As Promised

Well my lovelies, I finally have more photos to share of the amazing Asilomar weekend!

First, I have to say that Heather Ross is so kind and mellow, and I would definitely take another workshop of hers. It can't be easy planning for a group of folks at a multitude of skill levels and with varied interests, and she absolutely pulled off a coup. She signed books -and drew in them!- and was unfailingly positive and patient.

Heather explains it all.

As mentioned earlier, the fellow workshop attendees were just fantastic. Here's a shot of Lauren, who absolutely needs to start her own blog, and a room photo so y'all can see how huge the space was.

so adorable in her self-made circle skirt!

My new buds Ruth and Sheetal joined Susannah and me and another crafty sewist for a lovely lunch on Saturday in Pacific Grove at the Red House Cafe. I somehow missed getting a photo of Leisa, but I got to sit right next to her the whole time and watch her amazing progress on Heather's wrap skirt pattern.

do we look cold? it was cold.

The biggest thrill for me came from meeting one of my principal sources of sewing inspiration: Gretchen Hirsch, better known as Gertie, of the amazingly popular sewing blog and best-selling book. Oh my gosh. She's even cooler in person, her hair is even more vibrantly pink, and she's just got such a great perspective on things. Good lord, the woman even plays the ukelele, how much more unapologetically badass can you get?! If you were to surmise that I may have inadvertently peed my pants when she asked for a ride to the San Francisco airport, you would be correct, metaphorically speaking of course. Susannah and I were jumping around like ten year olds at at One Direction concert, we were so thrilled at the thought of, you know, just Hanging Out all casual-like. I can only hope we didn't scare her off for good. I didn't take photos of us shopping at Harts Fabric together, because even a fangirl like me draws the line somewhere, but it was pretty freaking cool.

yeah, that's the shirtwaist dress from her book.

Gertie bedecked in coolness and me in my Gertie blouse and Ginger skirt

All in all, it was a fabulous time, even better than I had hoped. I got great guidance on lots of projects that had frustrated me previously and make a lovely dress from one of my friend Stephanie's vintage pattern to boot!

i made her a pair of my cashmere mitts, with pink to match her hair!