Out of Gas

From left, Christian Cameli and a sample she prepare for QuiltCon class, "Alternative Grids for Free-Motion Quilting.

My final Quilt Con class was a three-hour evening class with Christina Cameli, Christina was among speakers and teachers I scheduled for Colorado Quilting Council in 2021 so I knew she was a good teacher but this was my first class with her. She was even better than I thought.

I've taken a number of free-motion quilting classes in which I've struggled mightily. I have some vision issues that get in my way but I'm determined to get better. This class had three lightbulb moments in three hours:

• Breaking the surface into grids — even grids or random ones like above — creates manageable sections that don't overwhelm like larger areas can. And for me specifically, these sections are within my somewhat limited vision range.

• I like to draw organic lines — see the to right corner of Christina's sample. I learned this extends to "drawing" such lines when I free-motion quilt.

• I can eyeball spacing for echo quilting with far more ease than I would have suspected. This lets me create a lot of texture.

Huge shout out to Christina who provided me a focus for my upcoming work to learn to use my Bernina Q20. I may never stipple or make even circles but I can do motifs that parallel my drawing style.

About now, you may be asking, so why is this blog titled "Out of Gas"? Well I was totally exhausted from the three hours with Christina. I was out of gas. Read on to see how that theme continued today.

Mark Carter, the Gas Angel of Ozona, Texas

My second out-of-gas experience started out with panic. Pulling a camper means buying gas often. I'm try never to get much below a half tank. I-10 through western/central Texas challenges that goal. Some years ago at the height of the recession when a lot of gas stations had closed, I ran out of gas on this stretch, and I wasn't even towing the R-Pod.

Today, I began searching for a gas station even before that half-tank mark but I drove miles and miles without a single station. My low-fuel light came on. Ozona, Texas, was the next town but I had 20+ miles to go. I was relieved when I reached the first Ozona exit, which promised a Sunoco station. My heart sank when I turned off the highway. It was two miles to Ozona. Down the ramp, under the highway and about halfway to the gas station, I ran out of gas. I coasted to the side of the road.

I needed to drive 600 miles today. I didn't have time to be sidelined. Three deep breaths. I googled Sunoco in Ozona. There were three. I called one. The woman who answered was running the station solo but asked that I hold while she called her manager. We got disconnected. I sighed but then my phone rang. She had the name and number of a guy who is on call to help out those who run out of gas on I-10. It apparently happens often.

I called Mark Carter — aka the Gas Angel of Ozona. (My name for him.) He arrived in minutes, put enough gas in my tank to get me to the gas station and refused to take anything for his trouble.

Wow!

I do have a question for the Texas Department of Transportation: Why don't you post a sign that says there is a more than 100-mile stretch with no services? I appreciate such a sign that's posted soon after you enter Utah from Colorado.

Two quilts exhibited at QuiltCon

"Meditating Loudly" by Emily Watts

"Radioactive Flying Donuts" by Emily Watts

I don't know Emily Watts but I was drawn to these two quilts she entered in the QuiltCon show. "Meditating Loudly" was in the Improvisation category and "Radioactive Flying Donuts" in the Appliqué category. Who can't appreciate radioactive donuts?

I'll share more quilts from QuiltCon in the next few days.

Tomorrow will be Day 3 of my drive from Phoenix to Daytona Beach. I'll see if I have any "gas" left at day's end for posting.

Shout-Outs from QuiltCon

My work from QuiltCon workshop Log Cabin Circles taught by Maria Shell.

Thursday was my first day at my first QuiltCon, and it didn't disappoint. It did exhaust. A shout-out to QuiltCon planners, the Modern Quilt Guild folks, who have created a first-rate event with a vibe of community unique in my experience of national quilting events. QuiltCon leaders, you get my first shout-out.

My first attempts to work in Adobe Illustrator toward creating a pattern for foundation piecing a portrait of a girl I met in a refugee camp in Palestine. Photo by Dana Jones.©

My second shout-out goes to Angela Bowman, teacher of Portraiture in FPP (foundation paper piecing). From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Angela knowledgeably and patiently led 24 of us, some with minimal skill with Adobe Illustrator and all working on both computers and tablets, in creating FPP patterns. My brain was close to fried by day's end but equally engaged at the possibilities. I have lots of study and practice ahead. Thanks to Angela, I know where to begin. To any of you who taken are enrolled in my Demystifying Design for Foundation Piecing classes, this class would be a great follow up for you. My brain is cranking on what I can incorporate from it into my teaching.

After a quick walk of the vendor hall and first look at some of the quilts on display, it was time for my second class, Log Cabin Circles taught by Maria Shell. It was my fourth class with Maria, whose a great teacher. She goes shout-out No. 3. Results of my first efforts using a new technique is at the top of this blog. Lots of fun with lots of possibilities for use in future quilts.

Tomorrow will be more relaxed so I look forward to time to check out more of the exhibition quilts. If we're allowed to take photos, I'll post some in my next blogs.

Unmistakably Arizona

Up the hill from my campsite at Lake Pleasant Regional Park in Maricopa County, Arizona, is an overlook of the lake. Photo by Dana Jones.©

Driving 400-plus miles can be exhausting. It can also be exhilarating. My drive from Moab, Utah, to the Phoenix area was the second. An early start meant I arrived with several of hours of daylight to spare.

My extra-wide campsite.

I can lose sleep worrying I'll have to back into a campsite. Folks at this park must have known. They assigned me a site that is double — make that triple — wide compared to most RV sites. And there is a huge turnaround area even before the driveway into the site. I whipped around and backed straight in. A couple walking by with their dogs — Arizona pups wear sweaters when it's 60 degrees F — applauded. Then we laughed. My challenge was, well, not challenging.

Build It and They Will Come

The first thing you need to know is I love baseball, and I love baseball movies. "Field of Dreams" starring Kevin Costner is a favorite. Even if you're not a baseball fanatic, you likely know the uplifting message of this movie.

I had a Field of Dreams moment recently. I posted the next session of my "Demystifying Design for Foundation Piecing" workshop on my website. It was late when I finished. Promotion would wait.

The next morning, I woke up to my phone dinging repeatedly telling me someone then someone else and someone else had signed up for the workshop. In a few hours, eight people registered and several more emailed with questions. The class filled within a few days.

The actual quote from the movie is "build it and he will come" but close enough. Build it and they will come. Talk about an exhilarating experience.

House quilt design© by Vicki Zerfoss.

I'm pretty sure I have Vicki Zerfoss, who took the class in January, to thank for this response. Vicki signed up for the workshop with a purpose. She wanted to design three foundation-piecing patterns of three houses that have special meaning to her and her family.

If I have the story correct, Vicki posted a photo of her quilt pictured above to a Facebook group of diehard foundation piecers. She mentioned my workshop. A huge shout out to Vicki for filling my March workshop and an even bigger shout out to her for her amazing quilt. I can't wait to see the other two.

If you're interested in the workshop, I've scheduled a session for May. Check it out on my website: https://www.danajonesquilts.com/technique-classes.

QuiltCon starts tomorrow. I'm signed up for two classes. Check out what I learn in my next Road Trip blog post.