I arrived Saturday night at 10 pm. I was tired from a delayed flight, it was 1 am ET for me. I checked in and got a room, but no directions how to find this room. Asilomar is big! I felt like a girl scout dropped at camp, challenged with two heavy suitcases. I found my room and quickly fell asleep.
The next day I had until 3 pm for myself and I explored the area. Birds, dunes, beautiful grasses and plants, flowers, long walk along the beach. The view is spectacular and I realized that nature gave me inspiration for future quilts as the lines and curves on this coast are so striking. I took lots of photos.
The days are long. Breakfast at 8 am. Class started at 9 am. Lunch 12-1 pm and then again class 1-4 pm. Some people left the class at 4 pm for a rest, a walk, or to go fabric shopping in Pacific Grove, but most kept working on their work. I stayed with them, because it was just so interesting and fun to be with everyone. By the way, there is a pop-up fabric shop on campus!
Dinner 6-7 pm and then evenings where all teachers gave a little presentation. This is nice if you are considering to come back. You can hear if a teacher sounds like something you may want to do. There was an incredible line up of teachers, the best of the best in their field (my session had Jane Sassaman, Sandra Mollon, Priscilla Bianchi, Sandra Bruce, Sandi daRoza, Jeannete Walton, David Owen Hastings, MJ Kinman, Sujuta Shah. I would love to take a class with each of them, quilting has so many interesting faces!). Then back to the classroom until 10 pm (if you want).
I stayed every night until 10 pm in our "girl cave Heather" with my new found quilting buddies, and even started a new project myself during the evening hours. I didn't get very far, but it was nice to be one of them and fondle with fabric.
One of the students, Darlene, had brought a ton of extra fabric from "under her mattress" to class. Her scraps filled two 6ft tables and they became the heart of the class. Even though people had brought 400 small pieces of fabric each (starter kits will be available next time, if you have no time to go through your stash), the extra options were much appreciated. The hands digged through the piles and sometimes found what whas looked for. Very often, a piece of fabric was found as an option for another student : "He, is this the orange you need?" or "This looks like you",
and that made the bonding work. The power of fabric never ceased to amaze me and new friendships were formed.
Of course, I gave the class some instructions. I walked around as usual and saw the works of 24 students grow in different directions. It grew much further than what can be accomplished in a one-day class. It was nice for me to witness this. We were making lines, but also spoke later in the week about breaking lines, contrast, depth, balance etc. Often the students were discussing their works among themselves. "What do you think. Does this work?" Respectful, kind, genuine. Some students were quick, some students slow, some started all over.... it is all ok and not a race. If felt we were all emerged in color, the passion of the class.
Some students worked in brights, others in dusty colors. We had students working in large chuncks and tiny pieces. Different hands, different styles, searching for a flow in color, searching for their own voice and extremely happy when it worked! One student worked on a collage for a jeans jacket.
We laughed, we shared, we worked in silence, we got to know each other a little bit during these long and beautiful fabric days. A five-day class is so much more than a one-day class. It is not 5x1, because every day you start at another, higher level. Some students even had discussions with their fabrics in their sleep!! While the first pieces were put on with some hesitation, later they got attached much faster to the foundation. I could see confidence grow in all these hands and I am oh so proud of the accomplishments of all. Even the people that may seem to have done just little bits, don't judge them, because some of them came to the class with "luggage" and you don't know all the details. I know they grew this week while working with fabrics and that personal growth is much more important than the growth of a project. I thank them for their trust and I am super proud of and happy with the power of fabric and color.
I posted a video on social media. People came to our classroom during non-open hours after I had given my presentation. They saw our messy floor, filled with scraps, release paper of Lite Steam-a-Seam 2. "If you can only work in a nice and clean environment, this class is not for you". It really isn't. Go elsewhere where you can have a few clean cuts next to your machine. But for those that don't mind creative chaos, it is a happy place. We cleaned up everything for the open hours, when students from other classes could officially come in and admire the works. I do think they were impressed. Joy spreads fast! I will return to Empty Spools in 2027 and they asked if I could do two classes in 2028! Gladly, if life permits! Sign up for 2027 classes
opens up June 20, 2026 at 10 am PST.
The laughter kept going until the end. We had to say goodbye to each other, took some photos that I will treasure forever. When Sheree wanted to take the elevator to carry all her bags "quickly" back to the car, she got stuck halfway. "Bye, bye"...not... "can you call security?" So much fun. Laurel was my helper for things like that and she did a more than fantastic job. I could totally focus on my teaching and guiding. In the end I think my full class of 24 was benefitting from its size. Everyone could see the potential of freestyle color collage and I was able to give everyone personal attention. "I am stuck". "No, you are not. Which colors do you see?" They all learned to look at fabrics with much more eye for detail.
