"Fly High, Dragonfly" Intro & Class

The past couple Wednesdays I was ready to sit down to write a blog post... but as I looked around, I only saw one secret project after the other. I simply didn't have anything to share. If you follow me on Instadgram, then you may have already seen my latest "cat-out-of-the-bag" project, "Fly High, Dragonfly". But here I would like to officially introduce her and take a little more time to tell more about her.

After I had shared this post, I decided to check back and see exactly when I had started this project... it was back in March!?! Perhaps you remember my first blocks from this project?  I've recently come to love working with an elongated drunkard's path block... it feels like it has more of a twist than the standard block. And my current mood is that every quilting block looks better with an applique dot on it, don't you think?

Currently my quilt is now with Iva from @schnigschagquiltsandmore for her to work her quilting magic. This is not the first quilt that Iva has quilted for me. I find that having my top longarm quilted, helps me get to the pattern release finish line a lot quicker. By the time to you factor in time needed for the pattern concept to making the top, the actual pattern writing itself, plus the time needed for testers, that puts you out quite a while, no matter how fast you are. Having it quilted frees me up to work on the not so glamorous behind the scenes computer work.

photo credit: Iva Steiner

Even though I started this in March, I finished it rather quickly. If you are familiar with farming in Germany, then perhaps the background might give you a little hint of the time of year these pictures were taken? Even if you're not up on farming seasons, you may have heard me rave a time or two (or three, or four...) about my favorite time of year in Germany - canola / asparagus season...

Since this field is just outside my office, you certainly don't think that I could miss the perfect photo opportunity, do you? With all that being said, canola fields in Germany usually bloom between April and May, depending on how warm the spring season has been. I had the deadline of having this finished before I left for Nadelwelt so I could make the hand-off to Iva at the show. Started the end of March, finished in April, traveled to Switzerland in May... sharing now.

... and now for the really exciting part: As part of an exclusive pattern launch, I will be teaching my "Fly High, Dragonfly" quilt pattern March 7th & 8th, 2020 at Galerie von Quilt Et Textilkunst, in Munich, Germany! This class that will be a mixed bag of everything - paper piecing, traditional piecing, starch applique, and "go big or go home" - XXL applique! Hope you to see you there!