Machine Quilting workshops at A Quilters’ Sampler!

 I am working on the class sample for my new machine quilting workshop “Celtic Spirals, Circles, and Swirls”.   This is one of the four mini-workshops I will be teaching at A Quilters’ Sampler™, in  Nashua, NH on May 10 and 11.

I’m am offering four different machine quilting workshops at A Quilters Sampler™.  Each of these mini-workshops is an introduction to a different set of free motion quilting techniques — for your home sewing machine, of course!

Trapunto by Machine

Celtic Spirals, Circles, and Swirls

(NEW Workshop!!)

Elegant Quilted Backgrounds: Classic Designs for Your Quilt

Fabulous Free Motion Fills

You can register for more than one workshop – I’ll be teaching different techniques in each class, and you’ll have a more time to machine quilt!  I am not scheduling any more workshops this spring, so if you have asked about taking a class from me, I encourage you to sign up for one of my machine quilting workshops at A Quilters’ Sampler™.

The Eastcoast Quilters’ Alliance 3, LLC, the same folks who bring us The Quilters’ Gathering™ to New England every November, are sponsoring this quilting event.   A Quilters’ Sampler™ offers three-hour mini-classes, luncheon lectures, May Market for shopping, and a ticket to one of the local quilt guild shows or Museum exhibits.  Check it out – there is still time to register for classes!

MQX East Awards Ceremony and Sneak Peek!

We drove down to Providence to attend the Awards Ceremony yesterday afternoon, and were able to take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the show, special exhibits, and vendors.   What a great show – if you can get to Providence by Saturday April 14,  go to MQX East!

Five Bar Blues won 3rd place in the Large Wall Quilts – Traditional category!

I was thrilled my quilt was honored – this category is full of stunning quilts by talented quilters.

The exhibit was hung so that the backs of all the award-winning quilts – and many others, as well, were open and visible as we walked through the exhibit.  Sometimes you couldn’t tell the back from the front – and because of the remarkable machine quilting, many of the backs of the quilts were at least as beautiful as the front of the quilt.  I have not attended a quilt show hung this way before and it was a treat to be able to easily see both sides the quilts.

The full list of MQX East 2012 award winners is available on the MQX website.  For a sneak peek at the show, MQX also has live webcams on the MQX show floor!

Feather Plumes …. finishing the February FMQ sampler

I couldn’t stop myself from quilting once I began free motion quilting the feather plumes from last month’s challenge.  The fabric is solid silver, silk/cotton sateen.  Using different colors of silk thread (all #100, both YLI and Superior depending on the color)  made it look like the fabric was hand dyed (although this photograph may not do justice to it).

I liked the pale lavender thread on the silver sateen best and used it to stitch the feather plumes and the first few rows of echo quilting around them.  When I finished quilting the sampler, the fabric around the feathers looked lavender, instead of silver.  My second favorite color on the silver sateen was pale blue (different shades) but the contrast of the light green silk thread really added movement to the background.

 

February Free-Motion Quilting Challenge – Feather Plumes

Confession #1: Wow! I can’t believe I’m posting this again just under the wire.  The 2012 FMQ Challenge is really providing me with a deadline and motivation to keep up with at least monthly blog posts (even though they may be written late at night).

Confession #2: I took my first workshop with Diane Gaudynski in 2004, and I learned to quilt feathers from her then.  I have quilted feathers for many years … they are one of my favorite things to quilt!

As I read Diane’s excellent February tutorial, I looked for something new to learn from this lesson.  I noticed that Diane’s feathers all flow beautifully into smaller and more delicate feathers into a graceful end of the plume.  When I looked at  my feathers, I saw that I tend to end my feathers with a larger feather, or loop, at the end.

So I decided my challenge for the month was to try to taper my feather plumes to be smaller at the end.

I began drawing feathers, early this month.  I discovered changing my habitual ways of drawing (and stitiching) feathers was more difficult than I expected!  This was my first drawing.

I wasn’t very happy with the result.  It didn’t flow and didn’t feel balanced.  I definitely had trouble making the ends of the feathers small and graceful.

Back to the drawing board!

Diane posted a blog entry on ‘Feather Plumes Linked‘ earlier this month.  I loved the idea and tried it with paper and pencil.  I like these linked feather plumes alot!

I tried to create a type of circular ‘focal point’.  You could use two or three plumes, instead of a continuous circular wreath.  Imagine a special shape, motif, or monogram inside the two rounded plumes….

 Yes, I quilted some feather plumes also.  But first I wanted to test different thread colors of silk thread for use on this wonderful silver silk sateen fabric that changes color in different light.  I used each of these threads to stitch some sample feathers.

My favorite color was the pale lavender for these sample feathers.  I used lavender, light blue, light green, and some silver thread in this sample.  Although it takes a little longer to switch spools, I really like the movement and dimension that different thread colors add.

Here is my final [for now] feathered plume for February.  I am pleased with it — but there is so much unquilted space!

I had to add some more quilting to the empty space.  So the design evolves…. I’ll post a photo or two of the finished sampler soon!

2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge

Happy New Year!

To encourage myself to re-start blogging this year, and to challenge myself to practice new free motion quilting techniques, I ‘took the pledge’ to participate in the 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge.

Check out this challenge at SewCalGal’s blog — especially the list of talented machine quilters (all home sewing machine quilters!) who have volunteered their expertise.   Every month a different tutorial will be available at for the 2012 FMQ Challenge.   I’m looking forward to the different tutorials, especially those that will be out of my ‘comfort zone’.   It’s good to stretch, and I believe we never stop learning, and there’s always room for a new idea, insight, or tip.

This month’s video tutorial was by Frances Moore who demonstrated a simple leaf motif.  Here’s my sample of the leaf motif, quilted in an 8″ square (also, my January ‘entry’, submitted in the nick of time – practically the last hour of January!)

The leaves are quilted with pale green silk thread (of course!) on a quilt sample sandwiched with  cotton batting.  I tried a sample with wool batting but there was way too much ‘pouf’ in the open area for the 8″ square.  My variation of this motif adds the echoed outline around the center square of leaves, and around the inside of the leaf border.

Next month’s tutorial (probably ‘this month’ eg February by the time you read this) – not to be missed – is by Diane Gaudynski.  Visit Diane’s blog for previews of her February tutorial explaining how to quilt a feather plume.

October road trip, first stop: Chicago

The first stop on my October Road trip is Chicago, where I am visiting friends.  We have spent the past few days seeing the sights in and around town.  First stop was the Art Institute of Chicago, where we saw a beautiful exhibit of Japanese kimonos, Chagall’s America Windows, architectural fragments of Chicago either donated or saved from buildings no longer standing, and a complete reconstruction of the Chicago Stock Exchange trading room.

We visited Millennium Park, right next to the Museum.  One of the amazing outdoor art structures in the park called ‘The Bean’ by locals (also known as the Cloud Gate) is a photographer’s dream!  It really does look like a bean:

and you can see the much of the Chicago skyline when the lighting is right:

Many people enjoyed finding their own reflection in the Bean.  My favorite view is from the inside / underneath the Bean, looking straight up:

Returned from NQA: Two Quilts, Two Ribbons, Two Second Places!!

Each of my quilts returned from the NQA Show in Columbus with its own ribbon!  Square in Square I won second place in the Miniature category, and Five Bar Blues won second place in the “Small Quilt, Pieced” category.  The judges comments on my quilts – which I am always very interested in – were very thoughtful and comprehensive,  and they were even typed!

I am especially pleased that my miniature was honored with an award in this show.  It is the first award in a ‘Miniature’ category that Square in Square I has received.

(DH called “2 quilts, 2 ribbons, 2 2nds” a “triple double” …  a sports acronym … basketball?)