I'm off Saturday to Kingsville to teach my class "Quilting with Rulers for Domestic Sewing Machines"  with the wonderful members of the Erie Shores Quilters Guild and just thought I would share an excellent resource with my readers.
 The resource I am speaking about is a fantastic book by Amanda Murphy called "Rulerwork Quilting Idea Book"  I am excited about this book and recommending it because it contains 59 Outline Designs that can be done with rulers and then filled with Free Motion Quilting..  This book is both for the domestic and long arm quilter.  

I was reading it over and utilizing it to discuss ideas with my class and I think it's a great comprehensive book that everyone should have if they are serious about using rulers for quilting.  I will certainly recommend it in all of my classes!

​See the contents of the book below to see what I am talking about.

This book covers just about every  ruler shape with so many design ideas to expand upon, it is very inspiring. Amanda also discusses all types/brands of rulers, the very common shapes and how to plan your quilt with ruler work.  See some photos from the contents of the book below:

The pictures alone do not do this book justice, I ordered it from Amazon and believe me, I  am not disappointed and I would recommend it to my students and anyone passionate about making their quilting precise and beautiful!

As you can see below, this book is very affordable at $25.69, spiral bound  and  easy to refer to while you are working on your quilt.

Where to get this awesome book?  Click  on the  photo below:

I am hoping to share some photos of my student work next week, check back to see what creative ideas they have, I am sure there will be an abundance of them!

Have a lovely weekend and Happy Friday?

I have been very busy lately with designing, teaching and trunk shows. I was teaching again Saturday at Hummingbird Sewing in Barrie my Explore Threading Painting Class.  It was so much fun!  The ladies did a great job with their individual projects.  All were experienced at free motion quilting and therefore were able to grasp the beginner thread painting concept with ease.  See a picture of the ladies and their projects below:

'Thank You to these lovely ladies for allowing me to share pictures of their work with you and for attending my class.  It was truly an honour to share my love of thread painting with you!

I know it is somewhat hard to see but what I taught was my method of basic raw edge machine appliqué and then a technique to thread paint using a sewing machine and needle over the appliqué to make the project textured, shaded and dimensional.  

We used embroidery thread, variegated threads and solid coloured threads of many varieties. Who does not love thread? It only makes everything better and this class is a great opportunity to audition those lovely thread strands ❤️

Do you have a guild or group who wants to learn how to thread paint?
 
​Click on the "More" tab above and then "Teaching" or click here to see how I can teach with your group. I love this technique so much that I would be happy to teach it to all quilters and those passionate about needle work. 

I am off to The Region of York Quilters' Guild Meeting this evening to show my "Quilters Journey" and Trunk Show and looking forward to it.

Happy Wednesday!

From time to time I get students who have taken a class or two from me, send pictures of their work. Most recently Nora has sent me some pics of her thread painting and free motion work.  I thought I would share this with me blog readers.  We all need inspiration!

.... and thats not all ..... Nora has also sent me the quilting and thread painting work she had done from the first class she took with me, see photos below of her placemats.  This class was a class project to practise free motion quilting and she added the flowers as her own creative addition with thread paint.  The class project suggested some hexies on the side but Nora wanted to try her hand at adding a thread painted design.

Excellent work by Nora, she is very adventurous and clearly creative!

Thanks Nora for sharing, you are getting more skilled by the day!

My message to everyone: 

Be adventurous with your sewing and try something new today!

Happy Thursday! 😊

Everyone knows by know that I am a Craftsy Affiliate which means I recommend Craftsy as an online resource for sewing and quilting classes and  I would not do this unless I believe in them!!  Every class I have taken has been extremely beneficial to me in improving my skill set as a quilter, sewist, baker and chef (lol!).  The classes are detailed, informative and fun!

​As one of my sponsors Craftsy.com does provide me with a  small monetary gain by recommending them to you (the $value products and classes, not the free ones!) and that helps me in keeping my website alive and flourishing. 

*****The important thing is Craftsy.com is a great source to inspire you to keep working on your skill set and keep you inspired *****  

Today, I'm just letting you know that there are many classes that are free! I encourage you to have a look at www.craftsy.com and Watch FREE online DIY classes at Craftsy - lifetime access!

Check it out here 

Spend some time on you today and Happy Friday! ❤️
​

I have been really busy these days teaching and showing my quilts in both Windsor and Barrie, Ontario.  I'm sorry, I did not get photos from the trunk show and the class in Barrie, however I will show you others that I have below.

 What am I teaching?

 Free Motion Quilting and Thread Painting (beginner and advanced).  

​Check out the picture below:

Thread Painting Is:

So much fun, a great way to use up the beautiful thread you have been collecting, a fantastic way to embellish your quilts easily, empowering because you are painting with your sewing machine needle as the paint brush, creative, allowing you can make one of a kind art work, easy and a great skill to learn!!

The ladies (of the Windsor Quilters' Guild) at my recent workshop in Windsor were so much fun to be with, enthusiastic and positive about learning to thread paint.  See the picture below:

Some more pictures of their work in progress:

If your guild or sewing group wants to learn this technique, please go to "more" on my menu above (click on teaching) or click here

I hope to see some of their finished work in the near future and promised them I would post it if they send me photos 😊

Thanks to the ladies of the Windsor Quilters Guild for participating in the workshop, you were all wonderful and I sincerely and thoroughly enjoyed sharing my thread painting technique with you!❤️

This past Saturday, I taught a free motion quilting class at Hummingbird Sewing in Barrie and yesterday one of my students sent this picture of her "practise" of the free motion quilting.  I believe "Natural Talent" is the phrase that comes to mind.

Nicole used a continuous machine quilting template for the centre and June Tailor Grid Marker to quilt the background.  Doesn't the pattern in the background make the heart stand out?  It's fantastic!

I have talked about this grid marker before in this blog and it is wonderful. You can make 60 degree diamonds and 40 degree square patterns and the seed stitch along with lines in all directions without moving the template and no measuring.

Congratulations Nicole on practising as recommended in the class and mastering what you have learned.  Also, thanks so much for sharing your work!

Have a great Thursday everyone.🍁

Last Saturday, I was honoured to teach these lovely ladies free motion quilting at Hummingbird Sewing in Barrie.

 After some very minor machine issues, they all caught on so quickly
and the learning curve was steep but they all accomplished a lot of practise and learning.

​ I have asked them all to keep on practising and I am sure in no time they will be excellent free motion quilters.

 Thanks for attending the class Donna, Lois, Connie, Gwenda and Joanne.

You were all a joy to teach!

TGIF, Have a great weekend everyone! 😊

_I am excited to announce that I now have 3 new projects and  new classes in Thread Painting.  Check out the Shop page to see the new patterns and the Teaching page as well!

 If you look at the patterns in the shop page hover over the patterns and you can see the thread painting close up!

The patterns are available in PDF and hard copy format and ready to order.

These 3 patterns all describe in detail how to create free standing thread painted embroidered flowers to add to small quilts.

The patterns include detailed instructions, supplies required, a true photo of the flower and a design ready for you to trace and thread paint.

The workshop demonstrates first hand how thread paint. Depending on your learning style this is a great way to learn.  

It's a culmination of a lot of work, but a real labour of love.

 The flowers are of course a Hibiscus Flower, A Water Lilly (& Lilly pads) and a Gaillardia Flower.

Have a great Thursday!  

Nora is one of my students who has now taken 2 of my free motion quilting classes and one of my thread painting classes and has obviously been practising what she has learned.  

I emphasize when I teach that practising is the key to success with both quilting and thread painting.  I always say "if you take piano lessons, you need to practise to be successful right?"  The same goes with anything in life.  Skills require practise.

Nora just sent me a picture of her latest project and it is obvious to me she is both practising the skills she has learned and is successful! Check out her work below:

Nora consented to sharing her work with us, Thank You Nora!  

Happy Monday!😊