Oct 30, 2008

Oh Look!

Monica! This one's for you. Love this sewing table!! Way to go Kangaroo folks...now all the sewing machine has to do is say "Hello Kitty" and I know M would just be in seventh heaven!!




Oct 18, 2008

Kim Diehl

Kim Diehl,author and quilter extraordinaire (my humble opinion of course!) came to guild this month with her great sense of humor and a wonderful trunk show of quilts mostly from her first book Simple Blessings.



I have admired her quilts since the day I first saw this book, and to say that the beautiful photography doesn't do them justice is saying a lot. Getting to see them up close and to be able to examine the amazing quilting on them was the highlight of the evening. Kim love lots of quilting on her tops and highly quilted they are. They positively dance...I loved them all, and she had LOTS to show!!
The following day, Kim offered a workshop in her invisible machine applique method, and because I am a Kim groupie, I took a "continuing education" day off from work and spent the day eating crow! I will never make light of nylon thread again (granted, it has to be used correctly, but I'll definitely be kinder!). Kim uses the nylon in the top needle and cotton in the bobbin, and a very small zig zag stitch. Amazing results. There are adjustments to be made to tension and the pressure foot but once you get the "magic formula" for your machine there is just no going back. This said by a dyed-in-the-wool hand appliquer! I had a huge bias against nylon thread and was quick to voice it- so yes- I'll eat crow thank you very much. I am thrilled with my block and am in the process of preparing the pieces for the other 3 I need to complete the main part of our project- Country Whig Rose. I see more finished applique in my future. Now this doesn't mean that I'll abandon my handwork, but my To Do list is long, and I see a way to get many of these done now!! Yay...
photo(s) of my block(s) will be posted soon- I have to get my camera dock re-hooked to this laptop. I was also lucky enough to get the last fat quarter pack Kim brought for sale. Her fabric line for Henry Glass is called Country Haven and is just delicious!! I will incorporate bits of it in this project, but am saving most of it-I have to stretch it as far as it can go so it can end up in lots of projects in the future. My quilting mojo has definitely returned. Sure was a long time coming....
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