Design Wall Monday

I've been having a few technical problems lately when it comes to putting pictures on the blog, but I think/hope they have all been resolved. I quite honestly am not sure what I did to fix the problem because I tried a bunch of different things and it might have been a combination of things I pushed that fixed the problem. I don't really care what I did, I'm just happy it worked.  :-)

So, here's what on the wall right now. I'm playing with a Christmas Jelly Roll and some off-white yardage. I've pulled some of the strips to be used for binding, but all the others are being used in the blocks to make small, scrappy log cabin blocks. I've made 56 of the blocks and have started laying them out. I think I'm going to like this Of course I have a lot of rearranging to do, but that will come later.  

This is not on my wall, but on the wall of one of my sisters. She is new to the sewing/quilting world and is doing a wonderful job.

She swears she's not going to make quilts, but a couple of my other sisters used to say that too and they now proudly call themselves quilters. Table runners are really just a stepping stone to more serious quilts. TJ doesn't know that yet, and I'm not telling her.  :-)

Check out what other quilters have on their walls today.

Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times

Weekend Log Cabin Class

I taught a Log Cabin class to some pretty new quilters Saturday. As a matter of fact, three of the ladies had never made a quilt before and two were very new sewers. No pressure there, right?

We had a wonderful time and they all did a very nice job of cutting and piecing their blocks. A couple of them had no idea how much cutting was involved, even for a lap size quilt but they persevered. Nevertheless, they all did a good job and are excited to continue. Two of the gals have decided to make their quilts larger (queen or possibly even king) because they have enough fabric to do so. :-)

Here's some of the progress made yesterday. 

Betsy is using a jelly roll or two but keeping a consistent orange/coral center. This is soooo pretty! 

Bonnie's colors and fabric choices are wonderful. I can't wait to see this completed!

This picture does not do Carla's block justice. Her pink, grey and black quilt is going to be amazing!

Carol's brown quilt is going to be absolutely awesome! Not only was she new to quilting, Carol was new to rotary cutting and was using a shop machine. I think she's caught on very quickly and is a natural.  :-)

Sheila left before I got a picture. :-(

The shop likes to use the Quilt in a Day Log Cabin book so that's what I used. I've used this book and technique multiple times to teach a class and I've made some modifications to the instructions so as to increase accuracy for quilters, especially new quilters. If you've used the book, you know that you use a unique piecing method that includes sewing units onto strips, cutting them and them sewing them onto another strip rather than work with individually cut "logs." The issue that many people have with this technique is that when they trim, they don't end up with the correct size. To eliminate that problem, or at least catch it early, I have typed up a list of the trim sizes for each unit. Not only does this make for better and more consistent sized blocks, it provides the opportunity to practice using your ruler more. 

Also, in the book, each unit is not pressed completely (only finger pressed) and I find that results in a lot of issues for many people. So, I have students press (no steam) before they add the units to the next strip. Before adding this newly pressed unit to the next strip, I also have them double check the unit size for accuracy and make corrections as needed. I know this sounds like a bunch of extra work, bit it seems to help alleviate a number or problems and makes for happier quilters. We all know the saying, "Measure twice, cut once." Well I use that, but I also say, "Measure twice, sew once." :-)

I really enjoy working with new quilters - young and old! I can't wait to see these blocks become quilts.