When we decided to move to Central Oregon 8 years ago, I had no idea how living here would change my life. We are so lucky to be in this place that draws quilters from all over the world! This past weekend I was in quilter's heaven when Gwen Marston came to town. Gwen did a presentation for the Sisters Guild on Wednesday evening. Here she talked about her medallion quilts in solids and her folk art applique.
I was especially pleased to see some of her series of tree quilts. These minis are quite wonderul with their variations, many of which were inspired by antique quilts.
On Thursday I had a full day workshop with Gwen on making the Medallions in solids. This is my piece which will be added to soon.
My leftovers ended up in this little piece which I will finish off for my November AAQI quilt.
On Friday, I was so excited to take part in the second annual Folk Art Retreat held at the Five Pine Conference Center. Sue Spargo joined us for 3 days of folk art, wool and stitching goodness.
I had come prepared to do a Halloween inspired quilt and made good progress on it. By the second day I had lots of fun shapes to add to my growing piece. This will be finished off with a couple of borders and lots more applique and stitching. On the last day I spent much of the time some learning new embroidery stitches. I am all ready for a winter of stitching!
It is always good to catch up with Gwen. She is just as cute and funny as always. She is so supportive and would really like to see me start teaching some liberated quiltmaking techniques. That is a goal of mine and so I have begun to write up a class proposal. In the meantime, I have considered getting myself a Singer Featherweight for a travel machine. Any thoughts or considerations you would have for me are very welcome!