Original Sewing & Quilt Expo - Raleigh

Last weekend I vended and taught at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Raleigh, what a great show that was! I was lucky enough to share a room with my friend Alby right across the street from the convention center and so I got to visit with her in the evenings, which was really nice. The hotel was so close, I just parked my van after unloading and never had to move it again until the end of the show, we could walk to the show every day and also to a number of good places to eat. Our favorite restaurant was "The Big Easy", offering up authentic Cajun food and a Bananas Foster dessert that was to die for. The show itself was wonderful with lots of great vendors and classes. I taught 2 classes, my "Fascinator Fun" class and my Spiral Leaf Bracelet felting class. I think everyone had a good time, I know I did! I also got to visit with lots of friends and folks I met at last year's expo, and made some great new friends too. Last year I had met a very talented fiber artist from the area, Jude, and she and her sister stopped by my booth and visited on Thursday, wow Jude is doing some incredible fiber art these days! So proud of her and all of my students too, here's some pics from the show.

 Beautiful silk kimono on display.

 Jude and I, a mega-talented fiber artist! Don't you think we could be sisters with our hair?

 Sharon was invaluable helping me Saturday in the booth while I had my class, what a life-saver!

Love this quilted car by the Sanford guild made of UFO blocks..yes, it's a real car.

Charlotte Needle-felt Purse Class

Not long ago I had the good fortune to share my skills with a small group in Charlotte with my Needle-felt Sweater Purse class. I brought a small collection of sweaters for them to choose from; I'd already felted these 100% wool sweaters by washing in hot water, rinsing in cold water, and throwing in the dryer, I did this twice to really felt them for the extra body. Then I set up my "embellishment buffet" in their wonderful classroom. I brought lots of hand-dyed goodies: merino fibers, curly locks, corriedale fibers, silk velvet. And there were other textiles to add interest, tapestries and jacquards to cut leaves from, textured yarns, and of course metallic mesh and Angelina fibers to add the bling. The girls each chose a sweater and their own embellishments and went to town needle-felting. Although each used my pattern as a guide, they all put their own spin on it, and each purse turned out its own unique work of art! A good time was had by all, and they almost finished their purses too, here's a few photos from the class. (Lol I know one is upside-down, can't figure out how to fix it with Windows 8, sorry!)

NC Quilt Symposium, Fayetteville

The Fayetteville quilt guild hosted this year's quilt symposium, and what a grand time we had! They were gracious enough to open up another room for vendors right over the cafeteria, and we had such a nice group up there. Lucky me - I was set up beside Fiber on a Whim and got to chat during our down time and also shop in their fun booth. One of my favorite parts of local shows is reconnecting with old friends, and I saw lots of folks I knew at this one and enjoyed catching up on the news. Also made some great new friends too! Here's a photo of me and Karen with her adorable fascinator from my "Fascinator Fun" pattern.

And this is a lovely lady from the host guild whom I met while I was there, Bonnie is super-talented and was so sweet and such a help to us vendors!  I hope to return to Fayetteville one of these days, I really enjoyed my visit with this wonderful guild.

Gastonia Flower Class

I met this lovely group of creative souls about a year ago when I did a program for the Gastonia Quilter's Guild, and was fortunate enough to go back recently and teach a "Wild Wooly Flower" workshop with them in Gastonia. I was so impressed with them, as many had never felted before, and they just picked right up on what to do. Their flowers turned out gorgeous, each one different and beautiful on its own. Some of them were big luscious works of art, which I always love. And we had a couple that were small dainty creations, inspiring me to come home and see how "small" I could go with my own felted posies! We even had 2 men in the class with their wives, and they did such a great job. I really enjoyed teaching and also visiting with these wonderful, friendly folks; here are some photos of their beautiful work.