Round Up Week 19: Classes and Lecture

 This past week was really nice and full of quilting inspiration and action!

Thursday was the first of 6 weeks of classes on hand stitching: In the Studio with Lauren.  This time we worked on reverse appliqué, the technique that is used in molas.

Here is my 'half hearted' practice piece...  Back and then front just so you can see the half heart.  The actual homework was to do a spiral shape but this was pretty difficult so I changed it just try the technique out.  It was easier and harder to do that I expected.  I'm hoping to connect more with the other techniques to be covered in the classes. But also think I should complete the heart design someday too.  Perhaps adding more detail or putting different colored fabric to show thru too would be fun.

I sandwiched and finished quilting the little quilt I made from the blocks in the previous class.  She called the class, Log Cabins and Power Bars.

I had to piece together some batting left over from an older project.  Did that just by hand basting the pieces together.

I used a table and did spray basting inside by an open screen door.  First I did the backing to the batting, then flipped it over and then did the top to the batting.

When it comes time for me to do a larger quilt, I will get things in place and then have my helper watch part of this video! http://www.aqsblog.com/how-to-spray-baste-a-quilt or https://youtu.be/dBFAiwmPQBc

It is a small quilt so I was able to do it without taping things down or using many pins.  I just put one in each of the corners of the basted backing to be sure the top would be in the right place, and one in the center. 

The backing material has images of flies used in fishing.  I bought it back when I thought I'd be making quilts for everyone I knew.  This fabric was for my husband's cousin who is a fly fisher.  But after I got the fabric I learned how he was really a professional fly fisher and they moved to Lancaster PA so were getting hand made quilts made there...  And most importantly, I got real on how long it would take me to feel like anything I would make could be a gift.  Anyway I'm glad to finally have a use for the fabric.

For the design, I had wanted to do baptist fans, but decided to go ahead with curvy lines from top to bottom, then from side to side - about three inches apart.  The only marking I did was to find the center and pin a piece of fabric so I would see the center and be sort of even when I was going down the piece. I think doing a curvy quilting pattern will make the straight lines of the blocks stand out.

Here you can see the walking foot vertical lines.  Oh I sewed down the edges before I started, and trimmed the extra batting off and squared of the corners.

The batting had been stored without the directions so I am not sure how far apart to do the stitching.  I decided on 4 inches - so sewed so the widest is three inches. My friend said I needed to add cross lines so I did...

  

  

This quilt is not turning out at all the way I thought it would.  I guess I thought putting the red square in would tie the different fabrics together and make it look like it was more planned.  Guess this is what I get for using scraps.

I attended another wonderful online class thru EBHQ:
Eel Grass and Eddies (Long Layered Curves) with Variations by Marge Tucker 

It was a fun class - I was able to get a good grasp of the technique and got several blocks made.  I used fabric I had left over from the quilt shop run that my DH and I did the day before our son asked us to stay at home (because of the pandemic).  I used most of the fabric for masks, but still had three FQs to use in the class - added some white from my stash.

So for two FQ with color, and two of white I ended up with these....  First I had these longer strips, then I cut them into 6.75 inch blocks.  I didn't think I'd be able to get three colored strips in my blocks so I cut the background wider, and ended up with four strips in two of them.  

I'm pretty pleased with these, even though the new mothers I know do not want pink quilts for their little girls...  I have started to make two more longer strips for more blocks.

Again, this project is going to look more scrappy than all together since I need to use different fabrics to finish it up...

I am going to make some more blocks with different fabrics (as I do not have more of the quilt shop run fabrics), so the quilt will be a little larger.... and more useful to someone...

The Marge Tucker Lecture on Improv and Abstractions in Antique Quilts was a trunk show where she showed an antique quilt and then sometimes showed her modern interpretation of it.  They all had improv piecing.  It was really interesting.  I'm not sure if I'm allowed to publish any of the photos I took, but here is link to her online gallery. http://margetuckerquilts.com/gallery and a link to her online class description page http://margetuckerquilts.com/classes  She also presented the Going in Circles Class, but I only made the waiting list for that class (and didn't get in).

So I still need to finish the binding for the Log Cabin and Power Bar quilt, and finish the little pink quilt, and I want to get up to speed on the Lone Robin quilt - hopefully this coming week I will do all that.

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Not quilting...

I'm doing a terrific job of not doing any paperwork.  So that is still waiting for me to work on and finish up.   Story of my life...

This weekend our son heard a bird hit a window and saw that it was wounded on the ground.  He looked up what to do and ended up taking a towel to pick it up and place inside a box with a cover.  At first he left it outside, but when a hawk came snooping around he brought the box inside to the laundry room.  Soon, he then took it to Project Wildlife with hopes that they would be able to help it recover...

He called Project Wildlife the next day and was told the bird he brought in the box did not make it. He was sad - so were we all.

Then jumping ahead to today (Tuesday) he was standing looking out the window at a bird hopping around in the area where the hawk had been, when all of a sudden a snake started coming up the window! And then when he looked again there was another snake on the table on the other side winding its way thru his tools!

So two California King snake sightings in one day.  It's the first time we have ever seen snakes.

So that is the round up of the previous week including the days in this week since I am late with posting.