Return to the Studio

After teaching a class on Saturday, and then a different one on Monday, there were a lot of things to put away.
In other words, my studio was trashed!

Oh, my!

I had to root through almost everything just to get the supplies ready for the classes. That is bad enough, but the other consequence is I find a lot of interesting things and start thinking about new projects.
Can you say "distraction"?  (I knew you could!)

The Saturday class was for The Art Center. I had been thinking about artists using fabric, but not wanting to sew. "Fabric Art Without Needle & Thread" included lots of information, products, and playtime. Most of the students are painters, so the part they liked best was painting on Wonder Under (fusible web) and then ironing it to fabric.
I think I'll re-title this class to go along with another I'm thinking of. They will make a nice pair: "Your Iron as an Art Tool" and "Your Sewing Machine as an Art Tool".
As usual, I was too busy teaching to take any pictures.

Monday's class was for my quilt guild, in response to the need to finish Community Service quilts. I call it "Utility Quilting", which basically means using the walking foot and getting the work done! Quilts made to give away and be used do not need a fancy heirloom quilting job, but they do need their layers to be well quilted so they will last as long as possible.
While you can just do long lines of stitching in one direction, most of the people in the class decided a grid works better. I would agree...both for support of the layers and for a nice texture.
One of the main problems with a class in machine quilting comes from the set up . It's impossible to get ideal chair or table height, though we talked about it so changes can be made at home. Another problem is getting table support on the left side, without making everyone bring a card table...and I solved that problem at long last! It uses more tables, so the class has to be smaller, but staggering them in pairs length-wise provided just what was wanted.
And the third problem is most classes practice on a small sample. If you want to really learn machine quilting, you have to start figuring out how you are going to handle all the bulk of the quilt as it goes through your machine.

Perfect over-the-shoulder technique!

Everyone in class had to bring a basted quilt that was no smaller than 36" square. They did a great job learning to "Fluff & Stuff" among other techniques.

What was the most important thing we learned in each class?
To let go of that idea about Ideal Perfection and just do something!
And is it an old saying, or can it be attributed to Richard Bach or someone..."You best teach what you most need to learn!"


BTW: I did get everything put back in place, and am now ready to mess up my studio again with some new projects!

Folk School week works wonders!

Every week at the John C. Campbell Folk School is different...and each one is wonderful!
While teaching there the week of March 4--9, I received several special gifts. Not the kind that are wrapped up in paper and bows, but moments that take you by surprise and continue to delight as they pop into mind.
The first one I was hoping for: Daffodils!

Just one of the many varieties

This is a flower that does not grow in Florida, so I must fill my eyes with them whenever possible. They were growing all over the campus, along the paths and near the buildings. As I stopped to get this quick picture, the photography teacher happened along and gave a suggestion for a better shot (I should have done it!). That's how it is at the Folk School, though. You can get some really helpful instruction even in the parking lot, along a wooded path or waiting in line for the dining hall to open.
Another gift was seeing a huge flock of red-wing blackbirds rise up out of a field. No photo could have contained that!


My best gift was the small class of quilters. We had such a luxurious time in a studio that can easily hold 12+...plenty of design wall space, cutting tables that didn't have to be cleared off, and no waiting for an iron.

Who wouldn't want to be here?

One student was at the Folk School for the first time, along with her husband who took the Marquetry class (a wood inlay process). They both survived the usual feelings of being overwhelmed and confused early in the week and by the last two days they were sailing along and thinking about when they could return.
A short week (5 nights), long week (6 nights) or weekend here is the perfect couples vacation. You can each do whatever you want, and have something interesting to talk about at the end of the day!


The other two ladies were returning students who had been to the Folk School many times.  One came with her son, who was in the Blacksmith class adding to skills learned there previously. One came by herself.
For them the week was leaving behind a series of difficult situations and stepping into a world apart, like a peaceful island devoted solely to their own interests. They had fun, and played and learned.
I got this in an email: "The stress disappeared last week." That says it all!


There are no rewards for being the fastest, or getting the most done, but we sure did a lot in 5 days! Besides the great work below, we also covered how to make a pot holder, a Goose Unit, fabric selection and, of course, how to finish the quilt later!

Gayle added some creative touches and extra blocks

Caroline told the story in pink

Jean is now  looking for an outside border

You may recognize some of the block patterns from the Folk School ad in many quilt magazines. They did come from ones made in my class! I chose these traditional patterns for telling the story of how the Folk School was founded, so this quilt really does have a tale to tell.


At the last minute I decided to bring a bunch of scraps:

Just the top 1/3 of my container at home

That was a good call, as everyone used at least one scrap in their blocks. We also had visitors from the Appalachian Women's Work class who came looking for some fabric and were lucky to find that these scraps were well-trained, having been used in other quilts!




I was back in the farmhouse, sleeping in Olive Campbell's room again:

When I say campus think "farm."

My downstairs neighbor said her alarm clock was dropped to the floor by Olive's ghost, but so far I have not heard or seen anything of her.
The rooms are comfortable and located all around the campus in a variety of old & new buildings with colorful names like Little House, Rock House, Orchard House and Log House.
Three daily meals served family style allow all the students and teachers to interact. I always meet interesting people.. deer hunters, college professors, small business owners. They come from everywhere, even as far as Alaska!


Just about everything for the Folk School is online and they are always working to make the website better. The newest idea is to be able to search for two kinds of classes at the same time, making it easy for the woodworkers and quilters (for example) to find a week when they can go together!
Classes through December this year are online, and the classes for next year will be added when the new catalog comes out. You can get on the mailing list and also ask for a catalog: http://www.folkschool.org


I'll be teaching again May 12--18, 2013...it can't come too soon!

The Moonlight Quilters are Blooming!

What a great day we had Saturday in Titusville, making flowers and leaves for the BLOOMS class!

This class was inspired quite a few years ago by Cherry-cherry, who wanted to know why a beginners' class had to be old tradtional blocks...why couldn't it be contemporary?
So I designed the piece on the left, to include the basic shapes of quiltmaking using fast-piecing techniques, but requiring very little matching.
It was rather bitter-sweet teaching this class, because the other basis of it is Designing on a Grid. I learned that truly valuable skill from Judy Hopkins' book One-of-a-Kind Quilts (That Patchwork Place, 1989). Judy passed away this month.

This fabulous big room had plenty of space for work tables and lunch tables both! It's the American Police Hall Of Fame museum, which happens to be right next door to the Astronaut Museum....just turn in when you see the Space Shuttle!

Almost everyone had strips cut and jumped right into the sewing.

We made the flower first, because it actually has sections that need to match. After that, the leaves are totally random. The hardest part of this class is throwing away the precision and matching that we've worked so hard to learn!

The Moonlight Quilters are a really fun group who also know how to get some sewing done.

One of the best parts of a class is looking at all the beautiful fabric...I love the way each person's choices reflect her personality. There was everything from Tropical to Traditional, with a large contingent of Batik Lovers.

We spent the morning sewing flowers and leaves, followed by a good lunch.  (I won't mention the fantastic snacks that simply appear by magic at any quilters' gathering!)

The afternoon started with a short round of sewing. Then everyone contributed some flowers and leaves to learn how to work out her own design by creating the grid space, moving parts around, and filling in the spaces with whatever pieces she thought would be best.

I can hardly wait to see some of the finished quilts!
Will they be larger? Smaller? Contain some new design elements? Be totally turned around? (C-C says she wants to see this as a landscape orientation instead of vertical).
I love to teach this class, where a simple-to-make pattern opens the doors of creativity!
And I love to teach for a group like the Moonlight Quilters, who enjoy learning and having so much fun together.

BLOOMS in Panama City

Last weekend at the Quilters Paradise retreat, hosted by Quilting By the Bay, my new pattern debuted.

After teaching "Blooms For Beginners & Other Flower Lovers" as a class for 5 or 6 years, I bowed to the many requests to turn it into a pattern.

The original wallhanging became the pattern cover

It is interesting to recall that this is yet another project inspired by Cherry-Cherry, who one day mentioned that some people would like to learn quilting, but don't want to make a Bear Paw or Ohio Star or other traditional blocks. They would like something contemporary or "artsy".
So I devised BLOOMS to teach some basic quick-piecing methods, with none of the seams needing to match, and even sneaked in designing-on-a-grid!

As most of my classes, this is basic enough for beginners, but provides a great creative "canvas" for the more experienced quilter to really take off on.

Here are some of the pieces done at the retreat:
Some students enjoyed making two-fabric flowers

Others made one-fabric flowers from two different fabrics
(I really like the reversed colors in this one!)

Fantasy flowers made of checked fabric! Beautiful!

And what happened to the other photos? I sure wish I knew! I am sorry to be missing the ones of the three ladies who had purchased kits made up for the class by QBTB. They all had red flowers, and each one was quite different!
We had lots of fun watching all the BLOOMS come into full flower, and discussing plans to embellish and quilt in some wonderful details.

Here is a picture of my teacher's table. Wasn't it nice to have a cup that matched my quilt?

The flowers in the original BLOOMS were made from one fabric that shaded orange to purple.
The lap size sample has shaded pink flowers.

Draping over the edge there is the lap quilt size I am still working on. It had borders, and I took them off because I really want to experiment with some checkerboard ideas.

So many quilts...so little time!
Electric Quilt helps a lot to run through ideas about settings, values, colors, etc. but eventually it just has to be done in fabric.