New Week, Feeling Good!

Finally over the head crud and feeling so much better!  I taught a great class on Saturday and have 3 classes to teach this week so it's wonderful to be recovered.

Once again I am leading the Simple WhatNots Club, collection 2, from Henry Glass Fabrics.  This uses Kim Diehl's latest collection, Heritage Hollow, and features 8 small quilts.  We meet at my local quilt shop, Patches & Stitches, one Friday night a month for 6 months and there are 30 students for my lecture/demo type class.   Here is the flyer:  Simple WhatNots Club, Collection 2.

Last year I faithfully reproduced the quilts, usually exactly as shown in the patterns.  Some of the students made changes and I liked what they did.  So this time, I will show the techniques for each pattern but offer some optional changes for the students to consider.  Not only will they have permission to change the patterns, they will be encouraged to do so.  I find when quilters start making changes to patterns, they gain a sense of freedom and confidence that they can make a quilt their own and this is enlightening to them.

The first pattern I'll be teaching, Barn Stars, uses a 4" finished star.  I will also provide the measurements for a 6" star, and teach the class how to calculate the units for an 8" star--teach them to fish, in other words.  Here are my 2 samples, the 6" and 4" stars:

Now that my  Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt is done, I moved on to a terrific new year-long educational opportunity from Barbara Brackman, the queen of quilt history.  It's called Stars in a Time Warp and here is the plan from Barbara's Civil War blog:

Every Wednesday for much of 2015 I'll be posting Stars in a Time Warp QuiltAlong here at   Civil War Quilts..  The block stays the same each week.  What changes is the type of reproduction fabric we'll use. 

Barbara will use several of her books on dating fabrics and quilt time periods.  I own her books, this will be a good time to read them as she teaches about various fabrics and styles.

The block is a simple 6" Evening Star and I've started off making 2 of the first colors, Turkey Red, a real favorite of mine.  These are 2 different reds and backgrounds:

I will enjoy making these quick blocks each week, and learning more about the fabrics.  And digging in my substantial stash of reproduction fabrics.  Thank you, Barbara Brackman!

I'm linking up to Patchwork Times --go see what others have been working on.

Let's quilt!

Barbara