Gwen Marston * Lopez Island * Day 2

My room at Lopez Lodge is right around the corner from a great little coffee shop and bakery. La Boheme, aka La Bo - M, (spelled out for the non Opera folks) is next door to Holly B's bakery. Today the scone was roasted rhubarb and berry, but just call it delicious! What a start to my day.

Once class got organized and settled, Gwen shared with us a stack of her "sketches" She now has over 50 pieces in this body of work.  Most are on tour in New Zealand but she shared a few with us.

She is a marvel in the quilt world, I just don't think anyone else is in the same category as her. We were discussing how Gwen has made a living in the quilt industry and yet she doesn't publish patterns, hasn't created new tools or rulers for us to purchase, and her techniques do not involve purchasing products from her. Just a needle and thread, an iron and sewing machine, some paper and a pencil. Has anyone else done this? 

A is my table mate, and you can read all about her here.  It's day 2 and I figured out I've purchased her pattern and created her design.  It's the red/white log cabin you will see in the link.  This is where A started out this morning.

Today's accomplishments.  Love the Flea Market Fancy fabrics A is using.  She got a lot done considering we all stopped for the most delicious catered lunch and her and I zipped into town for an afternoon coffee run. I love that each round is using a different shape.  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Here is Nifty Quilts.  This was the start of the day and she was one of the last to leave the school house tonight.  I'm going to see the finished piece first thing in the a.m.  It is so great to be sitting close to L and pondering her fabric choices right along beside her.  I am going to look at my fabrics in a new light when I get home.  I'm sure I can find a place for some prints that have languished in my fabric bins for years.

B flew across the country from Wisconsin to sew with us.  She spent a lot of time yesterday cutting and decision making, and today she got busy with the sewing.  I LOVE how this is turning out, she is across the room from me and this piece just rocks!  Her use of value is great, and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Here is my piece and this one is complete.  I feel like there was some cheating going on as I had all the strings put together and the double row of 1/2 sq triangles were all bonus blocks from another project that is in a box at home.  I really only cut the border strips and made the corner stars.  I did have to piece all the 1/2 squares together into strips.  I love how I played the cheddar outer border into the corner of the star blocks, this was a very planned decision.  Binding will be cheddar.  Finished size is 41 x 41, the perfect size for my wall at home.

These are Gwen's samples and they will be my inspiration for my next project. Tomorrow will be spent cutting and pondering........

Love the pink in this one,

Tomorrow is show and tell in the morning, I can't wait to see what people bring.
I just can't express what it feels like to have her in the room when I'm creating.
If you ever have the chance to spend a day or two with Gwen, do it. It will change your quilting life!

Sharon