String Quilts Your Way

What a fun class we had on Wednesday in Ferndale, WA.

It was called String Quilts Your Way

I give them the basic techniques (there are more than one, like most of quilting) and they make a string quilt they'd like. I give them plenty of examples ahead of class. 

Busy quilters!

So many fun varieties!

Traditional with reproductions. 

Plaids and dots.

What a fun variety of greens.

Anything goes! It will be great!

A quadrant of this block was already completed and she was doing a great job with the Y seams. 

Diagonal is always a great option. 

Spider web

Hexagons. 

Circle string blocks that will be appliqued down! So creative!

This is going to be a more modern setting. Love the use of these quiet solids. 

So graphic!

I'm sorry if I missed your quilt blocks. Send me an email and I'll share them! I look forward to seeing some lovely string quilts!

Thank you Piecables and Evergreen quilt guilds! 

I'm looking forward to going to Idaho next month to present to the North Idaho Quilters!

 

Steppin' Out Class

I finished my little quilt project for class last night. 

Oh my goodness, I love it!

I'm calling this Steppin' Out since I really feel like I'm taking a giant leap into my quilting business by doing a regular online class. My Etsy store is going well and I have several guild bookings, online and in person. I'm super excited to see this year unfold.

Thank you to those who have signed up for my online class! You will get the pattern and Zoom info in the next couple of days. 

If you want to sign up for the class that will take place on March 29th, 10AM-Noon, please send $10 paypal to Humblequilts@gmail.com

What are you getting for $10?

• The quilt pattern via email
• A photo of the inspiration antique
• 2 hours via Zoom with me to make the quilt top.
• A recording will be made and will be good for 1 week after the class for those who cannot make it during the week. 

Thank you for your consideration, friends!

Let's have an awesome week!

PS, Fundraiser book sale on Wednesday! 

 

Shamrock Strings

 Kay shared her finished string quilt project that she started in class! I love it! What I love about my string class is you choose what string project you want to make! Great job Kay!

A best friend is like a 4-leaf clover, 

hard to find

and lucky to have!

Have a great day friends!

Technical Difficulties

One positive thing, my son came over and helped me set up my 2 camera system set up so I can do workshops through Zoom. Because one is a new class for 2020 I had not been able to do it live before covid hit. Would any of you be interested in paying for a class for me to work a few bugs out? If I have enough interest I'll get it set up. 

This is the class:

New for 2020!
String Quilts Your Way!
String quilts have been made since 1860. Most were foundation pieced for stability and ease of sewing. If you've ever wanted to make a string quilt but didn't know where to start, this class is for you. Each quilt will be unique as you will decide which quilt block or setting to use. A fun and informative class!

EMAILS:

On a lousy technical note, my computer updated and I am no longer receiving my email to my inbox! The last day I got it was 10/14. It looks like my messages are downloading but I have no idea where they are going. I've tried searching my entire computer and am at a loss. 

The "lost" emails are your comments that you leave on my blog. I'm getting them on my phone, and I've started saving them to my server. It seems to be complicated. Please forgive me for not responding! I'm waiting for my son to come again and see if he can help me. 

On a fun note: Every year Aurora has a contest for Halloween. I snapped a couple of photos of my favorite scarecrows!

 

We have snow predicted and temps below 20! Brrr.... 

Take care.

Working and Playing at IQF

Many of you have mentioned volunteering at IQF. It is a lot of work. When I was recruited that was the first thing that I was told! Work comes first!! (right Barb?)There are a lot of volunteer opportunities during the show in a variety of capacities.  I volunteer  in the education department and the entire team has jobs that help make your experience at classes, lectures, bus tours, and special events run smoothly.  (As a teacher or student, we are there for you!)

Last year I helped with bus tours, this year, Jill, on the right, trained me on the first day  and then let me go after that. My roommate, Sue, was working bus tours too and I think we made a great team. We had the early bird shift (6AM to gather everything we needed) which was difficult coming from the west coast and pacific time zone.

Lack of sleep and we could all get a bit rummy! These aprons are so darn adorable too!! <not!> But they are a great visual for folks looking for the bus tour departure area.

Here is our 6:15 office in the Hilton parking garage.

 Lest you think it is super glamorous, here I am marking new irons with the bright yellow tape and a Q. That way we know they belong to Quilts inc ed office.

Here we are sprucing up the education office with quilts. This one made by Barbara Black.

While checking in a lecture, can I please staple these coupons on? Of course I can! 

Irons in- that means going around the 3rd floor and collecting irons we have set up in the hallways. Irons in, Irons out..... yes, it gets done all week long! (not necessarily by me or just one person) 

With the George Brown Convention Ctr spanning 11 blocks and 1,900,000 square feet sometimes trying to use the stairs to get you where you are going leads you to some odd spaces... 

Along with my tour I also took a 3 hour class with Maria Shell. Quilts inc is a for-profit business so we pay for any classes or tours we take. (we work but can take up to 1 1/2 days of classes)  Maria's quilts are very recognizable.

click to enlarge

The class was, "Color; Its Relative" It was her first time teaching it and it needs a bit of work. There is a wide variety of quilters (beginner to advanced) in the class and it is a hard topic. Unfortunately it was the student with the "art degree" that brought her down the rabbit hole asking asinine questions and made the class not as good as it could have been. I think a good teacher can control that a bit more, and do it in a nice way. What do you all see in the photo above? Looks like houses to me... nope! They are chairs. maybe that's why I don't "do" art quilts! LOL 

She shared with us her way of choosing fabric for her quilts. She uses the red plastic thing you look through and the black and white feature on her phone to make sure she has enough contrast. Her way was tedious and I think so much depends on what you are making the quilt for.

If you are making quilts for a book to support your livelihood than that is so much different than why the general population quilts.  It would completely take the enjoyment out of it if I had to compare every fabric in every block to make sure there was enough contrast, make sure the fabric isn't "dead" (her terminology- dead and alive fabric) Maybe that is why our scraps seems to multiply overnight! LOL LOL 

I'm obviously intrigued by her work because I bought her book! 

One other lecture I worked and enjoyed quite a bit was with Cindy Grisdela. 

Look at this quilting- a different quilt pattern in each color/section.

So interesting!!

I bought her book too! 

I'm pretty sure you won't find me making any art quilts soon, but I can always learn something from them!

So you can see, we worked hard....

 And played hard (within reason because we had to get up so early!)

Our hotel was always a welcome sight, knowing a hot shower and  my bed was waiting for me!

BTW, This is the Embassy Suites. 

Such a welcoming room! That is my bag on the right including my clothes and all my purchases and my roommates bag on the left! Her extra suitcase she brought!! 

Thanks for tagging along with me! Friday I'll finish up with more quilts from the show although I'm sure you've seen plenty online.

I hope ya'll are having a terrific week!

My Week at Houston International Quilt Festival

On our way to lunch on the last day,  two cohorts, Sue and Susan and I stopped by the photo booth!

My view of IQF is a little different than most attendees. I arrive on Sunday and Quilt Market is winding down, but still going on.

 Some booths are here for quilt market and quilt festival so they do not need to tear down and pack up until the following Sunday.

 Love the name of this booth.

I collect Pinocchio memorabilia, but this one didn't come home with me.

 Monday morning arrived early! I had to be ready to start checking in bus tours at 6:30AM (4:30 pacific time!)

 Even with the world series games going just blocks away this week, this was a quiet time in the morning and no lines at Starbucks!

Only lines for the tours!

I did this every morning Monday through Saturday, which I loved!

We are allowed to register for 1 1/2 days of classes. I chose to do classes I didn't have to bring much in the way of supplies. It is also a great opportunity to get into classes with world class teachers. 

What drew my eyes to both of my classes was the opportunity to see vintage textiles. 

We learned about the history of African indigo and saw several examples.

It was a fascinating class with Lori Triplett. She is a wealth of knowledge in many areas.

 The next day when I had a little free time I popped out my beans(top right design)  and snipped my rubberbands  and slipped across the street to dry my pieces. I didn't think leaving them wet in a plastic bag for 5 days was a great idea.

And then later when I had a few more minutes I found this way to completely dry them. It's a great way to start a discussion and make new friends! LOL 

 Here is my friend, Debbie, who I worked with last year in the Ed office. She opted not to return to work, but to take classes. She signed up to do the Sashiko with me.

Becky Scaletta of Shibori Dragon was the teacher and she also brought some vintage pieces to share. Last week I showed you the boro bags. I loved the edges of these sashiko pieces. These are single layer sashiko with a small hem on the sides. 

 Downstairs near the vendor area is rotating speakers throughout the day. When it is on our schedule we make sure they are miked up and everything is working properly. These two sisters are Delane and Helen Young. Their mom Blanche Young wrote Tradition with A Twist and is still in publication after 21 years! These ladies were a hoot!

Here was another woman (sorry I don't know her name) doing Brazilian embroidery.

 This year I didn't work special events but was able to take a quick cruise through the Saturday sampler. I have 4 headlamps I use for hiking, camping, and running. Why did I never consider it for hand work??! It should have been obvious!!

And there is usually a few minutes for some fun and friendship!

 Kevin the Quilter and myself enjoying Barb V quilt. It was fun to get to know him better too. 

Sue M, who I met in NYC said hello. (that's the tunic I made from the Menagerie line)

I ran into another Sue who I met years ago on a cruise with Bonnie Hunter!

 Vicki made a point to find me and say hello- she gave me treats too!

I almost feel like a Texan in this photo!

I would also like to thank the woman (I think her name was Becky) who was a teachers pet and made a donation to my Colombia mission trip! I should have snapped a quick photo of your name tag. 

Thank you to Joyce T from Richmond, TX and Mush M. from NY. You have no idea how your generosity and thoughtfulness touched my heart- really, seriously. 

 Here's some quilt loot that was donated by sponsors and passed to teachers and the education team. A few of these were donated to the ed team by the teachers. Joyce, from above, donated a goodie bag their lunch table won to me! She had to come and find me because I had to eat and run!!  Thank you!!

These are small pieces but perfect for me and my small quilting!! It is fun to try some new battings.

I do not subscribe to any quilt magazines so it was fun to have a bit of reading material on my way home.

 The quilt I loved the most just so happened to be made by my quilting friend Susan McD from NJ! Nice job Susan!!

 Here is the small stack of my purchases. 

And a great photo of the Education Team- Looks like we were all there too!!

Now I'm feeling a little under the weather, no surprise since I was in contact with so many people this past week. Have a wonderful weekend!