I am feeling a bit like a catch-up blog. Or to put it another way–it has been a very, very long time. So, here we go.
June was a wild ride, and the rest of the summer was equally interesting. Let me tell you about it.
This is the portal which leads me down a sixty mile dirt road to McCarthy, Alaska.
This year, I was going to be part of the LBGTQ+ July 4th float. This required shopping for sparkly items at Goodwill. We have a new store, and it is fabulous!
Paul Scannell and I had created a magnificent banner two years ago.
It was a great day of celebrating.
After a day of July 4th fun, it was back to it on the Memphis community quilt. I managed to get it almost done—six long hard seams were left when I boxed it up and sent it back to Memphis for the finale.
It is an amazing quilt, and I am so grateful to have been part of the community that stitched it together. I will be quilting this piece in the spring, and then I hope many of us will be in Memphis for the installation and debut of the piece. I love it so much.
I then headed to Quilter’s Affair in Sisters, Oregon—the house that Jean built. It is true. Jean Wells grew a quilting community in central Oregon that celebrates quilters and quilt making every July. Put it on your bucket list.
There is nothing quite like a town covered in quilts!
Then it was back to Anchorage for some serious organizing (aka catch up).
Walt and I hiked Flattop along with dozens of tourists.
I got a new car! I will never lose my beautiful Kermit in the parking lot. It is a plasma green Subaru Crosstrek hybrid. I haven’t been this excited about a car since I purchased my very first vehicle. Weird fact—my first car was a red 1983 Toyota Celica that I purchased from Sam Brownback—I know! I actually called him several times when he was a US Senator/Kansas Governor to remind him of our personal relationship. As in hey, yo. Don’t be cutting funding for the Kansas Council on the Arts—that’s just crazy talk. FACT—civilizations without art are worthless. I am talking to you Alaska—why would you ever follow Kansas’s lead?
I started stitching my own quilt labels. I am doing the thread work free hand. It is not perfect, but I like the direction I am going. I need some tips on stablizers. I am just using freezer paper and it is sub-par for this task.
I headed back out to McCarthy to spend two weeks with son #1 who spent the summer working in McCarthy.
I stitched hard on several quilts. Goose Bumps (tentative title) jumped the quequ. It was supposed to be in the book Improv Patchwork in the chapter about triangles. And I finally, impulsively, finished it.
I went on a couple of really good hikes. I am so lucky to live here.
I stitched some more on Hullabaloo.
And then I stitched some curves.
The Big Easy made a short appearance on the design wall. It is one of those quilts that never seems to fully grab my attention.
More travels— I went to Grand Rapids, Michigan to teach for AQS QuiltWeek.
My little mini-reward for working hard was to get to spend an entire day with my friend Colleen Kole. It was awesome. She took me to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and more.
I then traveled to St. Charles, Illinois where I taught for the Prairie Star Quilt Guild. We had some serious fun in our Art Appliqué workshop.
Like it? Sign up for the workshop in Houston.
Better yet, sign up for a week of study with me at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. There are a few spots left, and I promise you a good time. It is also the best possible sequencing of my intro workshops. For my complete teaching schedule, just follow the link.
I went back to Anchorage to quilt, quilt, quilt.
So close, but not done. And the airplane was leaving, so I got on.
And now, I am Australia! Which started with a beautiful day exploring the Blue Mountains as we made our way to Orange, New South Wales, Australia.
The wild ride continues….
Stabilizers. Fuse wonder under to Pelion 830 and with fuse or sew that to your label before you stitch. Have a great fall Maria.
A crazy busy year Maria! Have fun in Aus.
My daughter moved to Perth to be with her BF a couple of months ago. I’m going to visit next spring, so would love tips on where to go on the east side.
Have you thought of flipping the Big Easy over. Seems to be weighty on the top so far…just a suggestion!
Happy times and travels. Nanaimo would love to see your smiling face again.
Kathy
I am so happy we spent a great day together and had many laughs. It was one of the highlights of my summer, my friend! Now to make it happen in the near future again. I didn’t even get one picture of us together. I was too busy talking. Have fun on this trip.
You are one of my mentors (how many of us are there)–I loved reading about your adventures! That MEMPHIS community quilt is awesome!! I was introduced to Colleen Kole’s work through your association to Cloth in Common (so sad she’s not an active participant–I always looked forward to her work) so was happy to hear you two connected. I would LOVE to be in Hudson Valley with you for A WEEK! Not this time, but look forward to another opportunity to study at length with you. Looking forward to Australia stories.Thanks for catching us up, and for your inspiration!
Wonderful thank you for sharing,hoping you’ll share about your Australia trip : )
Ricky Tims’ Stable Stuff, thick enough for stitching, you can leave it in and it softens with washing. I use it for thread painting.