I”m excited to be teaching again. Covid 2020 really put a dent in my life style which included being around other artists and crafters. Holly Dee Quilts is offering my Tuffet Class again and April 10 is the first Session.
There is some homework and here is the Session 1 list of stuff to bring to class and stuff to get done class. We’ve got four hours and a lot to do. If you haven’t cut your strips yet… please do it tonight!
I took a gradations dying class from Cindy Lohbeck. Her class was all about creating color value. I have been learning a lot this past year about value which is basically lightness or darkness of colors. In Cindy’s class we used dilutions just like I did in chemistry class back in college. We made six values from light to dark of seven different colors. It was awesome to make 42 fat quarters of these rich colors. It is something that I am going to keep in mind when I dye in the future.
I was in a class last week and we were supposed to do tube cut bias binding. I find this the best way to make bias in the entire world. But I had a major brain fart! It was, to say the least, a bit embarrassing. At that moment, I couldn’t have even told you what make my car is. Luckily we planned for overflow time the following Tuesday evening.
I made some notes and turned the unfinished keynote address into a Quicktime video. I will probably come back and add a voice over at some point. But the keynote slide show is what I’ll be actually using as a classroom aid. It will play better live in person.
Here it is for those of you who want an early peek.
Free Motion Quilting Project – This is probably the best site for learning free motion quilting that I can think of. Leah Day clearly explains what she is doing, how to do it yourself and she has Craftsy classes too. She has done tons of online examples. She recently started publishing her designs in books, so if you are a person who prefers to browse books for ideas, she is there for you too.
You also might want to follow along with Leah’s Building Blocks Quilt Along. You can find it on Facebook and her website that I linked to above.
Free Motion Quilting On Your Home Sewing Machine by Kent Mick. You can get it on Amazon or at almost any large quilt shop. It should be $12.95 or under.
Books I passed around class:
For those of you who are taking my class. Here is a link to the pdf which contains the list of supplies and pre-work that you will need to do in order to be ready for the class.
If you have several feet that might work (see pdf) and don’t know which one is best, bring them all. we can talk about them in class.
John and I completed our freeform table runners this past Saturday. Carol had to leave before finishing and we will finish it up later this week. She picked out some amazing colors of yellow, pinks, oranges and green.
No two table runners ever come out the same because every strip you cut is curvy and done as you are inspired in the moment.
John and I went with colors we can use during the great Watermelon Month of June here in Luling, Texas. Some might say these are Christmas colors. But, here in Luling we know better.
I have discovered Wonder tape! Love this stuff. If you are doing a pillowcase type finish and just can’t get those pesky edges to fold in and stay aligned, wonder tape is your friend! It is two sides and tacky so you can reposition the cloth to your hearts content and when you are happy you can use an iron to fuse it down to it will stick really hard. Then you can sew it. It’s a convenient 1/4 inch wide so makes getting that seam to match with the other side of the opening you want to close really easy. After you sew it, it will seems kinda stiff with that tape in there. But it sewed easy and didn’t gum up my needle. The wonder part comes after you wash the item. The tape dissolves away and disappears leaving no trace it was ever there!
I used this in my free form table runner class yesterday and the students projects came out fabulous. Even the beginner never ever sewed before student produced a really well done project. You could not tell where the opening was that was used to turn the table runner inside out.
The Free Form Table Runner class being offered Feb 22, 2014 from 10 am to 2 pm. at the Texas Art League Gallery. Sign up at the Gallery. There will be a break for lunch, you can bring your lunch or some students may wish to work on their project so we arrange for lunch from the Coffee Shop, or perhaps a taco run. Iced tea and water available during the class.
Click here for PDF to
save and download.
For more detailed information, Please click on this image for a pdf you can save and print. This flyer will also be available in the Texas Art League Gallery; and, in the Watermelon Shop next door if the Gallery is closed.
The Gallery has limited hours but is open most afternoons Tuesday – Saturday. They would really appreciate more volunteers who would like docent at the gallery so that it may open more hours of the day.
The Texas Art League Gallery is at at 509 E Davis Street, Luling, Texas 78648.
Free Form Quilts 