I was lucky enough to have a short break in my teaching schedule between mid June and the end of July but since then I have taken three great trips. In July I taught at Maine Quilts in Augusta, ME, spent a few days in Capitola, CA teaching the Pajaro Valley Quilt Association and I have just returned from a trip to Denver and Arizona.

Maine Quilts is the state wide quilt show organized by the various chapters of the Pinetree Quilt Guild in Maine. It is an annual show with competition quilts, various special exhibits, lectures, raffles, vendors and many classes by a variety of teachers from around the US. I was scheduled for one lunchtime lecture and 2 1/2 days of classes. All these were sold out. My students were great, very friendly, as most quilters are, and they made great progress on their collage projects. The classes I taught included; House and Home, Colorful Cats and Dogs, Chickens and Hummingbirds.

I did enjoy meeting the other teachers, attending the banquet, listening to teacher lectures and hanging out with Sarah Ann Smith, the featured artist for the show. We had dinner one night at the home of the TV show Maine Cabin Masters, which I had previously never heard of, but have since enjoyed a few episodes on Hulu.

A week or so later I was prepping and getting ready for my trip to Capitola which is approximately a 3hr drive from my house. We headed down a few days early so my husband and son could hang out for the weekend, before I was due to teach. We had some great food, and enjoyed exploring the coast. We visited Santa Cruz wharf where there was abundance of birdlife and sea lions. Then to the Elkhorn Slough which was quiet, a great place to hike and again we saw a lot of birdlife.

I spoke at the Pajaro Valley Quilters Association meeting Monday night and taught my pet Portrait workshop on Tuesday. Everyone seems to love what they were doing especially as they were all working on quilts of their own pets. My thanks to Pat G for hosting me and taking me with a few other members to Shadowbrook for a delicious dinner.

I had 2 days at home to repack before leaving for my next trip that included a stop in Denver before heading to Prescott, AZ to the Cottonwood Quilters. Early in June I was invited by The Quilt Show to be featured in one of their shows. This is a great honor and had been on my quilting bucket list! With some thorough preparation by the shows producer Shelly, I began prepping for my 2 demos. One would be a how-to on making collaged Pet Portraits and then an overview of ideas for putting together a background for collage. I am happy to have survived the experience. Once it came down to the recording, my nervousness had passed and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

After 24 hrs in Denver I was off again with all my luggage to Phoenix, my destination Prescott, AZ. I had a wonderful time again teaching Pet Portrait collage to another great bunch of quilters whom I hope will complete their collages that they started. Having no idea about the history of Prescott I got to explore the downtown and Whiskey Row and learn about its Wild West heritage. Dinner at the Palace Hotel and visiting Jersey Lilly Saloon was eye opening.

I am now home and happy to breathe a little before my next trips to meet more quilters in California and then North Carolina. As ever I have plenty of work to complete, quilts to make and prep to do. Happy Quilting.