Ruler work samples

I have been invited to teach a class on quilting with Westalee quilting templates (AKA rulers) at the local quilt shop in April.  I have been playing with some of these for several months , on and off as I have a quilt that needs quilting and I am excited to share what I have learned.  I spent the weekend making two little samples to use in class.

When I took a class to get started last June, I came away with the basic idea of building designs by tracing various lines and shapes with the templates while freemotion quilting.  What I felt was lacking were examples of how to place those shapes on a patchwork quilt.  All our practice was just doodling randomly on a scrap quilt sandwich.

Having everyone bring a quilt to fill with motifs is a bit much for a beginner class, and different quilts would need different motifs and sizes and so on.  It just isn't practical.  However, I think drawing specific shapes and spaces on a plain quilt sandwich and filling those as though they were blocks or borders or sashing is a good alternative, and that's what these samplers are for.  Between the two, they use all 6 templates I plan to discuss and demonstrate. Participants will have the choice of random doodling, or more intentional placement practice, or both.

This one uses a straight edge, a 12" arc, a 2" circle, a 6" spiral and the Circles on Quits Spinning Wheel 36 (except that spinning wheel, instead of spinning, is being shuffled sideways for a design in the last border, just because I can and it looks cool).

This one (which is actually a pretty yellow but washed out in every picture I attempted) uses the Spin-e-fex No.4 template, the straight ruler, and the 3" clam shell.  I used the clam shell for the leafy bits and that curvy-pointy strip.

My biggest challenge is accepting that I cannot possibly both introduce how to use the rulers AND show or teach every possible design I can think to create with them!  Maybe that can be another class.

Tonight, I'm going back to piecing.  I need to finish the first round on the guild round robin.  I wish I could show you a picture.  Pam made a gorgeous mariner's compass with 32 points, fussy cutting and pattern matching.  It is a bit intimidating, but oh so fabulous!  I think our groups plans to go ahead and admire the progress on all the quits at each round, so I will ask at the next meeting if I can share pictures as I go.

What is your favourite LQS?

How is the weather where you are?  In my neck of the woods, we are paying for the super mild December we enjoyed.  There is lots of snow. Today what fell last night is blowing around so much it looks like it's still snowing.   I'm taking the glass half full approach to it all:  as long a I don't have to go out in it, it looks pretty from my sewing room. The snowflakes in the sewing room itself are also multiplying, but not quite as fast, and not cold!

8 snowflakes finished, 18 more to go! Block patterns are in the Etsy shop!

All these snow days have also given me extra time to think about Canuck Quilter Designs and whether I want to keep moving it forward, and if so how best to do that.  Right along with several other states, Iowa has passed new sales tax legislation and the new law complicates my online pattern download sales.  I've been thinking about what to do next, and I hope you can help me with part of that.

I'd like to introduce more bricks and mortar quilt shops to Canuck Quilter Designs patterns.  Mailing sample patterns to every quilt shop in the country isn't feasible, but perhaps a carefully selected subset would be.  So, what is your favourite quilt shop and where is it located?  I'd like to send them a pattern or two!  Please let me know in the comments or email me at joanne@canuckquilter.com.

If you are a pattern instant download fan, don't worry.  I am in the process of moving my online shop to Etsy, as they have more features to help me stay compliant with tax laws. I have all my full-length patterns listed and the shop is open for business. To celebrate this step forward, I'm having a sale! I hope you'll check it out and spread the word.

I'm off to to sew more snowflakes now...

**Update March 16, 2018:  I missed that the graphic I used here was missing the sale dates, so I am extending the sale to March 18th.  No coupon required.**

Another Black and Red Finish

Hot on the heels of finishing Tic Tac Meow, I finally got around to quilting my red and black mini Sparkling Trail quilt that has been patiently waiting, since January 2015, for inspiration to strike.

 As you might have guessed, I played with my Westalee quilting templates/rulers.

 If you're wondering why the circles and pebbles don't go all around the circles, it's because they would not have fit exactly around, and I didn't feel like fussing with stretching or squeezing any of them to make things look like they fit perfectly, but I also didn't want a gap or an obvious overlap.  Partial strings of beads look very chic, random and modern, don't you think?  :)

Honestly, I was just playing with this quilt and making things up as I went along. The change in direction in the straight lines in the background add a little extra interest and movement to the otherwise simple background, but that was accidental.  I planned to do a diamond crosshatch in the background and started in that lower right corner.  Once I had crosshatched in the black stars, I decided it looked too busy and detracted from the circle quilting.  I stopped quilting in that corner, intending to come back later and pick it all out, and quilted the vertical lines in the rest of the quilt.  I went to bed, woke up, had breakast and pulled out the seam ripper to start ripping.  Hmm.  In daylight that little corner, part diagonal lines and part crosshatch looked like a rather interesting part of the whole.  Plus, that mindset saved me a lot of ripping!

You can see a little bit of the border treatment above, but it shows up even better on the back.

This is a border treatment I've been wanting to play with since I bought the feather templates.  These are just one side of a straight feather.  I started with a circle in the center of each side so I could make a tidy, orderly change of direction, and also liked how it broke up long stretch of feather lobes into more pleasing chunks.  I pondered how to turn the corners, then remembered old picture frames with scroll details that didn't always go all the way around the frame.  I decided to stop the feathers short of the corner and continue with plain straight lines around the corners to complete the "frame".  I love how it turned out and I think a larger version of this might come out to play when I finally get around to quilting the butterfly quilt.

I have quilted 5 versions of this quilt so far - 3 full scale throws and 2 reduced size ones, and each one needed a different quilting plan depending on the fabrics and colors.  Take a look:

I don't think I can choose a favourite...