Does it feel as if 2024 is simply ‘flying’ by? It has been a busy and exciting year for me and my family. At the beginning of the year, I was asked by Stitchin’ Heaven Quilt Shop to teach on the 9-night New England/Canada cruise. I’m looking forward to meeting April Jaehn, who will also be teaching on the cruise, as well as the Stitchin’ Heaven staff and the quilting students! The 80 students will be split between two conference rooms. April and I will take turns in each room teaching the quilt projects. Students will have their own spot with a Bernina Sewing machine to work on their quilt projects. We’ll also get to explore Boston, Portland, ME, St. John New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. What a great trip it will be. The classes are Sold Out; however, there may be a waiting list; check with Stitchin’ Heaven on that. There will be over 5000 people on the ship, with lots of activities onboard as well!
This year my husband and I celebrated our 40-year anniversary, and we had the opportunity to take a trip in February to Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina & North Carolina. We spent 10 days on the road and saw so much of this beautiful country. The weather was not as warm as we had hoped when we stayed at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, but we made the most of it. We rented a 2-seater bike one day and biked around the beach and through the gorgeous residential areas of Hilton Head Island. We spent time with precious friends in Atlanta, Georgia and in Bluffton, South Carolina, where I got to spend some time with my best friend, Jeanette Bussard helping her in her quilt shop… So many wonderful memories were made on that trip!
In April I had the opportunity to go to Paducah, Kentucky with my friends, Chris Kirsch and Janis Albeck. (Be sure to check out Chris’s website Link HERE. Chris is a phenomenal lecturer, teacher, quilt designer and so much more! Your Guild will enjoy having her speak and teach; she has many wonderful lectures, workshops and books!)
We spent an entire week in Paducah. Chris and I spent Monday setting up the Small Quilts display for the AQS Quilt Show while Janis took an all-day class that day.
What a fun time Chris and I had spending the afternoon there setting up that display. It was a joy working with the Staff of AQS/Paducah. If you attended this year’s AQS Quilt Show, you may have had the opportunity to attend one of the many classes that Chris Kirsch taught this year. Her classes were full, and her students loved her!
Chris showed us all around Paducah (She has been going to Paducah each year for 35 years!). The pic (at left) was taken in front of a great coffee shop! This shop is known for a special (Bubble) beverage it serves.
We rented a condo in downtown Paducah. It was so comfortable and close to EVERYTHING! We could walk to the convention center, to the Museum and to many different shops and galleries! I found some great shops tucked away there and lots of wonderful restaurants, too! Janis, Chris and I had our photo taken in front of the fun Quilt City USA sign at the show!
We also attended the National Quilt Museum where an exhibit featuring Astronaut Dr. Karen Nyberg and her quilts is on display. She spoke to the audience at different times that week. Her exhibit will be featured there at the Museum through July, so if you are in the Paducah area, I recommend you stop in and see it, as well as all the other gorgeous quilts on display at the Museum!
The AQS Quilt Show is really a sensory overload! There were SO MANY gorgeous quilts that this post would go on forever if I started including them! If you’ve never been to Paducah to the ASQ Quilt Show, you must try to get there next year! Quilters from all over the world (literally!) attend this show, exhibit their quilts and win great prizes!
While in Paducah, I received an email from McCall’s Quilting Magazine letting me know they wanted to feature one of my quilt designs in their Winter 2024
issue. I was thrilled and honored to be asked. I am not allowed to show the quilt. However, I am allowed to show a teaser (a bit of one of the blocks as I was piecing it together), so I’ve included just a peek! Keep your eye out for the Winter issue coming out this fall! I had fun using a new line of Benartex Christmas fabric, Christmas Spirit by David Galchutt.
This is the time of year to create some great patriotic quilts. Check out my newer YouTube videos for some tutorials and PDF’s for July 4th quilt ideas. I also have a new PDF pattern available out on my website called, “I Love America“… it uses lots of strips from your stash!
Below is my latest video on 4th of July Projects for you. There are a number of recent videos where I teach you how to use up your scrap stash as you create gorgeous blocks and quilts! Here is a link to my Channel. Enjoy my latest video (posted below)!
This summer and fall will be busy for me with lectures, workshops, my cruise and our family vacation at the Lake in MN. It promises to be a fun and exciting year! I wish you all many blessings as you enjoy the summer sunshine and time with your family!
Happy Quilting …to you …from me! Lori Dickman