Studio Sharing

This past week I have enjoyed getting to share my studio with a couple of friends and, hopefully, get one of them completely hooked on quilting!!!

My friend Kaitlynn is a University of Georgia Senior who is already accomplished in many creative endeavors. A few weeks ago she casually mentioned that she would like to try quilting sometime, so Tuesday was the day!!!

I suggested that we start with a sampler quilt and showed her this wonderful book……

It is a fun book that shows several different ways to make a sampler quilt and also suggests great blocks to add to that quilt.

My suggestion was that we plan to make 4 blocks and see what she thought about the process. If she shook her head and said…”I just don’t get it”, we would turn those four blocks into a big throw pillow and she could go on with her life knowing that she had TRIED quilting.

When we first entered the studio I asked what colors she liked. She said that she was NOT a fan of brights but liked reds, oranges, greens, etc. She spent a few minutes stroking fabric and picked out several handfuls of colors. This is the final color palette that she is working with……

We picked the Hourglass block to work on first…..

It was a good starting point since there were both four-patches and half-square-triangles in the block.

After a quick tutorial on cutting, she was off…….

….quickly mastering the use of the rotary cutter and rulers. AND, even better, all of her fingers were still intact after the session!!

She very quickly finished the first block……

….and moved onto the second one…. “Contrary Wife” this time…..

Since these had been so easy for her, I started trying to find blocks that were more complicated and turned to an old favorite book…..

This was one of the very first quilting books that I ever owned and, as you can tell from the cover and binding, it has been WELL used!!

I picked the “Robbing Peter to pay Paul” block this time and decided that Kaitlyn could learn how to use Bonnie Hunter’s “Essential Triangle Tool” to make all of those half-square triangles. She went to work and quickly finished this third block for the day.

She was particularly pleased with the gradation of the colors thru the block.

As we put the three blocks up on the design wall, it was obvious that it needed “something” and the addition of this blue sashing appears to be the perfect solution…….

When she left the studio, she said that she was hooked already!!! Woo-hoo she’s one of us…..one of us…..one of us…..one of us!!!

Then on Wednesday, my neighbor Kathie came down to learn how to bind a quilt. We spent a fun hour putting binding on a special quilt that she has made for her daughter.

We all know that quilting is an amazing pastime but it is even more enjoyable when you can share it with someone else!!!