I entered a contest last year on Facebook for a free 3-day class of instruction from Jamie Wallen at his new studio in Michigan City, Indiana and I WON! Not only did I win, but the class was for up to 6 people, so I got to invite six other longarmers to join me!! Awesome, right!! Yes, it truly was a wonderful thing. As many of you know, my elderly parents’ home burned to the ground in January, 2016 and I was in charge of everything that entailed from that catastrophe. I met with insurance agents, talked with contractors, designed the new house, oversaw the rebuilding process, filled out the massive insurance claim forms, ran interference with any number of stressors that come up in these processes. I bring this up, because I found out I won on July 1 – the day I was helping my parents move into their new home! I definitely had lots to celebrate that day!
I promptly invited 5 friends and booked the class for the end of March, 2017. In the meantime, one friend had to cancel due to personal obligations and we invited another longarmer. Another longarmer had back surgery that fall and was unable to quilt and her daughter was learning her business, so Jamie kindly allowed her daughter to join the group – bringing the total number of quilters to 7 that made the trip.
The first two days were intense quilting design and I loved every minute of it. Jamie is a wonderful, patient teacher. And yes, I learned many things that I have already used since returning home from class. The last day was devoted to a request of mine – to learn how to dye fabric. We had 5 in that class and we enjoyed it so much! I am not intimidated at all about fabric dyeing now and have plans to do some more this summer. I even am thinking about getting an old wringer washer to help in the process!! I haven’t had one of those since my kids were still in diapers!
If you have never taken a quilting class from Jamie, you definitely should. Even this old-timer found plenty of nuggets in Jamie’s class. Thanks Jamie! You’re awesome!
Four of us drove together in my Chevy Equinox, with luggage for 3 nights plus class supplies. Terrie drove up by herself and Sharon and Donna were driven up by Sharon’s husband. I had to find room for 5 big trash bags full of dyed fabric in a car that was already full of luggage! But, after rearranging the luggage and piling stuff up between the two gals in the backseat and on the floorboards, we crammed it all in!
Once we got home, we were to continue the process of rinsing the fabric. Here are some pics of that process. I had four 5-gallon buckets in one bathroom and an extra large laundry tub in the shower. After two days, I got some lovely fabrics! I even picked up a vintage tablecloth while I was in Michigan City and dyed it too! Just don’t forget to turn the water off when refilling the tubs of fabric. After about an hour, you will get a good inch of water on your bathroom floor. Glad it was just an hour. Can’t think of what would have happened if I had left it running for 12 hours!!!!
Some pictures of our sightseeing – we did get to go to Lake Michigan. It was a bit nippy, but worth it. And every meal we ate, the portions were huge! What’s up with that Michigan City!!??
Thanks again Jamie, Rich and Patrick! You guys rock!
Custom Quilts of Joy 
What a blast!!! 🙂 Thank you so much for inviting me! It couldn’t have been a better weekend!
Jamie is a wonderful person with a heart of gold. His compassion for humans is beyond great. He is like a big brother to me as he has given me some of the most incredible advice and guidance. I will forever have his back as he has had so many others…
Lucky ladies all! That’s a class beyond compare 💕