Stacked Class . . .

I love to take a quilting class now and then.

More for the company of creative women than anything else really.

So when found out my buddy Karen was teaching a class

at the City Quilter, I couldn't resist.

The quilt she was teaching is from Allison Harris' book,

Growing Up Modern.

Stacked. A baby quilt.

So I gleefully trekked into the city with a bunch of fabric.

Here is what I did in the first part of the class.

As usual, I jumped in and took off and then . . . 

I had that big floral, which I love, but it was on the end.

(And yes the huge pile of fabric at the bottom is what I bought, didn't need, but love)

Luckily for me this was a two night class.

When I got home I realized that making this quilt bigger

would be a good fix.  

I took apart the rows I had already sewn and added

two more large florals.  Tada!

But . . . I need to slap some borders on it.

Karen, que the Beyonce "put a ring on it" music.

She did a little dance . . .  I wasn't quick enough to video.

She is cute.

One of the things I love about taking a class where everyone 

is making the same quilt, is seeing how everyone

approaches it.  What fabrics they pick, how they arrange it.

Everyone talking about it together.

Love that!

Since we had a snow storm cancellation for the second class,

we all had an extra week to get things together.

Lots of beginners in this class, and they did so great!

I also love being in a class with all levels of skills

and experience.  Sometimes the newbies ask the best questions

and you say to yourself "huuummmm, didn't think of that!"

Here is Sandy working hard on her pieced backing.

She was determined to get that baby done!

My borders.  I did a black and cream wonky checkered

and then I will add a wild chaotic outer border 

to accent all the colors in the center.

You gotta love a teacher that brings wine to the class!

Karen's classes are so much fun!

And so is she.  If you get a chance to take one jump on it!

Here is our group from the second session.

There were a couple missing because of the reschedule,

but we still had a ball.

on another note . . . .

this is courtesy of Cocktails and Thread . . .

So fun!  I love my queeps! (quilt peeps!)

Sweat Shop Monday . . .

Another wonderful sweat shop Monday today!

The kid and Gidget showed up right at 9am,

ready to roll!

They both had quilt tops to layer and quilt,

so we did without the shenanigans of shopping first

and got right to it!

The kid had a full size quilt to finish.

Not so easy to layer in my tiny penthouse,

but we wrangled it good.

Gidget's quilt, that she is making for a dear friend and coworker,

was a bit smaller and a little easier to wrangle.  

It did give us some trouble,

but in the end we won!

They both worked like the tough little minions

I knew they could be.  Hehe.

I gave up my Juki for the kid to use,

and man did she cruise through her quilt!

She was not afraid of driving that thing like a race driver.

Finished quilting, on to the binding.

The kid knows how to multi-task too.

Always bring your laundry to mum's house when you're sewing!

The kid got her binding sewn on the front,

now she has some hand work for the evening.

Gidget will do her binding tonight.

I wish I took a picture of what she was going to use,

very fun and bright!

So to celebrate out best production ever,

a little bit of bubbly . . . 

Oh and here's what I worked on.

One for me and one for you.

I'm sending my love swap out this week.

Hard to part with!

So of course I have to make one for me!

We have a winner!

The winner of my giveaway,

a copy of the book,

Quilting with a Modern Slant is . . . .

(and you know how high tech I am!)

Cathy Perlmutter!

And she said:

"What a fantastic shop! What an out-of-the-box quilt! 

And congratulations on your publication!"

Congrats Cathy!  I have sent you an email.

Quilting with a Modern Slant . . . and a giveaway!

A great new quilting book came out a couple weeks ago . . . 

Quilting with a Modern Slant, by Rachel May.

We were so lucky to be invited to the book reception on Cambridge, MA

last Friday night at a fun little place called Gather Here.

AND, we got to meet Rachel in person!

The place is adorable, an old library card catalog for buttons,

 Liberty fabric, tons of yarn, fabric, heaven!

Cozy nooks everywhere.

But the most fun was meeting Rachel and her friends.

Such great energy that night!

Everyone so excited about her new book.

This little lovely was hanging over the table where Rachel was signing books.

Naughty!  And I want to make one.

But here is the most fun for me and the kid!

We are included in the book.

How fun is that??

The book has some of the most wonderful quilters and designers in it,

and to be included just blows my mind!

We made the evening a family affair with my aunt and cousins.

So in honor of this honor,

I am giving away a copy of the book.

You will just love it!

Leave a comment here telling me your favorite quilt block or color,

and I will pick a winner on Sunday, February 16th.

Catching up . . .

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here.

The kid and I took a zipper pouch class last weekend . . .

We decided instead of Christmas presents this year,

we would do something together.

We had a ball in Andrea's class at the City Quilter.

It looked easy, but we need to brush up on some of our skills!

My two pouches . . .

The kid's two pouches. . . 

Yesterday was our NYC Metro Mod Meeting . . .

Jessica A. did a tutorial on EPP and we all set to sewing

for our baby quilt donations.

Karen H, always the ham. Hehehe.

Here is what the minions accomplished in a few hours,

all by hand I might add!

I must say, I was very pleased that everyone enjoyed the sewing.

Jessica and Tina catching up and working those fingers.

Nellie will have a full recap of show and tell on our blog

in a week or two so check back there.

A few of us stopped by the local pub after the meeting.

Maria, Chrissie, Karen and me.

Head trouble maker!

A couple of the boys left earlier.

Hoping next time we can corral a bigger group.

Hehe.  It was fun.

And today I pulled some fabric for a new project.

I know, I know . . . 

What the heck is she thinking?

She has ten other things on her sewing table already.

Variety is the spice of life my friends!

Hope you had a great weekend.