2027 LOCAL CLASSES

As I have cut back travel a little, I have more time to teach a few local classes and do a few special events. Here is the 2027 schedule so far:

January 21, 2027  Heritage Quilters of Huntsville. Faith Presbyterian Church, 6:30 pm. Heritage Quilters of Huntsville  

I am the guest speaker. "MY JOYFUL JOURNEY--LET'S MAKE BETTER QUILTS". I was asked to talk about how I got to where I am today as a speaker/teacher who travels all over for quilting. But expect the emphasis to be on how we can all make better quilts. PowerPoint presentation and a few "rarely leave the house" quilts will be on display. 

January 23, 2027 Workshop: Oh My Stars!  ,  9-4, HERITAGE QUILTERS of HUNTSVILLE               Registration for HQH members through December. Non-members may be able to register after that         date if space is available.

Class Sample 34" square

Queen Size Project from the pattern

2027 Block of the Month FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE Demo Class,  Saturday 10 am-noon,  January 9, March 13, May 8, July 10, September 11,  AND November 13, 2027:  Barb's Sewing Center

Each meeting we will discuss two months of instructions. I will demo-sew to walk you through this ambitious quilt that will teach you a LOT! 12 hours of class time.

You must be a Star Member of The Quilt Show which will allow you access to the monthly patterns for FREE. The patterns cannot be purchased separately. Use your own fabrics--I will help you select them--if you did not pre-order one of the two colorways of the Kit. The quilt is 84" square: 

January 29, 2027 Papaw's Choice, True Southern Charm Quilting   

Learn to make this versatile yet easy block then play with a variety of design possibilities. Sample is 72” square before borders. It is easy to make this quilt any size you want. Let me show you how. Pattern Design by Ricky Tims who has given me permission to teach it to you!

February 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, 2027  MY FAVORITE THINGS.    True Southern Charm Quilting 

Learn how to make my favorite blocks in this comprehensive 4 month fun and educational class. So many tips and tricks will be taught--increase your quilting skills as you make several smaller quilts OR combine ALL the individual blocks into one complete bed-size quilt, a totally original design, your choice. Yours does not have look like mine. Twenty two hours of class time and a month in between each class gives you lots of time to be successful.

You will learn things that improve your quiltmaking journey going forward. My Sample is 65” x 76” but can easily be enlarged--I will teach you how:

There may be another class or two later in the year. Let me know what you want to learn and I'll try to make that happen. 

This gives my local friends a chance to take classes without having to travel. And for friends around the country to travel here. Ask me for the hotel recommendation if you are coming from out of town. 

Let's quilt. 

Barbara

MY FAVORITE THINGS -- AND PEOPLE!

 As this posts I am flying west to Sacramento to Lecture and teach Western Sun to the Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild.

In keeping with last week's post about Color and Fabric Choices, let's review an earlier post about a terrific class I taught 6 years ago, MY FAVORITE THINGS:

My Sample, still a top, 65" x 76"

Taught over 6 months as a Lecture/Demo class, the students met for 2 hours monthly and did all their sewing at home. Each month I taught a few blocks, different sizes, different techniques, they got to learn in person but play with their fabrics at home. There was much sharing of ideas and suggestions and the class was a big success. 

This became one of my Most Favorite classes to teach and some of my most Favorite PEOPLE!

Here are some of the projects from that class. You can really see how different the same quilts can look with different fabric choices:

Cyndi

Holly

Kathy

Phyllis

Sally

Suzanne

Read the whole story here.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Nature and Wildlife

 I walk about an hour a day each morning, 6 days a week. Usually alternating neighborhood streets so the view changes a little bit. Come along and see what I see.

These deep pink/red crepe myrtle trees are on our property line, belonging to the neighbors next door. But we asked to maintain them so as to avoid "crepe murder". The purple ones are on our yard:

One of our other crepe myrtles. Unlike the lilacs I grew up with in Pennsylvania, these blooms have almost no scent, but they sure are pretty:

Wildlife I see daily include squirrels, lots of those, chipmunks--too fast to photograph, the occasional bunny, and lots of Canadian geese. They are lovely birds but big birds mean BIG droppings and when they cross the road the sidewalks get really messy. People in this neighborhood have to hose off their sidewalks frequently:

Where the geese live. This neighborhood is about 10 years old. The detention ponds were built to handle runoff and provided the fill dirt to raise the lots up to meet newer flood zone requirements. The geese live here much of the year until they fly away and others take their place. There are two of these big ponds in this neighborhood so lots of room for lots of geese. I enjoy seeing them fly over in formation during the Spring and Fall migrations: 

This crepe myrtle caught my eye for it's rich, deep, almost red color:

                                                 

These garden plantings are lovely and I told the homeowner how much I appreciated her hard work as I passed by: 

This older home has a beautiful side/back yard, very shady: 

The view of that same yard through a line of lovely crepe myrtles: 

Finally, back at my home. My husband is the gardener and he has an affinity for coleus plants. Each year we seek out new varieties. These like the semi-shade of the east-facing front yard: 

So what does this all have to do with quilting? I use the colors I see around me or in photographs to plan new quilt designs. One of the best photos used for a quilt is this rooster:

I made two quilts using this palette as a starting point. This is My Favorite Things:

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Local Classes--Winter 2019

The new year is upon us and I have several local classes scheduled for the next few months. If you are near, I'd love to see you in class.

At Patches & Stitches, my perpetual Quiltmaking 101 class will be offered twice:

I have taught a 5 week beginners class for 30 years--the quilt has changed many times over those years. This one has stuck for a while--it is based on a pattern from Glad Creations and teaches ALL the basics of good quiltmaking skills. Many people who have taken this class get "hooked" on quilting--that is my goal.

A new class: Spectacular Scraps, will be a fun way to work with half-square triangles to create your own design:

When I posted this quilt several months ago, the positive response inspired me to offer this class again--I made this quilt more than 15 years ago and taught it then.

In the years when my guild, the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville has our quilt show, I offer a 3 hour lecture/demo class on Beautiful Borders and Bindings. Many quilters don't enjoy the binding process or don't do it as well as they could because they don't know the tricks. A poor binding really hurts a great quilt and you can improve your binding technique--let me show you how.

Trying something new, My Favorite Things will be offered as a 2 part class, 7 hours each time. Part 1 is in March, Part 2 in May:

An original design, I recently taught this as a 6 month lecture/demo class and the students loved it. This time it will be an all-day sewing class, moving through each of the 6 lessons at a good pace. Allowing a month and a half between classes will allow students to do most of their sewing at home, while getting started sewing in the classroom. This also will make a great multi-day retreat class and is being considered by several groups for their students.

At Huntsville Sew Creative, the wonderful quilt SIZZLE will be taught as a year-long lecture/demo class. The pattern is the 2019 Block of the Month from The Quilt Show --it is FREE to Star Members--that membership costs $49/year--just last night one of my students told the rest of the class that was money well-spent--she found so much content throughout the site that was valuable. I have written before about why I think this subscription is one every quilter should seriously consider: Why Join the Quilt Show?  

You can purchase a Kit if you want to make either of these beauties or select your own fabrics. This class will teach you so much and there is still room for a few more--I hope you will join us if you are local. No sewing machines--I do the sewing, while students learn and ask great questions.  Huntsville Sew Creative has recently moved locations and their website is under construction--call 256-536-3757 to sign up before space is gone.

That is all I have time for this winter--lots of sewing will be happening for future classes and preparation for 10 away-from-home trips this upcoming year. I hope to see you in class.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

My Favorite Things--and People

Just recently, one of my six-month classes finished up. At the last class. 8 of the original 13 were present, the rest were unable to attend due to illness or obligations. They were missed.

The class is called "My Favorite Things" and here is the class sample:

And the class description:

Learn how to make Barbara’s favorite blocks in this comprehensive 6 month fun and educational class. No sewing machine needed--you’ll do all the sewing at home. So many tips and tricks will be taught--increase your quilting skills as you make several smaller quilts OR combine ALL the individual blocks into one complete bed-size quilt, a totally original design, your choice.

Some of the blocks include: Log Cabins, Shoo Fly, Old Italian Block, Flying Geese,  Disappearing Nine-patch, Sawtooth Star, and more...

The students met and surpassed my goals--I wanted them to learn "quilter's math" and how to create and assemble the blocks they want to make. So many newer quilters only know how to follow pattern directions, and lack confidence in selecting fabrics, changing block sizes, changing the quilt layout, and don't know how to be sure their pieces all fit together. I asked them to say what they had gotten out of the class and each one mentioned one of those things as something that they really had improved upon.

Here is their glorious work:

Cyndi  used lots of Kaffe Fassett fabrics and created two wonderful additional borders

Phyllis  almost gave up after the first class but hung in there and has a beautiful quilt on the way

Sally changed the layout and some blocks  to  make the quilt her own--I love that!

Kathy used a lot of Kim Diehl fabrics--while it's not her favorite I LOVE it and she learned a lot from it

Suzanne worked in reproduction fabrics and found the perfect cheddar/gold for sashing 

Holly really spread her wings and changed the border--a great quilt.

We also had show and tell from two other classes I've taught this group:

Holly showing her Long Time Gone, a Jen Kingwell design. She modified the border

Cyndi brought her queen-size Two-For-One, mostly batiks

These students pushed  me to create this class--it didn't matter what I taught, they just wanted another six-month class where they didn't have to haul their machines. I had to design it on the fly and keep ahead of them but I did. They are a fun group to teach and I think we all enjoy our time together.

This would make a great 3-4 day retreat or workshop project. I am teaching it locally, at Patches & Stitches, Part One is Saturday March 30, 2019, 9-4 and Part Two is Saturday May 4, 2019, 9-4. That will be a sewing class, every two hours we'll cover one of the 6 lessons to be learned. That should be fun--and fast!

Students often teach the teachers too--I learned students can stretch their wings and enjoy it and many quilters want to improve their skills with each quilt they make.

I love my job!

And, because I was asked, here is the link to my Cranberry Chutney recipe blog. It's that time of year and I don't want turkey without it. It makes the house smell good too:

Barbara's Cranberry Chutney

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.

Let's Quilt,

Barbara

My Favorite Things

This week I finished this top, My Favorite Things:

66" x 74"

It's an original design I put together as a 6 month class, one two-hour class a month. I demo the various blocks taught that month and the students sew theirs at home. This group of about 13 students really likes this plan and they have already asked me to come up with something else for next year.

This one features my favorite blocks, from simple things like half square triangles to more complex blocks like Crown of Thorns that was partially paper pieced.

Since this is now done it's time to get back to one of my favorite UFOs--Ruffled Roses designed by Sue Garman as the 2011 Block of the Month for The Quilt Show:

The last time I worked on this was November 2015 when Sue and I were at a teachers' retreat in Virginia Beach. We had a wonderful week there and I learned as much as I could from her. Very special memories of that week together. So it is time to get this done--more basket blocks to make and a very elaborate piano key-style border to finish. With my guild quilt show in October 2019 as a target, I have to keep on this now to get it done.

It's also time to get some quilting done--been a while since I turned on my Q20. The stack of quilts basted and ready to quilt is growing.

And it's the time of year when I have to make two garments for Houston:

Road Trip and Kaleidoscope by Allison Glass for Andover Fabrics

Metropolis by MODA

I better come up with an idea or two soon so these can get made in the next month. It's always something.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Links for Students

I recently started teaching a brand-new six-month class locally, called My Favorite Things. During this journey, my goal is to teach the 12 students ways to improve their quiltmaking and become a bit more creative in their work. They can follow my pattern for the class quilt project, or make smaller quilts on their own, whichever they prefer.

The first session features Basic Pieced Units--Half Square Triangles, Four Patches, Quarter Square Triangles and Nine Patches, the building blocks of thousands of pieced quilt blocks. Once you can make these accurately, you are set.

Students receive handouts of the pattern and the class instruction, with links to helpful online videos or blogs. To make it easy to access those links, here they are, for anyone to find.

For those who are less experienced with piecing, I recommend:

Perfect Piecing--the Cutting--the First Step to Accurate Blocks-- it all starts with the cutting, strips or individual units. There is lots of info here to help make your cutting as accurate as possible.

Thread--Why Quality Matters--good thread makes for good piecing results

We use half square triangles a lot, here are three ways to make them:

Two Methods for Making Half Square Triangle Units

The Grid Method for Making Half Square Triangles--when you need a lot of the same two fabrics. This post also contains LOTS of tips/tricks for precise pieing.

One of the fun things I showed the class was the Fast Method of Making Nine Patches:

This method makes these two blocks, one with four neutrals and one with five neutrals. It's fast and fun and if you can work with those two block designs, well worth a try.

Here I made two sets at once and shuffled them up a bit:

The other skill that I preach about often is using Leaders/Enders, or Thread Kittys or Startie/Stoppies, at the beginning and ending of chain piecing. Find out why here: Time Management for Quilters.  I make "free" quilts from the small units made as Leader/Enders, I improve my piecing, save thread, and could not chain piece without this method. This link also takes you to Bonnie Hunter's info on this method--she is the Queen of this method. I can often convince new quilters to establish this habit more easily than I can convert more experienced quilters--but if you try it, I think you will see the advantages. Many tell me "I wish I had learned this trick years ago" once they do it.

Nothing is as good as being in a class, seeing the actual sewing demos, and hearing the answers to students great questions. But these links will help provide a taste of the skills this group of students will learn.

We also talked about fabric selection--I showed many quilts in class to see how these units, even though simple and basic, can make great quilts. The one that got the most attention was this one. I call it Hot Summer Nights, made it in 2000, and it's only half square triangles with a quarter square triangle border. What they liked the best was the rich, saturated colors. I used the one multi-print fabric to help me select the palette:

Find out how I selected fabric for the class project quilt, My Favorite Things, here.  The class project quilt will look like this--I am making this as we go, I just have to keep ahead of the students:

This should give you plenty to read for a while.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

My Favorite Things

At the conclusion of the six-month Long Time Gone class I taught from September-March, I was surprised when the 13 students asked me to come up with another six-month class so they could keep coming. I figured they would be glad to have their one Saturday a month back. No, they wanted more.

SO, I got to work on this:  My Favorite Things.

Six classes, about 2.5 hours each, one Saturday a month from June to November, 2018. Each month we will focus on one of my favorite blocks, how to make them, how to use them. No sewing in class--I bring my machine to demo the process. They will get a comprehensive handout and I will bring lots of quilts each month, definitely a "Show and Tell".

The students have plenty of choices. They can make "units" each month to be used to create the quilt shown here. That is one possibility. OR they can make separate, small quilts each month featuring that month's blocks. Whatever they want to do with the knowledge they gain, is fine by me.

Here are my fabrics for this large quilt, washed and pressed and ready to go:

The past few days I've spent a lot of time designing the quilt and writing the handouts. Now the fun part--I get to sew it!

There are advantages with this kind of "no-sew" class:

Students will learn so much more than they expect to improve all their quilting skills

All sewing is done at home, no need to bring equipment to class

Friendships are built in long-term classes

Handouts and patterns are provided in class--listen, take notes, ask questions, learn

For information and to sign up for this class, go to Huntsville Sew and Vac. Hurry, space is limited to no more than 20 students--class begins Saturday June 9, 2018.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Starts and Finishes

I worked at it to the exclusion of all else last week so I could count this one done:

It is the Block by Block quilt made for the Patches & Stitches 40th anniversary. It uses 40 fabrics and has 40 blocks. The first 40 to bring a completed quilt to the shop wins $40 and I was determined to be in the top 20. #17!  Photo of the top here. Quilted on my Bernina Q20 sit down longarm, I enjoyed doing the big loopy designs across the top. I chose 4 different designs for the borders. Finished is better than perfect.

Time for a new start. My Favorite Things is a new quilt/class I am designing that will run for 6 months, from June to December, 2018. It will feature my favorite blocks and students can either make a small quilt each month or make "parts" that will be combined at the end into one large quilt. It's a lecture/demo class, no machines to drag to class, just learn several blocks each month, different ways to make them and ways to use them in quilts. More about the class here.

My fabric pull for this project:

Where did this palette come from? How about the chickens of Kauai?

I often save photos that feature colors I love together. This has been saved since 2006 when my husband and I made a trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 30th anniversary. This will be fun.

The beginning class I teach at Patches & Stitches finished last night--only two students attended the last of 5 sessions but had great quilts to show for their efforts and both are hooked on quilting now, always my goal:

Sharon, her top is complete

Tricia, made 30 blocks and still has two more borders to go. She plans to lengthen it a bit.

They both enjoyed seeing my Block by Block and decided to try that next. I love when students get excited and say "What can I make next?"  Both of these women have their next bed-size quilt projects picked out.

From time to time I participate in online swaps. Lori of Humble Quilts has done a doll quilt swap for several years. I received this one from Judith B along with a pin cushion and photo of her Featherweight machine which she used to make it,  a great touch:

And I gave this one, to Katy S:

It's fun to share small quilts with like-minded quilters.

Time to get a few things done so I can play with My Favorite Things.

Let's Quilt.

Barbara