Phillipa Naylor

 I had the pleasure this past week of taking two classes from Phillipa Naylor from Great Britain.  Her book--that I have here--is all about piecing curves.  In addition, it tells of her very interesting life in Saudi Arabia, her return to England and her earlier career as a fashion designer and how it impacted her style of working in quilting fabric.  I also attended her lecture where she had some of her gorgeous, PERFECT quilts.
Throughout my two days with her, one thing that really stood out was her willingness to take her time in all of the steps that go into making an award-winning quilt.  I found it so inspiring and also a reminder that, for me at least, it is better to do one quilt really well than to have an entire closet of them done with little thought and caring about the process that makes them special. 

 We just made a sample block in the Curved Piecing class.  She started out with a conventional Churn Dash block and then showed us how to make it curvy.  And then once that was done, she showed us her method of piecing those curves.  I really liked her method.  It called for a lot of preparation before the first seam is ever sewn.  As you can see by my picture of the back side of the block, there is a LOT of "V" snipping and all of the seams are pressed open to achieve a flatness to the finished piece.  She also talked about threads (thinner is better for piecing) and the size of the needle (smaller needle leaves a smaller hole).
It was a great class and I came home with plenty to think about. 

On the second day, we learned her method of machine applique (no pictures).  Again, we did a LOT of hand work before we ever got to the machine work (actually, we didn't get to the machine work except to do some samples of satin stitching around circles). This workshop would have been better if it had been at least two days because there was so much information to hear, assimilate and use.  Phillipa will soon have a book out on this topic and it will absolutely be part of my library.  I plan on finishing the piece that I started and will share it later.  In the meantime, I'm still thinking about all the things that I came home with and how I might use them in my own work.  I know for sure that I'll be pressing more seams open than ever before and precision is always a much sought after skill.  I'm working on it.

Two Finished Projects

 My last post showed the construction process of this abstract wallhanging that I started in a class with Gloria Loughman.  Well, "started" is somewhat of a loose term because I actually started again from scratch once I got home.  However, the concepts she shared were really great and I came home excited to start again.  I mean, you know how it is--you go to a class thinking you KNOW what it's all about, you have your design in mind (and maybe even have it drawn out)--and then the whole thing is blown away when you find out what REALLY  is going to happen in the class.  I enjoyed the entire process and now I even have another design ready to interpret in fabric--after I finish a couple of other things . . .

 Today at our Art Group, we had our "reveal" in our Zentangle challenge.  It was great.  Our members came up with some really creative zentangles.  Doreen actually made a lampshade with freemotion zentangles, Linda applied her zentangles to a teeshirt, Dotty made two zentangle projects--a beautiful wallhanging and a 3-dimensional piece.  Corky free-motioned zentangles that changed colors as they overlapped--and the list goes on.  They were all so inspiring.  As you can see, I went the 3-dimensional route.  I had seen a picture of an embroidered cat in a catalogue and decided that would work for my project.  I used faux leather and several different kinds of pens.  I also added color.  As I thought through the construction process, I realized I was going to have to insert a zipper because I didn't think that I could sew the opened seam with a hand needle after I finished the stuffing process.  So, I had to draw the outlines for the two back pieces, sew the zipper and THEN draw.  I wanted the cat to be able to stand on it's own, so I figured out how to make a flat bottom and then put a bag of sand in the lower one quarter so it would have stability.  I'll have to say, it was lots of fun and I was glad that it actually turned out the way I had envisioned (well, almost).
Our next challenge is going to be based on a haiku poem--I can hardly wait to see what this talented group of women is going to come up with this time!

Quilting To Abstraction

 I took two great classes while I was in Hampton last week--both of them with Gloria Loughman.  The second class focused on creating an abstract wall hanging  Of course, I prepared ahead of time and, of course, I had to re-order my thinking and start all over again after she explained what we were actually going to do.  Here you can see in the first drawing that we just drew some random lines across and down the paper.

 We then filled in the lines with designs of our choice (many of which I changed after I moved from paper design to fabric.) I also bought some new fabrics at the show after I realized the kind of piece I was going to make.

 Once I had my color pallette chosen, I started cutting out the shapes from the freezer paper and ironed them on the right side of my fabrics.I then cut out the fabric about a 1/4" out from the edge of the freezer paper.   The next step was to add a piece of tear-away underneath and sew the layers together about 1/8" away from the freezer paper edge.  Then, off came the freezer paper to be used again as the pattern for the individual app;ique designs--a very cool process.

Once all of this was done, it was time to sew the entire piece

together.  First you had to determine which section went on top of the other .  You would iron under the seam allowance for the pieces that went on top, fit the two pieces together and, using the blind hem stitch and invisible thread, sew the layers together.

As you finished each section, it began to take on a different look (like more cohesive perhaps?)

This is what it looked like with all of the individual pieces done.

                                                                 

This is how the piece looks after joining all of the seams.  I still have to add the borders and do the top stitching--as well as the quilting.  Gloria actually told us to do the top stitching BEFORE joining the pieces but since I had never done this technique and wasn't really confident that the pieces were all going to fit together as planned, I waited until afterwards.  It really doesn't matter on a piece this size but it definitely would be better to do it first on something larger.

This was a class that I really enjoyed--it's such a freeing way of approaching an abstract design and I'll definitely do more of it. 

Eight Quilts For Your Consideration

There were so many truly spectacular quilts at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show this year that I would be hard-pressed to show all of them.  So I'm just going to show eight of them (the quality of the photographs has a little something to do with it!).  This first one is Sheep Wannabees by Debora Kochinsky.  What doesn't show clearly in this picture is the fact that the animals are made from bits of wool--and are kind of fluffy.  Definitely a novel approach.

 This is Thistles by Mary Ramsey Keasler.  I just think it's so beautiful and really makes the thistles look real.

Calamari Time by Karen Bue Lohrenz.  She captures the feeling of movement and dimension.  And the use of color is so perfect.

 This is The Solace of Persephone.  The flowers are made out of velvet.  It was difficult to refrain from touching it--but the quilt police were definitely in the vicinity.

 Elephant's Trunk Nebula by Ann Harwell.  This reminded me of some of the beautiful pictures that I have seen that were taken of outer space.

 Little Peace in 2 4 D by Martha Hall.  I loved the precision of this piece.  I would never have thought to zig-zag the strips.  How cool.

 Pandora's Box by Barbara Swinea.  This photo doesn't really do this quilt justice.  The base fabric looks as if a light is shining from the center of the back.  Barbara is from Asheville and consistently makes beautiful quilts.

Witches Brew by Cathy Wiggins.  This quilt is so much fun to look at and to read the Witches Brew Recipe that you might forget to notice just how much work went into its construction. 





So, these were some of my favorites at the show.  You probably would have had different favorites--but that's what makes the world go round.  I hope you enjoyed these.

Hampton

 I just got back from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show in Hampton, Va,  and what a great time I had there.  I had the wonderful opportunity to spend two days in classes with Gloria Loughman from Australia.  She is so talented and a superb teacher.  The first day was spent working on a landscape and the second day the emphasis was on an abstract design.  The techniques she taught were different from ones that I have used previously so it was really good to learn something new.  I was pretty prepared for each day's class--and then had to throw out everything and start from scratch as I learned what she REALLY wanted us to do each day.  And what a freeing thing that was!  I didn't finish either project so I can't show you what I did, but I do expect to finish one of them quite soon.  Pictured here are some of her quilts and the larger one was displayed in the show--along with several others.

 I was so excited and surprised when I walked into the Show on Wednesday to learn that not only had I won an award for Arabian Mystery, but that it was a First Place!  So many people had such nice comments about my work--I appreciated it so much.  I felt honored because there were so many really wonderful quilts there ( of which I'll post a few in my next post).

 We had some extra time while we were there and decided to go over to Norfolk to The Fabric Hut.  While we were getting directions from the Tourism Representative, I asked her if we had to go through a tunnel--to which she said. "Yes."  Well, one of our party didn't even know about tunnels under bodies of water--much less having actually gone through one!  She was a good sport though and we made it through without incident (No leaks were observed).  I think this was a pretty cool picture of our movement through the tunnel.

 Another friend was pleased to see the naval ships across the river as we went.  The Norfolk area, is, of course, an area with a lot of naval activity with a lot of service personnel.  And there is a great deal more water than there is in the Charleston area.

When we got to Norfolk, we went to the Fabric Hut and it was great--sort of like a smaller Mary Jo's.  Lots of silks, satins--you name it--and oodles of quilting fabric.  And look at this picture.  Do you remember when they used to measure fabric through machines like this?  I am going to have to admit that, in spite of all that we had already purchased at the quilt show, we simply couldn't resist the abundance of great choices in this store.  And the good thing was that they had not raised ALL of their prices on older fabrics they way they did in a shop we visited on the way home today.

 Sunday, we spent some time riding around Jamestown and Williamsburg and happened upon a series of these bridges along a meandering road by the James River.  There were many pull-offs where people were relaxing and fishing and just having a good time on a Sunday afternoon.

And, of course, I had to take a picture of a land tunnel to go along with the water tunnel.

So, a great time was had by all.  Finally, I had a very special moment while I was at the show.  I noticed a woman in my class on Friday and the longer I looked at her, the more convinced I was that I knew her from high school (more than forty-five years ago!).   I wasn't sure though so I decided that if I saw her the next day, I was going to have to ask.  Well, I saw her and I asked.  And she was.  We had a great time catching up--well, catching up a LITTLE--and I felt greatly blessed by this totally unexpected moment in time.  (Good seeing you, Gus.  Don't be a stranger).

Classes For White Oak

 I have taught at our State Retreat for the past several years and have really enjoyed meeting so many quilters from across the state.  In the past, I have taught mostly classes that used my original applique patterns--using them as a springboard to learn various techniques that I have learned . 
This year, it will be a little different as I will be teaching ONLY techniques.  People have consistently asked me to teach machine quilting and, so, this year that is what I will doing, focusing on feathers.  As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I had a trial run on the sample above and was very pleased with the response.  I was asked to expand this class to a 1 1/2 day format, so I made another sample and will be teaching a couple more techniques.  I'm really looking forward to it because it is so wonderful to see people's eyes light up when they realize that they, too, can make feathers.

The other 1/2 day class I will be teaching is a class on machine applique techniques.  There are so many ways to do machine applique and many times it depends on the complexity of the work, the style of the design and the effect desired.  So I will show 4 different ways and, hopefully, each person will leave the class with a new perspective on how they can suit their stitches to their own work.  And, mostly, I hope everyone has a great time.  That's what it's all about, isn't it?

Last Week

 Last week was a pretty busy week.  Flavin Glover visited our Guild for a lecture and class.  Since I'm the Program Chairman this year, I had the pleasure of spending some time with her as I took her to dinner, helped her at the meeting and was her "go-fer at the class.  She is such a lovely person and her quilts are simply amazing.  It is difficult to imagine how she can take a simple log cabin block and create such complex and beautiful quilts.  I think it takes a special kind of mind to do that--one that is good at math and is creative at the same time.

 This was my personal favorite.  She pieced the farm land and the sky and mountains in the back are log cabins.

 This was the quilt that was featured in the the class she taught although she focused on the many ways to shape and stretch log cabin block and offered several choices for the final selection of each student.

 And here you can see her quilts laid out all around.  Everyone was fascinated by the variety.  It was a great visit and everyone who took her class came away inspired.

 I will be teaching a "Quilting With Feathers" class at the State Retreat in October and my Art Group volunteered to be my "practice " class so I could iron out the bugs and see what I needed to do to improve it.  We met in a Club House on John's Island on Saturday and everyone got right to work.  Here is Dotty concentrating on the relationship between the speed of the machine and the speed of the hands moving the fabric.

 Linda and Doreen are admiring the results of their labors.  Both of these women are quite new to machine quilting and they were amazing.  They jumped right in and kept up--not only kept up but excelled in their efforts

 And here are Tommy and Pat concentrating on their quilting.  Tommy has a stitch regulator on her machine and the stitching didn't look as good as it should have.  I had her remove it and it resulted in wonderful stitches.  I don't know why because I don't use a stitch regulator but she will probably get some further instruction on it to see if she can get a good result with it.  After all, that's why one would want to have it in the first place.  Pat had machine problems, also, but kept a good spirit in spite of it and made quite good progress throughout the day.

And here is Zoe hard at work.
It was a really great day and I was very pleased with how the class moved along with the progressive learning method I had chosen.  And now, I'm looking forward to the "real" thing.




A footnote:  This has nothing to do with quilting, but with quality of life.  For the last few months, the pain in my hips has gotten worse and worse and, finally, I wasn't able to walk more than 50 yards without a pretty high level of pain and the pain in my foot was so bad that I was almost ready for the surgery that is going to include a one year recovery period.  I was imagining hip replacement and who knows what else.  Since I'm not too keen on extraneous trips to the doctor, I decided to try a low tech approach first.
What did I do?  Simply, I gave up sugar.  Not fruit and things like that but, certainly, all sweets and have minimized bread and non-complex carbohydrates.  It's been a little over two weeks and now I can walk my daily walk with zero hip pain and much reduced foot pain.  It truly is almost like a miracle.  Did I know better than to eat all that bad stuff in the first place?  Of course, but we do what we do, don't we?  I'm hoping I've learned my lesson because mobility is worth the sacrifice.  And I'm not saying it will work for you.  But, if you're so inclined, give it a try--and you might lose a few pounds in the process.  That's what I'm hoping!