Flower Power

My last workshop at the Grand Crazy Quilt Adventure was with my dear friend, Allie Aller, making three-dimensional flowers.

I don't know what it was exactly about that day.

Allie's class sample © Allison Aller

I'm not sure if it was the vibrance and beauty of the colors we worked with...

Or the energy and vibrance of our beloved teacher herself...

Or perhaps it was the power and influence of the flowers themselves...to brighten the mood, to lift the spirits....

Maybe it was a combination of all of those things which contributed to the light-hearted, wonderful spirit that permeated the classroom.

It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz movie where the film starts out in black and white and then converts to Technicolor when Dorothy lands in Oz...

Everyone was moving about, spritzing ribbons and painting them with dyes...

Playing!

Using materials such as felt or rick rack, transforming beautiful materials into fabric gardens...

And we couldn't help but smile frequently amidst all those happy blossoms...

In fact the energy of Allie and her flowers was so palpable, that a conversion occurred that day.

Enter my friend Ruth-Ellen.

I absolutely love Ruth-Ellen from North Carolina. And, like Allie, Ruth-Ellen has a real knack for using color...

But...unlike Allie...Ruth-Ellen doesn't really "do" flowers typically in her work.

In fact, when I asked Ruth-Ellen how she was at the beginning of class, she replied quietly, not wanting Allie to hear, "I'm not sure exactly why I'm here. I mean, flowers aren't really my thing..." And she laughed a little sheepishly and said, "Well, I'm here. So...I might as well give it a try..."

I understood that. Not everyone is into flowers...

But Ruth-Ellen settled down to work...

And opened herself to the reality of living in Allie's flower world for a day...

And at the end of the day, we all ended up with big smiles and beautiful flowers...

And some of us, like Gerry aka Older Rose, had made significant progress on our gardens...

But look what happened to Ruth-Ellen...

She was completely converted...

At least for the day.

And I can't really explain it other than to say there is power in flowers, that happiness is contagious and that Allie's enthusiasm reached even those that were less-inclined toward flowers to begin with...

Allie's class sample © Allison Aller

I mean...really reached them...

Move over Princess Kate...Ruth-Ellen has hit the fascinator scene!

Thanks Allie, thanks Ruth-Ellen and thanks to all the ladies who played in Allie's flower world that day.

It was great fun!

[Note: In your interested in Allie and her work, you can visit her blog here. Or read my other post about Allie when she taught our EGA group in Baltimore here; or my review of her first book here.]