At the end of February I took part in the Annual QuiltFest held in Pigeon Forge. Quilters came from all over...I mean from different states even. This is a huge event and has been for many years. Hey, Amish aren't the only people who take their quilting seriously.
Years ago (I think about 30 years) I was really into quilting and really loved it....especially, the hand quilting. I remember when my sister, Chris, and I took a class at MATC in Milwaukee (that same many years ago) and had a great time. I created many gifts including a pillow for my 90 year-old mother-in-law and she still displays it on a rocking chair. I entered a square in a contest for one of the television stations and became part of the Greater Milwaukee Quilt. I wish I knew what happened to that; I would love to see it again....well, maybe I'll have to put my Nancy Drew hat on and track it down.
Well, at this quiltfest, I enrolled in a two-day class on color appreciation. To make that description short...."How to Pick Colors for a Quilt Without Making Yourself Nuts". As you know from one of previous blog entries (the one about painting the walls, which by the way, I haven't started), I have a terrible time picking our colors. I blame it all on the fact that there are just too many colors out there for EVERYTHING these days. It was simpler year ago, fewer choices and less of a headache!!
Anyhow, this class was very interesting and I did learn one important thing about today's quilting...you can put prints with prints with prints. Years ago, it was taboo. Times have changed and I have to admit, it like it even though it is hard to get used to.
During the first day, we learned about color and we chose fabrics (with the help of our teacher, thank God), ten fat quarters to be exact. We then cut out the same number of pieces from each fabric. This was accomplished the night of the first day...I was up till around 1:30 a.m.) After that back-breaking job (my back is not what it used to be), the fun part started the next day. We set out to arrange the pieces in different designs. It totally amazed me how that technique worked. Even though you cut 10 fat quarters, you only make nine squares for the quilt top, so you aren't locked into using just the pieces from just nine. It sort of gave you an 'edge' of extra pieces to arrange.
I also learned that having a digital camera is essential in the 'new world of quilting' when doing this. You can design all nine of the squares at one time or do them one at a time and take pictures to refer back to. I chose the second choice and here are some of the squares I designed. I'm still working on it because I found a pattern I wanted to do with paper-piecing which I loved to do years ago. Then again, it is not unusual for me to have several projects going at the same time. I call them "WIP", Works in Progress.
One nice thing came out of this class is that I met a very nice woman, Connie, who I sat next too for the duration. We laughed a lot because both of us have the same motto....ya gotta make it fun and not take it too seriously. She invited me to her quilt club which I have now joined. We meet twice a month at a location very close to my home. We do group projects, projects for charity or just work on our own projects. We have a 'show and tell' at every meeting which is dangerous for me....just gives me more ideas that I want to try which will just increase my number of WIPs. But it's great fun and a nice 'social outlet'. My sister now lives in Georgia and I wish she lived closer because it would be great to be quilting with her again.
And, how did that class work out for me? Well, I was in Pappy's Quilt Shoppe the other day for TWO hours picking out fabric (I needed a dark brown print with some red in it to replace the a piece that I screwed up while cutting). I think that answers that question.
Next month, we're going on a "Shop Hop". They say it turns out to be an entire day of hitting quilt shops in the area. I'll keep you posted on how that plays out and if my bad hip makes it with all the walking.
I'm Barbara.....I quilt....well, at least giving it a good try!
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