Silver Bay part 2

 For those of you who've never seen Lake George... this is where most of my inspiration comes from.  It's one of those places that seeps into your veins and whispers in your daydreams.  

Silver Bay

 A huge thank you to folks at the Silver Bay Association for hosting my impromptu mini quilt workshop this week.  Eight industrious students worked on small images inspired by Lake George in the Adirondacks.  For those of you who couldn't participate this year, we hope to do it again next year during the first or second family vacation week in August.  I will post exact dates when we have them, or you can reach out to Silver Bay to express your interest.  

The week was particularly warm, but we made a point of swimming before breakfast most days, and the fiber arts room was air conditioned.  The setting was as serene as ever, and I wish we could have spent more time there.  It was wonderful to see familiar faces among the guests and EMPS, and we enjoyed meeting some new folks as well.  We even managed to catch a few of the Perseids and an amazing orange moonrise.  Photos below are of the students' mini landscapes and my pop-up exhibit.

Another mini-quilt workshop coming up in August in Upstate NY

 The Silver Bay Association YMCA Conference Center is one of my favorite places on the planet.  I'll be teaching my impromptu mini quilt landscape workshop there Aug. 11-13.  Located in Upstate NY, it's rustic, but it's always felt like home.  Need a quick get-away?  They still have rooms available.  Check out their website for more info.  Full disclosure:  the facility is a bit like a cross between Dirty Dancing meets The Shining, but the people are wonderful and Lake George is magic.  

Finished minis

 Here are some finished impromptu mini landscapes from our class this past weekend!  

Thank you 2 Friends Quilting!

 We spent 3+ hours yesterday playing with impromptu mini landscape quilts.  A huge thanks to the participants who were excellent company and good sports about being guinea pigs for this latest workshop, and to 2 Friends Quilting in Haydenville for hosting.  As usual, we made a wonderful mess, and everyone left with a landscape that was either quilted or pin-basted and ready to quilt!   The pics are everyone hard at work - hopefully there will be finished pics to share later on.  These quilts are small - ideal for framing under glass or turning into greeting cards.  

Every time I teach I end up thinking about art concepts in a new way.  This class had lots of discussion about value and contrast, paying attention to how one fabric can look dark next to light colors but can look light next to dark colors, and about how thread color and value can either blend two fabrics together or be used to separate them and make them stand out from each other.  We also talked about shading, and about how the viewer's eye is always drawn to the area of highest contrast when looking at an image.  Now that I think about it, we packed quite a bit into our three hours together!    

Thank you Paper City Fabrics!

A warm thank you to Paper City Fabrics in Holyoke, MA for hosting my flower quilt workshop last weekend.  The classroom was large and full of light, the students were delightful, and wonderful progress was made playing with trillium, an orchid, and irises!  Spring is on its way, even if we’re in the midst of the Ides of March.  These are works in progress, but I’m hopeful that folks will send me snapshots of their finished pieces.