Palm trees anyone??? I bet by now my Canadian friends are longing for such sights and the warm temperatures I have been enjoying over the past week. I do have to confess however, that I have only spent about two hours outside since Tuesday. We had dinner on the terrace a couple of nights ago – other than that I have been spending my time teaching, connecting with like-minded people and networking.

PIQF XXII is closing later today. This is everyone’s last chance to see the great exhibitions of traditional and contemporary quilts from around the world. Show and Tell last night was awe inspiring – the classes that were offered over the last three days were truly amazing and offered something for every skill level and interest. The Mancuso team has done it again – they know how to put smiles on visitors faces by lining up great quilt teachers, inspiring exhibitions and let’s not forget: they bring together the most comprehensive line up of vendors I have ever experienced!

As I mentioned earlier: My last three days were spent teaching. I was blessed with 25 students in the Kantha Class. That was the largest number I have ever taught in this subject. I would not be truthful if I said I was not nervous. I worried a little about teaching the “outline stitch” that is different from the “back stitch”. The group was wonderful and everyone was blissfully stitching within the first hour. The day flew by and despite the fact that I provide the same motif and thread colors for each kit, individuality and personal preferences soon emerged. I am inserting a slide show covering the Kantha and Layers of Intrigues Class at the bottom of the post.

Speaking of Layers of Intrigue… Twenty names on the class roster meant the class was fully subscribed. I had copied extra hand outs and let the show office know. Friday morning I welcomed 21 students who where ready to layer, stitch, cut back, layer some more fabrics and explore new territory. The spirit of adventure never left the room. What a great group of quilters – full of energy, enthusiasm and eager to soak up every new suggestion and idea. With so much going on I didn’t capture everyone in the classes – and by moving from person to person I had a good number of images blurred. None the less, the slide show will give you a good idea of how busy everyone was and how much fun we experienced in both classes.

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I would like to express my sincerest Thank You to Mancuso Show Management for inviting me, and a special Thank You to those who took a leap of faith to explore a new technique or two! Enjoy your Sunday!

20 Oct This entry was published on October 20, 2013 at 6:58 am. It’s filed under Creativity Update, In the News, Journaling, Special event, Travel and tagged International teaching, Kantha Quilting, Layers of Intrigue, Mancuso Show Management, PIQF XXII, Santa Clara Convention Center, students, workshops and classes. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.