Cozy Quilt Designs - Teacher Training Opportunity

Some of the best quilt teachers and shops I've seen are always looking for ways to learn new ideas, and ultimately teach new quilting projects.  As such, I love to see when there are classes and/or retreats designed specifically for quilt store owners, teachers, or want-to-be teachers.  And, today, I want to share insight with you about such an event, as you may be interested in attending this retreat, or know someone that might be.

Cozy Quilt Designs has scheduled a Teacher's Quilt Retreat that is perfect for quilt store owners, teachers, or want-to-be teachers.  Training will be provided by Sharyn Craig and Daniela Stout, where you'll learn many of their tips for successful teaching and insights on:

• The Cutting Corners ruler and technique

•  The Layer'em Up books and techniques
• The Strip Tube Ruler and techniques
• Block of the Month program with Sharyn and a new paper piecing project

Participants will get hands-on experience that you can take back to your shop and inspire others. 

On the first night there will be a reception, where participants will have the chance to view a wonderful trunk show and hear insights on new designs, as well as new books that will be introduced in the future. The next two days participants will develop their expertise with these techniques and tools with hands on sewing time.

The price of this retreat is a super deal.  It includes spacious accommodations, sewing time, teachers fees, two retreat lunches, and snacks. Homewood Suites also provides FREE breakfast and dinner, so all your food needs are covered!  Plus Cozy Quilt Designs will give you a FREE sample of Sharyn Craig's Cutting Corners Ruler and The Strip Tube Ruler.

Projects will include a quilt using the Anvil Magic Pattern,

 
a quilt from the Layer 'em Up (Book1),

 
and a quilt using the Tube Top pattern and the Strip Tube Ruler.

This Teacher's Training Retreat will be held at 

Liberty Station Homewood Suites, 

by Hilton, in San Diego, CA.  

September 19-21

$325 for double occupancy (two-bedroom suites)

$495 for single occupancy (one-bedroom or studio suites)

For those coming from out of the area, and are not able to bring their own sewing machine, you can check with Cozy Quilts to rent a machine for this retreat.  Participants will need to provide their own fabric for projects made at this retreat, or buy kits that they can pre-order.  Two rulers and the Anvil Magic Pattern will be provided for FREE, as part of this retreat.  Everyone attending will need to bring their copy, or purchase a copy of the Layer 'em Up (book 1), as well as Tube Top Pattern. 

This retreat will be held close to San Diego Airport, in a beautiful area called "Point Loma".   Nearby attractions also include:  Visions Art Museum, Point Loma Lighthouse, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, and much, much more.

This Teacher Training Retreat will be great fun and a great way to pick up some great quilting insights for quilt store owners and teachers to take back home to teach others.  Click here for more information or contact Cozy Quilt Shop directly.

Daniela Stout

Owner . Designer . Publisher

Cozy Quilt Shop | Cozy Quilt Designs | CozyQuilt.com

Phone: 619-670-0652  619-670-0652 

Web: cozyquilt.com

Facebook: facebook.com/DanielaStoutatCozy

Empty Spools Seminars, aka Asilomar Quilt Retreat

This year was the 26th year for the Empty Spools Seminars in Monterey, California, at the Asilomar Conference Grounds.  I recall when these seminars first started and how quilting friends encouraged me to join them, but I was never able to atttend.  Work, life, and a fear I wasn't good enough always seemed to be my excuse to not go.  But, over the 26 years that I sat back and watched my friends go, I must admit I saw the skill of my friends improve where mine stayed were stagnant, even though I attended local quilting classes.

Awhile back, I began researching to see if an average quilter, like myself, could become a decent free-motion quilter, with a year of practice and taking classes.  This research took me to pursue a stretch goal whereby I signed up with a class taught by the very talented Diane Gaudynski.  And this is how I came to attend my first Empty Spools Seminar, which I want to share insights with you today.

The Empty Spools Seminar is sponsored byGayle Wells and Suzanne Cox where they hold five different five day sessions of quilting seminars, all taught by world class quilting and/or fibre arts instructors.  Quilters from around the world come to attend these delightful seminars, where you have the same instructor for the entire five days.

The Asilomar Conference Grounds is a beautiful setting, within a California State Park located on the beach, in Monterey, California.

The conference rooms and hotel rooms are located throughout the property and are a modern rustic (e.g. no tv, wifi, coffee maker, microwave or refrigerator in the room), but they do have fireplaces.  Many guests, including myself, are able to see Deer from your hotel room (as well as when you walk around the grounds).  To my delight I saw Deer and little fawns.

Meals are served in a large dining hall, and the price is included in your conference fees.

Most evenings there is a presentation by various instructors, in the Merrill Hall, where you can learn more about the different teachers and their workshops. 

On the last full day of the conference, there is an optional "walk about" where every classroom has an Open House and you can  visit the other classrooms to meet the talented teachers and see what their students have created. 

I enjoyed visiting all of the classrooms in my "walk about".  I wish I could share photos of each class, but as I forgot to pack my camera battery recharger my ability to share photos are limited.  Fortunately, I did have a Flip video camera and captured a few images from my videos to share.  I may share a video after I have time to do some editing.  So, for now, I hope you understand why I'm not sharing photos from all of the talented teachers that were at this conference.

It was fun to see Hollis Chatelain's work, along with her students on using dye-paint to bring your quilt images to life.

I was inspired by the work of Lenore Crawford and her talented students who focused on techniques for fusing and fabric painting to make Impressionist Fabric Art.

There is a small quilt store setup for purchases during the seminar.    And, in the afternoons there is a free shuttle where you can visit Back Porch Fabrics quilt shop in downtown Monterey, which is a lovely shop that currently has a delightful quilt exhibit on display with a "Lighthouse" theme.

Asilomar concept began as a tent city about 1897, as a Young Woman's Christian Association (YWCA).  As I walked the beautiful grounds,  I could not help but think about all the people that had come here before me, for various retreats, as well as all of the quilters that have attended the 26 years of Empty Spools Seminars.  I estimate that there are probably ~20,000+ quilters that have attended one or more seminars, over the years, which I find amazing. 

I found my experience to be wonderful.  It was refreshing, demanding, inspirational and yet reinforcing of how our world of quilting is so wonderful.  My fellow students were all very talented, but also friendly and fun to spend the week with.  I hope that if you have not yet had the opportunity to attend an Empty Spools Seminar, that you will someday get to attend one.

The schedule for the 2012 Empty Spools Seminar is now available.  I had a chance to meet with Cindy Needham and also with Sandra Leicher, who both will be teaching next year.  Cindy will be taking her lucky students on a "stepping stones" journey while she provides them with  solid machine quilting skills and techniques, along with guidance on free-motion quilting designs and techniques.  And Sandra will be teaching  applique' techniques using a beautiful floral and bird motif.  Plus, Sandra's class project is also part of an optional BOM program she offers, so students can easily incorporate this lovely design into a quilt completely designed by Sandra.
In addition to Cindy and Sandra, there will be an additional 50+ talented teachers.  Pearl P. Pereira, Wendy Mathson and Jan Krentz are all very talented teachers from Southern California that will also be teaching at Asilomar in 2012.

Are you curious about my class with Diane Gaudynski?  It was absolutely fantastic.  I'll be sharing insights about it in the near future, as well as more insights about some of the other wonderful teachers too!

http://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com

For a full brochure, mail to:
Empty Spools Seminars
5306 Springridge Court
Fairfield, CA 94534-4005

For those that get to go to an Empty Spools Seminar at Asilomar, for the first time in the future, here are a few recommendations that you may want to consider: 1) bring an umbrella and/or raincoat, 2) if you like coffee or tea, consider bringing a thermal coffee mug, 3) bring a flashlight to walk around the park grounds, in the evening, and 4) bring extra lighting for your sewing area. 

If you have been to any of the Empty Spools quilting seminar previously, and have additional recommendations for those attending for the first time, or considering to attend this seminar, please leave a comment to share. 

Frances Moore Free-Motion Quilting Retreat, with Two Wacky Women

While I recently shared insights on quilt retreats with Two Wacky Women, I haven't had time to share insights with you on Frances Moore that teaches a 3-day free-motion quilting retreat, as one of the many wonderful retreats offered by Two Wacky Woman.  So, today I'm focusing on sharing insights about Frances, including a few photos of some of her beautiful samples and exercises.

This past year I've been doodling (aka FMQ on paper or digitally), reading FMQ books, watching FMQ videos, and trying to take as many FMQ classes as I possibly can.  My goal was to improve my FMQ skills, and see if it is realistic to significantly improve yours skills in a year of focusing on FMQ.  I must confess, I had not heard of Frances Moore until Marilyn & Robin, of Two Wacky Woman, recommended to me to attend their FMQ retreat with Frances.  So, in pursuit of my goals for the year I signed up. 

I found Frances to be an excellent teacher, knowledgeable, organized, cheerful and very helpful.  She truly did a great job to ensure every student learn the art of free-motion quilting, inspire them to practice and build on their skills, while also helping to make the learning experience fun and encouraging. 

She shared oodles of tips from needle selection, thread tension, thread selection, choosing free-motion quilting (FMQ) designs for your quilt, creating quilting designs, to batting selection, fabric marking, threadplay and much, much more.

I particularly enjoyed hearing tips from Frances on how to FMQ large quilts on home machines.  And, I found the 3 day retreat to provide appropriate time to really practice, with a variety of free-motion quilting designs that Frances walked us thru on paper, and then demonstrated on a machine, before we took time to practice each design.  It was also inspirational to see the gallery of her quilts and hear her insights on how she selected designs and quilted them.  Her insights on troubleshooting was also very helpful.

And there was plenty of fun and great humor.  I learned that it is "illegal to machine quilt and text at the same time".  There were also many other wonderful insights, but you really just need to to take one of her classes to see for yourself.  I know you'll enjoy it too!

You can sign up to attend future retreat with Frances on  Free-Motion Quilting by contacting Two Wacky Women directly.  Frances is also available for guilds, private classes, and other retreats, workshops, or classes and I'm including her contact info, should you want to contact her or recommend her to your guild or local quilt shop. 

I highly recommend Frances Moore to anyone wanting to learn or improve on their FMQ skills.  

Contact info:

Frances Moore
323-731-6838
email:  frantasticquilts@sbcglobal.net
http://frantastic-stitchwitchery.blogspot.com/

Two Wacky Women
http://www.twowackywomen.com/

Two Wacky Women Quilt Retreat

I recently had the pleasure of attending a quilt retreat, hosted by Two Wacky Women.  They hold a variety of quilt retreats, primarily in Southern California, throughout the year.  Some of these retreats have teachers, whereas some are structured for everyone to work on their own projects.  Their retreats sell out quickly, as they also have a number of participants who have been a regular for many years, and everyone that comes ha such a great time.

Marilyn Pond and Robin Gallagher are the masterminds for Two Wacky Women.  They are two talented woman who love to quilt, and are excellent hosts.  They are also willing to travel and help guilds, quilt stores and others host retreats in their area. 

The retreat I attended focused on free-motion quilting, which I will share insights about in the near future.  Today I want to focus on the retreats hosted Two Wacky Women.  Before I share specifics, I want to clarify that I look at a quilt retreat based on how well organized it is, the space provided to each participant for their work area, general room setup, food & beverages, fun, and overall value.  Two Wacky Woman deserves a five star, in all areas I evaluate a quilt retreat on!

The retreat I attended was held at the Ayres Hotel & Suites in Laguna Woods, which provided a bright and spacious room for us to sew.  Table space was adequate, with plenty of power cords & extension cords, all setup and ready for us to sew when we arrived.  There were plenty of stations provided for ironing and cutting fabrics, with never a waiting line.  Hotel rooms and service was also excellent!

Every person was given a very nice canvas tote bag, that was embellished with the logo of the retreat and full of goodies.  So full of goodies that I can't list everything, but highlights are:  fabric kit with pattern to make a cute notebook cover (included notbook), very cute handmade mini-tissue holder that has a surprise pocket, lint roller, sewers aid, charm and charm pin, ruler, pencil & notebook, etc.

Marilyn and Robin also had several prize drawings of some wonderful prizes (e.g. OttLite, etc.).

We were also treated to some yummy homemade baked goods, as well as an endless supply of chocolate quilting pills.  Meals and snacks were yummy.  It was also fun to have a wine & snacks beverage time in the evening, to be able to socialize with everyone. 

Many of the participants were from Southern California, but several had come from out of state.  As this retreat is near the Los Angeles airport, as well as Orange County airport, it is also an excellent retreat for those that want to have a fun quilting retreat, but also come have fun in Southern California!  And if you are not able to bring your sewing machine, I'm sure Robin & Marilyn will be able to get you one to rent at a reasonable price too.

There was quite a bit of sharing and I enjoyed seeing quilt tops that Marilyn and Robin made using the jelly Roll Race techique.

Vicki and Marci, two sisters attending this retreat, would periodically take a break from quilting and practice playing the ukulele.  While they are new to learning these instruments, and quite shy about playing in front of a group, we were able to talk them into entertaining us in the evening (little did they know that they'd soon have their debut here on SewCalGal).  They sang and played a varety of songs from Elvis (one of my personal favorites, to Israel (famous entertainer from Hawaii who is now an Angel up above), and many others.  And, they even wrote a cute song just for this retreat:



I can certainly understand why Two Wacky Women were nominated to the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards. 
They do a fantastic job hosting wonderful quilt retreats, at an excellent value.

Two Wacky Women have several fun quilt retreats scheduled for 2011.  I hope you will have a chance to attend one of their retreats in 2011, or further down the road.  I do think you'll enjoy it.  Definitely one of my favorite retreats ever!   And I'm already looking forward to my next retreat with Two Wacky Women.  I just hope you will be able to join me.



http://www.twowackywomen.com/retreats.html

Two Wacky Women

As this is the time of the year that I start thinking about my goals for the coming year, it makes me think about my goals to make beautiful quilts, have fun, enjoy friends and make new friends too.  One of my favorite ways to do this is by going on quilt retreats.  Thus, this just seemed to be the perfect time to share insights about Two Wacky Women.






You may know Marilyn Pond or Robin Gallagher from their blogs or seeing Two Wacky Women vending at a quilt show.  They are two delightful quilters who run super fun and very popular quilt retreats in Southern California.  In fact, their retreats are so popular they sell out quickly and have many quilters coming back year after year.  What I like about their retreats is that they are held in a variety of places in Southern California, and many have a featured instructor.

Here are some insights about their 2011 schedule:

Frances Moore, Machine Quilting Retreat, facilitated by Two Wacky Women
March 4-6, 2011.

Spring Quilt Retreat
April 1-3, 2011 in Laguna Woods ***sold out***

Summer Quilt Retreat
June 10-12, 2011 in Laguna Woods

Fall Quilt Retreat #1
September 30-October 2nd in Laguna Woods  ***sold out***

Fall Quilt Retreat #2
October 14th - 16th in Laguna woods. 
This retreat features Lynn Brown.

I hope you'll include participation at a quilt retreat to your 2011 quilting goals and that you'll check out Two Wacky Women for their fun quilt retreats too.  And remember that you can sign up for their waiting list for any retreat that is sold out.  

As my quilting goals for 2011 include improving my free-motion quilting skills, I'm signing up for the Two Wacky Women quilt retreat  in March with Frances Moore.  I'd love to have you come join me at this retreat and I know Marilyn and Robin would love to have you come to any (all) of their fun quilt retreats too!

http://www.twowackywomen.com/

Eleanor Burns at the San Diego Quilt Show

I always enjoy seeing Eleanor Burns, as she is just a warm hearted woman that when I leave I always feel happy. As such, it was delightful to chat with her at the recent San Diego Quilt Show (SDQS).  And I so loved shopping in her booth too!  It is easy to see why she unanomously won the Golden Quilter's Award in 2010, for "Lifetime Achievement".

I was also excited to see a Day and Night quilt in this show.  This beautiful quilt was made by Jeanne Rumsey. 

I also learned of a great opportunity in 2011 that you may want to participate in:

Eleanor Burns and Quilt in a Day holds several quilt retreats, throughout the day.  In the Spring 2011 they will have a fun retreat at a new location that is a great place for quilting retreats.  May 23-26, 2011 the Spring Retreat  with Eleanor will be held at Vina de Lestonnac Retreat Center in Temecula.  The sewing room is large and bright with lots of room to quilt, cut, sew and design.  The sleeping rooms are in a separate building a few steps away from the sewing room.  The dining room is a nice walk of about a half block, just enough to get the blood flowing from having been sitting and sewing for several hours.  As you walk back from your meals you can take in the sights of surrounding vineyards.  There are two options for this fun retreat:  1) You can work on any Quilt in a Day pattern, or 2) you can take a structured class with Eleanor.  The project Eleanor is teaching is the Radiant Star quilt from her new, improved book (available Jan-Feb, 2011).  For more info contact Quilt in a Day.

Quilt in a Day
1955 Diamond Street
San Marcos, CA  92078
800-777-4852

SewCalGal highly recommends signing up for Quilt in a Day's newsletter.   This is a great way to hear about new products, fantastic sales, and many other items.

Quilt in a Day:  http://www.eleanorburns.com/
Eleanor's blog Strip Quilter:  http://www.stripquilter.com/

Empty Spools/Asilomar

Empty Spools has been hosting quilting seminars for ages. I think many think of Empty Spools as Asilomar.   I've never been able to attend, but have always admired the creations that I've seen quilters make as a result of attending seminars at Asilomar.  And hearing about their experiences at Asilomar has almost appeared as a quilting right of passage, for the lucky few that get to attend each year.

Empty Spools holds their seminars at the Asilomar conference grounds, in Pacific Grove, California.{photo below  by Gregory Case, http://www.gregorycase.com/}.

The majority of the workshops for Asilomar sell out within a few hours or days from the time that registration is open, months before the workshops are held.  Prices have increased significantly over the years, participants complain of food quality, but still there are so many quilters willing to take spots, that this seminar continues to be successful, with many years of a track record of being well organized and offering the best of the best of quilting instructors. 

While I've dreamed of attending Asilomar for years, until recently I never thought it would be an event I'd ever be able to attend.  Then, during my research on ways one could learn to create beautiful free motion quilting, I came across Diane Gaudynski, a master at free motion quilting.  Definnitely one of the top instructors of free motion quilting.  When I learned that Diane was teaching at Asilomar I stopped focusing on all the things that kept giving me excuses for not attending Asilomar, and how lock in a spot in her class. 

I am excited to share that I have been able to lock in a spot for Diane's class at Asilomar, session V, 2011.  My approach, to signing up, ignored the fact that I do not view myself to be a talented free-motion quilter, worthy of Diane's instruction.  But, I have focused on the fact that I have months to practice and prepare.  Plus I've been encouraged by others, as well as Diane Gaudynski, to not be intimidated, and that she is able to teach quilters of all levels. 

Needless to say I'm very excited.  I'm looking forward to Asilomar in 2011.  And, I'm committed to spending as much time as I can, practicing and challenging myself to build on my free-motion quilting skills before I make it to Diane's class at Asilomar in 2011.  I share this, but want to encourage others to not worry about it and simply go forth and sign up for Diane's workshops, if you are interested in free motion quilting.  Or, sign up for any workshop offered by Empty Spools.  These workshops are designed to challenge you.  And, as I've been quilting for many years and have made more quilts with "quilting in the ditch" than I'd like to acknowledge, I'm really looking forward to my first Asilomar experience, and delighted that it will be with Diane Gaudynski. 

{above} This quilt made by Diane is what I aspire to be able to create someday!  Isn't it beautiful?  Love it.
And, I hope I'll be able to inspire others to pursue steps to challenge your quilting skills, as well as encourage and support others to challenge their skills.  Quilting is a vast world.  For me, I simply wanted to test the waters to see if anyone could become a great free motion quilter. And I've been investigating ways this can be accomplished, as well as trying to take steps to achieve this.  Asilomar and Diane Gaudynski is a big step for me, but an exciting step. 

If you have been to Asilomar before, have taken any classes from Diane, or any recommendations for my desire to challenge myself to build on my free motion quilting skills, I'd love to hear your insights.  In the meantime, I hope you'll understand why I may be sharing various insights on free motion quilting, over the coming months, as I continue to research this aspect of quilting.

Did I say I was excited? 



http://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com/session5.html

http://dianegaudynski.blogspot.com/