Go Bold...Break Free!

These were Jacquie's signature words this weekend, as she taught her Log Cabin Modern Madness workshop here at Hip Stitch.  I wasn't a participant; rather, a hanger-on-er.  I ran the store, confirmed the lunch, made sure everyone had nametags, and irons, and extension cords, and emptied the trash, and.....well, was a bit busy with other things.  Please don't take this to mean I'm complaining - quite the opposite!  The weekend was fabulous - her book signing/trunk show/lecture Friday night was outstanding.  I heard conversations that included, "this was wonderful" "Albuquerque needed this" "great event" and so on.  And although I was completely physically exhausted at the end of it all, here's what I did tonight, with a burst of creative inspiration:

I'm home.....recuperating....getting to know my family again (I was a bit absent)....doing laundry, cleaning house, grocery shopping again.  But I HAD to stop and sew.  Thanks to Jacquie.
And although we have a load of weekend pictures to upload and get on another blog post very soon, I want to thank and acknowledge all the people who made this weekend a success:
*Carla, Melissa Thompson-Maher, and Bralia Mease - who worked long hours planning, sewing, cleaning, shopping, emailing, and losing sleep along with me wanting this weekend to be perfect (and it sure was as close to perfect as it could be!)
*Rachael Howell,  who was our marketing guru, and put hours in herself helping us with everything from a press release to programs to nametags to email marketing.
*Albuquerque Catering Company, who provided a fabulous hor d'oerves for our Friday night reception, and not only served delicious food, but impeccable service and attention.
*Mandie Segura, who provides ongoing support of Hip Stitch.....stopping in just to help often.....who cut many of the napkins for the reception, and is a creative muse to all of us with her saavy fabric taste!
*Members of the Albuquerque Modern Quilt Guild: Lisa Pries-Lynn - one of the 1st to sign up for Jacquie's workshop and has infectious enthusiasm and humor;  Missy Dobbin - who gave her time in helping not only to set up for the event, but to take down, also;  Debbie Rogulich - who helped with many of the preparations in making this weekend happen; Lois Warwick, who donated items for the raffle and showed up Friday morning to help with the sweaty job of hanging quilt bombs and quilts all morning; Judy Miller, who helped sell raffle tickets for the MQG charity quilt Friday night, despite her father passing away just a few days before; Teresa Pierce, who made two quilt bombs;  Julie Reiter, who made a quilt bomb, even though she couldn't attend Friday night.
*Stacey Scherer, a favorite customer/friend, who emailed me this past week asking "how can I help?" and came Friday to help with all the prep. work;
*Ann Silva, who attend Friday night's festivities, and has been a pillar of support for Hip Stitch with her 32 years as a sewing/quilting institution in Albuquerque, compared to my tiny 4 years!
*Businesses who donated items for our raffle: Abbey Lane Sewing and Vacuum, and Tractor Brewing.

And I'm sure I'm forgetting others with my tired brain.....

So the above picture?  I grabbed fabric from my stash and started cutting strips.  Fabrics I love....have made garments with.....purses.....aprons.....all that have a memory for me.  I did six 8" blocks, and that may be all - Jacquie's quilts, with all the negative space, were so beautifully clean and fresh. I'll post the progress as it's made!  (and any ideas on the color of the negative space would be welcome!)

Thank you Jacquie - you gave Albuquerque's modern quilting community a shot of inspiration and creativity!
.....and I'll finish with part of an email I received today from Carol, who attended the reception and workshop both this weekend: "hi ladies,  first let me say how wonderful the workshop this weekend was.  You are to be congratulated not just for bringing the awesome jacquie to town, but for the elegance and charming grace with which you pulled off the event.  And besides which, it was just plain fun.  Can I mention how inspired I am?" 
Me too, Carol.....me too!