X-Blocking in Asilomar

Just imagine spending one entire week at the Pacific seashore, X-ploring the X-Blocks tool with great friends. Pinch me! No, I wasn't dreaming. Patricia Pepe invited me and six other groupies to Asilomar in Pacific Grove, CA, a fantastic conference center nestled among scrub pines, hugged by the sensational coastline and inhabited by deer and raccoon.

We stayed in the Director's Cottage and supped in the dining hall - gourmet style. Every meal was prepared with fresh ingredients by an excellent chef and staff; waitpersons hovered in the wings bearing lovely desserts, coffee and tea. We were so stuffed by mid-week we could hardly waddle to our sewing machines, which were set up in a large conference room.

Again, I beg you to imagine - your very own sewing studio (for the week, anyway) where the only ringing in your ear was the dining bell; the only requirement was to have fun, make a mess - and no clean-up allowed.

The adventure included frequent (as in: daily) visits to Back Porch Fabrics in downtown Pacific Grove. Sure, we brought lots of stash with us, but you know what it's like - fabric fabric everywhere, but not that 'just right' piece. So Gail Abeloe, proprietor, provided us with the missing sparkle. Her fabrics, samples and patterns are scrumptious.

The most fun of all was watching Patricia create. She was so generous with her time, frequently stopping to show us new ideas, better ways to combine our fabrics and tweak for contrast. We played with scads of new X-Blocks designs that I can't yet reveal as they're in the planning stage, but confidentially, they are really exciting.

As for X-Blocking in Asilomar: sign me up for next year!!!

Yours truly, Princess of X-Blocks Land