QuiltCon Class Recommendations

Yikes!  QuiltCon 2019 workshop registration opens up this coming Tuesday, June 26th at 10am EST.  I had better get serious and decide which classes I would like to take. For me, it's always a challenge to balance the amount of classroom time vs. leaving enough time to see the quilt show, shop all the vendors and visit with friends.  It's the perfect opportunity to meet online friends in real life.

QuiltCon is the Modern Quilt Guild's annual quilt show and conference and took place this year in Pasadena, CA.  It was only my second trip to the west coast and my first trip to California.

This view was only steps from the Pasadena Convention Center where QuiltCon 2018 was held and I think these are the San Gabriel Mountains are in the background.

Next year, QuiltCon 2019 is within driving distance from South Carolina and takes place in Nashville, TN at Music City Center .  So, I am definitely planning to attend and the hotel has been booked!

Now, what classes to take?  Well, if you have not decided the classes for which you plan to register, I have a few suggestions.

I previously mentioned the balance between class time vs. show time.  In Savannah, I didn't leave enough time to see the show so I decided to take a light class load in Pasadena.  I signed up three 3-hour classes: Lino Printing with Karen Lewis, Hand Quilting with Sarah Fielke and a domestic machine quilting class with Christina Cameli.  I highly recommend taking classes from all three instructors.

I never gave a QuiltCon recap upon returning home, so this is a perfect time to tell you about the classes I took in Pasadena.

Beginning Lino Printing with Karen Lewis

I have never taken a class where I had such a successful outcome.  I was pleased with everything, and I mean everything.  

I preorderd all the supplies needed directly from Karen and she brought them to class for us. This was my first attempt, just some simple lines printed on Kona Pickle. I rotated the lino stamp to create a grid.   

  

Next, I ventured out and tried some leaves.  

This photo was taken in class.  You can see the lino stamps with the ink on each.  I took Kona solids use as the base for printing.  This is Kona pickle.

I made one more stamp in class.  I guess you could call this an improv 16-patch.

I used the simple lines again and wondered about using this print as a binding or a focus print on a zipper pouch.

  Karen was so sweet, I highly recommend her classes.

This is a an excerpt from the class catalog for her beginning lino printing class, SUR100, but she is teaching several other classes.

Hand Quilting with Sarah Fielke

The next class I took was hand quilting with Sarah Fielke.  I have taken one of her Craftsy classes and knew I wanted to take a class from her in person.  And since she's from Australia, I didn't know when I would have the opportunity again.

Now, don't judge my outcome as a measure for taking her class.  This was a first for me, and didn't come as natural.

My hand quilting needs practice, just like free motion quilting or most anything else.  I struggled using a metal thimble as I normally us the little pads that stick to your finger.

Sarah even gave each student a charm pack of her new fabric line Grid Paper, compliments of Windham Fabrics. The top print is Grid Paper in green.  You may recognize it from the June Blogger Bundle I curated for Bernie's Etsy Shop, Needle and Foot.

And, Aurifil provided to everyone a small spool of their 12 wt cotton thread perfect for big stitch hand quilting.

Sarah is teaching several classes, but this the description to her hand quilting class.

Machine Quilting with Christina Cameli

I had been following Christina's blog, A Few Scraps, for a long time and was thrilled to take her class.  Her free motion tutorial, Leafy Lines, is one of my favorites.

The name of the class was Free-Motion Textures.  The class was on Sunday morning and by that time I was a little tired, but free-motioned as fast as I could.  The machine I was using started acting up and skipped stitches terribly, but I kept right on quilting.

 

 And, while I don't remember the names of all the designs, I have the sample to remind me free-motion fillers to use.

Christina is not teaching the exact class in Nashville, but I would recommend any class from her.

Additional Recommendations 

And also, consider classes by:

• Michele Wilke (Factotum of Arts) is teaching several classes.  She has taught a class for us at the Greenville MQG and she's a fantastic teacher.
• Cheryl Brickey (Meadow Mist Designs) who teaching Beginner EQ8 and Subtracting for Minimalism.
• Yvonne Fuchs (Quilting Jetgirl) who is teaching Transparency Quilt Design.

And don't forget about the many lectures that are offered.  I hope these suggestions will help with you picking classes is you are undecided.  Are you planning to attend QuiltCon in Nashville?  If so, I hope to see you there!

Casting Shadows ~ Michael Miller Fabric Challenge at QuiltCon

I made my first trip to California for QuiltCon a couple weeks ago and this happened...Casting Shadows, my Michael Miller Our Yard Fabric Challenge placed 2nd!

It all started with this bundle I received back in August 2017.

Without a plan, I was instantly drawn to the stripe, thinking it would make a great binding. I also liked the Lime Tree Leaves in Robin.  I thought those little trees were cute too.

I had so many ideas for the challenge, I had a hard time choosing what I would make.  The months flew by and I had to make a decision as it was getting down to the wire.  Knowing I liked the stripe, I had ordered a half yard thinking I would use it for the binding from Morning Star Fabrics.  I ordered Cotton Couture in Ivory twice from Add Thread. 

I decided to use the Quick Curve Ruler once again.  But would my idea work?  After some careful measuring, cutting and piecing, I auditioned the pieced curved strips on the design wall for spacing.

Next, I auditioned itty bitty bias strips for placement.  Should I add a third strip, or leave it at two?  You can see I decided not to add the bias strips to the blue section.

I used every pin to secure the strip to the background before stitching.

After securing the striped strips, I zig zag stain stitched the blue in place and was ready to begin the quilting.  I used Aurifil 50 wt for the applique and the quilting.

Here you can see where I secured the strip to the background using the walking foot since the seam would be covered by the bias tape.  While the curved strip may look like a continuous strip, it was actually pieced.  The arrow indicates one of the seams.  And here, the quilting has begun.

The quilting is almost done, one more section to go.

Here it is all quilted and blocked.  You can see I left the right side intact as I had planned to add a curved edge and figured it would be more stable if I did not cut away the curves.  Nothing like making the challenge more complicated than it was already.

I first added the bias tape which I had done before.  I decided to use the Robin for the binding on the the left side and actually made it from a fat eighth.  In fact, all the blue was pieced and bound from fat eighths given to me from guild members.

I decided to change the binding color to match the curve.  I actually blindly cut the binding strips, pieced it to the orange and hoped for the best as the seam was so close to the corner, I couldn't actually turned the corner and then cut to size.  But it all worked out the first cut on both the top and bottom.

I saved the curved edge for last.  Here we go, let's hope for the best!  I pinned very carefully, not wanting to pull the bias binding too taut.

I carefully stitched using the walking foot.

I made the final join and then carefully trimmed away the excess.

I'm proud to say, the my challenge was made entirely from Michael Miller fabrics, right down to the hanging sleeve.  Remember this fabric from the Glitz challenge a couple years ago?  I thought I would never return to it again.

I was thrilled when Casting Shadows was juried in the show and even more ecstatic to learn it had placed 2nd in the challenge.

It's no secret, I love a challenge...here's my first Micheal Miller Spring Cotton Couture fabric challenge from 2015, After Dinner Mints, which also placed second and again, I used the Quick Curve Ruler.

And this is Barcelona, my Michael Miller Glitz fabric challenge from 2016.  Once again, I used the Quick Curve Ruler in an original design.

I tried to create depth with the white and ivory cotton couture and even tossed around the idea of naming it Hills and Valleys.  The judges' comments were:

• Good sense of horizontal and vertical movement
• Quilting compliments overall design
• All elements combine for a unified look

You can see all the award winning quilts from QuiltCon here.  You can see the Our Yard Challenge winners and other challenge quilts entries on the Michael Miller blog, Making It Fun, here.

I'm already thinking about the next challenge....

Quilt Stats

• Finished size: 35" x 49" 
• Pattern: Original design using the Quick Curve Ruler (affiliate link)
• Fabrics: Michael Miller prints and solids, Bright White, Ivory and Clementine
• Thread: Aurifil 50 wt. in Natural White 2021; Light Beige 2310 and Light Jade 1148 
• Quilting design: walking foot quilting using Bernina 153
• Batting: 100% Cotton Warm & White by the Warm Company
• Completed: November 2017

Linking to Finish It Up Friday with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF hosted this week by Sherry at Powered by Quilting.

The Road to QuiltCon 2018

Oh, was I ever relieved to be notified by text message from the USPS that my QuiltCon entries made the 2,350 mile journey and arrived safely in Los Angeles in just two days.

It took longer than expected to make and sew on three hanging sleeves and two handwritten quilt labels to my quilts.  And then, the day I was planning to go to the post office this happened.  Snow and Ice!  It wasn't a lot of snow, but just enough to cripple the south.

Bald Eagle to Buzzard was juried into the Small Quilts category by default because of the the size, less than 36" on any size.  It was originally made for the Greenville Modern Quilt Guild's Birds in the Air Challenge.

If you spot it at QuiltCon step in a little closer and you will see the quilted bird names I added when just the straight line quilting was a little bleh!

It's no secret, I love a good challenge and was thrilled to find out that Casting Shadows was selected for the Michael Miller Our Yard Fabric Challenge.
 
I cut the challenge fabric with the Quick Curve Ruler and added some bias tape which was made from Cotton Couture in Clementine.  It was so nice and flat, I hated to fold it for shipping.

Casting Shadows also has some machine applique, another love of mine.  And, I managed to cut and piece the binding to match the curve of the applique.  I'll share more details about this one at a later date.

Casting Shadows is made 100% with Michael Miller fabrics, from the backing to the label and even the hanging sleeve.  It was made from leftover challenge fabric, the Michael Miller Glitz Challenge which I never thought I would use again.  You can see my challenge here, Barcelona. 

Positively Transparent will also be on display as part of the MQG's Quilt of the Month program.  It was the August pattern available to all members of the MQG.  I shipped it earlier, so it's already there.

And last but not least, I most excited about Plus Surround hanging at QuiltCon.  You see, Plus Surround is a quilt from our book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts, co-authored with Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.

This is the photo of Plus Surround I submitted with my QuiltCon entry.  I didn't even realize there was glare coming in from the window.

I photograph my quilts on my design wall on the most sunny day possible.  I take a bunch of shots and pick out the best one.  Here's what looked like that day.

Here you can see the detail of some of the quilting.  I quilted radiating lines out from the central plus sign using Aurifil 50wt and then filled in with a different quilting motifs taught by Christina Cameli in one of her Craftsy classes, Free-Motion Quilting Essentials.

Modern Plus Sign Quits is due out any day now, but until then, you can pre-order the book through the Meadow Mist Designs Etsy Shop and Cheryl will throw in one of her printed patterns of your choosing for free!

If you are going to QuiltCon in Pasadena, CA, let me know in the comments.  I would love to see you there!

Sunday Stash (QuiltCon Edition)

I can't believe a month has passed since I returned home from QuiltCon East which you all know took place in Savannah, GA.  Since then I've been sick twice, first with a bad cold and then a nasty stomach virus.  And I made a trip to Mississippi to attend the funeral of an uncle.  I'm anticipating April to be a more healthy and happy month.

While at QuiltCon, of course I shopped the vendors, but I was relatively good.  I thought I would show you what I brought home.  Most are purchases, but I scored an awesome souvenir!

Now, just look at this pincushion.  Do you see those initials AJN?  You know whose they are, right?  I was looking at the quilts late Thursday afternoon and ran into none other than Amanda Jean Nyberg of Crazy Mom Quilts.

Pincushion made by Amanda Jean Nyberg

Before QuiltCon she mentioned in a blog post she would be giving out 75 pincushions at QuiltCon.  You just had to show her a picture of a quilt you had made from one of her patterns.  I've made a mini from her Trees pattern (blogged here).  I've also made a mini Bright Birch Trees which haven't blogged about yet.

Ok, on to the rest.  I was excited to receive a fat quarter of Flourish from Seventy Six by Alison Glass in the QuiltCon swag bag.

Flourish in Marigold

I splurged on a 2-year subscription to Simply Moderne and received this charm pack of Folk Art Revolution by Kathy Doughty and a tote bag and yearly calendar.

Folk Art Revolution by Kathy Doughty

I also purchased a two small fat quarter bundles of Doe by Carolyn Friedlander at the Beyond the Reef booth.

Doe by Carolyn Friedlander

I don't remember from which booth, but I purchased four half-yard cuts of Cotton and Steel's Basic, Add It Up in Lip Gloss, Bananas, Sea Glass and Indigo.  These have already been prewashed, cut into and added to the stash.  The substrate of the three on the top are an unbleached quilting cotton which feels wonderful and keeps the colors from being too saturated if that makes sense.

Cotton and Steel's Basic, Add It Up

And lastly, I found these enamel and sterling silver earrings at the SCAD gift shop by Kathryn Riechert and thought they were the perfect souvenir since I took an indigo fabric dyeing class with Maura Ambrose of Folk Fibers.  I'll share about my dyeing adventure in another post.

I hope your brought home lots of goodies from QuiltCon!

Linking the Sunday Stash #217 with Molli Sparkles.