Gail Garber Designs
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Quilting by the Lake – 2011

The QBL Class

The QBL Class


A fabulous class!

The Bag and me

The Bag and me


What a surprise! They hid my bottle of super glue so I had to dig around for it. That’s when the bright orange professional bag peeked out of my suitcase. Thank you Charles and everyone else in class at QBL!

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Tricksters at QBL

Imagine my surprise when, after returning from lunch, I asked a question and several sheepish faces stared back at me. Finally Joanne exclaimed, “Don’t ask me! I have the smallest head in the class!”. That really got my attention and I wondered just how it was that she knew that.

Measuring Heads

Measuring Heads


It turns out that they were busy using their flexible curves for another purpose besides drafting quilting patterns — measuring the circumference of each other’s heads.

Friday night was QBL Show and Tell, where each teacher and her class get up on stage to show the results of the week long class. Imagine my surprise when my class marched up on stage, flex curves in hand and then donned them as head ornaments!

Charles, Doris, and Paul at Show and Tell

Charles, Doris, and Paul at Show and Tell


We simply had way too much fun at QBL!

Show and Tell

Show and Tell


And, without a doubt, I had the best students in my class!

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The Very Special QBL Class

Nancy Sporn

Nancy Sporn displays her work in progress


It isn’t often that the chemistry among a class rises to this level. It ranks among the most fun class ever! Students were skilled, creative, and mischievous. We bonded almost immediately. Of course, the SuperGlue helped the bonding process.

Joanne Williamson

Joanne Williamson


Joanne Williamson created a sawtooth border effect through careful selection of background fabrics.

Linda Santana

Linda Santana


Linda Santana used rainbow geese to surround her star.

Charles Johns

Charles Johns


Charles Johns’ star features intricate edging to highlight each star point.

Sue Colwell

Sue Colwell


Sue Colwell’s design is growing beyond the circular design.

Drafting the Design
Drafting the design.

Paul Leger

Paul Leger


Paul Leger and his star featuring rainbow colors. This is part of a larger project focusing on a community celebration in his home town.

Sally Ickes

Sally Ickes


Sally Ickes got the prize for bringing the most fabric to class.

Amy Quinn Star

Amy Quinn


Amy Quinn and her star.

Kitsee Demeree

Kitsee Demeree


Kitsee Demeree took classes from me many years ago. It is thanks to her lobbying efforts that I was invited to teach at QBL this year. Thank you, Kitsee!

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QBL – Accomodations

Libby and hairdryer

Libby and hairdryer


QBL is held at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, where the dorms are brand new and the rooms are arranged in suites. No traipsing down the hall to the communal bathroom. My Suite-mate was one of my favorite teachers, Libby Lehman. We had not been at a venue together for a long time — so many words, so little time. Libby has special travel accessories, like this Baby Bird blow dryer, so small it would fit into a nest.

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Quilting by the Lake – A Very Special Conference!

Jeannette Rossi

Jeannette Rossi and her star and Pointy Dude border

The first class was a two-day Sensational Stars and Circular Borders class, followed by the three-day Flying Colors class. Almost everyone signed up for both classes so it was more like one five-day class, my favorite thing to teach.

Irene Dietlin

Irene Dietlin

They got a lot done too. Here Irene Dietlin shows off her star with the Flying Diamonds border.

 

Doris Prol

Doris Prol

Doris Prol got the prize for the fastest sewer in the class. She moved at light speed and it was all I could do to stay ahead of her, demonstration-wise.

 

Doris and her goose strip

Doris and her goose strip

Here, she shows off an entire goose strip, replete with Flying Fishies.

 

Cynthia Moreland

Cynthia Moreland

Cynthia Moreland opted to surround her star with a Flying Goose border. It was the mostest fun with totally great students.

 

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Flying Colors Exhibit

Flying Colors Poster

Flying Colors Poster

Much of my inspiration comes from my small quilting group, Designing Women, a group of local art quilters that I formed in 1994. Yesterday, we hung an exhibit of our work at the Esther Bone Library in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Many in the group made new quilts just for the exhibit, and they are wonderful! Flying Colors is also the title of my latest book, and is an apt metaphor for the way our design skills have taken flight. Here’s an image of the quilts hanging in the big room.

Wall of Quilts

Wall of Quilts

And, here’s Cosmic Parade hanging in the friend’s room.

Cosmic Parade

Cosmic Parade

Thanks to Michele Hymel, Twila Bastian and Ed Chappelle, for making the installation a piece of cake! The quilts will hang until August 31, so check it out if you are in the area.

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Fabulous Freeform Fillers

Fabulous Freeform Fillers

Fabulous Freeform Fillers

It just arrived in my mailbox! The new issue of the American Quilter’s Society Magazine featuring my Fabulous Freeform Fillers article that includes 4 patterns. Patterns can be downloaded from their website here.

Freeform fillers are curvy shapes that can add drama to your quilt projects. Originally I used curvy flying geese, but now I use a variety of shapes – picket fence, pointy dudes, spirals. These filler strips can be an accent to your quilt design or they can be used to create an entire quilt.

If you enjoy the designs and techniques in the magazine article, you will want to get all the fillers and information featured in my book, Flying Colors – Design Quilts with Freeform Shapes and Flying Geese (C&T Publishing) which is available here on my website or from American Quilter.

I will be teaching the class on Fabulous Freeform Fillers at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in early November this year.

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Rotorua

Rotorua - Sulphur Flats

Rotorua - Sulphur Flats


Our hotel was located at the southernmost end of Lake Rotorua, in an area known as sulphur flats. (read stinky). But once you got used to the aroma of rotten eggs, the birding was rather good! The inland lake has a good population of Black-billed Gulls, a species that frequents inland lakes and is the most threatened gull species in New Zealand. Good numbers of Pukeko were present foraging among the gulls. Check out this funky PukekoMania blog with lots of humorous images and not so funny hazards. We saw Pukeko in wetlands throughout New Zealand, a truly gorgeous blue rail with a bright red bill, and legs.

Rotorua - Lake Rotorua at sunrise

Rotorua - Lake Rotorua at sunrise


Sunrise was spectacular!

Rotorua - Bird Sign

Rotorua - Bird Sign


Sulphur Flat is home to many endemic species, including New Zealand Dotterel, White-fronted Tern, and Black-backed Gull.

Rotorua - Tuatara

Rotorua - Tuatara


At Rainbow Springs, we visited a Kiwi breeding facility where eggs are removed from nests located in the wild, hatched and reared in captivity, and then released near their nest sites when they are large enough enough to defend themselves from stoats, rats, cats, and possums. We also got to see the native Tuatara, the ancient reptile, unique to New Zealand.

Rotorua - Betty and Dave

Rotorua - Betty and Dave


Dave and Betty, who hail from Wisconsin, posed in front of the giant kiwi at the park.

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