Guild workshop: small numbers yield big results

I'm always amazed and delighted at the dedication and productivity of the work my quilt guild, the Choo Choo Quilters, has when we get together for our annual Cuddle Quilt workshop. We have a small guild—a roster of about 25 members—but our small numbers are mighty when it comes to supporting our community service project.

Ginny (left) and I hold a colorful scrappy quilt top made by Linda.

This year, the Choo Choo Quilters are digging into their stashes and wallets to make bed quilts (twin and queen size) for a local organization. During yesterday's workshop, three bed size quilt tops were completed and great progress was made on several others.

Tea Cup quilt blocks
The completed Tea Cup blocks went up on a makeshift design wall (a flannel-backed tablecloth over a stand alone white board) early in the day.

Tea Cup quilt blocks on a portable design wall.

We gathered 140 blocks that guild members made. It was determined that the bed size quilt required a 9 x 11 layout, so we began arranging the numerous blocks on the floor. 

Working on a 9 x 11 block layout.

Ta-daa! A finished Tea Cup block quilt top (99 blocks).

Cristy (left) and Kay with the completed Tea Cup quilt top.

Crazy Patch blocks
Sherry and Ginny, the Big Quilt Coordinators, made pre-cut quilt block kits for workshop participants. The block was a stack-slice-shuffle crazy patch block. Here are blocks from two of the three colorways.

Crazy Patch quilt blocks on the design wall.

More crazy patch blocks.

Plaid Surprise blocks
The instructions for the Plaid Surprise blocks was distributed at the July guild meeting. Some of these blocks were turned in at the workshop.

Left: Plaid Surprise Disappearing 9-patch blocks.
Right: trimmings from the blocks will be used to create another block.

Easy Woven and String quilt blocks
Batting was measured and cut for the Woven Block quilt top and others.

Sherry cut batting for completed quilt tops.

Earlier in the year, the guild members made string blocks. This top is ready for quilting.

String quilt top ready for quilting.

Cutting tables and ironing boards were set up for shared use.

Cutting stations.

And we all enjoyed the sewing and camaraderie.

Cuddle Quilt workshop attendees.

Surplus Tea Cup blocks

I offered to take the additional 41 Tea Cup blocks home with me. This is a fast and easy block that I enjoyed making (and using up fabric scraps). I'll be piecing a few more blocks with the hope of getting enough for another quilt top.

Tea Cup blocks on my design wall.

2019 Cuddle Quilt Goal
This year's goal is 20 bed size quilts. We already have 17 that are in various stages of completion. I'd say that's quite an accomplishment for a small guild!

"Oh My Stars" guild Challenge offers possibilities for exploration, learning and development

My guild's annual Guild Challenge for 2018 was called "Oh My Stars." My entry, which won a 3rd place prize, was inspired by Australian aboriginal fabrics [M&S Textiles Australia] and aboriginal Dreamtime designs. 

2018 Choo Choo Quilters Guild Challenge by Veronica Hofman-Ortega.

Challenge Requirements
The Choo Choo Quilters Guild Challenge is presented to guild members at the beginning of the year. It allows a good 7 to 9 months for members to contemplate, plan and execute their piece before the big reveal in November. The requirements for the 2018 Challenge were minimal... and the size was quite manageable:

• Design: the quilt must have at least three different star patterns.
• Size: minimum of 12" on any side; maximum of 45" on any side
• Must be quilted and finished.

With about a week before the deadline, I realized my "Stars" solution had been traveling with me since February—samples of English paper pieced [EPP] hexagons using Australian fabrics. (See this blog post.) Using these blocks in a guild Challenge would give them a purpose, I thought, and they could be showcased in a finished piece. My EPP sample blocks included two star designs so I just had one more star variation to come up with. (The three star variations can be seen in the photo above.)

English paper pieced [EPP] stars using Australian fabrics
from M&S Textiles Australian. 

The Process

The EPP hexagon stars were hand pieced and the blocks were hand stitched together. I experimented with a few layouts and block placement on a background. The circle patterned fabric was chosen for the background because circles are a major design element and symbol in the Dreamtime designs, and the lime green was the complementary color to the reds and oranges in several of the stars.

Auditioning layouts of the stars.
(Note: fabric colors are not accurate due to inside lighting conditions.)

Once the layout was determined, guidelines for the quilting were drawn on the background with a chalk marker. 

Guidelines for quilting are marked.

The quilting techniques include walking foot quilting, free-motion quilting and rulerwork. The English paper pieced star blocks were appliquéd to the quilt after the background was free-motion quilted. The stars were then ditch quilted with a 60 wt. polyester thread.  

Background free-motion quilting.

The quilting designs were inspired by the motifs in the Australian fabrics and the story of the Dreamtime designs.

Detail: free-motion quilting.

For the backing, I used a leftover piece of a 110" wide backing [Westrade Textiles]. The color and value of this fabric made it easy to choose a bobbin thread to match the color of the top thread that was used for the quilting. Here are views of the quilting from the back.

Back detail.

A facing was used rather than a traditional binding. The same 110" wide backing fabric was used for both the backing and facings.

Back detail: free-motion quilting and quilt facings.

The finished piece: 26" x 38.5"

26" x 38.5" finished size.

Quilt Stats

• 80 wt. soft poly thread for EPP hand piecing hexagons (DecoBob from WonderFil Threads);
• 50 wt. cotton top thread (Konfetti from WonderFil Threads) for quilting; 
• 60 wt. poly top thread for ditch quilting (Bottom Line from Superior Threads); 
• 60 wt. poly for bobbin (Bottom Line); 2-1/2 bobbins.
• 13 hrs. quilting: walking foot (curves and circles); free-motion for background and fillers; ruler work for ditch and outline quilting.
• fabrics from M&S Textiles Australia (pieced hexagons), Art Gallery Fabrics (background); Westrade Textiles (quilt backing and facings)

Why participate in a guild Challenge?

One of the things that my guild does during our Challenge Reveal is to have each Challenge participant give a brief explanation of their piece before the prizes are awarded. Their explanation could be about their inspiration, their thought process behind meeting the Challenge requirements, the trials, roadblocks and successes of the creation process, the materials used, or any pertinent information they feel contributes to the "story" of their Challenge entry. I think you can always learn something from listening to another person's creative path to solving a problem—especially when we were all faced with the same problem to solve.

One of our newer members commented that she could never enter a piece in a Challenge. Quick yet gentle encouragement came forth in response.

• Guild Challenges are a great way to experiment with new techniques and concepts in a safe environment (in the presence of your fellow guild members who support you and your endeavors).
• You can learn from working on your own piece as well as from what others present.
• What better way to try new things than a Challenge? You will become proficient and gain confidence by doing.
• Challenges keep your brain active as you problem solve and research solutions to make your vision a reality.
• The Challenge Reveal is a "quilt show" we give to ourselves as a guild. It's a well-deserved treat for the entire group!

Congratulations to all the Choo Choo Challenge participants! Well done.

Chattanooga area quilt shops and quilters welcome Ben Taphouse from Lewis and Irene fabrics: part 1

This week, I had a wonderful opportunity to host a visit and travel with Ben Taphouse, the Sales Director of Lewis and Irene, a young and enterprising fabric company based in England.

Ben Taphouse, Director of Sales for Lewis and Irene fabrics, speaking at the
Choo Choo Quilters guild meeting. The "Lindos" collection was a guild favorite.

Lewis and Irene is a family-owned fabric company serving the sewing, quilting and crafting businesses across Europe and is now introducing their "sophisticated cute" fabric collections and fashion blenders to quilt shops in the United States. I am one of the direct fabric reps in the US.

The "Kimmeridge Bay" collection features prehistoric
sea creatures, rock rubbings and a design based on an actual
fossil found at the site.

Visiting with the Choo Choo Quilters
Ben's visit coincided with my quilt guild's monthly meeting, so the Choo Choo Quilters gave Ben a warm, enthusiastic welcome to Chattanooga on his first evening in town. 

Guild members got an up-close-and-personal preview of all the new Lewis and Irene fabric collection as Ben presented them along with the inspiration and personal story behind each collection. Strike-offs (printed fabric swatches of the designs) were available for attendees to feel and inspect.

Lewis and Irene's fabrics are made from grade A1 cotton and the company vetted several mills before choosing the one to print its fabrics. The Lewis and Irene team keeps attentive watch on design execution and print quality and is pushing boundaries with metallic, opaque pearlescent and specialty fabric inks. Be on the lookout in September 2018 for the "Fairy Lights" collection that incorporates glow-in-the-dark inks as a focal point of the designs in the collection. Note that "Fairy Lights" was voted a "guild favorite" during the presentation.

Choo Choo Quilters previewed new fabric collections
from Lewis and Irene.

Other upcoming collections feature geometrics, stylized city skylines with British taxis and a map of the "tube" [Americans might call it the "subway"], winter and holiday themes with tomtes, and a host of other themes inspired by travels near and far--from the Greek islands to local villages and Ben's backyard. Guild members provided feedback on their "most likely will buy" with these as the top vote-getters:

:: Lindos
:: Snow Days and Hygge Christmas
:: Bumbleberries fashion blenders
:: Geometrix
:: Fairy Lights
:: City Lights
:: The Water Meadow

followed closely by:

:: Love Me, Love Me Not

:: Small Things, Country Creatures

:: Winter Garden

:: Bear Hug

:: Celtic Reflections

:: Kimmeridge Bay

:: Scarecrow Acres

Quilters: Be watching for these fabrics to arrive in Chattanooga area quilt shops and other quilt shops across the country.

Projects and inspiration

At the guild meeting, there was an array of samples--quilts, pillows, tote bags--made from the free patterns available from the company's website. 

Quilts and samples of projects made with Lewis and Irene fabrics.

Ben encouraged the guild members to post their own projects made with Lewis and Irene fabrics to the Lewis and Irene Facebook page. The company loves sharing the accomplishments and creativity of quilters, sewists and crafters!

Detail of a quilt featuring hexagons cut from "Enchanted Forest."

During the presentation, Ben relayed the story surrounding the forming and naming of the company--which was named after his grandparents--and endeared attendees even more to the fabrics, the company and the company's core values. The brand's tagline is "threaded with love."

Hand-crafted ceramic mug by local artist.
"Chattanooga Quilts"

Ben's Thank You gift from the Choo Choo Quilters was a Chattanooga Quilts ceramic mug. I've heard on good authority that Ben and the mug made it safely back to England and Ben has already put the mug to good use. Thanks for visiting the USA and spending time with the Choo Choo Quilters, Ben!

Several quilt shop owners, shop associates, and area quilters from Tennessee and Georgia also had the pleasure of meeting my guest from England and hearing the Lewis and Irene story. Stay tuned for part 2 of my travels with Ben.

Getting ready for a "Group Baste" session

Cuddle quilt top pressed and ready for basting.

My quilt guild, the Choo Choo Quilters, does a "group baste" at our annual Cuddle Quilt workshop. This is so efficient and fast—ya gotta love it!

1. We boost the tables up on wooden blocks to a height more conducive to standing (without having to bend). 2. Two people—on opposite sides of the table—tape the backing down. 3. The batting is positioned. 4. We use a spray baste product (follow the instructions on the can). 5. Then two people lay the pieced quilt top over the sprayed batting. Smooth the top to adhere. DONE! Basted.

We crank these basted cuddle quilts (child size and lap size) out like an assembly line that Mr. Ford would be proud of.

So, with our Cuddle Quilt workshop coming next month, it behooves one to get as many quilt tops ready for this process as possible. Hey, who wouldn't want a speedy solution for this [booooring, but necessary] step in the quiltmaking process??? I have three tops ready for the Group Baste session.

I finally found time to assemble a batch of strippy blocks from last year's Cuddle Quilt workshop (or was it two years ago?).

Strip pieced quilt top. 32" x 40"

This next one is an improv "Make Do" quilt top using scraps and leftover patchwork. (I've been making improv chunks since the February guild program.)

Improv cuddle quilt. 41" x 30"

Panels are good for these quilts, too. (This one is a more recent finish, but you can see it required little cutting and sewing.)

Fabric panel with borders. 33" x 42"

So... I'm making progress... a few found minutes at a time... over the course of the year. 

Kudos to the other members of the Choo Choo Quilters... who have just as little spare time, but always come through making these quilts for our guild's community service project. A true team effort!

"The Juggler": the Process, Part II

"The Juggler" quilt top before quilting.

This is Part II of the back story for my 2015 Guild Challenge entry, "The Juggler." Part I can be found at this post.

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After settling on the layout of the blocks and triangles, the paper pieced "juggling balls" were reverse appliquéd to the background.

Layering, pin basting and quilting began at this point…

Quilting, rulerwork: Radiating lines were chalked onto the quilt top. I decided to get more experience with free-motion ruler work and this was a good opportunity. Once these lines were quilted (100 wt. InvisaFil soft poly), the spikes were outlined in the ditch (100 wt. InvisaFil) and the background fills commenced...

Rulerwork radiating lines surrounded by
free-motion pebble pattern.

In addition to a charcoal grey cotton thread (50 wt. 2 ply Aurifil), the colors of the quilting threads (40 wt. polyester, Isacord) echoed the colors of the fabrics of the appliquéd balls: turquoise, lime green, burnt orange, cream and a red violet. It was fun to quilt with the colored poly thread as it was much easier to see on the background. (Grey on black… what was I thinking???)

Radiating lines (ruler work) with a pebble filler.

More pebbles surround the outlined paper pieced spikes.

Here is a detail of how pieces from the panel (mummies and pumpkins) were collaged to form one of the juggler's balls. 75% of the panel had to be used on the quilt top.

Collaged circle with pebble filler.

Two more paper pieced star-balls using fussy cut areas from the panel.

Scavenging bits of similar colors from the fabric panel
for the paper pieced stars.

Another paper-pieced star. You can see bits of the Halloween images from the panel.

Free-motion quilting around the strip of triangles.

Hand appliqué and decorative hand stitching: Upon completion of the machine quilting, the binding was also attached by machine. The felted wool circles were then positioned, basted and hand appliquéd with my new favorite thread for hand stitching—a No. 8 perle cotton Eleganza by WonderFil Threads—using a buttonhole stitch. I enjoyed matching up solid and variegated threads to coordinate with the multi-colored wool circles.

Hand appliquéd wool circles were attached after machine quilting.

Perle cotton threads and embroidery floss for hand stitching.

Quilt Stats:

26.5 hours machine quilting; 7.5 bobbins

3 hours hand stitching and appliqué 14 wool circles.

Top threads: 40 wt. Isacord poly, 100 wt. InvisaFil soft poly (ruler work, outlines and background fillers), 50 wt. 2 ply cotton Aurifil (background fillers), No. 8 2-ply perle cotton and embroidery floss (hand stitching)

Bobbin: Bottom Line 60 wt. polyester.

Finished quilt size: 39.5" x 48.5"

"The Juggler" by Veronica Hofman-Ortega
39.5" x 48.5"

"The Juggler" was voted First Place, Viewers' Choice, at the 2015 Choo Choo Challenge.

My Guild Challenge entry: The Juggler The Process, Part I

"The Juggler"
by Veronica Hofman-Ortega

My guild, the Choo Choo Quilters, had our Guild Challenge reveal last week. The Challenge was called "Beyond the Panel" and a fabric panel of our choosing  was the impetus for each piece. Although we were expecting 13-14 entries, 11 completed quilts comprised the final display.

My team was in charge of creating and organizing this year's Guild Challenge. (We break the guild membership into teams that alternate hosting meetings and presenting programs throughout the year.) I am happy to say that each member of my team—Dawn, Betty, Theresa and I—completed pieces for the Challenge. Our four pieces, and others that were part of the display, can be seen in this post on the guild's blog.

When you decide to submit an entry in a Guild Challenge, the majority of the time seems to be the percolation period for potential ideas or quilt layouts. My piece, "The Juggler" did not start off with this composition, but somehow "morphed" into this final layout. Here is Part I of the back story [my process] for my entry.

This was the panel I decided to use. It's a 24" panel with a Halloween theme. I was drawn to the bright, jewel toned color palette—something I could work with.

Original fabric panel from StudioE Fabrics.

Auditioning companion fabrics: For the Challenge requirements, 75% of the panel needed to appear on the front of the quilt. Additional fabrics could be added to compose a piece between 36" and 70" on each side.

Auditioning companion fabrics.

Without a firm layout in mind, I gathered several fabrics that could be used in the piece as needed. Of this group, however, two found their way into the final piece (see arrows below). I think you need to have an abundance of choices up front which can be whittled down during the process if necessary.

Possible fabrics. The arrows indicate those that were ultimately chosen.

Experimentation and Discovery: One of the reasons I like guild Challenges is because they give you an opportunity to try something new—a product, technique, construction method, etc.—in a controlled environment (your guild) with people who know your work and you are comfortable with (your fellow guild members). I had this roll of "Sew and Fold on a Roll" Tri-angles that I decided to give a try. They were very close in size to the horizontal center stripe of my panel (the row of creepy houses and scary trees).

"Sew and Fold" paper with test sample.

I didn't have the companion 36-degree ruler for this process (which would have been so much easier!), but was able to make a paper template to cut out the appropriate sized fabric pieces. I did a test using scrap fabrics first (above), then pre-cut the pieces from the panel (below).

Triangle pieces cut from the panel center.

Using the Design Wall: At this point, I was still experimenting with layout… with the initial design that I thought would incorporate paper piecing and improv piecing.

Composition begins on the design wall.

A design wall is imperative for this stage.

In the mean time, I found these felted wool dots and wool square charm packs at two quilt shops in my travels. With my Challenge in mind, the colors and circle shapes prompted the purchase.

Felted wool bits add another option to the composition.

 So, with these new bits now in the layout mix, the layout "morphed" into… the juggler.

The Juggler begins to take form.

The placement and arrangement of the triangles was probably the most difficult to decide. The design wall and a digital camera are excellent tools for this stage of the process. (Gee, it would have been grand to have a digital camera back in my paste-up days.)

Potential design layouts.

Stay tuned for the quilting and finishing stages in a future blog post. [Part II is at this post.]