Tag Archives: quilts

Quilt Tours and why you should go

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Ireland – you say it and tons of visions come to mind – green meadows, sheep grazing, nicely poured pint of Guinness, dancers, etc.  I have wanted to visit this island for many decades and once retired, it was number 1 on my bucket list.

I started researching tours as I didn’t want to drive myself.  What better way than to be driven by someone, someone who knows the country,  and someone who enjoys driving.  In my quilt magazines there are always tours listed – from being driven to cruises.  I Googled Quilt Tours Ireland and came up with a few names.  There were two that caught my eye.

I downloaded the itineraries for comparisons.  Both were around the same price and length of visit.  One guaranteed a small group – no more than 25 people.  The other said no more than 50.  So what do you do?  You ask your guild if anyone had taken either tour.  One guild member highly, and I mean, highly recommend Celtic Quilt Tours LLC.

This tour started off with Dublin, up to Northern Ireland around the west coast and back to Dublin.  The  places listed were all around the coast of Ireland.  I sent off an email explaining that this would be my first tour as well as my first trip overseas.  The American contact was so helpful.  For four months before the tour started, we received newsletters about the trip.  Everything from where we were to meet at Dublin Airport, how much money to bring over in Euros and pounds, the Horizon VAT cards, shopping trips, packing items, size of luggage etc.

Our first item was a tour of Dublin and then off to visit Malahide Castle.  The tour provided breakfast as most of us came in on red-eye flights from the States and Canada.  We could opt out for shopping or a tour of the castle.  The gardens were beautiful and the castle tour guide was extremely informative.

We went back to the hotel and checked in.  Now by this time my eyes were rolling around in my head from being up so many hours.  First thought was – I need a nap.  But then my brain kicked in with “You are in Dublin – get out and explore”.  Splash some water on my face, grab a glass of water, brush my teeth and off I went.  Down Grafton Street, past Trinity College and in to a few stores.DSCN0369DSCN0368.JPG

 

We had on our schedule to visit the Book of Kells the first day but due to other circumstances, it was held off.  One thing about a tour is to be flexible.  Dinner at O’Callahan’s  was great.  But by 9:30 pm, I was done.  Plus we had to have our bags out in the hallway early the next morning for the porters as we were leaving Dublin by 8:30 am.

Off to Belfast in Northern Ireland.  The past problems have been resolved and restoration and revival has been started. This is a very passionate city.

More later on my trip as this was a 13 day tour and I took a lot of photos and notes.  But in a nutshell, great trip, great people on the tour, amazing tour driver, beautiful scenery, terrific people in every city and delicious food.  More later…….

 

 

 

It’s Show Time – Road to California in Ontario

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Well, Road to California started off with a bang! Extra tent for more vendors and lunch seating. Great Teachers! Beautiful fabric! Wonderful staff! So far, here are my comments:
Thanks to my first two instructors – Linda Ballard for Harmony Square. Also, thanks to Linda Hahn who taught New York Beauty Diversified. Great tips on sewing curves and copying the pattern. Usually if you copy a pattern, the distortion will show up in your quilt – especially if you use 2 different copiers. Both instructors brought in their quilts for layout ideas, colors and quilting the finished product.

Class squares from a 2006 class with Roxanne Carter

Class squares from a 2006 class with Roxanne Carter


Vendors – Thank you Beyond the Reef for coming over with great rolls of fabric – best Hawaiian fabric ever. ‘Quilt in a Day’ – Eleanor Burns is at her booth and I have to ask “Does this woman ever get tired?” She is one of the most upbeat vendors. “Come Quilt with Me’ and Pat Yamin who does triple duty this year – has a booth, judged the quilts and also taught. Another powerhouse vendor/teacher – she is awesome on handstitching. Kai Scissors have a terrific booth with some great show prices, Tracey’s Tables, Bohn from France with needles, scissors, etc, Island Batik and some many more. Tons of sewing machines – both regular machines, long arm, and every attachment possible.

Today is another class, Stacked Hexagon Stars Quilt with Norah McMeeking, and Saturday will be handstitching and learing new decorative stitches. I will be able to post more pictures later. I wasn’t going to do that much shopping as I need to reduce my stash of fabrics but couldn’t stop. Plus I found the most comfortable thimble that is absolutely gorgeous. She told me it was a JL Lane.

Ontario Convention Staff/Road to California Staff – all super helpful.

A few tips for those who attend – wear comfortable shoes. If you are taking class and want to sit with your friends, then get there early so you can sit together. And lastly, have fun and don’t forget your “P’s and Q’s”. That phrase, as I was told, means Don’t forget your PLEASE AND THANK YOUS”. There is a lot of work that goes into these shows. This year, Road is dealing with one teacher that had to cancel due to illness, one vendor broke down in Texas, one instructor woke up with the flu,,,,,, meaning cancelled classes. But you could not tell from their faces. All staff, both paid and volunteer, have smiles on their faces. So head out to Ontario as the show will end on Sunday at 4p.m.

Star Quilt

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star quilt 2010
Points were never my friend. As hard as I tried, my points sometimes got cut off, sewn over or were too far from the seam.

I tried a paper piecing class at a Road to California class and loved it. My points are perky and the instructor (whose name escapes me because I’m typing this before work and the pattern is at home) made the class so easy.

So if you are a novice quilter, try paper piecing. There are some great products out there that don’t dull your needle while sewing.

I love the color purple so that is usually somewhere in my quilts and I found this fabric at Bear’s Quilts in Garden Grove while waiting for Earlene Fowler to start her talk. Earlene Fowler is a local author and writes the Bennie Harper mysteries.

Not much else to write – have a great Christmas and a wonder New Year. Do what you like, learn what you don’t know and be a nice person.

Thanks for reading.

Items that would make great quilts

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While visiting a dear friend, I saw her chess board set up.  I thought, what a great  pattern that could be turned into a quilt.

I do have other projects waiting-a few UFO’s (unfinished fabric objects) or PIGS (Projects in a Grocery Sack) but this photo will be placed in the “I will get to it”

I figure I could just fussy cut one set of squares for one block and then square in a square for the other.  This could be either a bed quilt, wall hanging or a cloth chess board.  Keep a camera handy for that unexpected design that beckons you.

Thanks for reading.

ABC 123

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I love this design.  J Frisch takes each letter and does a fabulous job.  The first time I made the quilt, the colors were a bit more subdued with pastels.  Last time, it had a circus theme.

This year, it is bright and colorful.  I put a red minkee backing and did the quilting on the longarm.  Minkee fabric is so soft and inviting.  The nice thing is the quilting really shows up.  The longarm pattern was ABC 123.  Some quilt stores carry this line – I bought mine online

Even if the nervous parents don’t use it as a blanket, it makes a nice wall hanging so add a sleeve on the back or offer to add one.

Thanks for reading.  I may just have to make another one.  So many babies at work.

Buster and Double Irish Chain

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Way back in 1993, there was an Amish Quilt show at the Laguna Art Museum.  Now, Laguna had just gone through the fire storm that wiped out numerous houses but the energizing view of people starting to rebuild inspired me.  It was a rebirth of houses, neighbors coming back together and a calm in the town.

When I started quilting, my fabric leaned towards cutesy calico.  But the Amish show had such beautiful, solid colored quilts.  We weren’t allowed to take photos so I sat and sketched the pattern, notes on the colors and the hand quilting design.  The eggplant, turquoise and brick red made a striking quilt.  The pattern was not hard and I did some hand quilting in the solid eggplant centers.  I would work on this during lunchtime at work while listening to the TV (All My Children was always on). 

My Buster liked to sleep on it.  It became his favorite quilt and th only place where he could rule the house.

Thanks for reading