2009 Faculty

Linda Carlson, Mexico, MO
www.lindacarlsonquilts.com

Linda will be a judge for our show this year. She was scheduled to teach last year, but had to cancel. We are pleased to welcome her to our staff this year.
Linda will be teaching three classes, all one day classes. One class is Mariner’s Compass – one she was scheduled to teach last year and two new classes, Fly Away to Genius and Two Puzzles to Genius. Although these two pieced quilts were originally designed to use Linda’s line of fabric from Benartex, she is going to make a sample out of other fabrics.

More about Linda
Carolyn: How many years have you been quilting?
Linda: I've been quilting since 1974, 34 years. Wow! How time flies when you're having fun, huh!

Carolyn: What motivated you to start quilting?
Linda: My mother motivated me by saying, “Now Linda, you're just going to have to find something for yourself to do while John's in medical school!” I thought teaching elementary school full time was a plateful, but then saw an ad in the paper about a beginning quilting class. She bought the fabric to make the requisite two pillows, one hand pieced and one hand appliquéd, and I paid for the class. The rest is history ... culminating in authoring 4 books, an antique 4 block quilt collection and designing fabric for Benartex, Inc.
Carolyn: Where have you traveled in your quilting teaching career?
Linda: I've taught from Alaska to Washington, DC, and from Duluth, MN to the Western Caribbean, then everywhere in between. It's been a wonderful experience to teach eager adults, and even a few children. The youngest, at 8 years old, was with her mother in one of my classes at the AQS Show in Paducah, KY.

Carolyn: What is the most, unusual, frightening, funny, frustrating experience you have had in your quilting career?
Linda: My most frightening experience was on the way home from teaching in the state of Washington on a connecting flight to MN, then on to St. Louis. Somewhere about an hour and a half before getting to Minneapolis, the plane fell out of the sky in what I can only describe as a straight elevator drop! I was reading a book & managed to be so surprised I didn't utter a sound. The two men in front of me screamed, as did the lady beside me. It seemed like it lasted a long time, but the free-fall stopped just as I was grabbing for the proverbial "white bag". Many people LAUGHED out of nervous fear, but not me! I was too busy deciding if my seat cushion was damp from a hot flash, or something else! It took the pilot about 5 minutes to come on the intercom. I'll never forget what he said ... “Ladies and gentlemen, there's no charge for the roller coaster ride." That's all the explanation we got, but a friend of mine who was an international pilot said it was either a near miss with another plane, or an air pocket. Since none of the news stations reported a near miss situation during the next few days, I surmised the roller coaster ride was due to an air pocket. This phenomena is not all that rare, but I figure it won't happen to me again ... I hope! The upshot of the whole story is that I had to get on another plane the very next day for the short hop to Chicago from St. Louis. I took an anti-anxiety pill to endure the 2 hour drive to the airport, then another just to get on the flight!

Carolyn: Does anyone else in your family quilt?
Linda: After I got bit by the quilting bug, I taught my mother. She was among the original members of our local quilt guild serving in all offices except Secretary.

Carolyn: What is your birth order? - only child, first, second, third, or ??
Linda: I'm 6 minutes older than my twin sister, Diana, who is co-designer of our "Baby Genius" fabric line with Benartex, Inc. Our brother is 10 years younger.

Carolyn: Where did you grow up?
Linda: I was born in St. Louis, MO, but our family moved here to Mexico, MO when we were four as our Dad was a Nabisco salesman and was given a north/central territory to cover. One would think we had all the cookies and crackers we could ever want, but all we ever got were the broken ones that were damaged enroute from the bakery in St. Louis. To this day, I still use broken crackers as breading and Oreo cookies as pie crusts.

Carolyn: Do you have children – grandchildren?
Linda: I have two daughters, Amy and Meredith. Amy is married and gave us Emma and Jack, two of our "Baby Genius" models. Meredith is living in New York as a photo re-toucher and photographer.

Carolyn: Do you have any pets?
Linda: Although we recently lost Bailey, our black & tan cocker spaniel to kidney failure, on the same day our blonde cocker, Maggie had to have her eyes removed because of sudden onset Glaucoma. Easter weekend was quite tragic for us this year. Maggie is very slowly managing to find her way around our house by being a pin ball with everything in her midst. We just had her shaved to keep her cooler, but left her antennae "top knot" hair long since she uses it to help navigate, and also as a cushion when she bumps into things. Even though she is 12, I had to give her a chance to become accustomed to her handicap because whenever I'd leave on a teaching trip, she would wait entire days by the door I left from. She's been devoted to me since the day I picked her out of the litter. From the moment I first held her, then put her down and walked away to see what she'd do, she ran to me & sat between my feet. Before she became blind, she would come sit between my feet as I put on my shoes! It must have been a comforting feeling she never forgot.

Carolyn: What is your favorite food?
Linda: My favorite food can be anything I don't have to cook to anything I enjoy cooking! I'm a confessed “foodie”, but not a food snob. I love Starbucks coffee, pesto, muffelatas, olive salad pizza, pasta and almost all veggies.

Carolyn: What would be on your “bucket list” (like the movie) if you could do anything and money was no object?
Linda: I would be eternally grateful to be able to see the day when a cure for any and all cancers is available to all people no matter where they happen to live. As a Pathologist, my husband says 90% of all breast cancers have no known cause or reason to appear even with the new knowledge that there is a breast cancer gene that has been identified. So that means that most of them are caused by carcinogens in our environment. Saving the earth from toxins and poisons of all kinds is paramount in securing healthy futures for our grandchildren and generations beyond. Finding a cure for all cancers is a beginning, but promoting a healthy environment globally is getting to the root cause of the disease.

Carolyn: Do you have any other hobbies besides quilting?
Linda: Besides quilting, I love to read! If I'm not doing applique' in airports & on planes, I'm reading.

2009 Faculty

Gina Perkes, Payson, AZ
Gina does not have a web site.

Gina is an award winning long arm quilter. She will be teaching two all day classes, Block Designs and Gridwork and Creating Beautiful Quilting Designs. The two half day classes will be Wonderful World of Wearables and Longarm Appliqué.

More about Gina
Carolyn: How many years have you been quilting?
Gina: I have been quilting for ten years.

Carolyn: Do you have any other hobbies besides quilting?
Gina: There is no shortage of hobbies in my life. I enjoy photography, scrapbooking, cake decorating, wearable art, costume making...I guess the pattern here is "creativity"!

Carolyn: What motivated you to start quilting?
Gina: I was pregnant with my second child at the time and wanted to make quilts for my daughter's bed and for the new baby.

Carolyn: Where have you traveled in your quilting teaching career?
Gina: Since I have three young children at home I have stuck to teaching nearby so that I don't have to take too much time away from family. I live in Arizona so I mainly teach in AZ or California.

Carolyn: Does anyone else in your family quilt?
Gina: Yes, my mother and my grandmother both enjoy quilting on a regular basis. My grandma has always enjoyed sewing she sewed beautiful garments for years, she taught me to sew clothing when I was twelve. Then I introduced her and my mother to quilting.

Carolyn: What is your birth order? - only child, first, second, third, or ??
Gina: I am an only child.

Carolyn: Where did you grow up?
Gina: I grew up in Lancaster, California

Carolyn: Do you have children – grandchildren?
Gina: I have three children ages:13, 9, and 7- One girl and two little boys...the loves of my life!

Carolyn: Do you have any pets?
Gina: We have two smash-nosed dogs: Roscoe- a french bulldog and Tucker- a Boston Terrier, we also have an African Grey parrot who has yet to be named so we just call him "Birdie" for now.

Carolyn: What is your favorite food?
Gina: I am not picky about food whatsoever, I thoroughly enjoy all types of cuisine- Italian and Mexican I would have to say are at the top of my list!

Carolyn: What would be on your “bucket list” (like the movie) if you could do anything and money was no object.?
Gina: I am a fairly simple person in terms of what makes me happy, my life is very full- so I guess if I knew that my life was nearing its end I would just want to spend as much time with my family as I could, traveling with them to neat places...The Carribean perhaps...anywhere tropical!!

And a big thank you to Gina Halladay for allowing us to refer you to her web site for more information about Gina Perkes.
www.quiltersbuzz.com/2008/03/check_out_this_quilted_beauty_1.html

2009 Faculty

Sylvia Pippen, Hilo, HI
www.sylviapippendesigns.com

Sylvia will be teaching two – two day classes. Both are new classes based on her newest patterns, Big Island Birds and Sashiko and North American Wildflowers and Sashiko. Each class will feature her iron-over mylar appliqué method and sashiko stitching.
Sylvia will also be one of the demonstrators at Roundabout.

Block of the Month Group at Sylvia's Home. Sylvia is in the middle.

More about Sylvia

Carolyn: How many years have you been quilting?
Sylvia:I've been quilting seriously for the six years since I moved to Hawaii. Before that I was part of an on going quilting bee in West Virginia, and later got into Seminole patchwork and Japanese Yukata clothing, and tailoring.

Carolyn: What motivated you to start quilting?
Sylvia: My mother, Kitty Pippen taught me how to sew and I caught the passion for quilting from her in the process of co-authoring our book, Asian Elegance.

Carolyn: Where have you traveled in your quilting teaching career?
Sylvia: I have taught throughout the Hawaiian Islands and on the West coast from Washington to Los Angeles. I will be going to Texas, Chicago and Michigan next year too.

Carolyn: What is the most, unusual, frightening, funny, frustrating experience you have had in your quilting career?
Sylvia: I think my most unusual experience was teaching eight 80 year olds sashiko in Waimea, Kauai. We met once a week at Nana's House, a family building child and family service agency. Everyone brought food, ukuleles, there were babies crawling around, I had grown, men and young boys doing sashiko. We had a quilt show in town and strung our quilts up between two coconut trees. My Hawaiian students really taught me how to roll with whatever is happening when I'm teaching and the true spirit of aloha. I have photos of my classes posted on my website if you would like to catch a glimpse of my experience.

Carolyn: Does anyone else in your family quilt?
Sylvia: My Mother Kitty Pippen of course; she started quilting at 70 and is a famous and prolific quilter, teacher and writer.

Carolyn: What is your birth order? - only child, first, second, third, or??
Sylvia: I'm the middle child between a younger sister and older brother, both talented musicians.

Carolyn: Where did you grow up?
Sylvia: I grew up in Richmond, in the San Francisco Bay area....in the sixties.

Carolyn: Do you have children – grandchildren?
Sylvia: We have three children and three grandchildren.

Carolyn: Do you have any pets?
Sylvia: We don't have any pets, but are waiting to get a Corgi puppy.

Carolyn: What is your favorite food?
Sylvia: Tropical fruit, peaches, and any kind of berry.

Carolyn: What would be on your “bucket list” (like the movie) if you could do anything and money was no object?
Sylvia: I would buy a farm, invite family and friends to come and stay, get some goats, chickens, raise huge gardens, host quilt retreats, garden and quilt quilt quilt!

Carolyn: Do you have any other hobbies besides quilting?
Sylvia: I love to grow flowers, veggies, fruit, and herbs. I am also a flutist and play in a band called the Hilo Crybabies, (because it rains so much here). I also love to hike and explore the Islands, always on the lookout for wildflowers and birds.

2009 Faculty

Mickey Lawler, West Hartford, CT
www.skydyes.com

Mickey will be offering four classes, one of them will be a two day class, Painting Landscape Fabrics. The three other one day classes will be Painting Water Fabrics, Painting Sky Fabrics and Playing with Paints on Fabric. All classes will involve using non toxic transparent permanent textile paints to create your own fabrics. Mickey will also be a demonstrator at the Roundabout.

More about Mickey:
Carolyn: How many years have you been quilting?
Mickey: I've been quilting for 35 years.

Carolyn: What motivated you to start quilting?
Mickey: I started quilting in self-defense! I had 3 little ones under age 4, and desperately needed a "grown-up" creative outlet.

Carolyn: Where have you traveled in your quilting teaching career?
Mickey: I've taught throughout the US and Canada.

Carolyn: What is the most, unusual, frightening, funny, frustrating experience you have had in your quilting career?
Mickey: (This one's too hard!! Most of my funny, frightening, frustrating experiences are bound to hurt someone's feelings if they should see it!!)

Carolyn: Does anyone else in your family quilt?
Mickey: My grandmother was a quilter, and now 2 out of 3 of my daughters are also.

Carolyn: What is your birth order? - only child, first, second, third, or ??
Mickey: My older sister was born with Down Syndrome, so I have always seen myself as the oldest in my family. Hmmm, I've often wondered about that.

Carolyn: Where did you grow up?
Mickey: I grew up in West Hartford, CT. I still live in West Hartford, CT. I love roots!

Carolyn: Do you have children - grandchildren?
Mickey: I have three grown daughters and a beautiful new little grandson.

Carolyn: Do you have any pets?
Mickey: I have no pets presently, although our family had a lovely Collie and, after her, a sweet Cockapoo.

Carolyn: What is your favorite food?
Mickey: Oh dear, a favorite food? So many! But I would have to say Maine lobster - such a New Englander!

Carolyn: What would be on your "bucket list" (like the movie) if you could do anything and money was no object?
Mickey: If money were no object there are two things I would like to do. I would love to have a half acre in the sunshine just for my painting tables, with a HUGE indoor studio for painting in winter-time.
The second desire is to see Greenland before the blue ice is gone. That blue is the most astounding I could ever imagine!

Carolyn: Do you have any other hobbies besides quilting?
Mickey: I really enjoy gardening, oil painting, seeing really good films, and running away to Cape Cod.

2009 Faculty

This my first blog featuring teachers on the 2009 Road faculty. I will be listing the class titles that they will teach and also their web site so you can get a "feel" for the type of work that they do. And just for fun they have answered some questions about themselves. Actual class descriptions and dates of classes will be posted on our web site on July 7. Additional class information will not be available until then. I hope you enjoy these interviews.
Carolyn

Sharyn Craig, San Diego, CA
www.sharyncraig.com

Sharyn will be offering four classes: Backgammon, Compass for Almost All Quilters, Hands All Around and X Marks the Spot. All classes are pieced quilts that emphasize learning accuracy and good piecing techniques.

Sharyn is retiring from teaching quilting and these will be her final classes. Since Sharyn is retiring from teaching we will have a special exhibit of her quilts from the past thirty years on display in the lobby. She will also be the featured speaker on Saturday evening; Sharyn’s Swan Song will be a fun retrospective of her teaching career. This will be your opportunity to say goodbye to Sharyn.

More about Sharyn
Carolyn: How many years have you been quilting?
Sharyn: I started quilting in 1978. I took an adult education class. Within 3 months I was her teaching assistant. Within 2 years I was teaching through adult ed and local shops.

Carolyn: Do you have any other hobbies besides quilting?
Sharyn: I love to read, decorate my home, play with my grandkids, be with my kids and go to tea with friends.

Carolyn: What motivated you to start quilting?
Sharyn: I’d sewn forever . . . doll clothes starting at age 4, for my body in junior high, every clothing class I could take in high school. I was a Home Ed major in college, with clothing and textiles the emphasis. I did lots of different crafts, quilting just seemed like a natural “next step”. What I didn’t know prior to walking through the door at that first class was that it would become so all-consuming, and fulfilling.

Carolyn: Where have you traveled in your quilting teaching career?
Sharyn: I’ve taught in 47 of the United States . . . missing only Delaware, Wyoming, and Mississippi. I’ve taught in Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.

Carolyn: What is the most, unusual, frightening, funny, frustrating experience you have had in your quilting career?
Sharyn: I think it must have been the time I was staying in a quilter’s home . . . a lady that I didn’t get to meet before going to bed that night (long story, but really happened) . . . to be woken up at 6 a.m. when she came into the room, stark naked, telling me not to worry she was just going to take a shower. Turns out I was in the bedroom (her bedroom) that had the bathroom with the shower off it. She came in to get clothes and take a shower. It may not have bothered her to parade in front of me au natural, but I assure you it wasn’t something I truly needed to experience!
A frustrating experience was when I showed up at a shop to teach a workshop only to find a sign on the door announcing they had moved. They did post the new address, but I wasn’t familiar with the area, so took me awhile to find the place. Since it was in the same area the phone number was the same so I had no way of knowing in advance that this had happened . . . oh, they COULD have called me and let me know, but that would probably have been too easy. It all worked out, but I was a bit frazzled before I finally got there and got everything started.

Carolyn: Does anyone else in your family quilt?
Sharyn: I had a great-grandmother who was an avid quilter. I only met her once, but am fortunate enough to have one of her quilts. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my oldest granddaughter will follow in my footsteps. She’s only 8, but has already made two small doll sized quilts, and is definitely interested.

Carolyn: What is your birth order? - only child, first, second, third, or ??
Sharyn: I’m the oldest, with one sister 2 ½ years younger then me.

Carolyn: Where did you grow up?
Sharyn: I was born in Denver, Colorado, moved to Chicago area at 6 months, spent the next 18 years moving around from Illinois to Georgia, to Illinois, to Indiana, to Illinois. Went off to school in Louisiana . . . met my now husband there . . . we married and moved to San Diego. We will be celebrating 40 years of marriage this year.

Carolyn: Do you have children – grandchildren?
Sharyn: I have a daughter, age 38, married with a 3 year old daughter, and a son, age 35, married with my two oldest grandchildren, a girl age 8 and a boy age 5.

Carolyn: Do you have any pets?
Sharyn: I had a cat for 18 years, but she’s gone now and we’re presently pet-less.

Carolyn: What is your favorite food?
Sharyn: Gosh, it would be easier to say what my least favorite food is (green peppers, mussels, and liver) . . . I love Mexican food, Italian food, pizza, almost all vegetables, just about any soup, stew, or goulash-y type food.

Carolyn: What would be on your “bucket list” (like the movie) if you could do anything and money was no object.?
Sharyn: Honest to gosh, I don’t think I have anything on this list that I’ve not ever done that I would really want to do. I tend to live in the present, without much thought to other things I wish I were doing . . . is that sad? I’ll have to work on that . . . especially for next year when I am no longer traveling 25 trips a year to teach!

Springtime

For many years "The Fabric Patch", our quilt shop, was a vendor at the AQS quilt show in Paducah, KY. We would pack our van with lots of "stuff" and drive cross country to the show. We would always stop in Oklahoma City so my mother could visit with her two sisters, one was a twin. A favorite part of our drive was going across southern Missouri where the redbud trees and the dogwood were in bloom. While in Paducah we always drove their city tour to see the dogwood trees in bloom. Many homeowners lighted their trees at night and they were spectacular. One year I went to a nursery and bought some dogwood trees to bring home. Southern California is definitely not the favorite growing spot for dogwoods, but mine have survived. This is the first year the pink dogwood has bloomed. It is still not a very large tree but it is trying. The pansies are blooming their heads off and the lemon tree is full of lemons and lemon blossoms. Did you know that the lemon tree is the only tree in the world that has blossoms, immature fruit and ripe fruit on the tree all at the same time?

Kasuri Dyeworks

I am very sad to inform our "Road" family that Koji Wada of Kasuri Dyeworks passed away on January 24. He was very ill at the last conference and unable to be in his booth or present his lecture. He really enjoyed showing and sharing his knowledge and love of the traditional Japanese textiles. We will all miss him and our thoughts and prayers go to Debby.

Progress on Parking

I want to thank all of you who responded with parking problems.
We had a meeting with OCC management and they are working NOW to solve the problem.
They will grade and compact the vacant lot across from the Marriott for parking. That will be OK as long as it doesn't rain. One of the office buildings has agreed to allow parking on Saturday and Sunday. There will be some parking in the car dealers parking garage across from the Convention Center. But perhaps the best is they are trying to lease space for some off site parking and have a free shuttle to the Convention Center. I will keep you posted if they are able to complete the lease arrangements.

Measuring Success

My goal when I started the Road Showcase was to bring a show to the West Coast that featured high quality quilts from all parts of the country. I believe that the show this year was outstanding and I hope you enjoyed seeing all the quilts. Another goal was having a vendor mall with interesting and exciting vendors. Watching you quilters leave with bags and bags of supplies leads me to believe that was successful.
Perhaps another dubious measure of success was having a large enough attendance to attract the "Petition Signature Gatherers". I was so surprised when I found that they were outside the door trying to gather signatures. The Petition Gatherers have a Consitutional right to be there. I can assure you they were not invited by us. There is nothing neither the OCC management or Road management can do to get them to leave. If they block your entrance to the show or won't take no for an answer then you as a citizen can complain to the police. We cannot complain for you!
I have found at other locations that a very sharp "no" usually gets them to leave.
We are already planning for the show next year which should be just as beautiful and exciting.

New Employee???

Yesterday I when I walked down to the mailbox, I left the office door propped open so I would not accidentally lock myself out of the office. Erika had gone out to lunch with a friend. I picked up the mail, came back, closed the office door and proceeded to go about my business.
Erika returned from lunch and said "Grandma, we have a bird in the office!" Sure enough when we pulled back the vertical blinds in the reception area there sat a very frightened, very small black bird. It was trying valiantly to peck its way out the window. Erika brought me a fat quarter of fabric and I placed it over the bird. It was really quivering. I took it to the door and opened up the fabric and the little bird flew off to the nearest tree. I guess one could say the "new employee" has flown the coop. I wish I had taken a photo to share with you, but alas did not think of it.