Empty Spools 2017

Home again after a wonderful 11 days of classes at Asilomar, just south of Monterey on the coast of California. These 5 day retreats are held in a very beautiful environment, with the stunning coast line providing a wonderful source of inspiration and a fabulous location for that early morning walk..

The classes are held in fascinating historic buildings, designed by renowned architect, Julia Morgan between 1913 and 1918. There are five session held each year with 11 classes per session. All the participants gather together most evenings in Merrill Hall, to hear short presentations by the faculty members and celebrate quilts made at previous retreats.

My first class was Fabulous Facades. In many of my 5 day classes, after giving a talk about colour, participants make a small project where they are given the pattern and experiment with different colour schemes. In this class, everyone made a small doorway quilt, becoming familiar with the technique before they started their own larger project. When the quilts were hung side by side there was a wonderful and exciting assortment of textures and colours. Once these were completed, students began their major project with some stunning quilts well on the way to being completed when we said our final goodbyes. I look forward to sharing some of the finished projects later in the year.

The second class was Light up your Landscape. Once again students made a small quilt over the first day or so, then went on to work on larger and more complex individual projects.

Every year I look forward to my time at Empty Spools. Reconnecting with friends and working in such a beautiful environment over an extended period of time is certainly a wonderful experience. The artist faculty and timetable has been released for 2018. Check out the website www.emptyspoolsseminars.com if you are tempted to see what is on their schedule for next year.