When Keli at Drygoods asked me to teach a beginner quilting class called “Welcome to Quilting,” I knew exactly what I was making for a sample.
Inspiration for this quilt has been pulled from a variety of sources over the past year.
The seed was first planted last summer when my folks brought me home a folder of collected information on the barn quilts they had passed during their road trip west.
I thought these traditional quilt block designs were perfect with their simplistic design and that their large scale gave them a modern look. My favorites were the stars of course, but I have a whole series bookmarked.
For more inspiration I spent some time with my copy of 5,500 Quilt Block Designs to find the star I wanted to make. This book is chock full of traditional blocks just itching for some big block fun or an improvisational twist. The book is a great resource for understanding color values impact on block design and how secondary design comes into play when combining blocks.
Katie’s Super Star Quilt, in the May/June Quilty issue was the final inspiration. I was smitten with her color combo from first sight, so my original color way with the citron migrated to the back.
I quilted it in the same pattern I did for my Psychedelic Baby quilt. It’s time consuming, but clean and simple. I like unfussy quilting that runs off the edge. I’d made the binding before picking out the backing and had to switch gears when the dark grey wasn’t right. I’m always glad when I make the extra effort even when I just want to be done.
Then again, lesson learned. I like the quilt back, but if I had only taken a moment to step back and look at the quilt’s back on the design wall I would have added a vertical citron column to the top and bottom of the star block too. Practice truly is the best teacher.
This class has shaped up nicely. I love the sample and it really is perfect to drive home all the principles of quilting I want to cover in a beginner class. There’s even room built in for those that aren’t beginners, but just really want to set aside time to make a beautiful quilt.
I’ve got a load of classes on the schedule and a line up of finished quilts to show, just need some time to photograph them all.
I think there’s one spot in the zip pouch class Wednesday and a few in Split Decision Saturday if you’re looking for a new project. My friend Melinda stopped by with her Split Decision quilt top last night.
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::Zip Pouches::
$45/Wednesday, June 26th from 6-9pm at the Quilting Loft in Ballard.
Come learn the ins and outs of constructing a zip pouch. Once you know the ropes you’ll be a production machine. These are great for gifts and perfect for all levels of sewists.
::Split Decision Quilt Workshop::
$85/Saturday, June 29th from 10am-4pm at the Quilting Loft in Ballard.
Join author Katie Pedersen to play with the slice and insert technique from the book Quilting Modern. Combine simple sewing with a new skill and create your own linear design featuring snippets of your favorite fabrics. This is a great class for all levels of sewists that want to explore a new improvisational technique and play with design.