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.]

Betty Pillsbury Tames More Than the Velvet Beast

Here is the quote that appears on the bottom of Betty Pillsbury's crazy quilt Perchance:

© Betty Pillsbury

I had never taken a class from Betty before and I had my first chance at the Crazy Quilt Adventure this past April in CT. I think this quote sums her up perfectly.

I think Betty is that never ending thread that weaves that cloak...

She is quick to smile and to laugh...to connect with those around her. There's a glow about her...a sense of peace and wisdom. Which, indeed, makes you feel as if a cloak of delight has wrapped around you ~

Your spirits are lifted and you're inspired to tackle any task.

© Betty Pillsbury

So, Taming the Velvet Beast was a great name for Betty's class...a class where we worked exclusively through the challenges and benefits of working with this tricky, yet sumptuous, fiber.

We embossed on velvet, learned tricks on sewing with velvet, and painted these sweet little forget-me-nots on velvet...

She brought with her many of her award-winning quilts including Crazy Diamonds which has won 13 awards including AQS and the Vermont Quilt Festival.

It's a showcase for lots of beautiful examples for using velvet...

© Betty Pillsbury

I love this velvet palette...

© Betty Pillsbury

It's an absolutely stunning quilt to see in person and I can see why it has won so many awards.

© Betty Pillsbury

And it was this center medallion of her Crazy Diamonds quilt...

© Betty Pillsbury

That we were taught how to re-create using our own color selections and velvet backgrounds.

Here Claudina Hruby finishes up a beautiful salmon-pink version of Betty's flower...

It was a great class. Betty peppers the day with lots and lots of sewing tips and information so you tend to learn way more from her than what's listed on her class syllabus.

I thoroughly enjoyed digesting her tips and her work.

Here are some highlights from another of Betty's award-winning quilts, Homage to Ardelia:

© Betty Pillsbury

I really liked this kaleidoscope effect surrounding a central motif.

And the messages she seems to tuck in here and there for the viewer's inspiration...

© Betty Pillsbury

Betty quilts from the heart and it shows.

Wouldn't I love to use this tea cozy and to have Tea with the Queens!

© Betty Pillsbury

And I love how this block is appliqued on-point onto a vintage, embroidered linen napkin...

© Betty Pillsbury

Now, as if her own work isn't enough...

Betty also has an extensive collection of amazing antique crazy quilts which she lectured about on Friday evening. Oh Mon Dieu!

It was almost too much to take in...I was bursting with inspiration. Luckily, I persevered and was able to take a few pictures even though I was hyperventilating...

Aren't those seam treatments something? Oh, and those velvet petals??? TDF!

And I was struck by the use of striped fabrics and antique woven ribbons in many of her antique examples...

And how about this spider?

And all these names and monograms...

See what I mean??

You better train up if you're going to spend time with Betty Pillsbury. She is rich in history, talent and knowledge and she's willing to share it all!!

If ever you have the chance to hear her speak or take a class, you won't be disappointed.

And here's the bottom line...she's just plain cool.

And I haven't even told you that she's an Herbalist! Or, that she lives in the Catskill Mountains, tends a five-acre herb farm and sends her herbs out into the world to help heal what ails us.

I love her Wrist Rub, her Open Sinuses oil...but most of all,

I just love her.

I hope you enjoyed meeting her today. You can visit her here at Green Spiral Herbs, or here at BettyPillsbury.com , or visit her on her blog here.

See you tomorrow.

She Traveled with The Band

This is how I first met Sharon Boggon.

When I walked into my first workshop at the CQ Adventure, her band sampler stretched completely around the tables of the room and doubled back on itself.

It is 6 inches wide and almost 75 feet long and still growing.

To say I'm a fan of Sharon Boggon is an understatement.

Over the years, I have taken her online courses (Her Encrusted CQ class changed my life!), studied her quilts, and marveled at her acumen in organizing the All that Jazz fundraiser after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

But I think it's the generosity of her online stitch dictionary that is most over-the-top, amazing of all. It's monumental.

That stitch dictionary is a gift to mankind...right up there with Google and the Internet. I can't tell you how often I access her stitch references and am so grateful that she has chronicled all of those stitches and made them available...for free!

I find it wonderful that Sharon introduced herself to us by showing us her band sampler.

At first glance, you might be tempted to regard it as an extension of her stitch dictionary, chronicling the many different variations for a particular stitch or technique.

But it is so much more than that.

Sharon's band sampler is a physical representation of her many selves -- as Expert Embroiderer, Scribe of Stitches, Art Professor, Historian, Storyteller, Australian, Wife, Mother, and Daughter...

And the use of her band sampler to introduce herself, to chronicle her life, to document her stitches...couldn't be more apropos.

Sharon speaks volumes through her band sampler.

At one point in the workshop, Allie leaned over to me and whispered, "This thing [the band sampler] is a historical document!"

And in that moment, it all clicked. On her blog Pin Tangle, Sharon has been posting about each band of her sampler and giving the details for each one.

In her posts, she references and re-tells each band of her sampler...each detail of her story...

And by combining them all into one large roll, she has taken what was heretofore fragments...and placed them into one contiguous chronicle...an anthology of her life.

You can read about Sharon's history of her band sampler here and see all the posts she's written to date here.

And it's interesting to note that her chronicle continues to grow. It makes me wonder about how to chronicle my own life and my own work.

I learned so much more from Sharon than I have time to express here.

We learned many unique methods for making flowers...I loved this one titled "Margaret's Flower" named after the friend who taught it to her...and demonstrated by my workshop neighbor Lauri...

And we played with sequin waste...something none of us had ever done before...

It looked marvelous under the expert hands of Cathy Kizerian on the beautiful bird block she was working on. LOVE this block...

And here's another great sequin-waste example underway by my new French friend, Jocelyne Ausseil...

And here's Diane Matheson demonstrating a woven chain seam treatment on another lovely block...

[Author's Random Aside: Did you notice that all these ladies' outfits matched the blocks they were working on? It's a phenomenon I've noticed but that's a post for another day...]

And here's what Sharon was working on while we were stitching...

**Sigh** So lovely. She taught us those fun little knots bursting out of her flower poufs by using gimp. So much fun.

I most enjoyed discussing the methods for designing a block, for adding interest and movement to a block, and for fixing problems within a block.

My favorite day was when we all presented our blocks for Sharon's review and discussed potential pitfalls and/or strengths of each composition.

Here's one of my favorite examples of the day...It's a block by fellow workshopper Renee Gray and it shows a block she pieced using all prints. We all loved it, including Sharon.

And it was the perfect setting for one of Gerry K's handpainted bluebird buttons.

I'm sure I'll be able to share more Sharon details over time as I work out her lessons in my own work. Thank you to Maureen for hosting her...

And thank you, Sharon. To you and your band.

You rocked!