Quilt retreat time, oh yeah!

It’s that time of the year when I start getting excited about the annual Quilters’ Gathering in Ulladulla organised by Marilyn’s Craft Corner.

I’ve received my paper work listing the class schedule and as usual it’s hard to make up my mind what to do. I had really hoped to be able to get away for 4 days this year and do two classes but unfortunately I have other commitments (again). But still, a weekend away with quilty friends with nothing to do but sew is a huge treat.

24 blocks so far: Little Apples Hexagons and Stars, Lorena Uriarte

Last year I did a great Hexagons and Stars class with Catherine Butterworth. That was the start of my Little Apples Hexagon and Stars quilt (above). I’ve been so focused on building a new house and finishing A Symbol Recomposed that I now really need to finish my Little Apples quilt to take for Show and Tell. That’s one of my favourite parts of the retreat, catching up with everyone and seeing the quilts finished.

Catherine Butterworth’s Jolly Stars image from Quiltsmith

This year Catherine is teaching a workshop using the Marti Michell Template Set D called Jolly Stars. Catherine is a fantastic teacher and I feel I’ve got the hang of these awesome templates now so I’ve decided to go for something else…

I’m really interested in doing Leesa Siegele’s Ring Cycles class. I’ve seen some beautiful examples of this quilt on the net and I reckon I could get rid of a few scraps making up my 42 9-patch blocks (3.5” big) to take along to class. It’s the kind of quilt I probably wouldn’t get around to make on my own so a workshop will give me a good solid start.

 

Leesa Siegele’ Ring Cycle images from http://www.wattlerange.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=664

Other fabulous workshops are on offer from the award winning Merelyn Pearce. Merelyn will teach needle-turn applique techniques. I look forward to checking out her class. Another great thing about the retreat is that you are all in a big function centre and can mingle with the other classes. See if there’s something you’d like to try next time.

Judy Hooworth is teaching a Collage and Colour class. I’ve done a workshop with Judy before, she is a very skilled teacher and the worthy recipient of the 2012 Rajah Award for her contribution to quilting in Australia. This is the class I’d do if I had extra time.

But there’s loads more, I’m sure by the end of the weekend I’ll be looking forward to next year for the chance to learn from Jennifer Cornish, Beth and Trevor Reid and Faye Packam too.

Do you like going to quilt retreats? Is it odd to want to run away from your gorgeous family, talk about new fabric releases and notions and sew like a banshee once a year?

Week One, Introduction

So much to take in on our first lesson!

It's important that we understand the language of patchwork and quilting and so we introduce the Anatomy of a Quilt. We talk about blocks, sashing, corner stones, binding and all the other elements that make up a quilt.

We also discuss colour and value and their important role in quilt design. Keeping your colour choices to the colours found in your preferred print fabric is an easy way for beginning quilters to select their palette. Have a good variety of fabrics, one or two stars and a supporting cast!

Different fabrics have different strengths within a patchwork design: plain fabrics, large and small scale prints, scattered patterns, stripes and florals. By moving around our cutting templates we can create a different effect within a quilt block, this is called "fussy cutting". Remember to cut fabrics "on the grain" as much as possible, place straight edges of any square shapes along the length of fabric threads. Diagonal edges should be cut on the bias. Following this simple rule allows your blocks to lie flat and ultimately your quilt also be straight.

A quick introduction to the common tools that quilter's use: needles, fine glass head pins, 100% cotton fabrics and cotton thread. Cutting patchwork pieces with scissors is very time consuming, a rotary cutting system can really speed things up. You will need a rotary cutter, a self healing cutting mat and a thick acrylic ruler. Be careful with the rotary cutter, keep it out of reach of children and always engage the safety latch.

Finally, we get to cut and stitch together our first block. We are working on 12" blocks for this sampler quilt. The larger size allows us to complete enough blocks in 8 weeks to make a small quilt. Individual blocks can also be used to make cushions, mug rugs, pot holders and little wall hangings. When stitching together our blocks we use a scant 1/4" seam. All pattern pieces are cut with the seam allowance included.

This week we focus on "nine patch" construction, a simple 3 x 3 grid. Chose from a simple Nine Patch, or the more complex Shoo Fly, Card Trick and Ohio Star. The last three incorporate triangles.