34! We had 34 of us gathered to sew all day at yesterday’s class!
Ladies had come from all over Pennsylvania and even Maryland to come sew for the day.
The American Legion hall was the perfect gathering place for a crowd this large ---we had access to their fridge and the ice machine ---I got the music going playing Jimmy Buffett while everyone came in and chose their sewing stations, got unpacked, plugged in, set up, and ready to roll!
I really love to have the ladies introduce themselves – so often classes just get going and no one knows each other --- as the teacher any way, I don’t know WHO knows anyone else, and it helps me to get to know everyone a little bit better.
We had a couple mother/daughter teams, some cousin-in-laws, lots of different guild posses and friends who said they’d BEEN friends for well over 40 years.
And this is what it’s all about. RELATIONSOHIPS! New ones, old ones, finding things to do together to strengthen the bond and build memories. Let’s face it – we really can stay home and sew in our own protective bubbles, but what we get from quilting together is often far more valuable than how much we get done un a one day class, or the quilt itself.
The next time I come across an antique quilt with a bunch of embroidered signatures on it ---or the next time YOU come across one, think about those relationships these ladies must have had with each other. It goes far deeper than the quilt!
Quilters by nature are determined and resilient!
And I need to tell you all about Vickie and her little mis-hap on lecture night ---
It had been raining a pretty good clip while we were inside during the lecture/trunk show…..and when I was signing books at the end, I heard someone come running in the back door yelling “Someone call 911 ---Vickie’s fallen!” Oh, those words make my heart skip a beat! We waited for the ambulance to come, and to get the word that everything was all right.
Turns out that while climbing the back outside stairs, Vickie tripped and fell on her face. She has the biggest bruised lip I’ve ever seen, and she chipped her beautiful front tooth clear off at one corner!
And.
SHE CAME TO CLASS THE NEXT DAY!!!
We all gave her a round of applause and commented on how lucky she was that she didn’t break her arm or her right leg --- that she could still come sew. It’s much better to break your face!
I also learned something from Vickie!
First off, I love how she bundles up her pre-cut pieces all in neat stacks with strips of selvage tied up with a bow. TOO CUTE!
But look at this pictures closely, and pay attention to her “mock up” page ---That isn’t fabric!
Instead of wasting her beautiful fabrics, she took the fabric and had color copies made so she could cut up the PAPER COPIES for her mock up and glue them down where they needed to be as a sample. How cool is that?
If you look at the upper right corner of the mock- up you will see a bundle of little fussy cut blocks with pictures in the center…these are the center squares for her stars --- this quilt is being made for her 9 year old granddaughter who loves pink, and is going to love this quilt!
What 9 year old girl wouldn’t love this quilt?
I’m so happy you were okay enough to come join us, Vickie!
I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted a slide show from a workshop --- and it’s time to do it now! I hope you enjoy the blocks that were produced for this class! We had a great time making them, and there are many beautiful quilts to come from these blocks:
We also had a bunch of silly group photos taken! How could you NOT have a good time with these ladies?
This is me and the Maryland Contingency! I’ll be back visiting their guild in 2015, I can’t wait, girls!
And the Shippensburg, PA contingency is always a barrel of laughs too! What is that saying? “Growing old is Mandatory – Growing UP is OPTIONAL!!”
Have a great Sunday, Everyone!
I’m sitting here resting my bones and going through today’s photos – oh my goodness did we have a lot of fun!
One of the things I love to do is have a “show and tell” right at the end of lunch ---there are always Quilters who bring stuff they know I would love to see, and of course we ALL want to see, so it’s become a fun way of seeing what others have made, and getting to know more about each other while we finish up our lunches and rest ourselves from all of the power sewing we’ve done all morning long.
Today I was blown away by three friends (( Two are cousins-in-law – they are married to two guys who are first cousins with each other )) and another friend of theirs who have been working on hexie quilts with 3/8” hexies!
MAN!
These are TINY!!
This little one is simply pieced with no worry about what goes where…just a sampling of favorite fabrics sewn into the tiniest little cutie ever! I wanted her finger in the photo to show just how small these hexies are.
You thought MY hexies were small? They feel like hub caps compared to these! Look!
Here are MY hexies draped over one of these wonderful minis….See what I mean? That’s the difference between 3/4” ((Mine)) and 3/8” ((Hers))
And just so you can see her whole piece…..are you WOW-ING Yet?!?
Closer yet --- there is my thimble placed by one of the rosettes. These aren’t the tiniest hexies ever, but I liked the size…I liked that even though they were small, there was somewhere for the seam allowance to go without it being super duper thick, and that I could still see just what each print was. You get too small, and things get bulky and print detail is lost.
One gal, inspired by the center panel of a medallion quilt, pieced her entire mini in shades of as many double pinks as she could find, with yummy random neutrals as the paths and centers. This week is STILL brought to you by the color PINK! :cD
Yep! You can still see what each and every print is! I’m betting you are looking to see if you have any of these in YOUR pink stash too, aren’t you? See my thimble there at the top?
This medallion is still under construction, and she is working at it in color rounds….and yes, my thimble is there too!
Don’t some of these fabrics look neat when they are cut small? And yes, some of them ARE fussy cut!
And since we are in a Hexie mood, I can share with you one of the quilts that Mary shared with me the first night I was in Bedford --- Oh you guys…look at this!
Wowser Wowser Wowser!
1930s & 1940s prints in color rounds with spokes! How she used her fabric is so interesting, I love how the planned parts fade out in the randomly placed fill in areas!
Doesn’t that final white edge look like rick-rack?!
I also love how the deep scalloped yellow border finishes everything off and gives a place for all the scrappiness to be contained, but still the scallops provide a softness, a gentle finish instead of stark straight edges. What a great quilt!
Mary is still at the shop. I’m just resting JUST A BIT --- and I’m not sure what we are doing for dinner tonight, but all the hard part is done. Tomorrow is a “Day Off” for both of us, and there was some mention of going to Bedford Springs Spa for some girlie time…Oh I hope we do!
My time in PA is passing too quickly, and I haven’t sewn a stitch! Maybe tomorrow would be a good day to do some sewing too ----hopefully you’ll be able to get some time in as well!
Enjoy your evening, Everyone!
