The Polka Dot Debutante

I've got some amazing crafty friends and am lucky to be the recipient of some of their handiwork. Here are some of the great things I got for Christmas this year. First are the socks, purse and gift bag all made by Vivienne Moore. Here is another amazing gift. This is a knitted, felted bowl made by Mary Gaither. Isn't it wonderful?! And this is a crocheted tape measure given to me by Vicki Porter. And actually, she didn't make it, she just had the good taste to buy it! I think this is incredible. If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know cause it's just too adorable.

Just a few things I've been working on. One of my resolutions for 2008 is to try a new technique or some of the ideas that have been on my mind. I'm going to try and set aside an hour each week and just play. I know that doesn't sound like alot but between the quilting and the teaching stuff, an hour seems like a reasonable committement. The other thing I wanted to mention is that we are losing another quilt shop here in Portland. Fabric In The City is located downtown next to the main library and is run by Toni Lynn. Toni has wonderful taste in fabrics and has been in the quilt store business before. I'm sorry to see her close her shop but understand that life changes. She is having a closing sale now that will last until January 26th. I have gone once (and will probably go again!) and came home with some treasures. Here's a peek.

We are obsessed with Red Velvet Cake at our house. It's a nostalgic, comfort food for me, having grown up in the South. A couple of years ago, the New York Times published an article about Red Velvet Cake being the new, hip fad at the bakeries in New York City. They included a recipe in that article and it is fabulous. Today, Liza tried out a new recipe from the Magnolia Bakery. It's located in New York City and they have their own cookbook now. If you've never eaten Red Velvet Cake before, give it a try sometime. Yum Yum! It's so nice having a daughter who loves to bake. I'm going to miss that talent when she heads back to school, although I'm sure my waistline will be happy.

Yesterday I spent the day cutting and pasting with my friend Vivienne. She had a deadline and needed to get a piece finished and my job was playing the firm teacher who nudges her when it's time to move on to the next step. She already knew what she wanted to do and had done a mockup in construction paper. Our next step was picking the fabrics and prepping them with Steam a Seam 2 Lite. It's a wonderful product that allows you to reposition your applique pieces before you fuse them down. You fuse it to the applique pieces, peel the paper off and then the pieces are tacky enough that they stick to the background but can easily be moved. Great stuff. The hardest part was just making that first cut into the fabric, but once we got started, it was addictive. We really had fun playing. A very fun and productive afternoon. Here's the final version. It just needs to be quilted.

Last night I went to a Two Woman Show sponsored by Clark County Quilters and featuring the work of Linda Reinart and CarolAnne Olson. I've know these two woman for a couple of years and it's wonderful to see the great work that they are doing. Both of them have won awards at some of the major juried shows and you can certainly see why. Here are a few pictures I took before my camera ran out of battery! Enjoy.

By CarolAnne

by CarolAnne

by Linda

This next one was started in my Encapsulated class at Quilt Camp. I really like how she changed it from my original pattern. Linda's was also very inventive but my camera died before I could get a picture.

By CarolAnne

I've got two lectures coming up over the next week and I'm really excited about them. The first one is on Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30 at Quilts NW in Sherwood, Oregon. The subject of the lecture is "The Importance of Value." Value is a topic that I've really enjoyed exploring in my work and I feel very passionate about it's importance. There will be a follow up workshop on Sunday, March 16th where we will follow up on the ideas presented in the lecture and make three small quilts. The workshop is called "Value in Action." This is one of those exercises. The second lecture coming up is on Monday, Feb. 4th from 12:00 - 1:00 at Mt. Hood Community College. The lecture is called "A Celebration of Quilting" and is part of their "Herstory" month. I will be talking about the history of quilting and my journey in that traditiion and I'll be bringing lots of quilts to share. I was lucky enough to participate in this event last year and am looking forward to being there again.