Here’s the first finished top from Asilomar – Robin’s Yellowstone piece! It was her first attempt at this technique and I think she did a great job!  Love the reflections.

Way to go, Robin!! She says she enjoyed it, learned a lot and would do it again..

I finished the freezer paper, including the tic marks yesterday for the new project and am anxious to start the cutting and sewing! But first I want to show you my students from “Empty Spools”. I am so proud of them!
I’ll go around the room in the order that they worked.

Joyce was working from a photo of her grandmother in her wedding dress, a very ambitious project for her first attempt at Picture Piecing but I think she is doing an amazing job! That little bit of blue in the eye is only laid in to keep Grandma from looking like a zombie for now. Joyce enjoys making portraits in various styles and she will probably ink the eye in later. The flowers with dark background fabric was a lucky find at Back Porch where we shopped Wed.

Susan is working from a photo she took of a Mama Robin showing her baby what a birdbath is for. This photo only gives basic information so Susan brought reference material and is really bringing them to life! This is her second Picture Piecing project. Another lucky fabric find is the Marsha Derse light green that she has laid into the birdbath to be the water. It has the perfect color and built in ripple lines. She will cut it up and add the reflections of the birds.

Linda is making this beautiful Sanseveria plant for her first attempt at Picture Piecing and I think it is going to be wonderful! That lovely hand dye is the perfect background to set off the leaves. She probably does not have enough of it so is trying to distribute it throughout, mixed with other fabrics which will only make it richer. Bits of lighter leaf edge fabrics in chartreuse and blue green will accent the dark leaves and add sparkle to the piece.

Janet’s rendition of this photo of her son in Ireland is being done in a combination of straight seam and curved seam piecing. She has done Picture Piecing before so she is up to the challenge and is doing a great job. I love that she chose to do that amazing tree with curved seams. Can you see that his red hair is a piece of autumn leaf fabric? Genius! Janet gets two pictures because I want you to see the curved seam part that didn’t make it into the first shot.

Barbara came to the workshop with no photo, just a sketch, because her inspiration came to her in a dream! This was her first try at this process and she made excellent progress. There will be a second elephant a little darker than the first. That batik she used really gives the illusion of elephant skin wrinkles and look how she found the eye and the ear within the print! Her very well behaved Boxer, Shelby was our mascot for the week!

Last but certainly not least, was Robin with her photo taken on a visit to Yellowstone. The orange that accents this scene is sulfur and there is steam from the geysers against the dark hills. She brought wonderful fabrics to portray the scenery and was able to find the perfect gray cloud fabric for the reflections on our shopping trip to Back Porch.  This was her first time using this technique and she made an amazing amount of progress in the time we had available.

It was a pleasure o work with these ladies and I hope to be able to share “finished” photos with you later!

Going away is always fun, but getting back home is best! The laundry is done, everything is put away, I’m still catching up on recorded Olympics Figure Skating, but yesterday I finished the layout for a new project.

While I was at “Empty Spools” In my spare moments,  I worked on planning the seams for “Jesse At The Lake”.

While shopping there, I found a perfect fabric for the reflections – well, almost perfect, I’ll have to change some colors.  Today I hope to get the fabric washed and photographed to show you, the enlargement finished and the freezer paper prepared.  It’s always exciting to start a new project!

“Konza Prairie Spring” sold while I was at Empty Spools to someone with fond memories of Kansas. She even remembered the pink grass!

I’m so happy it went to a new home where it will be appreciated every day.

Here I am at beautiful Asilomar in Pacific Grove, Ca., teaching Designing for Picture Piecing at Empty Spools Seminar. I have been so busy that I have only walked over to the ocean once, but I’m up early this morning and I intend to take the camera and see if I can get some photos before breakfast. (Yum! The food has been very good!)

I am finally able to find my way around this sprawling facility of many acres and lots of different buildings for each activity. There is a lot of walking involved and for the first few days I was often lost. But not for long!

My students are great! They seem to be enjoying the process and are making nice progress. There has been a lot of sewing going on and we will have good stuff to show when the open house happens tomorrow. The week is going fast!

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go, the weather is beautiful and I’m looking forward to sunny (?) California for a week. Asilomar, here I come! Can’t wait to meet my students and see all of the wonderful things they have planned!

Topeka Art Guild has opened their new show “Awesome America” showing til the end of March, and I have two pieces there – if you are in the vacinity be sure and stop in to see “Eagles Soar” and “Grasslands”.

It looks like the birds have been making quilting patterns in the snow… how neat is that!

Yesterday afternoon was spent packaging patterns and watching Pairs Figure Skating from Sochi. Also getting things organized for my up coming trip to Empty Spools. It looks like starting today the weather is going to warm up to above freezing and be clear so I can stop worrying about getting to the airport!

Here is Griffin basking in the glory of cold – don’t feel sorry for him – we have to force him to come in and get warm! He’ll be on guard duty here while I am gone, holding down the fort along with my husband.