Preparations

Summer is nearly half over.   ~shudder~   Before you know it, September will be here.  I'm putting things together for the Showcase of the Arts which is the first week of August here in Saskatoon.  Creative House will be having a booth there and they've asked for their teachers to supply class samples.  I got a little bit done last night.  I think it will be a mug rug.  I really can't stand that name though.  lol  It's as ugly as the word "blog", don't you think?  BLOG.  ick.  Mug-rug on a blog.  ick ick.  So, I'll call it a Coffee Cup Coaster.

Rachel's scraps and some Tutti Wonderfil thread.

Here's a list of classes I'm offering with the corresponding dates.  I picked the Mondays that alternate with our Saskatoon Quilter's Guild meetings so that there's no overlap.  I'll also do some classes at the Studio on 9th in the evenings, and I'm getting booked for some private Sunday afternoon classes as well.  I'll post those once I know.

At Creative House, Fall 2012

Monday September 17 - Creative Quilted Postcards Workshop

Monday October 1 - Free Motion Quilting Skill Builder

Monday October 29 - Teens / Homeschoolers Doodle with you Sewing Machine

Monday Tuesday November 13 - Basic Threadwork / Threadpainting 101 (Rescheduled for stat holiday)

Monday November 19 - Dresdens Workshop

* * * You can read all the details of the classes HERE.  * * *

All of my classes are Monday mornings at 10 am and run for 2.5 to 3 hours, with the exception of November 12th.  Sign up is through Creative House by phoning 652-0455.  They have classes running all the time on so many topics, so check them all out! : )

Work in Progress. It's Wednesday Again!

Yes I do have more work started!  The trip to Lakewood Park left me with so many inspirational photos.  Having such a range of greens from Jane Evans makes my work much easier.  I have the right colors!

small backdrop ready for handstitching

close up of the Birdsfoot Trefoil flowers that will be stitched into my threadpainting

I have two other large pieces started as well as another small one. Here's a backdrop that I can't wait to start.  That gorgeous sky fabric was hand dyed and gifted to me by Heather Lair from Manitoba.  It's it sweet!?  Thank you Heather.

stormy sky

That will have a scene from a photo I took out at Grasswood after a tornado warning was lifted.

One last show & tell.  I'm multitasking here.  I need to work on samples - one for a Dresden class I'm teaching, and two for a guild presentation on a Thread class & the Hand Quilting class I took.  So here it is all in one!  : )  I love it.  I think it's turning out to be a fine sampler that will meet the needs of all three!

: )
I'm linking to The Needle And Thread Network, as well as WIP Wednesday at Lee's / Freshly Pieced.  Have a great day!

One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure

I saw another quilt blogger post about cutting up fabric, changing her mind, tossing the fabric, and then feeling guilty.  She ended up posting her triangles of fabric as a giveaway.  I was chosen!  Thank you Rachel at Stitched in Color.  My first thought was to use them as scraps for postcards.  However, once I realized they were all the same size, I thought, "hey!?  why not Dresdens!?"  They just arrived, and I got to work right away folding them all in half with right side in, and chain pieced them...

always pretty in the window : )

Then I clipped them, flipped them right-side out and once they are pressed, they are all ready to go!  I really love the fabrics of some of them.  Since they are all 45 degrees, I will need eight to make a plate (8 x 45 degrees = 360 or one circle )

stitch, clip, press, flip, press, and now stitch again...

I know, that's not much of a tutorial.  But aren't they sweet!?  I plan to applique these onto a wallhanging.  Maybe I'll hang on to this for when I take my hand quilting class at the Studio on 9th.  Oooo I can't wait for that!

I heart Dresdens!

Am I Mad?

Mad... as in nuts?  There's a Block Party over at the Quiltstory blog.  Block... as in pieced quilt square.  Party... as in fun and prizes!  I just found out Sunday.  The challenge is to design a quilt block - either traditional, modern, or creative.  An idea popped into my head, and a couple hours later, here i am making this post.  I began with a bunch of these.

And then I made nine more.  I mean really.  Why not?  : )

And then I flipped them.  And then I PRESSED THEM with a big steam iron.  lol  And then I sewed them all together.

You are probably looking at this teeny Dresden Plate flower in actual size.  It's about three inches across with the petals about a half inch wide.  It was soooo uber-cute that I had to dot the centre with a button!

It's an 'on' point quilt-as-you-go block, so it's all quilted.  I embroidered the stem and border with green floss.  The little flower is only stitched in the ditch.  That's all I needed to do.  The petals curl up a bit which looks soooo pretty.  And when I peek under, I can't find any raw edges.  So like this it will stay.

Click to link

See you all tomorrow for Tips on Tuesdays.  What ever will the topic be?  : )

~Monika

Sweet Surprise!

As I was sorting through all the fabric from Jesica's Grandmother, I came across a small batch of pre-cut shapes.  Hmmm.  Those sure look like "Grandmother's Fans"!  So I stitched them up and turned them into dresden quarters.  Look!

Aren't they sweet!?  I think they will look so pretty in the corners of the quilt.  The middle left of the next photo shows what they look like before you fold them and stitch them...

This is what the backs look like.  Grandmother's Fans do not have the points, but they are a quarter circle like this, set into the corners of blocks:

I remember the first time I made Dresdens.  It was my Daisy Daisy quilt.  I was sure it was going to be rocket science, but they are very, very easy to make.  I couldn't push the points out on this fabric though, without breaking through the fabric!  They are so thin.  But they sure are pretty!!  They will look perfect on a white quilt.

p.s.  all the strips are stitched and ready to be cut into triangles.  It was a very productive day!  : )

~Monika

Blogger's Quilt Festival - My Entry

Have you heard of this?  It's the fourth annual, but my first.  Here's the link for all you quilting bloggers:

Amy's Creative Side - BLOGGER'S QUILT FESTIVAL 

Wow - what a MASSIVE and progressive quilting community there is on the internet.  It's incredible.  For the festival, we are all encouraged to post one of our quilts.  So here goes...

Which one will it be? It HAS to be Daisy, Daisy.  Here's why.  She pushed me past my comfort zone and ended up being the most impressive quilt I've made.  

She began with a template I found at a garage sale.  It was Dresden plates!  My only childhood quilting idol (grandma Burd) made dresden plate quilts out of good old-fashioned second hand polyester clothing in the 70's.  I was too young for her to teach me, but I watched, and I have dreamed of making quilts ever since.  This was not my first quilt, but it was my first major challenge in honor of dear Violet Burd. 

I wanted to do a lot of quilting on this one, but do not own a long arm.  My solution was to make it (my first) quilt-as-you-go piece.  That was another learning curve all together!  What was I thinking?  I took photos along the way to create a tutorial, but there is such a massive amount of photos.  Plus - I make all my own patterns on a whim.  I don't plan much and so things change a lot along the way.

I started this on my Janome 4900 and finished it on the Janome 7700P.  I made all the pieces, then the plates, then appliqued them to the blocks, then did more circular sewing with decorative stitching.  I got variegated thread to coordinate with the hot colors.  (You may think it's gaudy, but I love red & white - and orange and yellows!)

 I practiced some very successful straight line quilting.  The Dresden blocks were alternated with linear pieced blocks.  I had planned for the alternating blocks to be crazy quilting.  ...and for many reasons, was ready to call this quilt "Crazy Daizy".  :P

It's fabulous.  I love it.  I have it exhibited right now at McNally Robinsons' Booksellers in Saskatoon until the end of November, 2010.  Our guild has an on-going exhibit of over a dozen quilts that gets changed a few times per year.  (I love the guild - we rock.)  ; )

Daisy Daisy (hanging from the second floor near the circle of trees)

The last part of joining the festival was to tell how many yards of fabric are in my stash.  My answer: none.  In Canada, we have meters of fabric.  hehe  You can view about a quarter of my stash in my October 31 post.  (go back 2)  SCARY!  

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  : )

 

Enjoy the tour!

: )

~Monika

sewing in Saskatoon