New Classes, Old Classes

Arrowheads Quilt - No templates, no waste, no kidding!

I'll be back on the road again teaching this Fall, beginning the first weekend of October. I'm busy preparing my patterns and kits. The first city will be Fredericksburg, Virginia teaching for the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. The Arrowheads Quilt is AWESOME. This only LOOKS hard. You make the block using three triangles of fabric (two light, one dark). Sew them together and then slice apart in a VERY strange (and frankly, scary) way. Sew the wedges back together to form this block! The Arrowheads Quilt is a Bring Your Own Fabric (BYOF) class and I supply the pattern and two-template set for the kit fee. This is one of 4 quilts I bring to class - and I show a bunch of other block options that the templates can get for you.

Remember this from the Dare to Dresdens Hop?

The Modern Vortex Quilt - 20" block; 28" x 28" quilt

This class sells out in every city I teach it in. (Another BYOF; students get the pattern and template in the kits). I am shocked because it was such a "second thought" project I made for the Hop. I was captivated by the early 1900s Vortex quilt that was made by an anonymous quilter so long ago - without a compass, computer or other modern quilting tools. Here is the antique quilt. It is truly divine, don't you think?

The Vortex Quilt from early 1900s, USA.

I teach the Good Luck Quilt in just one more city. It is from my book, Supersize 'Em Quilts (2009) and the students get my book as their "kit" - with directions for 21 other quilts. What a bargain for $15, don't you think?

Block size: 13"; Quilt size: Huge!

Students bring sets of 4" strips. We sew them together, recut them into squares and then slice them into triangles. Sew the triangles together to form these blocks. Absolutely no fabric waste. I guarantee that your points stay sharp (it's all in the slicing and dicing).

Four Block Quilt - perfect size for a lap quilt (about 50" square)

I have been teaching Beginning Free Motion Quilting for the Expo for at least 6 years - in every city (we have 15 cities). Am I tired of it? Well, not really, but I do have to keep adding new tips and tricks so I don't fall asleep (just kidding). It is an action packed class and I expose my students to a lot of ideas, let them try a lot of things and we keep things moving in the 3 hours.

I make my students use colored thread on their muslin sandwiches. I tell them it's Good News, Bad News. Good news because they can see their stitches. Bad News because they can see their stitches. Funny, huh? We all have a good time.

11" sample of green thread on black batik

Here are a few other samples I bring to class. We DO NOT discuss quilting large quilts. We start small, practice, and repeat. If they want to quilt their large quilts I advise them to keep the economy going by hiring a longarm quilter (that's my method all the time).

I took two of my own samples and made a purse!

I show how a simple shape can be filled with swirls and loops

Fat Cat from my 2006 Block a Day Calendar

 It's true: the faster you sew, the smoother your stitches.

Students play with stencils and wash away markers.

And I've saved my new classes for last. The Education Director, Marlene, asked me to teach a non-sewing machine class. I said about the only thing I can do without a machine is English Paper Piecing. I've been a maniac all summer sewing these cute little hexies (you've seen them here, right?)
I bring all the hexagon papers (various sizes), fabric, thread, needle and patterns. We will sit and sew without the noise of machines. Here are a few of my samples:

Simple Grandmother's Flower Garden using 2" hexagons and a little flower in the center

 Adding an extra row of hexagons:

Double GFG leftover from another quilt

Double GFG (a flower made with 1" hexies layered over a flower made with 1-1/2" hexies)

I had several leftover blocks from a quilt which appeared in my first book (AQS 2004)

The larger quilt appeared in a Fons & Porter magazine a few years ago. I called it Grandma's Garden Party:

Combined a lot of brights, dots and stripes to make something to keep anyone awake!

And here's a quilt made using even more leftover GFG blocks from my first book:

Spring Bloomers - students will get this pattern as part of the class (a pdf link)

I will be adding the Twisted Hexagon Class beginning in November for the Tinley Park location. More on that later. I hope you enjoyed the quilt show.

See you on Wednesday with my Windham Wednesdays creation made with a new collection. And then don't forget that the Pin It! Hop starts on Tuesday. My day is Friday the 13th - Yikes! I just realized that putting those two things together are supposed to be bad luck. Baa Humbug! We're going to have a fun and lucky day this Friday, right? Right!