Those of you who have attended an Empty Spools seminar know how wonderful it is. If you've never been, let me tell you about it.

The 5-day seminars are held at Asilomar, a California state park on the Monterey Peninsula. Asilomar was first owned and operated by the YWCA in the very early 1900s. Click here to read more about the history. 

Currently the site is both rustic and modern. The buildings retain their turn-of-the-century charm and the plumbing is contemporary – a perfect combination :-). There are no phones or TVs in the room which do help you to focus on both the beautiful surroundings and your class.

And the surroundings are truly amazing. Asilomar is on Highway 1 in a place where the traffic is light. I love to cross the highway and walk on the paths along the coast. Asilomar is one of my very favorite places to be. I actually calm down and breathe more deeply when I'm there.

As a student, you take one 5-day class. There are a variety of teachers and classes in each of the five sessions. I am teaching an Independent Study class in Session 3, March 14-19, 2014. The last time I taught this class there were quilters working on an amazing variety of projects and it was a very stimulating room. 

I know that most quilters think of me as an appliquer and so might wonder how I could help them with a project that isn't applique. Surprisingly enough, my background in piecing, dyeing, painting, design and color is pretty deep. I very much enjoyed being able to help each person when they wanted me to. I also did my best to not 'help' when help was not wanted. 

I have been a student at Empty Spools and I can tell you that it was wonderful! I spent 5 days with Ruth McDowell where I worked on this quilt, one of my favorites.

I received my Empty Spools brochure in the mail today which means that sign-ups are underway. Classes do fill quickly so if you are interested click here for the Empty Spools main page. Click here for the registration form. It has to be printed and mailed or faxed. I would love to see you there!