And so QSDS — Quilt Surface Design Symposium — Begins

Quilt Surface Design Symposium is held at Columbus College of Art and Design where visitors have no question that ART is front and center on campus. Photo by Dana Jones.

The first day of class at QSDS was fun, inspiring, exhausting. Through Sunday, I'm enrolled in an independent study class with Michael James. I'm surrounded by amazing quilters, each with a unique focus for the week. Beyond the joy of having seven full days to focus on stitching, I hope to get more clarity on where I want my quilting to go next and how to juggle making art with teaching and speaking. Stay tuned for where this week takes me.

My work space in the independent study classroom

Deciding what to work on is the first challenge in this class. I'm hoping to complete more of the blocks in the quilt I began in Maria Shell's "Riffing on Tradition" class last summer. It's been almost a year since that class so it really is time to complete this.

Today, I finished the smallest block on the right side design wall. (Every participant has two work tables and two design walls.) I also completed the center of another block. That's the long, narrow strip on the right design wall. I hope to complete that block and get most if not all of the work done on another block tomorrow.

This quilt, a riff on the Ohio Star block, will be called, "I'm Not From Ohio." That title printed on the post-its in my fabric bins threw one of the other members of the class a bit. She is from Ohio so wondered what in the world I meant with those labels. Once she saw the blocks, she enjoyed the twist on the blocks' name.

I have several other projects with me so I'm not sure if all my attention will be on this or I'll work on one or both of the other projects too.

My class this week is on the third floor of the building above. The campus was lovely this morning with art and wildlife to enjoy before digging into the day's work/fun. Photos by Dana Jones.

I'm looking forward to Day 2. I hope some of my classmates will let me take photos of their works in progress to share. Watch for those soon.