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QUEST Little Rock, Arkansas
Quilters are just so much fun… even when you travel nearly 1700 miles, go to a state you’ve never visited before, and meet total strangers, you instantly feel at home! This week I’m in Arkansas, and on Monday and Tuesday lectured and taught for the QUEST quilters of Little Rock…boy did we have FUN!
At the end of the day in my Tame Fussy, Fiddly Threads class
I flew down to Arkansas on Sunday, connecting in Boston, Mass. and Charlotte, N.C. As things go it was uneventful, but I must say I loathe air travel any more! I swear the thing that will eventually convince me to stop teaching is airports and schlepping of stuff! That said, it was wonderful once I arrived! I was met by Sherri D., a friend from a small internet group. When I booked the job, neither she nor I realized I was coming to HER guild! So I got to meet her hubby, son, and spend time with her having a couple of happy meals there. They even sang their Renaissance Faire Celtic songs for me!
On Monday, I gave “The Decorated Quilt” lecture to a full room (always more fun!), and in the afternoon I taught an intro to machine quilting class.
Because this was only a half-day workshop, we didn't do as much with the walking foot on, but I did have them stitch a circle and learn how to make parallel lines without marking. Then we dove into free-motion designs.
Lookit the heart-feathers on the right... I showed them how to mark a spine and guidelines, then wing it to make feathers... I just love that she was willing to give it a go and not be intimidated!!!!
I can't believe this student got so much done in such a short class! There were a couple ladies that, I can tell, are really going to take off with this!
The next day was the full-day class about threads that some think of as cranky threads! As usual for my classes, I begin with a “slide”/digital presentation that covers the “must know before you start” stuff, and also keeps me on point and not wandering off into fun but time-consuming stories! After all, I want them to SEW! Because using fused fabrics to do things in all my classes would be hopelessly dull, I introduce some new stuff in some of the classes instead. Here, as an alternative to sewn or fused leaves, we stencilled these leaves with Jacquard Lumiere textile paints (you can buy them at craft stores sometimes and from www.dickblick.com always). I encourage students to use my patterns but re-design the layout or branch out completely on their own. I was thrilled with the results!
Aren't those colors amazing? I love how she varied the tones within sprigs of leaves
Here's how we begin: cutting a stencil out of freezer paper, then ironing it to black fabric. It looks so-so at this stage, but when they start peeling the paper off they are SO excited!
I WISH my photo were a tad more in focus! This lady used my gingko leaf pattern to make her leaf shapes, and I love how she streaked the gold onto the green...fabulous!
The subtle tone on tone black this student brought for the class is awesome for this project. She placed leaf shapes into a starburst pattern and decided they looked like flowers...isn't this gorgeous?
Luckily, program chair and absolute HOOT Evelyn C. suggested photos, so we all got together (including me in the photo…I’m kneeling on the right) and actually got photos of what everyone did! That’s the photo at the top of this post….. Can you tell we had fun? After class, three of the ladies took me out to dinner at a local BBQ joint, Lindsey’s….OH MY! I had chopped pork bbq, greens and potato salad, and was introduced to my first (but I hope not my last) fried pie. It’s like a turnover…. think pie crust, dollop of (in my case) peach pie filling made from scratch, crust folded over to make a half-circle and crimped together and fried. YUMMM!
Next: a day with Sherri and Hot Springs Village Quilt Guild. The HSV day is today, so I had best get my suitcases…we hit the road in about 20 minutes!
April 12th, 2012 at 8:15 am
Love seeing the little bits and pieces about how you teach a class.
April 14th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Have gone straight out and bought some Lumiere paints over the internet -they look so gorgeous , just right for a project I have in mind…..
April 15th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
How lucky they all were to have you teach them. Wonderful work.
April 18th, 2012 at 12:30 am
I absolutely loved the class and learned so much more than what I expected. I had fun with the ginko leaves and have quilted it.
I bought the mini bottles of Lumiere from Hobby Lobby and have already made a stencil and painted flowers on the yellow pockets to match the commercial fabric for my Mug Bucket pattern.