 Look at that, the last of the Rainbow blocks found a good home! I was going to make this into a baby quilt but I don't know anyone having a baby and I needed a sample for my Ruling Rulers class at The Longarm Network on June 17. We'll be quilting on Innova longarms but this class isn't machine specific so you are welcome to take it no matter what short-, mid- or longarm machine you quilt on.  The easy way to quilt this would have been to do a different ruler motif in each square but of course I couldn't do that! I wanted to do few focus pieces like this mandala using a heavy and shiny orange thread. Then I connected the elements with lines in the bright green thread. Those lines extend through the borders and that gave me lots of sections to showcase a lot of different ways to use rulers.    In the "background areas" of the center of the quilt I used Invisafil thread for the first time. I learned the hard way not to wind the bobbin completely full because it will warp the bobbin. But other than that, I absolutely love that thread! You can barely see it. It just provides texture. I'll be buying more for my Thread Collection....but only a few colors. You don't need a lot of colors of a thread that's virtually invisible!
 Fill 'Er Up Quilting Class at The Longarm Network I taught my Don't Fear the Longarm class this weekend at The Longarm Network and delivered this sample for my Fill 'Er Up class that's schedule for July 29. This class is open to stand up and sit down quilters, whether you use a longarm, sit down longarm or a domestic machine. I love the Longarm Network Shop. It's very clean and bright so I wanted to make a sample that would look good hanging in the shop. This is the Citrus Gradient slashed and sewn back together with strips of a black and white print. I wanted to showcase a lot of different fill motifs and felt that something unsymmetrical would be much more fun to quilt. I was right!  I used lots of different types of motifs and different types of thread. I wanted to show how much the color, value, weight and shininess of thread affects the impact of the stitching.  Some threads are almost invisible and some make the stitching a distinct design element.   If you are near Richmond, VA and want to join me for class you can register here.
 Nothing highlights a true addiction more than having the thing go away without notice. That happened to us Saturday when our modem died. The earliest repair date is April 4. So I'm writing today on my smartphone from the parking lot of the local golf course where I could get a decent signal. No Internet isn't all bad. It meant I spent more time actually doing things. This is the sample that I've made for my fills class at The Longarm Network. I only have to finish the binding. First I will put the binding on the Rainbow quilt with photos hopefully later this week. Here are a couple of detail shots. That's all for today. Typing on the tiny keyboard is too tedious for even me!   Yesterday was errand and chore day. Today I have to spread another truckload of mulch. I have 4 truckloads left and would like to be done by next weekend because weed control season starts soon after that. But I'll leave some time for some fun stuff this weekend. I want tomorrow to be glass day, I need to get the binding on the king size Rainbow Quilt and I need to finish this class sample.  Citrus Gradient This is a sample for a beginner fills class that I'll be teaching at The Longarm Network this summer. I only have the orange sections left to finish before I can bind it and deliver it to the shop.  Aside from different fill techniques I'm also trying to show the effect of thread choice. Weight, color and sheen all make a big difference.  I know that a lot of people don't enjoy doing fill work but I love it. I find it very zen. I do have to take frequent breaks to stretch my hands and relax my shoulders but it's a lot of fun to do.
Here are all of the classes that I've scheduled at The Longarm Network in Goochland, VA (just outside Richmond). These classes are all geared to beginners and are not machine specific. Anyone trying to get better on their midarm or longarm can take these classes. Don't Fear the Longarm is perfect for new owners, people who haven't touched their machines in a while or anyone wanting to know how to build skills. It's scheduled for Saturday, April 22. Ruling Rulers is for the quilter wanting to learn how to quilt with rulers. It's scheduled for Saturday, June 17. Fill 'Er Up is the class that I'm making this sample for. In this class you will learn the fundamentals of different styles of fillers, tips for smooth curves and lines and how to travel fill designs. It's scheduled for Saturday July 29. Now it's time to get on with today's chores. If you live near Richmond VA and are a longarm owner or renter I have a class coming up that might be just what you need to up your quilting game.  Ruling Rulers is an all day hands-on class that I'm teaching at The Longarm Network Saturday, October 22 (10:00 - 4:00). It's the same place where I teach the Innova New owners training. You don't have to own or use an Innova to take this class. Everything we learn will be totally transferable to your longarm or midarm machine. This class is for the beginner or person who has been using rulers but are unhappy with your results. We'll start with ruler basics, straight lines and stitch-in-the-ditch. Then we'll get into some cross-hatching and lots of things that you can do with circles.  We'll learn to do clamshells without any special tool beyond a circle ruler template.  We'll quilt at least 6 border patterns all using circles.  We will even learn several mandala techniques and you will end the day with a sample to take home as a reference for your next ruler quilted quilt.
Sign up at The Longarm Network. Before I get into the business news I just want to report that I finished the quilting on the Judy Neimeyer quilt yesterday! I think it's going to be called "Non Unas Pluma" (not 1 feather in Latin). The name is because I didn't quilt 1 feather on the whole thing. Why Latin? Because I've been listening to a lot of history lately. I'll have some photos maybe tomorrow. The next step is blocking and dyeing some binding fabric options. I'm getting on that today and I'm looking forward to quilting up some quick quilts this weekend. Fabric Dyeing Class Now let's get to business. First up is an opportunity to learn to dyed fabric and have a lot of fun doing it. I'm teaching a 2-day Introduction to Fabric Dyeing class next weekend at Visual Arts Center in Richmond, VA. Only 4 spots open. All day Saturday and half day Sunday and you get 5 yards of fabric to dye. For the adventurous I'll have fabric available to sell if you need more and you can always bring your own. You will learn all about the chemical used, how to mix dyes and several dyeing techniques all using the low water immersion process. Learn to make a fabric color wheel, shades, different texture techniques and some basics of color mixing. We'll dye in plastic bags so that the fabric will be easy to transport home for wash out and soaking. Beginner Longarm Class Are you a renter wanting to start improving your longarm skills or a new owner (of any machine) wanting to move beyond stipple an loops? I'm going to show you a pathway to building your longarm skills by starting with some simple motifs and using them as building blocks for more advanced quilting. Everything is edge to edge but will really kick up your quilting and give you confidence and skill to tackle any quilt. Class will be half classroom drawing out designs and half hands on. I'm teaching that at The Longarm Network in Goochland, VA. New Crystal FabricsThe biggest news of the day is that I have 15 new Crystal fabrics. The next issue of Machine Quilters Unlimited is going to have an article by Patricia Caldwell showing how she quilted some of the Crystal mandala fabrics. In preparation for that I wanted to get the store well stocked...plus they are just messy fun to do. I've added 5 new 56" square cotton sateen pieces and 10 new 38" square cotton pieces. Here are a few of my favorites. You can see them all in the shop. |
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I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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