Last week, I had a great time, visiting and teaching with the South Bay Quilters Guild, with a meeting on Tuesday evening (August 21) and a workshop on Wednesday.
My hostess for the event was the ever lovely Melanie, the VP of Programs. I arrived at her house in Torrance in the afternoon, where we visited before I freshened up and we headed to the meeting, held in Redondo Beach.
First up (after a fine dinner at a local restaurant, where I was able to meet several guild members) is set up, and above you can see my quilts, all laid out in order. I think I brought 40 quilts, a mixture of large and small, for my Quilt Abecedary trunk show.
Once I was ready, I strolled around their guild as they have a “happy hour” before the meeting starts. Their Opportunity Quilt for their annual quilt show is shown above, titled Jovial French Bluebirds. Their quilt show is February 16-17 in 2019–I’m impressed that they do this every year.
They made flowers for all the Board Members to wear, so that people could find them easily if they had questions (I blurred out their names).
I did my Trunk Show and from the looks on people’s faces, they were engaged — it was a most satisfying experience. Then the meeting went on to business, and the installation of their new board for the year, as this was the first meeting of the year. They have an ambitious slate of classes and events, and an enthusiastic guild.
After my talk, it’s always fun to see people look closely at the quilts.
The next day we headed up to the Palos Verdes Library, where the workshop would be held. I’m always impressed by art in public spaces, and this library was beautiful. My workshop was Two-For-One, where I teach a small quilt of my own design and Free-Motion Quilting basics.
I set up my quilts and supplies in the classroom with the help of Sue, the Workshop Chair, and Melanie. The classroom was spacious with a large bank of windows on one side, giving lots of light. We got to work, and below are some of the results of the morning:
In the afternoon, we switched to free motion quilting, and after a series of nine separate lessons, many were feeling comfortable with the technique. I enjoyed how positive everyone was, as well as interested in learning a new skill.
By the end of the workshop time, everyone was tired and ready to go home. I snapped this photo upstairs as we were ready to head to the parking level: the sun had come in through an atrium, shining through to the sphere.
Thank you, South Bay Quilters, for a wonderful time!
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
The Fabricnistas make it to the SBQG show nearly every year. It’s always rewarding.
Thank you for being our August speaker and doing such a good job and for the shout out. Hope you will be able to come again.
I always love seeing your quilts displayed. You have a wonderful trunk show.
Looks like you had a wonderful time! And I bet you are a great teacher!
It sounds and looks like everyone, including you, had a great time!
It sounds like it was a wonderful and successful meeting.
Wow, this looks fabulous. I’m proud to know you!
Way to go dista! Love your blouse. XO
*sista
You must have been near to that chapter to have been able to bring along 40 quilts! That’s great! Having been on both sides of that programming “fence,” I can appreciate the efforts put in by both sides. Good for them! It’s so wonderful to know that you were treated well. And I am sure you treated them just as well. It looks like a win-win experience! I’m happy for you!
Yeah for you giving a trunk show and workshop! Looks like everyone got things accomplished with all those blocks to show off. I’m sure they learned a lot from you.
What a great idea to break down learning a new skill into nine bite-size lessons – especially as they’d all be in one long session. Each would be like a way station where you can check in with the others, compare notes, apply first aid, and build up energy for the next part of the trek.