Category: Workshops

  • Happy New Year! I’d like to introduce you to the art of Mindful Stitching

    Happy New Year! I’d like to introduce you to the art of Mindful Stitching

    How are you feeling about 2024? I’ll admit to feeling a bit apprehensive about things, the world feels pretty rocky. I’ve never been into making new years resolutions, because I think they put too much pressure on attaining some elusive goal, but I am a big believer in prioritizing creative pursuits and taking care of…

  • Changes…

    Changes…

    2023 Happy NEW Year!!! I wanted to update you on my future of teaching in-person workshops on the road. A lot has changed over the last several years as the pandemic has lingered and we re-evaluate how and where we spend our time and energy. And we need to get used to the idea that…

  • New opportunities to get creative together!

    New opportunities to get creative together!

    Dare I say it out loud? I think we are finally coming to the end of the pandemic in the US and we can start getting together again and make stuff. YAY!!! I have 2 very exciting gigs on my calendar this year. The first one is at Prochemical and Dye, in Fall River Massachusetts…

  • Upcoming in person teaching events on my schedule

    Upcoming in person teaching events on my schedule

    I have two workshop events coming up, the first one is Pacific International Quilt Festival in October, and the second is Craft Napa January 2022. I’m so happy to see how well California is doing with the pandemic, we have a high vaccination and mask wearing rate and our numbers are the lowest in the…

  • and so life resumes…

    and so life resumes…

    I feel like I need to write an essay on what I did over summer break, except this one would turn into a very long essay. I feel bad (but kinda not really) that I’ve neglected my blog for so long, because I have been really busy I just haven’t written about it, most of…

  • Are you in need of some creative healing?

    Are you in need of some creative healing?

    The registration for Craft Napa Uncorked opens Tuesday, September 15th at 9:00 AM  PST where you can sign up to take my prayer flags workshop. It has been a really hard year, and I can’t think of a better workshop to start 2021 with than one making prayer flags. It’s hard to know what shape…

  • My last workshop in New Zealand

    My last workshop in New Zealand

    What a pleasure it was to teach my final workshop in Whangarei, where I taught my last workshop in New Zealand 2 1/2 years ago, after NZ Quilt Symposium. There was an arts festival happening in the park outside, on the morning of class, and we got to enjoy some live music from a guy…

  • Ngaruawahia, say that three times fast

    Ngaruawahia, say that three times fast

    When you look at the word Ngaruawahia it looks very intimidating. The ‘Ng’ is pronounced like ‘ng’ in song, and the ‘r’ has a bit of a trill like the r’s are pronounced in Spanish, and each vowel is pronounced separately like you do when you say Hawaii [huh-WAH-ee]. So after you break the word…

  • Teaching at the foot of Mount Taranaki

    Teaching at the foot of Mount Taranaki

    After our two restful days at Lake Rotoiti, we hit the road on a drizzling Wednesday morning to drive 5 hours to the Taranaki peninsula on the west coast of New Zealand. We drove on narrow twisty turning roads over steeply rolling hills and farmland, best suited for grazing animals that can climb steep hills.…

  • Painting in Whakatane

    Painting in Whakatane

    On the evening of my last workshop in Tauranga, Phil and I drove an hour east to Whakatane, to the location of my next two day workshop. We arrived at the home of our wonderful hosts, Katrina and Bob, and got to unwind with a glass of wine, and this gorgeous view from high up…

  • Beautiful Tauranga

    Beautiful Tauranga

    On Tuesday, Phil and I drove three hours southeast from Auckland to the city of Tauranga. Because this was Phil’s first day driving on the other side of the road after a 2 year gap, we made sure to take plenty of breaks. We pulled over at the Karangahake gorge and thought it looked like…

  • Teaching while visiting my furry, and feathery friends in Palmerston North

    Teaching while visiting my furry, and feathery friends in Palmerston North

    To get to my next teaching location, I booked a ride on a bus from Napier to Palmerston North. The busses in New Zealand are reasonably priced, comfortable, convenient, and they give you lots of opportunities to appreciate the beautiful views. Also, at this point on the trip I was still traveling by myself and…

  • Next stop Napier

    Next stop Napier

    On the 4th of February, I flew north from Christchurch to Napier, where I had a wonderful stay with a newer guild member named Maggie, who has an airbnb in the lovely town of Havelock North about a 20 minute drive south of Napier. It was much warmer there than it had been in Christchurch,…

  • Come along on a virtual tour of New Zealand with me

    Come along on a virtual tour of New Zealand with me

    Now that we’re all house bound, I can’t think of a better time to do some armchair traveling, so follow along with me over the next couple months while I share weekly posts on each location I visited on my trip to New Zealand. I left Sacramento on January 27th, after 2 years of planning…

  • This weeks agenda: winding down from Craft Napa and gearing up for New Zealand!

    This weeks agenda: winding down from Craft Napa and gearing up for New Zealand!

    Wow, another great Craft Napa is over. I love having a place like Craft Napa where I can teach both textile and non-textile themed workshops, since I really enjoy both. I have been unpacking and repacking, tying up loose ends and finalizing trip details non-stop this week, but before I jump on a plane I…

  • Teaching at International Quilt Festival

    Teaching at International Quilt Festival

    I’m a bit late getting this blogpost written, but my life has become a lot busier now that I’m working in the makerspace 4 days a week. I’m also furiously prepping for my upcoming trip to New Zealand, organizing a teaching trip to Australia next July, getting things ready for a full exhibit of my…

  • Painting and A Spot of Tea in Sonoma County

    Painting and A Spot of Tea in Sonoma County

    I had a lovely diversion teaching two workshops in Santa Rosa last weekend, oblivious to the horrors unfolding in other parts of our country until I returned home. On Thursday, I drove to beautiful Santa Rosa, a small city in Sonoma county about 2 hours from Sacramento, that I lived in for 3 years in…

  • Working through changes in the gig economy

    Working through changes in the gig economy

    Over the last couple years, I’ve experienced a shift in the types of teaching gigs that I get booked for. I don’t know if this is due to a changing economy that’s hitting 40% of our population pretty hard, the lifecycle of aging quilt guilds (and from the modern quilt exodus), and I’ve also been…