Sharon Schamber Lecture and Trunk Show

 We felt very fortunate to have

Award Winning Quilter

Sharon Schamber

 provide a Lecture/ Trunk Show

for our

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

this month.

Christy Fincher is a member of our guild

and she had asked her mom to come as a favor.

What a treat!

I've watched Sharon's videos 

and admired her work for years.

It was wonderful to see her amazing quilts up close,

and to hear her story.

If I understood right,

Sharon is the only person 

to have been awarded

 three 1st place ribbons

at International Quilt Festival.

 The room was packed for this outstanding trunk show.

 For the first part of the trunk show,

Sharon showed a large stack of 

Baltimore Album blocks that she has been working on for years.

 Such intricate tiny details in each one.

 As many of you know, Sharon is a very prolific quilter.

We asked her how many hours a week she spends on her art.

She replied 

" I travel quite a bit.  But, when I am home I quilt at least 

14 hours a day, 7 days a week."

She said she has a condition called

Hyper Focus,

which is an intense form of mental concentration

where a person focuses on a subject

with an inability to switch tasks.

She will often see the quilt in a dream,

and will visualize it in it's entirety

from beginning to the final quilting.

Fortunately, Sharon has a husband who takes care of most 

of the day to day tasks,

allowing her to work on her art.

 Dream Weaver

Sharon said this image is her "alter ego"

 When Sharon began quilting,

it was not acceptable to quilt the human face.

From the start of her career, she 

has broken the rules 

and created what she feels inside,

often developing new and innovative techniques.

 Sacajawea 84" X 66"

Won 1st place AQS, Nashville, TN 2003

and many other awards.

 The images were painted first

and then stitched to add details and depth to the faces.

 Sitting Bull 90" X 93"

2002

 All of her quilts are quilted on a domestic machine!

 For a list of all of the awards Sharon's quilts have won

you can visit the gallery portion on her web site 

HERE

I thought Sharon's life story was as interesting as her quilts.

Christy is her oldest child, and only girl.

She had her laughing over many of the stories.

This is just a beginning of the pictures I took.

More tomorrow.

Paper Piecing Challenge

 The Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

met for our July meeting last Saturday.

Several members participated in the

Paper Piecing Challenge

 I was impressed with the

itty bitty paper piecing sections

in Wanda's name tag.

 Sometimes it's hard to appreciate scale in a picture

but if you compare the sections 

next to the small clip

you can visualize how tiny some of the fabric pieces 

Wanda worked with.

 Andee paper pieced
Wild & Goosey

from a pattern offered by Bonnie Hunter

of Quiltsville 

 I love the scrapiness Bonnie incorporates in her block des

 The Wild & Goosey pattern
is found in Bonnie's
Addicted To Scraps column
in the
Mar/Apr '13 issue
of Quiltmaker

 A few nice mug rugs

And beautiful fabrics for a start

on some 

New York Beauty Blocks.

Are You A No Reply Blogger?

I appreciate questions and comments

 left on my blog.

Many times you would like more clarity

on a quilt pattern, or just drop in to say hello.

When you leave a comment, it goes 

directly to my e-mail, and I go through them daily

and respond to each and every one. 

This morning I received a question from Carla 

asking me about my new 

Christmas Pyramids quilt pattern

"What colors of kona solids did you use? Adorable quilt. Just pulled fabrics from my stash for it. Just need green solids! thanks for the inspiration! Carla "

 I am quite happy to respond to Carla's question, but

she came up as a 

No-Reply Blogger

which means I do not have her e-mail address to reply.

How do you know if you are a No-Reply Blogger?

Basically, it means you did not

leave your personal e-mail when you set up your own

Blogger profile.

Sometimes people do not want the public to know their 

personal information, which is OK.

If you feel that way, it's still fine to leave a comment.

But, if you have a question that needs a response,

then it's best to e-mail me directly at 

nedras@mstar.net

Maybe you are not aware if you are a No-Reply Blogger?

My friend Jodi (Pleasant Home)

has written easily understood step by step Tutorial

on how to go in and add your e-mail to your profile

HERE

It's Not About The Nail

When I first saw this
You Tube video
It's Not About The Nail
I laughed until I had tears running down my cheeks.
I grabbed Mr. Cactus and
had him watch it with me.
I must admit
we have had this conversation several times
in our 35 years of marriage :)

Costa Vida Tempe Grand Opening

 We are in the midst of celebrating

another exciting event in our family.

 Our Son-In-Law Dano

just opened his 

4th Costa Vida Restaurant

here in Arizona.

1324 Rural Road

Tempe, AZ

The newest location is near the intersections

of Rural and Apache

right by

Arizona State University

This will be a great place 

for students to hang out 

and get a healthy meal 

at an affordable cost.

 Dano has been overseeing the building 

 for many months now,

and it was wonderful to see all the hours of 

hard work come to fruition.

 Family and friends were invited to a special 

Grand Opening night.

The place was packed!

 Costa Vida is a "Fresh Mex" restaurant.

All of the food is made on site daily.

Even the tortillas are made from scratch.

 There are many choices on the menu

from Burritos to Enchiladas

to Taco to desserts.

One of my most favorites selections

is their Queso and Chips.

Yum yum!

 The new hires did a great job

taking care of the long lines of people.

 Even though Dano usually works the business end

of the restaurant

on Opening Night he was 

behind the counter helping out.

 In Spanish 

Costa Vida 

means "Beach Life"

The kids were especially fascinated by

the large bubble wall that changes colors

with the movement of the waves.

 Even the tables have a surf board theme.

 A Big Shout Out!

From Monday July 22nd-through Wednesday July 24th

any one coming to the 

Tempe Costa Vida 

will receive their meal at

a 50 % Discount!

Yes, you can get your meal at 

Half Off during those 3 days!

In the evening 

right as the sun was going down

I noticed a large beautiful rainbow 

streaking across the sky.

From the back parking lot

it looked as if it landed right

inside Costa Vida.

The skies have spoken.

This is a good omen for 

the Tempe Costa Vida!