We are two crafters that love all things geeky, and hence - crafty geeks! We make things from fabric to paper and everything in-between. Here we will post our projects, tutorial, and all around craft geekery!
As you have seen, I had a great time at Quiltcon, but besides the workshops I did some other amazing things! First and foremost Quiltcon is a Quilt Show, which means there were fantastic quilts to view! I really do wish now that I had submitted something to the show, but I'm just not ready to be "judged" on my quilting ability just quite yet. Some of my favorite quilts can be found in the following slideshow and can also be seen on my flickr page.
David Butler
I was also really inspired by the demonstrations and lectures. In particular I found Jacquie Gering and Katie Pederson's demo (from their book Quilting Modern) on their quilt making process with example quilts to be fascinating. I also couldn't get enough of Amy Butler discussing her process of Fabric design. I felt so inspired by her talk and have a renewed interest in her fabrics. Her husband David also gave a very interesting talk about photography and the role an image plays in their various products. Sometimes it is not about the technical brilliance of a photograph, but the way it makes you feel that is important. Denyse Schmidt's keynote was just as fascinating. It was compelling to hear her story, to understand why she creates the way she does and how her process works. I already respected these "giants of industry," but I really came to value their creative process and idolize them just a bit more.
If you didn't get a chance to come to Quiltcon, several of the lectures are available FOR FREE to watch at http://www.craftsy.com/
Overall, I felt Quiltcon 2013 was fantastic! I still can't believe what the team was able to accomplish for their first time. Everything seemed to work without a hitch, I'm sure their were some, but to the casual observer it looked like smooth sailing :)
Can I just tell you that last week at Quitcon was such an amazing experience! I don't think I have ever really traveled by myself or gone to a conference that wasn't work related. It felt so selfish, but I now realize how important that can be. I get so overwhelmed with the day to day things that I forget to just enjoy life. Quiltcon was a time for me to be selfish on purpose, to focus on things I wanted to do and not be distracted by the little things. By far the biggest influence on me at Quiltcon was the opportunity to take workshops!
I have never been a take workshops person (from an educator this is hysterical I know). I just have never been interested in any of the classes at my local quilt shop. One of the main reasons I actually wanted to attend Quiltcon was because of the amazing Workshops.
I took an all day class on Thursday with Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Franson on Free Motion Quilting on your home machine. I love every aspect of the quilting process, but I had never taken a class. Elizabeth showed us some great techniques for quilting on a home machine, including quilting in quadrants and pulling not pushing your quilt. It was also great to just spend some time perfecting my techniques and trying some new patterns out. I don't often get time to just practice! And look at the fabulous free motion quilting swatches I made!
On Friday I took a morning class with Lotta Jansdotter on Textile printing. This was an incredibly creative and inspiring class. I really had the opportunity to create something new and fell in love with carving my own stamps and designing my own stencils. Lotta's design aesthetic (I feel so Project Runway saying that) is so clean and simple and translates well to block and stencil printing. I can't wait to carve some more stamps and get my son involved in the process.
Overall, these workshops alone were worth the trip to Quiltcon. I hope to continue blogging more about the experience and blogging in general about my crafts. I forget how important it is!
