WIP Wednesday

Hello Everybody! Here are my WIP pieces! Enjoy!

Finally I held my first workshop as a Teacher! IT WAS A BLAST!!! It felt like I've always been doing this! I enjoyed the teaching so much! So next Semester I will be offering even more workshops and a class! Also I have decided I will join the German Patchwork-Guild! Maybe I can get more jobs for teaching patchwork through them!
I am pretty sure the students had a great time! It felt good sharing my excitement in person, not only digitally ;-)
So half of the class made the large pillow case, I showed you in this post, and the other half, including me, made the little one with this pattern:

This is the pillow I made for presentation. I had to finish it at home, though. Of course I was to busy helping my students!

Next - and I've been dying to post these - are the pictures of the quilt along I have started, hosted by freshly pieced! I loved the design from the moment I found the page and knew I needed to make this quilt! After chatting with my friend Sarah, who has wanted me to make her a quilt for a while now, but couldn't decide on a pattern we came to the conclusion, that this was going to be her quilt! I'm telling you: Both of us are thrilled! So making this quilt for my friend gives me the chance to try out this new (and awesome) technique AND not having to pay for fabric :-)
Lee, from freshly pieced is doing such a great job on hosting this quilt along! All the steps are explained so even I as a non native speaker understands the instructions very well and the picture tutorials are very clear!

So this is the fabric we have decided on (the bundel is placed on the grey kona solid fabric, which is the background!)

This is the Fat Quarter Bundle of Kona Solids I orderd for the QAL

These are my cut strips and blocks, sorted by block

This is how they look like when sewn together. Kinda odd, but once they're cut in triangels they make the following pattern:

This is how the triangles look like when cut out and layed into the petals!

Now after preparing the workshop and getting ready for a few other projects (stay tuned for that) - AND besides having to work as a freelance Graphics Designer, I am a little behind now with my quilt. I still need to sew all the pieces together and cut them before I can start designing my quilt! I hope I can finish sometime in May! Wait until you see the fabric Sarah and I have chosen for the Backing! It is a blast!!!

Last, but not least I can reveal the April-Block I sent over the sea for my Block-Swap with my US-mom. I chose a flower block and scribbeld the pattern on graph paper because we decided it would be neat to have the instructions for the blocks we make this year. So with my last letter I had to send her 3 patterns with my block. The first one was easy, because it is the Star-Block by Sheila's Oh my Stars QAL. The second one, the Scrappy Heart Block from Frebruary, was out of my 5500 Patchwork-Blocks Book, and I drafted it myself the size I needed it (all are 12'' finished Blocks).

I really enjoy the process of drafting and calculating the patterns to my needs. Although I do make mistakes. But that just makes me smarter, right? ;-)

So for the next block I will make the pattern right away so I have it ready for mailing!

Next post, I will tell you a bit about my experiences of makeing my first bags! I'm sewing prototypes for my workshop in Fall and need to make photos for advertising. This might become another obsession. I never thought sewing a bag would be so easy!

Post to you soon!

Happy Crafting!

These are all the blocks we made by now. We're getting there and it's lookin' gooooood!

This is the Block with my drafting-sketches

Block swapping update

I've received a new block from my US mom! It is a gorgeous star with a flower print fabric, that is still in tone with the blues and I absolutely think it fits in very well.

So now I can reveal the block I designed for February:
I called it the "Bavarian scrappy heart block" because it is made of typical Bavarian prints. And of course it is a Valentine :-)

I used up the fabric from the first Block. Secondly I used a Dirndl-Fabric. A Dirndl is a typical Bavarian Dress typically made of this style of fabric.

Since she had started to use up fabric from her clothes, I loved the idea and used this: The plaid fabric is from a traditional Blouse I was wearing for Oktoberfest, when I was pregnant and nursing. I wont wear it anymore and it wasn't in a good condition anyhow, so I thought this would be great Fabric to use for the Block!

With this block I sent her photos of myself, wearing the Blouse. Funny to see the photo and then the quilt-block.

I love this Block and will someday make a bavarian quilt of it! Maybe for this year's Oktoberfest? If I find the time! It would make the most beautiful Oktoberfest Logo, don't you think? Two years ago they had a "cross-stich" design . Why not make a quilt design? Unfortunately they already picked the new logo . Also you need to be invited to join the contest. I know cause I was invited to make a design a few years ago. Mine didn't get picked :-(

So my US Mom also had the lovely idea to send each other the patterns of the blocks we made, so I did two sketches to go with the April Block, that I just sent over the sea. I can't reveal it now, for it's a surprise, but once it's there, I'll show you my sketches. The next block is cute, too, but I'm gonna keep my mouth shut!

Scrappy Heart Block

The torn blouse

So that's me in the blouse. Now you know how I look like! :-) Well, what I looked like two years ago!

The 3 finished Blocks together

This is the Beautiful Star from Mom. Spring-Time! (Sorry about the strong yellow in this pic)

Now I'm getting more and more excited about my quilting workshop on upcoming Saturday. I bought fabric and everything and really can't wait to meet my students :-)

Next post will be soon about my new Quilt Along I have started. You might have noticed that I have put on the Button! Until then

Happy Crafting!

 

These are the flyers to my Workshop upcoming Saturday! I'm so excited!!

Struggeling through Life

The past weeks my life has been challenging and a real struggle. My Dad has gone to hospital suffering from cancer and with me being alone with 2 kids from Monday through Thursday AND having a Job 2-3 Days a week I hardly found time to blog. It seems like time is running away. I feel like the white rabbit in alice in wonderland. But still, the time I have left in the evenings when the kids are asleep and my thoughts start driving me crazy, I sit down and sew! For me my sewing machine has become a place where I recover from my stressful life. When thinking of a Design, or cutting, and even when sewing, I am so concentrated, I forget my worries and clear my head. Quilting is my Therapy!

Since I need lots of therapy right now, there is several projects on the go, and I will post more the next few days.

First thing I did when I found out about Dad's cancer was finishing his quilt! Somehow this thought came up: "What if he dies and I didn't make him his quilt?" So there was a strong urge to get it finished. It is a 1600 Jelly Roll race of fabric that perfectly fits his couch! After his 4th surgery (!) I was finally happy to bring his quilt, quilted with lots of love (and some tears) into the hospital. I really hope he fights the disease. There is at least one more surgery coming up and until then, nobody knows what's really going on... I will spend even more time at the machine and to you

Happy Crafting

This is the Jelly Roll, my husband braught me from his last Trip to the US.  Its "little black dress" by Basic Grey for moda

This is how it looked like after all the strips were sewn together

the finished Top

again, I chose an IKEA Fabric for the backing.

The finished quilt!

A Birthday Quilt

Yesterday was my girl's fourth birthday and I did finish her walk in the woods quilt! It turned out really sweet, I'm just a little disappointed it turned out so small. I thought that using 2 charm packs would be enough. It wasn't. But next time I use precuts on a quilt I will surely calculate how much I need at the beginning. I would have just ordered more fabric, but it was already too late. I wouldn't have finished it on time if I had. Also it is moda fabric and ordering that over here is so expensive and of course over sea I would have to wait a long time and nobody I knew was recently traveling over there.

I quilted it with a bit thicker thread than usually and I quite like the look of it. No real free motion quilting on this one. I didn't have any planned cause I saw a chevron design like this quilted like that.

My girl really loves it! She's been waiting for her rotkäppchendecke (red riding hood quilt) for so long ;-)

I also made her the little draw string bag for her p.e. clothes at day care. She loves that one too and I need to make another one for her filly ponies... Are those popular anywhere else than Germany? They even replaced hello kitty.....


Another post will be done soon, for of course: I have started another quilt... :-)

Also I am waiting for my host-mom to get my new quilt block for our little project, so I can post the pictures of creating that, as well!

Until then, happy crafting to all of you!

HST Attack!

I came across this Tutorial on how to get 8 Half Square Triangles (HSTs) out of 2 Fabric Squares. I adapted the Idea and made it 18 (!) HSTs. I used 7,5'' Squares and endet up with little 2'' HSTs! You could get 2,5'' ones if you started using a 9'' Piece to start with. If my calculation is right (and you should really check that, cause I am really bad in Math) you should get 3,5'' HSTs by using a 12'' Square.

Using this method you can just add squares and get even more finished HSTs. For example, if you divided the length by 4 (with a 12'' Square you'd have four 3'' elements in 4 Rows) you would get: 32 !!!! HSTs! WOWOWOWOW! Isn't that the coolest Method?

Imagine, you could use a very large piece and make larger Squares and get the Elements for a whole quilt-top in only one Sewing Session! Cool, huh? I'm going to try that someday with maybe 4 solids!

Before I do, I will finish my Walk in the Woods quilt. There's only one row left to be sewn and then I'll start quilting.

Enjoy this Tutorial.
Happy Crafting!

Here are my two 7,5'' Fabric squares, right sides together.

Next step would be drawing these lines. I divided 7,5 by 3 and got 2,5'' and this is where I drew the vertical and horizontal lines. After that I drew the HST Lines for each square like shown in the picture. These will be the line you will follow using a 1/4'' seam.

Sewing along the lines is really fun!

This is how the sewn piece looks like. I made two and am showing the black side to get a better view of the sewing!

Next thing you do is cut out the squares you drew in the beginning.

Now you have your Sewn HST Elemts that you just cut between the Sewing lines!

Here you go!

18 HST elements in only 10 Minutes. of course the pressing takes a little longer :-)

I proudly present....

... The Oh my XMAS Stars Quilt. I finally had time to put the binding on! That was some work.

Right now it is my grand masterpiece! The quilting was so much work on my little machine! I can hardly believe I got it finished!

Here are the pictures! Even if Christmas has been over for a while, we had enough snow to get a perfect presentation for the quilt-photos! Luckily, since the snow is melting away now. You can now find all of my quilting-pics on flickr , too!

I think even folded it looks beautiful!

I really like this nested star!

Me all wraped up in the quilt.

The Quilt in it's full view 

Also this Chevron Star
is one of my favorites

Beauty-Shot of the Quilting.
I did loops only. I tried some creative quilting
on the large stars and did loops inside the dark parts
of all the Windmill-Stars, as you can see on this picture 

I think the nested Stars
are the most beautiful!
Here with the JOY line from moda.

This is my Backing! The fabric wasn't wide enough so
I added the White strip with the large red star.

AND very exciting: My US-Mom's Block arrived! Remember the Icy Star Block I made and sent her for christmas? Now she has made the next Block. She says it's called Star in a Star! Lovely!!! I like like like the Block so much: She used different Background fabric in white, with butterflies on it to remind me of the town I used to live with them! Your guess!

Cheryl's Star in a Star on the left,
and my nested Star on the right! I'm soooo excited!!!

Also she has been using fabric from an old shirt and a sheet. I so much love this idea, that I have to rethink my fabric choice for my turn of a block! I'm not gonna say anything on this blog for now, since it must be a surprise! But I already found cute fabric which has kind of a meaning!

Right now I am very busy moving stuff from one room to the other because the kids will get a new bed and the larger room. This means many boxes are in my sewing room, not leaving me a lot of creative space, but enough to get some sewing done. I will have to finish my girl's quilt by March so I better get going ;-)

I will do and to you too: Happy crafting!

Following quilters rule #1: Never Finish a quilt before starting a new

I had to start a new quilt before finishing "oh my stars"! I can proudly say that that one is almost completed! I will post pictures asap!

My new project is a quilt with lots of love! It will be for my daughter who turns 4 in a few weeks. I baught a charm pack of modas "a walk in the woods" which is very cute. In addition with solid white charms I made all HSTs last night and will iron them and lay them out this weekend. My plan is a chevron design.

Since my kids will move into a bigger room we bought them a bunk bed and it will arrive around birthday. So what could be a better present than a quilt for a new bed?

Here a few pics and more to come!

Happy crafting!

I put the squares right sides together and drew a 1/4'' line from the center from both sides.

I chainpieced the squares, following my markings

I looove chainpiecing. It is so meditative! Seriously, I totaly relax doing this. And I love the look of the finished chain!

I cut them apart with scissors. I could do that watching TV lol

I added this picture of my HST Layout yesterday. Whatcha think? I'm a bit disapointed the quilt turns out so small. I expected it to be bigger, using two charm packs. Oh well. Gonna make a large border then.