8:30am - 11:30am
Friday morning I tried to get up and workout but I was so tired from my full day of quilting that I just didn't make it. I thought I'd try to go for a jog after sewing instead...I started bright and early with another 3hr class to make a quilt called "Tumbling Leaves/Ode To Autumn" with Nelly Vilekis. The project uses a pretty cool technique to make curved leaf edges without having to sew curved piecing. Here's a picture of Nelly's completed one that we were trying to make:
Friday morning I tried to get up and workout but I was so tired from my full day of quilting that I just didn't make it. I thought I'd try to go for a jog after sewing instead...I started bright and early with another 3hr class to make a quilt called "Tumbling Leaves/Ode To Autumn" with Nelly Vilekis. The project uses a pretty cool technique to make curved leaf edges without having to sew curved piecing. Here's a picture of Nelly's completed one that we were trying to make:
If you've been wanting to try quilting or have done a little sewing but are scared of curved seams (like me!) I really encourage you to go to Nelly's website and buy the pattern so you can learn how to make those curved leaves without any curved piecing!
https://secure.artelasquilts.com/patterns.php?id=57
As you can see, there are 12 leaf blocks in this quilt but in the class I was only able to get 6 blocks completed and then the other 6 are almost done.
https://secure.artelasquilts.com/patterns.php?id=57
As you can see, there are 12 leaf blocks in this quilt but in the class I was only able to get 6 blocks completed and then the other 6 are almost done.
But, as you can see, my leaves aren't curved yet! Boo!
That was the only real downside to the class - apparently it's best to do the curved part (her secret technique) after all the blocks are sewn together. So since we didn't get to that point, we didn't get to actually do the "tricky" part so now when I do it, I won't be able to ask Nelly any questions. But I promise I'll post photos of the finished project once I get there. But check out her website if you want to get the pattern and make one of your own!
Shopping
After my morning quilting session, I left myself some free time for shopping :) There were so many cool vendors at the expo and I wanted to try to visit as many as possible. The biggest things I wanted to purchase to improve my sewing tools were: better marking tools (Lisa Sipes recommended the Sewline pens), better applique scissors, and new stabilizers for applique (along with an understanding of how to use them). I saw this booth that had pre-packaged sets of fabric that you could use to make any one of a number of patterns and at one point I had bundles of fabric in my arms - enough to make quilts for all the moms for Mother's Day, plus for my nieces/nephews and for a few baby showers...LOL. But I realized how much money I had in my arms and was able to put everything back and not buy any of them.
But then I made my way to a booth that had the cutest purses and bags ever and all the patterns for them. I ended up buying four patterns - one for a big purse with a zipper top, one for a mid-size purse with an adorable rounded top, one for a small makeup bag and one for a wallet/coin purse/eyeglass case.
Shopping
After my morning quilting session, I left myself some free time for shopping :) There were so many cool vendors at the expo and I wanted to try to visit as many as possible. The biggest things I wanted to purchase to improve my sewing tools were: better marking tools (Lisa Sipes recommended the Sewline pens), better applique scissors, and new stabilizers for applique (along with an understanding of how to use them). I saw this booth that had pre-packaged sets of fabric that you could use to make any one of a number of patterns and at one point I had bundles of fabric in my arms - enough to make quilts for all the moms for Mother's Day, plus for my nieces/nephews and for a few baby showers...LOL. But I realized how much money I had in my arms and was able to put everything back and not buy any of them.
But then I made my way to a booth that had the cutest purses and bags ever and all the patterns for them. I ended up buying four patterns - one for a big purse with a zipper top, one for a mid-size purse with an adorable rounded top, one for a small makeup bag and one for a wallet/coin purse/eyeglass case.
Then I headed to the scissors booth and got one thing on my list: double curved applique scissors that will make it much easier to cut out the shapes in my machine applique. Right before I bought it I saw this other neat tool for snipping the small individual thread that runs from one part of the embroidery to another, so I bought that too :)
As you can see I also bought a couple other small items. I bought a spool of metallic thread, which I am usually terrified of, because I figured now is a good time to try new things. I also bought a spool of the monofilament (clear) thread to try on a project where I don't want my quilting to overshadow my wonderful piecing (ha, that's a joke). And lastly I bought a small amount of fabric, just for giggles.
3:30pm - 4:30pm
After shopping, I had one last class of the day called "The Heart of Applique" by Susan Clark (a rep from Jenny Haskins, http://www.jennyhaskins.com/home.php). The class was all about various applique techniques, special effects you can get from them and some special stabilizers or other products you need to use to achieve those effects. It was a really good lecture and I have a lot of things I want to try out now! Now that I learned even more about applique, I think I'll be able to get a lot more functionality and projects out of my machine than what i have been doing, yay!!
One really neat thing that they gave us was a sample pack of the stabilizers and a link to show what each one is used for and when to use what kind. I am excited to review all that information and be able to get the right stabilizers ordered and tested on my machine.
Evening
After my last class, I headed back to the expo to wander just a little bit more. While I was wandering, there was a booth by Sue's Sparkler's (http://www.suessparklers.com/), and they had a "Make-It, Take-It" project where you pay a small fee ($10) and you get to use their tools/materials to make something. At her booth, it was a little scarf and you got to use the Bejeweler to add Swarovski crystals to it (there were a ton of crystals). So I decided to do it and it was so fun! I tried to take a picture but I couldn't get the lighting right so it was too hard to see the crystals. It was so fun that on Saturday, I decided to splurge and buy myself a bejeweler and some crystals to play with, heehee. The other thing I purchased was some blank tea towels to use for some new embroidery projects.
After my scarf making, Doreen and I decided to go out to dinner. We found a nearby seafood restaurant called Harry's and had us some fish and veggies and a couple of beers :) It was nice to have a few hours at the hotel to just relax, chat about what we learned, and get ready for the next day.
3:30pm - 4:30pm
After shopping, I had one last class of the day called "The Heart of Applique" by Susan Clark (a rep from Jenny Haskins, http://www.jennyhaskins.com/home.php). The class was all about various applique techniques, special effects you can get from them and some special stabilizers or other products you need to use to achieve those effects. It was a really good lecture and I have a lot of things I want to try out now! Now that I learned even more about applique, I think I'll be able to get a lot more functionality and projects out of my machine than what i have been doing, yay!!
One really neat thing that they gave us was a sample pack of the stabilizers and a link to show what each one is used for and when to use what kind. I am excited to review all that information and be able to get the right stabilizers ordered and tested on my machine.
Evening
After my last class, I headed back to the expo to wander just a little bit more. While I was wandering, there was a booth by Sue's Sparkler's (http://www.suessparklers.com/), and they had a "Make-It, Take-It" project where you pay a small fee ($10) and you get to use their tools/materials to make something. At her booth, it was a little scarf and you got to use the Bejeweler to add Swarovski crystals to it (there were a ton of crystals). So I decided to do it and it was so fun! I tried to take a picture but I couldn't get the lighting right so it was too hard to see the crystals. It was so fun that on Saturday, I decided to splurge and buy myself a bejeweler and some crystals to play with, heehee. The other thing I purchased was some blank tea towels to use for some new embroidery projects.
After my scarf making, Doreen and I decided to go out to dinner. We found a nearby seafood restaurant called Harry's and had us some fish and veggies and a couple of beers :) It was nice to have a few hours at the hotel to just relax, chat about what we learned, and get ready for the next day.
