A Quilter’s Affair | NW Quilted Cat

This year, my sister and I took 2 classes at A Quilter’s Affair in the week leading up to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

For our first class, we decided to take an English Paper Piecing class (EPP) with Violet Craft because we really haven’t used this quilting technique before and we both thought it might be a great technique to do while traveling.

We used the Fruit Basket pattern, and we both picked the strawberry for our practice block, and we learned some great tips in the class.

Start of my strawberry block:

Strawberry 1

Here’s a pic of us together with our strawberry blocks in August when my sister came to my house for a visit. I’m on the right with the blue shorts.

I have started working on the pineapple block, but I must admit that I haven’t made too much progress. I’ll pick it up again when the weather turns rainy, and I do less hiking and yard work.

For our second class, we took “Gertie’s Birdies” with Sally Frey. We used the pattern Feathers by The Pattern Basket. We signed up for this class because birds have a special inside meaning to us and these chunky little birds just looked so cute.

I made 3 birds in class using the Sweet Tea collection by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics plus some solids by Cherrywood. I love these fabrics because they remind me of summer!

Here is a look at the birds from other quilters in the class at the end of the day. My 3 bird blocks are in the top left:

I’ve finished another 3 bird blocks in the months since our class. I plan on making 3 more so I can complete the smaller quilt, which will be a perfect little summer wall hanging.

The Quilter’s Affair is so much fun, and I’m glad my sister got to come this year. We hope to go again next year!

Here’s a view of the Three Sisters during an evening hike we took:

Happy quilting!

-Jen

Whew, it’s a warm and muggy evening here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m still on a bit of a quilting high after the Quilter’s Affair and Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show several weeks back.

I blogged earlier about my 2-day class with Ann Shaw and her wonderful Chicken Challenge class. (Hint: Keep reading for another picture of my chicken below.)

Today, I want to blog about the inspiring class that I took with my sister with the amazingly talented, Angela Walters.

We took Angela’s Dot-to-Dot longarm quilting class and got plenty of hands-on practice using a HandiQuilter Avante 18. Angela is a fun teacher with a talent for thread designs on the HQ! She made the designs look so easy, inviting, and accessible for everyone in the class.

Here’s a look at the 3 of us in class together:

Me, Angela Walters, my sis (Kimberly)

The class had just the right amount of lecture, demonstration, and hands-on practice. The longarms were all set up in the Sisters High School gym and we did get downright cold at times, despite the heat outside. Although, I think I’d rather practice quilting in a room that is too cool rather than one that is too hot.

Here’s a look at some of our quilting with our sock monkey. Sock monkey followed us all around Sisters and even went hiking at Smith Rock one evening.

Quilting with Sock Monkey

Up until this point, the only free-motion quilting that I had performed was on my little Bernina Activa or on my mom’s domestic machine that she has set up on a Hinterberg frame. My mom’s set up has worked pretty well, but we were limited to about 4 or 5 inches of actual quilting space.

Here comes the surprise!! A local quilt shop called me to see if I would be interested in purchasing a used, stand-up Handi Quilter Sixteen with a queen-size wooden Grace frame. I wasn’t able to afford a new Avante (my dream), but this Sixteen was in my budget. I purchased it!!

I’ve been practicing on some solid fabrics, but gained so much confidence in Angela’s class that I decided to quilt up my first project this week – my chicken from Ann’s class.

Here’s a look at the chicken on the Handi Quilter Sixteen and Grace frame:

HQ Sixteen

I did a combination of some swirls, meandering, and some ruler work to practice the techniques we learned in class. For the backing, I used a solid fabric so that I could see my quilting (with a Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show fabric panel and my label as a remembrance).

Here are some photos of the quilt back:

Back of Chicken Challenge Quilt

Close-up view of quilting on Chicken Challenge back

I am so happy to have this machine, and I can’t wait to get really proficient with it. One day, I may be able to trade up to the 18, but until then, little 16 and I will be great friends!

Thanks to both Angela and Ann for some amazing classes in Sisters!

Enjoy,
~Jennifer