When not quilting, I am…

I began knitting a year and a half ago.  Being a Grandma gets me into all kinds of things and this is one of them.  There are just too many cute patterns for hats, sweaters, gloves, etc. for kids.  I remember that you have to make them quickly before the child gets old enough to think they are lame!  Knitting in Florida seems crazy, but the grandkids live in cold climates, so it’s o.k. to knit for them.

 

I pick up my knitting or crocheting on mornings when I have a few minutes before I leave for work at the library. It allows quiet contemplation time before dealing with the workday.

Here are some pictures of the projects I finished after Christmas.  I just could not seem to get them done in time. 

The fingerless mitts are a design by Lynne A. Evans from the book entitled Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks! By Judith Durant.  This was my first attempt at a lace pattern and I was pleased with the result.  If I were to do it again, I would leave off the knitted picot bind off and just do a regular bind off.  I think the picots will get in the way of the fingers/hands.



The hooded sweater is the second one I have made and I love how warm they are.  Most of the sweater is knitted in the round and it goes pretty fast.  I was a real beginner when I knit the first one and it turned out nice.

 

     Hooded sweater pattern is:  Knit Hoodies for Kids, by Jeannine C. LaRoche.  I also like the fact that she includes sizes 6 mos. through size 8.  I gave this blue one to my grandson.  When he called to say thanks, I asked if he liked the sweater in his favorite color – blue.  He said, “I like red now.”  So, has he figured out a way to get more gifts or what!

I have two projects in the works right now.  One is for my granddaughter’s birthday next month.  It is a knitted ladybug hat in red and black to go along with Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow by David Soman and Jacky Davis.  The ladybug hat comes from:  Whimsical Hats Delightful and Amusing Hats to Knit, Wear, and Love by Lynne Rowe.  I think that I will be making a lot of these wonderfully funny hats for the grandkids in the future!

My other project is a crochet shawl for me.  I am making it out of sock yarn I have collected in blues, greens, aqua, blue-green and grey.  The pattern is from Crochet Noro 30 Dazzling Designs, published by sixth&spring books.  I have to make a total of 33 of the motifs.  So far I have 6!

Happy creating to all of you,

Leigh

        

Teaching & Exhibiting Schedule for 2014




Beading Adventures

 

 

 

 

This year I am going to be busy with teaching
and exhibiting opportunities and I thought you
would like to see where I will be. 

 

Date                  Location & Contact__________

Feb. 26-27         Burke Quilters Unlimited, Springfield, VA,

                         www.quiltersunlimited.org

Feb. 21 –           “Beyond Art Selves” a mixed media show presented

March 22           by 2+3 The Artist’s Organization at the Armory Art
 
                        Center, 1700 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL

March 4-31         One Woman Show in Lobby Gallery, Ft. Lauderdale

                        City Hall, 100 N. Andrews, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

April 12              Ocean Waves Quilter’s Guild, Miami, FL

                        www.oceanwavesquilters.com

August 9            Hibiscus Quilt Guild, Lake Worth, FL

                        Contact: hqgosf@gmail.com, 

                        www.hibiscusquiltguild.org

For more information about the workshops and lectures that I present go to my website:  http://www.adventuresinquilting.com.

I hope to see you on my travels this year!

Leigh

 

Musings…Where I’ve Been and Where I Am Going



Dragonfly Thoughts

This has been a birthday week for me.  Having a birthday so close to the beginning of a new year causes you to continue the self-searching and goal setting a little longer.  It is also the birthday of my quilting business.

 That started me thinking about where I have been.  I began Adventures in Quilting in 1995 when I started teaching quilting classes at the corporate headquarter JoAnns store in Hudson, Ohio.  I also taught for quilting guilds in the Northeastern Ohio region.  There were 60 guilds at that time.  I can’t believe I have been teaching quilting for 19 years!  Back when I started I was quilting while my kids were in elementary school.  I used to plan classes, quilt, and get ready for Girl Scout meetings in the few hours before they came home.  A lot of creativity was packed into a short period of time!

 Recently I was going through files and I found contracts and class descriptions from 1995.  Some of the contracts were hand written!  That got me thinking…remember a time when you only had dial up internet, no cell phones, Slooooowwwwww computers with not much memory!  I remember I would log on to check my email and then go put a load of wash in; when I came back I might be connected!  Now we have wireless connections and DSL and very fast connections and can even take pictures with our cell phones, and transfer them to the internet in a snap!!



Butterfly Dreams

The last trip I took I wore out the luggage I bought when I first started teaching nationally in 2004.  I have added an additional sewing machine, and the computer has been upgraded many times since I began.  Teaching has changed some also.  Slide shows are now power-point presentations, some national teachers have video cameras and project their demonstrations on a screen.  This means the class size can be huge, and everyone can still see, but I fear you lose some of the advantages of a smaller class.  Teachers carry more electronics and less quilts.  Of course air travel has changed enormously since 911.  Instructors spend more time in airports and can take fewer books, patterns, and quilts to guilds.  Although the idea of schlepping 75 lbs. of suitcase like they used to, doesn’t sound appealing to me!

Even though some things have changed, the reasons I do what I do have not.  I still love to teach quilters something new.  To see their excitement when they learn a new technique or get a new idea they want to try.  To inspire them to create through producing great patterns and quilts is still fun for me.

This year I want to spend less time on the computer and more time with the sewing machine so that I get that same creative boost I had in the beginning of this adventure.  I want to travel and then spend time with the photos I take thinking about how they could be translated into quilts.  I need to balance my activities so that I find time for the creative in the midst of the required. 

I am looking at a really busy year with lots of opportunities, and I hope it will also include creative time to recharge.  I am finding that I get really grumpy when I don’t have quilting time.

 

Follow me in a more creative year…….

Leigh

 

 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year





Merry Christmas

& Happy New Year!

I know that this is late, but I didn’t want to start 2014 without saying goodbye to 2013!  Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I don’t know what happened to December, between working, having company and two trips in 2 months I think I just did the basics and the blog was not part of the picture!

I know that I was madly finishing up knitted scarves and crocheted hats for Christmas presents.  Here is a picture of the hats that everyone got this year.  Called Gloria’s Happy Hat, the pattern by Dora Ohrenstein, was published in Crochet Accessories, Special Issue 2010 by Interweave. 

 

 

 



I love this hat!!  It crochets up in 2 hours and fits great.  I did adjust the pattern a little, by adding an additional row of single crochets to the band.

Here is a photo of me in my happy hat in Germany.

2013, Leigh McDonald

 

 

I can tell that 2014 is going to be a very busy year!  I wish you all a

Joyous, Healthy and Happy 2014

 

Leigh



 

 

Taking a Break for the Holidays!

I am going to take a couple of weeks off for the holidays.  We have company coming...!

See you in a couple of weeks!

Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah!

Leigh

On My Travels – Funny Signs



Tram to Reinfels Castle



Here are some of the interesting and funny signs that we saw while in Germany.

I love the way the woman’s hair is flying out behind her, and look at her shape! 

We saw this sign on our way through the town of Moselkern on our way up to Berg Eltz, a castle in a valley.  This castle has never been destroyed and one of the families still use it as a country home.

We saw this sign in Moselkern also.  Look the children even have freckles!  These are much more interesting than our two color signs in marigold and black!



And Moped also



This sign was next to a sign that said something like…walking lane.  In other words; a private lane with no car access and not a thru street.  So the two signs together mean, walking lane and mopeds allowed!  Or something like that.

The Germans who saw me taking pictures of their signs thought I was really funny.  They would understand if they saw our signs and compared the two.

If you run across funny signs, send me a picture and I might do another post sharing everyone's humorous signs!

Happy quilting,

Leigh

On My Travels…Open Air Market in Germany



Flower stall in open air market, Dusseldorf, Germany



One of my favorite parts of my visit to Dussledorf was the open air market on Carlsplatz. The flower stalls nestled next to meat vendors, fruit & vegetable vendors, basket makers, hand-made candy vendors and more.  It was a wonderful feast for the eyes, full of color and texture.  I hope you enjoy the photos.

 

Open air market, Dusseldorf, Germany



I also loved the brot backerie (the bread bakery) next to the market.  The window was full of a variety of breads.  The bread in Germany is wonderful!  It comes in all shapes and sizes, is always baked fresh and is full of seeds and nuts and whole grains. 

 

 

I will never forget the conversation with a German woman in front of the bakery window.  She came up next to me and turned to share the view of the window with me.  There came a long conversation in German, while I tried to remember how to say that I only understand English, stated in German.  She promptly switched to English and shared her conversation with me. 

It wasn’t what she said that I enjoyed, it was the fact that the conversation was one I could have had with anyone, anywhere.  It just reinforced the fact that no matter the language, or country, we are all people with the same problems and daily cares.

Would you believe 9 different kinds of mushrooms?



The Germans constantly impressed me with their fabulous English and their ability to switch from one language to another seamlessly.  They constantly apologized for their English, but it was terrific. 

No matter where we were, there were people listening to our English conversations.  Be careful what you say, people are listening!

Happy quilting,

Leigh