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Morning Glories

On top of getting ready for a crazy teaching schedule next month I've been wiggling in some custom miniature pieces...I'm in my little safe oasis at my sewing machine. I just finished this one piece and I've fallen in love with it and thought it was worth sharing with the rest of you.

I've known Gloria Savage of Redding, CA for a number of years and she decided to treat herself to one of my pieces for a birthday present. She has this special tray that she uses every day and wanted to have a piece quilted and put under glass. I discovered this beautiful Morning Glory design in one of my books and she thought it was perfect...and indeed it was.

The only dilemma I have now is how to talk her out of her special tray!

Karen Azevedo...again!!!

I have to apologize for neglecting my blog but I haven't had anything inspirational to write about until today. My nose has been to the grindstone preparing for next month's schedule which includes a trip to Superior Threads in St. George, UT to teach for their School of Threadology.the day after I get back from there I fly to Providence, RI to teach at the amazing MQX show and then a week later I hostess my first retreat of the year in McCloud. My organizational skills as well as my sense of humor definitely come into play here! I have to publicly thank my family for putting up with me these past few weeks and allowing themselves to be neglected!

I have featured Karen Azevedo Cabin Country Quilting a few times in the past. She is a long arm quilter who is a proud member of the Linen Ladies Club. When she shares her work it always takes my breath away and I LOVE to share her with you. Here is her letter to me this afternoon describing her beautiful quilt:

"It is a queen-size quilt where I used an old linen table topper that belonged to my Grandma and layered it with pink batiste and a lace edging. The top is white sateen and the back is a white tone-on-tone. I also put some flat ribbon lace on the back around the middle section and then just a few Swarovski crystals as well. I've named it "Grandma's Blush".

Thank you Karen for inspiring not only me but the rest of the world who follows this blog. Hugs, Cindy

The Quilt Police...aka dear friend, Jody Ohrt

Many years ago a new student started coming to my classes and her name was Jody Ohrt. I instantly loved her...she was somebody you could get into some fun trouble with and she was a great fit in the classroom. It wasn't until several classes, many months later, that she slipped and mentioned that she was a quilting judge. I was mortified. I couldn't believe that an undercover quilting police agent had been attending my classes. And I couldn't believe that I was giving HER advice and instruction...it should have been the other way around. I had nothing to worry about as Jody isn't on the QP payroll...she's full of great advice, encouragement and inspiration. She's also an amazing Linen Lady and was featured twice in my book!

She recently had an interview and had the results of that interview posted on this blog and the information was SO valuable I had to pass it on to the rest of you!

Thank you, Jody, for being such a special friend to not only me but the rest of the quilting world. Thank you, too, for touching all of us with your wonderful advice. Cindy :)

Day Four!

I'm almost to the "turning into a pumpkin" stage of the evening but I was bound and determined to keep current with my Blog posts on Asilomar!

Today we featured the last two of my students with their own personal show-and- tell. We have all enjoyed this part of the retreat SO much and I will definitely plan on keeping it as a permanent part of my classes here. I taught my Linen Ladies workshop today and it's always very special for me to see my students enjoy creating these heirlooms as much as I do. Each morning each of my students has been treated to a gift on their sewing machines when they arrive...today they were treated to a "first come-first choice" gift. Barbara almost followed me into the classroom at 5:30 am to have first choice of linens from my stash :)

Tonight was my turn for a program presentation at Merrill Hall. Last year my rowdy, misbehaved and fun group of students made themselves well known and this year was no exception. I want to thank them for making my second teaching engagement at Asilomar so memorable! I never thought that the first year could be matched and it was...it must have something to do with the magic here.

We have a half-day tomorrow and then I'm off to snug up with Kent in front of the fireplace...nice ending to another amazing week at Asilomar! Hugs, Cindy

Day Three...

What an amazing day today! It absolutely poured and stormed all night last night but we woke up to partly cloudy skies this morning and warmer weather...whew! I taught the Open Thread Bar workshop today and we had a ball. This class is always a favorite of mine and something that has been a very popular guild workshop when I teach and travel around the country. Two more of my students were "featured" and what a treat it was. Even though we visit all day long this gives us a chance to really get to know the person a lot better.

I managed to sneak out at lunch and get a few more pictures on the beach without the rain and wanted to share...

I was invited to have dinner with the ladies from The Cotton Patch quilt store (our retreat store vendor/quilt shop in Lafayette) and we went to this great restaurant with amazing cakes that are at least 10" high. I got a huge slice of chocolate cake in a to-go box with 7 forks/napkins and brought it back to the classroom to share...it was gone within seconds. It almost makes you feel like you're back in grade school again and doing something very sneaky...and getting away with it! :)

Day Two...

Anyone who knows me understands you don't call after 8 pm at night as I'm probably asleep by then...I get up about 4 am to start my quilting for the day so it's a good excuse to fall asleep early! It's almost 10 pm so I'm almost turning into a pumpkin...but when you've been teaching all day it's sometimes hard to turn your head off. Teachers understand this!

I taught my design class today which is always a favorite. I usually have the best seat in the house as I get to see all the little lightbulbs going off in my students' heads during the lecture and today was no exception. I absolutely LOVED the class as my mighty group of six were so excited and so involved in the design process I ended up having the best seat in the class watching them take over.

I added a new part to the week-long retreat by having two "featured quilters" each day. One student was featured first thing in the morning and one mid-afternoon...this gave us all a chance to get to know her better, admire and touch her quilts and hear her stories. This is something I will definitely continue!

We were not blessed with sunshine today but rather pouring down rain all day. Only quilters will appreciate the fact that rainy, dreary weather is the PERFECT setting for quilting...we also appreciated the fact that breakfast, lunch and dinner were being prepared for us...the husbands were taking care of themselves at home...the dogs didn't need to be let in OR out...and we could crank up the music and sew and design and enjoy each other!

Oh..I had to add a couple more picures of the beach when it wasn't raining!

off to bed, Cindy

Asilomar...First Full Day

I arrived at Asilomar yesterday afternoon after four hours of driving in rain and traffic with zero visibility on either side and behind me due to my heavily packed Honda Pilot! I felt I needed to sacrifice safe driving for packing anything and everything for successful classes!

I was blessed with a very small intimate group of six students (which almost never happens at Asilomar) and they are all as crazy as I am with a great sense of humor. We had our Beginning Machine Quilting workshop and Basic Wholecloth Quilts lessons today...none of us stayed late to quilt...we were all very tired!

Yesterday was a very stormy, wet, wild weather day in Monterey but today we woke up to beautiful blue skies, no wind and an amazingly beautiful beach. I made myself take the time to enjoy both the sunrise AND the sunset...I can't describe how beautiful it is here but hopefully my very unprofessional pictures with my little digital camera will give it justice. You just need to add the sound of the crashing surf...mmmmm. :)

Touching Base...

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth but have been buried deep preparing for Asilomar on Sunday and teaching back-to-back-to-back classes. Unfortunately it's the important little details like keeping in touch with everyone via my Blog that gets swept aside.

There have been a couple new changes to my website that I wanted to let you know about. My husband complained last week that he couldn't figure out where I was teaching by looking at my website and strongly suggested adding a calendar...GREAT IDEA! So Jenny has added a link on the Home Page to my calendar.

I have had excellent feedback on my Classroom Collection of handbooks that I send via email attachments. I have had a few comments from others that have "dial up" internet and are not able to receive them. I am selling the complete collection of handbooks on CD now! The collection is selling for $70 which includes $5.00 for shipping/handling. If this is something you would be interested in, check it out in the Collections section.

Caryl's linen quilt is nearly done...woo hoo!!! I can't take a picture as the camera is already packed :) I will post about that when I get home from Asilomar.

So think of me next week as I'm indulging in teaching at a six-day quilting retreat at Asilomar in Monterey, CA...right next to the ocean! I'll take pictures and share as time allows!

Hugs, Cindy

Indulge Yourself...

In today's economy many of us are making sacrifices just to make ends meet and reevaluating some of our "wish list" items. I've seen this in the quilting industry but to a lesser degree than in other areas. Quilters still want to quilt regardless of what is going on in the world...it is our comfort, our social outlet and our creative outlet too. We're diving into our stashes more to save a dollar on new fabric...finishing up UFO's rather than starting a new project...but one thing we shouldn't be doing is sacrificing our classroom experience. Whether you are taking classes at your local quilt store or traveling halfway across the country to attend a conference, there is something very special about the inspiration you receive in the classroom. Not only are you able to meet other quilters and teachers but you can fill yourself up again with the warm fuzzies you get in a classroom full of quilters and let the world go by even if its for just a day or two.

I am fortunate enough to be teaching at a few very exciting venues this year and wanted to toot their horn just a bit. If you feel like indulging yourself by attending a special quilting conference this year please check these out. I would love to see you whether you come as a student or just drop by to say hello. Those who know me know that I love to have visitors in the afternoons in my classrooms. For those of you who may be interested in taking one of my workshops, please know that I cater to the beginning student, hand or machine, and walk everyone thru the simple steps of creating beautiful quilts. All of my workshops are very hands-on with lots of quilt fondling and eye candy! I hope to see you soon!

Empty Spools Seminars-Asilomar (Monterey, CA). I will be there in about 2 weeks and will be teaching a five day workshop. I will be there in April 2011 too. If you've never been, you have to treat yourself to one of the top-rated quilting conferences in the country.

MQX-Providence, Rhode Island. April 14-17, 2010. I was lucky enough to have been invited to teach there last year and will be there once again in April. They are in their new location and I can't wait to go. They have an amazing show and great teachers. I will be teaching four different full-day workshops Wednesday-Saturday.

Superior School of Threadology-Quilt Hawaii June 29-July 4, 2010. When Bob from Superior Threads called and asked if I would mind teaching for him in Hawaii this year what could I say? WOW. This will be a total indulgence class...maybe you could write it off as an educational business expense?

Camp Watch-A-Patcher, Irvine, CA July 11-15, 2010. This will be my first year teaching at this quilting retreat but I have heard loads of good things about it in my classrooms and can't wait to go. They have some great teachers lined up and the reports from my students are that everyone has a wonderful time and it is a very sought after retreat.

Northwest Quilting Symposium, Olympia, WA. August 12-15, 2010. This is the first conference of its kind in this location and there are some amazing teachers lined up. Lots of quilters are excited about attending and I've already heard from a number of students that are planning to attend. Sure can't beat the location!

Thank You Jenny!!!!

Many of you know that my favorite oldest daughter,Jenny, is my webmaster and she works hard trying to keep my website updated. She is even more patient with me when I casually ask for some changes that I think might be simple like "Could we update my Gallery?". I had NO idea that such a simple, easy request could turn into such a dilemma. It turned out to be a much bigger and more complicated project than we both anticipated BUT, like her mom, she loves a good challenge and pulled it off last night and it's up and running! Check it out HERE I forgot to mention that she was doing all of this while taking care of Chloe and Samantha ages 2 1/2 and 3 1/2...no small feat!

Jenny also does professional photography and has quite the talent behind the lens of a camera. She is starting to include quilt photography in her expertise and has been experimenting with some of my quilts. Some of those "different" pictures are included in this blog and in my gallery. Check out her website HERE.

I wanted to publicly thank Jenny for her love...her support...her talent...and for taking such good care of me always. Luvu Jenny, Mom :)

Progress on Projects...

Sometimes it takes a special upcoming teaching engagement to make me push to get some things done. I will be teaching at Asilomar again this year (a little over 3 weeks away) and would like to have some "new" projects completed to bring with me and one of those is Caryl's linen quilt. I had to share just how far I've gotten on it in the past couple weeks. The more I do on this the better I like it. It may not be finished by Asilomar but at least it will be done enuf to be able to share with everyone.

When I was at Road to California last week I paid a visit to a favorite vendor. BJ's Designs always has the most amazing stash of linens...very good quality and fair prices. She also has breath-taking blouses/jackets created from vintage linens. I had no business buying anything but her booth display included a beautiful long blouse/jacket that took my breath away and I had to have it. I need a nice jacket for my Linen Ladies workshops and this would be perfect for Asilomar too. I couldn't just wear it the way it was, could I? Nope. I had to go buy some amazing buttons to go on it...then had to add some white Highlights threads in all the flowers, feathers behind the flowers and beads of course! I am thrilled with how the embellishing is adding a touch of Cindy to an already beautiful garment.

If anyone is even considering attending Asilomar, this year would be the perfect year to do so. Due to the economy the sign ups have been light. This is in favor of the students as I have the privilege of having a small intimate group of students to myself for five days. I have all kinds of special things planned and am looking forward to being able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with each student!

Simply Sensational Sew Days...Passing It Forward

For several years now I have been hostessing monthly Sew Days at Honey Run Quilters in Chico. This initially started as a way to provide an easy and affordable way for my students to keep in touch, receive additional instruction on designing, basting, quilting techniques, etc. For $10 a day each student came to spend the day...I never dreamed it would become such an important and vital part to all of our lives. There is a "core group" that is there every single month. There is another group that gets in when they're lucky enough to find an opening. Each newbie to the group is always welcomed with open arms...nobody is a stranger, ever. When the Sew Days started I ran my hiney off offering instruction to everyone there...now I still run my hiney off but everyone in the core group instructs, inspires and helps anyone that needs help. When I take a moment to breathe a bit, I soak in the room enjoying the classroom "hummmmm", the conversations..the purring of the machines..the laughter...the hugs...the total experience of 20 people coming together to enjoy the magic of quilting. I know that these days won't last forever, nothing this good can, but I have enough insight to appreciate every single one of these days and all those that attend that make them so special.

Today was no different. As many of you know California has been hit hard with a pretty decent storm. We had an easy light rain today and early this afternoon I turned around and saw these two little 7 year-old girls peeking in through the front glass door of the classroom checking things out. Their mom was walking the dogs so I invited them to check things out (the dogs stayed outside!). These girls were amazing...they made themselves right at home chatting with all the quilters, checking out all the quilts but finally landed in Janice Maxey's corner of the room where she was marking her quilt. Janice took them under her wing and explained the marking process and invited them to participate and help her out.

There are no words for what took place...words wouldn't do this moment justice. Maybe I could sum it up with "passing it forward" and you would understand.

I am blessed to have been allowed to live my dream of teaching my passion of quilting with those that choose to join me in the classroom and I don't take one single student or class for granted. I know that this won't last forever and know that I will look back on this time in my life as my "favorite part".

Hugs, Cindy