The bird class...

has come and gone.

I headed out through the fog this morning and stopped along the way to buy a latte for the drive. I love driving through the Oregon countryside. Even in the fog, maybe especially in the fog, it is misty, damp, green, beautiful. It took me a little more than an hour to get to the Oregon Garden Resort where my Bird class was scheduled.

The room was set up with tables, extension cords, ice water and an ironing board and iron. Perfect. I had two enthusiastic students, Carol and Susan.

I really enjoyed both of them and we had a good class, I think. It was nice to work with just two people. I was able to keep a close eye on their progress and add my two cents worth when I saw it was needed. It was a good way to see if other people could follow my directions and understand what I was describing.  I was really pleased to see how well their birds turned out. Maybe they were extra talented students.

Here is Susan's bird.

It looked like a robin with paisley wings.

Here is Carol's bird.

Her purple fabrics were pretty gorgeous. She decided not to attach the wings just yet. We both thought some decorative stitching around the edges would help to set them off from the body fabric. Loved the quirky legs! Getting those little guys to balance on their scrawny legs is always a feat.

The facility was so good! The lodge at the Garden is only a couple of years old. Susan and her husband had rented a room and she reported that it was both economical (off-season rate) and charming and comfortable with a fireplace in the room. They served us a really nice lunch and a mid-afternoon coffee break with freshly-baked cookies. The lodge sits at the top of a hill overlooking the Oregon Garden and the views from the windows in our classroom was beautiful.

The other class, a Marsha McCloskey feathered star quilt class had more students than I did, but the third class was apparently canceled for lack of registration. This is the first year they have offered classes and I think there were two problems. I'm not sure the classes were well publicized and I think people were leary of bad weather in January. The Oregon Garden is a drive from anywhere. Well, the weather was nearly perfect today as it turned out, but you never know what January will hold. It could just as easily been snow or ice.

All in all, a good experience. Want to learn to make a bird? I'm available to teach!  Also, if you are in the vicinity, come see the quilt show this weekend. I am demonstrating my fusing technique Saturday morning at 11.