class samples and other things

I always breathe a huge sigh of relief when I deliver my last class sample, and the supply lists to go with them, to Pieceful Heart Fabrics. They sit heavy on my mind until the final page is printed and the last binding sewn on. This time was no different and I’m glad to have them done.

We will all be getting our quarterly newsletter any day now… then I guess I’ll be waiting to see if anyone likes my efforts and has actually signed up for the classes…

I took in a sample for a Woven Quilt class from the book Simply Stunning Woven Quilts by Anna Faustino for C&T Publishing…

The woven quilts are such fun to make. I’m now looking at my stash in a new to identify more suitable fabrics for me to weave. This one uses 2 gradated fabrics woven together. The flowers were cut from a large print and just fused on with WonderUnder. I did a fused binding a la Laura Wasilowski.

 I made Star Gazing by Stone and Thread as my sample for a punchneedle beginners class.

I made the embroidered sampler panel from Winter Stitchery by Crabapple Hill for a class last winter. Now I have added the pieced borders and finished it all with some Big Stitch swirls..

I made another Japanese Jigsaw (by Tracy Brookshier) top. This time I actually used the template the right way round and ended up with a square top like the one shown in the pattern… The quilt looks as though it should be very complicated to piece but with Tracy’s instructions and the optional template it goes together really quickly. You just need to keep your pieces organized on a design wall while you are working and if I can stay organized then you know it can’t be too hard…

I used blue Japanese style prints for the blocks and a brown and blue co-ordinating fabric for the border. I thought they were appropriate given the quilt’s name.

Staying with the Japanese theme… I made the lilies from FabricOrigami. The pattern shows them taped onto stems and also on a string of Christmas lights so I tried both. The FabricOrigami classes are always popular. We made  the stars last Sunday afternoon at PHF. It took a little while for some students to get a hold of the collapsed fold but we all got there in the end. Here are the lilies on stems purchased from JoAnn’s…

and a string of lilies on some Christmas tree lights…

I am offering a small Santa wall hanging for the Quilter and Child class this quarter. It’s an Amy Bradley design appropriately called Christmas. I added borders and a fused binding to make a project that can be finished in the class.

One we are bringing back is the Arc-i-Texture Table Runner designed by Carol Taylor for the book Skinny Quilts and Table Runners by Eleanor Levie for That Patchwork Place. These are challenging pieces to make but I think the end justifies the means…

It really is a long, skinny piece… here is a detail…

The circles were particularly fun to do… Once you get the spiral going they just go round and round…

That’s about all the new things I took to the shop. My other classes are all repeats of ones that have been enjoyed before.

I do have one other picture to include for my friend Sheila who is going to make the Sunflowers quilt designed by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts that PHF sells as a kit. I made the shop sample and Sheila wants a picture of it. So here it is, for Sheila in California…

I always enjoy quilting sunflowers but then you need to make sure the whole quilt is quilted with equally dense stitching for it to hang straight. The little quilt turned into quite a project. I’m glad Sheila liked it! I hope she has fun making hers.

I went to Village Quilters in Wheaton on Monday this week. I am intending getting some pictures sorted tomorrow!