I can't wait to sit down by the fire in Phoebe Hearst Hall and relax and watch everyone arrive for classes at Asilomar next week. I am busy packing with an awful lot of help from Oliver, who is making a 2-day process take a week. But gosh it is so much fun, for him at least.
If you don't know about this conference, it is called Empty Spools Seminars, and is held just outside of Monterey, CA right on the Pacific coast, in a state park named Asilomar, or Refuge by the Sea.
Go to http://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com/ to see who will be teaching, read about the seminar, and perhaps sign up for a class with me next year. Class registration opens towards the end of May, and classes do fill quickly.
It is my chance to teach the same group for 5 days. We explore the important basics, and then play with motifs and design on a small pieced project. I don't make one as a sample because in my experience that limits creativity. Here is a chance for you to come up with a plan for quilting, and I will help you and give suggestions constantly.
No two projects are alike, and some who are there to learn choose to not make a project but instead to create a library of samples for future reference.
Whatever your choice I insist on your use of the best tools and materials, the right color thread, the right needle, etc. so even this small library of examples will be done well. If you are unsure about threads and color and have room to bring extra, do that. The Cotton Patch has an on-site shop for purchases of fabric and thread and all sorts of things as well.
Two really helpful items to bring if you can are a small table for your machine such as the Sew EZ, and a Supreme Slider for the machine bed so the quilt will move smoothly.
Our classroom tends to have a few dark areas away from the windows, so an extra light is nice as is a seat cushion. This year they don't want us to have food and snacks in the classroom, so save those for breaks outdoors or at meals.
Kathy was the classroom assistant last year, and she made this beautiful project and quilted it in class, combining various motifs and techniqes we covered to create her own design, a one-of-a-kind.
If you have any questions, please email me: diane@dianegaudynski.net
Bring your walking shoes, and see you soon!
Diane
Deer wander freely at Asilomar
Quilter Blogs & Store Search
4 comments:
If you are driving to this class or my 3-day workshop later this year in Paducah, you may want to include a back-up sewing machine. So many times students have needed them. I know it's extra work, but it has saved the class for many.
Have a wonderful time! I was there for session 2 and as always it was great - rainy but great. Hopefully you will have lots of sunny weather for break time walks.
Lucky you! Asilomar is beautiful any time of year. Just sit on that lovely white sand - it's full of sand fleas.
Oliver is a wonderful, lovely kitty. When our cat was little like that, his favorite toy was a baby bottle nipple. It batted around perfectly and was easy to carry. He would play fetch -- we'd toss it off the bedroom balcony and he'd run down to the back yard to fetch it and bring it back for "again." If Oliver's paper label gets too ratty, try a nipple. They last a long time.
Had a wonderful time, no rain, no wind, perfect. I love the idea of the baby bottle nipple and will pick one up today. Nope, don't have one on hand.....LOL! Oliver is still checking to make sure I am REALLY home and didn't leave forever.
Post a Comment