Where Pat and I Chat about Sweden & Retreats

I was so excited when Pat Sloan asked if I would like to be a guest on Pat Sloan Radio again so that we could talk in more detail about retreats and the Retreat Host Manual e-book that I'm working on. Pat found out that I'd just been to Sweden, so she wanted to talk about my teaching abroad experience as well. You can listen to our chat here.

I'm just now going through my photos from Sweden and hope to get a couple of posts together before I leave on my annual Loon Lake retreat on Saturday. Wish me luck - I still have to sort out what I'm going to work on for 5 days...so many unfinished projects and new ideas.

Here are some of the lovely quilters I met at the Rikstacket meeting in Upplands Vasby (just outside Stockholm) and their in-progress Temperature Check quilts!

This is the sweet group of women that took my workshop

 in the northern town of Pitea (pronouced Pit-ay-o) on the 65th parallel. My friend Stina (far left) worked so hard to organize my visit....wait until you see the quilt that she, Marica and Louise made for me!

More coming soon!

Checking the Temperature at home and around the Globe

2015 is proving to be the busiest year I've had in a long time. Kicking off with the release of Make It, Take It closely followed by my amazing trip to Austin, TX for QuiltCon2015 (and the amazing ribbon win!) where I invested in my own learning and creative growth, I returned home full of excitement and energy for quilting. Soon after, I participated in my first Quilt Market (and met some incredibly supportive friends and inspiring mentors).  I also had a fun couple of days right here in Vancouver at the wholesale show put on by N.Jefferson in July, teaching from my book and meeting shop owners, fellow teachers and visiting reps. In between and all around those industry/guild events I've been teaching my Temperature Check quilt using my Improv Under the Influence piecing technique.

Temperature Check, shown at Canada's national juried show, 2014

When I first made this quilt a couple of years ago, I felt a little tingle of excitement, thinking that it could possibly be a door opener for me to start teaching my own technique and pattern, instead of teaching patterns designed by others (which I've been doing for 12 years).  I could NEVER have predicted how far that little quilt would take me...and in the space of of the 12 months of 2015, I'll have visited and taught for all of these groups in some amazing places:

•  Modern Quilt Guild of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. Canada
• Inuvik Quilters Guild, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada
• Drygoods Design, Seattle, WA, USA
• Celebrity Infinity Alaska Cruise, Vancouver - Alaska - Vancouver

And still to come, all before the end of November (gasp!)

• Rikstacket Annual Meeting, Stockholm, Sweden - flying out tomorrow night!!!
• Private friends quilting group, Pitea, Sweden
• Changing Tides Quilt Shop, Juneau, Alaska
• Whistler Quilter's Guild, Whistler, B.C.
• Seymour Quilter's Guild, North Vancouver, B.C.
• Sunshine Coast Quilter's Guild, Sechelt, B.C.
• Boundary Bay Quilter's Guild, Ladner, B.C.

Plus, I'm still working hard to promote my book locally and have done 6 trunk shows this month, with a couple more scheduled in November.  It has been wonderful having the support of all of the local traditional guilds, as well as my pals at the VMQG.

People keep asking me if I'm exhausted and I can truthfully say, no!  It is all so exciting and because teaching fulfils me in so many ways, every workshop just gives me more energy for the next. I may spend the month of December (fully clear calendar) in a coma cuddled under a quilt on my couch, but for now it's go, go, GO.  The best part truly, is meeting and spending time with so many wonderful, like-minded people. I love making new friends as much as I love travelling.

Speaking of which, if you live in the Lower Mainland area and haven't yet had a chance to take my Temperature Check class to learn a super fun improv piecing technique, you are invited to join me at the Seymour Quilter's Guild on Wednesday, October 14th from 9:30 - 3:30 on the North Shore. The cost is only $45 for non-guild members and there are a few spaces still available. I'll be fresh home from Sweden with stories to share about the Scandinavian quilting scene. Let me know in the comments if you are interested and I'll put you in touch with the workshop liaison (make sure you leave your email addy for me)

Some fabulous student work from the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild's Temperature Check workshop last year. 

Watch my Instagram for travel pictures from Sweden, or come back here in a couple of weeks for a photo essay of my trip. Because if you hang here, you know I like the travel pics ; )

Thanks friends.