Last week was a busy one. I was deep in the throes of prepping and presenting at Garden of Quilts. Things were a little hectic there for a bit, but since I've come out on the other side I'm breathing a big sigh of relief. Now it's time to put the house back together. And I'm already itching to start a new project. Details below on all of this.
First a few pictures from Riley Blake's Garden of Quilts event. This event is held in September in Lehi, Utah at the Thanksgiving Point gardens. Amazing red, white, and blue Farmer's Wife sampler made by Loni Hernandez.
The Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point are a spectacular setting with quilts and lectures and vendors throughout the venue. (Pumpkin quilt made by Jeralyn Dunn, using Hocus Pocus pattern by The Pattern Basket.)
I got to give a trunk show. Here's an action shot of me thanks to Amy Chappell. Also a shot from my viewpoint on a golf cart on a way to the lecture pavilion with a pile of 30 quilts in my lap. The best part of this, was not a single person gave me a weird look. I was truly among my people. 😉
As far as I know, Garden of Quilts will be held again next September in Utah. (Sampler quilt top right is a one of a kind quilt made by Lisa Garlick using many blocks from Jen Kingwell's Dear Jen book.) You can see more about this event in my pictures from the original Garden of Quilts (here).
Back to Reality
Once the Garden of Quilts was over I came home and crashed Saturday night. Monday morning I started to put my house (particularly the disaster of my sewing room) back together. I was feeling particularly motivated because I'm excited to start a new project. But I was determined to NOT start a new mess until the chaos was under control again.
Also, have also spent the last few days getting caught up on all of the other things in life after a busy summer, including scheduling appointments, cleaning, and all of the mundane by necessary tasks. I love these Weekly Planner pages from Quilters' Candy for a quick visual of planning and organizing my week at a glance.
It feels so good to have things tidied up and organized again. Here's a sneak peek of what's new on my cutting table right now. I pulled a bunch of current Riley Blake Designs fabrics for a scrappy fall quilt project. I'm working on a simple tutorial for this one - it's actually a remake of a past favorite. I'm excited to share - hopefully at the end of next week. Now that the deadlines are done (and the room is a little more cleaned up!), I'm itching to sew for fun. 🙂
Collections these prints are from: Gingham Foundry, Lori Holt Basics, Beneath the Western Sky, Harmony, and Winterland, Heartsong (coming in October).
Robyn says
Oh, the Garden of Quilts looks like a wonderful event! I love the fabrics you've chosen for your new project. Thanks for the inspirational break. I'll get back to my chores, then the sewing machine is calling...
Gretchen says
I hope they hold the Garden of Quilts again next year. I'm planning on visiting my friend in Utah and I'm planning on visiting during this event! I look forward to viewing your quilts in person at the next show. Love the fabrics for your next quilt, happy stitching!
Gwyn says
Love the story about your ride in the golf cart! I can't wait to see what you make with your scraps. Sometimes you have to get messy to be creative! Have fun. 🙂
Anne Pankow says
Thank you for showing what your quilting room looked like. So realistic and we can all relate. Many quilters only show their sewing room on social media when it is cleaned up, well organized and picture perfect. Working on quilting projects just creates a fabric mess. It cannot be helped. Thank you for helping me feel better about my sewing area. I love your weekly email and look forward to it. And thank you for showing pictures of the Garden of Quilts. Absolutely beautiful quilts in a beautiful setting.
Bear Creek Quilting Company says
Thank you for sharing for all of us who couldn't be there!
Hadley Blue says
Depending on your desired project output, there are several quilting sewing machines available to suit your needs