Texas Braid, New York Style!

Whoowhoooo!  What a day!

There are some workshops where you are lucky if you get one or two blocks done – and have a few baggies of spare parts on the side for good measure.  Workshops are like that.

Often they are less about the project you are making, and more about the PROCESS for success that goes into the units, having a positive impact on all of the quilts you make in the future. 
Each thing we learn at a workshop becomes a stepping stone to help us on our way to the next one, don’t you agree?

I often teach Texas Braid as a half-day workshop, because it doesn’t take much until we’ve got the process down and are happily sewing away as we chat to new friends across the table, swap rectangles for variety and enjoy a bit of sewing time together.

When it is a full day workshop, we can throw even MORE fun into the mix!

Two at a time!

The braids in Texas Braid from my book Adventures with Leaders & Enders are made in mirror image.  

I find it a bit difficult to make one of each at the same time because then I am having to switch with every seam I make from light on the right, to light on the left – so we do two the same in the morning, using each braid as the leader/ender for the other to keep the piecing continuous.

No wasted thread, no birds nests underneath, and we just keep sewing until the bobbin runs out!

After lunch we switched to 2 more in mirror image of what we did before lunch, and then our brains only have to switch gears ONCE during the day, instead of many times over, after every short seam.  Make sense?  Give it a try!

THIS was ingenious!!

All of her braid rectangles fit snuggly in repurposed éclair boxes!  Of course, one must then have to sacrifice the éclairs by eating them first…..right?  WIN/WIN!

This quilt is so big it wouldn’t fit the quilt stand!

I made it king size to use on my bed, and it has been loved and slept under for a number of years now.  I still love it as much today as I did on the day I finished the binding, every faded or well worn spot a testament to many years of sleeping beneath the scraps.  It is well worn, and I loved watching everyone come look at the fabrics that are in it.

Watch them grow, girls!  Looking good!

Making the cornerstone units!

So happy that John from Big Rig Quilting came out to play too!

At the end of the day we had some fun with laying out all of our braids together- click to play:

A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@Quiltville_bonnie) on Oct 15, 2017 at 6:07am PDT

We nearly covered the whole floor!

Back to back featherweight tables!

So great to see these girls again, it’s been too long.

You’ll catch the rest of our Texas Braid fun in the video below.  if you have a black screen, try a different browser, or on my YouTube channel.

After a wonderful dinner out with a dozen or so folks, it was early to bed for me, I was just exhausted from this whirlwind week on the road.

This morning’s sunrise!

I was down in the breakfast area grabbing a bite, and I looked out the window and the sky was just glowing with morning light.  Outside I went –I wish you could have heard the birds!

Outdoor fire pit!

There is a fire pit on the patio outside, and I sat and watched the sun light up the sky until it was full daylight.  It’s a slower start this morning and that is why this is posting a bit later than the norm.  I got to sleep in past 7am.

I’m off to the airport, and I’ll be hexiing my way home until my feet are back in North Carolina by dinner time.

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Allietare quilt shared during our New York workshops this week!

Struggles are all about growth!

Have a wonderful October 15th, everyone!