THANK YOU ASILOMAR

Once again I have come home filled with enthusiasm after taking a one week class at Asilomar Conference Center in beautiful Pacific Grove near Monterey, in northern California.  And I have Empty Spools to thank for this.

Now, I’m not one to experience “writer’s block” or “creative block”, depending on the outlet I’m working in at the time.  But every once in awhile I have a lack of enthusiasm and nothing seems to interest me.  That is why my trip to Asilomar is exactly what I need once a year to recharge my batteries.  For an entire week I am surrounded with artistic people on a daily basis.  It’s like getting a giant shot of creative inspiration.

Of course there is also the “fun” reason I go each year too.  It can’t just be a total work week without some girlfriends, laughter, and wine being an important component for the complete Asilomar experience.  

My instructor this year was Gloria Loughman, who came all the way from Australia.  She is an excellent teacher and her quilts are extraordinary.  Her techniques of design and construction were quite different than any I have learned in other classes over the years.  I’ve realized the importance of taking a different teacher each year when I am home creating a new quilt.  I now have a “toolbox” of design and construction ideas that I can incorporate in my own work.  I may not like a certain class as well as other classes I’ve taken, but that experience is never wasted.

Gloria taught the class to make a small sample quilt so we could learn her method of quilt construction. We each picked one of the two patterns she had for us to make the sample.  Everyone chose their own fabrics from whatever they brought to class; and this is the sample quilt I made.

My larger project is a work-in-progress and will be shared with you at a later date when it's completed.

This is my first week home and I must say my head has been overflowing with ideas.  It’s a good thing I have certain obligations, or my newly revved-up enthusiasm might have me working non-stop!  I guess Asilomar and Empty Spools did their job once again to earn my heartfelt thank you. 

SUNDOWNER, AFRICAN STYLE

When we were staying in the bush camps in Africa in 2011 we learned of a very special custom that was done daily  while we were out on a game drive.  It soon became something everyone looked forward to every evening .

We started our incredible journey in Kruger National Park in South Africa.  There were ten of us in our group staying in Pafuri Camp in the northernmost corner of Kruger along the Limpopo River.

The daily routine was such that we would all gather together at 5:30 am (!!!) in the morning for much-needed coffee and a light snack.  The morning game drive began at 6:00 am, stopping for a mid-morning coffee/tea break next to the vehicle and a visit to the nearby bushes.  

We usually were back at camp around 10:00 am for a hearty brunch and then free time until the afternoon.  In the afternoon we had many different speakers throughout the trip talking about a wide variety of topics from very controversial subjects such as the AIDS epidemic and sex, to learning about the animals, the geography, marriage customs, etc.  

Refreshments were served at 3:30 pm, and afterwards we were all back in the Land Cruiser for the evening game drive.  Our big surprise was that every evening as the sun was starting to set we would stop wherever we were in the bush for a “Sundowner”.  Our guide attached a tray onto the front grill of the Land Cruiser and set up his “bar”.  We all partook of a glass of wine or beer as we watched the absolutely gorgeous African sunsets night after night.  This was something we all looked forward to and enjoyed each evening.

However, one night while we were in Kruger we had stopped for our sundowner and there was a small problem, though none of the ten of us were aware of it.  Bryan, our local guide, was busy setting up his bar when he stopped and asked each of the 5 couples if they could empty one of their plastic water bottles and give it to him.  It seems in our departure from the camp Bryan had forgotten to bring the wine glasses!  So there we were with wine and beer and no way to drink the beverages.  As the saying goes…..”Necessity is the mother of invention” Bryan quickly solved our problem.  Taking a plastic bottle and screwing the top back on, he used his pocket knife and cut the bottle in half.  Viola - two drinking glasses!  My husband used his pocket knife and made us two glasses from our bottle, and soon all ten of us, with plastic water bottle glasses in hand, were giving a toast to Bryan and his ingenuity.  Our sundowner was saved!

In our 15 days in bush camps we shared many, many sundowners together, getting to know each other and watching the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever seen.

To this day, 7 years later, my husband and I still call our happy hour a “sundowner”.

DESIGNING THE ELECTRONIC WAY

I’ve really been neglecting my blog since the new year, but I have a very good reason why that’s happened.  I admit I love a good challenge, especially when it comes to new technology of any kind.  Last year when I decided to start a blog I learned how to create it by myself with no help from anyone.  I enjoy the feeling of satisfaction when I’ve learned something new.  So it wasn’t unusual when I decided to take on a new challenge for 2018.

As I’ve mentioned in past blog posts I have many art apps on my iPad.  I like the creativity that the various apps allow when it comes to photos, drawing, etc.  But when It comes to actual designing I’ve always preferred sketching in a sketchbook or using a pad of graph paper for more precise designs.  But I was also curious about a couple of electronic quilting software programs I had read about.

So after many months of reading and comparing two of the main software programs I made the decision to buy the one I felt would offer exactly what I was looking for.  I bought Electric Quilt 8 and couldn’t be more pleased!  The first month I had a difficult time prying myself away from the computer, I was so completely obsessed with learning the program.  And when I did learn how to design my first pattern and then use that pattern to make a small quilt I was dancing around the room I was so delighted.  Now I am very addicted to EQ8!!  

First design on EQ8 (not quilted yet)

I must say that it is not an easy program to learn if you are not computer savvy though.  It's quite complex and there is so very much to learn.  But as with anything new you learn it takes lots and lots of practice to become really good at what you’re doing.  And so I keep working hard to learn as much as I can, trying to balance my time between sewing and working on the computer.  I'll be sharing some of my finished quilts as I get them done.