A Quilter's Studio in La Mesa

Recently, I had a chance to tour a wonderful studio custom  designed by a quilter in La Mesa, CA and built beside her home. Pam allowed me to take lots of photos to share with you.

The view from the back door of Pam's home to the studio, only a few steps:

While the space is not huge, it is bigger than most quilters have and every inch of space is used. So many interesting storage ideas and so much to see. Enjoy a tour:

View from the door:

The blue door above accesses this amazing closet, very tall and each box is clearly labeled, a ladder reaches the highest boxes:

An old library card catalog is perfect for holding all the notions:

 Each drawer clearly labeled:

 An old architect's table has wonderful drawers to hold pantographs and patterns.The top surface is poured concrete created on site--this will never leave this space. A full size cutting mat is the perfect fit for the top:

An industrial Pfaff is the workhorse of this operation:

 Nothing goes to waste:

The thing that I loved the most  in this space, an old quilting frame complete with old quilt hung above the entry door, visible at all times in this amazing space:

So many personal touches, this is clearly the space of a creative person:

 Pam has a longarm machine and she quilts for others, mostly friends. From the beginning she kept track of how many quilts she has quilted, using tick marks directly on the wall opposite the machine. She uses different colors of Sharpie pens for each 50 marks, and indicates the year. What a clever way to keep track:

 Time to update the numbers. Pam in her happy place:

When you tour people's homes, you usually see things that tell you a little bit about them. I met Jerry, Pam's husband, a pleasant fellow. Here is what Pam sees on her kitchen counter each day, two small chalkboards with messages for her:

This is the kind of love we all  hope to have. My philosophy on what makes a happy marriage: when BOTH people think they are the lucky one--and they are BOTH right. I'd say Pam and Jerry fit that bill.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

A Quilter Goes to San Diego

While teaching for the Canyon Quilters of San Diego recently, I had a couple days off and was so pleased to have my contact person, Sylvia, show me around--I had never been there before.

The first trip was to Temecula, a little over an hour north of La Mesa where I was staying. I am a huge fan of Temecula Quilt Company so was very happy we could visit there:

I walked in and told the owner I was a fan and was there for a "bucket list" check. Most amazing, the shop is small, from the front door you can see the entire place. This company has such a large presence on social media, and the free patterns offered on the website and blog have been so important to me, I expected a huge store. No, it is just a perfect little shop. If I lived there I would hang out there, as a small group was doing that day for a "Sewcial". Enjoy a few shots:

My purchases--I got the one thing I absolutely went looking for, papers and templates for the Summer Circle quilt, and a few other "must haves":

The next stop was only a few miles away--the western location of Primitive Gatherings. The Mother-store is in Wisconsin and most of us first learn of this shop when they are vending at big quilt shows. Enjoy a little tour:

A small class was meeting in the classroom--Long Time Gone--a Jen Kingwell pattern. It was fun to meet the instructor and exchange thoughts on doing this quilt as a six-month class.

Another funny thing happened--one of the employees told me she and her family are moving to Huntsville in the next year. She'll be visiting in July so she has my card and may call for a bit of a "quilter's tour" of Huntsville. In fact, every time I was introduced and people learned I was from Huntsville, AL, at least one person  had a connection to my hometown--a relative or friend lived here, or they were moving here. I must say it was a little scary since I love my "big" small town and don't want to see it explode into Nashville South. But as Southerners, of course, we welcome all people. And I assured Cindy she has a thriving quilt community here who will welcome her with open arms.

Soon it was time to hit the road back to San Diego to prepare for the evening meeting. I was picked up at 3:30, headed to "happy hour" and dinner.

It was a great day and I was so pleased to get to these two shops. A big "thank you" to Sylvia for being a great tour guide.

Let's Quilt.

Barbara

Canyon Quilters of San Diego

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting this guild to teach and lecture. While this had been planned for more than a year, it was extra special that the weather there was perfect, 70 or so, when it was in the upper 90's at home in Alabama.

We started the visit with a full day workshop of Smitten. About 20 students spent their Sunday with me, learning how to make hexagon blocks and Y seams. Here is the class production at the end of the day:

 A few shots of students in action:

Love having young students in class

Sylvia and Cathy hard at it

Karen just kept sewing and sewing...

Striped fabric adds bang for your buck

Notice her first block on the wall above her head

The class was held on a Sunday at Rosie's Calico Cupboard--what a great shop! I highly recommend a visit should you find yourself in San Diego. Here are just a few shots, so much more too:

Monday night the guild met and I gave the lecture, "Time Management for Quilters". They have a CFO--Chief Fun Officer--who determines each month what the theme will be. Those who dress up to support the theme get their name in the hat for some great quilt shop gift certificates. June was "Bridal Month", interpret that however you like. How about a Zombie Bride:

Or the bride on her Honeymoon:

Or a real bride, gown bought at a thrift shop and a perfect fit:

The entire group of good-natured participants:

Just before the lecture, the workshop students showed off their blocks:

I brought quilts to share:

Occasionally, I am asked if I get "scared" speaking to large groups. The answer is "No" when the topic is quilts. The only challenge is can we get the technical side to work--connecting my PowrPoint on my Ipad to the projector. This building had a top-notch built-in system and a 20-year old who knew how to make it all work. With the connection of AppleTV and a few clicks, my Ipad was flawlessly displayed on the large screen--easiest technical hook-up so far.

Thanks to the Canyon Quilters for San Diego for a terrific visit. I  hope you appreciate that glorious weather!

Let's quilt.

Barbara