We can hardly stand it: Road to California 2016 is only 4 months away. How would you like two free tickets to come to the show? Read on about one of our outstanding faculty, Shannon Shirley, and learn at the end of this post how you can enter to win!!
Shannon Shirley will be teaching 4016C Children’s Artwork Quilts, Fusible Appliqué on Thursday; 5014C Thread Sketching on Friday; 6013C Introduction to Free Motion Quilting on Saturday; and on Sunday, a handwork class, 7013R Embroidery for Your Quilts.
Shannon Shirley is a quilter, teacher, author, and special exhibit curator. Shannon’s love of vintage quilts came from her mum who collected quite a number of old quilts when Shannon was a young adult. Shannon loves looking at all the colors, fabrics and textures that quilting adds. She started collecting vintage orphan blocks and made small wall quilts to practice her skills. She actually started quilting in 1989 and was self-taught until 2004. Shannon has been taking technique classes ever since and loves how quilters have so many different styles, techniques and tools, not to mention an endless array of fabrics and embellishments to create with. She uses some techniques more often than others but they are all there in her toolbox to be used for her current quilt project.
Shannon’s classes are designed for beginning and intermediate quilters. She loves helping students believe they can do something. “That moment when their eyes light up and they smile because they are so pleased with themselves,” is what Shannon enjoys most as a teacher. She hopes her students will be inspired to believe that they can indeed design their own quilt, master a new technique, and finish that quilt!
What is her best quilting tip? To “relax and enjoy the process! Try to do your best work but let go of the desire for it to be perfect.”
At Road 2015, Shannon curated the exhibit, Celebrate the Day With Quilts, a display that honored special days in the lives of the quilters that participated. Those days showcased were serious, personal, inspirational and even silly.
Something that Shannon has found an interest in is combining children’s art work and quilting. When she was learning to quilt, she had 3 young daughters who loved to draw. Having them draw or paint directly on fabric entertained them while allowing her to spend time on her new hobby. The first piece they made together was a quilt for Shannon’s dad. It had large blocks that her girls drew on, alternated with a print fabric and tied.
Shannon has since published three books and has three traveling exhibits on her method. “It was very exciting to publish my first book Creating Children’s Artwork Quilts and the response to it and the traveling exhibit has been amazing. I love it when the quilts are on exhibit and I am able to be on the exhibit floor with them. Interacting with the visitors to the shows and answering their questions and hearing their feedback is my favorite thing to do! “ But Shannon also admits that while she loves sharing her work, she “ loves even more when someone shows me something they have created because they were inspired by a presentation, exhibit or book of mine!”
To learn more about Shannon Shirley, please visit her website, Once in a Rabbit Moon.
How can you enter to win two free tickets to Road 2016? Simply comment below what you like best about Road to California by Sunday, September 20, 2015. One lucky winner will be chosen using Random Number Generator and will be notified on September 21st. Good luck to all who enter!!
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