Black, White and Red All Around

Saturday was Class #2 for Black, White and Red All Around. Class #3 will cover borders and how to get a quilt top ready for quilting. Class #4 will cover machine quilting and binding.

Here is a picture of a smaller 36 x 36 inch version of Kathie Holland's design that I made out of red, white and blue fabrics. Students have a choice to make this quilt in either size and any 3 colors of their choice.


36 x 36 in red, white and blue

Label on the back of the 36 x 36 inch quilt

Black, White and Red All Around
Designed by Kathie Holland

Here again is a pic of the 54 x 54 inch quilt I made of Kathie's star using 6 inch squares from a black and white swap with members of AAQMB ~ on Alex Anderson's site almost 10 years ago! Can you believe it's been that long ago... so much as changed since then.

The label that is now sewn onto the back of the 54 x 54 quilt

Only for the duration of the class, this quilt is hanging in the classroom at Cathy's Sew and Vac in Chico, CA

One year ago Cathy's Sew and Vac moved to a different location here in Chico. Now in a bigger building they added fabric, notions, patterns, embroidery and ***lots of quilting tools*** to their inventory of sewing machines. Quilt Making 101 is but one of a variety of classes being offered in their new classroom. There are embroidery classes, a Handi Quilter class, even a hat making class offered by other instructors. I am starting a second series of Quilt Making 101 classes on July 10 

Color Me Happy is a new BOM coming up, sometime after the summer. I am in the process of making up the quilt sample to present in the classroom... soon! 

Segmented seams on 9 patches

Vicky, check this out! I've been working with 9 patches the last few days. These are from a different swap than the little 3 inch patches that we did a few years back. I used some 4 1/2 inch patches from a different swap, also with AAQMB group. I found a great way to press the seams using the segmented method that works great for pinwheels and stars. It works great on 9 patches too! Eliminates allot of bulk and they lay nice and flat. Wish I had known to do this back when Vicky and I did a bazillion of them for that swap. Check it out:

3 inch patches

I used from stash fabrics to make these and cut more for the class to try out tomorrow. After working with reproduction fabrics, it was kind of strange to use other colors. I also used some black and white fabrics that were left over from yet another swap. We did allot of swaps! lol


My favorites were the batik swaps.

I made the 3 inch patches using the regular strip method. The larger black and white ones I made using the magic 9 patch.

You start out with 2 squares and end up with one positive and one negative 9 patch.

The patches are made the regular way. Pressed to the dark which sets up opposing seams. After the patch is completed, just pull the threads loose from the seam ends, pull the seam allowances in opposite directions and let the center spiral. It forms a little 4 patch. Repeat with all four junctions. Easy!

Opposing seams is the focus in the class tomorrow. The 9 patch is just for fun to get the feel of "locking" seams before we start sewing the rows together.

Kathie Holland graciously gave me permission to teach her Black, White and Red All Around design. I LOVE her star design. Here is the quilt that I made from the 6 inch squares from the swap so it's very scrappy. Thank you Kathie!



Black, White and Red All Around
Pattern design by Kathie Holland

I made a second smaller version in patriotic fabrics. It's hanging up in the store. All the HSTs were made in the first class. Tomorrow we sew the rows and add borders to finish the top. There will be a third class in 2 weeks that will cover machine quilting, binding and finishing with a label.

Here are pics of the samples I made the other day with different borders.



Mitered borders with inner and outer borders


I left 2 of the mitred border corners unfinished to show the class how they are put together.
  

Inner border used with sashings
Setting cornerstones into outer borders





Stripe spiral border just for fun!

It's so much fun to teach and get newbies excited about quilting! Looking forward to tomorrow. The only bummer about teaching this class is that it is on Saturday and I will have to wait until the afternoon to start on the new block for the Civil War BOW.

Until then....

A good day

Long day, but good. Still learning how to set up this blog. Figured out how to post the Civil War Quilt button to Barbara Brackman's blog and a few of the block pictures from my flickr photo stream with a link on the sidebar gadgets. It's the little things...

Made 3 little quilts today. Inspired by Kathie~Inspired by Antique Quilts, love her beautiful little quilts as well as Aunt Reen's. I dug out some 9 patches from a swap ages ago. Not the same as the little 3 inch 9 patches that Vicky and I participated in, "saving" those for just the right quilt lol, maybe cornerstones for the setting of the Civil War BOW! hummm

These are 4 1/2 inch patches. They made up into some cute little quilts that I added 3 different examples of quilt borders to use in a beginning quilt making class I am teaching. One has a double border with mitered corners, one has a spiral border in a stripe fabric (nice effect) and one with sashing. Sorry, didn't think to take some pics earlier and now at this hour I would not trust me with a camera...

I have the 2nd of 4 quilts loaded on my machine today that are community service quilts from Annie's Star Quilt Guild in Chico. Great way to practice and learn to use my longarm.

Made my daily visit to check on my mom, she has dementia. She was an accomplished needle artist. I learned allot from her and my Oma, however, neither of them quilted. Learned that on my own. I talk to her about my quilting and show her my work, but she's not there anymore. I miss her...

It was too hot to work in the garden today, our first triple digets, right on que for the first days of summer. Too hot to sleep... but tomorrow is another day.

Civil War Quilt

Civil War Quilt, a set on Flickr.

Little Blue Basket

Took it easy today, still trying to shake this cold. First thing this morning I cut out one of the blocks I skipped over, Block #13 Little Blue Basket from the Civil War BOW. It was posted on Barbara Brackman's blog in March. Didn't want to do this block without a handle, but also did not want to applique one, so I set it aside. After seeing two quilters in the flickr group piece their handle, I decided to do the same with HSTs and am very happy with it. After getting some work accomplished, I finished the block this afternoon.

Little Blue Basket

I cut from several different blue 8 inch squares to get a scrappier look. The background fabric is a blue and white shirting ~ Nineteenth Century Backgrounds II from the Collection of Judie Rothermel for Marcus Bros. Now that it's done... WHAT was I thinking using a stripe in a background with triangles and HSTs! It was a good lesson in patience. AND it's OK that it's not perfect! lol

The 8 inch squares are all from a swap with a group from AAQMB in 2004. Marlene was one of the group and some of these fabrics are from her. She loved to make basket blocks/quilts so this reminds me of her. I sure do miss her.

Also in the swap was Vicky who I recently found through another blog, Inspired by Antique Quilts. Many of Vicky's fabrics are in my Civil War Quilt. I am so glad that I found her blog as well!  Life is good!

Posting this block was also a test to see if the set from flickr would update when I added blocks, but it doesn't. There has to be a way to get a slideshow to work and stays at the top of the page. Will have to work on that again... another day.

Civil War BOW

Finally figured out a link to post pics of my blocks. Tried to set up a slideshow gadget several times over the past week, but was not successful. Will have to see how this set from Flickr will work here on the blog.

Despite having a head cold and not feeling well all week, I did get the new BOW done today. Block #25 Calico Puzzle. Quilting has a way of soothing the soul.

Calico Puzzle

This was an easy block to do and as has been the case with all of the blocks, I spend more time selecting fabric and fussy cutting than sewing the block. I am happy that I am caught up now, well, other than 3 blocks I skipped over for one reason or another. Really glad I started this project.

Civil War Blocks

Now that I have a blog set up I am going to start out catching up on the Civil War Quilt that I started on Memorial Day weekend. It's the BOW by Barbara Brackman which began January 1st of this year. I was aware of it then and followed the blog, making notes in a journal that I started. I love how she has joined the quilt block and a story from the history of the Civil War with each weeks post.

I didn't actually start making the blocks until recently because I knew I would not be able to keep up. Now that I have some time to devote to this project I am having so much fun with it. Some of the blocks are easy, others are not. With each block I find myself adding new challenges, fussy cutting and feeling pretty good about how my quilting has improved with each week's new block.

There is a Flicker site set up to post photos and it's fun to see how talented this group of quilters are. Following are photos of the blocks I have completed. Once I am caught up here and learn how to set up this blog, I look forward to blogging more about quilting. For now... pics of the Civil War blocks... that is if I can figure this out... so far they are getting all mixed up!



Block 2 North Star

 
 


   

OK now it's tomorrow and I can't get block pictures to post in any kind of order.

As Scarlet said ... I'll think about it tomorrow

Maybe I should go with Rhett's remark...
Frankly my dear, I don't give a $%*!

... I am tiered! lol... later

 

Civil War Quilt ~ Catch Me if You Can

This is my first block. Block #1 was posted on Barbara Brackman's blog on January 1, 2011. All of the blocks for this Civil War Quilt are finished at 8 inches. On her blog, Barbara includes a story from the history of the Civil War as it took place 150 years ago.