Charlotte Angotti :: Quilt Maker's Studio

Where did the website go?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:50:38 -0400

It has been forever since my last post, forgive me.

The site took a little dive off the edge. It is no longer able to show you the kits or to take orders. I will be getting a new site soon. It is in the works. FOR REAL.

When this happens it will be new and improved and offer you all kinds of info. My new site will be what I used to have in two sites, all wrapped up into one. Promise.

In the meantime. If you are looking for me, want to hire me or to ask a question, maybe need a kit, pattern or the New book, Surprise Yourself!…just email me and I will get right back to you. CharlotteAngotti@aol.com.

Here’s to keeping you in stitches! :)

Charlotte

Where did the summer go?

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:28:26 -0400

Well, I was right…summer was hot! Still is.

Right now I am flying to Atlanta so that I can change planes and fly home to Myrtle Beach. It is so wonderful to be able to do this while I am in the air on a very long flight! Making time to do things when you can’t do much else!

I am returning from 10 days of travel. I was on cruise to Alaska. The group was a blast. Most of them are from NY and are on their way back to Irene and her little visit. I do hope that each of them finds all to be just as they left it. One group of quilters didn’t have luggage for the entire trip. To some this would have been the worst news and they would have made it bad for all. Instead these women laughed about it. They named themselves the “Make Do” quilters. We can all learn from them. I want to thank them and all the great students that I had while on the cruise.

Some of you might not know that I am working on a book with Debbie Caffrey. She and I are going to write about how we design our mystery quilts for our classes. There will be some quilts and patterns for doing them but also the way we work. You will be able to follow us through your own designing adventures using our easy methods. Although Debbie and I are very different in many ways, we are also very much alike. We find things that we agree on every day but there will always be differences. By us having two approaches to this you can use one or the other or a combo of the two to make your own quilts.

I am also working with Linda Poole on another book. This one is a combo of piece work and applique. For those of you who already piece this will be a good time to try a new applique technique. For those who are appliquers you will be introduced to simple piecing techniques. The combo of these two things will surprise you. It is also a good place to share your talents with someone else. One of you pieces and the other can applique.

There are lots of you that come to my classes in Houston and I see that classes are filling up fast for this year’s gathering there. Please consider going to Long Beach, CA if you don’t get the class you like in Houston. The show is smaller, classes are still great and the crowds are not as large but the fun level is still there! The weather in July can be so hot were I live. I LOVE going to Long Beach in July. The fresh food, weather and great show all add up to nothing but a great time.

While I have been gone there was an earthquake, a hurricane and the temps have been in the upper 90’s. Shake, Bake and Blow!

Charlotte

Summer

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:42:52 -0400

It isn’t really summer…yet, but the weather thinks that it is. It has been so very hot.
Right now I am in Va Beach, VA. I came up here to visit some of my good friends. There is a group of us that still get together. They get together every month, but since I am not living here anymore I can only get up here now and then. This was my month to do the block exchange so I drove up. It was a pleasure to get here…it was much cooler and it rained!
I am heading back home tomorrow, but I have had a very good time and got lots done as well. I have pieced some blocks for the quilt I need (for The Quilt Show in Aug) and I have laughed and enjoyed myself. Something that everyone should do once in a while if not all the time!

Stay out of the heat. I do fear this is going to be a hot summer. If it is this hot now what is to come?

working

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:40:11 -0400

Right now I am working on the first of two different kits for Long Beach Quilt Festival. The end of July this show comes around and I must say it is one of my favorite shows. The weather is wonderful. The location of the convention center is close to so many things and it is just beautiful there.

The two quilts that I will have this year are also pretty darn wonderful…I must say. I am loving this first one. It is a pattern that I have wanted to do for some time and it is not nearly as difficult to sew as I imagined. Since the kits are cut by John Flynn with a laser they are very accurate. Even I am hitting a point or two.

While all this designing and sewing is going on a few other things have been happening. My fridge needed to be repaired while I was away. It wasn’t cold enough. It is fixed but I am going to need a new one. While at the doctor’s office not too long ago for a cough I was treated for high blood pressure as well. Then my mini computer got cracked on the trip home from a job and my PC needed to be cleaned up. A hail storm came upon us pretty fast and my car got beat while sitting in the driveway. I was working on a project and noticed that my eyes weren’t focusing as well as I liked. Went to the eye doctor and found out that my glasses needed to be changed…in a huge way.

So, here I am at home minding my own business and all this dumps on me in one month. A month when I am not working! No money coming in but flying out the door pretty fast. Hopefully all is done. The computers are back, the blood pressure is down, I am used to the stronger glasses and the car is without dents. The fridge is plugging along and will last a few more months.

Now, I have two books to work on, a quilt to make for a challenge, blocks to come up with for a block exchange, a quilt to make for “The Quilt Show” that I will be doing with Debbie Caffrey in August AND the two wonderful class samples for the Long Beach Let Me Surprise You! class. Ah, lots to do, my friend, lots to do.

One person

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:43:42 -0400

Here I am again and I want to write about the results of part of my experiment. One of my ‘rants’ here was about a student who had to tell me about how disappointed she was with me. She didn’t get the fabric that I offered in class because of a mess up on my part. I didn’t have enough for the entire class since that would not be a wise business move on my part. Then we over sold what we actually had by mistake. She was upset with me because of the mistake. I make mistakes.

I am now going to tell you what I have done about all this.

This month I am teaching in 4 different venues. In each of them I will be offering, to sold out classes, my Let Me Surprise You kits. This is the same class (different kits) that had the “add on” problem with the student I mentioned above. This month I am not offering any extras. I am going to show students different things that they can do to finish off the quilt but there will not be any extra fabric. They are going to have to find some. Go on a search, shopping the shelves of real stores as well as online. Finding what they want to do with the blocks that come in the kits. This is simply because the student who didn’t get her ‘add on’ told me she couldn’t finish the quilt. I know that she can. Just because she didn’t get the extras she still has the main part…the blocks.
I have a feeling that this won’t be very popular to those who, in the past, had enjoyed getting the extras. The ‘add on’ part is not for everyone, but when one person gets upset enough to make me stop and think about it I wanted to make a point or two.

1. One person can make others miserable. They can change the whole ball of wax. Watch what you say to people. Your words are hurtful. Try to be kind whenever possible.

2. Be creative. Even though you have never been a creative soul, you have it in you to be one. This will be the time to try it. Go out and make this a creative challenge.

3. Think of this as an opportunity to stretch. You have been within the lines too long and now you get to color beyond those lines. If the quilt is all lights, try to add a medium or dark value to the piece for contrast. Piece a border if you have never tried it. Come up with something that makes this kit your quilt.

After this month all will go back to normal and I will offer the ‘add on’ feature. If you want it, great, if you don’t, great. Being creative might be how I loose alot of students buying extras from me. I can handle that if the benefit is seeing a student grow creatively.
All that I want is that you make more quilts that reflect your personality, that make you happy and that you can be proud of in the end.

And to all a good quilt!

PS I just got an order in the mail from an online shop. They have the fabric that I ran out of and was cut to the core for doing so. It is out there. If you need any let me know and I will share a source.

Time Flies

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:17:00 -0500

Whether you are having fun or not. So, you might as well have some fun!

I do think that quilting is just about as much fun as one can have. It is also good for teaching one to drive a car.

This has been something of a big observation of mine. If everyone learning to drive a car would take a simple machine quilting class the world would have better drivers and just think about all the fun!

When machine quilting you have to look where you are going…not so much where you have been. You have to look out for pins and fingers. You don’t race up to the pin and then try to swerve to miss it. You would rather see the pin and make the adjustment with room to spare. This means that the person who almost rammed my back end should take a quilting class…pronto!

I am teaching machine quilting at MQX in Rhode Island next month. Brush up on your driving skills and join me there.

Just think of the fun…time is flying by…make the most of it!

Wow!

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:29:00 -0500

Well, it has been ages since I have thought to sit down and write. So, let me see, where do I begin?

My job is a very good fit for me. I don’t mind travel, love to quilt and teach, sharing ideas is fun to me…so this is a good fit. I like people, too. Most of the time I meet wonderful people. I will say that the majority of people in my classes are female. These women are intelligent, have opinions and a voice. I like that, too. I feel I am like that myself. Often the conversations in class will be lively and there are lots of laughs. I love that part. Designing the quilts, buying the fabric and all that goes into making of the kits is sometimes a challenge but a part of my job that makes it what it is. All in all, I really enjoy my job.

There are times though when someone comes into a class and has no idea what it took for me to get there. I am there for her pleasure and her alone. All things good should come to her and nothing should ever go wrong. Lucky for me this happens a great deal. (Luck being the prime word) Things go wrong. I make mistakes. Kits cannot arrive, I get ill, someone I depend on has a problem and any number of other domino effect obstacles can pop up. When these things happen I try my best to make them right, fix what I can and make do with others. On occasions things fall thru the cracks and I lose a sales slip, forget to ship something, run out of a product before the orders are all filled…I have problems.

Now, when these problems happen it isn’t like I am doing them on purpose. Trust me, I want to have millions of sales. I want to please each and every customer. Doesn’t always happen. Doesn’t mean I want trouble…it just happens.

Then along comes that student who has no sense of what happened before her arrival. I know she drove miles, flew miles, walked miles to get there. She most likely carried, towed or pushed lots of things up a hill to find me. When the bad thing (whatever it is) happens between us, my advice is duck. She will not be nice. She will most likely say or do something that is really mean and it will be directed towards me. Sometimes I am guilty of a crime against quilts in some way and she is letting it be known. I want to go on record…I am sorry. I am sorry that something happened to you before you got to class that made you think I made your quilt not right, bad, not like the sample, not what you wanted, the wrong color, size or whatever. I am sorry that you feel I did it to you. I am on record, in writing that I am sorry.

This goes for the woman who lost one triangle, the person who is still screaming because I didn’t have enough fabric for her to buy for a border, the sewing machine tech who tried to teach my class because ‘she knew a better way’ or the woman who just wrote me a letter to tell me she was very ‘disappointed in my professionalism’ and the list goes on and on.

And while I am at it….Thank you. Thank you for keeping me on my toes, reminding me that as much fun as this is it is still a job. Thank you for the students who want to take a kit class and then goes on to enter it in a show and sends me the picture of her and the ribbon. (I love that!) Thank you for the kind, wonderful, sweet students who send me letters about the way I changed them, their quilts, their color choices and that they consider me a friend. I can’t thank you enough for all that. Keep it coming! Bring it on!

This year looks like it is going to be a banner year. Join me. Check out my schedule, hire me to come to your group, guild, show…Please. I love my job and all the problems that it brings. See you on the road!

To say I have been busy just doesn’t cover it. BUT, tonight something funny happened and I am...

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 01:53:22 -0400

To say I have been busy just doesn’t cover it. BUT, tonight something funny happened and I am making time for this one short story.

Went to my sisters house tonight for a birthday cookout. My niece, Ashley, turned 12. My mother, sister, brother in law and three nieces were there to celebrate. It was a wonderful family time. After we had dinner my sister, Jennifer, her husband Roger and I were talking in the kitchen. The subject of those Walmart customer pictures came up. You know the ones I am talking about…people wearing little or very little, men dressed like women and sometimes people who are just crazy looking, all show up on the site. Jennifer asked, “Have you ever seen anyone going around taking those pictures?” and my reply was, “Heaven help me if I do! Now I think I might have to go with a wooden spoon or some other type of defense weapon in case I do see someone taking my picture.”

Can you imagine? Seeing your picture on that site! OH MY GOD! Now that would be awful. SO, no matter how bad your day is going at least you aren’t being chased by some camera person in Walmart!

Laugh Out Loud For Sure at that one.

Charlotte

new car, new color underwear

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:28:42 -0400

I love my new car! The cell phone is in sync with the radio so I have hands free calling. Never thought I would like it since it makes me look like a crazy person talking to myself in the car, but I have gotten to an age where that really doesn’t bother me too much anymore. I am a bit crazy and others need to be aware of that. I do have to stop using my hands so much since I am driving.

I found this great striped table cloth. Table clothes, dishes, glassware are just like fabric buying for me. I love them. This table cloth has yellow, orange, blue, pink and wonderful colors all over it. First thing I do when I get a new cloth is wash it. That way I can spread it on the table and admire it. I had it in the washer and then threw in a few of my whites and light colored clothes. I now have a great deal of yellow underwear and not no white clothes. There is a thing called a color catcher, that I use when washing quilts. Rarely do I use them for my clothes because I seperate everything into little piles of color. Wearing so much black and white really makes this chore an easy one, so I didn’t really thing about the color of the cloth and it being new as a problem. Hum. Note to self, don’t be doing that again. And buy some more color catchers at the grocery store. (detergent isle)

Last week I drove to Greenville, SC for a lecture and class. Nice group. We had some good laughs. When I got home I was in the middle of listening to a great book on CD. It is ROUGH COUNTRY by John Sanford. There is a quilter in the plot. A quilt shop owner, believe it or not. This isn’t the first time he has mentioned quilts in his books either. Not big mentions, but I do believe he knows a quilter or two. For that reason and that I enjoy his mystery/murder type writing I am telling you to try one of his books. We want him to keep mentioning quilters, shop owners and quilts. I love it when something I know about gets mentioned without being the whole story line…just enough to know it could really happen adds to a great plot.

So, I went to the ice cream joint up the road and ordered a small vanillia soft serve cone ($1.59) in the drive thru, Then parked in my driveway eating the last few bites and listened to the book a few more minutes. My neighbors thought me talking in the car was odd, now they have me just sitting in it eating to help that thought along. Wonder what I can do next?

This made me smile.. Enjoy the Pipecleaner Dance Pipecleaner Dance III « davidbessler.com

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:50:50 -0400

This made me smile.. Enjoy the Pipecleaner Dance

Pipecleaner Dance III « davidbessler.com

the end of summer

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:38:21 -0400

When we last chatted I was on my way to Morehead City, NC in a rental car. I found out that I really like my car and not so much the rental. When I returned home I got the windshield fixed on my car and was driving it with a big dent in the hood. Kinda looked like a baseball bat had a field day on the hood.

Nice group of wonderful women in Morehead City. The day flew by very quickly and I drove back home. It was about that time that my Superman brother in law, Roger, told me that he was going to help with the studio. Translated that means he is going to take over and do it. He said even he couldn’t look at it anymore. That tells you how bad this was. And how nice he is.

He magically moved things around, built shelves and somehow got that room looking like there could be a real studio under all those boxes. It is amazing. He and my niece, Haley, will be back again tomorrow to get some more done. Haley is three and is way smarter than any three year old should be. I think she will have memories of me being the aunt with the Tootsie roll pops. She comes in with her little lunch box and asks for a candy first thing. “Charlotte has candy everywhere!”.

This weekend I had my good friend, Kaye England, visiting. It is really nice to have a friend who can come in for a couple of nights and when she leaves you feel you have spent really good time with her. We talked about all kinds of things and the best part was…we laughed a great deal.

Today was a banner day. I bought a new car. Yep. I figured that the other one was telling me something. So, as much as I liked that other car I now have a red one with more bells and whistles and 1.9% interest. Yes! Now that is sweet!

Hope you get to spend some time with your friend soon. A glass of wine, a good friend and a laugh…now that is a good time.

where have I been?

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:07:46 -0400

It has been ages since I posted! I know! Where have I been? It seems like yesterday I posted about Estes Park!

Well, let me tell you about my travels. After the fun-filled vacation in CO I got to go to Long Beach, CA. What fun that was! Debbie Caffrey and I went in early so that we could relax and have more vacation time. I do believe I have been missing something all this time without vacations. We went to a couple of art shows and wineries. We also took advantage of a comedy club across the street from our hotel. When I go into a job being that relaxed it makes all the difference. The classes went smoothly and all was wonderful. I look forward to that show. The food, weather and people are just great. Remember July and Long Beach…you will be glad you did.

Then there was Nashville, TN. What a great time I had there. They treated me so well. It is always nice when program chairs are nice to deal with. They make me feel so lucky to be working with them. A large group of quilters joined me on Assembly Day and we all had some good laughs.

From there I drove to Rock Hill, SC. On the way back from the lecture, at 9:15 pm, the hood of my car flew up and hit my windshield. To say I screamed like a girl puts it about right. I wasn’t hurt but my poor car took a nice hit. The repairs will cost a bit… $1600! Amazing what a few dents (replace the hood) can add up to be. But I am not hurt and it is just one of those things that happens. Nothing planned, just one of those things we have to deal with. I see a new car in my future. I am talking about a week or less future. I really liked that car, too.

Tomorrow I leave again..in a rental car…for Morehead City, NC. The car would be hurt when I have so many drive to jobs.

Next week should be fun. My brother in law, known here as Superman, is going to help me with the studio. Better known as the ‘cave’ or by my little three year old niece, the garage. It is a huge mess. After living here for over 2 years and making many quilts in there it has never really gotten fixed up, straighten or even clean or unpacked. I will take pictures so you can watch the fun. Superman is even going to put some insulation on the door. He has already put in the air conditioner. Life is looking good!

One day I hope to have a studio where I can walk around instead of stepping over crap and walking in paths around things. Hey, a girl can dream can’t she?

If you aren’t busy and happen to be in the area this Sunday, come over and help with the removal of boxes of stuff that I no longer need or want. There has to be something in there that I can rid myself of. Shelves are going up for the bolts! I am SO excited!

Until the next time, stay cool, smile every day and do one nice thing for someone else.

June means vacation

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:37:54 -0400

When I was a kid we didn’t really go on vacation all the time. I think it is wonderful that families do this, we just went on ‘vacation’ a few times. My Dad was military so we moved in the summer about every three years. I guess that could be considered a vacation. We went someplace and it was new. It just ended up being where we would live for the next three years or so.

I am on vacation. Yep. Some of my teacher friends are teaching in Estes Park, Co and I came out to hang out with them for meals and sew in the room while they work. It is really fun for lots of reasons. No one knows who I am! I don’t have a name tag saying I am a teacher and my name is Charlotte Angotti….it is great fun. I am a regular quilter. I went to the show yesterday and had to pay to get in! I can’t remember the last time that happened. I usually get in with my name tag. I went around to the vendors and bought stuff. It was fun when they told me about fabric that I have used many times…how wonderful it is, how I should love to work with it. Being talked to like a regular quilter is really nice.

I love what I do. Traveling around and being the “teacher” is a great job. There are times when it is just really nice not being so ‘famous’. This is my vacation and I am not famous at all. Next month someone will ask me for my autograph but this month I just might ask someone for hers!

June

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:37:15 -0400

The older I get the faster the time flies by. Have you noticed this? It is June! What happened to March?

This has been an interesting turn of events. When I moved here one sister, Missy, lived in Conway close to where I moved. One sister, Tammy, lived in NC and the other sister Jennifer lived in Charleston, SC. Jen has now moved to Myrtle Beach. This is really great because I get to see them all the time when I am home. She has a great husband and three adorable girls. So this has turned out to be really wonderful.
My brother in law, Roger, Jen’s husband has been doing some work around my house. He is putting an air/heating unit in the wall of my garage. This is where the studio is and it gets really hot in there in the summer and kinda chilly in the winter. So this is going to be outstanding. While he has been working in there he brings the little one, Haley, with him. He is a stay at home dad and she is his helper. She is so smart it is hard to remember she is only 3 years old.

Since I don’t have any kids I forget that all of Jen’s girls have followed her and just about anyone who will let them into the bathroom. I usually stop them but today I was watching Haley so I let her in with me. Now, this was SO very funny I could hardly stand it. We were talking and I sat on the toilet. She took one look at my underwear and asked, “Why is your underwear so big?” I almost fell off the pot! Her mother, my sister, is much younger and much thinner and wears tiny underwear. Her sisters and she wear little underwear. Mine look like they would fit over her head and hit the ground! Ya gotta love kids and the fun things they say. There is just no filter. I am still laughing.

I need to get some some smaller underwear if I am going to let her in the bathroom with me anytime soon.

Quilt Market

Wed, 26 May 2010 21:58:50 -0400

Twice a year there is what is called a Quilt Market. One is in Houston right before Quilt Festival. The other moves around the country. This year it was in Minneapolis, MN. I like it when it is there. It is a nice city, the food is good and it is easy to get to.
This year, with all that is going on, I was not sure what to expect. It was wonderful. The shops that were there buying for the future were upbeat and happy about business. This is a very good sign. The new fabrics were bright and happy, too. There is a great deal of wool applique and that seems to be the newest trend. It is beautiful and those who do it are making wonderful things with it.

I am still a quilter using cotton fabrics. Doing the basics and loving it. There are times when I think that there won’t be anything new and bam, there is! There is a new ruler out that sharpens your rotary as you use it. I know! Who would have thought? Many new things will be showing up at a quilt shop close to you, so go in a visit, see what’s new.

I will be at the NC Quilt Symposium the first week in June. This will be my first time teaching for them. Really looking forward to it and I hope to see some new faces as well as some old friends.

OH! My neighbors, Cheryl and Jeff, (some of you have heard stories of them, especially Jeff) put plastic pink flamingos in my yard today! What a hoot to walk out and see them in the beds around the house. If nothing else those birds put a smile on your face! Pass it along…put some plastic birds in a friends yard. Smiling is a good thing.

It's hot outside!

Sat, 15 May 2010 21:33:07 -0400

This year I have been traveling like a globetrotter. It has been loads of fun but I reached a point that I really wanted to go home.
For the last two weeks I have done nothing but rest. I am getting up late, going to bed early, taking naps, staying inside. I went to my Mother’s house on Mother’s Day and back home to rest some more. I wish we could store sleep. That would be so wonderful for me.

My sprinkler system was broken and my sweet brother in law, Roger, fixed it for me. It has been going every other day for about 20 mins. I now live in a jungle. The grass is greener than it has ever been. Roger came by and changed it to two days a week. It should be a little better now. With the weather being so hot, the grass getting lots of sun and all that water it is amazing how good my yard looks. Not looking forward to that water bill though.

My little home stay is about over. I leave for Quilt Market in MN on Thursday. I think I can do it. I get to see some good friends there and it won’t be like real work for me. I love my job. I just got a little of an overload the first 4 months of this year. I am rested and ready to go now.

After being home all this time I am looking forward to getting back out there. Everyone needs a break now and then. I hope that you get one, too.

since we last blogged....

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:23:24 -0400

It has been a busy time! I am once again in the airport, this time coming home from the last Chicago Quilt Festival. Although it was fun going to Chicago, actually Rosemont, the show didn’t grow as it was hoped. The classes were smaller and there were less of them each year. There were few places to eat and stay close to the convention center as well. So, the show is moving to another location next year.

Whenever there is change there will be people who are not happy. I was amazed at the attitude of some show attendees though. They acted rather bitter. With that in mind I am going to address my feelings about change.

Change is something that scares some of us. We get all comfortable going to a certain hotel, eating at a favorite place or being happy with something so close to home. But, change happens. Jobs make us change, marriage, divorce and all kinds of family issues can make us have to change our lives. For some this is very stressful. My heart goes out to you if these changes are happening to you. I am not sure that I like all change myself. I am not happy when the grocery store changes. Makes me crazy for the first few visits. But, I have to deal with it. I don’t go acting like a child, stomping my feet, bringing other people displeasure due to my unhappiness. I deal with it. The grocery store certainly isn’t going to put it back the way it was because of me. Hey, I found out that the world doesn’t spin around me way back when I was a kid. I like to think there are times it does spin around me, but it doesn’t.

There are other kinds of change as well…change of heart, change of life, change of pace. I love it when I change the sheets on my bed because I love sleeping on clean sheets.
So, for those of you who are bitter about the change from Rosemont, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…but until you put on a happy face you really don’t have to join us next year in Cincinnati. You see, there are some of us that are looking forward to the new adventures we are going to have. Finding new places to stay and exciting things to do in a new town. There are going to be some people who do live close to this location and I hope that they will be as excited to have us as we are to be going there. From what I have heard there are lots of hotels, great places to eat and lots of things to do all around the convention area. This makes me very happy and I can’t wait to explore the new location of the show.

With all that said, Good bye, Rosemont…I enjoyed you. I will miss going to Gibson’s where the best steak salad can be had. I will miss the friends I made there and hope that they will travel now. Really going to miss the jewelry show that was going on at the same time and hope that something wonderful will share the convention center with us. And I do hope that after thinking about it those who are upset now will come to realize this will be a new party in a new place and they should put their big girl panties on and deal with it. I am still looking for a few items in the grocery store that changed all the food around when I was out of town. Adventures on isle 4!

You need to bring your own happy to the party.

On the road again....

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 10:24:51 -0400

I am in the airport. Yep. Another airport. This time I am leaving the Lancaster Quilt Show. This was the first time AQS has had the show there. Very nice place. The town is wonderful. The convention is located in the Marriott and has wonderful places to go downtown all around the show area. I hope that AQS has great success with this location and continues to offer such a wonderful experience for the area.

Bought a new machine at the show! You should check it out. The new Janome 3160 weighs in at 12 pounds and is a pretty powerful little machine. Not too expensive and will go to classes and workshops like a champ.

I hope this finds you sewing up a storm! I am looking forward to a few days at home and then off again. Are you ready for Spring? The Spring shows are starting and I will be in Chicago with a great kit, all cut waiting for you! See you there or another show, guild meeting or along the path that leads to a fabric shop!

Just Perfect

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:30:00 -0500

Perfection…” the quality of something that is as good or suitable as it can possibly be.”
Yes, I looked it up on the computer and that was the definition that I got. I like the ‘being suitable as it can possibly be‘ part.
As I travel around, teaching quilting to people, mostly women, I notice more and more the need to be perfect. Some will actually pick out so much that the piece doesn’t even resemble the shape that they started with. Life is a bit like that. We want our lives to be perfect and they rarely are, our relationships to be perfect and how about those family members? Man, are they ever perfect! Let’s pick at them.
You see a pattern here?
When looking at a ’store bought’ quilt or bedspread I see imperfections. Most things that are sewn are not going to be perfect because rarely is anything, truly perfect.
I guess what really amazes me is THAT is what I find so wonderful about making a quilt. There will be flaws and yet it still works. The design is sometimes even better than I thought it would be and it still keeps me warm at night. So, imperfect isn’t so bad.
Ok, I looked it up in another dictionary and got: the quality or state of being perfect: as a freedom from fault or defect : flawlessness, maturity… the quality or state of being saintly.
I don’t really think I like that as much as ‘being as suitable as it can possibly be‘…at least I have a chance at that one. Maturity? Please. Really? What does being mature have to do with perfection? Just because one is older doesn’t mean one gets better or more perfect at things. That is more like wine or some cheeses. And who is to say that acting perfectly immature isn’t the most fun there is?
Not too long ago in class there was a woman who had a glorious time and was fun and happy. After a day sewing and having a good time she called me over to her table. I sat down next to her and we chatted for a little while. Then she told me that she really enjoyed the class, that I was not like her last teacher. I, of course, asked her how I was different. “You didn’t make me cry” was her response. Ok. I never thought that was an option. Why would anyone want to see another person cry while in a quilt class? Everyone wants to be perfect, but because I am a teacher of some things it really doesn’t mean that my quilts are perfect or that I am going to have some magical powers that will make you perfect. It means I am going to give it my best shot, but some of it is up to you. And if you set the bar so high that you can never get there what is the fun in it? So I like to show you a way to do it like I do it and then set you free. If you don’t even try to do it my way I am still ok with you and won’t make you cry. Years ago I made a quilt for a class. It has so many stories and some of them you will just have to see me in a lecture, with that quilt, to get all of them, but I want to share one of the stories with you. First let me say that this past fall I had the quilt with me and there were people in the audience who took this class years ago and remember it well. I have witnesses to this event. I can get them to tell you how true this is…and just so you know, I do this sort of thing for a living!
The story goes…I went to teach the class, my most popular class, “Let Me Surprise You!” in Ann Arbor, MI. As I handed out the kits I realized a quiet had taken over the room. Normally there is excitement or some talking of some kind, but nothing. It turns out the quilt was in Ohio State colors. They were playing them that day. They were playing that day against Michigan, that very day. Oh, did I say we were in the same town as U of M? Oh, yeah, there was that. I gave Michigan people a red, black and gray quilt kit…well, not really gave it to them, they paid for it. It was perfectly awful. Not the quilt, the day. I am happy to say that there was no tar or feathers involved. Considering that the corners of that quilt don’t match nor do most of the points it is miracle that I got out of there alive. You see, it was pretty good for me and all of theirs, if they finished them, would be better than mine. The bar was set kinda low that day, I admit. I want you to see that without the story you would see a wonderful quilt. You don’t notice the flaws right off the bat. You notice that it is a red quilt, with buttons on some of the points (covering the points that don’t match) but most of all you should notice that it is finished.
Ok, I looked up the word perfect… “To make perfect; to finish or complete, so as to leave nothing wanting; to give to anything all that is requisite to its nature and kind.”
Finished, I can do that!

Right now I am working in Pigeon Forge, TN. What a great show and the people are so friendly and great to work with.

You know I am working hard when I get up at sun rise. But...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:27:12 -0500

You know I am working hard when I get up at sun rise. But isn’t it beautiful? This is the view from where the Escapees sew. Not bad.