jane dong 

Wow!  It was wonderful being back at those beautiful Asilomar Conference Grounds again!   I immediately walked down to the ocean and sat for awhile!  Fabulous.  Then it was onto my classroom.  Not the best luck there.  Our class was in Scripps, one of the darkest rooms for quilting.  Even with multiple lamps and windows open, not much light.  But we made it through.  Scripps has an ante room for relaxation, but we also used it for putting up long tables to layer the batting and backing to quilts and design complicated piecing.  Then, you could walk right in to the actual classroom and begin sewing!

I went for Session One, from February 22 - 27th and the weather was beautiful!  Sunny and bright - absolutely perfect - I went for a walk to the beach almost every morning!  And, the meals were superb, as always!  This time I took an Independent Study with Laura Nownes (see lauranownes.com).  Laura was wonderful!  I was working on another Esterita Austin Portrait from the class ... Esterita Austin's  "Portraiture - with a Twist"  (see esteritaaustin.com).   I have been trying to learn shadowing and wanted more practice, but brought an impossible fabric and/or a lack of talent!  It was still fun trying to make what I had work!  We worked day and night, as you will see below, going back to the classroom to work after a great dinner and a couple of glasses of wine!  That was fun!  Below are some photos from my experience this year - hope you enjoy!

When my husband, Mark, picked me up from Asilomar, we headed a couple of hours further down the coast.  We had planned a trip to Cayucos, a sleepy little fishing village that was my family’s old stomping ground.  My mother is buried in the old cemetary on the hill there, over-looking the sea.  We would be only a couple of hours away that week, so it seemed like the perfect time to return for a visit.  We had a wonderful time!  We walked through all the cute shops that line both sides of Main Street (like "Happy Go Smile"…adorable dresses and quilts - see their website kandykissesboutique.com).   By day, we enjoyed the Cayucos beach, and by night, we dined on the Morro Bay Wharf!  It was fabulous!  Through a friend, we got to stay in a lovely room at the Sea Pines Resort in Los Osos - it had a  beautiful gas warming fireplace for those cold nights!  Really nice!  I’ve included some photos below so you could see for yourself.