INTERNATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL 2023 -- PART 1

 There is so much to share about Quilt Festival, there will be two posts about it. The first is about my teaching experience at Festival.

After working in the Education Office for 24 years I "graduated" to the other side of the desk. My friend, Vicki T., checked me in as Faculty--it's official now:

The first class was Western Sun, the most challenging of my 3 classes this year, and the one that taught the most: 

Ready to Go

Happy Students

Lest you think teachers just show up, there is  a lot of prep that takes place months in advance. I ordered the Template sets for the Kits, had the Pattern handouts printed, prepared all the supplies needed for 75 students, and shipped 3 boxes of teaching supplies to Houston a month ahead of time. 

Once in Houston, it was time to assemble the 25 Kits for Western Sun. My King size bed was the perfect place to do that:

Laid out and double counted

Everything stuffed in a resealable bag

The class was a great success and I was riding a big wave into the next class, Antique Rose Star by Machine. I love to teach this class and students love the big trick they learn that makes a Y-seam so easy:

Ready for the day

Some Student work, still in two halves for a very important reason:

Happy students at the end of the day:

In the blink of an eye, it was Day 3 and Disappearing Patchwork was up. My sample is a neutral quilt because I wanted to prove to myself I could work with only Neutrals. It was a struggle but I like the result:

Ready for the last day of teaching

It is so much fun for me to see the fabric choices of the students. This class did not disappoint. Some Student work:

Happy students at the end of the day:

A copy of the Class evaluations are given to the teacher after class. Let's just say, I am keeping all of these in case I ever have a bad day and want reassurance I am doing what I was born to do, sharing my love and passion for quiltmaking with those who want to learn. Awesome teaching experience all around and I hope to repeat it with new classes next year.

The other goal I had for the week was to get in the daily exercise I am used to. Each morning I hit the Fitness Center for an hour and a half, starting at 5:30 am. I usually had the place to myself:

A little sweaty

30 minutes on the Elliptical Trainer

Power walk for one hour, 4 MPH

Three times I swam in the beautiful rooftop pool, loved that. No pictures of the two piece swimsuit because, in photos, it looks way too much like lingerie!

Eating smart is important while traveling. I started each day with a high protein breakfast. Lunch was often part of a big salad purchased at Phoenicia Market, or oatmeal and protein bars. Dinner was more eggs or Chinese from a local place, rounded out with Muscle Milk shakes I brought from home:

Salad, hummus, pita--at least two meals here from Phoenicia

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS: 

Daily breakfast, eggs, bacon or sausage, a big bowl of fresh berries and skim milk in my coffee

As expected, I was up 3 pounds when I returned home. Two days later they were gone, two days after that I was down 2 more. Getting right back to my normal diet and exercise routine works!

I love the Hilton Americas hotel. It is my home every year (except last year), since 2008. It feels like home, I am an honored guest and the relationships I have built over the years are priceless. 

One of the best is Brenda C, who takes such good care of me. We email a few times during the year to catch up on our families. She is the best! This year I gave her a quilt to give her granddaughter who just bought her first home:

We are almost the same size--she was so surprised to see me this year

A gift for her granddaughter

My view

Homeward Bound top I brought to give to the new owner

I LOVE  a full moon

This class sample is what I slept under--I love quilts on hotel beds

This week could not have gone any better. I was filled with gratitude as I went home. Next year is a BIG one, the 50th anniversary of Festival and I will be there. I certainly hope to be teaching again, a few new and exciting classes as well as doing a few other events. I will apply, time will tell.

Next week I will share more about the quilts and special friends I was able to see and hug.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

HOMEWARD BOUND -- MONTH 12

 This quilt is the 2023 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show. It was designed by Sarah Fielke exclusively for The Quilt Show and is only available at The Quilt Show. The best news is it's FREE for Star Members of The Quilt Show. Each month in 2023 a new part of the quilt is released for download to Star Members. 

We made it to Month 12! It's time to finish the final border with a stair-step unit. Then your top will be done!

As always, watch any videos that have been provided to supplement the pattern instructions.

Homeward Bound by Sarah Fielke

There are 6 fabrics used for the pieced borders. If using the Kit  they are:

Fabric 1  Tiny Dots PEACOCK

Fabric  2 Tiny Stripes FERN

Fabric  3 Tiny Dots  FLARE

Fabric  4 Tiny Stripes WILDFIRE

Fabric  5 Tiny Dots Blueberry

Fabric  6 Tiny Stripes PETAL

The strips are cut 1.5" wide x WOF. Be careful to cut these accurately. 

I am an impatient person. I want to see units start to come together. SO, I cut HALF the strips needed, and then cross cut those into HALF the required number needed so I could start making units. There are a total of 16 sets for the whole quilt--I made 8 the first two days so I could see progress.

Be very careful with the cross cuts--there are lots of measurements and you want to cut each fabric the correct size. 

I laid mine out on a design board. At the top are the strips ready to sew. At the bottom, one completed section with one Cabin unit attached:

MY TIPS:

1. Press the  seam of each strip toward the Background fabric.

2. When joining the strips to each other, BE SURE to backstitch at the top and bottom of each pair. These will get a lot of handling as you create the entire border and you don't want those seams to start to pop open. They will, trust me.

3. Pay attention to Diagram 1 so the fabrics are kept in the correct order.

4. I pressed the seams open except for the two seams on Fabric 6--the pink. I found those easiest to press toward Fabric 6. You may want to press all to the left or right--you decide. It really doesn't matter.

THINGS TO UNDERSTAND: 

1. It isn't obvious from looking at photos of the quilt, Fabric 1, Peacock, the aqua, is sewn to the Cabin and the Star B units.  The directions are clear, please follow them. 

2. When making the Cabin unit, be sure to backstitch at the top and bottom as you join the aqua/background unit to either side of the 2.5" background square--Diagram 2. 

3. When making the Star B unit, follow the directions so you get Fabric 1 where it needs to be.

4. Cabin A is pink, there are 8 of those. Cabin B is peach, there are 4 of those. They were made in Month 11. The PEACH cabins go in the center of each border, the PINK cabins go on either side of center, with a pieced border unit between. 

5. Refer to a photo of the quilt to be sure you get all the parts in the correct place. It is easy to get them mixed up. 

Once all four borders are done, add the left and right borders to the sides, then add the top and bottom borders. The top and bottom borders include a Large Star C made in Month 6 to outside ends of those borders. 

Here is my completed top:

You made it! The top is done. And if you are not done yet? 

The MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE I  HAVE FOR YOU: be sure to SAVE, COPY, PRINT, whatever method you prefer, ALL THE PATTERNS before DECEMBER 31, 2023. After that, all rights to the patterns return to Sarah Fielke, the designer. We cannot give anyone these patterns after that date, and no one else here can legally give them to you either. Please be proactive in saving what you still need so you can finish without having to BUY missing months.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

ON THE LILY POND IN PROGRESS

 As you read this, I am traveling home from Houston, TX after teaching 3 amazing classes to wonderful, enthusiastic quilters.  Look for a big post about that next week.

Before I left, I began to machine quilt On the Lily Pond, my latest pattern and quilt class sample. I first wrote about this quilt in August, with photos of the antique quilt I own that inspired it. Find that post here:

A New Old Quilt

Here are some photos to show you the process.

1. The top is done, about 76" square:

2. On to basting with safety pins, my least favorite part of the quiltmaking process. Mr. BB often helps:

3. Bobbin thread of choice for me is Superior's Bottom Line, a color to match the back, #653. For stitch in the ditch, I use Superior's Microquilter 100 wt thread or Quilters Select 80 wt thread--depending on the color I need--here I used QS 80, color #730. For quilting motifs/designs I often use Superior's So Fine 50 wt thread--color # 491 a soft pink, blends nicely on the front: 

4. First, I stitched in the ditch as the quilt was constructed. This supports and stabilizes the quilt and allows me to begin removing some pins. The empty spaces show the stitch in the ditch grid:

5. Once all the stitch in the ditch was done, I started on the pieced blocks. It took a few blocks to get the best "path" figured out. I want to minimize starts and stops and backtracking:

6. After I was satisfied with the design/path for the pieced blocks, I worked on the design for a Feathered Wreath in the 7.5" open blocks. This is where having a wide variety of stencils and quilting design books comes in handy. One for the outside ring of feathers, one for the inside ring, and I'm all set:

I am trying to get better at feathers as I LOVE them. With 25 blocks, 20 half block triangles, and 4 quarter block corners, I figured I would get better or give up. I am seeing improvement so practice does make "better". AND, the entire outer borders, pink/white, will be filled with a Feathered Vine:

7. Marking should be done as little as possible since every mark made is one that has to be removed later. I used a blue washout marker until it ran out then used a grey chalk pencil to draw a few guidelines for the feathered wreath. I was able to fill in the feathers from those guidelines much easier than trying to machine quilt on a drawn line:

8. I love ruler work and use it every chance I get. Stitch in the ditch is all ruler work using a fantastic tool, the Line Tamer by FourPawsquilting.com. The circle on the feathered wreath was done with a Good Measure Circle template. And for free motion I adore Grip-Its by sewingmates.com, two palm size "handles" with rubber grippy things on the bottom. They replace gloves, I simply rest my hands on them to guide the quilt as I stitch. They are indispensable to me:

9. There is still a good bit to go but I am on target for completion by Thanksgiving. The binding and sleeve are made, the pattern is written and all I have to do is complete the quilting, bind it, and update the pattern cover with a professional photograph of the finished quilt. 

Front:

Back:

I have written about machine quilting many times. Use the SEARCH box in the upper left, the orange B, for Ruler work, machine quilting, Bernina Q20--all of those searches will bring up previous posts. Here is a good one on Ruler work, there are many more:

Ruler Work -- the Basics

Stay tuned when this quilt is done for photos of the completed quilt.

I will be teaching this locally in 2024 AND on the New England/Canada cruise with Stitchin Heaven, September 4-13, 2025. Once registration opens for that cruise, I will make a big announcement--it will FILL QUICKLY, I already know several friends who plan to join me on that cruise.

My Alaska cruise, August 9-16, 2024 is SOLD OUT--there could be a Waitlist if you still hope to come on that one. See my class quilt for that trip HERE:

Let's Go to Alaska!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

HOMEWARD BOUND -- MONTH 11

This quilt is the 2023 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show. It was designed by Sarah Fielke exclusively for The Quilt Show and is only available at The Quilt Show. The best news is it's FREE for Star Members of The Quilt Show. Each month in 2023 a new part of the quilt is released for download to Star Members. 

As always, watch any Videos that are provided to supplement the pattern instructions. 

This month we add the 4 Hearts to the pieced borders made last month. Then we complete those borders and add them to the center of the quilt:

Follow the directions in the pattern to create the pieced border. Take care to have the light fabrics facing into the center of the quilt and the darker fabrics facing out, if you want your quilt to look like Sarah's. I did not do that with the Month 5 border and I also didn't have the Kit at that time so some of my fabrics in Month 5 are different from the Kit. My Month 10 HST units are exactly like the pattern. 

You will add 4 of Star A made in Month 6 to the four corners of the pieced borders. Nice to have those done already, right?

Now we make the 12 Cabins for the last border, Cabins A and B.

CABIN A Wall Fabric: Tiny Dots CANDY    make 8 of these

CABIN B Wall Fabric: Tiny Dots PEACHY  make 4 of these

CUTTING SUGGESTION FOR THE ROOF: The pattern shows how to make the Roofs from Flying Geese units, FOUR AT A TIME. The cutting measurements are EXACT SIZES--everything has to be perfect for the roofs to come out the correct size--the marking, cutting, sewing and pressing. I prefer to use larger sizes so I can Trim to Perfection. 

I cut the Roof Fabric 5.5" square. The background fabric squares need to be 3 1/8" square. To QUICKLY DRAW THE DIAGONAL LINES on the background fabric, I cut the square 6.25", drew the diagonal lines on the wrong side, then cut the 6.25" square into FOUR small squares, each 3 1/8". 

The Roof units are made Four at a Time, just as I showed for making the Star Point units in Month 6. Find that blog here: Four Flying Geese at Once That blog also has a direct link to my full TUTORAL on this method. 

Similar to the center cabin, these little cabins have SMALL PIECES. I found it helpful to create a pattern in Electric Quilt so I could be sure of the cut sizes. We are not providing this pattern--you can always draw it out for yourself if you like. My page shows the sizes of the 4 units:

I did not paper piece the units as each was small and I didn't want to make all those little units with paper. I pieced it just as the instructions say.

When piecing such small units, accuracy is so important.  I strongly recommend you check EACH SEAM as it is sewn. This tip I learned from Sally Collins, the master of making small blocks. To IMPROVE ALL YOUR PIECING, watch her show:

 Show 1602 Precision Piecing with Sally Collins 

Here are photos showing how I checked each seam as I went. You want to find the mistake as soon as it happens, not after you do the next step:

A 1" piece sewn to a 1" piece should be 1" x 1.5"--this needs trimming on the peach side

Adding the 1" x 1.5" peach piece makes this 1" x 2.5", more trimming needed 

Adding a 1" x 2.5" wall makes this 1.5" x 2.5" 

Adding the other wall makes this 2" x 2.5" There are TWO of  these units

The Door unit is 1.5" x 2.5" Some trimming needed here on the peach

The bottom half of the Cabin is 2.5" x 4.5" Trim to perfection

The back of the units showing how I pressed the seams

Completed Cabins are 4.5" square, including seam allowances 

When checking for accuracy, use the FINISHED SIZE OF EACH PIECE, then add the 1/2" seam allowances to determine what size the unit should be. 

That is it for this month. Next month we make the stair-step pieced units for the outer border and it's all done!

We are getting toward the end of this year. The MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE I  HAVE FOR YOU: be sure to SAVE, COPY, PRINT, whatever method you prefer, ALL THE PATTERNS before DECEMBER 31, 2023. After that, all rights to the patterns return to Sarah Fielke, the designer. We cannot give anyone these patterns after that date, and no one else here can legally give them to you either. Please be proactive in saving what you still need so you can finish without having to BUY missing months.

Let's quilt.

Barbara