The 2018 Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, VA

Well, for the first time in the nearly three years since Kara and I (Teri) began our blog, we missed a posting on our regular Thursday. A few times, we have posted early, or a bit late, but we have not—until now—failed to post every week. I think we had a good excuse. We hope you will, too, and will forgive our negligence!

Kara and I, back, with our stitching sisters,
Jan Vaine and Kathy Breidenstiein.
We were missing a few: you know who you are! :) 

As always, we had an absolutely fabulous time at the Academy last week. We love catching up with friends, many of whom we only see at this event. Those ties that bind us, like a quilt, are strong, and our love of the craft connect us in ways our non-stitching friends cannot imagine. Kara and I were both so busy teaching and chatting with people that we neglected to take as many photos as usual—and then mostly within our classroom to document our students' successes! We will have to do better next year. Still, we hope you will enjoy our week through these photos.

Our first class was Oiseau et Panier—Basket of Flowers.

Just stitching away! 

Not a bad view from our window!

 

Stitching the base of the basket

     

Back-basting appliqué

Rose-making

Basket-stitching

We were so impressed with the progress made during class! Everyone left with many flowers ready to stitch onto their blocks, and plans for their finished work. We can't wait to see photos as they come our way!

Our second class was Zierblumen—Bouquet of Flowers

Our class was so large, we had to move to a bigger room!

More roses

Kara and I were so busy, we didn't have much time to enjoy this lovely view of the James River, but we did manage to capture the early morning sky before heading to class on the last day. 

The first couple of days of this class, we worked on appliquéing leaves and stems, and creating our blooms off-block. By Friday, we had a full bag of flowers to arrange in our bouquets. 

  

Taking a photo of your arrangement to use as you are placing your flowers can be helpful in creating your final placements.

Such beautiful arrangements! Aren't they absolutely lovely?! It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the day. Again, we are looking forward to seeing photos of finished blocks as they come. (Promises have been made! 😉)

After packing up our classroom and loading the car, we decided to wait for the sunset before heading out for our last Williamsburg dinner. We were sound asleep early, resting up for the drive home. (Really, we were sound asleep early every night all week! How can stitching be so exhausting?!)

On our way home, we stopped at a charming antique shop, housed in an old schoolhouse. I was sorely tempted to purchase this sampler, but settled for a photo instead. If I knew a blacksmith, it would have surely been in my possession. Such amazing workmanship, dated 1779. Such a gem!

Another Academy draws to a close, but our minds are already working on our next blocks. We've gotten some wonderful suggestions of flowers to stitch from many of you. We shall see. It has been wonderful for both Kara and me to have this time to teach together after so many months. Next, it's my turn to go to Germany!