On the Road: Calgary, Alberta, Canada—February 2018

At the end of February I returned to Calgary to teach a fabric collage class. Previously, over the course of a few years, I had taught at quilting seminars sponsored by the Sugar Pine Company quilt shop in nearby Canmore—the last being eight years ago. That year sticks in my mind since it was the year of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and this year the Winter Olympics were on again—though not in Canada. One day, I hope to visit the Calgary area when it’s not below freezing.

This year’s class was organized by a friend and former student, Barb Virtue, and she gets high marks for all she did for me and the 14 other students—she spoiled us all. In addition to the class, one evening I gave a slide lecture attended by local quilt guild members and advertised to the public, some hearty souls coming from as far away as eight hours. Talk about pressure to perform!

Margaret Jessop (above), who was in charge of the Saturday evening lecture, walks through the classroom, getting a different perspective on her grandson’s portrait, seen to the left of the photo.

As the week progressed, the classroom got messier and messier—as all my classrooms tend to do—creative minds at work! At one point I turned from one student to another and noticed a lovely trail of red fabric leading to Vanecea Green (above right) and the red parasol of her portrait of a geisha.

See progression photos of the class projects in the slide show below.

Student Work Slide Show

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Classroom Walkaround Video

Warning: turn down sound or mute if you’re not into cowboy musical accompaniment! (It seemed like the thing to pick for a location known as “Cowtown”.)

On the last day of class, we took some time for a very fun show and tell. Ladies brought in quilts either begun in a past class I taught, inspired by my books, or by my fabric collage teachings. As it so happens, my college roommate, Leslie Smith (above right) lives in Calgary. I stayed with her this trip and she rolled out the koi fish begun years ago for the show and tell. Below are other fish by Sandra Melnik (left) and Dorothey Kuzmiski—completed in classes taught by Margaret Jessop using my fabric collage technique.

Terry Rowland took my pre-class student letter to heart and “did her homework.” Not only did she scour my blog posts, but she took my book, Serendipity Quilts, and completed the spiral exercise below and the sun face above. I love what she got done, and I’m sure it helped her get as far as she did in class with the portrait of her granddaughter (see slide show and classroom video).

Roxanne Nelson, the maker of the gorgeous bird below, and I talked birds during the week. We both have beloved parakeets in our pasts and have learned to appreciate not only a bird’s beauty, but its personality. Roxanne told me that my first book, Free Style Quilts, set her on her fabric collage path 20 years ago. I am totally flattered to hear that, but truly, Roxanne has a painter’s eyes and heart that merely needed to be set free. If I was able to point her in the direction of “painting” with fabric through my book, then it’s my honor to have done that.

Esperanza Aldrich (above) shared another fish quilt which, though not made in a fabric collage style, showed an interesting reverse applique technique for her koi fish.

Barb Virtue brought her tree frog to show—begun some years ago in a class of mine. As happens with some projects, the background for this one has stumped her. Barb claims she now has plans for it. I look forward to when I can post the finished quilt in a future Finish Line blog post! (Hint, hint, Barb.)

And finally, Margaret Jessop had numerous quilts to show, however, I’m saving them all for an awesome Finish Line post in a couple weeks that will feature only her quilts. You can see a glimpse of one of them in the “teaser” below. It’ll be worth the wait!

Extracurricular activities

As I mentioned earlier, I gave a slide lecture one evening. There were about 180 people in attendance and they were a great audience. The evening started out as a bit of a comedy of errors on my part—leaving my case of quilts and such behind in the classroom, slide format issues, late start, things like that—but what can you do? It all turned out alright and, as a friend of mine says: “It’ll make a memory.” I met some lovely people that night—some that had traveled for hours—including one of my Patreon subscribers, Tracy Loyek (below left) of Purple KATZ Quilting.

Another evening a few students and I traveled the hour and a half into Canmore—across the plains and into the Rockies. Our purpose was a short but sweet shopping opportunity at the Sugar Pine Company, the quilt store that first introduced me to this part of Canada. It was very nice to see the owners again, and to come home with some fabric souvenirs!

And then the last day day of class came to an end, the fabrics were packed away, the tables cleared, the floors picked up, goodbyes and hugs exchanged. Always a bittersweet moment.

Out and About in Calgary

I stayed two extra days for a little exploring with friends. Above, Leslie does her gnome imitation from inside a window display.

That same shop had overwhelming displays of many things, but Barb picked out the rhino/crocodile combo, and I saw the John Lennon card—all inspirational subjects of past quilts of mine—in one store! Who could have guessed?

Swan’s Public House in the Inglewood area of Calgary proved to be the perfect place for a lunch with my friends—mostly due to our waitress, Mardy. An engaging person who “made a memory.”

A drive through Calgary and a walk along the Peace Bridge. As I paused to take a photo, a cyclist slowed and then came to a stop in front of me. It was someone who had been at my lecture a few days earlier! How funny. Small world.

A side-trip to Calgary’s Chinatown. I missed the Chinese New Year celebrations by about a week, but some decorations were still up.

I recently learned that the Chinese guardian lions are sometimes called “Fu (Foo) Dogs.” I was looking for a little something to bring home from Chinatown and found a couple colorful Fu dogs that fit into the palm of my hand. Nice reminders of this year’s Chinese Year of the Dog—and my two dogs waiting to for me at home.

A sign at the Calgary airport also reminds me of the New Year, but I got my dog-fix this week with Leslie’s pup, Pippa (below left). A greeter dog at an Inglewood antiques shop (below right) offered his services too. This fellow was also quick to offer us a local magazine.

And then it was time to fly home—as a snowstorm was gearing up in Calgary. At 4:30 in the morning, with Leslie ready to take me to the airport, I remembered we hadn’t had a photo of us together taken yet. She happily obliged.

Until next time, Calgary.

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Online Class available March 17th

Stay tuned to next week’s blog for information on purchasing the two components of the Susan Carlson Fabric Collage Online Master Class.

The Online Master Class Manual, the textbook so to speak, is available to anyone whenever they are ready to purchase it. There’s no deadline involved.

Participants in the Online Coaching Classroom, where I will be accepting 20 students per session in a private Facebook group, will be chosen in a lottery system. You will have a week to sign up for a session and then I will randomly draw 20 names.

Online Coaching Classroom Sessions scheduled so far (more sessions as my schedule permits):

April 2018 Session: April 2-20, 2018
Feedback Monday and Thursday of each week.

May/June 2018 Session: May 28-June 15
Feedback Monday and Thursday of each week.