Long Beach Quilt Festival- a few highlights

While I have officially "hit the wall" after a busy weekend teaching, socializing and commuting back and forth to Long Beach- as usual it was a blast and I have returned with way too many photos!! I thought I would share a handful of the highlights- just to give you a little taste of what a quilt festival looks like through my eyes.

me and my brother

My entourage joined me on Saturday (entourage= my husband and brother). They followed me around with a camera, provided great entertainment in the car and got a little peak into my world. It was amusing watching them browse quilts and talk to quilters :)

One of my favorite quilts- Rooted Series VII: Aquifer by Kristen La Famme.

Pokey Bolton demoing magic foam at the Quilting Arts booth.

I STILL get excited when I see my book somewhere.

The fabulous Jane LaFazio demoing needle felting.

Me and Judy Perez at Make it University.

Fabric everywhere.

Trimming and fiber everywhere.

Temptation to buy things EVERYWHERE.

Texture everywhere.

Another of my favorites- Vertigo by Diane Nunez.

Always one of my favorite booths -Maendeleo Imports

The creative duo- Jamie Fingle and Leslie Tucker Jeninson - co curators of the AMAZING exhibit- Beneath the Surface- standing in front of their work.

Under Foot by Jamie Fingal

SOOOO many quilts to see.

My favorite part of the weekend was FINALLY meeting Linda Woods in person! Linda is one of my favorite online friends and I love everything that she does. While we have attended the same events, we keep missing each other and finally we connected in Long Beach and I am so glad! She is just as cool as I expected and I decided that she is going to be my new best friend :)

Building Up by Kathy York

Overall the weekend was a great success!

International Quilt Festival Long Beach

I've just come off a whirlwind 48 hr. trip up to Long Beach for the International Quilt Festival where I taught some mini workshops for Quilting Arts at Make it University. This event is always fun, inspiring and an opportunity to meet new people and to connect with friends! I will be sharing some of my favorite photos later today!

Homemade Basil Ginger Green Tea (iced)

Around our house we are always looking for healthy and refreshing beverages so I decided to put together something easy and yummy that made use of things that I had on hand in kitchen and in the garden... iced basil ginger green tea.

We drink A LOT of green tea so I knew I wanted to use it for this drink.

I started by brewing a pot.

If you do not have loose leaf, use green tea bags.

Just a quick side story-

See this hot 4.0L water dispenser above? Well, last Christmas my husband bought it for me along with a traditional cast iron tea set and TONS of different varieties of loose leaf green tea.

When I opened it I up I looked at him and said, "Um...I don't drink tea and I really don't think I need a giant hot water dispenser."

I KNOW! How ungrateful was I?

His reply, was, "Alisa you just don't know that you need it yet, your are going to love drinking tea, I promise that you will use it every day."

As much as I hate to admit it, he was right- this hot water dispenser and tea pot gets used every single day and I can't imagine my routine with out freshly brewed green tea!

Anyway...after brewing a pot of tea, I chopped fresh ginger and dropped it into a pot of simmering water for about 10-12 minutes.

Note- fresh ginger is strong and has a spicy flavor to it- I used about 6-7 piece for a nice medium flavor.

I strained the ginger tea into a pitcher.

and added the green tea.

I added a squeeze or two of honey

and a squeeze of lemon.

I stirred the everything and put it in the fridge to cool.

While I we typically drink tea simple and plain, I decided to make it a little special to go with dinner.

I rimmed the glasses with a little organic sugar.

I dropped in ice cubes.

I picked thai basil from the garden- Thai basil has a slightly minty licorice flavor.

and added it to each glass.

I filled the glasses with tea and topped with a basil flower for garnish.

SO yummy- light and sweet with a little spice.

easy altered hoodie tutorial

A while back as I was browsing through though my local Anthropologie store (key word browsing!) I came upon these sweaters (below) and I loved the concept- square blocks of fabric applique on the surface of a garment- but what I don't love is the price of $100.00 for a sweater. While I do like browsing Anthropologie, quite frankly I never actually shop there- their price points make me really mad- but thats another story! Anyway, I decided to put my own twist on the concept but use a blank hoodie sweatshirt- a staple piece of clothing in my neck of the woods :)

I started with a white sweatshirt from Target for $16.00- that price is more like it!

Tip-When sewing and altering cotton (t-shirts and sweatshirts) I always purchase things 1-2 sizes larger (M or LG) than my true size (SM) to keep things fitting well once the the garment is altered with sewing or washed.

I used pieces of recycled fabric- from my scrap pile and from old clothing that would have otherwise been donated. I decided on only using variations of blue.

I arranged the pieces all over the surface of the sweatshirt and pinned them down.

and sewed them all down- EASY!

fyi-I used a universal needle and my darning foot (only because I use this foot for everything).

all things color

Along with everything else I have going on over here, I've also been organizing all of the content for my next online class- Color Your World- which starts today! My head is swirling (literally) with information, inspiration and random facts about color and I thought it would be fun to share a little with all of you!

✺ Did you know that the first color wheel has been attributed to Sir Isaac Newton? Yep, it's true, in 1706 he arranged red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo and purple on a rotating wheel- as the disk spins around it blurs the colors so quickly that the human eye only sees white.

✺ Blue is the most common color—especially since blue jeans are everywhere! Blue has a calming effect. Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty. For this same reason, U.S. police officers traditionally wear blue.

✺ In 1903 Binney & Smith introduced the first Crayola crayons in 8 colors- red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, black and brown. Today they offer over 120 different colors!

✺ Only the most expensive dyes were used to make the color purple, which is one reason it is associated with wealth and power. Synonymous with royalty, purple is often preferred by artists, spiritualists and deeply creative people. Purple is the ultimate bridge between warm and cold, as it is comprised of red and blue, two opposite primary colors–making it the “ideal” color, the blending of Yin and Yang of the spectrum.

✺ Bees can see ultraviolet, blue, and yellow.

✺ The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention.

✺ Van Gogh said, “Yellow is capable of charming God.”

✺ Did you know that color affects every facet of our lives. The way we react to colors is a combination of physiological, biological, psychological, social and cultural reasons. Color has the ability to soothe and also to stimulate us.