Parksville & Nanaimo

Earlier this month I was fortunate to spend a few days on a 'mini-retreat' with friends in my weekly quilt group.

We rented a townhouse in Parksville, just north of the Victoria area. Our accommodations were excellent, with plenty of room to sew and relax. The kitchen was wonderfully stocked with everything we needed. We made most of our own meals - gourmet fare I might add!

We went out for dinner one evening - when we could tear ourselves away from our projects.  We also visited quilt shops along the drive to the retreat (CreativeQuilting in Duncan, Serge& Sew in Nanaimo) and we visited with Alvina in the new home of SweetPea Quilting just down the street from our townhouse was fun too.

One of the projects I worked on was a table runner using my SunflowerStencil, a companion tool for my Give & Take Applique DVD.

I used Northcott's Stonehenge fabrics - they give just the right amount of value contrast and texture for the design.  I'll be teaching this project in Alabama in July.

The DVD includes the pattern for this runner, a wall quilt, another 'on point' runner - all using the same Sunflower Stencil. Additional designs using funky hearts and stars stencils are also included. You can see exactly how to make your own Give & Take Applique in the step-by-step videos.

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I spent the day after the retreat with the Nanaimo Quilters' Guild to teach my Sheers and Overlays workshop. Students had a great time learning my fun improvisational collage technique. Didn't they create some wonderful pieces!

 

This is a great workshop where students are so creative and every design is so different and personal.