Sunflowers

The second class that I taught at MQX was Sunflower Illusions.  This is such a fun class to teach and I love to see all the different fabrics that my students use.  The construction of the blocks is fairly simple.  There are two units that are joined together with a curved seam. The students all did great!! Let's take a peek...

Sunflowers Abound

Hello Everyone,On Saturday, I taught the Sunflower Illusions Class in the CVQW studio.  I must say that this group of ladies was just wonderful!  They really worked hard and completed at least two blocks while learning to paper piece the Judy Niemeyer way!  Organization and methodology are key!Let me show you just a little from the students.These are Terrie's blocks!  What a wonderful job she did and I love the colors.Kristin had this fabulous lilac and green combination.  I am so excited and can't wait to see the finished quilt.Lisa was cranking the blocks out!  She managed to get four...

Lots of Spikes

Hello Everyone,Whew!  I have been absent for a few days as I have been busy.  I am in Arizona enjoying a visit with my son, loving being outside in the sun, visiting family, and teaching.  I thought most of you would be interested in the teaching part, which consists of quilting... of course.  The family stuff might be slightly boring... ;)On Monday, I taught the Sunflower Illusions and Total Eclipse class at In Stitches!  in Goodyear, AZ.  I had a fabulous class.  These ladies were so friendly and all had wonderful selections on fabric and colors.This photo was taken at...

Another One Done!!

Hello Everyone,I realized last night that I had shared with you my finished Sunflower Illusions quilt top, but never showed you the finished quilt! "Oh NO... GASP..."  I said to myself. Wait no longer...A little close up of the quilting.  I just did an overall design of leaves for texture.I used a green variegated thread. You can see the quilting a little better on the back.  I love the look. And I love the batik that I used for the backing too.  This was from my online shop.  You can find batiks here.I even put the label on too!!  How many of you...

The Top Is DONE!!

Hello Everyone,In yesterday's blog post, I had said that I was heading to Vermont to teach for the day.  Well, I never made it there.  Blizzard Nemo really caused much havoc here in New England and made quite a few of the roads impassable.  The highways were still down to one or two lanes.  Due to this, I just did not feel comfortable traveling on the roads.So guess what I did???   Finished the Sunflower Illusions quilt top!!  Oh and I did my taxes too... which do you think was more fun??  Let me introduce you to my Sunflower Illusions...

Almost There!!

Hello Everyone,Yesterday's blog post I showed you the progress on my Sunflower Illusions, mostly due to the fact that Blizzard Nemo took hold in New England.   As a result, I have been indoors since Thursday sewing.  Mind you I am not complaining about the sewing, just the snow.Yesterday, I had the layout up on the design wall and it was merely a matter of me joining the units together and then placing the borders on all four sides.But first I would like to show you what we woke up to that allowed me to make more progress on this...

The Effects of The BIG Blizzard

Hello Everyone,Yesterday the BIG Blizzard, Nemo, hit here in New England.  We hunkered down all day and did not go anywhere.  I decided that hunkering down in my home studio was definitely the way to go!!  I literally sewed ALL day long and loved every single minute!!I was able to get a TON accomplished on my Sunflower Illusions... A.K.A. my Aster quilt.  I really am loving the look of it!I was able to complete all the KM Units.  I had 25 to make and managed to get it done.I just kept pinning the stacks to my design wall and watched...

What Is On My Design Wall??

Hello Everyone,Since you last saw this "quilt in progress"... I have made some headway.  I worked all day yesterday in completing the quarter circle units ~ Unit H.  They are all done.  Today with the BIG snow storm coming our way, I will be hunkering down and working on the Unit KM.Because of this BIG snow storm, I had to cancel my classes scheduled for today and tomorrow.  Mother nature really can throw a monkey wrench into things... Let's pray that the power stays on!!I really like the way these units are shaping up.  I am making them in the...

Happy Campers!

Hello Everyone,Yesterday was our last day at the retreat that I was teaching at the Strong House Inn in Vergennes, VT. I must say what a lovely group of ladies we had there and they were all very prolific!  All of them understood the paper piecing process and really seemed to enjoy it!! That made me very excited and happy for them.Here we all are holding some of the blocks they completed.  Oh... but there was much more than what they had in their hands!!Here is Patty with one of her Desert Sky blocks.  Patty and her daughter came from...

So Much Progress... Highlights.

Hello Everyone,I wanted to show you a few progress photos from yesterday's retreat.  The girls made TONS of progress in the class.  I love all the combinations of fabrics they have chosen.Sue completed a block first thing in the morning.A true New York Beauty.Two New York Beauties!!End of the night for me... progress... before going to bed.  Beautiful!! Mary presenting the lovely healthy salad bar.My salad.... YUM! Afternoon tea.The next few photos are some of the rooms at the inn... let me tell you they are gorgeous!Whew... Duke had a rough day of quilting!  Must. Rest. For. Tomorrow!Dinner was wonderful too.So far...

Quilt Retreat ~ Day 1 At The Strong House Inn

Hello Everyone,Yesterday was arrival day at the quilt retreat that I am teaching at in the Strong House Inn in Vermont.First, I must say that I am in LOVE with this inn... it is not only gorgeous, it is HUGE and the owners are the friendliest people... oh and the best cooks too!!Here the quilter's are arriving from all over to set up... we have quilter's from Canada, NY, RI, and VT!Yesterday was a more get to know you kind of day, with a little instruction.  Mary, the owner, served some appetizers prior to dinner.She made ALL of us quilter's...

All In A Day's Work

Hello Everyone,On Thursday, I spent the day with a lovely group of ladies in Rhode Island!  I was the guest speaker and teacher at the Narragansett Bay Quilters.  We started off the day with a paper piecing class.  The students ere able to pick one of three patterns, Total Eclipse, Sunflower Illusions, or Desert Sky.  You can find the patterns here in my shop.In the meantime, I wanted to show you some of the colors that my students used...They all did a great job and I had a ton of fun teaching too!After class we went for dinner and then...