Another January Finish

I will be more than happy to count this quilt among the projects finished for this first month of 2016. I just don't need to be reminded that the quilt top was made all the way back in early August 2015, and the darling baby girl was born in early October. Further proof that I am a world-class procrastinator, as I have mentioned here many times. I wanted to finish it, but the longer I procrastinated, the larger it loomed over me. I am my own worst enemy, for sure.

I have referred to this quilt as Three Charms Quilt, but in actuality, I used 2 charm packs and some additonal matching yardage. And from here on out, it shall be referred to as Cece's Quilt, short for Cecelia, the new babe.

It took me just 2-3 hours to make the quilt top. Then every time I decided that I would get busy with the finishing, I ran into roadblocks. First, I needed to piece the back.

Then I didn't have enough fusible batting, which is what I wanted to use since I planned to machine quilt this myself on the Bernina. But these were just excuses; I was reluctant to test my quilting skills on a quilt that was intended to be a gift. Finally, I decided to just bite the bullet.

The thought of allowing the whole first month of the new year get past me with this quilt still unfinished moved me into gear. I was determined to cross it off my list before February arrived.

The quilting may be less than perfect, but a finished quilt is better than the imperfections. The binding is even finished. I pieced the two fabrics from the backing into long strips. It keeps the playfulness in the quilt, I suppose. After a run through the washer and dryer, this will look fluffy and crinkly and baby-ready.

Grammy Vickie will soon be off to visit her daughter and baby granddaughters - Nora of the Kissing Fishes quilt is Cece's big sister - and this quilt is ready to make the trip. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Spark Class Wrap-Up

Yesterday we had our day-long class at Spark Creative Artspace in Greenfield. I expected 7 participants, and prepared for 7 participants. In the end, I had 2 participants. Initially, I was really disappointed, because I had put so much effort into preparing a good, fun class. But my little group was so eager and energetic, that I couldn't wear my disappointment for long.

You know, I'm a 'glass-half-full' kinda' gal, too. That helped. *wink*

So let's get on with this wrap-up. The Spark room is really spacious. The picture below shows my tables set up at the far end of the room where the light is brightest. I brought both of my Ott Lites from home, to enhance lighting.

Interspersed with the artwork on the walls, I have tacked up two design walls (aka the backside of  plastic, flannel-lined tablecloths).  Also, I hung three examples of the quilt we would be making - two with the borders, one without.

 Eleven-year-old Aly worked on her first-ever quilt alongside her grandmother, Pam. Shawnda was also making her first quilt and she selected flannel fabric. We pressed seams open to keep things simple. I mentioned that pressing to the dark is also an option, but open seams work best when you know you might be moving units around later in the process.

Seamstresses remained focused all day, and made significant progress with their skills, becoming more confident and comfortable with their machines and with tools such as rotary cutters and mats. We stressed to Aly the inherent dangers of that cutter, and she did just fine with her grandmother's supervision.

You can see in these two pictures that we ended up on the floor even though I had those design walls. Trouble was, as the quilts got heavier, the pieces just wouldn't stay up. Aly is deciding how to place the pieces for her piano-key outer border in the photo above left. Shawnda is "shuffling" her outer border parts to mix up colors and patterns. We agreed that it's really hard to shuffle flannel fabric. *grin*

 Our fabulous finishes! Shawnda did the 50-inch version which is how I billed the class. Aly went with a smaller version; hers finishes at 40 inches.

Ta-da! Two first-time quilters with their finished quilt tops. It was a long day, but the results were worth it. They both have suggestions for finishing, and know that they are free to call me for moral support or suggestions anytime.

I learned a few things throughout the day, and will adapt my instructions accordingly. We started at 9am and finished around 5. That's a long, long day. I need to figure ways to cut that down. Can you imagine an 11-year-old maintaining her focus that long? It's hard for adults. I wonder how long we would have been if we'd had our full class of 7? Perhaps this is the silver lining of that earlier disappointment.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Halloween!

There will be no ghosts or goblins in my activities today. Nope. I have other plans.

Today, I will be teaching an all-day class at Spark Creative Artspace in Greefield. Participants will make a 50"-square quilt top using 3 Charm Packs. Hopefully there will be 7 students--that's how many have indicated they are coming. We shall see.

I've made 4 of these quilts finished to various stages of completion, so that I can have examples to show. The one that is least complete (shown at the bottom) is the one I will sew on if time permits throughout the day.

This is my first effort, a baby quilt for a wee one recently born. I will get this finished for her after this class.

This was my second effort made with some Barbara Brackman fabrics. I tried to write my instructions as I made this quilt.

I taught the class in September to a beginning quilter; this is her quilt top in some vivid primary colors.

While Claudia sewed hers, I worked on a third one. I have just the center portion done, and have left it that way so I can talk about adding the inner border. These fabrics are by French General and 3 Sisters, if I remember correctly.

And yesterday, I  took 3 well-aged Charm Packs of Aviary and sewed just part of the quilt top together. That will give me a different demonstration point to use, if necessary.

It will be an exciting day of quilting today.

Don't forget to stop over at the Bloggers' Quilt Festival sponsored by Amy's Creative Side. I've entered my Long Road Home quilt in the Hand Quilting category. If you have not voted yet, I invite you to head on over there to show me a little love. You could also get friends and relatives to vote, too, as I have some stiff competition, according to the numbers I saw yesterday.

Hope you have an awesome Saturday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Claudia Finishes Her Three Charms Quilt

On Monday and Thursday of last week, Claudia was here to finish the machine quilting on her Three Charms quilt. She worked on her own machine on Monday, but I had her move to my newer Bernina towards the end of our Thursday session. I believe I have sold her on the idea of getting a newer machine. Her vintage 60s model Singer sews just fine, but for the quilting that she wants, and the ease of use, I think she agreed that the newer machine is preferrable.

While she finished quilting, I prepped her binding. The we trimmed up and after some weighing of pros and cons, I did the binding by machine and it was done! Take a look at her finish.

Here's our proud quilter, showing off her first official quilt finish. It has its imperfections, but all in all, it really does look awesome. And to think that Claudia is so new at this. She is really a trooper when it comes to jumping in and trying. Nothing intimidates her.

We are working out plans for future sessions, and I believe she has a friend who might tag along. Excellent!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Claudia Quilts!!

Isn't it fun introducing people to quilting? I had the opportunity to meet Claudia last March when she signed up for the hand-quilting class I offered at Spark! Creative Spaces in Greenfield. She was most enthusiastic, and had questions galore! Click here and here to read about the Spark! class.

Of the 5 students in that Spark! class, Claudia has remained steadfast in her interest. She was over about a month ago to make the Three Charms Quilt that I taught. Lo and behold, just a week or so ago, she contacted me about machine quilting it - and so we are!

Here is Claudia's quilt the day she made it - back in September some time. Click here to read about that day.

This is a long introduction just to show you pictures from Tuesday.

 I had some gripper gloves for Claudia to use, and for a time she used them, but ultimately ended up going without them.  You can see that her machine is an older  model; I was surprised at how easily she was able to get a walking foot for it.

We did just the center in the "stitch-in-the-ditch" fashion. She will be back today for finishing off the borders and binding and then we will start the Mondo Bag. Class will begin shortly, so I'd better get busy!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing Class

Yesterday afternoon, a beginning seamstress/quilter came over for some one-on-one instruction. We made a 16" pillow, that turned out to be an 18" pillow. That happened because yours truly didn't read her directions correctly and cut the squares at 2.5" instead of 2.25". Just goes to show you that even when you think you know what you're doing, sometimes you don't.

How embarrassing.

Claudia, my student, is going to try to return her 16" pillow form and exchange it for an 18" one, so hopefully all will work out. She certainly did a good job on her pillow, and we put the too-small pillow form (plastic wrapper and all!) in, just to see how good it looked. What a festive pillow!

Claudia says she likes patriotic decor, so it comes as no surprise that she would make a pillow using patriotic prints. Just check out how neat her intersections match. She is really learning fast and has the desire to do quality work.

On Saturday she was here for the Three Charms Quilt class. Here is her finished quilt top.

See what I mean about Claudia's flair for happy, festive colors? This little quilt (50" square) will brighten any space it is used or displayed.

We are planning one more sewing date, yet to be determined. She has purchased a Mondo Bag pattern, and wants to make it here with me. I have made one, and have the pattern to make another, so I'm all in!

I still need to get caught up on some of the sewing from Monday. I inadvertently omitted pictures of a cute applique project that Terry was working on, and I have yet to share what I was doing!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Class Is Held

I offered a second class for beginning quilters yesterday. The first class was the 16" pillow with 4 9-patch blocks made into one larger 9-patch block for the pillow front (double 9-patch). Those 2 classes went quite well.

This time around I taught a 50" square quilt top as the project of the day. We used 3 charm packs, and therefore I have dubbed this quilt "Three Charms Quilt." I have made 2 for samples, and started a third one today to demonstrate as we worked through the steps.

In the continued interest of using from the stash, I selected the 3 packs identified above. I think the two line blend very nicely, and gives additional variety.

I got so far as sewing all the rows together. I need to make just a couple of adjustments in placement, but for the most part I am satisfied.

We had a great class. For the life of me, I can't even fathom why it never occurred to me to take pictures, but I didn't. Geesh. The next class is Wednesday evening where we will do the 16" pillow one more time.

Happy Quilting, Friends!