Yours Truly with Cartwheel Constellation, Image by Bethany Garner

After leaving Perth, I moved south to Kingston where I gave a lecture and taught the two-day workshop, Sensational Stars and Circular Borders.  Like the Flying Colors class, each student designs their own project, and we begin by working through a series of exercises that build confidence.   What surprises the Limestone Quilters Guild had in store for me!

Sylvie Poulin, Val-D’or, Quebec

First among them was the arrival of Sylvie Poulin, who had taken my workshop at Quilting in the Desert in Phoenix, back in January 2014.  Sylvie hails from Val-D”or, Quebec, an 8 hour drive from Kingston, which is on the north shore of Lake Ontario. (watch for another post about her work soon to come).

Stitch by Stitch, owned by Margaret Millar

The second surprise was the beautiful new shop, Stitch by Stitch, owned by Margaret Millar.  She has moved to this new, sunny location and re-opened just one month earlier!  Wowsers!  It was gorgeous and bright with natural light from above, a.k.a that big orb in the sky.

Coffee Stand

Tucked away at one end of the shop, perched atop an old treadle sewing machine, was the Keurig coffee maker, complete with real milk and cream! Now that is one sure way to warm my heart!

Stitch by Stitch Classroom

The classroom was brightly lit too, courtesy of a floor to ceiling window on one side.  Each of the sewing tables was lovingly hand built by Margaret’s father, designed with the quilter in mind.  There were little cubbies below the table top to stash your tools, extra fabric, lunch, etc.  And, the big, comfy rolling chairs made for an exceptionally pleasant sewing experience.  It wasn’t long before stars began to appear.

Class Star – maker unknown

Not yet stitched together, this was the first star to appear.  Sadly, I did not get the name of the designer.  I am hopeful that someone will send me that information so I can update this.

Sylvie Poulin’s Star

Sylvie was the second designer to complete all of her sections.  At the end of the day, everyone seemed happy and a bunch of students took their projects to work on at home.

The next time you find yourself in southern Ontario, be sure to check out Stitch by Stitch!

Stay tuned for day 2 of this class . . .

Some of my best friends are people I meet in quilting class.  One of the best parts  of being a traveling quilt teacher is the new life experiences that I discover.  Such was the exact case when I visited Ruth Oblinski in Perth, Ontario.  She and I met about 4 years ago at the AQS Lancaster show.  We hit it off right away.  Ruth made it possible for me to travel to Perth, where I stayed with her and her husband, Terry, at their lovely home in the country.

Ruth and me

The unexpected treat of this visit was discovering the Classic Car world.  Terry is passionate about classic cars and is one handy man! 

He and Ruth were high school sweethearts and he had already been bitten by the old car bug.  His first car was a 1938 Plymouth that he bought for $60.  It’s the one that he and Ruth drove during their dating days.  He later sold the car, and then bought it back in 2009 for the princely sum of $2,000.  It was a junk heap by 2009.  So, he started restoration by hand, lovingly working each inch of the car.

1938 Plymouth

He was about to set off to his car club meeting and invited me to ride along.  What a ride that was!

The upholstery

With extreme attention to detail, including hand made embroidered seat backs and door panels, riding shotgun was a blast.  What surprised me the most was the power of the engine – while I had expected putt-putt- sputter, it roared ahead with remarkable spunk, leaving the stoplight ahead of even the newest cars.

Plymouth by Terry

It was my first car club meeting so I was surprised to see a parking lot full of new and classic cars, all lovingly cared for by their owners.  Terry’s garage held another surprise that I would not get to see until the next morning.

1931 Model A – Work in Progress

Jacked up in the back of the garage was Terry’s newest old passion, another classic that he had bought for $2,000.  It also was in poor shape where it is coming to life in Terry’s garage.

Seats not done yet

The detail with which Terry restores his classics is obvious.  Here, I got to see the condition of the interior before he began work.

Model A Engine

This Model A, however, already had a powerful engine, rebuilt by Terry from a junkyard engine from a newer vehicle.

Model A Front View

I would love to see this classic once Terry finished working his magic on the newest member of his auto family.

Who would have thought that a quilting trip to Perth would introduce me to the world of Classic Cars!  What a trip!

I’ve been looking  forward to this trip for a long time!  I found myself in the Ottawa, Ontario airport where my buddy, Ruth Oblinski should have been waiting for me.  But, in her place, as I walked through the doors of customs was none other than Paul Leger!  He’s my buddy that I met back at Quilt Festival in Houston many years ago!  What a surprise!  The two had cooked up the switcheroo plan and I fell easily into their plot!  I got to spend a lovely hour with Paul as he drove me south to Perth, Ontario, home of Ruth!  I was here to teach workshops, and Perth was my first stop where I taught the two-day Goose is Loose Workshop!

Blue Jay by Cathy Price, Perth, Ontario

I love it when students bring show and tell to class.  This abstract art piece by Cathy Price features a Blue Jay.  The detail and quilting in this piece are incredible.

Valetta Hudson, Ottawa, Ontario

Valetta Hudson drove down from Ottawa to take the class.  Prior to that, she made “Little House of Geese from my pattern published in American Quilter Magazine in early 2013.

Drawing Class Sample (Image by Ruth Oblinski)

The Goose is Loose class begins with a series of class exercises where students learn to draft the various fillers that are used in their designs.  Working from a workbook, this sample is not meant to be pieced, but rather a sampler to take home to refer to later.

Class Demo (image by Ruth Oblinski)

Being older myself and not always able to remember a whole bunch of new things presented all in a series, I teach “things of three”.  That is, I demonstrate three things, then they return to their tables to draw those three things.  And so it goes until we work our way through the workbook.

Class Design (Image by Ruth Oblinski)

After lunch, everyone begins working on their original design.  This is a simple design that I drew for a demonstration.

Valetta Hudson works on her project (image by Ruth Oblisnki)

On day two, students learn freezer paper foundation piecing.  Above, Valetta Hudson works on her design that features this gorgeous piece of  fabric featuring an oriental woman in glorious colors.

Goose is Loose Class – Perth, Ontario

The Goose is Loose Class is all about design and although students learn much, they don’t always have a lot to show at at the end of second day.  It is a two day class!  I hope to see you in class one day!  What fun I had!  Stay tuned for more from O Canada!

I’ve been negligent about posting this past month.  It’s been a challenging 30 days. 

Today was the memorial service for my long-time friend and invaluable assistant, Michele Hymel.  The celebration of her life took place outdoors in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, as she would have wished.  Some of my best friends in the whole world are the ones that I met in quilting classes.  Such was the case with Michele, who I met back in the late 1990s when she took my design class at Bernina Sewing Center in Albuquerque, NM.  I liked her immediately and marveled at her ‘can do’ attitude.  She embraced life and exuded positivity.

Goose is Loose Quilt by Michele

In fact, it wasn’t long after that class that she finished her first original design.  We soon became fast friends and she joined my small group, Designing Women.  Little did we know how close our friendship would become.

On Golden Pond by Michele Hymel

Michele designed this whimsical piece for my book, Flying Colors, published in 2010.  Overall, she was one of the most productive and creative members of our group, one who could always be counted on when something needed doing.

Spiral Galaxy by Michele Hymel

Sometimes she surprised us by bringing a completed quilt for show and tell, one that none of us had ever heard about before.

Working with me at Gail Garber Designs

Several years ago she joined Donna Barnitz and me at my home based Gail Garber Designs.  Michele was a wiz at everything, especially all-things-computer, an area where Donna and I were less than stellar.

Quilting at the Cabin – Hawks Aloft style

Michele also jumped into Hawks Aloft, the conservation organization that is so close to my heart, with enthusiasm, becoming a regular at the annual Hawks Aloft quilt retreats, where we stitch a quilt top in one day!!  We could always count on Michele to finish those final seams.

Michele Finishes the Hawks Aloft Raffle Quilt

Not long after Michele began attending the retreat, Mike, her hubby, joined our team.  It was then, and remains his job now to accurately cut the fabrics, trim the blocks and help in the organizational process.

Michele and Mike Hymel

Michele loved to hike and be outdoors as much as possible.  Above she is with her husband of 40 years, Mike, as we hiked in the Jemez Mountains.  Her other passion was scuba, which she learned so that she could partake of that sport when she visited her son, Kent, who was working in Australia.  Scuba was Michele’s solo sport, one that none of her quilting friends or Mike practiced.  So it was that in spring of 2012, Michele went with some of her Texas friends to Roatan, off the coast of Venezuela, for a scuba trip.  While there, she had a nagging pain in her back beneath her shoulder blades.  Upon her return, several doctor’s visits revealed the worst, stage 4 lung cancer!  She immediately embarked on a regime of radiation and chemo.  The rest of us set about doing what quilters do for each other – making a friendship quilt.

Giving Michele the Quilt

We  hurried as fast as possible and were able to surprise Michele with this friendship quilt just before her second chemo treatment.

Chocolate – Michele’s favorite!

We even made a little party of the evening, presenting her with her favorite dessert, chocolate and more chocolate.  As the chemo progressed, Michele was very ill and so nauseated that there was little she could eat.  As she lost weight, we all worried about the prognosis.  Eventually, this particular cocktail of drugs ceased to halt the spread of the cancer.  A new treatment, one with far fewer side effects, ensued.

Michele, Me, Cynthia Figueroa-McInteer, and Mary Chappelle

She had some bad days, but far more good days, and they were predictable.  So, we traveled to some of the places she wanted to see.  It was in the spring of 2013 that two of my quilts were accepted into the National Quilt Museum.  Michele said, “I’ve never been to Paducah!”.  So four of us set off on a long April weekend to visit the museum.  Here we are dining at Flamingo Row, one of the best Paducah restaurants!

At the National Quilt Museum

The museum is, of course, an amazing experience!  Seeing my quilts hanging on the walls was thrilling for all of us, but perhaps most of all for Michele.  We adjourned to Hancock Fabrics, a.k.a. Mecca to quilters and it was then that I noticed that, while the rest of us were merrily shopping away, Michele didn’t take home anything.

Michele Birds Alaska

In June, Michele traveled with me to Alaska, where Maret Anderson, owner of Seams Like Home Quilting in Anchorage, had hired me to teach at her annual retreat at Halibut Cove, Alaska, across Katchemak Bay from Homer.  We birded along the way, stopping first at the famed Potter’s Marsh.

Tide pooling

At the lodge, with the long days of summer, we had ample time to explore our surroundings, doing things like checking on tide pool creatures like this star fish.  Did you know that when you turn them upside down, they immediately begin to right themselves by moving short tentacle-like extensions on their backs in unison/  It feels very weird.

Sea Kayaking

We went sea kayaking too, another first for Michele!

Michele appliques

And, while I taught class, Michele hand appliqued a quilt for her grandson, Henry, who was two years old at that time.

Michele had one more grand adventure in July 2013 when she traveled with all of her family to Hawaii.  She was still working for me at the time, but I could tell that she was often in pain, although she never once complained and definitely did not whine!  She confided that she was afraid the drugs were no longer working.  Her fears became reality during the next round of scans that showed the cancer had spread.  She entered hospice care in October last fall, and was able to remain at home throughout, thanks to the devoted nursing of her husband and life companion, Mike. She said good-bye to this life on April 8, 2014, while I was away teaching in New Bern, NC.  I had known the end was near, but didn’t know exactly when the time would come.

Michele enriched my life so greatly and I cherish the memories that I will always have of her.  Those who counted her as a friend are amazingly lucky to have known this incredible woman.

If You Want to Make a Pie

A while back, before the dreadful diagnosis, Michele made this little quilt for me.  It epitomizes her intelligence, someone who always thought outside the box.  I miss her terribly.

I know this is a long post, but a necessary one for me.  Michele had never smoked.  Another friend of mine was diagnosed with the same exact cancer, one year later.  Now, she remains on chemo, her outcome as yet undetermined.  She also did not smoke.  Lung cancer remains the number one killer of women, and non-smokers lung cancer is rarely diagnosed until the latest stages.  It seems so unfair that this disease remains one for which there is no routine screening.   Please!  Next time you go for an annual checkup, ask your physician for a chest x-ray.  It might save your life.

Last week, I made a quick trip to visit the Twin Rivers Quilter’s Guild in New Bern, North Carolina.  I had hoped to stay a few extra days to tour some of the amazing countryside of the southernmost outer banks, an area which I had never previously visited.  My hostess was Chris Gillespie, who has a lovely home right on the banks of the Neuse River, with birds galore, and sunset views to die for!  Sadly, it was windy most afternoons when I finished teaching so outdoor photography was minimal at best.

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the North Carolina History Center, with 60,000 square feet of exhibits showcasing the 300 year history of the area.  One of the wings featured an exhibit of quilts, old and new, curated by the Twin Rivers Quilter’s Guild.

Twin Rivers Quilters Guild

The guild’s logo quilt welcomed visitors and was the first thing I saw when I turned into that wing of the museum.

Collecting and Recollecting the Past

The exhibit honored Nancy Packer (1962-2013), who had been the Assistant Curator or the History Museum.  The welcome sign stated, “by collecting quilts, you are collecting the colors and designs of America” through the wide variety of quilts, old and new, exhibited here.  “To recollect the history of a quilt is to share a great American craft and a treasure of our past as well as the designs of our future.”

Exhibit Overview

It was refreshing to see all the beautiful quilts hanging in a museum quality exhibit hall.  The depth and breadth the the exhibit was unusual in that such a wide array of styles and techniques were included.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul  owned by Rolayn Schwendy

This quilt was made by Rolayne’s great, great aunt, Bertha Hill in 1885 or 1886. That young quiltmaker died of diphtheria soon after her sixteenth birthday.  This may have been the first and only quilt she ever made in her short lifetime.

Basket Stack by Paula Paganucci

Basket Stack, by Paula Paganucci maintains the feel of an antique quilt with 1800 reproduction fabric.  It was made ins 2006 and is hand quilted.

Sashiko Flowers by Penny Finney

A small wall quilt, this embodies the feel of the Orient with sashiko style quilting.

Color Our Town by Pat Boni

This whimsical piece by Pat Boni falls into the art quilt category with shapes that transform into figurative birds flying into the sky.

Modern Morris by Sue Marra

Sue Marra’s quilt was created from a pattern by William Morris. The applique and stitchery on this piece is exquisite.

Beach Memories by Dorothy Najarian

Although this quilt was hung with a vertical aspect, I rotated the image to save space in this blog post.  Dorothy machine pieced and appliqued this Cathedral Window design as a bed runner.

Bow Tie by Ruth Powers and Lilly Lucier

Bow Tie was machine pieced and quilted using Civil War Reproduction Fabric.  It is one of the larger quilts in the exhibit.

America The Beautiful by Frances Conner

Frances says this of her quilt, “It is based on the song ‘Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties . . . ‘

Twin Rivers Quilt Raffle 2014

But, the Twin Rivers Raffle Quilt for 2014 is surely the centerpiece of the entire exhibit!! It is one of the finest raffle quilts I have ever seen, hand appliqued and quilted with extraordinary needle work!  I had to leave a bunch of dollars with them in the hopes of it coming to live at my New Mexico home!  However; winning for me is unlikely.  Despite the hundreds or thousands of raffle tickets I have purchased, not one winning ticket has ever been owned by me.

Chris Gillespie’s Giraffe Quilt

Lastly, my hostess-with-the-mostest, Chris Gillespie’s Giraffe Quilt was hanging right outside the exhibit hall!  It’s a beautiful piece, as is her T-shirt featuring Red-winged Blackbirds!!! Oh, my!  What fun they have in North Carolina!!! I wish I could have stayed longer.

Each year the Thimbleweed Quilters hold a weekend-long retreat at Hummingbird Music Camp in the Jemez Mountains.  That’s the camp where my girls attended every summer until they were just too old and it is less than two miles from my cabin.  Last fall, Thimbleweeders invited me to be a teacher at their retreat.

Thimbleweeders at retreat

And what fun we had!  We gathered at the primitive accommodations just as the clouds were gathering in the west.

Storms A-coming

It looked as if rain were iminent and it was much needed.  New Mexico has been in the midst of a long-term drought that has lead to severe fires, like the 2013 Thompson Ridge Fire.  There were grave fears about the aftermath.

Water roaring in Jemez River

And, then it happened — a downpour!  Water roared through the canyon, threatening to wipe out the only bridge that lead to the reclusive retreat area.  Dark brown water raged downstream.

Donna Barnitz, Suzi Campos, and Anne Townsend posed for one last photo as we crossed over the bridge heading toward the cafeteria.

But the bridge held, and shortly thereafter, we were back in the classroom, working away.  My buddy, Donna Barnitz posed with Suzi Campos and Anne Townsend on the rustic bridge spanning the raging brown waters.

Working in the classroom

Laughter was everywhere despite the rising torrent outside!

Lucy Greene’s Pile of Fabric

Lucy Greene brought a giant pile of fabric in case she had trouble making fabric selection choices.  Others brought less, but still created fun designs that they stitched up.  The storm never did wipe out the bridge and the next day delivered sunnier weather.  We finished our Goose is Loose class in style.  Check out the projects in progress below.

Sue Harris and Glenda Crowley

Sue Harris opted for a simple design and brought a pre-printed panel to which she added goose strips applied with flat piping.

Selina Farington

Selina Farrington opted for a more complex design.

Mary Moya and Anne Townsend

Mary Moya worked in her usual bright colors, while Anne Townsend explored pine trees.

Kathy Sublett

Kathy Sublett opted to work on my Little House of Geese pattern so she could learn the stitching tecnhiques.

Diane Bourg

And, Diane Bourg was fascinated by the sun.

Ardith Alumbaugh

Ardith was into evergreen trees, of which there was many at this getaway in the Jemez Mountains.

Donna Barnitz and Colleen Konetzni

While Donna and Colleen, the head honchos of the group, stitched up their newest project, a raffle quilt for the Farm and Ranch Association.

Overlooking Jemez Canyon

It’s one of my favorite place on the planet.  Although I won’t be a teacher at Thimbleweeds 2014 retreat,  I hope I still get to stop by to visit.

Gail Garber’s President’s Quilt – Term 1986-87

It seems so long ago, 1987, when I was president of the New Mexico Quilters Association (NMQA), the only quilt guild in Albuquerque at that time.   One of the treasured traditions in this guild, as well as a possible incentive to entice one into becoming the guild president, was to make a quilt for the outgoing president to be awarded at the end of her 12 month term. Back in 1987, the guild members made blocks in colors of the president’s choosing, stitched the top together and then hand quilted as much of it as they could by the end of the year.  It was up to the recipient to finish the quilting, which I did when I was housebound during a bout of pneumonia.  The quilt above is mine and the colors are very typical of the style of the time, burgundy and blue. Many of the blocks were hand stitched, and the quilt is entirely hand quilted.  It is one of my most treasured quilts complete with the embroidered names of all who contributed blocks.

NMQA President Aurora Cordova – Term 1980

NMQA was formed in 1974 and they celebrated their 40th birthday in March 2014.  As part of the celebration, they contacted all the former presidents  they could find and asked us to bring our first quilt (see previous post), our president’s quilt, and our most recent quilt.  Above is the quilt created for Aurora Cordova, president in 1980, the oldest of the quilts shown that day.  Aurora’s daughter brought the quilt that had been bequeathed to her by her late mom.

1986  Virginia Walton

From there, we jumped to 1986 when Virginia Walton was only able to serve a portion of her term.  Then it was my term for the remainder of that year and the next.  Then, there was a big gap in years represented, during a time that I was more focused on my work and not active in the guild.  Thus, for most of the remainder of the quilts, I don’t know the years represented.  It is fascinating to see the evolution of color and design as the quilts evolve over time.

June Romero

June Romero’s quilt blocks are done in pastels with a lovely applique outer border, another very large quilt.

June Romero Second Term

June clearly loved the guild and stayed for two consecutive terms.  I love this one in shades of red with blocks set next to one another with no sashing.  Check out the second star block from the left on the bottom row.

Fran Plisga

The contrast between the bright blues and yellows, make this quilt of Fran’s a stunner!

Emily Smith

President Emily Smith collected enough nature themed blocks to make two smaller quilts.  Very cool idea!

Barbara Gary

Barbara Gary chose lighthouses and mariner’s compass blocks.  Barbara had a more recent term and set her own blocks together.  She then added the large lighthouse and compass in the upper right hand corner.   Beautiful and dramatic!

Neida Naumberg

Neida Naumberg chose a hot air balloon theme.  Albuquerque is home to the International Balloon Fiesta, the most photographed event in the world.  One of the other traditions of NMQA is to make a hot air balloon themed raffle quilt each year that features replicas of actual flying hot air balloons.  They sell tickets at the Balloon Fiesta morning and night for the 10 days of the event. It is the guild’s main fundraiser.

Vicki Harms

Vicki’s quilt has a strong Amish feel due to the color selection, even though many of the blocks bear little resemblance to traditional Amish styles.

2013, Afton Warrick

Last came the president’s quilt of Afton Warrick who served in 2013.  Notice the Modern Quilt look of this beauty!!! It was a great day to reminisce, visit with friends I haven’t seen in a long time, look at quilts, and be among my sister quilters in Albuquerque.

Now, there are several guilds in the area, ranging from only a few members to a few hundred.

As I have said before, I meet the most wonderful people in quilting classes, many of whom turn out to be my best friends — friends that last a lifetime!  Such was the case when I met Janice Schindeler, at Quilting Adventures in Kerrville, TX, back in 2009.  It was clear from the beginning that Janice marched to her own drummer!  And, I surely did love the tune that she tapped out.  Below is her quilt from that five day workshop.

Harry’s Heart Quilt

Her use of colors, brilliant and bright, the strong contrast created by the blacks and whites, and the whimsy of the design all work together in Harry’s Heart Quilt.

Janice’s Design in Progress

Janice confided that that she was making this quilt for her husband, Harry Crofton, to whom she had been married for more than 30 years.  She obviously still remained quite enamored of this fellow!  Above, she poses with her design in progress.  Over the years, Janice and I have kept in touch.  I’ve been to visit her and she’s been out to New Mexico.  I also get to see her every year at International Quilt Festival in Houston, as she lives not far from downtown.

Cupcake

Cupcake was her next endeavor, created for her daughter Elle, who is the light of Janice’s life!  What could be more fitting?   In her non-quilting life, Janice is a master chef, who sells her creations at Grower’s Markets in Houston.  She also is a wicked gardener!

Janice at the Grower’s Market

Next up for Janice was the Hamburger Quilt.  She had been talking about making a three-dimensional quilt for a while and I was thrilled to see it on display at International Quilt Festival.

The Burger Quilt

Always with a keen eye to detail, the top of the burger bun is sprinkled with over-sized sesame seeds!  Delicious!

Burger Bun

Most recently, Janice revisited the heart shape that had been at the beginning of our friendship!  Here’s her latest venture into sentimentality.  She hasn’t yet told me the story behind this little gem!  I can’t wait to hear it.

The Newest Heart Quilt by Janice Schindeler

As always, Janice’s quilts are unique and colorful and they always make a statement.  Lest you think that she only designs quilts in this style, she also is well known for her story quilts.  I am so glad that we met those many years ago and look forward to our future adventures.