It's a Celebration

 I won't tell you what ridiculous o'clock I was awake this morning. Too many things running through my head, so I eventually just got up and did them! I sent a lot of e-mails and did some paperwork that needed to be done. Got an embroidery designed and ready to stitch out later this morning. I think I still owe 4 personal e-mails to people, so be patient a day or so longer - I'm almost out of the huge pile! 

Yesterday was an interesting day. I was on Zoom from 9:30 - 5:30. Now how did that happen? Well, three classes and a meeting. But that's OK - I did have 15 minutes between a couple of the sessions. We had an amazing Ruler class for the domestic machine, and it goes to show that YES, you can have some successful Zoom classes. 

I'm going to post the upcoming classes for 2021 this coming week so watch for that. 

Today, it's all about sharing the homework from one of our ongoing classes for 2020. It was the class that almost didn't happen because of COVID, but I'm so glad we pushed ahead and well - it was interesting to see how the participants made out since a number of them, myself included, were using what we had in our stash!!

The Celebration pattern is by Marilyn Foreman of Quilted Moments. 

Celebration by Marilyn Foreman of Quilted Moments

We ran this class through The Hobby Horse in Georgetown, so they sourced the pattern for us. I will confess that I would probably pass it by if I saw this pattern on the shelf. I'm not that fond of either picture on the front cover, and the pictures on the back are not that great either. 

I see the designer has taken this pattern and made some changes to it, and released it with two sizes and different corners. You can see that picture on her website. It's called Morris Medley, and I have to say, I LOVE the new corners, and the coloring is much better. That's what happens as we grow as designers. We're not perfect, and the original pattern was created in 2008, and a lot of learning can happen in 12 years. 

So without further ado, let's have a look at the finished quilts. We were 18 in the class, and we ended up with 2 people who audited the class but whose life got in the way and didn't have any time to sew, one person who got off to a rocky start and is going to start over, 2 almost finished top, 9 quilt tops, and 3 completely finished quilts. That's pretty darn good considering the conditions!!!

We did make some changes to the pattern, in particular the outer corners. The values and colors are different for each quilt. It's truly amazing fun to flip through the images and see how different they all turned out. 

Many of the group went through various forms of mental health struggles, physical struggles, and time management struggles during the making of these quilts. Some struggled with the pandemic shutdowns. It was NOT easy. 

Sit back and enjoy!!!!

Diane started off with some nice colors but felt it was a bit on the dark side. She couldn't continue with the quilt but will be working on it, hopefully next year. Life happens- we all get that! But it's a great start!

Diane

Mary has a very soft pretty version of Celebration. She changed up some of the colorings around the center green star and made changes to the corners. 

Mary

This is Susan's partial top. I love where she's going with the colors and hope that we'll get to see the final version of it at some point. 

Susan

A totally different look by Kathi. Those are HOT colors and look like a FIESTA, not a celebration. She also made some changes to the corners and still has to add her final border. She used the inside border for the center star, the same color as was on the outside. Interesting.............

Kathi

Another soft version of the quilt and this color combination is beautiful. The corners were changed, and some of the colorings within the quilt were switched around as well. 

Lynne

Another FIESTA version. Valerie kept running out of blue fabric and finding new blues to use. But you wouldn't know that to look at the quilt. And her version is quilted with an overall and needs the binding attached. 

Valerie

This belongs to Cindy and has a masculine look. Amazing how color can totally change the look. A lot of us had to play with the fabrics in the center block, and Cindy changed hers at the last minute, and it made a huge difference to the look. 

Cindy

Cindy did not put the final border on the outside, and she had her version custom quilted. It's already being used! She's FAST. 

Cindy's quilt - custom quilted

Here's what she did with those extra center blocks she made. She used them in a matching pillow! 

Cindy's matching pillow

Linda took an unusual turn with this amazing colorway. I LOVE the black/red/grey/white that she used, and she has one fabric that ties it all together. It's gorgeous. She's close to being finished, and I can't wait to see this final quilt. Great job, Linda - take care of yourself!!! 

Linda

Judi had almost abandoned her quilt. She wasn't happy with the colors she started with. We had a chat, and the next thing I knew, her quilt top was done. This is NOT at all like what she started with, but it's AMAZING!! I love the colors. Great job, Judi, and so glad you stuck it out. 

Judi

Here's another FIESTA quilt. This one is BRIGHT. And I'm sure it's even brighter in person. There's a busy floral in those larger squares where Wendy pulled the colors from. The black is spectacular and really sets the quilt off. 

Wendy

This is Grace's fall version of Celebration. She made some changes to the corners and changed up the coloring in the middle round. I think almost everyone did change up their fabrics and colors. But wow - this is gorgeous!!! I believe it's mostly batiks. 

Grace

This is Nancy's quilt. Again, a totally different look. I love how she used two borders on the outside and also changed up the corners. She's courageous to use black in those large squares, but it seems to anchor the quilt, and it really is beautiful. 

Nancy

We got to see Patti's quilt each month, but Patti couldn't join us on Zoom. But we gave her feedback through a friend who was on the Zoom calls. I think the end result is beautiful. Notice the coloring of her quilt is quite close to the small picture on the pattern's front cover. I never noticed that before! But it's awesome, and Patti also had to remake the center block. I think all of us did.

Patti

Marilyn used what she had in her stash! And even ran out in some places and had to substitute. But aren't the colors pretty - She's calling it Celebrate With Ice Cream. It sure reminds me of all the flavors at the ice cream store. She used different fabrics in different spots, and the quilt looks entirely different from the others. 

Marilyn

This next one belongs to Catherine. She wasn't happy with some of her fabric choices at one point and found a substitute fabric. Now it looks gorgeous. 

Catherin

She had it custom quilted as well, and I think she still has to put the binding on. She used Fireside Fleece on the back. Here are some snaps of the quilt back. 

Custom quilting on Celebration quilt

Custom quilting on Celebration quilt

Custom quilting on Celebration quilt

Last but not least is my version. It's very subtle, but I like that! I feel like it's glowing. I also made some changes to the position of the colors. I ran out of two or three fabrics and was lucky to find some substitutes once we could get out shopping. I thought I was done and made the binding and the backing. Then I heard one of the students mention a border. A border? Oh, shoot - I completely forgot that there was a border. I'm going to rethink it today and see if I have any fabric left that I could play with. I don't think so, so this might have to be it!!!

My version

And there you have it—the results of our great year-long class. If you want to be part of one of these amazing classes, stay tuned as I'll be posting the information for what's coming in 2021 in a few days. And if you don't want to start a new project (but who doesn't want to start a new project?), then we're going to have several clubs next year, which will keep you on track. More details coming this week as well. 

On that note, I'm off to work! Yep - no rest for me. At least not today. Don't worry, I've got a couple of lazy days planned for later this week, and as a result, I've got to get stuff done today. Writing, quilts, and our UFO club! Only one Zoom session - thank goodness. I didn't get out for that afternoon walk yesterday, but that's OK. Today, however, I'll be out!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!