EMPTY SPOOLS SEMINARS 2026 -- The PLACE

This is the third year I have taught at Empty Spools Seminars and each time I love it more.

Located at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Groves, CA, it is a magical place. Rustic, wild, beautiful, historic. So many words could describe this place. Bring together 11 teachers with creative classes involving quilting in so many forms and you have the perfect atmosphere for creativity to blossom and grow for almost 200 students. And this happens 5 times a year!

Just a glimpse of the PLACE:

Boardwalks along the beach--my happy place

Merrill Hall, historic early 1900's building--Empty Spools main meeting space

Beautiful pathways make walking fun

Educational signs around the 110 acre campus

Scenes around the campus

I walk to the beach every day

Early morning

The stairs to my room

The main entrance

The Social Hall with a huge fireplace, cozy chairs, two pool tables, Phoebe's Cafe and a Gift shop

An 1890's piano--the sign says "Be Gentle"

Signs around campus help you find your way

                                                        

I walked up these rocks one day leaving the beach

"My tree" outside my bedroom window

Sunset

WILDLIFE:

Deer are all over the property, I saw them early morning and late afternoon

Sea Creatures, related to Portuguese Man of War--very squishy to walk on, an unusual sight, a few days later they were gone

One of two wild turkeys I saw sauntering by

I also saw brown squirrels, bunnies, geckos, English Bluebirds, a Red Headed Woodpecker, and lots of sea birds.

LODGING:

First built in 1910 as a YWCA camp, some of the buildings are historic. The architect was Julia Morgan, first woman architect in California, who later went on to design Hearst Castle. The lodging is in many buildings scattered all over the property, nestled into the pine forest. 

The accommodations are "rustic" and simple. No TV, wifi is spotty, AC and heat might be iffy. The rooms are clean and there is little reason to be in your room except to sleep. The shower is strong and the water is hot. There is a small refrigerator in my room, which I didn't need. I love my room and ask for it every year.

MEALS: 

I call this Camp Dining Hall food for grownups. There are always vegan and gluten free options for those who need that. Portions are generous. I didn't have anything I didn't like. At home I don't eat dessert very often--here I ate it at every meal. 

Any meal I don't have to plan, shop for, prepare, serve and clean up after is a GOOD MEAL for me:

Lasagna, garlic bread, salad, cookies

Grilled salmon, baked potato, broccoli, salad and cake

My usual breakfast with a small Danish 

Roast turkey, potatoes, carrots, salad, cake

Delicious meatloaf, brown rice, veggies, salad, cake

Prime rib, scalloped potatoes, salad, apple cobbler

The property is hilly and I walk a good bit from my room to the Dining Hall then over to my classroom. Each morning I get in a 45-60 minute power walk from 5:30-6:30 am.  Even eating like this I was only up 2 pounds for the 8 day trip. The second day at home they were gone and I'm back to my usual smart eating plan.

Asilomar Conference Center is part of the California State Park system. You can find much more information and photos online.   VISIT ASILOMAR

Next week I will talk about the PEOPLE! The best part of Empty Spools Seminars is the relationships built here.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

LUCKY STARS -- NEW HANDWORK PROJECT

 Recently I decided I needed a new Hand Piecing project to take with me on my travels. My friend, Jackie Kunkel, has been showing her tantalizing LUCKY STARS blocks on Social Media and she SUCKED ME RIGHT IN.

A few of Jackie's photos:

Who wouldn't be tempted with all these fantastic fabric selections of such amazing COLORS?! 

But I don't have a lot of orange, or lime green, or aqua, etc. A group swap would be the perfect way to get some. Fortunately, my Sunday Sew and Sews were all excited to join in this project. 

Twelve of us are swapping 3.5" squares of a LIGHT and a DARK shade of specific fabrics each month.

Cyndi took on the task of ordering the 12 sets of patterns. She also made us each a set of cardstock templates for the 3 shapes needed so each person could get started right away. That was an unexpected surprise! Thank you, Cyndi:

The pattern is excellent and a reasonable price for all the information included. There is an additional password-protected file online with even more instructions, including the best way to baste each shape and files for printing your own paper templates. There are video instructions there as well.

See the designer's website: Kustom Kwilter.  There are several options for ordering.  Just the pattern--printed or PDF, the pattern and 3 acrylic templates for easy cutting of the shapes, or a complete set with the pattern, templates and ALL the pre-cut papers for the 60" x 72" quilt. There are additional intriguing designs available as well:

We met recently and did our first swap: ORANGE:

I made a name page for each of us and as people arrived they put their LIGHT and DARK orange squares on each person's page. I didn't get a photo of the beautiful stacks but here is what I received:

We are using lights and darks for the 15 wedges that make the circle around the star and background shapes. We will discuss color and contrast--"COLOR gets all the credit but CONTRAST does all the work."

As a demo for our first meeting I was working on an ORANGE block:

Next month is GREEN so I cut that one out too:

Cyndi had also done some pre-meeting work so we could discuss alternatives to the pattern instructions. Here you can see what we had ready for the group to enjoy, Cyndi's orange and aqua stars and my two in progress:

We are looking forward to seeing what each person does. There are NO RULES, and NO DEADLINES, each person can do as she pleases. I love picking the fabric and using glue to baste shapes to the papers. The sewing is not as exciting to me. But I love how they turn out. 

This is going to be FUN!

Find a project you like, see if a few of your friends want to join in, and get a group together. These small squares of fabric would easily lend themselves to a "distance group", where those not nearby could mail the fabrics in a regular envelope. 

We are a group of 12. Cutting 3.5" squares from a Fat Quarter is easy--cut two strips 3.5" x 21", lay them on top of each other and cut into 3.5" squares--exactly 12 are cut from those two strips. And you still have a 11" x 21" piece of fabric left for your collection. So buy ONE LIGHT and ONE DARK fat quarter of a color and get 11 more different fabrics for your rings. Easy and fun!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

GAME ON! MONTH 5

Game On! is the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW: find Game On! information here. Join as a Star Member to get all the patterns and all the videos FREE. Membership is just $49/year and provides access to over 18 years of shows and tremendous additional content. Join HERE

This month we make one 3" border and one 6" corner block. This border is one of my favorites, I use it a lot in my quilts:

I like it so much I am using it all around for my personal PRINTS version:

The instructions and videos are excellent, be sure you read/watch them for best results. 

The GOOD NEWS: there are NO papers to print for the border. It is all regular piecing. 

My best advice is to check your piecing as you go. There is a good bit of bias in these pieces, though not on the outside edges. They can "grow" if you don't check to be sure your 1/4" seam allowances stay accurate.

What could possibly go wrong? This intersection is off enough to cause a problem with the border. I fixed it: 

I measured the colored square exactly 2 3/8" from the seam--it started as a 2 5/8" square. After the first seam it should be 2 3/8". I cut off the white points with the rotary cutter.

After all the units are sewn and checked for accurate sewing, I joined them in pairs, then pairs of pairs, as Becky's instructions direct. 

It is important this border measures 36.5" long including seam allowances:

Follow Becky's video instructions for trimming the border to 3.5" wide. I start with the 1.75" mark on the center of the border, at the points of the colored squares. Double check the outer corners are at the 1/4" mark before you trim:

Once the border is done, 36.5" long x 3.5" wide, set it aside until needed. We will make the small corner squares in Month 7. This border will be sewn onto the quilt AFTER the Right Side narrow border is made and joined to the center.

The Corner Block DOES have papers to print. Follow the written and video instructions:

By now you know, if that center where 8 points meet doesn't look as perfect as you hoped, you can always cover it with a little circle!

Next month we make the right side narrow border and another corner block.

My SOLID version through Month 7. I changed the small corner blocks to 9 Patches: 

Please post your progress photos on the FORUM, we love to see your work.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

PAPER PIECING LESSONS

 Having just returned from 5 days in Las Vegas for our 50th anniversary, I didn’t have a weekly post ready. 

Using the SEARCH box in the upper left corner above, I typed Paper Piecing. Here is what I got:

Paper piecing posts

If you are new to Paper Piecing or are experienced with this technique, you will likely learn some useful tips in these posts.

Next week the Month 5 GAME ON! Post will appear.

Let’s quilt.

Barbara