Touching base...

 
The month of August was a complete whirlwind for me...I think one of the busiest yet.  I was in four different states in four weeks.  Whew.  Each place I visited, Denver, CO...Wichita, KS...Victoria, TX...and Downer's Grove, IL was fabulous.  My Denver engagement found me VERY much outside my comfortable little box filming my on-line class...more about that tomorrow!  My other three found me very comfortable with quilt guilds speaking and teaching. 

Needless to say I had an over abundance of down time in airplanes and airports and was able to keep myself calm and relaxed plugging away at all my handwork.  I am showing one of the pieces I worked on...

Now that most of my class demo samples are done for my Designs Workshops, I can start refocusing on creating new samples for my Wholecloth Linen Quilts classes/extended workshops.  I have finally figured out how to quilt lace...you don't!  If you quilt it, it mashes it down and destroys the texture.  I recommend that you quilt your three layers first (top, batting,backing) and then place the lace on TOP.  I carefully and lightly hand stitch the lace piece to my quilted top and then of course add jillions of beads to further stabilize and hold it down.  If the beads are neutral then they add a peek-a-boo texture...they don't detract from the original maker's work but slightly embellish it. 

Of course I had to add beads to the background.  This background is a fun ginko-clam design that I will be teaching in my on-line class and is very easy to do.  It still looked a bit blahh so I added a very pretty, tiny purple bead at the bottom of each clam and it worked.

The backs of my quilts always have a pretty hanging sleeve and signature doily and I just happened to find this little piece in my stash...it was hand-dyed and really complements the purple shades on the front.

These pictures are showing the progress being made on my table runner.  I am very happy with how this is turning out!  I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out what to put in this 4" border section and decided it had to be a strong geometric design ...this will give your eyes a place to rest between the swirly inside and outside.  Of course the little blocks looked blahh so I had some beautiful clear/gold beads in my stash that will work perfectly at each intersection. Just adds a bit more interest.  This part will keep me calm on an airplane for hours, and hours, and hours!  Just what I need for my trip to Adelaide, Australia at the end of the month :)

All for now...off to get more packing done for my September retreat in McCloud!  I'll hopefully be in touch tomorrow to share my new on-line class with you!  Hugs, Cindy :)