Paducah was a blast!

30,000 Quilters from all over the world, packed in a little town crackling with energy and joy. We were all having a fantastic time. In my classes I had students from the Netherlands, the UK and Australia. "What is a sharpie marker?" A funny question until you realize that it is an American brand name. My students were great. The week started with the award show. I sat with the other teachers and was thrilled to get two awards. One Honorable Mention for Jelly Snacks and one 1ST PLACE for Audubon's Christmas. If you watched the award show on web cast, I was the one who twirled and did a little dance across the stage. Bonnie Browning handed me a check and a really beautiful engraved trophy. Thank God I didn't drop getting back to my seat! Best of Show was an unbelievable long arm quilt by Sue McCarty. I also found out that I won the Viewers Choice award. You can see all of the winning quilts on the AQS web site.

Oh dear, what a dilemma. What does one do with an unexpected wind fall? They BUY a new BERNINA! My new 820 should arrive next week. If you are ever in the market for a new machine, wait until you are at a show. You get the absolute best deals on the ones they use for demonstration during the week. I am watching the free educational videos that Bernina put on You tube while I wait.

Did you catch the web cast of my lecture? http://aqsshows.com/AQSPaducah/webcasts/  About a quarter way into my lecture you will hear a scream. They had rigged up some lighting to the ceiling for the webcast and it came crashing down right by my head and started swinging over my computer. The filming director is motioning me to "just keep going' as the technical dude comes flying off his booth and running down the aisle towards me.(It could only happen to me!)

We teachers all stayed about 5 miles from the Convention Center. We went back and forth on unpredictable shuttle buses. The morning I was going to do my lecture I thought,  "I should bring my hair brush along, and maybe try to look half way decent if they are filming this". Remember I wore scrubs and a cap on my head for 35 years of nursing, so fashionable is not even in my lexicon.   After the lecture I went back to the teacher ready room to organize and put everything away. I blow dry my hair the next morning. ( 5 miles from the convention center). Then I realize that my hair brush is back at the teacher ready room. Creative thinking is required when you do not have a hair brush, no room mate and the hotel does not have one either. My tooth brush. I was really looking like a fashionista on the bus the next morning! 

The HOT NEW GADGET!  Everyone was walking around with these sticks in their bags. The stick is designed for selvage to selvage strip piecing or other long seams such as borders and sashings. It keeps your seams from becoming distorted when you are ironing. They have a free video on their web site www.thestripstick.com. It seemed to be the rage this year, but I did not have room for it in my luggage.

Do you like adding beading to your quilt? A tip  I learned this week from Chris Lynn Kirsch www.chrisquilts.net    Pull off a piece of clear mailing tape. Wrap it around the middle finger of the hand you do not sew with. Pick up a few of those pesky beads on the tape and then proceed to sew them on, literally right on your finger tip. Another one of those " Why didn't I ever think of that" type ideas!.

In my Design class and even at the airport, quilters wanted to talk to me about making a quilt of their pet. My tip for this month is POSTERIZE. In photo shop, look for Adjustments in your menu bar. It is the place you go to correct your exposure or color saturation. Scan down till you find posterize. It is really helpful in enhancing shapes for you to trace over. Here is our puppy Maggie posterized. 

Keep creating with the joy and freedom of a small child. Hugs to all, Kathy and Gracyn (18 months old)