So the alarm went off at 7.30am and I dragged myself out of bed. The jet lag was really killing me. Found a coffee shop down the road that did GREAT coffee and they roast their own beans, so a bagel and a freaking huge 20oz coffee set me up for the day. Forget getting a normal sized coffee over here...everything is twice the size as at home. I was that tired I figured a 20 oz would do the trick.
So clutching my half drunk coffee I stumbled into my first class which was Stash Mixology by Elisa Albury. Waiting for us on our desk was a Ruby Beholder and a sweet. I had no idea what this was but its a piece of ruby coloured plastic that allows you to find value in a quilt. It works on all colours except red as it is red in colour. If you want to find the values of red fabrics you need a green beholder. Elisa reckons we won't need it though as our eyes will get pretty good at identifying value. Taking a black and white snap on your camera kind of does the same thing. I love this little tool. Used it for a couple of things already...perfect!
So Elisa had some take home points....ugly fabrics can work magic!!! You know those fabrics that you buy and then a few years later you think what on earth was I thinking....they are so freaking ugly. It might be the large floral or the lime green pixies or the ugly brown fabric you thought might come in useful....well Elisa says take those fabrics and add them into a quilt...that lime green will become a zinger and add a pop of colour. Cut that large pink floral up into smaller pieces and work it into a quilt. We then did an exercise where we all put 6 or so FQ onto a table and we all tried to add a zinger or coordinate the colours with the stash we had. This was such a fun class and Elisa was a great teacher.
The second class for the day was Social Media with Tauni Everett who blogs at Snap Creativity. This class was about getting more from your blog and using social media. She talked about using tags or labels to help search engine optimisation, about being real and consistent, networking with other blogs, using link up parties and using photo gallery sites. She also said to use photo titles and add an alt tag as people will often search just for images and these will come upon a search as opposed to not labelling as DSC19995 is never going to come up in a search. It wasa great session and I learnt a lot from Tauni.
Lunch was another feast and this time we had cute little battings waiting for us on the table.
They held little fun competitions each lunchtime and I won the prize for travelling the furtherest. A cute little hold-all with lots of cute things in it.
After lunch, it was time for Equilateral Triangles with Jeni Baker who blogs at In Color Order. I have loved and admired Jeni's work for ages, so was excited about doing this class. An equilateral triangle quilt as been on my to -do list for ages. She is just the sweetest person. I loved this class. It was over far too quickly.
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| Jeni's triangle quilt |
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| Showing how to cut the triangles |
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| Isn't this wee Briar Rose mini the cutest! |
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| My stack of triangles |
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| Kelsey, my sewing buddy |
The last and final class was Photography by Melissa Esplin. I have a DSLR and a point and shoot, but really want to learn how to take better photos. I just throw it in automatic every time and away I go! So Melissa talked about f-stops and shutter speeds and ISO and all manner of technical things that I am still trying to understand. I've been playing around a bit, guess it's a bit like FMQ...the more you do it, the better you get at it. She then gave us a practical demo via a data show on the screen. And never ever say cheese...it makes you grimace...say yoga or grandma instead!
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| Julie and I - camera buddies |
So that was the classes over and done with. We had half an hour before dinner and the closing speech by Heather Bailey. Our gifts for dinner were Olfa accessories.
Heather shared her journey at the closing dinner. Another inspirational lady who encouraged us all to be creative. She shared sad moments, happy moments, life changing moments and with a touch of humour. An amazing person.
And to sum it all up...an amazing 3 days filled with laughter, fun, sewing, bonding, passion and creativity. I can't wait til next year.
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