Dresden neighborhood quilt class and project

I may have been relatively quiet on the social media front, but this time it's because I've been busy quilting 😊 I love being able to say that! Here's the latest class that I've taken.

Dresden Neighborhood Quilt Class

I've loved the Dresden Neighborhood Quilt since the first time that I saw it...but I also saw the word "Dresden" in there and figure that since I would rather not do needle-turn appliqué again, that this wasn't for me. However, after seeing a class offered through my local guild, I thought that it would be easier if I was sharing the pain with a virtual class. I was so thrilled when I learned that all of it was sewn by machine! 😊

My Dresden Neighborhood quilt so far

Since I wasn't sure what fabrics to use, I googled "Dresden Neighborhood quilt" and looked at tons of pictures of these finished quilts. All of them are great, but I was drawn to a couple of them that I uploaded onto my phone to study them. The ones that I liked had strong colours with a light background. 

Since, of course, I wanted something funky, I used bright batiks that have a small range of colours on them. I used the very orange-on-orange and the gray-on-yellow batiks as my starting point. From there I added other colourful batiks. Many have purple and colours that are complimentary to orange and yellow.

Fabric choices

During the class, I cut out my house fabrics with a template. I'm not sure what happened but the template was not the size it should have been so I ended up needing 21 houses instead of the 20 from the pattern. When I sewed them together (I was so nervous!), I thought that I would have to do some major fudging to make it work, but finally I just added one more house (that's 22) to create a perfect circle....no fudging required 😊

Houses cut to different heights -
still 21 of them

Houses before cutting
 and sewing

After sewing them together and adding one more house, it was ready to be tacked onto the background.

22 houses sewn together

At this point, the class members had a discussion with our teacher, Michelle Banton of Little Pups Designs about whether to sew the pieces on or to quilt them on, that is to add the batting and backing right away before doing more than tacking the houses to the background. I opted to add the batting right away, so I sandwiched it and started quilting as I sewed things on. 

After making the houses, the fiddly but fun part starts - finding the perfect combination of fabrics for the rooves, doors, windows and whatever else is to be added 😊 I used some scraps of very dark hand-dyed fabrics that a friend gave me to make all of the rooves. The doors are all made of the same fabrics as the houses.

Adding roofs and doors to the 22 houses

I made some slightly more elaborate rooves and started adding things such as awnings and windows. 

More elaborate rooves with other fun features

FMQ around the houses and some of the rooves

I've added adhesive bonding web to more hand-dyed fabrics to add the windows, etc. I haven't had the iron out for ages before the last two projects. With my mini ironing platform and small cutting mat, I can iron and cut small pieces anywhere in the studio.

Adding adhesive bonding web to the fabric scraps

What I learned

• If I left the FMQ to the end, I know that I have too many other projects right now and would only finish it in a few months.

• 

  My other Dresden needle-turn
  appliqué project

  Another incentive to get this mostly done is that our teacher holds a quick show and tell two or three weeks after the class so that we can share our progress. Since it's on Zoom, I will be receiving all of the participant's pictures of their project and arranging them in PowerPoint. It really is the best and easiest way to see them virtually. 
• I've made this project larger than I usually do so that I can hang it up in our entrance. I can't wait to see it up there all finished!
• FYI, the quilt here is my first (and last?) Dresden needle-turn appliqué project.
• It just occurred to me that there must be a way to make the Dresden shape using a technique like English Paper Piecing. I think that it would make it easier to stitch down....I'll have to check that out! 

Related links

• Kim Lapacek's Dresden Neighborhood mini quilt pattern
• Michelle Banton of Little Pups Designs
• Learning Needle Turn Appliqué from an Expert, October 16, 2013

Linking parties

I will be linking up to many fun linking parties this week. Why not check them out? Patchwork & Appliqué, Oh Scrap!, Put your foot down, Off the Wall Friday, Peacock Party, Design Wall Monday, Monday Making, Free Motion Mavericks with Muv, Midweek Makers, 

New technique and new project

Did I say that I would try to stop starting new projects? I'm sure that it's in writing somewhere but, oh well, I am having too much fun learning new techniques and playing with fabric! 😊

Fantastic Fusion Workshop

Through my local quilt guild, I registered for a couple of workshops. This first one peaked my interest - it's an improv quilting using fusible web. I've done both of these before but I liked the look of the teacher's sample and hoped that I would learn something....and I have!

We were encouraged by our teacher, Lisa Walton from Australia, to buy Wonder-Under Transfer Web (or something like it) because it can be ironed on many, many times, and we definitely needed that for this technique.

These were the first two blocks that I made during the first class. 

Block 1 - still one of my favourites

Block 2

I used an assortment of batiks that had different values, colours and patterns. These are important, otherwise the fabrics all sort of merge together. Since I knew that I wouldn't be making a large quilt, I only added fusing on the back of about 12" blocks of each fabric, knowing that I could fuse more if needed.

Fabric pull of batiks

I was enjoying the class but when Lisa got to cutting curves, I was thrilled. This is exactly what I wanted - line are fine but curves add flow. I add curves whenever I can, especially if there're no sewing involved! 😊

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5

These first 5 blocks are roughly 6" square. I tried to keep them simple, but that's very hard for me - I'm a "more is best" kind of gal!

These next 3 blocks have slightly different shapes.

Block 6 - Do you see a moon there?

I simplified these next 2 blocks because I figured that I would add more if need be. Also, by the time I made these Saturday evening, I couldn't tell which side of the fabric the fusible web was one (it's difficult for the light fabric but obvious for the darker ones!)

Block 7 Just flowing

Block 8 - not really finished since this is the one that I will probably
 have to change to make it fit with the others.

Possible layouts

I found this to be the most difficult part. I did take lots of pictures of layouts but each block could, in theory be laid out in 4 possible ways since there is no right-side up here!

My thought process:

• The first thing that I noticed was the very dark purple in three of the blocks. I think that they need to be balanced somehow.

First layout - balance the dark purples?

• I think that this balanced the dark purple blocks.

Second layout - balance the odd shaped blocks

• I think that most of the blocks are interchangeable except for the 3 that are different sizes. 

Third layout - more balancing?

• I believe that this may be the best balanced layout....but I'm still learning and I can't wait to get feedback from Lisa.
• The bottom right block may need to be redone, or at the very least cut up. I like the outside striped border but the rest could be redone - maybe into two, either attaching the left side to the block next to it (not bad but not great) and then fixing up borders for the other part.

Fourth layout....maybe?

You'll just have to come back to see the finished project...by the end of February!

February's One Monthly Goal 

Finishing this quilt is my OMG for the month of February. I'm excited about this piece and don't want it to get lost in my WIP pile 😊 Thanks Patty for the great motivational  party!

What I learned

• Tips for working with Fusible Web:
• I pressed the pieces of fusible-backed fabric onto a piece of Pellon Wonder-Under Transfer Web backing. This lets you pull the fabric off of the backing and keep adding more fabric. You can also use parchment paper.
• When I wasn't sure on what side the fusible web was attached, I pressed the fabric piece between 2 pieces of the backing. The fusible web is on the side that is attached to the backing (rather than on your iron). I did a lot of that too until I thought of this.

The side with the fusible web 
sticks to the backing paper.

Pressing the fabric between two sheets of 
fusible web backing

• Lisa is a great teacher - laid back, organised and very knowledgeable. 
• She also teaches this course online. During her class, she showed us an introductory video that featured her quilts in this technique, as well as quilts by other students. It's always great for inspiration to see what can be done.
• She is a very generous teacher, and after our 3 hour class, she sent us a link to the first half of her online, on-demand class. It's really excellent and was a great reminder of what we had learned. As you can see, I highly recommend her classes!
• During our next 3-hour class, we will learn tips for putting the whole quilt together (without stitching!) and then quilting and finishing it. I think that I've done most of my blocks but I want to see what Lisa advises before I cut and make adjustments to finish it. 
• I figured out that I need one of those circle templates - it was difficult using objects to make the circles on these!

Related links

• Lisa Walton: Website, Instagram
• Fantastic Fusion - On Demand Class (it's very reasonable priced!)
• Video introduction of Fantastic Fusion

Linking parties

I will be linking up to the February OMG party as soon as it opens. I am also linking up to Kathleen McMusing's Tips and Tutorials on the 22nd, as well as many other fun linking parties. Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, Midweek Makers, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off The Wall Friday, Free Motion Mavericks (it's Muv's turn - check it out!), Finished or Not Finished Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap!, 15 minutes to Stitch 2022, 

Happy 400th post and Free Motion Mavericks

This last month had many special events - the 300^th linking party of Free Motion Mavericks, my first presentation about blogging and learning, and my 400^th post at Quilting & Learning: What a Combo! I hope you don't mind if I use this Free Motion Mavericks post to reflect on my blogging journey.😊

Blogging and online learning presentation

Last month, I made a 15 minute presentation for the Out of the Box Textile Artists group. The theme was doing things online related to our textile fibre art. One presenter has been trying to exhibit and sell her work online to replace the exhibits that she was supposed to be in. She had mixed results. The other presenter has been making and selling on Etsy for a while. It was interesting to hear about her experience.

I was the last presenter and I had a slideshow about blogging and online learning. I really enjoyed the process of writing the presentation since it was a great time to reflect and see what I've done, and how my blog and my art has evolved over time.

I thought that I would share some of the things that struck me as I reflected on these last eight years. Here are some of the relevant slides. You should be able to click on the slides to see them larger.

Those last few reasons for blogging evolved over time

I then went on to explain what various blogging terms mean since many of the pieces that I've exhibited with this group have come from these types of events, and many participants are not familiar with them. I mentioned:

Quilt-Alongs help me create beautiful UFOs!

• linking parties, 
• quilt-alongs, 
• finish-alongs and 
• blog hops 

This is what I realised learned:

• Although I enjoy quilt-alongs, they have resulted in more UFOs than finished pieces.

• 

  Grandmother's Choice block

  My success rate is not very good with the various finish-alongs, except for the One Monthly Goal (OMG). I'm sure that it's because we only choose one goal - and it doesn't have to be a finished quilt, just a completed step in the project.
• My favourites are the blog hops, in all of their permutations. I try not to participate in too many of them. They usually have fairly broad themes so that I can make something that catches my fancy. I also love to see what other bloggers have made - there is usually so much diversity.
• The biggest drawback to blog hops is everyone's great comments. I love to read them but I've yet to answer even a small percentage of them.

Becoming more involved

My blog took on a bigger presence on the web when I hosted two blogging events in 2017.

Celebrating - Fêtons 150

What I realised was that Celebrating - Fêtons 150 was the perfect event to host because it allowed me to do all kinds of fun research on the Internet and then post great patterns and events that were happening around Canada's 150th. I did make a few projects but it wasn't as intensive as the Learning Quilt-Along.   

I couldn't talk about being involved without mentioning Free Motion Mavericks! I'm glad that I am co-hosting with Muv because it brings me back to my first love, FMQ! It also ensures that I blog at least every fortnight - because sometimes it's hard to do more than that.

As I reviewed my blog, for the first time I had a look at my original visitation numbers for that first year. In that first post I wrote that I didn't know if anyone would be reading this. Well, it turns out that in 2012, I wrote 8 posts and had 18 views and one comment. Thank goodness for friends and family.😊

In 2013, I got tired of posting on Facebook (I'm not a fan), so I added a "Follow by email" from Google's feedburner to my blog.  I almost never check the numbers but when I did last month, I was intrigued by the results. The subscribers took a serious upward turn in 2017, the summer and fall that I hosted the two blogging events. It seems that even if very few quilters were participating in the Learning Quilt-Along, many were watching from the side lines. 

Stats from my "Follow by email" link

Learning Online

The second part of my presentation was about learning online. I've been learning online since I first started quilting - from reading fellow bloggers' posts and tutorials, to the odd YouTube presentation. I started buying Craftsy courses at that time and I own a ridiculous amount of them! 

This year, however, saw a huge growth in online learning opportunities. I love online courses since they are usually relatively inexpensive and I don't have to leave my studio (did I ever mention that I'm a home body?) Of course these are also responsible for a number of UFOs but as I start using some of the skills and ideas that I've developed in earlier workshops, I think that it's all worth it.  

Gratitude Journal
made last week

Well, my learning journey is far from finished as you may have seen in my last post! In a year and 11 months, I hope to go back to hosting at least one blog hop a year. I'm still learning so much from my fellow bloggers. Quilters are a very generous group and I'm very grateful to be part of this little corner of the virtual world. 

Thank you so much for your presence in my life. I am grateful to all of you for sharing my journey.

Linking parties

I will be linking up to many fun linking parties. Follow along if you like and spread the joy! Design Wall Monday, Monday Making, Midweek Makers, Patchwork & Appliqué, Peacock Party, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Finished or Not Finished Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, TGIFF, Put Your Foot Down, Colour & Inspiration Tuesday, 

Free Motion Mavericks

Wow! What a great turn out last time. Thank you soooo much! I was hoping to start on the Pinwheels and Stars quilt but as I mentioned, it's not something that I can or want to fudge right before the post 😊. For everyone who left an encouraging comment, THANK YOU! As I was re-reading your blog links, leaving comments (finally) and thinking about the "out of this world" quilt centre (thanks Alycia), I prepared a clear plastic piece to draw on, over the quilt top and am getting a plan for starting. So thank you everyone!

There were such amazing and different quilts linked up last time and as always, impossible to choose what to highlight, so I'm going very close to home to show you Sandra's The Final Season quilt about the plight of trees, in Canada and everywhere.

The Final Season by Sandra at mmm quilts

It's now your turn - and I'm going to publish early to get the full enjoyment of my 400^th post!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter