Update - Five and a half years later - I finished this wall hanging back in 2015 and thought you might like to see the finished product (I actually do finish things).
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Original post from 2012:
I love taking classes. I always learn so much from the teacher as well as the other students. I get to see projects in colors that I wouldn't normally use and it inspires me to maybe try something different next time.
Today I took a class at Stitching Traditions in Topeka. The teacher, Kathy Pflaum, was wonderful with all her tips and tricks for success. She will be teaching a year-long color and design class starting in October. I'm checking my calendar to see if I can swing it.
These blocks are built up in layers - there is no piecing and in fact, very little sewing. Each layer is folded into either a rectangle, square, triangle or other shape and attached by stitching around the outside of a base block. A good hot iron and some sizing or pressing agent is useful to get nice crisp folds. I finished these 2 in class and hope to finish another one tonight. This could get addicting!
The book 3D Folded Blocks is by Geeseje Baron and Esther Vermeer - check out their website.
Still Curious in Kansas!
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Quilts of Valor - just the name of this group give me goosebumps. QOV is an organization that makes and donates quilts to service members and veterans touched by war. I'm tearing up just thinking about service members and the sacrifices they made and continue to make.
These women and men are like my extended family as I too served in the military (US Army 1979-1995). I never had to go to a shooting war - the cold war was my war - but I trained, prepared, deployed on training exercises, and prepared my family as best I could to function while I was away. This was basically the reason I retired early - I have 2 sons, one of whom has autism, and I did not feel comfortable leaving them for long periods of time. This picture was taken at Signal Corps Basic Course, where I was a TAC Officer (mentor) for new Lieutenants. Geez was I young and thin! Anyway, I digress.
Kaw Valley Quilters Guild (KVQG), my local guild, has a group of 7 women who make and donate quilts regularly to QOV. The donation ceremony is very meaningful for them. They see their quilts received and cherished by local service members. So far they have donated 25 quilts in 2 years.
I made a quilt that will be donated to QOV - it is a Courthouse Steps pattern done in red, cream, and blue with appliqued stars. QOV quilts do not have to be red, white and blue, but many are.
Dan, my ex-husband and father of my sons, flew Cobra helicopters in Vietnam and commanded a helicopter battalion in Desert Storm. He is a proud aviator, soldier and veteran, so I nominated him to receive a quilt on the QOV website. He received his quilt last November on Veterans Day. Here he is with his wife Linda (left) and Barbara (right), the San Antonio TX QOV Coordinator.
There are lots of ways to get involved - ask your local guild or check out the QOV Website. If you don't feel up to making a whole quilt, you can donate money or fabric, or you can make a single block - see the QOV 2018 Block Drive
Curious about QOV? Learn more on the QOV Website.
Judy Niemeyer, her daughter Judel Buls, along with a great staff, run Quiltworx. I love Judy's designs. I've started 2 quilts and have several more in line. I'm even planning on taking a couple of workshops from Judy and Judel (her daughter) this year. I'm seriously thinking about becoming a Certified Instructor.
Judy's designs are foundation pieced, very complex and absolutely gorgeous. They are also a little intimidating. Like many things I do, I jumped in with both feet and up to my eyeballs - starting with the Vintage Rose 2017 Technique Quilt, which I'm currently assembling, having finished the foundation piecing already. It looks kind of like a bird of paradise in this picture - this is 1/8th of the design.
So, what is so special about Judy's designs (besides the obvious beauty of them)? Well, mainly it's the process of assembly line piecing (chain piecing plus assembly line pressing and trimming), her techniques for success (using registration points, glue basting and others), and Quiltster - an online tool to design and color your quilt.
If you are interested in doing one of Judy's designs but you're not ready to jump into the deep end like I did, I have a recommendation - Start with these simple, but striking projects:
Stained Glass Window (Quilt or Wall hanging)
or
Impatiens Placemats.
And lucky for you, I'm teaching how to make these projects at Mea Bernina and Babylock at the end of the month.
In class, you'll learn how to use Judy's templates to cut the fabric, how to assembly line foundation piece, get an introduction to Quiltster, how to sew curves (Impatiens), and how to do an inside point binding (Impatiens). These classes will give you the skills and confidence needed to tackle some of the more complex patterns, or at the very least you'll catch a little of my enthusiasm for Judy's designs.
I love Judy's designs and I love teaching classes. Come join me! We'll have a blast.
I started this beauty last January. Every year, the talented Reeze Hanson of Morning Glory Designs offers us a free BOM. After seeing Fair Isle Winter, I jumped on that wagon and took off. I love the blue and decided on a pale yellow for the background. I guess I'm channeling my inner Swede on this one.
Most of the blocks are foundation pieced - one of my favorite techniques - with some cool applique shapes in the corners of the blocks.
I've loved collecting blue batiks - everything from true blue to blue-green, blue with lavender, teal, and turquoise. So many beautiful fabrics out there.
I have almost kept current on this one - well, better than other BOMs - I'm on month 8 and am catching up quickly. I made a boo-boo and used a dark blue where I was supposed to use a yellow background. I decided there were too many seams to take out so I would leave it the way it was - Sorry Reeze, I added a new design element to block 8.
There are 13 sashing blocks that I want to start on next. I've pinned the blocks on my design wall so that I can decide which blues to use for the sashing. At this point I'm thinking of a true blue - or an aqua?
The BOM ends in a month when Reeze sends out the last block. Each of the previous blocks is available on her website for $5. Next month, they will all be gone, but the entire pattern will be available. If you want a foundation piecing challenge with a series of gorgeous blocks and an unusual setting, then Fair Isle Winter is for you.
Curious about Reeze Hanson? Check her out! You'll love her stuff.
Last year I had the privilege of designing the BOM for the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild. Our guild offers a BOM every year and I had always wanted to write a pattern . . . so I volunteered. Occasionally I like to challenge myself, and man oh man, this was a challenge.
I don't remember when and how the idea came to me, but I wanted to do a quilt with Kansas named blocks. These blocks usually have a traditional feel, which is not really my style. So, I decided to give them a bit of a twist by using modern fabric - Grunge by Moda - and a non-traditional layout. Hence the name - Kansas Goes Modern (KGM).
I also wanted to learn a little more about the quilting history of my adopted state of Kansas. I am not a quilt historian, but it was fun to learn about the history of each of the blocks. Much of the information came from Barbara Brackman, a member of our guild and a nationally known quilt historian.
Since I get really enjoyment from learning and teaching, I decided to throw some interesting and varied techniques into KGM. So I included pieced blocks, English Paper Pieced blocks, foundation paper pieced blocks, and applique blocks.
So, the blocks - all with Kansas in the name:
Kansas Star
Kansas Troubles
Kansas Dugout
Kansas Beauty
Kansas Twister
Kansas Dust Storm
Rocky Road to Kansas
Kansas Sunflower
Hearth and Home's Kansas
After getting it all assembled, I asked the wonderfully talented Sandra Morgan-Cockrum to quilt KGM. She did a terrific job with lots of custom designs, ruler work, and swirls.
Now, after releasing one block a month and three months of assembly instructions, I am putting everything together in a pattern that will be available for purchase in the next few months (one of my goals for 2018). I am so excited about this. I have to get some good pictures taken and put the finishing touches on the pattern - but I'm almost there!
My next steps are to take KGM on the road as a workshop or series of classes. So, if you are interested in making KGM in class, please let me know. Hopefully it will be coming to a shop or guild near you!
Curious about Kansas quilt blocks? Check out Kansas Goes Modern!
I looked back to see if I wrote about my goals for 2017. I couldn't find anything. I did write about the new BOMs that were tempting me. Want an update?
Overbrook Sister Sampler BOM - almost up to date.
Halo Medallion - completed up through month 3.
Down the Rabbit Hole - completed through month 2 but put away (for awhile, maybe forever).
Murder Mystery - I still don't know who dunnit, but I've completed through month 3.
Perpetually Hexie - Haven't even started. But I have all the papers!
Not a great completion rate, but I AM a BEGINNING QUILTER - I love to start projects. I'm at 80% for starting - pretty decent!
So, In an attempt to get some accountability with my goals, I figured I'd let you all know what they are - that way, when you see me you can support (embarrass) me by asking how I'm progressing on whatever project.
So, here they are - my possibly non-realistic 2018 goals.
1. Work on my quilts in accordance with my rotational system - don't skip stuff! Try to get through the entire rotation each month.
2. Post a blog post every other week - unless my friends tell me they want more. I'd also love to see more of your comments on the blog. So, if you've read this far, please send me a comment in the comment box below.
3. Prepare a trunk show and workshop for local/regional guild programs.
4. Publish my pattern for Kansas Goes Modern.
5. Design and make 2 quilts from my 50 Quilts From 50 States series.
That will keep me busy for sure. Perhaps I should do an update several times throughout the year. Oh, and please ask me how I'm progressing when you see me!
Keeping It Curious in 2018!
I would guess that most quilters who have been at it for longer than 2 minutes have at least one Jelly Roll in their stash. For my non-quilting family and friends (Mom), a Jelly Roll is not a tasty, fattening treat, nor is it a rapper from Nashville, but rather a collection of about 40 2.5 inch wide strips, sometimes rolled up and presented as a roll. Fabric company Moda coined the term, so other companies have other cute names - treats, buns, pops, roll ups.
As most of you know, I work at Mea Bernina, a sewing machine and quilting store, teaching machine and quilting classes. What could be more fun, right? So at the beginning of 2016 I started teaching/hosting a club we called the Sassy Strippers - its all about fabric strips and Jelly Rolls.
This was a terrific challenge for me - to come up with different and interesting monthly projects that showcase various techniques, using our own curated jelly rolls, and then teaching the technique to anywhere from 12 to 20 sassy gals. It was soooo much fun!
So we started where every self-respecting quilter would start - with the Jelly Roll Race. Did you know there is more than one? Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company made a video tutorial that really popularized the JR Race.
Our Jelly Roll was a specially curated black and white roll, with fabrics from various collections that we had at Mea Bernina. So there is no other Jelly Roll like this available anywhere. We gave each Sassy Stripper a cut of a bright solid so that they could add in squares (JR Race 2) or triangles (JR Race 3) in between the strips. We didn't really race, but some say they have completed it in less that an hour. I should time myself sometime and see - although I'm really not a very speedy sewist.
My intention for Sassy Strippers was to do different projects - not just quilts. So for our second project we featured a wonderfully creative string market bag. Bias strips were double folded and stitched together using the Bernina Binding Attachment. Then the resulting strong, double fold strips were then sewn together at intervals to make a string bag. Terrific! Mea Bernina has kits available to make this cool bag.
But wait, there's more! I really enjoyed coming up with interesting (hopefully) projects every month. I'll write more about the other projects in later posts. If you are interested in joining the Sassy Stripper adventure with me, we will continue it next year (2018) with a bit of a twist. After 20 projects with strips, we are branching out a bit. That's at much as I'll say here, but I promise it'll be fun! So, if you are curious about different techniques, want to get creative ideas with fellow sassy sewists, check out the Mea Bernina Class and Club listing and join us in January.
Keeping Curious!
Update - Five and a half years later - I finished this wall hanging back in 2015 and thought you might like to see the finished product (I actually do finish things).
