Ok, in a couple of hours we will be off to Nova Scotia. First stop, Peterborough, ON to visit a friend at Fleming College. Saturday I hope to make it to somewhere around Quebec City and then on to Chester on Sunday....It will make for a long drive on Sunday but, with two of us we should be ok(even though Joey maintains he will not drive because of the trailer. Once we get to New Brunswick he should be able to do it).
So, off to load the last of the stuff in the trailer.
Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela.
And here's to a wonderful and successful fundraiser for Red Cross Canada and Breast Cancer Research at the Gervais-Talbot Golf Tournament. I hope for MANY successful years for this!
Ok, yes, I am home from QSDS....it was a WAY amazing 9 days with Sue Benner and some of the most talented quilters in the world today. I was most definitely the "baby" of the group talent and skill-wise.
If you are into real/surreal (I can't think of any other way to describe her beautiful work), Karin Franzen of Ankorage, AK was there working on a Sandhill Crane series. If you love very abstract, I got the watch Eleanor McCain work, up close and personal as well as Sidnee Snell (who has the most fantastic eye for looking at a piece and finding the most amazing areas of interest). If you like quirky, I watched Ginny Smith at work on a large, very fun piece. And the wonderful Gilda Hecht was my table mate. She brought all kinds of great stuff. And Deborah Fell..Floris Flam, Betty Ford, Leslie Rego, whose work I fell in love with last year.
I could go on and on and on.....
Anyway, I am home and packing for the trip back to Chester on Friday. The trailer is in the driveway waiting for Joey and his friends to get up and help load the heavier pieces then I will get the rest. So, no quilt work going on here right now.
Thought I would throw this in tho- you HAVE to watch this video. It is absolutely amazing!!
I have finished my third day at QSDS in Sue Benner's Master Class. I really feel like I have made progress. The piece for the West Mi Art Quilt Invitational is nearly completed as far as the pieces being cut out. It is really looking good. Good fabric; good colour, good abstraction. And I am really enjoying working on it. One complication is that I have limited pin-up space and my Italy piece frequently gets covered by the Shibori piece started in Jan Myers-Newbury class. I have also made progress on it and am looking forward to completing it. Sue feels it is a VERY ambitious piece...I'm glad I am making it for myself....
I have decided to sign up for Sue's Master Class again next year. That will limit me to that class, the Mayflower retreat at Pictou and the Fabrications retreat for 2009. More than I had planned on but a lot less than I have done in the past.
I just can't give up QSDS- if nothing else, the social aspects of it are irreplacable.
Now, I just need to dig out my card reader to download pictures.....maybe tomorrow.
Well, I made it safely to Columbus, OH and to the University Plaza. It was a bit iffy on the way down as I ran into some pretty nasty thunderstorms on the way down- nothing new for Ohio in June.
I am so geeked about this class. Betty Ford (not the late President's wife, the OTHER Betty Ford) and Floris Flam and MANY very talented artists are in my class. I KNOW I will absorb so much this 9 days!
I will hope to post many great pictures this week. Right now, I have had 4 double shot vodka (Skyy) and tonics thanks to my good friend and the best bartender ever, Andy, with only a salad for a meal (ok, I confess, I stopped at Mickey D's and had a burger today- shame on me) so I am well buzzed.
Alarm is set for 7am. I am SO ready to get to work!!!! First on the agenda- the piece I started in Jan's class. Then the W. MI Challenge.
I am still debating next year.....do I want to be in Nova Scotia in my own studio in early June or take a class here???? Just seeing so many people I LOVE here makes it SO difficult.
A valued member of the quilting/ art community has had multiple quilts stolen from her car while at CQA in Newfoundland.
Val Hearder, of Mahone Bay, was at the convention teaching when the quilts were stolen from the trunk of her car. One of the quilts was borrowed back from a collector specifically for the show.
Val is still in Newfoundland so doesn't have a full inventory of what was stolen but among those missing are:
Flamboyant
Nndebele Fertility Skirt
Tropic of Capricorn
If you see these quilts ANYWHERE, please contact Constable Coady of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in St. John's Newfoundland immediately (709-729-8000) - they have ways of tracking down the sellers. Const. Coady said her best hope is to spread the word.
Let's show those crooks what a bunch of quilters, WORLDWIDE, can do!!!!
Can't believe I am up this late. I have a house full of testosterone and it must be throwing me totally off. School is out for Joey and his buddies Max and Derick are here and Austin, my former billet, is here from Wyoming visiting. I thought I was ready for an empty nest so I could spend more time on my art but, frankly, I just love having these guys around.
Jamie (my oldest) has asked for my help fund-raising for their team this year. Some of the boys have plenty of talent but their families are hurting financially. Good grief, like he HAD to ask?? When he was in middle school I paid for some of his friends to play hockey and baseball even though I had to put in OT to do so. At least I had a job that allowed it. So, of course I will help out the team. I have always felt that we ALL are a team- the HUMAN team. I guess that is why I like Obama so much.
Ok, time for some pics. Thought I should show you how the Michigan house turned out.
Ok, this is the dining room. It had these silly columns and a top thingy that just looked weird so my artist friend came up with this great idea to make the top thingy look like stone. He wanted to cover the columns with wood but I couldn't see it- stone held up by wood, so we went with stone look the entire way. It is so cool.
This is the fireplace. I need to get a better shot to show you the colour and texture of the paint. It is awesome! This painting by the marvelous Melody Johnson looked great in here with the old fireplace and beige paint. It looks SPECTACULAR with the new fireplace and paint!!
Ok, this is how bright I am. Yesterday I decided I was in the mood for frozen Margaritas (it's really hot an humid here) so I bought tequila and was SO SURE I had the mix at home. I pulled out this bucket. Guess what? It's NOT Margarita mix. I put friggin' Setacolor paint in it. So, we had regular Margaritas last night. This morning I went out into the garage to get the Belgium waffle maker out and guess what I found?? Yep- a bucket of Strawberry Margarita mix. I KNEW I had it!!!!
Well, sadly, the hockey season is now over, sort of. The NHL may be done but my son, Jamie, is off to Detroit with the AAA Midget Major team he coaches for a tournament this weekend.
I am so proud of him. He's only 24 and has already moved well up the ladder. He's been invited to his second year at the USA Hockey (the US's development program)camp in Rochester, NY as a coach and he went to Chicago over Memorial Weekend to coach a team of '93's (refers to age of players- those born in 1993) in the Selects Camp. He also was the track throwing coach for Portage Northern High School for 3 years and one of his "kids" took first in state in Division I for shot-put. There was a great write-up in the Kalamazoo Gazette with multiple quotes from Jamie (or "James" as he likes to be called professionally). But hockey is his first love and he announced his resignation from PNHS. His kids were not happy but they understood. Hockey really is now a year-round sport, for players, scouts and coaches.
Jamie
Jamie also informed me I will be billeting an older player from their team this year. Last year we billeted Austin, who ended up not finishing the season due to an elbow injury. But he is still a part of our family.
Austin
Joey spent Christmas with Austin and his family in Casper, WY and I am picking Austin up in Grand Rapids tomorrow afternoon. He is also coming to see us in Nova Scotia in August- he's looking forward to being of legal age (he's 19 this month). Just what I need, another drunken male to keep track of! Austin's room was taken over by Ben, a 16 year old with a lot of promise. Very intelligent, hard working, clean living- a real anomaly for us! Unfortunately HE broke his foot when he was home visiting his mom so there went another billet. Anyway, I look forward to meeting our new billet. I love still being a hockey mom.
Now Joey thinks he wants to play again but he's going to have to wait until we get his medical issues resolved. He sees a rheumatologist on the 20th- I will be in Columbus so his dad has to take him. Anyway, his MRI and bone scan were both abnormal at the left SI joint and a marker in his blood for inflammation shows a possible auto-immune problem. No wonder the poor kid has been in so much pain! But, he's a gamer. Still wants to play baseball and hockey.
As for MY work, wow, spent 5 fabulous days at the Nancy Crow Timber Frame Barn taking a shibori class from Jan Myers-Newbury. Jan is the best!! And I'm not just saying that because she's from Pittsburgh either. She is a lot of fun. We had the best group of people I have ever met in a class- and I've taken a LOT of classes. Not only did every one pitch in but no one was worried about being asked to do someone else's work. We had to mix dyes in big buckets every 15 minutes among other things and you never had to worry if you couldn't get to your assigned bucket at the designated time- there was always someone willing to cover for you. Rinsing out and unraveling fabric is a big job but there were always more people willing to help than were needed. And there were no slackers at clean up time either. What a total pleasure!!
And the food. Well, if you have ever spoken to anyone who has gone to Nancy's you have heard them rave about the meals. Let me tell ya- it is NO exaggeration!! As a faithful "foodie" I can tell you, Margaret Wolf is a Goddess! The food was delicious, healthy and plentiful. Have a special need or allergy?? No worries, Margaret takes care of you. So, if you EVER have the opportunity to attend a class at Nancy's DO IT!
I have to get back to work here. I am packing for QSDS AND to go back to Nova Scotia AND I am scanning pics for my dad's 80th on July 5th....
Name: Teri Springer Home: Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada About Me: Divorced; mother of 2 boys. Retired nurse and enjoying my REAL love (besides my kids) which is making art!! Love the outdoors. Also love to knit- especially socks!! Work in charity fund raising for fun.
Quote:Apples and Wine: Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who is brave enough & smart enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.
Now Men... Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the hell out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with. See my complete profile
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