Jacquie Gering visits Great Lakes Heritage Quilters

I am 1st VP in charge of programs this year at my guild, Great Lakes Heritage Quilters, and so I get to imprint a little of what I'm interested in these days, and yet also please the membership.  We hosted Jacquie Gering in October and had two workshops with her; "Log Cabin Improvisation" and "Stitch & Flip Improvisation".  Both classes were full, which is amazing in the quilt world right now.  Most guilds struggle to get enough people into a class to break even.  We had quite a few guests, as word spread around the state that she was teaching in the area.

Jacquie's lecture was warm & from the heart, with lots of beautiful quilts.  I wasn't able to get photos as I ended being one of my own quilt holders----I barely got to see the quilts!  Luckily, she will be visiting another local guild in January, Cameo Quilters, so maybe I can sneak in, sit in the back, and enjoy myself there, with no program responsibilities.

The workshops had amazing energy and a very cohesive, friendly group of people.  Jacquie is one of the hardest working teachers I've seen in a long, long, time.  A lifelong educator and principal, her teaching skills are strong.  Organized, a people person, she moved around that room all day long, both days.  She had so much energy, enthusiasm & friendliness .  I caught her in mid-sentence here.  It doesn't hurt that she loves wearing my favorite color, chartreuse!  Flannel design walls were everywhere.

I loved her travel class samples, that have a grommet on each to attach to where ever.

Below is a little of work going on in the classroom.

At the end of the first day we took two pictures of the group, although I know a couple of people got out the door before I could corral them.  Our first was a nice, sedate, group picture.  The 2nd, we all showed the enthusiasm we had for our day with a loud "WHOO-HOO"!!

The 2nd day class was the Stitch & flip Improvisation.  My project is on the left,  as I actually took this class.  The first day I figured I would be far too busy being 'workshop coordinator, which was smart thinkin'!  The one on the right is Kathleen's, and I just love that background fabric she used.

Here is one of Jacquie's stitch & flips that she brought.

And finally the WHOO-HOO at the end of the day.  I even got in this one!

We had some nice dinners with quilters both modern and traditional, and talked about many things in our time together.  We talked about how those worlds merge (modern & traditional), how they have more in common than not, creativity & passion. 

I came out of that 4 days more impressed than ever with this wonderful teacher & person, grateful I had the chance to be part of it, and smiling, smiling, smiling, for days afterward.  I really enjoyed having this time to get to know a quilter who I am positive is going to have a large footprint in our world, the world that matters most to us, the world of quilting!

Thanks for visiting, Jacquie Gering!  Looking forward to seeing you again!