midwest quilter meets west coast guild

And they all lived happily ever after.

The end beginning.

:o)

I recently returned from a whirlwind weekend in Orange County, CA and I have to say it was unexpected in the most wonderful of ways.  I flew out early (as in, #neveragain) and basically time-traveled back to daybreak as I made my way west.  When we landed I was greeted by the incredibly welcoming program director Gail, who treated me to breakfast (and coffee!) before we made our way to Hoffman Fabrics' warehouse for a tour with the vibrant Michelle.

After a quick stop by the hotel I was off to dinner with some members of the guild before heading to the meeting that night.  Aside from the fact that I hadn't sleeved any of my quilts, I'd say the lecture went off without a hitch ;o)

My workshop the next morning was all about diamonds.  And amethysts. And citrine. And blue topaz...

Mad photo props to Anne ;o)

And wacking out any frustration (and seam bulk!) along the way.  (All credit goes to Jean for sharing that now-indispensible notion.)  Also, batiks make for some pretty gorgeous stones!  I'm seeing sapphires and sandstones in my future thanks to Michelle and Hoffman ;o)

Some goodies from my field trip! More on my challenge concept to follow :)

I'm also happy to report that that night Anne and I had quite the friend date for Valentines' Day:  strolling on the beach at sunset, perusing local art shops for my (now) two year old, talking about our dream futures in this community-based industry, and treating ourselves to some zesty Mexican food with a side of homeopathic (also, useless) allergy medicine.

Saturday's session got a little loopy as attendees pieced arcs,

played around with backgrounds,

...I really should have taken more pictures. (Yep! Most of these are courtesy of Anne, too!)

and started stitching towards the class sample.

Credit:  Resident photographer Anne, of course!

That night, Jean—my raison d'être for being in Southern California to begin with—took me out and about before my flight home.  As I write this I find my fingers pausing for the right words to describe this woman to whom I owe my maiden foray into guild speaking and teaching.  Jean is a mother, a wife, a business woman, an artist, a teacher, a giver, and above all else an incredibly warm soul.  Though our paths crossed for only a brief moment in the grand scheme of things, I can already tell she's going to be an amazing source of inspiration and support as I continue to find my way in this creative world.

Suffice it to say, by the time my flight crept up on Saturday I was full of a joy, gratitude, and a wealth of self-reflection to build upon my craft and my career.

...And I may or may not have been a little ecstatic to have made a new (in real life) friend in Anne.

We really should have used her camera for this one though.

(Clearly I'm not the most photogenic, which explains why the expression I'm making in both of these photos happens to be pretty much identical to my old law school ID.)

:o)