I came back from QuiltCon a couple weeks ago and I've been thinking over the whole experience.
I decided to attend both Houston last October and QuiltCon this past year because with the kids out of the house I get to go exploring more — and I had never been to a large national quilt show. I've written blog posts about both Houston and QuiltCon and the classes I took.
Taking classes was a big part of embracing it. I've not had the time or interest in taking classes before — I like learning things on my own. So even though the classes I took were excellent, I doubt I'll take more.
But the quilts. Quilts are so much better in person. My mind exploded a little bit. I'll definitely go back for the quilts :)
One wonderful thing happened since I've been home - Colleen D. shared the table runner she made with my pattern and the fabric I designed. She did such a great job! It was the first I'd seen a quilt made by someone else with my fabrics, so I'm tickled pink.
Tumble Into Love Table Runner by Colleen D.
Nobody told me that my points should match. I just like them to. But being picky about my own work doesn't mean I'm looking at everyone else's work.
In fact, focusing on my own work means that I'm not focusing on other people's work. It's all in where my focus lies - challenging myself or comparing myself to others. Only one makes me happy.
It walks you through how your sewing machine actually works, so when something goes wrong, you can figure out why instead of just hoping it fixes itself. Problems become solvable instead of reasons to stop sewing.
I finished piecing Unraveled right before I left for QuiltCon. There's a YouTube Shorts playlist that shows the day-to-day progress of piecing. Since I've been back I've figured out how I want to quilt it — that took a bit — and just started the quilting this week.
I decided to explore layering a puffy poly batting (Quilter's Dream Puff) over cotton batting to see if I could get a little more definition.
I'm a little concerned I've bitten off more than I can chew... but I'll keep working through it, with gradually more dense quilting. Time will tell.
Happy sewing! ;)
P.S. Master Your Machine also lives ad-free in the Simple Quilting Studio, along with patterns, more courses and a community of quilters exploring the same things you are. Still free. Check it out here.
Life is stressful. Piece. Need to say goodbye? Unsubscribe here How has late summer been for your quilting? I have mostly been doing quilting not piecing. My daughter made this beautiful king sized top that I quilted for her. It was the first really big – took up the whole width of my machine – quilt I’ve done on my machine. She is satisfying to quilt for as she had it bound and on her bed within 48 hours of getting it back from me! To push myself to get creating again I took a look through...
Life is stressful. Piece. Need to say goodbye? Unsubscribe here Unraveled is finally done — and it unraveled me a little in the process. Since my goal was to represent fabric unraveling, I guess that’s appropriate. I tried new things and they didn’t work or didn’t work as anticipated. 1) I used a new-to-me thread in my longarm. I spent so much time adjusting tension to make it work right! Once I started quilting with that thread I was locked into using it for the whole quilt so I just...
Life is stressful. Become a peaceful quilter. Need to say goodbye? Unsubscribe here Remember that bowl cozy project I mentioned last newsletter? After that 4 am solution revelation, I was finally able to pull my head out of the bowl cozy rabbit hole and wrap it up. 🎉 You can watch my video about the process here: The pattern, which includes access to the calculator and videos that show you every step of the pattern to make cozies that fit YOUR bowls, is available in my shop - Custom Bowl Cozy...
