Urban abacus

 

Hello Again

I have pictures to share today from the Urban Abacus class I taught last week. I love teaching, I get so excited seeing the girls "get" the techniques, stop being worried about what to come, and start having fun when they see it not that hard. Anyone can tell when the fun starts by the way the girls start talking about fabric choices for the next quilt they make.

Urban Abacus is from Sew Kind of Wonderful and uses the Quick Curve Ruler.  So far I feel this is about the easiest quilt to cut and piece using the Ruler.

We had the class at The Patchwork Angel, and again the shop helps us all relax and create in a very pretty and wonderful class room. During the class we get used to the cutting and then sewing curves and then the final trim of the blocks.  This all takes time to make sure everyone is confident so when the girls get home they can pick up right where we left off in class.


This pink and vintage quilt is mine as a class sample.  Everyone knows this is mine, cause it so pink.

 

Kaye is using bright purples,pinks and greens with a black background for a sons girlfriend.  He must think she is a keeper to deserve a quilt.

 

Robyn is sewing with some fantastic Aboriginal prints.  Robyn I am looking forward to seeing this one finished.



Daphne's quilt is going to be so cool and modern with black and white prints mixed with the aqua background



Bev is making her quilt in a classic blue and white combination




And lastly, Sue is using a beautiful collection of soft florals in pinks and greens with a cream background.



Wonderful work by all the ladies and I would love to see all of these quilts when they are finished. They will all be beautiful.



My next teaching gig is on Saturday 30th of May.  I will be teaching the Metro Hoops quilt by Sew Kind of Wonderful and the Quick Curve Ruler.  The class will be held at The Patchwork Angel again and I believe there are still a couple of spots left, give the girls a call and come along and join the fun.



This stunning version is from one of my students from the last time I taught Metro Hoops, very different to my white and pretty one above.

See you all soon

Lone Star Class

My last class taught for the year, at The Patchwork Angel, is a Lone Star quilt.  I love this teaching this quilt, the fabric choices made by the students are varied and so all the quilts look different but all stunning.

At the end of the second class the girls had half the quilt sewn together.  In the first class we learn how to construct the star points with strip sets.  The second class is putting the star points together with the background fabric.

So here are the girls beautiful quilts. I love how this photo worked out all the halves lined out. I get all excited and start jumping around waiting for the ladies to get to this point, this is when it all comes together and you get your chance to see how all the fabrics have worked together and how stunning it really is.

 

This is Kathrine's top. It is over the top of mine so it looks a little jumbled.  Kathrine used civil war reproductions in greys, green and the pink is actually a red.  The background is a cream with red print.

Thurley went a completely different way with her colours.  Stunning yellows, reds and oranges.  Thurley's background is a black with white spots.

Sharon used blues of all shades for your Lone Star Quilt.  This has a completely different feel compared to Thurley's, the fabrics give it a cool feeling.  Sharon used a pale blue spot fabric for the background.

I didn't get a photo of Michelle's on her own.  So sorry Michelle.  Michelle's is the one right in the front of this picture. Michelle used beautiful civil war reproductions also but with greens, pinks and browns with cream background fabric.  The same type of fabrics as Katherine but they look so different.

 

This is one of my class samples.  Completely scrappy star points and a vibrant Shot Cotton pink used for the background.  Different look and feel again.

 

Thank you ladies for coming to my class, I am hoping to see your finished tops next year.

Metro Hoops Class

Hi everyone

This past Saturday I taught at The Patchwork Angel, the Metro Hoops quilt by Sew Kind of Wonderful.

Here is the great work done by all the girls

 Deb is making hers for a sweet little girl.  These colours are just perfect.

 Katherine is colours are just wonderful, the orange setting triangles just set off the blue so well.

 Wendy used almost the opposite to Katherine.  I loved these rings.

 

 Donna did a great job with these very pretty fabrics.

 

Next to Donna was Helen.  I love the way Helen uses colours and fabrics, the two backgrounds are perfect.  I have been quilting for Helen for a couple of years now and am always amazed at her selections.

 

Gals fabrics are very warm and cozy feeling.  The chocolate was a great match for them.

 

 Margot couldn't come to class until later in the morning, but she certainly didn't waste time and did a wonderful job catching up and learning what we had already covered.  Margot left with a ring complete and smile on her face.  Glad you could make it to class, Margot

 

 

 

Catherine with a C ( there were 2 in class) did a great job in class.  Catherines bobbin ran out halfway through the last seam at the very end of class, don't you just hate that. But her points meet where they are supposed to, just like all the girls blocks.

During class we learnt that not all 1/4" feet for machines sew a true 1/4", and that not all Jelly Rolls strips start at 2.5" either.  For this class it is important to start with the correct size strip sets.  A couple of the strips were narrower than needed so we used the practice curves cut from some pieces I gave the ladies at the start.

We talked about the seam not necessarily needed to be 1/4" but more importantly having the units been sewn together measuring accurately after the seam is sewn.  That is when sewing 4 strips that are 2.5' wide together the final unit should measure 8.5" across.  Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame has a great tutorial in how to get your units to finish at the size they should HERE. And HERE is a link to create an accurate seam guide for any machine. I hope you find these helpful.

Thank you ladies for a great class on a very wet Saturday morning.  I am waiting to see how your quilts turn out and to see you again in a class with me.