March 24, 2012 – Off Track
Saturday, March 24, 2012 – 10am – 4 pm
We had such a response to this class, that we have added another class day on Friday, March 23, 2012. There are still some spaces in the Saturday class, as some students have switched days. Hope you can come!
This month’s class is an easy design, Off Track by Cluck, Cluck, Sew.
It is our goal this year to inspire you to sew. We are going to offer a variety of classes. Some of the classes will feature designs that are very fast. (This one is super fast.) Some of the classes will feature designs with which you can use a variety of fabrics so that you can use your stash. (This one is a great stash buster.) Some classes will teach techniques. Some will teach a different shape from squares or triangles. This class teaches basic strip sewing. If you have never taken a class with us before, or were a bit intimidated by the whole quilting process, this is an excellent quilt to start with. Come and join us for your first quilting class. We will start with techniques like rotary cutting and an accurate seam allowance. For you more advanced sewers, you will love the boldness of this design and the ease of construction. Yardages are included in the pattern for throw, twin or queen/king size. This is one of the easiest quilts I’ve ever seen to make any size you desire.
This is my sample quilt for the class. It is throw size. 58″ x 63″. I used a lot of bright pieces of fabrics out of my stash. I used a mix of backgrounds, but you could use just one color for more contrast. This quilt uses 2 1/2 ” strips so it is perfect for a jelly roll if you have one. It would be fabulous out of batiks. You could use 30′s prints and muslin. You could even use flamingo fabric if you were so inclined. Look at your stash and select a variety of darks and then some light fabrics for your backgrounds. If you cut your strips before class, then you will have made a lot of progress by the end of class. If you need help cutting, then we can cover that in class.
Keeping with the strip theme, I’ll demo my version of Pop Stars from Material Obsession 2 by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke ($27.50) in the afternoon. I love the ideas in this book. This is a string pieced quilt. It uses a lot of scrap fabrics and a different shape, a kite shape. You should see the mess on my dining room table. (I went crazy last summer and went through all my boxes of fabric and got rid of all the little strips that were left over from cutting various projects from the past 25 years, because life was too short to sit around and flip and sew little strips.) Now I am addicted to the possibilities of string quilting. It is beautiful and fairly thoughtless. Not exacting in any way. You get to use up the smallest of scraps. Remember – I’ve always told you that making a scrap quilt was the same thing as cleaning house. I am wishing that I had all those scraps back. But life is too short for regret. So just buy some more fabric. I’ve been having so much fun that I thought “I’ll write a book filled with beautiful string-pieced quilts”. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that Edyta Sitar had written such a book – Friendship Strips and Scraps. ($27.95) She even ENCOURAGES you to share strips with your friends. Now, don’t get any ideas. I’ve got enough strips of my own. You’ll see more of the quilts out of this book as the year goes on. This is going to be the year to cut it up and use it up.
The base cost for the class is $35.00, if you already have the pattern. If you need the pattern, please send $45.00 and we will mail you your pattern ahead of time so that you can do your cutting before class. Class starts at 10 am and finishes about 4 pm. The classes will be held at Cool Spring Methodist Church, 1902 Mocksville Rd, Cleveland, NC—that is Hwy. 64 about 8 miles East of Statesville, and is easily accessible from either I-77 or I-40.
As you know, eating lunch is an important part of the day. You bring a sandwich and we’ll provide sides, chips, desert and tea.
To register for the class, call Cindy Page, 704-376-2531 to reserve your space, then mail checks to 224 Woodleaf Road, Cleveland, NC 27013. Payment is required at the time of registration to hold your space in the class. A supply list and directions to the venue will be emailed to you upon registration.
Hope to see you then.
Patti Cline and Cindy Page