It's been forever but the stitch goes on

I did get some things done this last few months in addition to many many things non-quilt-related. I have been sewing at work with the clients and working on the Monument Quilt.  I am currently quilting the first 4x4 quilt and we are working on piecing the second 4x4 too. It is a great honor to be creating pieces. The clients are especially excited that their pieces will be going to Washington DC.

I also finished and delivered two star quilts in honor of a nieces one year birthday. These quilts were part of her giveaway. My nieces middle name is Snow so this is her quilt given to her by her parents. 

Speaking of snow this is what it looked like outside when I left work so I'm gonna do some stitchin' today on this snow day!

Modern Quilt Group Update: Week Six

What an amazing six weeks that we have had as a group making quilts together! We ended up as a group of four and have met every wednesday evening this last June and July. 2015 Shapes Sampler

instructions are just an outline of what we are working on. With nine pateches, log cabins, and half square triangles behind us, we got to designing our layout and doing some drafting this last week. Here are the three quilts that we are ending up with:

Just a few pics with my phone casue we have been too busy talking and sewing to be taking pictures! Next week we finish peicing our tops. We'll do a tutorial on diamonds and the basics of star quilts too. Almost there! 

Spaña Modern Quilt Group: First meeting!

Here are a few pics from our first group last week. I lOVE the looms in the background. We are surrounded by weaving looms there becasue at the Fiber Arts Center that is their most common thing. We have a strong weaving tradition in our communities. I am not a weaver, just a quilter and a knitter. It really is a nice space to use for sewing groups. 

We started the group because a few ladies from the community asked me to teach them how I make quilts. Instead of setting it up as a class, I rented the sewing room for us as a group to use. So now I am getting to sew with some old and dear friends and neighbors. We expect a few more to join us so we'll do some introductions and WIP's in a few weeks.

I set up the group to do a Shapes Sampler together this summer. It's very very basic but the group will definately build some piecing skills and will quilt whatever they piece. This is a pic of the Shapes Sampler 2015 coming together:

We will be meeting each Wednesday evening in June and July so feel free to sew along with us!

Look what we brought home today!

I cannot believe that this happened! I have been wanting to try a long arm at home but of course they cost so much and a friend of the family is selling a simple Pfaff machine and frame for just a few hundred dollars so I'm giving it a test run! Now I looked it up and the reviews are that this only works really for small designs (4-6 inches) and straight lines because of the small throat size of the machine.

I'll post more pics as soon as I get the machine working to see how it sews! I'm so excited to try it out!

Shapes Sampler 2015 Simple Sew-Along

It's been awhile. I have dropped the ball on a few projects because I started a new part-time job at the local Domestic Violence shelter which is super rewarding work. I am actually doing a wonderful quilt project with the women that I work with. It's called the Monument Quilt. I look forward to reaching out to create opportunities for more survivors of male violence to make a square to contribute.

In the meantime I am gearing up to teach my very first quilting class! I rented the sewing room at our local Fiber Arts Center and have eight women signed up. I am doing a skills-based class with a lot of flexibility so that each participant can design a quilt with the blocks they complete in the eight weeks. One might just quilt a pillow. One might make a full bed quilt. You never know, especially when everyone is at different levels of experience. It's my first time so I will just have to see how it goes.

I am posting a page on the Shapes Sampler 2015 so that the participants can reference it during the class and beyond. Feel free to sew along with us this summer. I will be posting progress pics and instructions as we move along.  First meeting is June 2nd.

Here's my Shapes Sampler so far. It covers squares, rectangles, half-square triangles, and diamonds. I added one piece in each set of blocks in the red fabric to show each shape for my son's kindergarten class. I'm thinking I'll count up each shape and piece the number and name of each shape around the border of the quilt. You'll see. :) There are several more shapes to add (60 degree triangles, hexies, circles) depending on how we move along as a group. I'll get a pic posted to update the page once the top is pieced.

Fabrics- Lights and Darks

Squares

Rectangles

Diamonds

Half-square triangles

Wednesday Already?

Just a quick post this morning to link up. This was supposed to be a finish last last month so as you can see by flooding my projects I am very easily distracted! But I have been slowly working on Lola's Dresses, made up of several of my mother's old dresses used as the stars. The pattern is from Material Obsession 2. I blogged about it before and will link that up when I get back home. I printed some photos of her in some of the dresses for the back of the quilt. 

 Here is is getting basted.

This is before the top was even pieced just so you can see some of the fabrics.

K. Gotta run so linking up. Have a great spring day everyone!

Retreat Booty

I cannot believe it has been a month since I have taken the time to post. I went to to our four-day long Guild retreat and sewed and hung out with amazing quilters and it was a super blast. Of course I was silly and did not take pictures at all. I stole some on-line from the Guild page cause it's not a quilty story without visuals.

So this is the booty from the retreat:

• I finished two 65" lone stars, one for my cousin's wedding
• Did three more purple scrap paper pieced stars paper piece patterns from Wombat Quilts Paper Piecing Mondays
• Received an amazing 64 log cabin blocks already done and fabric cut for at least 30-40 more! (my first time inheriting someone else hard work- awesome)
  
  
  
• Pieced a small simple community service quilt out of 8 matching blocks from the fabric sale
• Pieced a swoon block
• and made peace crane number 91 for a fellow quilters pizza box
  

This was my cozy spot. On the dark side of the room but near the pressing room and because the door was open, I had the whole table to my self so I could paper piece. Plus I had a great view of the room and great company.

 This beautiful quilt was worked on the entire retreat and now hangs in our State Capital at an art quilt show called Cultural Red that will be there through the summer. It really is beautiful.

Oh. I lied. I did take one and only one picture at the retreat this year. The food was Awesome!!

So back in my sewing room on the other days of the last month I created my first original paper piece pattern. This is what it looks like drawn. 

And then I copied it, cut it up and sewed the block remembering to add the 1/4 seam allowance to the edge of every piece. This is what the block came out like.

And quilted and bound. I tried the matchstick which I would only do on a small piece like this cause it took a lot of passes.

I have one finish this month and that is my Brother's birthday scrap quilt.

And that's my catch up post. Happy spring everyone.