What does National PI Day and Quilting have to do with each other?
Pi day? Pie Day? or a lead up to International Quilting Day?
Well—some could argue a lot—as they are both based on math. Some could say nothing as the math we use in quilting isn’t exactly as complicated as the math for PI.
In our house, we use it as an excuse to make PIE with our grandsons and eat pie. They are now old enough that they were able to convince us that the Pie we eat should be Pizza—it’s hard to argue with that!
Do you know what other National day happens this week? National Quilting Day is this Saturday. I’m part of a local guild that has joined up with two other guilds and we celebrate on line—we have guest speakers (three keynote speakers this year include Kaffe himself) a virtual quilt show, vendor showcase and other workshops/speakers—it is a full day and there are over 300 of us joining in on this incredible opportunity.
I just hope there is a piece of pie left I can snack on as I watch the day!
EQ8 Beginners class starts in less than one week
There is still time to get in on the EQ8 for beginners class and the EQ8 Refresher class. There are still a couple of spots left in each class. Use the contact form to send me a message that you want in and I’ll send you the details. Remember each class gets recorded for you to use for a month after the end of class.
EQ8 Classes & Others Starting soon, grab your spot before they are all gone!
Here in Southern Ontario we are getting what we affectionately call ‘Second Winter”. It merely means that we had a great thaw and warm period a while ago and winter is reminding us it is not over yet. What better time to hunker down and learn that new skill? Or maybe you are just looking to refresh your skill. Whichever side of that coin you fall on there are options for you.
The best way to find out exactly what is happening is to make sure you are signed up for my newsletter. But here’s a quick recap.
EQ8 for Beginners—eight weeks. Starts Tuesday March 05th at 1:30 EST. You need to own your own copy of EQ8 as well as the EQ8 Lessons for Beginners Book. These lessons are via zoom in a small class. Each lesson will be recorded for you to review before the next class. After four weeks we take a break for one week. Just $100 gets you live instruction with an opportunity to ask questions as you go.
EQ8—Refresher—three hours. Have you used EQ8 or taken a beginners class at some point? Has it been awhile since all that happened? Maybe you just need to be reminded of where things are and how they work within this program. This 1/2 day (three hour) class is made for you. A working knowledge of EQ8 is required for this faster paced class. This class will be recorded and available for you to review for one month after class. Monday March 18 10:00 a.m. EST
Pro-Stitcher Designer—this class is for those Long Arm Quilters who want to make their own designs. Join us for four weeks of personalized instruction. You need to own your own copy of PSD. They type of long arm machine you own doesn’t matter as PSD exports designs for all long arm formats. email for dates and times
Embroidery on the Long Arm—Do you want to stitch out some of those amazing embroidery designs we see in a LARGE format. Join us for a two part class starting in Pro-Stitcher Designer and moving onto Pro-Stitcher. A basic understanding of each piece of software is required. email for date and time
Permission—the word of the year!
This year is all about giving myself permission.
Permission to fail.
Permission to admit I’m never going to finish some of those UFO’s and give them away—guilt free.
Permission to declutter and not feel guilty about ‘getting rid of’ something that may be important.
Permission to have more fun with social media posts.
Permission to try something new.
Permission to travel less for work and stay home more.
Permission to accept me—just for me—who I am and where I am each and every day.
You get the point! Join me this year and give yourself permission. Whatever that means to you, in whatever form you need it.
What lies ahead?
A look ahead—
I have lots of fun things planned for 2024. Some of them are still under wraps as I work on a couple of contracts. Basically in January it’s life as normal. I think we all need time to ease into the new year. There always seems to be so much to do around the house to clean up all the Christmas Holiday stuff. here are some teasers about my quilty life
January
I’ll be involved in my local guild.
Presenting at two different guilds, one in Ontario and one in California—I love zoom. These will be EQ8 presentations and could end up in an EQ8 beginners class.
Co-Captaining a VIRTUAL three day cruise to Hawaii with my guild at the end of the month.
Assisting with Rentals and staff training
Quilting for others—I have four quilts in my que waiting for me already
Eye surgery—my second cataract surgey is scheduled for this month—I’m not holding my breath as it’s been cancelled before
Private Pro-Stitcher Premium and Pro-Stitcher Lite classes scheduled for customers in Alberta and BC—again I thank Zoom for this amazing opportunity.
February—you don’t want to miss this
Starting a studio clean up calendar. You can join in. I like to do this in February and not January as I give January over to the rest of my house and then February I can concentrate on my sewing space. Stay tuned for more details, really follow my socials for the day to day details on this studio clean up.
Another guild Trunk show coming up and more classes!
Follow my socials for the day to day things. I blog little and send out emails to my email list even less, though this year I am trying to do a bit better at those things.
A quick look back-2023
What happened and what’s coming up—just a glimpse.
2023 was a busy year for me. In some ways too busy, which precipitated some changes latter in the year and more changes coming in 2024.
Continued involvement in my local guild. If you know me at all you know I am a real advocate of local guilds, if you are not part of a guild I urge you to join one. IF you are part of a guild I urge you to get involved, don’t be a passive member, be an active one. Your life will be better for it.
Quilting for others!—in my list of top things I love to do.
Presented at Guilds
Taught EQ8 beginner classes (X3)
Attended EQ8 Academy and took advanced classes
Teaching Handi Quilter classes at stores —too many to list
Taught at Canada Quilt Academy in Edmonton—what a blast!
Working at shows, including New England Quilt Expo, Quilt Canada, Festival of Quilts Birmingham, and AQS Grand Rapids.
Spent five days at sea learning and growing with my Handi Quilter Family.
Concentrated my first half of the year working with retaielrs across Canada with staff training, new product implementation and general growth.
Concentrated some time assisting a local store set up and establish their long arm rental program
That’s just my work list. It doesn’t include the two times I caught co-vid this year. A personal best for a 55 km bicycle ride. Joined a riding club for the social aspect. Lived the last three months of the year with our apartment torn up due to a super expensive plumbing repair and the list of generally being too busy, too cluttered and too torn in many directions can go on and on.
This has all led to some great changes coming for 2024. Stay tuned. I’ll share those with you very soon.
In the meantime, have a great end of 2023. See you in 2024 for lots of fun interaction.