Jet Lag and Applique Quilts

As a newbie to trans Atlantic trips that jet lag thing hit me like a ton of bricks. Whew, glad that's over. My girls and I are getting our grove back and things are looking like the beginning of summer in our corner of the planet. We are looking forward to a good and safe long weekend at home with a to-do list as long as your arm.

So my machine was so over due for a service it was sad really, so she is off for a spa day and should be back soon, good as new. For now I am toying with a Dresden plate, English paper pieced and I found some mylar templates that worked quite nice for my first attempt. I love the hand sewn projects but time, boy they take time.

I found a wonderful charity quilt pattern that I simply must try it looks so good. Then I did a little digging and it is a disappearing nine patch block pattern. Then I went looking for layout ideas, the sky is the limit but that was a favorite. So I am off to bed with dreams of tomorrow and a great day with my ladies in the studio and a disappearing nine block top to show for it.

Happy Quilting

Applique Quilting in Dubai

Life has a way of bringing you to places you don't know you need.

Today was a good day, we have been in a beautiful and foreign city for over a week now, so many of the last days have been good, but today was particularly good.
What on earth am I doing in Dubai? You are not the first to ask and I have asked myself that question so many times I have lost tract. Well a husband in Oil and Gas and an opportunity we had to fully investigate equals two weeks in the United Arab Emirates. We will see what the future holds for us but for now here we are, the best news - quilting is here too.
I had the absolute pleasure to meet and talk quilts with my new friend, Mala Ramakrishnan today. She, her husband and a growing group of support personnel work to promote and develop a lively quilting community within the Middle East. Classic Quilts & Quilting now has two locations in Dubai, as I learned today.
I was nearly panting I was so hot as I entered Mala's store, this heat has me worried for the summer weather yet to come. She was so accommodating and offered me a chair and a glass of water, its seriously that hot - only 35° I guess today but 41° yesterday. We talked machine applique quilts an quilting and I loved every minute. I drooled over the long arm loaded with a customer's quilt and got even more excited to learn of two guilds in the region, one here in Dubai and another in Abu Dhabi (about an hour away) The bank road store is primarily dedicated to the quilting side of their business and I look forward to visiting the beach road location with excitement second only to seeing my beautiful children in a few days. As the Bernina retailer for the region, I am also looking forward to a new sewing machine when that time comes. I was so excited to touch the fabric and enjoyed a wonderful few minutes of comfort in a wonderfully strange place. I left with a few new fat quarters and all the basics for a small project for my last couple of days by the pool. I am so thankful for a hobby that brings real people from real corners of the world together, it was truly a good day. I think I will make it two in a row and navigate myself to Jumeria and see what the other store has to offer. I will take some pictures and let you know the results. Miss you girls, Happy Quilting