- Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl,
- Leanne @she can quilt and
- Beth @Cooking Up Quilts
A little bit about me:
My sewing career began early in life; my grandmother, Petronella, taught me how to sew so I could make doll clothes. The thimble in the picture below resembles her thimble, which I still have.
Soon, I wanted to know more and a neighbor taught me how to make dresses and, for many years, I made my own clothing. Eventually, I worked in a fabric store that sold clothing and designer fabric. The store was frequented by Amish women who lived in the area. Once in awhile, I would see their wonderful quilts. I am sure that this began my love affair with quilting.
Fast forward a few years...and I am in graduate school in Boston. There was a quilt store in Harvard Square and when I was out of grad school a few years later, I took a quilting class. I was hooked! Like many, I began learning by hand. Soon, I began making quilts by machine. I joined a guild and later worked at my local quilt store, Cambridge Quilts (almost 18 years!!).
I am fortunate that my quilting has spanned many years. My other crafts come and go but this has remained a constant. I have become an avid quilter and teacher. I enjoy learning new techniques and am always eager to find new projects that either challenge my design sense, encourage a new skill and then hopefully I can share the skill with someone else!
MY QUILTS:
First: My first quilt was all done by hand. It took 15 years. Someone convinced me to make those little starts in the lattice! I love this quilt and still use it on my bed. You can see that LESSON LEARNED: Fabrics see that the muslin has a bluish tint - the fabric bled!!! I was all my fabric and if I am not sure, I wash it again.
MY QUILTS:
First: My first quilt was all done by hand. It took 15 years. Someone convinced me to make those little starts in the lattice! I love this quilt and still use it on my bed. You can see that LESSON LEARNED: Fabrics see that the muslin has a bluish tint - the fabric bled!!! I was all my fabric and if I am not sure, I wash it again.
A Middle Quilt: This is a quilt I am really proud of - also mostly done by hand. The pattern was Les Fleur de Jardin by Lisa DeBee Schiller. I don't know if I will ever do another appliqué quilt this large, but I did love doing it. I met some good friends in the class that started this project. I joined my guild, Rising Star Quilters, as a result of this class! This may be as close to making a Baltimore Album as I ever get.
New Skills: I learned to feel confident about machine quilting on my new Bernina 440 QE by making this quilt. It was a mix of using a walking foot and free motion quilting and the pattern was called Quilt-As-You-Go Machine Trapunto by Keryn Emmerson. I am not expert at machine quilting but can do most of what I need on a domestic machine up to a twin size quilt.
Recent Finish: This quilt just plain makes me happy. I love the way it came together and that a wonderful baby received this quilt. I purchased the pattern, Fancy Forest by Elizabeth Hartman with no plan to make the baby quilt. I could not get the quilt out of my mind and then I thought about a baby that will love this quilt. Her parents both worked on my house in Maine (he the carpenter and she the landscaper). I was on a mission and it was done before she arrived. I have already made a second one with some changes and should be quilting it in the early summer (future post).
MY TIPS FOR QUILTING:
Here are a few tips I always try to impart to my students:
- Quilt what you love and love what you quilt.
- Keep moving ahead. If there is a mistake that will not stop your progress, let it go and return to it when further along. Fix it then. if you still need to, rather than getting hung up or putting the quilt away for a future date.
- Challenge yourself to learn something new with each project.
SOME OF MY QUILTING GOALS FOR 2017:
This year I have set a few goals for my quilting. Blogging helps to challenge me to pay attention to these goals.
This year I have set a few goals for my quilting. Blogging helps to challenge me to pay attention to these goals.
- 2017 APQ UFO resolution which challenges you to complete one project a month. You can see my list here for this year and a slideshow and list of what I finished last year here.
- To use EQ7 to design a few quilts which will use fabrics that were collected for a quilt, but I don't have a particular pattern in mind.
- Make a Modern quilt, entirely my own design.
- Continue to reduce my stash.
So tell me, what is are your quilting goals this year?
Thanks for stopping by,
Thanks for stopping by,
