Ultimate Quilt Block collection - show n tell

I'm happy to say that I went to bed with an almost clear conscience last night and I slept right through the night. Amazing how those little voices in our head are our own worst enemy. My job is to keep those little voices out of the picture! But that means that I have to get my work done on time!

It's time for show n tell today! This time it's about the Ultimate Quilt Block Collection. A book by Lynne Goldsworthy. This was the last class for this session - we're moving on to something else for next year. The goal of this class was totally left up to each student. If they wanted to make a quilt - great, if they wanted to make smaller items - great, if they didn't want to try one of the techniques - that was OK.

I had gone through the book and loosely sorted the blocks into categories and each month we worked on one technique. We had a few interesting moments with a few errors in the book, but for the most part, things worked just fine. From the show and tell over the year, I think everyone learned at least one thing and that's really what it's all about.

I think one of the more interesting things these classes teach you is how important or not important color and value are. You are NOT going to be making multiples of each block in different colorways and this is one way to see a lot of the same but in a totally different.

Matter of fact, I was showing the new projects for next year to my Sit n Sew group and someone said how much they liked a particular pattern, but didn't have that fabric. Well - that's an opportunity waiting to happen. Think outside the box - get creative - use up your stash, but whatever you do - remember if you're not learning something new - well what's the point????

Oh - I've got my work cut out for me for next year's classes which are all finalized and I'll be sharing them all with you this week. I now have SIX quilts that I have to find a color scheme for. I do NOT want to copy the fabrics shown on any of the patterns. Not because I don't like what the designer has chosen, but I want to do something different so I can learn. I also have a few options that I need to experiment with and why not do it now???

Onto the show n tell.

Ultimate Quilt Block Collection

I have to say that the students in this class were very adventurous and learned very quickly. We did curved piecing - now keep in mind - this was just a lecture - they didn't get to practice with me around. Perhaps some of them may have watched a YouTube video (gasp!) but I think a lot of them got the concept of using the three pins and honestly - it works like a charm. No need for massive pinning on those curves.


Let's start with Sandra. Sandra made at least one block every month, but her goal was to make the block and then create a finished item. And she succeeded. This time, she made a cushion cover. Sandra is a beader first and second a quilter. So she has to put beads on everything she makes. She beaded the seam between the blocks and used a decorative stitch around the outside. Well done!!!

Sandra's beaded cushion cover

Judi is making a quilt and this is her curved piecing block. She didn't get the quilt top together as she has more blocks to make. I can't wait to see this quilt as she has used a beautiful teal throughout and it's going to be awesome. This is an example of using a busy print for the background and while it works, the contrast could be more pronounced to truly appreciate those curves. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this.

Judi's curved piecing block

Kathi is (was) a new quilter at the beginning of the year. She can no longer call herself that. Those sections are paper pieced (the freezer paper way) and then she sewed the block together using three pins. She did an amazing job and the coloring is great. Should I say this? but it looks like an eye on one of her fabrics!!!

Kathi's curved piecing block

Barb is also making a quilt and hasn't got the top together, but this block looks awesome. She did make her backgrounds a wee bit bigger as the seam allowance at the joins is just ¼". Again - another super job!!!

Barb's curved piecing block

Lynne made a table topper using one of the curved flying geese blocks. The center block is paper pieced and then she added some swirls on the outside. It was quilted with a decorative stitch. It doesn't have binding, but she used the envelope method to turn it.

Lynne's table topper

Lynne also made a quilt top. I love the way the white sashing just makes the blocks pop off the quilt. And I love the colors - for anyone looking for a color scheme for a new quilt - looking at what others put together is a great way to choose a new color scheme. I might just steal this idea. It's hard to see in the photo, but there's a small block in each corner. An error in the book led Lynne to make a small block instead of a large one. So instead of wasting the small block, she made three more - one for each corner. Now that's the mark of a true quilter!!!

Lynne's quilt top

Heather - oh dear Heather. At the beginning of the year, she came to the first two classes - I think a little terrified that she had gotten in over her head. She didn't bring in any show n tell for two months. Then something happened and she was flying. She brought in a FINISHED quilt - that she had quilted herself. I love the colors in the quilt. She did the most amazing job for a "beginner". Here's another one who can no longer claim to be a beginner.

Heather's quilt

 I was busy holding quilts and trying to take pictures so I didn't really get a good close up of her quilting, but it was amazing. Heather took my quilting classes over the year and she took to free motion like a duck to water. Her philosophy? Just do it!!! And I agree with her 100%. If you're not good - you'll get good but if you don't start, you'll go nowhere.

Close up of Heather's quilting

My quilting classes help you to eliminate all the variables in free motion quilting and all you're left with is one thing. Steer the fabric. If you haven't taken one of my classes, you should. I know - if you're far away, that's not going to happen, but - there's always the internet! You never know.

I have to say that I'm very proud of all the students in this class. These blocks were NOT easy. Oops - did I say that out loud? The class is finished - I can say that now! Well, some of the blocks were challenging and each and every one of the students rose to the challenge and made some magnificent projects.

I also asked them to bring along some other show n tell so everyone would at least have one thing to be oohed and aahed over.

For the life of me, I can't remember whose quilt top this is. The center is a Frozen II panel (up to the first dark blue border). Then a border of disappearing nine patches and some half-square triangles and it looks absolutely amazing. Shoot - whose quilt is this???? I think it belonger to Sandra.

Frozen II panel quilt

This is one of Susan's quilts. It was part of our UFO club earlier in the year. I think she only needed to put borders on this quilt and now the entire quilt is finished. And if those of you from away are jealous of the UFO club - don't worry - we're going to be accommodating you this year. Watch for the details on that.

Susan's finished quilt

This is another quilt of Susan's. Again - it was one of the quilts she finished in the UFO club. This one was partially quilted if I remember correctly and she completed the quilting herself. I absolutely love the quilting  - the texture is amazing!!!

Susan's finished quilt 

Susan V brought in the most adorable block from the Farm Girl Vintage II book. It's a horse with a quilted blanket. I love this!!!!

Horse block from Farm Girl Vintage II

Susan V also made this little zippered bag. I've forgotten the name of the bag, but it's got lots of pockets to keep everything super organized. I might need to make one of those someday. I actually have a lot of bags so I think I'm good. But it's cute!!! And the recipient loves llamas so the pockets are lined with llama fabric.

Susan V's zippered pouch

Susan V also showed us her latest quilt top. HOLY - this is amazing!!!!  It's made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics and that stunning blue grunge fabric from Moda. She wanted bright and she got bright. Although her husband did ask why wasn't it brighter - you know - with oranges and yellows! I love his comment, but I think it's TOTALLY bright and I love the colors.

Susan's bright (beat the blues!) quilt top

The big print is her backing and the strips of Kaffe Fassett will be the binding. It's going to be an amazing quilt. Imagine getting up on a January morning and seeing that on your bed? How could you not feel good about life?

The backing and the binding for Susan's bright quilt

This is Sara's quilt top from the Lillaclass that also finished up last week. Hey - we need to get as much mileage out of our show n tell as possible. It's a great example of how you can make a modern quilt without using modern fabrics. She quilted it herself (YEAH!!!) and it's bound. Ready to be used.

Sara's Lilla quilt

 Kathi, who is a total fan of anything Grinch - actually, I think it's her husband who is the Grinch fan. She made this advent calendar for him. She's going to put goodies in each pocket and there's a little stuffed Grinch that you can move each day as you await the arrival of Santa. You can't see the red/white striped ties at the top to hang it up. Super cute.

Grinch advent calendar

We all went into oohs and aahs when Barb showed this quilt. It's Imagine from Art to Heart. She did all the applique by hand - mostly black thread using a buttonhole stitch. The quilt is absolutely STUNNING. It was a year-long BOM kit from The Hobby Horse. Shoot - I wish I had done it. OK - I have the pattern - now get off my butt and make it! It is absolutely gorgeous!

Barb's Imagine quilt

Wow WOW WOW!!!!  What eye candy. They are a very talented group of people and you can see how some total newbies became seasoned quilters over the course of one year. I've seen this time and time again and it never ceases to bring a huge smile to my face to see that. We learned from each other (oh yes - I get as much if not more from the students than they get from me - so THANKS to you all), we shared many stories and had a lot of laughs. It was a great class and I thank everyone for all their hard work!!

As I was on my way to the class that morning, I got stopped at the railroad tracks. As I was sitting there contemplating life, I noticed all the amazing graffiti on the trains. This picture doesn't do justice to the artwork of these graffiti artists. Imagine doing this with a spray can? I'd loved to watch them at work. OH - I know - there's probably a YouTube video for that.

Graffiti artwork on the train

I know I make fun of YouTube, but here's the thing. I like to watch YouTube videos. I like to mostly watch for entertainment rather than learning, but on occasion, YouTube has saved the day. Like the time we were at the retreat with a can opener that we had no clue how to use. YouTube showed us how. On the other hand, I watched a video on how to groom a dog, which turned into total advertising. And the way she was brushing the dog was shameful.

Like anything - if you watch YouTube videos - it's buyer beware. And I'd follow Sara's excellent advice - don't just watch one. Watch several on your topic or watch only those from WELL KNOWN people in that industry, although that isn't always safe. Anyone with a camera can make a YouTube video and what you get isn't always the best information.

On that note, I'm out of here! I've got loads to do - OH - Elle mentioned that a group she is in, set goals for the remainder of the year! I'm not sure that I have time for that. But I think it's a great idea. At the very least - keep a list of all the things you get done between now and the rest of the year. I might do that!

OH -- don't forget to check out my blog post on QUILTsocial today. I'm exploring a new feature of the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 2 and how it can save a ton of time for quilters!!!!!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!!

Sit n sew day

You'll have to wait for more of our class show and tell while I take today to share with you what happened yesterday at the Sit and Sew. 

First off - I'm going to be late this morning. I got up way later than normal. Why? Because I went to bed with something on my mind (nothing bad - just something that has to be done). I didn't advance it yesterday at all and it weighed heavily on my mind. So I woke up in the middle of the night. I got up and did stuff and then I went back to bed. Bottom line - I'm now way out of my routine for the day. That's OK - it's probably a good thing to happen from time to time.

That includes Monday sewing. I normally take handwork to do - today I'm taking my computer. I have some design work to do and it's due today. So I'll design while I talk and then send everything off when I get home.

Remember that dressmaking class I talked about a while back? Guess what I did at 2:30 AM or whatever ridiculous time I was up? Yep - I registered. At first, I was going to have to register in person because I didn't have the prerequisite class. Well, things got rearranged and the first class is available so I registered from the comfort of home and in my jammies. That saved me a couple of hours!!!  I can't wait to get started. We start with skirts! Can you see me wearing a skirt? Well - it might happen. I'll give you plenty of warning.

And now onto the sit n sew day.

See how nice and organized everything was before the group arrived? I meant to take a picture when all nine of us had our stuff laid out, but I totally forgot.

Studio B looking pretty spiffy!

I did manage to cut more pillowcases components yesterday. I received another huge donation so that is good. We're going to make our 100 pillowcase kits for the workshop on December 3rd. I can't wait. I wnt to do some live Facebook postings that day so you can all share in how much fun we're going to have.

Now here's some dedication for you. Yesterday was the Davis Cup (tennis) and we had a devoted fan amongst us. She streamed it on her smartphone. Can you see how she propped up the phone so she could watch while she pressed her blocks?? It's the pink thing in the middle of the picture.

Watching tennis while pressing

Then she (I should say, Ronda - just so you know who is the crazy one!) moved to the cutting mat and her smartphone came with her.

Watching tennis while trimming

See why I don't watch TV? That's like having a ball and chain attached to your foot. Too much maintenance and dedication and time devoted to watching something. I don't miss TV one bit. It's been so long now, that the word is pretty much no longer in my vocabulary - well it is to talk about it, but I never think to watch TV if I'm having a spare day. Well - of course not! I never have a spare day!

I did manage to get some quilts trimmed and ready for the binding to be sewn on. I also managed to get two bindings made. I think there are five items or is that six in a pile that needs the binding put on.

Sharon (we had three Sharons yesterday) so this is Border Creek Sharon, was working on her blocks. She's on Clue Six of eight clues.

Block from a Border Creek mystery

I'm not sure which of the mysteries this is from, but it was several years ago. She got her blocks assembled and went to cut fabric for the next part and NO FABRIC. It appears that she left the extra fabric at home and that was all that she brought. Yikes!!!  That's a nightmare for me. So she hung around and visited for a while and then left shortly after lunch. I then commandeered the table she was sitting at so I wasn't tucked away in the corner.

I decided it was time to get that darn jelly roll rug ready to sew together. I had joined my strips in the morning and now it was time to insert the batting.

Here's my bag of pre-cut batting strips before I got started.

Bag of batting strips ready to go

I don't know what I was thinking but the darn bobbin ran out and I had merrily sewed at least two strips before I realized the bobbin was empty. I'm using my old sewing machine and I guess the bobbin sensor is now gone in that. Oh darn - bit by bit that thing is falling apart. But I've got a story about later this week so you'll get to see more. 

The bobbin ran out and I was merrily sewing

Guess what - I did that twice.

Bobbin ran out again!

By that time, only Ronda was left to hear my "kind" words to myself! But this time, I realized it soon after the bobbin was empty. I got a huge laugh out of that!

Of course, working with that big long strip, you end up with twists so, at one point, I laid it all out on the floor and then I was good.

The rest of the strips to sew 

I didn't bother to roll as I went and when I was finished, I had this lovely mess to deal with.

I'm finished part one of the jelly roll rug

Now I have two giant balls of "string".

Two balls of fabric "string"

What does the bag with the batting strips look like? Well, there is a dent, but not much.

Yes - go back and look at the bag before I started. I swear, I didn't take any out. I bet there's enough here for another three rugs at least. And I've got a HUGE bag to trim down. Anyone want some batting strips to make a jelly roll rug? How about placemats or a pillow as I've seen there are now has patterns for those. You could make a bag as well. That link takes you to a YouTube video - I haven't watched it so I've no idea whether it's a good one or not. But seriously - I want all that batting used up by the end of the year! I have a goal!!!


Ronda was working on one of the community projects kits that we had made up. It got finished - you'll see a sneak peek in a bit. Then she moved over to sewing binding on her quilt - by herself! I usually do it for her. But this time, she did the entire thing. And I think she did an amazing job.

This is the back

And here's the front.

Machine binding

She made a few slips on the back, but on the whole - she gets an A on this one. See - if I make her feel good, I won't ever have to do her bindings again! But don't tell Ronda!

I had put a call out for anyone with a community project kit to try and get it back to us by December 13th. I got FOUR finished tops back yesterday and I have a feeling, I'm going to get at least one more this morning. There are still more out there, but we're going to have a very busy day making backings and bindings with what we received so far. I'd better get that long arm fired up!

Finished quilted tops for community projects

I let Lynn loose with my box of rickrack and she had fun finding "trim" for her house quilt. I forgot to take a picture of that. Diane was working on another one of our community project quilts. You'll have to wait for that picture. Sharon (1/4" foot Sharon) was working on a bargello - I forgot to get a picture. Liz was working on something that I don't even remember. It's not that I don't remember, I'm not sure that I even looked. Oops!

But here are a couple of other projects that were worked on. Sharon B (we should have called her Christmas Sharon) was using up some squares of Christmas fabric and was making a tree skirt and placemats. I think she had just a few squares left when she was done!

Christmas placemats

Elaine was working on her July Shop Hop quilt. Nice blocks!!!!

Shop hop blocks

Oh - I did find another picture of what Lynn worked on once she finished her house quilt. This is from another Shop Hop that she participated in last year.

Lynn's shop hop blocks

And I found a sneak peek of the community project quilt that Ronda finished.

Sneak peek at a community project quilt

Elaine brought me this cute coaster. What do you think? Is that me??  Oh yes - to a TEE. Thanks, Elaine!

Coaster

Once everyone left, I decided that I needed to get a quilt quilted. It wasn't loaded which is unusual for me, but I had been goofing off with other things. I got the quilt loaded and although it was quite late last night, I got the quilt done. Yes - it's HUGE.

Customer quilt - DONE

I had a special request to quilt dinosaurs on the quilt. What do you think??? And I also learned how to rotate a picture and keep it rotated. I'm not using my usual software so this is a good thing.

A ferocious dinosaur on the quilt

The quilt is quite busy so you don't see the dinosaurs right off, but they are there. It was a nice quilting pattern to put on a quilt. And now anyone else who wants dinosaurs on your quilt can have them.

I was prepping some stuff that I have to do later today and guess what? You can't use a cotton setting on something delicate like tulle! Ooops - it was working just fine until I rested momentarily in one spot. Not to worry - I still have enough on either side of this boo-boo to do what I need to do.

What happens with a cotton setting and tulle

I'm super excited today. I'm blogging on QUILTsocial and today it's all about the NEW Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 2. Humor me and check it out. This sewing/embroidery machine is unbelievable. What it can do is incredible.

On that note, I'm out of here. A busy day of sewing, but I think I'm going to cut Monday sewing short and get my butt home and in front of the computer to get some very urgent stuff completed before I go to bed tonight. Then tomorrow and for the remainder of the year - I had things to do, but NO DEADLINES. I can hardly contain myself with excitement.

And as I announce the classes for the upcoming year, I'm keeping in mind those of you who aren't close enough to me to attend a class. There's going to be something for you!!!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Lilla Show n Tell

It's that time of year - it's time for the final reveals of our ongoing projects. There were three of them this past week! Wow-what a lot of eye candy!

I'm going to start with Lilla. The final class was this past Thursday.

This is the pattern that we used for the class.

Lilla by Lotta Jansdotter and Cheryl Arkinson

Essentially, there are 25 blocks in the quilt. Each block finishes at 9" and the cover quilt is made using four of each block. Yes - that makes a big quilt - 90" by 90". Everyone did their own thing which I strongly encourage.

Kathy has been busy with life and she still has the last four sets of blocks to make and then she'll assemble all the blocks into a quilt. She promised to send me a picture when it's done and I'm going to hold her to that! The colorway that she chose is amazing. That yellow/green just makes things pop and her background fabric with the black and the yellow/green - well it's perfect. I don't believe those two fabrics are from the same designer.

Kathy's blocks

Rita's life also got in the way. This lady is into everything! She's very creative and a fabulous knitter. Here's just a reminder of the colorway that she used. She's using black/white/grey with a pop of yellow. This one is also going to look spectacular. Rita wants her quilt to be BIG, so she'll be making all the blocks - I believe she has 4 sets of blocks to finish. She might even be adding an additional border with all the leftovers. I can't wait to see it!

A sampling of Rita's blocks

More of Rita's blocks

And more of Rita's block

I realize that I transferred our October show n tell photos to the cloud and I don't know how to access them. I can see them, but not as files. Oh well - something else to learn. Doesn't matter - we're seeing the finished quilts so that missed show n tell isn't a big deal. By the way, I did write out a list of blog posts that I need to write and I'm going to try my best to be on top of things next year. This year was better, but I still missed a few things.

Genny is making TWO quilts. I'm not sure how big each of them is, but she's completed both tops. One was on her long arm and the other is waiting to be quilted. So I'm waiting for pictures of those two as well.

Here's just a sampling of her blocks for one of the quilts. I had to go a long way back to find this picture.

Genny's blocks

I had two ladies who started the class and unfortunately they didn't stick with it for long. So just to refresh our memory, here are Stacey's blocks.

Stacey's blocks

These blocks belong to Eleanor.

Eleanor's blocks

Hopefully, they make something from the few blocks they did make. It's a shame to let them go to waste. If they need help? I hope they call or get in touch with the store.

This is Cathy's quilt, ready to be quilted. She made fewer blocks but she's still going to get a nice lap-sized quilt.

Cathy's quilt

Cathy deserves a medal because she used a directional print for her background and wanted ALL the pieces going in the same orientation. That takes a lot of patience and I think it took a wee bit of the pleasure out of piecing the blocks.

Cathy's meticulous piecing to keep the directional print in the proper orientation

So here's some advice about directional prints. If you need to have the directional prints going in the same direction, never choose them for a background of anything! You'll drive yourself crazy. Or just decide that having the direction going any which way is fine. And this is perfectly acceptable. If you are not comfortable with this process, give it a try - piece some blocks with directional prints and just use it as a print and don't worry about the direction of the motif. That takes some getting used to, but once you get over that - it's OK. And of course, this all depends on what you're making. Pillowcases? I want the directional print going in the right orientation. A print like this one? I probably wouldn't have worried about it. However, we are each different in our approach.

Gisele has her quilt top together!!!!  It looks awesome. And totally different from the picture on the pattern because she made the background dark. I love the little pops of color and prints. What you can't see from this picture is that four of those blocks have two squirrels on them! And they are all in the same orientation which was easy to do since it was only four blocks to worry about.

Giselle's quilt top

Here's a close up of part of her quilt.

A detail of Gisele's quilt

This is the first of my two quilt tops.

One of my quilt tops

One of them is quilted, but not trimmed as I'm still on the fence about whether to do additional quilting lines in the opposite direction. The other one is not sewn together yet.

Quilted with wavy lines

But I've saved the best for last. Sara brought in a COMPLETED quilt. Quilted and bound. Way to go Sara!!!! She made a smaller quilt than the pattern and used four NON-MODERN fabrics for the blocks. It just goes to show that you can make a modern quilt without using modern fabrics. She also didn't follow the pattern exactly - let's just say that some of the blocks were a wee bit of a challenge, so she modified some or made them up! The challenge came from the instructions and that was a wee bit frustrating!

Sara's completed quilt

The best part - the quilt is done!! The backing was pieced from two large pieces of fabric leftover from the front. I didn't get a picture of that. And then with some of the smaller bits, she made this runner. It was quilted with straight lines (like the big quilt), but the lines were much closer together and it looks awesome. I love the texture of dense quilting. The table runner is also bound and finished!

Sara's table runner - DONE

We had a couple of other items for show n tell. Kathy was at a retreat and this is one of the things that she made. It's a gorgeous table runner. I forgot to ask whose pattern it was.

Kathy's table runner

Here's a close up of the block.

Detail of the table runner block

Giselle is always making cool garments and I keep forgetting to take pictures of them. This time, she had made a very smart jacket using the black/white/gray buffalo plaid. It was gorgeous. NEXT time, I'll get a picture.

I'd like to congratulate everyone in the class. I think they did an amazing job. Some of them are still fairly new and each of them took on a personal challenge to put together such a large quilt. They each did a super job and they should be extremely proud of their accomplishment!!!


So what's next???  I'll be listing all my upcoming classes in one place shortly, but here's a peek at what we're doing for next year. This is an on-going class to be held at Oh Look Fabric in Milton. The classes are once a month and last one hour long - it's a lecture-style class including monthly show n tell. This is a medallion quilt (starts in the center and works outward). Lots of opportunities to change up the blocks, the colors and a whole lot more. The class starts in January and ends in November. No classes in July and August. Check out the website and sign up for the class.   The dates are listed on the website.

Aviatrix Medallion

And I have to show you this cute little card holder that I got from one of my students yesterday. Notice the doggie fabric! It's adorable and this is absolutely perfect for my walks when I don't want to carry my wallet, but just need a credit card and a library card (you can't forget the library card - EVER!).

A mini card-holder

Here's the inside of the cardholder. It's adorable. Thanks so much, Barb! I'll be using that a lot. I've already got it tucked in my reuseable errand bag.

The inside of the cardholder

That was amazing! I love this time of year when we get to see the finished projects. I'll have more for you tomorrow.

Today is sit n sew day and we have a full house. But everything in the sewing area of Studio B is nice and neat and waiting for the guests to arrive. I'm going to need a few days to get things back in order. What I need are two solid sewing days to tidy up some loose bits that have been messing the studio up. But that's for later this week.

I'm happy to report that there's not a whole lot on my calendar in the next five weeks! A couple of sewing days, a couple of community project days, a couple of day road trips, and a couple of small classes left to teach. That means I'll be able to hit the sewing/embroidery/long arm machines with a vengeance. I can hardly wait!

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!