were so striking- so perfect for spring time and dreaming of my upcoming cruise.  The blue and teals made me long for the ocean. One thing that is always rewarding to me is seeing the texture that the quilting creates, especially on the back. I love the movement created with the flowing of the design elements. This was certainly a fun quilt to work on all week. The customer is an excellent piecer, and that added to the joy. And I think she was pleased.

 

Speaking of the ocean and of my upcoming CRUISE!! It's only two weeks away! I'm so excited to be invited back as one of the teachers on this quilting cruise. Last year I taught an original layout using Deb Tucker's Rapid Fire (tm) LeMoyne Star Ruler and this year I will be teaching an original layout using her Rapid Fire (tm) Hunter's Star Ruler.

It was so much fun picking out the fabrics at Fall Quilt Market - naturally I gravitated over to the Island Batik booth and found the perfect collection, Caribbean Splash.  

The quilt sample is made with precuts and I have had a blast making little extras with the scraps...I shared with you earlier my cellphone wristlet...and the other night I stayed up until the wee hours being inspired to a matching ID holder from the scraps of the cellphone wristlet  for my "ship and sail" card along with a matching lanyard to keep everything hands free as I enjoy ship life. There's even room inside for my iPod and a pocket for my earbuds!  And by the way, I "documented" the process so perhaps when things settle back down I can sketch out a tutorial in case anyone is interested in making one (leave a comment if you would like to see these tutorials in the near future).

My my my...There's always deadlines and dilemmas...

While the precut strips and squares were readily available soon after market the coordinating fabric on the bolt didn't ship until last week! Oh my! So tonight after scrambling to get the borders on I've loaded the quilt  sample  on the longarm with hopes of  some serious quilting to do tonight before it's time to "clock back in" on Monday morning....tis the season of graduation t-shirt quilts and I'm trying to get several done before we sail.

Actually I have several more samples to piece before the cruise --  but that's a tale  and show and tell for another time... 

In the meantime, I am just loving the large open spaces for custom quilting - and I am soo thankful that the pretty bolt of backing fabric arrived "just in time"

This is short and sweet - gotta get back to my feathered wreaths!

o