Shattered Angles Class

Have you ever tried on-line learning? I teach at http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ where many very talented teachers from around the world offer over 120 different classes! That's a "lot of learning"!
Registration is open for my Shattered Angles class that begins on April 12th, its a chance to learn in the comfort of your home, even in your pyjamas!
The class will run for four weeks and is made up of three lessons. The project is a variation of a "stack, slash, shuffle and sew" method that I developed. Its a great way to use fat quarters, some of your stash of scraps or even a collection of themed fabrics. Perfect for hand dyed or painted fabrics as well.
I hope you'll consider joining me and having a lot of fun. Here are some pictures to tempt you:

Autumn Joy - learn to use colour for interest and contrast

Sacred Places - random placements yield interesting results

 

Scattered Roses - only three fabrics!

Use It Up! - extraordinary uses for ALL your scraps!

Shattered Angles - dramatic contrasts

Give & Take Applique Design Class

Are you excited about starting the new year? Maybe searching to learn a new technique or expand on your design skills?
Then join me at www.quiltuniversity.com and learn how to create exciting designs using a unique positive/negative design concept. The class begins this Friday, January 4th!

I like to call Give & Take Applique the “no waste” appliqué technique. You will have fun trying out Give & Take Appliqué with some easy exercises and then begin creating your own shapes. You do not have to be a designer; some of the most effective appliqué designs use simple basic shapes. Have fun and play with your fabrics.

Here are just a few of the many designs that are possible with this unique concept. I hope to see you in class!

 

 

Learn Give & Take Applique - the No Waste Technique

Registration has opened for my new class at Quilt University! Starting January 4th you can learn about designing with positive and negative shapes for unique layout and value combinations.
In this class you will begin with simple paper and glue stick exercises and then move onto creating your own unique blocks with endless layout combinations. Join the fun at Quilt University

Learn how to use shape and value to create interesting layout combinations.

 

Discover what positive and negative shapes can do when placed together.

 

Combine applique and pieced blocks for many design options.

Why don't you join me in class!

Hand Piecing at Quilt University

I'll be teaching my Hand Piecing class at Quilt University http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ beginning this weekend and its not too late to registerIf you've never considered working just by hand here's a brief introduction to get you started:
Why would quilters consider hand piecing? Some people may think, "Hand piecing? Why bother? Didn’t we get rid of that a long time ago? There are so many newer speedier methods!"

Handwork has really never gone out of fashion. There are times and places where working by hand is the best method. We cannot always haul the sewing machine, cutters, mats and rulers with us wherever we go. Thus, piecing some or all of our quilts by hand stitching can be a perfect answer for portability and the opportunity to use spare moments of time.
Is portability the only reason to hand piece? I think there are several good reasons, some of which apply at different times depending on our needs and moods. Here are a few to consider:

It is relaxing; we have to sit down to do our work. This is different from sitting at our machine where we have to concentrate on the machine and where the needle is in relation to our fingers. In hand piecing we can pick a comfortable chair, curl up in front of the TV or at the beach; I often stitch while my husband is driving during holidays, with the map close at hand. We can relax and hand piece any time and anywhere we choose. The stitching is repetitive; almost always it is a running stitch, which is easy to manipulate by your fingers, using only a few pins, if needed.

We usually work in small units, concentrating on one unit or block at a time. Accuracy is another key element in hand piecing. When we have small pieces to put together or curved units to join, working by hand ensures that bias edges are kept under control and eased into the seam evenly.

With good preparation, work progresses quickly. Preparation is key for hand piecing. By tracing and cutting all the pieces needed for your work and then having them ready for the hand work, you will save time.

Few tools are needed for your work. Remember that quilters in the past had scissors, needle, thread and pins. So, it is not a costly endeavor to begin your quilt making journey. When I worked in a quilt shop, I often thought that the initial expense of all the modern equipment deterred beginners when they wanted to just try it to see if it was a skill they wanted to pursue. The tools for hand piecing are generally ones which we already have, so expense is not a critical factor.

We can use short periods of time to work on our project. It is easy to find a few spare minutes in our day to pick up a project and add a few stitches. Think of the time spent waiting at doctor’s appointments, while dinner is cooking, or at the kids sporting events. If you have made the preparations that we will discuss in class, small amounts of time can develop into some wonderful work! With hand piecing it is easy to stop in the middle of a seam and then return to complete the seam later. You will not have lost your place. Imagine doing that with your machine piecing!

Learning Online - three Great Websites

School might be out for the summer but quilters can have fun all year long! If we are fortunate there are quilt shops or guilds near to use where we can take workshops and learn great new techniques or brush up our skills in a classroom. But perhaps our schedules don't give us the opportunity or maybe we just cant get to a workshop nearby us.
Sometimes we can take the opportunity to travel to a place like Grand Rapids, MI for the next AQS show www.americanquilter.com or we're on the road this summer and we can visit the Pacific West Quilt Show in Tacoma www.apwq.org But sometimes is just great to learn in the comfort of our own homes with our own sewing machines and fabrics at hand!
So where can you go to learn online? I am lucky to be one of the faculty at www.quiltuniversity.com a resource that has been operating for more than 12 years, has over 120 different workshops to take and offers a FREE introductory class. Sign up for their newsletter and check out some of the great techniques that you can learn.
When discussing online learning I am often asked how the classes are step up. My reply is generally like any other place to learn. The classes are set up at specific dates, the lessons are posted once a week and progress over 3-5 weeks. There is an opportunity to ask questions of the teacher and meet other students in the Discussion Forum and send in pictures of your work for the Gallery. You can participate in the class as much or as little as you want, but I think that students get the most from the class when they take part in the discussions and ask questions.
At www.craftsy.com there are several great learning opportunities from well known instructors. The classes cover a range of different techniques and can be purchased at any time, they are not set in a calendar.
If you are keen on mixed media and doll making as well as quilting, then www.joggles.com might be a good place to check out. They offer a wide range of hand and machine embroidery, book making, doll making ans sketchbook classes. Joggles gives the lessons as PDF downloads and offers an opportunity to meet other students.
Do you have other favourite places to learn online? Id love to hear from you!

Quilting Designs Class

On Friday I'm teaching Quilting Design at http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ We'll be spending some time looking at design sources and how we can be inspired by design sources around us. By sources, I mean some of the many places where you might find inspiration for creating quilting designs.

• Look at corners of rooms, places where there might be some picture moldings, where there are joins of walls and floors.
• Look at the sidewalks downtown. Thank goodness city planners in many places are being more creative these days and we see interesting manhole covers, grating around trees and cement paths that have designs stamped into them.
• Try to see your environment in a slightly different perspective, while riding the bus or waiting in line for lunch. Look around and find curves of interest, straight or crossing lines. Think of repetition, pattern, sequence wherever it can happen.
• Pay particular attention to advertising in magazines and on billboards. It is all around us as we are too often aware. Ask your self how advertisers use design to get their message across? Think of the golden arches, car hood ornaments, the back pockets of your favourite jeans or the make up counter at the mall. Good design is fundamental to the object.

Take rubbings of windows, there is wonderful inspiration as close as your local church or temple. Stained glass looks wonderful as a technique, but think of the designs as quilting lines, too!

• Kid’s colouring books. Pick up a couple at the grocery store
• Post Cards. Who says you have to be on vacation to buy them?
• Sidewalks. Look down around you
• Your front door, the neighbour's front door
• Hub caps. They are neat, take a look
• Gift Wrap
• Birthday, seasonal and all purpose cards

Scrapbooking has become popular and there are hundreds of different ideas for quilting designs. If you do not scrapbook, you probably know someone who does. Ask them for ideas and resources. Consider using:

• different stamps (stamp a dark colour on paper and enlarge to the desired size)
• precut border templates for tracing
• die cuts for gluing on pages (simple little motifs to enlarge)
• stickers for motif ideas

What other places could you find ideas for design? Send me in a picture and I'll post them on my blog! You can register for the class, just go to http://www.quiltuniversity.com/

See you in class!

Learn all about Hand Piecing

I'll be teaching my Hand Piecing class at Quilt University http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ beginning this weekend and its not too late to registerIf you've never considered working just by hand here's a brief introduction to get you started:
Why would quilters consider hand piecing? Some people may think, "Hand piecing? Why bother? Didn’t we get rid of that a long time ago? There are so many newer speedier methods!"

Handwork has really never gone out of fashion. There are times and places where working by hand is the best method. We cannot always haul the sewing machine, cutters, mats and rulers with us wherever we go. Thus, piecing some or all of our quilts by hand stitching can be a perfect answer for portability and the opportunity to use spare moments of time.
Is portability the only reason to hand piece? I think there are several good reasons, some of which apply at different times depending on our needs and moods. Here are a few to consider:

It is relaxing; we have to sit down to do our work. This is different from sitting at our machine where we have to concentrate on the machine and where the needle is in relation to our fingers. In hand piecing we can pick a comfortable chair, curl up in front of the TV or at the beach; I often stitch while my husband is driving during holidays, with the map close at hand. We can relax and hand piece any time and anywhere we choose. The stitching is repetitive; almost always it is a running stitch, which is easy to manipulate by your fingers, using only a few pins, if needed.

We usually work in small units, concentrating on one unit or block at a time. Accuracy is another key element in hand piecing. When we have small pieces to put together or curved units to join, working by hand ensures that bias edges are kept under control and eased into the seam evenly.

With good preparation, work progresses quickly. Preparation is key for hand piecing. By tracing and cutting all the pieces needed for your work and then having them ready for the hand work, you will save time.

Few tools are needed for your work. Remember that quilters in the past had scissors, needle, thread and pins. So, it is not a costly endeavor to begin your quilt making journey. When I worked in a quilt shop, I often thought that the initial expense of all the modern equipment deterred beginners when they wanted to just try it to see if it was a skill they wanted to pursue. The tools for hand piecing are generally ones which we already have, so expense is not a critical factor.

We can use short periods of time to work on our project. It is easy to find a few spare minutes in our day to pick up a project and add a few stitches. Think of the time spent waiting at doctor’s appointments, while dinner is cooking, or at the kids sporting events. If you have made the preparations that we will discuss in class, small amounts of time can develop into some wonderful work! With hand piecing it is easy to stop in the middle of a seam and then return to complete the seam later. You will not have lost your place. Imagine doing that with your machine piecing!

These are three projects we'll be working on:

Monkey Wrench Table Runner introduces template making, straight seams and stitch technique.

Petal Power is about curved piecing, pressing tips and more!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Black Diamond is all about Y-seams and reversed templates.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Remember that Jinny Beyer creates all her quilts by hand and look what gorgeous work she does!

Where Do You Learn?

We often hear the term "life-long learning" as a way to describe educating ourselves after our early formal education. This learning can take place within an educational institution or it can be self initiated. Life long learning implies that we are constantly taking time to update our skills and knowledge.

As a teacher I am involved in supporting learning for eager quilters and artists. These students come to learn for a variety of reasons: to upgrade their skills, to work towards developing their own art path, to have fun and meet like minded souls, or to explore their creativity.

Where do you go to learn? More and more I hear of quilters going to the web for their classes and workshops. Here is a list of sites I’ve compiled, if you know of others I could add, please let me know!

http://www.quiltuniversity.com My favourite, because I teach there!

http://www.fibermixedmedia.com/page/online-classes

http://www.lindakemshall.com/DesignMattersOnlineCourses.html

http://www.workshopontheweb.com/

http://www.distantstitch.co.uk/

http://lisacall.com/workshops/online-workshops/

http://www.thethreadstudio.com/files/workshops/front.htm

http://classes.candiedfabrics.com/

http://www.joggles.com/onlineclasses.htm

 http://www.gailcreativestudies.com/

 http://www.sofst.org/

Learn All About Quilting Design

On February 24 my class on Quilting Design will open at http://www.quiltuniversity.com/ and its a class I always love to teach. There are limitless ways to design the quilting part of our work and its often overlooked as an important design element. Here's a little taster to get started.......

Keep a Design File
Now is a good time to begin collecting and organizing those design ideas. Have a couple of manila folders handy to put magazine clippings, photos and anything that can suggest a design possibility to you. Take pictures at quilt shows of designs and quilts you admire. Remember that you can pick elements out of several designs and combine them for your own. Of course, you must be careful of copyright infringements. The border treatment in one quilt could combine well with the corner and setting triangles of another.

Some of the items which might be included in your design folio

Start collecting quilting designs and stencils when you shop. I think dollar-wise, they are one of the best deals around. We will be talking about sources for these and other non-quilting ideas for your designs in the  class. there's still time to register.

Think about Hand Piecing!

I'm preparing some updates to my Hand Piecing class at www.quiltuniversity.com that begins September 16th. Have you considered hand piecing your blocks or quilts? Does it sounds time consuming or monotonous? You might be very surprised at how quickly the work can go if you follow these simple steps:

• In hand piecing we can pick a comfortable chair, curl up in front of the TV or at the beach. We can relax and do the piecing any time and anywhere we choose. The stitching is repetitive, almost always it is a running stitch, which is easy to manipulate by your fingers with a few pins if needed.


• Preparation is key for hand piecing. By tracing and cutting all the pieces needed for your work and then having them ready for the hand work, you will save time.

• Few tools are needed for your work. Needle, thread, small scissors and a thimble are all the tools needed. Buy good quality and they will last a long time.

• We can use short periods of time to work on our project. It is easy to find a few spare minutes in our day to pick up a project and add a few stitches.

• If you have made the preparations, small amounts of time can develop into some wonderful work! With hand piecing it is easy to stop in the middle of a seam and then return to complete the seam later, you won’t have lost your place or dropped stitches. Imagine doing that with your machine piecing.

• Use small plastic containers with little compartments for storage. Zippered sandwich bags can hold your cut and prepared fabrics. Label them with block names for easy reference.

Here are two of the projects we'll be working on:

Petal Power Block

Black Diamond Block