28

Hold onto that number  for just a second while I go off on a small, newsworthy tangent:

I have been secretly helping to work on something for nearly half a year that was announced just today. Late last summer Heather Grant reached out to me to bounce her idea of starting a sewing and quilt summit for those entrenched in this industry to truly collaborate to further the industry in today’s retail and digital environment. Growing our industry has been something I have been passionate about for more than a decade wearing different career hats in publishing, TV hosting, and events.

I started Quilting Arts when I was 28 years old (hence that number in bold at the top), and I would love for people of that age in today’s environment to be entrepenuers and launch quilting and sewing businesses.  I have enjoyed much success in this industry over the past 20 years and I would love for others to enjoy success and career satisfaction like I have–not to mention for younger generations to immerse themselves in quilting and sewing.

Heather Grant is exceptional at launching a non-profit entity and is super knowledgable about this industry.  I am proud to say I am on the board of what she is spearheading: the Strategic Sewing & Quilting Summit. The first Summit will take place in the Chicago area this summer (more information to follow).

I think the assembly of industry leaders in a two-day, roundtable-style forum will help further a candid discussion of what we can all do to grow the industry. The more we talk, the more forums and places we have to discuss, the more who are invited to the table, the more we try to think outside the box, the better.

My second bit of news is that I just posted the proposal form for Craft Napa 2021 (our 6th edition), and the link for the proposal form can be found here. If you have thought about teaching and want to join us, please submit! We have more than 40 workshops over the course of five days, and we have a super fun time together. The receive-by proposal deadline is March 31 and we will announce the line-up by April 21st, 2020.

Thirdly, I am finding a lot of joy in teaching again– specifically small groups in my art barn. I will be teaching a two-day surface design class in my barn on April 4-5th, 2020–limited to six students.

Details can be found here.

Wishing everyone a great weekend and an early spring,

I can’t believe our 5th edition of Craft Napa is over already! Has it really been five years I have been doing this? It doesn’t feel like it. This past retreat went super well, and I am so happy that people overall seemed to have a great time. I am truly honored that people invest their time and discretionary funds at Craft Napa to start the new year off, and I don’t take that for granted. I try and make this annual retreat the best it can be, and I thank you to all who came and continue to make this retreat so special!

Some quick stats: this last edition had 41 workshops, led by 17 teachers over the course of five days with about 250 attendees. We held classes in everything from modern quilting and mixed media jewelry to surface design and encaustic work. All in all I think it was our biggest edition yet. Having said that, the facilities–the Embassy Suites/ Napa and my art barn (just a couple miles up the street from the hotel)–meant there was still an intimate feel to the retreat, and that will always be important to me.

A few additional pix of collage work, indigo dyeing, art quilting, free-motion quilting, among other disciplines:

Now that Craft Napa 2020 is completed, I am busy working on a micro-retreat schedule for my barn this year (look for an upcoming notice in my Crafting a Life e-newsletter for a retreat I am soon to announce for next month). I am also posting the 2021 Workshop Proposal form on the craftnapa.com site, so if you are interested in pitching a proposal, please go download the form. The receive-by date for the form is April 1, 2020, but the sooner sent the better. 

Lastly, save the date! Our 6th edition of Craft Napa will take place January 13-17, 2021. More info to follow in the next couple of months, and registration will open June 1, 2020.

On a more personal note, last month I invested in a used Airstream for both recreational and safety purposes. For recreation, I can leave for a night (or two or three) to go camp in NorCal. The advantage of living here is that within three hours or less I can be in Lake Tahoe or on the coast to Santa Cruz or Monterey, as examples. If I venture a little further  I can be in Yosemite, or if I want to stay close to home, within one hour I can be in Bodega Bay (yes, home to Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”). In an emergency situation I can retreat to the Airstream during a wildfire/evacuation or an extended planned power shut off–both of which I have experienced since I moved here.

The start to my 2020 has been to learn how to hitch the tow, safely tow and drive, get her ready for camp, and to overcome my anxiety when something isn’t working and I need to problem solve without letting my nerves get the better of me. I get anxious at times when I can’t figure something out or something is very heavy for me to lift (both can lead to a lot of swearing), but the achievement I feel when I problem solve is so gratifying. It’s just like working through a design problem on an art piece you want to throw away in frustration but you save it and you make it work…and I know all of you can relate to that. 🙂

My airstream at Bodega Bay.

Here’s to a challenge- and creative-filled 2020,

Pokey