Student Creations

Would you like to see some of the blocks by a couple of the ladies participating in last night's class?  Of course you would! 
It's very gratifying to see someone take my design and put their own stamp on it.  The creativity is commendable!

Michelle's:

Michelle chose wild, bright fabrics and a white background.  There are swirls, paisleys, flowers, butterflies-you name it!  Very modern and hip.

Shirley's:

Shirley opted for a muted dusty lilac, cream, and dusty rose to create a very elegant runner.  I think the applique pieces are from a Tina Givens line, but I could be wrong.  The background of the blocks is a dusty rose Fusions piece.

I love seeing how each individual puts her stamp on the same pattern. 

More to come later!

Bohemian Tile Runner

Brilliant!  My blog is new and I'm already behind!  It's been two weeks since I posted last, but a lot has happened in those two weeks, so I'm not going to beat myself up. 

I finished the Bohemian Tile runner.  I absolutely love the colors and fabrics!  I will be teaching a class on this design on Thursday of this week.  My patterns are also for sale, so if you see something you like on the blog, just drop me a line.  I hope my designs inspire you, but please remember to not plagiarize because that's just not nice.

The pieces are appliqued using fusible web and a straight stitch.  I've never used a straight stitch for applique, but I saw it in a book and thought it was pretty cool, since the fusible web will be holding the pieces down, too.  I don't recommend that stitch for anything that will be washed often.

New pattern

I've been working on a new design/pattern for a class I'll be teaching on April 28th.  It will be a table runner in the style of a tile quilt.  I've been inspired by the book Quilt Tile Revival to try something new.  Since applique is not my strong suit, mostly because I shy away from it, I thought this would be a good chance to get some practice in. 

As you can see, the fabrics I'm using for this particular runner are a tad outspoken.  I love the 4-petaled shape in the right lower corner that was fussy cut from a rose.  The block designs are paisley and other related free-flowing type shapes.  I'm still trying to think of a name for the runner.  I should have it all appliqued and the border added by this Thursday (the 14th) when we have a sewing night. 

Non-quilt Accomplishment

I've had the most beautiful Aesthetic style slipper chair in my bedroom for a couple of years now.  I absolutely love the carvings, the wood, etc.  I also loved the color of the fabric (green) that almost perfectly matched the bedroom walls.  What I didn't love was the design and peachy accents in the fabric.  The colonial/Victorian/whatever look just didn't do justice to the carvings and style of the chair.  So, I waited patiently (!?!) for the perfect fabric to go on sale at Hancocks at the same time that I had some extra pocket change and was making a trip to Victoria.  It finally happened when I was at the quilt show I mentioned before. 

Last night I finally recovered the chair and it looks perfect.  The new fabric has more of an Aesthetic or William Morris look to me.  I did forget to buy trim, though.  Hopefully I can take care of that this weekend. 

What do you think of my new masterpiece?  And I know it's incredibly dusty, but it's not from my housekeeping.  It's from the old batting and the fabric I took off.

Woo-hoo!! My first blog!

My friend Lisa came over last night to "help" me play with my new lace dyes that I got from Charlotte Anne (you have to see her stuff!) at the Victoria, Texas quilt show a couple of weekends ago.  I've never done anything like this before.  I love lace, I love to tea dye, and Rit is my friend for shirts and such, so I had to give dying lace a try.  We practiced on some old stuff, and cheap Wally stuff.  I'm not ready to touch the really pretty medallions I got from Charlotte yet.  (Are you one of those people who can buy lots of yard goods and then never cut into them because they might get messed up?  I am!) 
Lisa also finally pulled me into the 21st century (I was so enjoying the 19th still!) by setting up my blog.  Something about good for business, yada, yada, yada.  I may have tuned out some of the important stuff.  Fine.  I will say a (grudging) thank you, Lisa. 

So what do you think of my masterpieces?  The daisies and tiny heart lace is all 100% rayon.  The large medallion is a piece of vintage cotton that I've had forever.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it now, but I really like the way it turned out.