Kismet

Oh my. This is my 400th post and it's the last day in May and I've been gone for a while, so there's got to be some kismet here.
I actually got back from California last week, but have been completely immersed in a project that, like most of the projects I work on, I can't really show yet. I'm not going to lie to you, all this covert crafting has made me feel that I've become so adept at keeping a lid on things that I'm thinking I might have a future at the CIA. I could start by stitching up their emblem as a round quilt.
What I have been authorized to tell you is that I had a fabulous time in California.

I offer this photo taken by Jennifer, my new friend from Bernina, as evidence that I did have loads of fun in California.
Also, as proof that my classes were super fun and filled with creative, enthusiastic students, take a gander at these:

These were made in the Color Your Cloth workshop I taught at The Sewing Party

These three are from the Strings Attached improv class also taught at The Sewing Party  

 

The top foursome of blocks were made by Jean Impey. She was one of my hostesses in Laguna Hills and a terrific friend. I'm pretty convinced that, despite our age difference, Jean and I were twins separated at birth. She's quite the talented quilter and teaches classes at The Sewing Party as well as making quilts on commission.
So there you have it, incontrovertible evidence that I liked California and it might just have liked me back.

Hinting

There's lots going on here, though I can't really share full view images of any of it, but...

I can drop hints, right?

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day: Kvelling

Kvelling: (verb). Yiddish word for the act of bursting with pride often accompanied by a wide smile and potentially a misty quality to the eyes.
I am kvelling today. I've had several experiences over the past few day where someone has taken a class from me or made something from one of my patterns and done such a great job that I had to exclaim, "Oh man, that is so fabulous."
For instance check out Cindy's interpretations of the Fish Baby Log Cabin. Yup, that's right, she made two in a marathon two-day sewing session that I'm guessing may have involved copious amounts of caffeine.
And, take a gander at some of the student blocks made at this past weekend's Improvisational Piecing workshop organized by the Austin Area Quilt Guild.

 

This block is crafted out her own hand dyed cottons.

Add to that, today I got an email from the lovely Jessie who just recently took my Strips and Stripes class at Stitch Lab. Check out Jessie's fabulous finished quilt...and her proud smile.

Of all the classes I teach I'm always blown away by the quilts made in the Strips and Stripes class. I had originally thought it would be the hardest class to teach, but everyone seems to get the color concepts and they all make the most amazing tops.

There's nothing like the thrill of seeing a design idea come to life and realizing that something that you've conceptualized actually makes sense as an object, but seeing other folks interpret those designs is a super close second.

Found, though I didn't know it was lost.

A quick shout out to Heather over at Modern Day Quilts for posting about my workshop sample and mentioning the talk I'm giving tonight to the Austin Area Quilt Guild.
I've put together about 115 slides of work that spans about 20 years. For instance, this is the first quilt I ever made:

It fits a double bed and is intensely hand quilted. What was I thinking?
Also, here's a quilt I totally forgot about:

I made it as a commission years ago and when I came across the slide I actually said, "Hey, I completely forgot this quilt existed.
More from the faulty memory archives:

These quilts date back to a time when I had a professional photographer take slides for me, thus the black background. I must have scanned them into digital images at some point because there they were on my hard drive.
It's been fun to put together this retrospective and take some time to look at my work as it has evolved and discover quilts I hardly remember making. It's probably an important lesson about the value of documenting your work. I know I'm glad that while I have but a vague memory of these quilts and several others included in my presentation, my computer remembers them all. Thanks, Hal. :)