Class Finish!

 In early March 2020, I began a two-part class, Antique Rose Star By Machine, at a local quilt shop. The second session was scheduled for late March and that did not happen. It has taken until now to be able to offer that second session.

Three of the six students came and there was a lot to show and tell. One, Vicky, finished her queen-size top and is hand quilting it. She found a pattern called Interlocking Hexagons from Marti Michell that provided a good sashing option for these large Rose Star blocks:

Vicky's blocks show how fabric selection will effect the look of the blocks. Do you see Stars or Flowers?:

Donna is making this quilt as a graduation gift. She wanted to try several layouts to see the different looks and to see which will be the easiest. 

This option uses equilateral triangles between the blocks, which are still in half:

This option places the blocks edge to edge: 

With a Hexagon quilt, each layout will require either half-blocks or filler triangles or rectangles, or other odd shapes to fill out the outside edges--unless you want to have an outside edge that is all zig zags--none of us favored that option.

Ann was not able to make the first class but her friend did and gave her the handout. Ann cut her fabrics into the pieces required before this class. I walked her through the sewing process. In about two hours she was well on her way to her first block:

Every time I teach this very popular class, all I want to do is rush home and start making more of these blocks! I do have a very small one under construction, with blocks that will finish to 9.5" vs. the 18" blocks made with the 3" template. What a difference! I love the itty-bitty little blocks:

My class sample was made from a 2 3/8" template and it is still one of my favorite quilts. It features a sashing between all the blocks, half blocks on the two sides, and filler fabrics along the top and bottom. This one I hand quilted with Big Stitch:

I am glad these students were able to get back to their quilts and look forward to seeing their finished projects.  

I have a section of Antique Rose Star quilts on my Pinterest board, Designs for Quilts. Find it here: Antique Rose Star.  This old pattern has been around for many years but is seeing new life with today's fabrics and fast techniques. I look forward to teaching this class many more times. Guilds love it and a lot is accomplished in one all-day class.

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

Color in Black and White

I had a great time teaching a fun class yesterday:

Queen Size, using 2.5" strips

The Small version, using 1.5" strips

When I began to cut fabric for my large one, it was a joy to dig through my "deep stash" of fat quarter or less pieces. After cutting for one color family, I put those all away and selected the next family. As I was ready to put the second group away, it dawned on me--pulling the fabric was the most time-consuming part--why not cut two different sizes while I had the fabrics out? So, I cut sets in the 2.5" size from the pattern, and 1.5" sets for a smaller version. The smaller version is one-quarter the size of the bed size and I love them both.

Five students brought their wonderful stashes of fabric and spent the day cutting and sewing. I was thrilled to see they enjoyed swapping strips with each other: "would you like a strip of this?" and "this would be perfect for your neutrals". I state clearly swapping is strictly voluntary, absolutely no pressure to give up any of our beloved fabric, but this group was happy to help each other and it was fun to watch.

A few shots for your enjoyment:

Sonia making selections from her stash

One quadrant small vs. one quadrant large

One Small block on top of one Large block--Evelyn worked small, Sonia worked large

Laura's luscious yellow/gold block, her neutrals were a variety of styles

Sonia and Victoria, aqua and blue

3 different students work--all made great blocks

Sonia had no trouble selecting from her large hot pink stash

Casey, a new quilter, went right home to finish, she sent me this photo, what warm, bright yellows

The pattern is in the book Making Quilts by Kathy Doughty--she calls it "Soul Searching"--more like "stash searching". 

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Upcoming Classes

It is almost September when class schedules at local quilt shops ramp back up. I have several new classes and several "back by popular demand" classes to offer this Fall locally.

At Patches & Stitches in addition to two sessions of my long-running Quiltmaking 101 5 week Beginners class, I am teaching:

Super Southern Star:  my "go-to" gift quilt because I can make the top in a weekend. In this all-day class students finish about a third of the top and know how to complete it. Many love it and make more than one. From Calico Carriage Quilt Designs:

About 76" square

Little Handful of Scraps: a variation of a quilt from Edyta Sitar's book. Emphasis on careful piecing and design work will be the focus:

About 12" x 14" 

Creative Log Cabin: who doesn't love a Log Cabin quilt? I've made several with different techniques and rulers. At Quilt Market this Spring I saw a demo on the Creative Grids 8" Trim Tool for Log Cabin blocks and wanted to try it. It worked well, everyone will get perfect blocks:

About 58" square

Another local store I will be teaching at is Huntsville Sew and Vac.

Long Time Gone: a very popular Jen Kingwell pattern. This six month class will meet for 3 hours once a month. No sewing machines are needed in class. Students will bring their book and fabrics and cutting tools. I will demo the steps for the various blocks we'll be making that month and they can get help with fabric selection and cut their blocks out in class, sewing at home. At the last class we will audition various sashing fabrics to select the best.

Spellbound: a pattern from Calico Carriage Quilt Designs, this quilt uses your choice of two Jelly Rolls, both the same, one background and one fat quarter for the center. A great quilt to practice free motion quilting on when it's done:

Flip N Sew Throw: such an easy quilt that makes a fast gift. Start with a back fabric, add a cotton batt, cut a bunch of strips or use a Jelly roll and piece and quilt at the same time, through all layers, 3 hour class:

37" x 41", using a crib size batt

Mug Rugs: another 3 hour class for making fast quilted gifts. Enlarge the batt and back to make placemats:

If you are local, I hope you find something of interest. Sign up soon, spots fill quickly and we want to have all the supplies you will need on hand when class begins.

If you are not local, I have added my Teaching Calendar to the top bar so you can see where I will be. I would love to see you in class.

Let's Quilt! 

Barbara 

Practice Makes Better

I recently took a Free-Motion Quilting (FMQ) class at my local quilt shop, Patches & Stitches. The teacher was a local woman I've known for about 20 years, a guild member and a dedicated quilter, Elaine Poplin, AKA @messygoat on Instagram. While her quilts are more "modern" than mine, her FMQ designs can easily be adapted to any kind of quilt.

For the last almost 2 years all my FMQ has been done on the Bernina Q20 Sit Down Longarm machine:

Since it weighs 350 lbs and is not portable, I had to take my other Bernina to class, the B765, a special edition of the 770QE:

It is a great machine for quilting, with a 10" throat space and the BSR, the Bernina Stitch Regulator. The Q20 has two BSRs and my stitches are perfect with it, leaving me to concentrate on making good designs: smooth curves, sharp points, etc. With the domestic machine I had to be a bit more careful with my speed of hands movement and speed of foot pedal action, but still achieved good stitches.

What I was most surprised to realize: all that practice on the Q20 has paid off--my FMQ has really improved over the last two years! Amazing--practice really does help! Here is what I did in the morning session:

The first thing Elaine had us stitch was our name.  Then I tried "Stella". Then it was just play with various designs from her handout.  She brought several quilts which she used to explain how she chooses thread color/weight, how she decides what to quilt, where. She was very encouraging to everyone, beginners and the more experienced. Mostly, it's about practice, practice, practice. Nothing worth learning comes overnight, usually.

Here is what I did in the afternoon session:

Just more playing, some of Elaine's designs from her quilts, some favorites I have saved on Pinterest over  the years. I ended by stitching my name again, just to see if it was better at the end of the day than the beginning--about the same, I'd say.

Here is Elaine's demo piece that I was lucky enough to bring home:

Something to strive for. As she taught herself FMQ on a sit down machine for 8 years and has had a longarm for the past year, she is really good--practice makes perfect for some! When I described my FMQ style as "Primitive Free Motion", Elaine said that sounded too negative--well, yeah, that was kind of the point. She suggested "Organic--it sounds trendy and hipster". That's funny,  now I'm "trendy" and a "hipster. It's all in how you look at it.

I enjoyed the class and left feeling like I was really getting the hang of this FMQ thing. That's good because I have an ever-growing stack of basted quilt tops ready for some FMQ love.While I enjoy Ruler Work, it is not super-fast so adding more FMQ will speed up quilt completion

Here is just a bit of Long Time Gone in progress--I have some new design ideas to try on this now:

Thanks, Elaine, for a terrific class. If you are on Instagram, I encourage you to take a look at Elaine's feed: @messygoat.  And I'm sure I'll have a quilt or two of hers to show you from our guild show in October--she is entering one of my favorites of hers: Linus--go look for it.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Long Time Gone

The top is done:

This pattern is a book by Jen Kingwell, a well-known Australian designer. I found a sew-a-long that is running from March through July 12, 2017 and started with it, making one set of blocks a week:
Long Time Gone Sew-a-Long. If you want to make this quilt, I recommend you go to that website right now to print out the one page TRACKER she created that shows what blocks will be done each week--you can keep track of your progress easily that way, even if you aren't working on it now. It was so much fun, I pushed ahead and got this top done today, ahead of schedule.

NOTE: I didn't enter the contests or follow the tutorials or use templates. The only blocks that are paper pieced are the 16 Pineapple Log Cabin Blocks. I used EQ7 to print my patterns--the pattern is included in the book that you can copy for your use.

The one change I made;  instead of 3 narrow borders of mostly light fabrics, I made 2 light and one dark border--the lights were cut 1.75" wide, various lengths, whatever I had left, and the dark outer border pieces were cut 3"--feel free to do whatever you like with your borders. This quilt is 70" x 71" and I think that's big enough. I was considering adding another dark border but no, I think this top is done.

Back in January I signed up with Homestead Hearth to do this as a Block of the Month, using their fabric--I've received 4 months of fabrics so far and will use those to demo with when teaching this class locally this Fall. So, yes, that means I'll be making a second one of these. As it is no longer on their Special Programs page, that means they are no longer taking sign-ups for this one.

For my local students: this class will be at Huntsville Sew and Vac,  Saturday: Sept 16, Oct 21, Nov 18, Dec 16, 2017, Jan 27, Feb 24, 2018, from 1-4 p.m. They are not ready for sign-ups yet, but will be soon. I hope you'll join me for this journey.

Stash-busting isn't what you would think: this used lots of fabric but created just as much "new" scrap it seems. So, rather than put all those pieces away, I'll be making block samples for several upcoming classes and maybe, someday, I'll make my own scrappy orphan quilt.

Now to prepare a back and baste this so I can quilt it.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Summer Class Line-Up

It's just barely Spring, but the Summer class schedule is being prepared at my local shop, Patches & Stitches, Huntsville, AL.  Just a note:  "Patches" has been serving quilters and needleworkers in Huntsville continuously for 39 years, with the SAME owner.  I think that just might be a record.  I have taught there for 29 years, since moving here.

Here is my schedule of classes for Summer 2017:

SUMMER ROMANCE, June 27 and July 11, 5:30-8:30. Requested by several students who saw this on my living room wall when they came to my Sale last year.

Glad Creations pattern

LEARN TO QUILT THIS WEEKEND, June 23, 24, 9-4 and Sunday June 25, 12-4. For beginners, something entirely NEW, a "soup to nuts" class, the idea is they make the top Friday and Saturday and start the quilting on  Sunday. Fabric kits will be available if they choose:

My personal design, Italian Shoo Fly #2

QUILTMAKING 202--Feathered Star, June 10, 9-4. Continuation of QM 202 offered now, this is a 12" non-paper pieced Feathered Star. For those who want to improve their skills and aren't afraid of a bit of a challenge. The other 5 blocks shown here are taught in Quiltmaking 202--The Next Step, currently being offered in this Winter 2017 schedule:

SCRAP MONKEY, June 13, 5:30-8:30. A fun way to use up scraps and make Monkey Wrench blocks. This sample was made as a gift for me by my friend, Ellen, and is a favorite of mine:

TRAVELING PROJECT: Handwork Made Easy. night class June 20, 5:30-8:30 OR day class June 16, 9-noon. I always have handwork ready to go with me on trips or when I want to slow-stitch. This is English Paper Pieced with diamonds. Students can create these tumbling blocks OR star blocks. Options for the borders will be taught. Don't leave home without a project:

WORK FASTER, NOT HARDER: speedy ways to do LOTS of things in quilting. A brand new class based on the two hour Open Studios presentation I'm giving in Chicago next week:

BEAUTIFUL BORDERS AND BINDINGS. August 8, 5:30-8:30. Every two years, a few months before our guild quilt show, I offer this 3 hour lecture/demo class on how to improve your finished edges, an important step that really creates a top-notch quilt. Students are invited to bring works in progress for suggestions and learn lots of tips to finish their quilts beautifully:

Obviously, I love to teach and am always thinking of new classes or how to improve the much-loved classes.  I hope to see YOU in class.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

"X" Marks the Spot

NOTE: this was originally posted in March 2014. Still good info...

I taught a fun class last night, the "X" block from Sharyn Craig's book, Layer 'em Up. It's a sort, cut, shuffle, and sew process that creates 6 blocks quickly and all six are different.  The book is available here along with a link to a video of Sharyn showing the process.

Sort, light to dark

Cut

After first cut, before the shuffle

After the shuffle, ready to sew

Chain, Chain, Chain

Press, press, press

Modern blocks

Reproduction blocks

Beautiful blocks

Susan C with her first completed set of blocks

In less than 3 hours everybody clearly understood the process and had their first set of 6 blocks done.

CHART FOR CUTTING MEASUREMENTS:

FAT "X"               2" finished           Place ruler on 1.25" mark, corner to corner
NORMAL "X"  1.5" finished          Place ruler on 1" mark,  corner to corner
SKINNY "X"       1" finished          Place ruler on .75" mark, corner to corner

BONUS:  this block is adorable made very small.  Use 5" Charm squares and place the ruler on the 1/2" mark, corner to corner.  The "X" is 1/2" finished and blocks are 3" finished:

SHUFFLING STEP:  move the first two center squares, Fabrics 1 and 2, to the bottom, Fabric 1 is now under Fabric 6. Then move Fabric 1 "X" to the bottom of each stack.  You now have 6 completely different blocks.

This is a great project for a swap--since each block can be trimmed to the perfect size, since everyone has their own personal 1/4" seam allowance.   Here is my class sample, made from blocks swapped with 5 other quilters:

Let's quilt!

Barbara