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.
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!
These last weeks have been all about getting ready.... getting ready to print my latest pattern, Whirly Girl... getting ready for my upcoming class in Hildesheim... getting ready for both of my Nadelwelt classes... getting ready for my next pattern release... not to mention finishing the quilt top for the pattern after that... wheh!?!... and what do I have to share? Not much... yet.
Well, how about we start with what's NOT under wraps? This weekend I'm teaching another starch applique class, and for those that have never tried this technique, I usually recommend starting out with a simple block that covers a little bit of everything. Since circles and leaves are a staple in many applique blocks, it's the perfect place to begin.
Once those are mastered, it's time to move on to bigger and better things. A simple heart is an ideal shape to begin with because it addresses the issue of an inward curve. Those are the points that can sometimes be tricky to handle because there's just not much fabric to work with.
Last fall, I made a sample block to demonstrate the starch applique technique when I taught a weekend course with Patch-Yard. She made another appearnace just recently in Patchwork Professional, where I did a little how-to "workshop" along with the magazine feature.
Since I will demonstrate this block yet again at Nadelwelt, I thought it might be time to make a plan for all those sample blocks, not that I get stuck with a bunch of random, orphan blocks that only get thrown into the WIP box later.... so I started a little fabric pull.
Thinking about it in hindsight, it might have been better to have a plan before I started - connecting these two blocks to each other is not the easiest divide to cross... not to mention that is a color combo that is way outside my comfort zone.
So, now I'm making lemonade out of lemons!
Last week was an absolute flurry of things to do. At some point in preparing for my starch applique class with Patch Yard, I realized that the only thing that I was missing was a sample to deomonstrate the reverse applique technique. A simple circle is perfectly acceptable, but would have needlessly been tossed into the orphan block bin... and who wants that?!?
Recently I decided to try out a few classes on Creativebug, and was excited to see that the Anna Maria Horner "Folk Flower" block was among the classes. The block itself is simple enough to figure out on your own, but it's always interesting to see the thousand ways that you can ultimately end up at the same end goal.
Sewing by hand never was my thing, and never will be... but bring in the word starch, and you are talking about a whole other ball game for me. All in all, I still appreciate seeing a variety of techniques used in quilting. For me, using reverse applique with starch applique, is like the universe aligning.
On my blocks, I decided to use an appliqued bias tape strip instead of piecing it. I much prefer the bias tape to sewing thin strips, that often have the tendency to be a little wonky because of their small size. For the background, I am using some pretty strongly patterned prints, which are a far cry from my usual low volume backgrounds.
I'm just sure that I can come up with some kind of fun project for these leftover circle cut outs, don't you?...
These blocks were the perfect choice not only to demo, but to start a project that I've already had in the back of my head for a while now... I just love those killing two birds with one stone moments. So, how about if I leave you with just a few impressions from the class?
