Time sure travels fast when you are not looking. It's been almost two weeks, I thought I would give an update before I travel again.
On the quilting front -
Hand stitching on "Mom and I" quilt is coming along. I am inching towards a finish at a snail's speed but as I have always said, I am in no hurry. Eventually I will get there.
Each stitch has a place of its own, rainbow of threads have been quite entertaining to see how they react to the background.
Initially I had thought of adding meandering lines with just enough stitching to bind the layers.
But it didn't seem enough, so I continued adding more texture to it.
Was it a right decision?
I will know once I bind this quilt.
In other news -
My husband and I are leaving for India in a few days. I am excited to be able to see my mom again but this time around I will also be hitting the markets to shop for the wedding. We will also be traveling to visit extended family and some friends. Last couple of weeks we will be spending in Thailand before returning home. This will be our first ever trip to one of the eastern countries and I can hardly wait! Look for the #traveldiary on IG and FB @therootconnection
I will be coming back to a busy schedule for 2017
April
Class
South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Santa Cruz, CA
Lecture
Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild, Pacific Grove, CA
Workshops and Presentation
Tompkins County Quilters Guild, Ithaca, NY
Presentation
San Francisco Quilters Guild San Francisco, CA
May
Presentation and Workshops
My first time teaching at Quilted Straight! I have heard great things about the shop and excited to be teaching two day classes.
Quilted Straight Port Gamble, WA
http://quiltedstrait.com/classes
June:
Presentation and Workshop
Napa Valley Quilters Napa, CA
Napa Valley Quilters
July:
So excited about teaching at Sisters again! I will also be presenting this year and sharing my story. Will I see you there?
Classes and Lecture
Sisters, OR
http://www.quiltersaffair.com/
September:
Lecture and Workshop
EBHQ Berkeley, CA
Mount Vernon
Quilting Retreat - Details coming soon
November:
YES! I am going on a quilting cruise right after International Quilt Show in Houston.
November 5-12
Quilt Cruise to the Caribbean
http://iqacruise.com/
Yes, it is going to be a busy year but all I want to focus on right now is my trip!
A New Friend
This past December I met an incredible quilter in my home town, India. She visited her family here in late 90s. During her visit, she came across some quilt shows on TV and got inspired to make one! Her brother bought her basic rotary cutting tools and gifted her with a book on quilting. Almost 20 years later, she has quite a few quilts in her collection and she is still making them as we speak!
All of them are mostly hand sewn and hand quilted.
Her quilts are just like any other quilts in India, made with materials on hand and using fewer tools. She uses all kinds of material and the results are stunning. Blades dull out faster than she can keep up so she gave up on the rotary cutting and started using her cutting mat as a guide to cut her squares and triangles. She also used hand cut cardboard templates for her quilts.
I absolutely fell in love with her. Can you blame me?
When I asked if she ever gets tired of hand piecing such large quilts, she responded, "Not really, I pray as I sew these pieces and somehow it all works in harmony."
It was a humbling experience to see her soulful quilts.
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| Cotton and Polyester |
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| cotton and blend |
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| The ones on the couch behind her are also bed size quilts |
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| Hand stitched all the way |
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| and the front |
And what does she do with all these quilts, you ask?
She gives them away as gifts.
I can not wait to meet her again and continue this friendship for years to come.
Happy Quilting!
Sujata
