Extra Credit from Claudia and Denise

These two students of mine are becoming quite the accomplished seamstresses as evidenced by their recent productivity. Both have shared pictures or in-person projects and I think you will enjoy seeing them, too.

Claudia is an experimenter (is that a word?). She has no problem whatsoever with the philosophy of "just trying it to see what happens." This willingness to experiment has led to quite a few successful projects such as the one above. Not only did she use transfer material for the picture, but she superimposed the face onto a cartoon superhero, then appliqued it to a warm scarf for an employee's son.

Another thing I've noticed about Claudia is that she is a problem solver. At all the dog shows she attends, registration tables are set up. Doesn't every registration table need a nice long table runner? Claudia thought so, and so she made one! How nice!

This t-shirt quilt is a gift Claudia made to surprise her husband for Christmas. Every dog show they attend has a t-shirt, so of course they have way more shirts than they will wear. She selected several with great graphics or that represented a particularly memorable show and voila! A lovely quilt is the result. I stopped over at her house in the fall to give her a few tips for making this, and she went with it all on her own. What a great job!

Now brace yourself for this quilt from Denise. She admits "I like to sew lots of little pieces." Yes, I believe she does. This string quilt is a Laundry Basket Designs pattern by Edyta Sitar. Ohhh, myyyy...

Denise said that this was a long time in the making, and spent a good amount of time stuffed in a closet as a UFO. She hopes to have it quilted in time to enter it into a local quilt show this summer.

The three picture above are close-ups of some of the intricate detail of this quilt. Those small squares might just measure an inch. The result of "sewing little pieces" is absolutely magnificent, wouldn't you agree?

Bravo, Denise! This is a stunning creation! I can't wait to see it displayed in the quilt show!

So, haven't my students done well for themselves? I just can't believe all their accomplishments! Denise dabbled in quilting prior to my meeting her; Claudia was a brand-new beginner. We three have had quite a fun time sewing together.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Projects from Claudia

You long-time readers remember the sewing lessons that I gave to a local woman Claudia, and later her friend Denise. Well, both of these quilters have progressed so far and so fast that I am not longer needed for teaching purposes. They have become quite prolific. I hope at some point to get a picture of the quilt Denise entered into the Hillsboro quilt show I attended last week. As I was prohibited from taking pictures, I must acquire a photo some other way.

I can share some things that Claudia has recently finished, as she sends regular emails with updates on her many and varied projects. Let's have a look.

These visors are simply glue-appliqued projects they made, presumably for their many dog shows. Being out in the sun, I am sure a nice visor is a welcome accessory.

These two quilts are called Crumb Quilts - from a pattern I helped Claudia with several months back.

How do you like this long, narrow wall hanging? I am certain we all have wall space that would fit something like this perfectly. Claudia's use of colorful fabric for the butterflies does not surprise me in the least, as I have learned that she is a color-junkie. She does not shy away from color, ever.

That is evident in this herringbone quilt that she made in a class she took at Quilt Beginnings in Columbus. I showed an in-progress picture of it here. She took this quilt and some others down to that little shop in Cynthiana that I wrote about last winter. Mendlebrights is a shop I plan to visit soon, as I have decided that I am going to see about doing those baby quilts I need to finish on her long-arm machine. (I am digressing, but she rents out time on the machine, and since I would like to learn, it seems to make sense.)

While I stitch endlessly on these 4-patch blocks for the border of my Wishes quilt (aka July UFO), I hope you are being productive, as well!

Happy Quilting, Friends!