Jungle Quilt

Remember that quilt project I started with my son’s second grade class at the end of January?  (Happy New Year January 26, 2011 ) Well,  I finished it and the kids gave it to their teacher as their group present for her “Baby Sprinkle” in school on Tuesday.  What’s a Baby Sprinkle?  Evidently it’s the new term for a baby shower for a mom who already has a child.  Just a “sprinkle” of gifts for the new baby instead of a shower of gifts for the mom who is starting from scratch.

On one hand, the kids were so excited to have the party and present the quilt!   On the other, some were sad that she would be leaving for the remainder of the school year.  There were so many hugs, I was worried that the kids might accidentally pop the baby out!  I wish I could post a picture of the entire class, but without each parent’s permission, I didn’t want to take a chance.  So here is Mrs. Hale with her new quilt!

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Each child designed their own block.  My only request was that each block have at least one square of the light colored fabric with the animal names.  Much to my surprise, the children took it upon themselves to increase their color selection by also using the backs of the fabric squares.  They placed the fabric squares on a griddded piece of paper which I had spread with a Elmer’s Repositionable Glue stick.  This allowed me to easily take the blocks home to sew together exactly as they had been designed.  Each block was completely unique.

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I then quilted their signature in each block.

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Knowing that the children would want to touch and love the quilt, I took the quilt home after the party and washed it one more time before bringing it back for mother and baby to enjoy!

Helle-May

New Classes!

I am so excited to tell you about some new classes that I will be teaching at a great little quilt shop in Englishtown, NJ.  The store is called Fabric Inspirations  (732) 792-0083 and when you walk into the store you’ll understand that the name truly fits!  As I’ve told Linda Eaves, the store’s owner, if I had the opportunity to stock a store with fabric, it would probably look just like hers!  The store is not big, but every square inch is filled with lots of color and quilting inspiration!

Now for more on the classes! 

On April 1st and 8th, I will be teaching a 2-part class:  Electric Quilt for Beginners.  The class is intended for two groups of quilters:

Group 1: Those of you who bought either Electric Quilt 6 or 7 and it’s still sitting in the box or untouched on your laptop.

Group 2: Those of you who are curious, but don’t know whether or not you’re ready to make the jump.  For this group, we can install a 14 day free trial copy onto your laptop (please call to make sure you have the right computer requirements).  This way you can take the class and see for yourself.  If you have enough interest to get this far, I’d be willing to bet that you won’t be able to resist once you find out how easy it is to design the quilt you’ve been wanting to make!

On April 16, I will be teaching an all day class:  QUILTapestry: Orphan Block Rescue

This class is for those of you curious about my technique for finishing a wall quilt without a binding.  We will “rescue” one of your 12″ orphan blocks and turn it into a mini wall quilt while learning my technique.  It’s fun and fast and you’ll have something finished to bring home!

Here’s an example of a block I rescued!

 QUILTapestry: Orphan Block Rescue

Contact the store for more information or to just sign-up!

See you in class!

Helle-May

New York Beauty Simplified

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If this cover isn’t eye candy, I don’t know what is!!!  This is my friend, Linda’s, new book out from AQS.  You can order your very own autographed copy (with free shipping!) from Linda’s website  www.froghollowdesigns.com  or pick one up from your local quilt shop. 

Linda has developed a technique to make those New York Beauty blocks nearly fool proof!   She shows you exactly how to do it with step by step directions and photographs.   

21 stunning quilts, all made with the same technique, yet all completely different looking.  Then she even gives you directions on how to use up the leftover scraps to make mini quilts.  You know how much “The Fabric Minimalist” (me) loves that idea!!!   And if that weren’t enough, there’s a gallery of another 18 quilts from which to draw inspiration! 

All of the quilts were quilted by either Linda or her talented daughter, Sarah.  They have compiled all of the quilting designs into a companion book, Dynamic Designs, also available from Linda’s website www.froghollowdesigns.com or www.QuiltWoman.com

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Linda will be demonstrating her technique at the upcoming AQS Lancaster, PA show and teaching classes at the AQS Paducah, KY show, as well as Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA.  Check out her full schedule at www.FrogHollowDesigns.com

Just be forewarned…these quilts are addictive!

Helle-May