"A" is for Applique

Learn appliqué! It's not as scary as you might have heard.
My pattern for these sweet funky flowers is included in the class.
[Fabrics used in this piece are all by Blank Quilting Corp.]

Many quilters say they don't do "the A word."

"A" stands for "Appliqué" and it's really not the scarlet letter that some make it out to be.

Look at these cheery flowers. They don't look intimidating, do they? Applique is a wonderful complement to patchwork and quilters can achieve some amazing results in their compositions with this technique.

I'm teaching a Beginning Appliqué class this coming Tuesday, February 10 at Pins and Needles Quilt Shop.

Join me for this class and I'll tell you the reasons why I like this particular method of appliqué and I'll show you how you can do it by hand and by machine. 

Options are always a good thing!

A basting party with the Churn Dashes

My students hit Week 4 of my Beginning Quilting class—basting the quilt in preparation for machine quilting. This is a fun week for me as quilt tops come together and we see final fabric choices for sashing, outside borders and backing. Here is today's Show and Tell.

Louise's Churn Dash

Don't you love the surprise on Louise's backing? She unexpectedly found a coordinating print that was part of this fabric collection.

The backing shows off the coordinating prints.

Sue made her Churn Dash a scrappy version. Last week, she auditioned the layout of the blocks and decided to put the bright yellow in the center. Your eye dances around the other blocks from color to color and value to value. Nice variety!

Sue's scrappy Churn Dash.

The background of the Churn Dash blocks is a Splash blender from Blank Quilting and the border is from the Inspiration collection.

A light backing will show off the quilting.

Sandra is making her Churn Dash for a grandson. Her choice of colors, prints and stripes gives her quilt a masculine look. The dark border will frame it beautifully.

Sandra's Churn Dash is for her grandson.

 Cheryl brought in this 9-patch on point quilt top. The color combination is striking!

Cheryl's 9-patch quilt top.

Everyone in class helps each other basting their quilt tops. With multiple pairs of hands, the basting process moves quickly. This is the best way to baste quilt tops (in my opinion)—with a bunch of quilting buddies!

Group basting is the way to go!

After a discussion about threads—fiber content, weight, color, and reflectance—we did some auditioning...

Auditioning thread color for quilting.

Which thread color do you think she went with—the peach or the mint??

Beginning quilters learn basic block units, and a lesson on design walls

On week two of my Beginning Quilting class, my students learned several basic quiltmaking techniques and are working on two versatile block units—the two-patch unit and the half square triangle. Here is their progress with their first quilt block—the Churn Dash.

Churn Dash blocks from Beginning Quilting students.

We also discussed pressing seams, pressing for construction, nesting seams and design options. A design wall is indispensable for auditioning fabrics, values and determining unit placement. It can keep you organized and provides a visual platform for experimenting with design possibilities.

For class purposes, I carry a flannel-backed plastic table cloth (you can pick one up at the dollar store) for a design wal. It is inexpensive, portable, and folds up quickly for transporting to and from classes. In my studio I have flannel fabric wall that I made with two lengths of white cotton flannel sewn together.

On a recent visit to a quilt shop, the "light bulb" went on during a conversation with the shop owner—flannel wide backings for design walls! Blank Quilting has a new line of flannel wide backs. The putty color is a good "neutral" background color [anyone remember 18% neutral gray from Photography classes?], or you could use the back (unprinted) side. I remember a workshop with Kaffe Fassett where he recommended a neutral gray or taupe color (as opposed to white) as a backdrop for viewing painting, quilting and knitwear designs.

Oh, I wish wide back flannel was available when I was making my flannel design wall. The wide backing is 108" wide, a better yardage buy for your dollar... and you don't have to piece it!

Begining Quilting class successes

Ana chose bright, happy prints and stripes
with her daughter, Sophie, in mind.

Another group of people have joined the ranks of quilters after successfully completing my Beginning Quilting by Machine class this month. The classic Churn Dash block took on different personalities through the quiltmaker's choice of fabrics, prints, thread color and quilting designs.

Congratulations, quilters, on all your sharp points, even borders and especially the originality in your quilting designs! Your hard work has paid off with beautiful results. Welcome to the extensive quilting family.

The floral border and small check sashing accentuates
Frances' collection of 30s fabrics in her scrappy quilt.

Janet quilted minaret shapes in the borders of her quilt
to echo the images in the fabric.

The rich eggplant Churn Dashes contrasts beautifully with
Nancy's choice of a fall harvest print in the border.

Martha created a focal point with an
unexpected print in the midst of her solid fabric blocks.

Jenny's yummy red-white-and-green color scheme reminds me
of a candy shop! This happy quilt is going to a lucky granddaughter.

 Here is a slide show of their 5 week journey.

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Get your own

Blocks into Tops

This week, my Beginning Quilting students showed off completed quilt tops. Aren't they doing an amazing job? The time just flies when we are in class.

Left: Lots of gorgeous batiks in this one. A contrasting border sets off the blocks.
Right: Chartreuse and purple combo--a yummy color scheme.

Left: Why use one fabric, when you can go scrappy?
Right: Changing the fabrics in the block makes an attractive design variation.

Left: Excellent contrast in this fabric selection.
Right: A soft spring garden color palette with contrasting stripe border.

Left: The colors of fall leaves inspired this color scheme.
Right: Extra blocks incorporated on the back provides a fun surprise.

These fabrics have a fresh, retro feeling.

Here is the "Basting Brigade." Everyone pitched in to help each other with the basting of their quilt tops. More hands definitely makes this task go quickly. Way to go, quilters! Quilting, binding and the all-important label is next.

First Blocks

I'm really enjoying teaching a Beginning Quilting class! The second session of the 5-week class was very productive as my students completed their first quilt block for their Churn Dash quilts. Yay! Applause, applause.

 

You can see the wonderful combinations of color, print and value in these quilt blocks.

They have lots of homework this week: completing all 9 blocks for their quilt. Next week we'll have a Show and Tell of everyone's accomplishments. Then, on to the sashing, borders and backing ...