Modern Workshop at Vernon

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of spending the day with the ladies of Vernon Nutmeg Quilters. We worked on mini projects from Elizabeth Hartman's Modern Patchwork book. (It has been three years since I discovered this little gem, and I am still using these patterns all the time...way to go, EH!)

We had a lot of fun playing with color to make the Roller Rink projects. There is so much potential for unique variation on such a simple concept; for example, Maureen (far right) got an interesting fiery effect by using a graded floral fabric instead of pieced squares as her block centers. I believe Tammy had hers quilted by the time we wrapped up. (Nice job -- nobody needs more UFOs!)

Vernon Nutmeg Quilters with their spectacular Roller Rink minis

The Neighborhood projects were adorable too--look at that fun little quail! This is a project that I like to make as a housewarming gift, sometimes customized with the new address.

Vernon Nutmeg Quilters' Neighborhood minis

My own "Mother of the Year" Neighborhood mini -- no need to stick with birds in the center panel!!

As we move through this season of giving thanks, I want to make it clear how grateful I am to have the opportunity to lead workshops like this one. Thanks, everyone!

Quilting lessons: Young protégé #3

A few months ago, a young friend asked me to help her make a quilt. I like to use the Cloud Nine pattern as a first quilt for a couple of reasons. First, it's very easy and fast to make. Second, the pieces are big enough to use some great large-scale prints. Third, it's forgiving. If a seam or two goes off by a few threads, it all comes out in the end. We went to Quilting by the Yard to pick out fabrics, and she was unerring in her preferences. She found every one of the prints in a single line, even though they weren't arranged together on the shelf. (I can't find a selvage strip, so I can't remember what the line was called. ...Edited to clarify: the line is "13 going on 30" by Maywood Studios, very chic and bold!) She chose a pretty sky blue as her background neutral.

We got all the fabrics pressed and cut in an afternoon. She had already done a few small sewing projects in her 4H club, so she was pretty familiar with basic machine operation. We had to figure out how to set her up with a nice 1/4" seam, and she got the hang of it right away. It took one or two short sessions to get the blocks assembled, then she sewed one entire row together. But then the project went into a box, as projects so often do, and waited...until finally last week we managed to get together at her house one evening and she got two more full rows done. This afternoon she came to my house and worked straight through 95+° heat to get the whole top finished!!

Next, she's on the hunt for some fabric to use on the back and we'll get together to baste the layers.

Diligently working in the summer heat

A finished top!!

Pretty Lotus

Two days of sewing at the shop and my Lotus quilt is together. I love love love these colors--warm corals and salmon pinks, with coppery and ochre accents. Not the super-bright oranges that I typically choose, but a much more "grown-up" version (and still orange, after all). I used a complete mishmash of fabrics in this little lap quilt: some large prints, some small ones; a variety of lights, mediums, and darks; and at least six different designers.

Lotus quilt (Jaybird Designs), ready to finish

I'll square off the sides of this one (and piece the cut-offs into the back), and I might add a border if I have enough of the coppery brown triangle fabric left. I am also wondering if I have enough cut-off triangles to make a border that wraps the whole way around the quilt. I suppose I could cut a few more if there aren't quite enough in the leftover stack.

Due to the timing of both of our summer vacations, I have missed two journal meetings in a row, so I'm now two months behind on those projects. The June meeting is next Tuesday, and I don't want to have three full projects to complete before July, so I took some time today to get a decent start on the May and June pages. I won't post any details about those pages until I pass them on at the July meeting, but at least I'm encouraged that I'll be all caught up by then.

Lotus class

I spent this fine sunny spring day teaching a class on the Lotus pattern at Lisa's Clover Hill Quilts. Five students, five beautiful quilts underway! This is a great pattern -- extremely easy to sew, and so much potential for different and unique looks with only minor tweaking in the color choices. Thanks to everyone for a fun day!

A few photos of the initial blocks that everybody made:

Debbie's first block -- delicious chocolate-covered cherries!!

Linda is going to have a tropical treat when she finishes her quilt (probably tonight!)

Liz decided to work in a smaller scale, using just one color for all of the small triangles. One of the great things about the ruler is that it makes it simple to scale up to larger pieces or down to smaller pieces with very little effort. All the math is built right in.

Liz's first blocks. I like the way the single-color triangles creates circles.

Sara had some lovely Asian fabrics with rich vibrant colors.

Sue joined us a little late, but still managed to finish three blocks before we wrapped up.

One thing I particularly appreciate about this pattern is that even the scraps are cut off in ready-to-use condition. I have a small stack of half triangles and a hundred or so perfect equilateral triangles ready to assemble.

My Lotus scraps.

I didn't get much of the sewing done, but all the pieces are cut and ready to go. This will be a good take-on-Tuesday project to keep me busy on the next open sew.

Lotus pieces

Lotus samples

In June I'm going to be teaching a class on the Lotus quilt, so I made a Mini version to drum up some interest, and because I just can't stop playing with that cute little Mini Hex n More ruler. If you follow along here, you have probably noticed that I don't often work in such a flowery pastel palette (this is as "pastel" as it gets in my Strategic Fabric Reserves)...but even I, diehard lover of the wintriest of winters, was ready for a little spring color this month. This is a really fun pattern to make, and there are lots of possibilities with just these two simple shapes.

Mini Lotus -- 20 x 23"

Hex finishes

Three hexagonal finishes this week, plus another photo from last week's Honey Mini class.

First, I used a few cute macaroni prints to try out this technique. I like the ring of hexes so much that I sketched out what this would look like expanded to a larger size, and figured out the fabric requirements. It would be a cute use for hex charms, or for a group of theme fabrics like the Mardi Gras prints that I've had kicking around for a few years. I did the tight quilting around the edges because it reminded me of a fork-sealed ravioli; I quilted the words in the middle because (a) I wanted to brush up on my cursive quilting skills and (b) the words seemed to fit, both physically and conceptually.

 Merry-Go-Round pattern (Atkinson Designs)

 Next, I had to try out the new Sidekick ruler from Jaybird Quilts.

The ruler is great, the pattern was a snap to follow, and the whole thing took no time at all. I used the scraps of the project I made from last year's Kendra Cousin California Quilting Challenge. I'm down to really tiny bits of those fabrics now, but I will savor them because I still love love love them! The flower-of-life quilting doesn't even need marking with this pattern, since the lines are all part of the piecing. This is my favorite way to quilt 60-degree angles -- it looks spectacular, it uses the walking foot, AND it's entirely one continuous line!

Rock Candy pattern (Jaybird Quilts)

Third, I finished one of my class samples to make a pillow. I didn't do anything particularly fancy for the quilting, just some gentle (flower-of-life) walking foot curves surrounded by straight-line echoing. I love the clothesline fabric on the back.

Honey pattern (from Elizabeth Hartman's "Modern Patchwork" book)

Since this post is a tribute to all things hexagonal, I'll also share a photo of Tina's class project. Last year when I made my sister's quilt, I used the same accent print in shades of teal and brown last year, but it looks 100% different in the hot colors. I love how she arranged the prints in the same position; it evokes a sense of comets or rocketry.

Tina's Honey project. 3 - 2 - 1...blast off!

Honey Mini class (busy as a bee)

The monthly mini class that I've been teaching all year finally got to my favorite one in the book, the hexagon Honey pattern. In addition to the sample that I made last year, I also made both a full-size quilt and two more minis in preparing for yesterday's class.

This one will be a pillow in the newly painted family/sewing room.

Honeycomb!! 

I recently acquired the Urban Threads "Mini Menagerie" collection, and this seemed like the perfect setting for the bee. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how this turned out!

The five students in the class made some pretty spectacular projects. Sara C used a musical instrument novelty as her print with rich wood-colored fabrics, Sara F used a beautiful combination of batiks and Asian prints, Nancy worked in some (for her) muted colors and was on her way to a lovely little autumnal project, Tina used fiery brights and a gorgeous print for the insets, and Liz made this:

Awesome use of Beatles fabric!

I'm getting down to the last cherished scraps of the Beatles prints that I have had in my Strategic Fabric Reserves, but this might be a good way to make the most of what's left in there.

Honeycomb prep

This Sunday in the Modern Minis class that I've been teaching all year, we're finally getting to the hexagon honeycomb project that's on the book cover. This pattern uses six solids and six prints, so I'm using a length of a fruity-bright P&B Nuances fabric that I bought just for this project:

This fabric is printed with six strips of color running lengthwise, so it's absolutely perfect for this pattern. Instead of buying six separate one-yard cuts, I cut the four yards of my single fabric into six separate 5-1/2" strips. For the skinny background sashing strips, I'm using the rest of my orange squiggly Architextures fabric:

The pattern for the quilt calls for sixty one-inch strips, but I have found that Hartman's patterns tend to be a little on the wasteful side and, since I will have no use for a bunch of leftover one-inch strips, I have decided to cut just 32 strips to get started. I'm sure I'll need a few more, but not 28 more.

After I finished the Week 5 mystery units, I got a nice start on sewing the sashing strips onto the solids and cutting triangles:

The second-darkest segments are all cut (center), and the sashing strips are added to the other four colors. Time to cut triangles!

I worked through the entire set of the darkest shade, along with the coordinating print, and even assembled those half hexagons:

The violet half-hex units are pieced and ready for final assembly.

By the time Sunday rolls around, I should have most of this finished up and ready to assemble. I'm planning to leave just enough of the work unfinished so I can use it as class samples. Still loving all these 60-degree angles!!

Fire Drill class

I haven't posted for a few days because I couldn't find the USB cord for my camera. It was hiding eighteen inches away from its usual spot. (I must be in some kind of intellectual biorhythmic trough...)

Anyway, cord having been located, I can share a few photos from this weekend's Modern Miniatures class, in which we did the Fire Drill pattern.

Liz has been saving her black-and-white-and-red pieces for a while now and decided that this was the pattern they had been waiting for. I really like the black background -- I think it gives a lot of depth to the design -- and I love that she chose to cut off only the top edge and leave a banner shape.

The very thin b&w stripe did not photograph well, but it makes this little banner really dance!

Sue used a very fresh combination of soft greys and a vivid and rich (not neon!) orange. Beautiful and very modern looking:

The repeated pairing of the same dark fabrics down the center of the quilt works well on this small project.

Here's the one that I made in class. I couldn't resist this nifty stripe from P&B's new Hello Dahlia line, and it made the perfect accent for this pattern; it reminds me of both filing folder tabs and canyonlands. I used a red background for my B&W&Red project just because Liz used a black one and I wanted to see the difference. I haven't chopped it yet, but I think I'll cut both the top and bottom edges so it finishes rectangular. Even though I like Liz's banner idea, this little thing would have a LOT of solid red if I leave the bottom uncut.

Much better than my first Fire Drill mini.

Hex n More Class Sample

Here's a peek at the beginnings of the hexagon pinwheel quilt I'll be teaching at Lisa´s shop this Saturday:

Mini Neighborhood Class

It's the first Sunday of the month = time for another monthly mini class! This month's project was Neighborhood, which is a super-fast log cabin technique. We talked in class about doing this as a stitch-and-flip project; it would be a fast way to make a big quilt-as-you-go project.

Teaching this class is making me feel like a quilting midwife -- here are today's projects!

Liz used a friend's photo of a flicker as her centerpiece. Love that dotty background!

Sue's chicken coop is awesome! We learned that a fat quarter is JUST enough to do the background when you use a directional print like these eggs. Don't you just want to hang this in your kitchen and tuck into a big fluffy omelet??

Sara made this adorable little bird project. She has really gotten into the spirit of the whole
"Modern Patchwork" thing !

Tina used a terrific retro print surrounded by some sewing-motif prints; she's going to add a thought-bubble applique that says "Will the glamour never end?" Ha!

This is my class sample. A little plain but I like the sun. I'm hoping that some quilting will jazz it up a bit...

Roller Rink class

On Sunday we held our second monthly class for the miniature versions of the Modern Patchwork quilts. Show and Tell from the first month Metropolis projects was fun -- Ginger and Tina are making full-size quilts, so they're still working, but Liz and Sue had finished projects to show off.

Liz has a wall hanging ready for her office!

Sue made a lovely wall hanging with three Metropolis blocks.

The Roller Rink block itself is extremely simple to construct, so most of this month's focus was on selecting good runs of fabric to make a nice gradient. We talked about value, and how to use Joen Wolfram's 3-in-1 Color Tool for getting a nice even spacing between the steps of a gradient. I love that tool -- it's like having an entire collection of paint chips at your fingertips! Once everyone settled on their fabrics, the minis went together in no time at all.

Liz's block had a great contrast between the greens and a fuschia border...like summer watermelon! I know that she has already quilted and bound it too -- way to go!!

Nancy joined us this month and made a little wall hanging with a wonderful African feel. I think she was inspired in part by the Newington group quilt. I was impressed at what a difference it made switching to black-and-cream prints rather than black-and-whites.

Sarah used shades of grey with a terrific orange contrast border. My photo doesn't really do justice to the orange.

Ginger chose some cherry pinks with chocolate and cream borders -- I can't wait to see this one, because after I made Jess's quilt last year that has become one of my favorite color combos. Somehow Sue managed to sneak out before I photographed her block, which was bright greens bordered with vivid red and the lightest possible tint of green. She did a great job contrasting the colors. Tina is using the same greens that Sue used, but bordered with royal and turquoise blues; it will be interesting to compare her analogous color scheme with Sue's complementary-color project.

One thing (which I mentioned in class) that I really love about this block is that, the last time I checked there aren't a heck of a lot of opportunities to use the full seven-color Roy G Biv spectrum -- seven-point stars and heptagons use weird angles -- but this block uses seven two-inch squares: that spells Roy G Biv in my book! My sample block takes advantage of this. I'm not going to add anything else to this little thing. A bit of quilting, a pillowcase facing, and some jingly bells hanging off the bottom. Maybe seven chakra-colored sequins or beads just for the glitz factor.

I whipped up a single block on Sunday morning before class. When I pulled out the fabrics that I decided to use for every month, I realized that I could fussy cut circles to have a chakras block! If I were yogic-minded, I would hang this in my studio.

Tune in next month for the Glam Garlands block!!

Metropolis class

Last Sunday, which feels like it was a century ago, I started a monthly class at Lisa's Clover Hill Quilts that showcases the 12 patterns in the Modern Patchwork book that I have been so obsessed with. It was a lot of fun working with everyone to find the right combination of fabrics for this design, and I carefully took photos of everyone's Before fabrics and After projects. Then, however, I misplaced my camera's memory card. This was extra sad, because I hadn't emptied it since Christmas, and it had birthday photos too. I thought it had fallen out of a bag in the parking lot or my driveway or somewhere in between. Today, though, it turned up right where I had stashed it so as not to lose it. (Is there a word for the feeling of immense relief coupled with self disgust? I bet the Germans have a word for that.)

So, at long last, here are a few photos from last Sunday:

Sue started with a lovely airy floral as her feature print, with some perfectly shaded coordinates to offset it.

Sue's finished block! So elegant...makes me want a cup of tea in the garden!

Tina went for bright! Her fabrics were vibrant reds, oranges and pinks; the class had a fun time shopping for just the right taupey gray to offset all these brights.

Tina's finished block! I think she's making more to assemble a full quilt...can't wait to see how it comes out!

Liz brought some wonderfully vibrant prints and batiks as coordinates.

Liz went home with a really fun finished block! I love the geometric prints as the "background" choices!

I didn't get a photo of her fabric choices, but Sara's finished block looked so fresh and modern...like sherbet on a summer afternoon!

Carol had scads of great choices, but decided on this fun button print paired with some brights...I will track down a photo of the finished block!

Ginger wanted to feature a pretty floral print; I love how the dark pink backgrounds pick up the shades of the hydrangea!

My fabric selections. I'm planning to use this same collection every month, then assemble all the blocks into a single sampler quilt.

The blue background is hard for me to appreciate, but I like the circus-y effect of all these brights together.

I plan to start next month's Roller Rink class with a Show and Tell session, because I'm eager to see how Ginger and Carol's projects came out. Thanks to all of you for letting me photograph your projects!