Village Day

As I had hoped, the day spent with Carrie Nelson was totally a blast. She was helpful, informative, warm, bubbly, easy to engage with - genuinely a gal you just know could be one of your best buds. Here are some pictures highlighting our day.

 Carrie began the day by sharing her original Village quilt, shown above and below. She explained how it came about and the fabrics used, as well as her personal rules for fabric placement.

The backing on her original is pretty cool, too. I do not know what it is called, but it looks great on this quilt.

Next she showed us another version of Village made by Thelma at Cupcakes 'n Daisies. I have followed this blog since I first discovered quilt blogs; it was very cool seeing this version made with yellow background. I like the way it is quilted, too, with the small scallops.

I had no idea what I would use as a background, but I did have some yardage of this yellow with me, so I went with it! Thelma's is lighter yellow, but it will still look fine, in my opinion. Above is my very first house. The block is very easy and goes together quickly. I hear people say it's sort of addicting, and I can totally get that. Bonus: it's a good pattern for using those Charm Packs I have stacked up - I swear they multiply!!

About 40 women filled the upstairs classroom at Old Town Fabric Shop in Chillicothe for this class. Several were there in groups. Quilters always know how to have a good time.

I went on my own and this group of ladies welcomed me to their table with open arms. This picture was taken toward the later part of the day as several are showing off their finished blocks.

I finished around 8 or 10 houses in the time allotted. I goofed off a bit, too, and wasted some time. And I shopped downstairs. If I had been more focused, perhaps I would  have finished more houses. My fabrics are all by Corey Yoder. I will be mixing and matching from three of her lines. Consequently, when I get mine finished, I will be calling my quilt Coriander Village.

One quilter at the far end of our table laid these out. Notice that some houses have chimneys. Directions in the pattern explain how to add those. If you go back up to Thelma's quilt at the top, you will see that she even added windows on some of her houses. It's fun to see how variations come about.

I will share some more on this fun day soon. I also have some Arizona vacation pictures to share, as well. Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting, Friends!