Omaha Crazy Quilt Retreat

I thought I'd share some pictures with you that MaryAnne Griffin sent me this past week. MaryAnne will be teaching a techniques class in Omaha at the Crazy Quilt Retreat in July. More details about the retreat can be found here. I have been lucky enough to room with MaryAnne for several years at past conferences and have seen her work evolve over the years. She was kind enough to let me post these pictures of a stocking she made up for a sample to use in her class.

"MARYANNE GRIFFIN BEYOND THE SEAMS This class will offer a variety of creative techniques to add interesting embellishments to your Crazy Quilt. These could include painting lace, Angelina fibers, art glitter, Swarovski rhinestones, embellishing pre-printed designs, shrink film, silk cocoons and rods, Shiva Paint Sticks, mica film, etc. This will be a techniques class and we won't be making the stocking. Skill level: Beginning"

MaryAnne worked up this stocking to show how you can use the techniques in a Crazy Quilt project. The cuff is bubbled fabric, the lady on the cuff is transferred onto polymer clay, the top purple fabric is glitzed with foiling, the pink is embossed velvet, the bottom is done with Shiva paintstiks, the buttons are polymer clay, and the dangling pics are done with mica tiles. We're NOT making the stocking in class -- just the techniques.

Just the thought of learning one of these techniques is exciting and I can just imagine adding all of them to one of my projects.

MaryAnne is also teaching a Needle felting class. To quote from the Crazy Quilt site "Needle felting is one of the hot trends these days. She will teach techniques to create freestanding items that can then be added to a crazy quilt, as well as ways to use the Embellisher to create fabrics for your crazy quilt. This will include hand felting techniques, as well as machine techniques using wool roving, ribbons, fabrics, silk hankies etc. Babylock, who makes the Embellisher felting machine, has committed to providing up to 25 machines for this class."

If you ever wanted to learn new and unique techniques for your crazy quilting here is a great opportunity. Be sure to go here to sign up for the classes of your choice. There are so many great classes to choose from and it was hard for me to decide on which ones I wanted to take. If you have any questions about the retreat be sure to ask and if you are debating on going I say go! This is a great opportunity to learn and I guarantee you will have fun!! I can't wait ... just one more month!