Kellie's Class
WOW It is hard to know where to start telling you about my weekend. I had been booked into Kellie's class for some months and then it snuck up on me rather quick!
DH was working all day Saturday and Aunty Bee offered to have Aden for the night so I could have the whole weekend free.
Kellie from 'Don't Look Now' was super easy to listen to. She was full of great advice and tips and tricks that helped a lot.
It was sad that Rose couldn't make it to sew with me and I was worried that I would have no one to talk to but luckily I sat next to Gillian who was lovely to chat to (Hi Gillian if you found my blog!)
We had a bit of a sharing circle and Kellie shared her 'getting started' story then it was time to really get started.
Choosing fabrics was hard (and to be honest I don't really like the ones I have chosen especially for the green leaves). Kellie kept reminding us that it wasn't about the fabrics so much in this piece but the techniques that we will learn doing it. So I picked some and moved on (that makes it sound like it was a fast process...it wasn't!) Lucky there was a whole quilting shop to choose from and 30% off fabrics and also Kellie was able to help me too. Then there was tracing, cutting, ironing and more cutting. Kellie helped cut out most of the leaves (She was super generous with her time and really helped everyone)
All the shapes were laid out on the background fabric and ironed down.
There is 2 layers of wadding on the back to help the shapes 'pop' later on and so us amateurs don't cut through the top layer of background fabric when trimming away the batting!
I've never done raw-edge applique before and it looks very cool and oh so neat when you look at Kellie's work. And then you watch her sew and that is even better!
It was quite time consuming swapping threads and bobbins for every new fabric, but the better the match is the harder it is too see all the mistakes! (Well that is the theory anyway I can see every one of my mistakes!)
We were supposed to finish the applique for homework and that is where I ran into disaster! I broke my spring-loaded-open-toed-applique foot on the first try at home! I was stuck I couldn't do any more! It made me very cranky and I knew it would put me out of the game when I went back on Sunday.
Thanks goodness the shop girls came to my rescue and found another foot for me to borrow. So I was only waaaaayyyyy behind. (We then did find a foot in my own collection of feet the does the exact same job so I am able to continue free-motion quilting at home.)
Most of Sunday was spent watching, drawing, learning and practising (and watching some more) the background quilting. It is quite dense and is really what makes the fabric shapes pop. I was TERRIBLE and was getting slightly annoyed that I was finding it so hard and that it looked so 'messy'.
That was until I went around the table and had a little sticky at what everyone else was doing. Now some of these ladies have been quilting/sewing for over 30 years and I was pleased to note that mine wasn't that bad in comparison (slightly better than some in my biased opinion)
Then Kellie showed us the 'tear drop'
Ahhhhh finally found something I was half decent at....Yeah!!
I've still got some work to finish on mine ( alot in fact!!) but this will NOT become a WIP I am determine to finish it....even if it then does sit in a cupboard somewhere...as it is pretty dodgy!
Class photo
More photos of Kellie beautiful work that was on display....One of the best bits I think...getting to see, touch and experience the quilts first hand!
I am sooo making this tree! Actually I could say that about nearly all of the quilts I saw!
The 'Dream Machine' for free-motion quilting (according to Kellie)....dream is right!
The last three photos are some animals in the latest pattern from Kellie....Animal Alphabet.
DH was working all day Saturday and Aunty Bee offered to have Aden for the night so I could have the whole weekend free.
Kellie from 'Don't Look Now' was super easy to listen to. She was full of great advice and tips and tricks that helped a lot.
It was sad that Rose couldn't make it to sew with me and I was worried that I would have no one to talk to but luckily I sat next to Gillian who was lovely to chat to (Hi Gillian if you found my blog!)
We had a bit of a sharing circle and Kellie shared her 'getting started' story then it was time to really get started.
Choosing fabrics was hard (and to be honest I don't really like the ones I have chosen especially for the green leaves). Kellie kept reminding us that it wasn't about the fabrics so much in this piece but the techniques that we will learn doing it. So I picked some and moved on (that makes it sound like it was a fast process...it wasn't!) Lucky there was a whole quilting shop to choose from and 30% off fabrics and also Kellie was able to help me too. Then there was tracing, cutting, ironing and more cutting. Kellie helped cut out most of the leaves (She was super generous with her time and really helped everyone)
All the shapes were laid out on the background fabric and ironed down.
I've never done raw-edge applique before and it looks very cool and oh so neat when you look at Kellie's work. And then you watch her sew and that is even better!
It was quite time consuming swapping threads and bobbins for every new fabric, but the better the match is the harder it is too see all the mistakes! (Well that is the theory anyway I can see every one of my mistakes!)
We were supposed to finish the applique for homework and that is where I ran into disaster! I broke my spring-loaded-open-toed-applique foot on the first try at home! I was stuck I couldn't do any more! It made me very cranky and I knew it would put me out of the game when I went back on Sunday.
Thanks goodness the shop girls came to my rescue and found another foot for me to borrow. So I was only waaaaayyyyy behind. (We then did find a foot in my own collection of feet the does the exact same job so I am able to continue free-motion quilting at home.)
Most of Sunday was spent watching, drawing, learning and practising (and watching some more) the background quilting. It is quite dense and is really what makes the fabric shapes pop. I was TERRIBLE and was getting slightly annoyed that I was finding it so hard and that it looked so 'messy'.
That was until I went around the table and had a little sticky at what everyone else was doing. Now some of these ladies have been quilting/sewing for over 30 years and I was pleased to note that mine wasn't that bad in comparison (slightly better than some in my biased opinion)
Then Kellie showed us the 'tear drop'
I've still got some work to finish on mine ( alot in fact!!) but this will NOT become a WIP I am determine to finish it....even if it then does sit in a cupboard somewhere...as it is pretty dodgy!
Class photo
More photos of Kellie beautiful work that was on display....One of the best bits I think...getting to see, touch and experience the quilts first hand!
The last three photos are some animals in the latest pattern from Kellie....Animal Alphabet.
Comments
I saw that class advertised - wish I had booked in.
How great are those animal designs!