The countdown is on

Christchurch Symposium is only 24 sleeps away and yes I am counting!

There is a large group of us from Tauranga attending this year and we are in for some fun. 

I have two classes, both my first choices. I would have been very happy with my second and third choices as well. I do believe that you get the classes you are supposed to get, not necessarily the ones you thought you wanted. Things have a habit of working out that way.

I have a three day class, Paint and Stitch from your Original Photos with Susan Brubaker Knapp from USA. I am no artist and this class will definitely be pushing me outside my comfort zone. I have fabric painted a challenge entry before and surprised myself by how much I enjoyed it. Being able to take a class where you cover taking your concept to completion is what enticed me to apply for this class. I would like to know more about the whole process from choosing your subject through the painting process to the thread sketching. I am hoping that I don't get too behind the class.

My second class is a two day class, Enriching your Quilt with Hidden Imagery with Ruth de Bos from Australia. Being able to add a second story to my quilts in the background quilting is what attracted me to this class as this is something that I have been thinking about for some time now. I like quilts to have the distance impact but are often disappointed with quilts when looking at them close up. 

The thing that I sometimes find hard about taking classes is the lack of thinking time. When I work at home I have put a lot of thought into what I'm going to do and how I'm going to do it, well before I go anywhere near my sewing machine. In a class you are given new information which you need to absorb, make sense of and then use almost immediately and sometimes I find this difficult.

Day classes to me seem very rushed and then there is all the gear that you need to cart to class, set up and then pack away at the end of the day. When I did two day classes at Taupo, I enjoyed the more relaxed pace and being able to leave things set up in the classroom at the end of the day, so I'm looking forward to that.

Time to get more organised, see you soon.

Happy stitching everyone

Donna-Maree