Because thread is the best glue
The time has come to move out some of my most coveted stash. So listen up, here’s how it works. My friend @crftychikdestash will be handling the destash over on Instagram. Follow her to see what goodies you can add to your stash like out of print Heather Ross, Alexander Henry, Denyse Schmidt, Tula Pink, Echino…
Some of the listings expire tonight at 7pm and others will continue.
Happy Hunting!
Happy New Year Peeps!
Have you had your fill of green smoothies yet?
Students and I kicked off the new year in the studio Saturday by flexing our creative muscles with an Embrace Our Curves workshop. Confidence in mastering improvisational curves grew and unique designs started to grown on the design walls rather organically.
It was so inspiring I had to restrain myself from starting a new curved project as I cleaned up, well ok, maybe I started one;)
This no pins required technique can be rather liberating. Come join me in the next round of this inspiring workshop, including a Presidents’ Day session for my 9-5er peeps. FULL Saturday, March 24th Available.
Don’t know if you’ve seen them on my Instagram or Facebook feed, but just in time for Valentine’s Day I’ve added some new heart shaped quilt samples to My Double-Trouble Quilt block class. You might all have had enough of my hearts over the past year. According it Jefe it’s looking like an epidemic around here. I’ll take it;)
Not into hearts? No worries I still heart you and we’ll play with all types of geometric shapes of design layouts. Bonus, learn some shortcuts for making multiple half-square triangle blocks.
Wanna have some hand binding ready for quality couch time this winter? Or maybe try your hand at box or zip pouches? Open Studios for the month of January are up and might be your calling. Please come pick my brain, learn something new and finish up while using the studio’s tools and Berninas. Sometimes we just need to make the time and have the space (or huge design wall) available to get things done!
All other available workshops are listed and can be schedule by contacting me😉
There will be plenty of traveling this season. If you’re in the neighborhood I’d love to see you. Please spread the word!
Embrace Your Curves | Mastering Improvisational Curves Workshop-
No pins required for this wonderfully liberated technique! Curves aren’t complicated when you create them improvisationally, even for beginners. We’ll go beyond mastering a curve and cover how to make your blocks unique by creating strip pieced rings and adding straight strips. Learn design and construction techniques to create blocks that back into the sizes you need to finish a project like a quilt, pillow or box pouch.
Let’s embrace our curves and add this fun technique to your quilting arsenal. If you enjoy my other classes that focus on technique within a finished block and freedom from matching seams than this is the next class on your list;)
Double-Trouble Triangles Workshop-
A modern quilt block that is really no trouble at all!
Double-Trouble is a fun quilt block and design workshop that merges a traditional half-square triangle block with an improvisational stitch and flip triangle technique. We’lll explore and inspire each other on the design walls with the unlimited controlled and chaotic quilt design potential this block has to offer. One block = endless designs!
I’ll will have multiple examples made with prints and solids to show for inspiration.
P.S. I wanted to share a little game changer for sewing. These LED light strips stick to the inside harp of your sewing machine. I can’t rave enough about how much they improve sewing on long dark rainy days or make my ailing eye sight seem drastically improved. Treat Yourself!
I’ve got four quilts bound and am ready for Winter/Couch Olympics. Hope to see you and that your season’s start is creative. xo Katie
This post has had over three names. The one named ‘shortest day of the year’ might be an indication of how many times I tried to make it here. Life has taken control and I’ve gone with it, but it’s time to hit the ‘post’ button.
I love the reflection that the new year brings. I’ve been thinking lately about the comfortable pace at which my teaching, lecturing and working with students in the studio has grown over the past few years and nestled itself happily into my life. I’m truly thankful to hang out with a bunch of people that share the same delight in cutting fabric apart and sew it back together. A big thanks for your support and spreading the word about the studio and my teaching.
My season of travel is coming up and I’ve had the opportunity to travel to places I’ve never been for teaching and lectures. I’ve also spread my wings a bit and accepted an invite to teach at a private retreat. What a fun treat to have several days to work on one quilt technique.
Here’s 2018’s workshops and lectures:
I’m pretty thrilled with my workshop offerings now. They have really tightened up in the past year and the feedback on my style of teaching has been wonderful.
As a teacher I’ve found that improvisational techniques are fun, but without a block structure most students were going to leave a workshop with another UFO regardless of showing them how to build out a quilt design. Sure, it would be great to create whatever I want, but as I’m designing I have to ask myself, “How could I teach this?” That question alone brings me back to block construction. Combining an improvisational technique with block structure has led my workshops onto a path that everyone seems to feel they can successfully finish a quilt that’s unique to them. Win-Win.
Winter will be a tight wrap for the studio with all the travel, but I’ve got a few workshops and Open Studios lined up and I’ll get a few more up in the next week or so. Embrace your Curves is this Saturday and I have had a last minute cancelation if anyone is interested in making blocks using this improv technique. No pin curves, I promise!
We’ll also be making some zip pouches on Friday January 19th, one slot left.
I’m not much of a resolutions person, but I am a creature of habit and like to think about things that create happiness. I generally pick something small and if I’m going to deprive myself of some indulgence I always pick the month of February since it’s the shortest;) Last year I made my bed every day and this year I was toying with 15 burpees a day, but haven’t done it yet. Got any similar plans?
We’ll see what happens for 2018 Peeps. Have a great holiday.
I tricked my house all out for Halloween before heading on my mini road trip. It really made it feel like fall had arrived.
The timing for teaching and trunk shows in Bend and Ashland couldn’t have been better. The trees were all turning and the people ready to get back into the quilting groove. My student’s enthusiasm about what they were learning was like an inspirational refresh button for me as well.
In between towns I had loads of free time and made a side trip to see Crater Lake which was experiencing a little snow storm. I’m a Michigander to Flagstaff girl, but it’s been awhile since I’ve driven on snow. Though lovely I don’t miss it;)
Now that I’m home I’ve done some rearranging and added some more.
Usually I get to making one Halloween project. The buckets might be it this year, besides a possible pillow while teaching zippers Thursday night.
The truth is we’re not lacking in Halloween pillows (or fabric) anyway, but they sure are fun to make.
Gone are the days Roan will use his little Trick or Treat bags, a pillowcase is all he’ll want this year, so I actually packed these little trick or treat bags into his trunk for safekeeping. I’m not a saver, but these have too many fond memories.
My Skully candy bag (paper pieced pattern by twiddle tails) is all ready for the night, though there seems to be a dwindling supply of its original contents.
While I’m excited for him to wander around with his friends this Halloween, it sure is sweet to look upon the past.
With Halloween almost here I’ve started thinking about the holidays and added some gift workshops to the line-up including evening sessions. We’ve got a lot of gifting to make including invisible zipper pillows, box and zip pouches, rope bowls. The quilting workshop will be Double-Trouble, triangles with a little tradition and a little improv.
The first sessions I listed filled, so I’ve added new additional dates.
Happy crafting peeps!
Loving this finish.
This Split Personality crazy piecing technique that I’ve been teaching is so fast and satisfying. I can’t stop making the blocks in all my favorite color ways.
I’ve made several sets and they’re waiting for their own quilt designs to come to me. I’ve also had a little personal challenge going on to make quilt tops come together with fabric I already have, a task that takes a little more design time.
I used traditional block techniques like half squares and quarter squares and randomly placed them up on the design wall filling in here and there with solid fabrics. For the quilting I off set it a bit, diagonally coming together somewhat in the center. It was enough without distracting.
Alexander Henry from stash for the back.
I love this Notorious line by Cotton and Steel for the binding.
This turned out to be an easy baby quilt and I love the heart pillows I made with the left over blocks even more.
I wish I could have both of these in two places at once so that I could show them at my lectures in Ashland next week and at the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild as samples for the November 4th workshop.
I don’t know what it is about these crazy pieced blocks I call Split Personality, but I’ve got to say they’re nothing short of addictive. In talking with a few students in Saturday’s workshop, I’ve realized I’m not alone in this addiction. After learning the technique they’ve created more than a few sets and let them marinate on their design walls until the perfect quilt design idea came to them for their placement.
I had some left over blocks from my Split Crumbs Quilt top, so I placed them into one of my favorite shapes, the heart. I used the improvisational stitch and flip triangle technique we teach in Quilting Modern for the tops of the heart, and a good ole half square triangle for the bottom.
I’ve been wanting to play with a binding/sashing for pillows, but will have to start teaching myself another zipper or closing technique besides an invisible zip.
The variegated thread stitched up a lovely line. I was thinking a grid, but it didn’t need it.
In the Studio’s evening Open Studio for September and October we’ll focus on installing an invisible zipper into a pillow. I know it sounds complicated and scary, but I actually know 12- year olds that do it without calling their mommy and trust me, making pillows is addictive in a good way. You are welcome to bring any project though.
Of course if you don’t need the hand holding, but just a good tutorial for installing your own at home you can check my invisible zipper pillow tutorial out here.
The Seattle Modern Quilt Guild will be hosting me to teach the Split Personality Quilt Block November 4th. They’ll open up the workshop here soon, so save the date! Not sure but there might be some spots left at Quiltcon too.
Happy Week Peeps:)
It’s that time of year again to start thinking about what to enter into my favorite quilt show.
I’m hoping to finish quilting up my Split Crumbs Quilt top this morning for the show to add along with my Hearts Value Quilt. This is a non-judged show and a great way to spend the day and show off your quilts.
Check out the link below to find out more!
Saturday, September 9, 2017
ENTER A QUILT NOW
Bainbridge Quilt Festival is a non-juried, non-judged celebration of quilts open to all quilters. Quilts are displayed outdoors along Winslow Way watched over by our many volunteers. Guidelines and entry forms are online at BainbridgeQuiltFestival.com
Register: June 30 through August 31
Deliver: September 8
Pick up: Day of Festival or by arrangement
BUY RAFFLE TICKETS
Dance Steps pieced by members of Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild. Quilting by Gladys Schulz. 54 X 66
Just $2 a ticket. Tickets at Esther’s Fabrics, July 4th booth, and first Friday ArtWalks Drawing at 4 on Festival day. You do not need to be present to win.
ENJOY FESTIVAL DAY
Bainbridge Quilt Festival is presented by Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild a local affiliate of the nation Modern Quilt Guild. The Guild is a non-profit formed to develop and encourage the art of modern quilting. BIMQG supports quilters and other fiber artists interested in non-traditional quilting projects and offers educational opportunities through workshops and sharing of information. We also provide opportunity for works that give back to the community through the use of modern
I took my finished Heart Value quilt along on retreat. I like to have a quilt with me as a little reminder of home and knew I would have some helpers for photos. I think it was the only time I ventured outside and away from my sewing machine.
This is definitely the largest quilt I’ve ever quilted on the studio’s Berninas. It’s a little shy in width to a King. One of my Facebook readers asked when quilting if I go north to south, and then turn to go south to north? This quilt was too large to continually turn, so I just worked my way out from the middle. I started with a vertical quilting line ½” from the seams and then went back to fill in. It was the first time I’ve used the stitch in the ditch foot that came with my Bernina’s walking foot to tack down the seams. It turned out perfectly.
Oh, all that lovely color.
I combed through my stash to find just the right fabrics for each heart. Again a perfect sample of archiving all your lovely fabrics in one quilt. No matchy-matchy required.
I lack in low volumes except for an insane amount of light pink.
More from the stash for back.
I have to say I’ve pulled quite a number of fabrics lately from stash that I bought specifically for backs and upon trying to square them up I believe who ever is operating the printing or checking the quality is not doing their job. The motifs are printed so off grain that they look horrible as huge cuts and can’t be used. I finally moved from my original prints and patched together a bunch of mostly flannel in a simple back.
I think I mentioned in a past post that I purchased a fabric favorite for the binding once I saw that it was reprinted. It’s a Sevenberry and ties in the colors of the back perfectly.
I try to get photos of quilts before I wash them and now that that’s done I threw it into the wash. I was super impressed with how supple it was when I pulled it out. It has an amazing drape.
It’s perfect timing. The morning fog has cleared and sunny skies are expected for Seattle by mid-day. It appears the season is turning just in time for the first day of summer making it time to pull the duvet and sleep with just a quilt.
This is just another example of how to use value in your quilts. You can follow the simple instructions in my value quilt tutorial to make your own.
Happy Week Peeps!
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P.S. I’ve added evening and weekend Open Studios to the schedule;) One can never have too many opportunities to quilt!
Anyone that knows me well, knows that I take organization to a serious level. So I was teased for showing up to retreat with two cart loads and no real project plan. Clothes are easy to pack for this type of vacation, but my time management for planning projects just didn’t exist.
Along with a lot of other random stuff, into the car went some blocks a few of my lovely students and I created last month. They helped me test drive a crazy piecing technique I call Split Personality as a three hour workshop at Quiltcon. It’s an easy technique that creates multiple blocks with ‘crumbs’ of each fabric in all sorts of fun linear shapes.
I’ll be teaching this block as a full day workshop in the studio this month.
I started with the blocks we had made in colors I honestly didn’t like much together. I figured I didn’t have anything to lose by cutting them up. If I didn’t like what was happening I’d trash them and move onto the next set.
I loved what happened.
I aimed for an easy design. Nearly everyone with some quilting experience has trimmed many a half square triangle, so merging one with the crazy piecing seemed ideal as a sample. Some time with the design wall led to this layout.
I love to have loads of examples of how to use a technique and/or block and students appreciate the inspiration, so I played with one of my favorite shapes that utilizes half square triangles AND improv stitch and flip triangles with the Split Personality blocks with my leftovers.
I think these will be pillows, just have to decide whether they need sashing, piping or another colorful background. Stay tuned, I have 3 more sets of these blocks in a range of color ways left.
As far as sewing at retreat, here’s what I walked away with. I find with the studio I don’t have as much time to sew and even though I needed to stick with making samples, I was also much more relaxed and organized on my walk out;) It might have been the inspiration, awesome company, good sleep or the margaritas…really doesn’t matter.
I highly recommend retreats.
I’m pretty much smitten with this block. I love that you could fit it into just about any improv or traditional quilt design as a ‘made’ fabric. It just seems now that I find inspirational quilt designs I want to put it into everywhere.
I’ve got a weekend and weekday workshop on the studio schedule for this block.
And Seattle’s got nothing but clouds in our future this week, so I’ve picked out a backing and am ready for some quality quilting time if I pay my time management cards right;)
And of course there’s Quiltcon. I’ve never been to Pasadena, so if anyone has some hot tips they’re willing to share about eating & where the best margarita is I’m all ears.
Happy making Peeps;)
Check out other quilts made with the Split Personality block:
I believe Seattle had 13+ consecutive days of sun in May! It was wonderful to have the doors and windows open in the studio, and we all enjoyed our lunches with an extra dose of Vitamin D. Today my plants are enjoying a little drink of water.
I had an incredible month of teaching, helping and being inspired by my students.
Everyone seemed determined to finish up some quilt projects for graduations, weddings and just because.
In Open Studios we designed, enlarged, quilted, squared, bound and zipped a load of quilty things, and as requested I’ve added an evening Open Sew to the studio’s schedule. Did someone say mimosa? I’m open to feedback if another evening is convenient.
I ran a second session of the Psychedelic Baby quilt workshop. I was pretty impressed with the twists everyone had on the design walls with their secondary blocks.
A big thanks to a few that generously offered their time to help me redevelop and test out new class ideas I’ve had floating around in my head.
I’ll send out a newsletter here soon for my Split Personality Quilt Block workshop, but for those of you that have been in the studio and requested a date I have listed a weekend date and will get to adding an evening as soon as I can.
I’m off to retreat for the weekend after Open Studio. Yeah!
Have a great weekend Peeps;)
Hi there;)
Popping in for a moment. The studio’s all clean and ready for some sewing this afternoon and I’ve organized quilts for Thursday’s lecture with the Tacoma Modern Quilt Guild (please come if you want;).
I’ve got the samples for Part II of the Psychedelic Baby Block workshop out for air. Tomorrow’s class is full, but if you’ve taken part one and want to come play with finishing it up or your secondary blocks please do! It will be an excellent opportunity to get your improv on.
I’ve had a request for the Modern Straight-Line Quilting workshop on Friday May 26th, if you’ve been trying to make it to this class here’s your chance! I’ve loved teaching this workshop. We make some useful nesting baskets with our panels.
One spot left in Memorial Day’s Value Quilt Workshop. We’ll cover how value drives quilt design and make hearts and other shapes with simple half-square triangles. I’m trying to get some squares cut from my stash to make available.
Some students and I’ve been playing in new color ways with one of the improv block techniques I’ll be teaching at Quiltcon. Even putting pillows on the bed puts a combo in my head and leads me out to the studio to pile fabric.
I pre-ordered The Modern Quilt Guild’s new book that has a few of my quilts in it. I’ll be sure to share when I receive it.
I’ve got a birthday present to make today and some celebratory roller skating tonight. We’ve been into making and gifting these Michelle Patterns grocery bags with fabric from stash in the studio lately.
That’s it for now peeps.
Hope you all have time to get your craft on this week.
My Value Heart Quilt has spent more time in the past couple of weeks being shuffled from one corner of the house to the next, than being stitched.
I’m hearting it though and I thought I’d share a little bit of process before yet another week walks away from me.
Last week I did managed to start this post, and sit long enough to turn one corner of the binding. I don’t know about you, but I always love that moment when you can spread it out and admire even just one bound edge.
Saturday, I spent the most lovely day with the Bainbridge Island MQG and managed to finish all but one side while traveling on the ferries. I usually get out of the car deck and head upstairs to the cabin, but the King size kept me warm and car-bound. I also had a pretty sweet viewing spot to watch rainbows over Puget Sound.
Many scraps ago I bought this Sevenberry print, and I had the most wee bit of it left. When I noticed they reprinted it, I got it in my head that it was the one and only binding fabric that would do. Definitely a ‘treat yourself’ moment for someone that could certainly bind a million scrap quilts from her stash.
I have OBD (over basting disorder) and a similar problem with wonder clips. Some tools once discovered are hard to live without. Using its clever risen dots to align all the binding to the same seam measurement is a game changer. You really only need a few, but I like to see it all clipped back like that and you feel so accomplished when you get to start removing them.
Even width binding!
I’m sure Jefe is seriously happy that we’re now going to be sleeping under a scrappy heart quilt, but I love the brightness and cheerfulness it brings to the room.
I’m hoping to finish it up and snap some photos of it next week for a workshop that focuses on how to optimize the use of color value in your quilts, but in case that doesn’t become reality I’ve listed some class dates. Come get your value on and use up some of those lovely prints in your stash;)
I know some of you Monday-Friday peeps tell me you like a holiday of sewing, so I added one for you.
I know you’d miss all the examples I have to show you how value works, but if you can’t make it here you can still make your own with my Value Quilt Tutorial and some scheduled time with your design wall.
Well, since somebody might have had a little accident and there’s no transmission in the car, there is car hunting in the near future. This will also be the last photo of the bedroom with the Pure Periwinkle in my dream weekend. I think I feel some new pillow covers coming on with the paint transformation, plus I’ve got another quilt quilted and ready for some binding, so out I go to visit my stash.
Hope your future is full of something inspirational.
Happy week Peeps!