you are into Crazy Quilting, you really must take a peek at these- and you will no doubt be hooked too. Hooked on Sharon. A very good thing to be hooked on... To say I am a fan of her incredible work is certainly an understatement. I have taken two online classes from her and now- a whole three days with Sharon- in person! How lucky am I!! In fact, I had to keep pinching myself during this whole trip- we were all so blessed to have such a wonderful opportunity...Sharon is such a giving person. Her online Stitch Dictionary is a real gift to the stitching world - it is always there, ready to be accessed when one needs it- what a wonderful resource. On her website In A Minute Ago, one can view much of her wonderful work: her "I Dropped the Button Box Qui
lt" is my favorite, hard as it is to pick just one favorite. If you follow her Blog she is in theprocess of documenting each feature on the 100 individual blocks of this quilt. One can learn so much about color and design just by studying her work, not to mention the stitching and embellishing.
Her three day class was wonderful - she taught us many floral motifs, new stitches, use of new (to me) materials such as sequin waste and gimp cord... but equally as exciting was getting to see her works "in person". Sharon's Band Sampler which measures 6" wide by over 70 feet long (yes you read that correctly- almost 75 feet!!) is an amazing chronicle of her
life and "stitching history" not to mention an incredible teaching tool. I could have spent hours just pouring over it... She is documenting it as well, section by section, on her Blog here. In addition to the Band Sampler and the Button Box quilt, she also brought her recent Diamond Block CQ which features paisley fabrics in each block, and several smaller pieces.We were all very happy when on our final day, Sharon said she would happily "critique" some of our blocks, if we wished. Of course ever
yone liked that idea and it was very interesting to see how she quickly zeroed in on what each block needed. Her art training was evident as she spoke about balance and design, moving the viewer's eye around the block, etc. and I think everyone in the class learned from looking carefully at each other's work.I cannot begin to convey to you how much I enjoyed this three day class. We were all in love with Sharon, her Aussie accent and sayings, her story about Bullion races, the impish look she got in her eye as she told us about her friend Margaret and her disapproval of the use
of a certain marking pen which Sharon likes to use.... Sharon, you're the best!! Thank you so much for a wonderful three days which I will treasure for a long while.Thanks are also due to Maureen Greeson and Susan Elliott who organized this entire event. Maureen, who I met only briefly several times during my stay, was so very generous in providing us with wonderful packages of freebies - threads, silks, etc. Who doesn't like treats and hers were the best! Thanks Maureen for the goodies and for all the work you did to set up this grand adventure for us all ! Susan and I have known each other through blogging for a while, but this was our first time meeting fac
e to face.... and what a very special person Susan is. If you are familiar with Susan's blog Plays With Needles, you have likely figured that out already. (You really must read Susan's post about Sharon here. Susan's photos are far superior to mine.) She is one in a million. I felt so privileged to be in her company, for the class and our extra little "excursions". She and her sidekick Helen let me tag along with them and made me feel so welcome. You guys rock!! I do hope we will get together again... soon...I would have to say that the people I met at this CQ Adventure were one of the very best parts of it all. Like minded women who came together from across North America to share their love of fabrics and threads, stitching and creating works of love. Without a doubt- you girls rock! Sharon B
., Susan, Helen, Allie, Maureen F., Bobbie, RuthEllen, Renee, Sherry and Sharon and all the rest - thanks for making it all so much FUN!!Peace
Linda
Some people make the world more special just by being in it.
1 comment:
What an opportunity of a lifetime. Sounds like a good time was had by all. You make reading about it very exciting. Lucy
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