What a Week !

This was the end-of-the-week student display 

for last week's quilting class at

John C. Campbell Folk School.

(this is roughly 1/3 of their total work)

I had four eager and able students

who jumped into making scrappy strata

with enthusiasm and laughter.

It was such fun to watch them grow their skills

and gain confidence working with color.

And we spent Tuesday evening visiting 

Bless My Stitches 

(Murphy NC's LQS)

in order for the students to update their choices

for corner and optional sashing fabrics.

(BIG thanks to DH for driving the school's borrowed Suburban)

L. plans to make a queen size quilt 

using these (and many more)

scrappy kaleidoscope blocks.

She will add soft blue sashing between the blocks

when it comes time to lay out her quilt top.

S. had 8 of her block centers completed

and strata made for the remaining four blocks

by the end of our week in the mountains.

(one was on the cutting table when this photo was taken)

The calligraphy print will be used for her block corners.

K. used a mix of vintage fabric, 

yardage from her late mother's stash,

and fabrics from a number of estate sales

to piece her kaleidoscope blocks.

She added the mottled gray print to one block

as a test to be sure she understood the process.

She has sewn for years but this will be

her first-ever quilt top.

D. worked with bright colors and completed these block centers

plus 3 more that were not on the wall when I took the photo.

She plans to use the bright on black print 

to corner all of her blocks.

(love the spinning design the print creates)

Fun to see how they found four new ways 

to interpret my inspiration quilt.

While they stitched and pressed, 

I did some intermittent scrappy sewing of my own.

This is the companion block to the one I made

for the Instructors' display case at JCCFS.

I'll use the same backing with blue binding.

Once quilted and finished, 

these will be used as mats on our round end tables.

L. passed all of her strata end cuts and leftovers to me.

I plan to use them to make a wall size version of

Moments in Time using background greens instead of blues.

Leftover strata from making the two sample blocks

and other step outs for the class was cut into wedges.

This set will become a long reversible runner.

This group is sewn together 

ready to become a wall quilt.  

(the Ghastlies from Bless My Stitches 

will be used for the backing) 

And the smallest leftover bits of strata

were crumb pieced into three long strips.

One is 6" wide, 

one is 7.5" wide,

and the third is 8" wide.

I have a coins-related plan for these

 after combining them with two other pending projects.

We'll see how it evolves.

* * *

And while we were busy in the quilting studio,

DH was busy in his class - click here to see what he made.

Quiltdivajulie

Optic Strings and Conundrum-Week Four and More

These are this week's seven strip sets

for my Optic Strings/Conundrum project for the

Unconventional and Unexpected QAL.

Week Four's seven blocks for Optic Strings.

28 blocks done / 52 more to make

And Week Four's flying geese blocks for

the quilt I've started calling Optic Geese Conundrum.

(another "if you give a mouse a cookie" project)

* * *

In other studio happenings last week . . . 

Squares Aplenty is now webbed/ready to assemble 

including a scrappy pieced backing

for Kevin's SSSSQ (not a mystery for me) quilt.

I have finally started working on Inspi(red) 

(my variation of Amanda Jean Nyberg's Birch Trees design)

for the AHIQ Red challenge from earlier this  year.

This is yet another

 "if you give a mouse a cookie"

project because the inset strips are 

cut offs and scraps from piecing Luminous.

(also for the Red is a Neutral challenge)

My local Build a Barn 101 classes have been 

scheduled with Fabric for the Flock for 

August 15 and 22 (day and evening sessions).

I will have the Pink Barn (above) quilted 

and finished in time to share with the students.

I will also have the Cows and Balloons barn

quilted and finished to share during class.

There are four sample barns at the shop now:

the Hay Bale barn, the Minimal Barn in solids,  

the Yellow Barn, and

my SSOBB gallery quilt Flying Lessons.

Months and month ago, I pulled fabrics

to make Sunset from Cultural Fusion Quilts.  

That plan fell through and I used the fabrics 

to die cut snowballs / multiple shades of purple corners.

The project box has sat and sat - waiting.

I pulled it out this week and grouped the sets

of four snowballs with their corner triangles.

(future leader-ender sewing)

I also designed a scrappy back using 

an abundance of purple squares

and end cuts from the top's WOF strips.

All in good time - but I think I know where it's headed.

* * *

And - there were FINISHES this week!

First is the Instructor Display Case sample for

my September class at John C. Campbell Folk School.

Quilted with liberated matchstick-style quilting 

using 8 different colors of Glide thread.

I love the way the backing and purple binding

tie in with the scrappy colorful front.

Second is this 24" x 30" chair back quilt

made with leftover blocks from the 

pink and green strata quilt top.

Quilted with liberated free motion (unmarked)

multi-directional fans using Pink Glide thread.

And my big finish for this week is Flower Garden.

I made the Lattice quilt top earlier this year

when I taught the design from

 Sujata's Cultural Fusion Quilts

at Fabric for the Flock.

When I learned last week that 

one of my two primary attorneys from the law firm 

was going into hospice care for an aggressive 

and no longer responding-to-treatment cancer, 

I knew this quilt was meant to be his.

Quilted with Glide thread in Mocha

(as a nod to his love of coffee)

using free motion liberated Baptist Fans.

I truly hope it brings color and comfort to him.

* * *

I took Wanda's advice and ordered an 8.5" square

felted pressing mat for the small end table

that fits under my sewing table.

(I already had the iron and the two-sided turntable)

* * *

Be back again next Monday

with another weekly recap.

Quiltdivajulie

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JCCFS Instructor Sample - Work Underway

When I teach at JCCFS  this fall,

I need to take a small quilt

that can be used in the Keith House

Instructor Showcase display

to let all the other students 

know something about my class.

So I've been slowly sewing scrappy slabs together

using odd bits and pieces from the crumb boxes

and sliced up orphan blocks.

I'll be teaching my Umbrellas Unfurled quilt

so I need 8 different color slabs from which 

I can cut a single wedge for my mini version.

Clearly I will have leftover slab pieces,

which is perfectly okay with me.

(also great as examples in the class)

This is one of my favorites.

This is the smallest of the slabs -

just big enough to cut a wedge

with a few very small leftover pieces.

Blue is always one of my overflowing crumb boxes

so the blue slab is quite a bit larger.

Surprisingly, I also had a lot of pink pieces.

* * *

If you've always wanted to visit The Folk School

and spend a week playing with colorful fabrics

while surrounded by beautiful NC mountains,

come spend September 8-14 in my class.

Click Here for registration information.

Quiltdivajulie

For the Birds - an update

Since I first shared this project in April

I've been slowly stitching HSTs together,

mostly as leader enders.

This past week I set up the ironing board

so I could sit down and press them open.

Then I trimmed away the tiny dog ears.

This stack has 35 HSTs in it.

Without counting each stack

15 x 35 = 525 HSTs.

Definitely enough to start playing with a layout.

(and there are at least that many more colorful triangles

waiting to be paired and stitched should the need arise)

I also unstitched the labels from all twelve bird blocks.

(they were there to prevent students from taking them home)

* * *

I need to stay focused on finishing up Summer Breeze

and then get started on the small quilt I need to make

for the Instructor Showcase at The Folk School

for my week long class in September.

(there are a few spaces still available)

But I can also play with these birds

 and the HSTs on the design wall

to test out some of my thoughts.

Quiltdivajulie

March Goals

The quilt top of the month for March

will be Dumpster Diving 5 - Catharsis.

After two design changes, a third one is in process

and I'm finally ready to rock and roll

to get this to flimsy stage by 3/31.

My number one quilting project for March

will be the 70273 Project's Quilt No. 697

from last fall's Davies Manor quilt show.

The top currently measures 56" x 77"

and commemorates 86 lives.

I also need to put away all of the quilts

from the cancelled trunk shows.

They were heavy before and they're still heavy

so I'm dealing with them in very small groups

since my stamina is still recovering.

When I teach at John C. Campbell Folk School in September,

(class project photo pending on their website)

I want to take 12-14 journal covers to sell in their Craft Shop.

The outsides are assembled and linings have been chosen.

Next steps will be to assemble the covers and quilt them.

Hopefully they'll all be ready for the final steps

by the end of the month.

If not, these might spill over into April.

I'll be teaching Lynne's Liberated Birds

 at our local quilt shop on March 18 and 25.

(day and evening classes)

AND I need to prep enough quarter square triangles

 to assemble forty blocks for my RSC Mosaic project.

This month's color is GREEN - which should

look really good against the blue backgrounds.

* * *

And in my non-quilting world,

I need to prepare for and chair my first 

Davies Manor Association Board meeting,

and get things ready for our tax guy.

One thing at a time . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------
"Set realistic goals, keep re-evaluating, and be consistent."

Venus Williams

Registration is Now Open for my 2019 Folk School Class

The 2019 course catalogs are in the mail

and online registration is now open

for my September 8-14, 2019 class

at the John C. Campbell Folk School.

So grab those overflowing scrap/string bins

and come spend a week with me at JCCFS

in the beautiful mountains of western NC.

* * *

You can browse the 2019 catalog e-book

by clicking HERE.

Quiltdivajulie

-----------------------------------------------

Hooray!

Hope you can join me September 8-14, 2019

at the John C. Campbell Folk School . . . 

Umbrellas Unfurled - completed 2015

So what will we be doing that week in my class?

We'll be playing with colors, making scrappy strata, 

cutting wedges, designing layouts, and creating quilts

inspired by my RSC2014 project Umbrellas Unfurled.

Registration for Fall 2019 classes is not yet open

but you can visit the JCCFS website now

and sign up for their email newsletter

(look in the sidebar on the left side)

so you'll be some of the first to know

when Fall 2019 class registration opens.

It's going to be SO MUCH FUN!

Quiltdivajulie