Quilting by the Lake - 2011

A Fabulous Class

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. 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!

We simply had way too much fun at QBL!

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

The Very Special QBL Class

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 created a sawtooth border effect through careful selection of background fabrics.
Linda Santana used rainbow geese to surround her star.
Charles Johns' star features intricate edging to highlight each star point.
Sue Colwell's design is growing beyond the circular design.
Drafting the design.
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 got the prize for bringing the most fabric to class.
Amy Quinn and her star.
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!

QBL - Accommodations

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.

Quilting by the Lake - A Very Special Conference!

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.
They got a lot done too. Here Irene Dietlin shows off her star with the Flying Diamonds border.
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.
Here, she shows off an entire goose strip, replete with Flying Fishies.
Cynthia Moreland opted to surround her star with a Flying Goose border. It was the mostest fun with totally great students.

Quilting by the Lake - The Auction

My first year teaching at Quilting by the Lake in Syracuse, NY. Hosted the the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, they ask faculty members to decorate an apron to be auctioned off on the final night to raise funds for scholarships. This is what my apron looked like when it arrived. Pretty ordinary!
I thought black and white graphic prints might just do the trick. And, I found a couple of rainbow goose strips to go along with the B/W fabrics.
Stitching ... Stitching ...
All done! Now, for the auction part! We, the teachers, collectively decided on a beach theme. A field trip to Walmart yielded beach towels, a beach ball, little balls (100 of them), and a cute little bucket. Libby downloaded beach boy music. Jane Dunnewold stuffed the beach ball under her apron! Imagine that! Then ...
We got to dance on stage as our apron was auctioned off. In all, they raised $5,000 for scholarships! Way to go QBL!