Wonderful Class

This past week/weekend I attended the Extraordinary Quilter 2 day class with Becky Goldsmith put on by the Mahone Bay Quilters Guild.  I am still unloading everything so pictures will be delayed.  

Both days were ones of learning and fun.  Becky is an excellent teacher; she is positive,organized, creative in her methods and she runs a tight ship.  I cannot say I have taken any better course.  The improvisational day was much better than I anticipated.  Perhaps that is because my piece was turning out better than I imagined I could do.  I took masses of fabrics, uncertain of what would result.  

The second day was invisible applique.  I love applique.  I love the way quilting makes the applique comes alive on quilts.  But I have not settled on any one technique to do applique.  I have done hand applique on a quilt but was not happy with the smoothness of the method I used.  The way Becky teaches applique truly is invisible and so beautifully finished that in future I will use it when doing hand applique.  Not sure how much I will do but when I do it, it will look much more professional.

We had beautiful weather during the course time and that was nice because one always wants visitors to our province to see it at its loveliest.  Seeing it through Becky's eyes was fun. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to rain on their parade after the course but that is part of Nova Scotia.  Like Scotland for which it is named, just wait an hour in Nova Scotia and the weather changes.   Here is a link to her blog.  Becky's Blog  

It has been a week of Quilt meetings, show and tells and travelling. I belong to a local guild and to one which requires a 1.5 hour drive.  The nice thing is the drive is through beautiful country and I tell myself it beats the same amount of travel on intercity highways I used to do.  Coming back in the dark in spring one can hear the wonderful sound of the spring peepers.  Going in the light and sun, the waterways are sparkling ribbons of blue.  The trees are leafed out in the beautiful greens of spring.  By summer it is just green but now it is every possible shade.  It is a lesson is the use of colours in quilts.

So quilting is not just quilting but it is friends; learning; visual and tactile experiences and above all generosity of spirit and time.

Now to try to satisfy my golden retrievers for hugs and pets as they have been in the kennels.  This is my youngest dog with the Siamese who thinks he has a Mommy.  He is a bit mixed up in general.

Teaching Art Quilts

Ana Buzzalino was the Extraordinary Quilter at Mahone Bay Quilt Guild in Nova Scotia last week.  I was fortunate to be able to attend both her classes.  Being able to teach is an art in itself.  It takes patience, preparation and the ability to express your thoughts in a variety of ways depending on the listener.

Ana is a gentle and caring teacher.  I know because I am not a good pupil.  I keep wanting to forge ahead to the next step and that can be adventuresome but also leads to roads where it gets very rocky.  A good friend constantly reminds me that I march to a very different drummer.

But in spite of my short comings as a pupil, Ana made this a wonderful experience.  I love pieced quilts.  I love all types of quilting. To me as long as there is fabric and colour I am game.  But art quilts require some introspection and examination of your goals and how to get there in addition to skill at piecing and choosing colours.  Each piece is your piece, your curve, your expression in colour and texture.  Ana provided a road map that will serve me well in my making of art with fabric and thread.  She added knowledge of paints, transfers, beading, and numerous tools.  Ana gave me a road map to go down my own road.  That makes an excellent teacher.  And she quilts heavily which I enjoy doing.  Quilting gives the final kiss of life to quilts.

Ana graciously allowed pictures during the trunk show she gave at the Dessert Party which occurred the evening before the classes.  Here are a few I managed to capture over and around heads.

Ana gave permission for photos to be taken and displayed.   Enjoy these quilts.  I certainly did and so did the rest of the audience if facial expressions are anything to go by.