"I FEEL LIKE A WITCH WHEN I CAN'T FIND TIME TO STITCH!"

So, with it being Fall and all I thought I would show you some close up's of my witch quilt. It shows many of you who have not seen my work some of my embellishment tricks and some of the details. This quilt is larger than a full size quilt....I like to work large-it is easier and gives you more space to have fun and put in details. Hope you take a class one day and do your very own story quilt. Tell people who you are, what you love (holidays for me), who you love, and details of your memories and thoughts-how many people do diary quilts? Not enough.....

Hoochy mama blocks add some color and personality that plain blocks can't....
Frog soup anyone? I knew I wanted a caldron and it fit to make a frog with vegetables and spices and fun! Several months ago someone asked why I didn't do a two or three day workshop on Fall and Halloween? I never thought of it I guess. But it is such a fun holiday and the colors are so pretty and little kids are so adorable when they dress up and get excited about candy and the frivolty of the whole thing that is a cinch to come up with zillions of ideas.

A polka dotted crow? Why not? Black is boring and predictible....right?HOCUSPOLKADOTIS-get it? the other side says "ABRAQUILTDABRA" -it's fun to play with your imagination and ideas in a whimsical way-don't worry about what others think!!

Finding beauty everywhere you go.....

I just decided to add Quiltdiva Julie's quilt at the top of this posting to show how cool those flying geese look across the top-I think it is very exciting to see what people did at the school and then when they got home.....plaids rock!

So, I took some random photos at the folk school and saw many opportunities for quilt ideas...this happens everywhere I go. Though many people would have walked through the garden (loads of mosquitoes in there) and not seen much, I saw so many things that were truly beautiful. The leaves with all of their shapes, the flowers, the mountains, trees, a butterfly here and there and this funny scarecrow that begs to be put into some kind of a quilt- beauty is all around you as well as ideas for more art, all you have to do is pay attention and it doesn't hurt to write a list of things you are thankful for...."Gratitude and Unhappiness cannot co-exist"

This is such a lovely old building and would be beautiful done in fabric....And the one above is equally as wonderful don't you think???

The garden outhouse-I haven't seen one of these in years....love the moon cut out....

These leaves were HUGE and they would look so cool done in lightgiver greens on a quilt.... Most scarecrows have some kind of silly head...this scarecrow seemed so real in some ways and kind of spooky...though the morning glories on him were whimsical

There is something so delightful about gourds and their shapes....on a quilt they are magic!

I thought these old gloves along with the pumpkins would make a great paint study...don't you? Everywhere you look at the folk school there are ideas to put on a quilt. I especially loved this flower below because I imagined layers fabrics into a flower or wide rick rack....

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE REALLY BAD

So Kathy Collins made this adorable little pin cushion that i thought you would love to see. I wish it was mine but frankly in all of my stuff, I would lose it for sure. This is the good part of this.
Now, I have another thing to mention. I am always learning new things and some of them it is a shame I wasted me time and now I want to point out something to waste yours but we can both laugh and be glad we are quilters.
I was driving from the airport on Atlanta to Kathy's house and any of you who truly know me, know that I have NO sense of direction (NONE).
So, I got lost since I did not bring my gps and kidded myself into thinking I could figure out mapquest and simple directions. I ended up in down town Atlanta far from Kathy's house and in the middle of Dragoncon. Do you know what this is? I didn't.
It is a bunch of people (I would say nerds but that is so socially unaccecptable to say)...but they were nerds I think , that dress up as comic book heros and people from sci fi movies. There were so many strange things that I wanted like anything to take photos of for this blog but I could not find a parking place. In the meantime Kathy came downtown through traffic from some game and she wanted to go home. I was by then parked at the Ritz Carlton, all ready to go and gawk at these people but Kathy wanted to leave so I missed more of the strangeness. I am sure I was saved from something else that could have happened. If you want to see part of what I saw, look at this youtube clip....I wouldn't look at much more. I previewed this one and it is safe. Some people down there had hardly anything on (I am not kidding) or blood all over them (pretend) or some gaustly facemast. They had a parade and people took their kids. Whatever happened to pretty girls and catching candy from well meaning clowns? Just wanted to keep you up to date on what is going on outside of quilting and love of art.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ3lhFE-k4A

AS I WAS SAYING BEFORE I HAD TO GO OUT OF TOWN....

So earlier last week I was trying to introduce each girl from my John C.Campbell class and then I got up early, had a cup of coffee, looked out the window, chatted with my husband, came down to my office to look at my emails and realized I had a 5:20 plane trip I had missed to Michigan to start teaching the next day. You have never seen anyone move so fast in your life...I actually got packed, showered, dressed, made up and out to the airport in 90 minutes to make a flight....pant, pant,pant. Now that I have taught three classes in Michigan, I am home and can finish this post before I start a new story.
Julie who is from Memphis is one of the blog online quilters who are extrodinarily creative, fun and have great taste in color. I was thrilled that she became part of the class. She goes by Quiltdivajulie@blogspot.com-be sure to check out her blog for inspiration and fun. I go there all of the time for a shot in the heart...I hope this is why you come here...we all need more fun, color, inspiration, kindness and oommph in our lives. Right? The class was alot of fun for me and John C. Campbell provides alot of happiness and time and a place to reflect on what is right with the world. Remember that song that said "where seldom is heard a discouraging word"? Well, that is how I feel at the school. If people didn't like me or what I taught, they said so behind my back and on my evaluations.... Think about coming next February for more piecing fun and a little applique to add pazazz to your quilts.----

This was Julie's original layout before she threw caution to the wind, got more creative and had loads of hoochy plaids fun and added letters....note she did four tiaras all different and all whimsically original

Above, Julie looks at the Hoochy Mama plaid directions and says "right sides together!"

Above, "Princess Julie" stitches and shows off her wonderful smile-she is great fun Above, Julie shows off a piece of her wonderful stash-she has awesome taste!

Kathy Collins has been my friend for many years. She has taken at least five long week workshops from me and I have stayed at her home in Georgia with she and her husband Greg. She is an attorney and a person with a kind heart and fun. I asked her to come and be my helper at the folk school. She did many demo ideas and in doing so, came up with some pretty cool block ideas. She put stilts on many of her houses and I think the barn was my favorite. It is always fun being with people who like people, can laugh and can have creativity prompt them into great energy. This is what Kathy provided for me and the class.This is Kathy Collin's darling crooked house and wonderful tree....isn't this cool?

There is something so beautiful as the swoop of the clothesline and I am surprised there are not more quilts and art with clotheslines...I loved the look of this with the rock (hand done) in the background and rags on the line though I imagined pretty dresses and shirts here....

These two gentlemen showed off their kilts-the one on the right played the bag pipes beautifully

These were treats set out by the cooking class (Scottish favorites)

This fun guy was from the clay class for Scottish week when I was there....pretty creative!

More photos of John C. Campbell and two people left to meet-stay tuned

Here I pose with a Moose on the main street in Murphy-fun for me on a lovely day

Above is one of my plaid samplers that I was working on....it is called Plaid Ave. I have NO idea why it did not load right....sorry

.....................
Pat from Maryland created smiles for anyone who loves birds and plaids and sunflowers...

This is Pat who has taken another class from me at the folk school-she is always nice and has the best laugh of anyone I have ever been around-she makes me giggle just listening to her delicious laugh...

Maureen in front, Gretcheon and Mary...Loved that Maureen wore her tiara all week

Camera shy but showing off this great piece of fabric that we all LOVED-isn't this wonderful?Shy of cameras but isn't this flower block adorable???

This is Gretcheon's blocks as she builds her story for her Grandson age 5

Gretcheon from Florida cuts and comtemplates-see her great quilt blocks next to her?

Dessert is always homemade and wonderful at John C.Campbell

Just some of the students in the plaid class at John C.Campbell Folk School-stay tuned for more later on.....

These blocks and the quilt above are Joanna's. She phoned and emailed before the class to say she had sewn little and hadn't taken a beginning quilt class. I discouraged her from coming (big mistake on my part) and she ignored me and came anyway much to my delight. She showed me that she was positive, willing to learn, delightful to the class, and luckily had faith in herself-something I try to encourage others to do. She came a long way and I loved her blocks and also her as a neat person who added alot to the class. She was a giver and not a taker-lovely!

Darling bird isn't it?

Every artist needs a tiara though some people are afraid to wear them for fear of what others may think.....who cares? Barb's quilt in process.......

Years ago I created a really fun line of fabric for Benartex called "Crazy Cats and Mary Lou Too"-Mary a student in class brought the entire line and used it in all of her buildings...this was wonderful for me to see as I hand painted all of these things and to see them all used in one quilt by someone who did a great job was lovely. It ended up being a fun town because Mary placed the buildings offset and you could imagine streets and hills and valleys and water...

Below is Mary who is a quilt judge in Florida and she is holding up her house-I loved each one and the end result was wonderful-I thought the lighthouse was especially creative and funThis is a photo of Gretchen and Barb-I goofed and didn't get Barb's eyes open but she is cute anyway

The quilt below is Barbara who is from Florida-she had a nice sense of inventing and it paid off-fun to watch this develop and watch her smile-she is a lovely and fun person

Isn't this polka dot flower of Barb's darling? A few polka dots with the plaids adds alot of fun!Key Lime pie, I would take this over chocolate anyday...give me lime, lemon and orange anything.... this was delicious