Pin It Weekly #83

National Quilt Museum

We've been trying to get to Paducah for several years now.  I've wanted to visit the city but more importantly I've wanted to visit the National Quilt Museum.  I've read about it, supported it, and dreamed about going.

Finally, I can say I've been.  Last week while on vacation, we visited my sister in Knoxville.  If you look at a map, it doesn't take very long to realize that Paducah, KY, is far from Knoxville, TN.  It's about six hours of driving away, actually.  That did not deter my darling from making the drive, however.

The quilts at the museum are beautiful.  Most have won a major award at one of the AQS shows, and all are the kinds of quilts that the rest of us dream of making.  You know, the kind that take some special talent, years of patience and determination, and a saintly ability to focus.  Since I have none of that talent, patience or focus, I make my quilts and enjoy the others.  But alas, I have to enjoy them in my head because there is absolutely no photography at the NQM.  

I did ask about photographing the stained glass windows and got an affirmative, so please enjoy them with me.

I don't know that I got pictures of all the windows, but it's close if not.   I had plans for adding a few other photos from Paducah but the internet is running extremely slowly tonight.  I'll apologize and try again tomorrow.  

Happy Quilting,

Mary

Class Dismissed

By Rochelle, week 2

My stained glass quilt class at Quilt Campus is finishing up this week.  It has been a different experience for me as I've not taught a class completely online before.  What fun!  I got to meet some interesting students from around the world!  


One student in particular was very involved: she kept the forum alive, posted photos, and asked questions that got lots of views.  Of course, she deserves a  shout out, so to Rochelle--great going,and a special thanks!!!!

By creations336, week 1

These works-in-progress photos are a couple posted on the site by students.  Final photos are still not up as we have a few days left.  Can't you see the progress, though?  What do you think of their color choices?

Quilt Campus Class

My class with QuiltCampus began today and got a little tense when I realized that I'd left off some important information.  Thank goodness Cindy, the business person behind the scenes, was willing to drop everything and fix my boo boo!  


Within an hour or so, she called me back to say everything was done and I could inform my students that they could access the information.  I wish I could explain my error, but I'm chalking it up to inexperience and my usual kookiness--a bad combination!


Although our opportunity to talk came about because I made an error, I am happy to have spoken to Cindy.  She is quite nice, obviously very competent and extremely helpful!  Her ability to pull something together and make it look good is pretty amazing.  I could learn a few lessons from her!  


Don't you just love it when you need help from someone and the other person is kind and understanding?  Do you get that from people very often?  Do you share the experience with others when it does happen?  

Ballerina Quilt

Now for the next quilt for my sister's grandchildren.  

Her little Adrienne is into dance and ballet.  

She wants a ballerina quilt, for which I found this fabric.  

I really like the looks of the little girls in their leotards and tutus.

Their little pointe shoes are just too fun.  

Hopefully, Angie will like the fabric as much as I do.  

I'm thinking of adding red and purple.  

I have a pretty purple from mom's fabrics that may work.  

I'm not so sure what red will do.  

So tomorrow I'll audition several fabrics to determine what will work with this fabric and the purple.

That is assuming that Angie will approve this as the focus fabric.

What do you think about purple and red?  

I'm a bit nervous about mixing them but they work so well in this fabric, don't they?

On a different note, I found out today that the class I'm teaching for Quilt Campus met the minimum number of students, which means the class will begin on October 22.  If you're interested, there's still time.  We'll be working on this stained glass quilt and will take about three weeks from start to finish.  I certainly hope you consider joining in!  I'd be thrilled!

Quilt Campus

I'm very excited to announce that my stained glass quilt class for Quilt Campus is now scheduled and ready to go. I'll be teaching a technique that I came up with last year while working on a stained glass quilt for fun.

In my technique the stained glass pieces are quilted down so that adding the black bias, the leading between the glass, is easier and the quilt is more stable.


Students will also learn how to add bias strips so that they begin and end on top the quilt without showing and get plenty of practice designing so that they can make their own original quilt or modify a quilt pattern from a different designer.

Now doesn't this sound like fun?  It's a three week online course that walks through each aspect of making the quilt.

There's a forum so that students can get to meet and know each other and share their trials and successes.  I'm told that many international students take these classes, so we'll get to meet folks from other cultures.  As the instructor I'll also post to the forum to answer questions and talk students through any issues they may have.

At the end of the class, students post photos of their completed quilts.  I'm especially excited to see how many different quilts we come up with in the end.  It's going to be tons of fun for students and for me!

And the good news: it's very reasonable--$24 to take the class!  Of course, you have to purchase the fabric and materials, and you must have the equipment, but a class for $24 is one sweet deal.

If you're interested go to www.quiltcampus.net to check it out. Go to the class list and scroll down--I'm near the bottom.  Click on "more information" to see the supply list and class outline.  There are other classes available, but I certainly hope to see you in mine!

From the QuiltCampus Newsletter!!!!

It's ME!!!  I'm so excited about becoming a teacher for QuiltCampus.net.  Check out a little part of the newsletter. Meet Our New Teacher

Mary Marcotte is a quilter who has been sewing most of her life. A mother of three boys, she designed and sewed for her children as they were growing up. Now a grandmother of several girls, she loves to design and sew the little dresses and girly clothing that she missed earlier. An avid quilter, Mary loves the entire process from designing to binding. She has been a high school teacher and college instructor for over 20 years, which gives her the advantage of understanding the many learning styles of students. She is especially adept at rewording or rewriting process notes to give students optional ways of learning. Mary lives in the deep South where she enjoys teaching English, library sciences, and quilting. Her quilting classes are fun, interpretative, hands-on experiences that keep students laughing, quilting, and begging for more. To learn more about Mary, visit her blog.

New Class Coming Up!

Stained Glass-Three Circles by Mary Marcotte Have you wanted to make a quilt with the look of stained glass? If so, this is the class you've been waiting for! Make a happy, cheerful quilt that looks like the stained glass windows in churches and monasteries. Well, perhaps a little smaller….but the method is the same whether you're working on a small quilt or huge one. So let's learn on a small quilt that can grace any wall. Since the quilt we complete in class is a bright, cheerful one, you may want to choose colorful fabrics to work with. The center of the quilt has three circles that are each different in design, but we begin with the easiest and work our way to the most difficult. I give you as many options as possible when choosing supplies and try to give you a couple of different directions so that you can use the method that works best for you. Everyone taking this class will come away with a beautiful stained glass quilt-totally complete, not just a quilt top! Plus, you'll be able to use this method on other stained glass quilts, even purchased patterns from other designers. It's me again.  If you're interested in taking my class or another class with Quilt Campus, take a look at the QuiltCampus site.     Also don't forget to register for the giveaway on my blog by going to the original post for all the details and rules.    The giveaway ends Friday, so you'd better get going! And don't forget to go vote for my blog on Picket Fence.....just click on the button on your left and you're done.   Isn't there a lot going on here?  Hmm, is it too much?  Feel free to let me know....you know how I LOVE comments, me!

Etsy Shop Profile: E Hamilton Glass

Meet Elizabeth of   E Hamilton Glass  on Etsy.  She makes stunning art glass for a variety of purposes.  She has a lantern, night light, suncatchers, and many other gorgeous items for sale.  Honestly, it was difficult to choose a few pieces to showcase.  I wanted to drop them all onto the page so you can see them.  Instead, you'll just have to visit her shop.


1. Where/when did you learn to make such beautiful art glass?  I started taking stained glass classes at a local glass shop about six years ago. Some friends and I thought it would be fun so the four of us started a class every Tuesday night for eight weeks. After that, I was hooked. I continued to take classes for several years and I now work at the glass store one night a week and one Saturday a month. This allows me to hang my art in the store and make a few sales. It's fun and it's worth it.


2. What are some of your favorite designs/motifs to make?  My favorite design is the green pear. I love the colors and the texture of the glass. Although I have only made a few mobiles, I enjoy making them and look forward to making more.


3. How would you describe your creative process?  The patterns I have designed have been fairly easy to do since I have a strong painting and drawing background. Some of the patterns are designs I have found on the internet. There are lots of web sites that offer free patterns. Occasionaly I will alter them just for fun.



4. Who has influenced your art the most? In what way(s) did this person influence you?  The person who has influenced me the most is Donna. She taught me for several years and I learned a lot from her. She was an excellent teacher even though she claims she doesn't like teaching. You would never know it. I guess you could say she took me under her wing. I learned so many tricks from her that have been very valuable to me.

5. Is there anything else you'd like others to know about yourself or your shop?  As I said before, my background is painting and drawing. I have also tried my hand at photography and have a moderate collection of photos. I am planning to creat a web site for some of my work in the near future.

I hope that you stop by her Etsy shop and say hello.  You can leave her a comment here also as I'm sure she'll stop by.  Imagine being able to create such beautiful glass art. 

Reminder that while you're here, you may want to visit this page and enter to win my giveaway--up to $25 in free items from my shop.   The giveaway is now posted on Etsy giveaways.  You can find it here.  

Thanks for stopping by...please leave a note for Elizabeth.  Isn't her work just stunning?

My design process explained

Finished the small quilt I've been working on for QuiltCampus.com (QC).  It's the second one in a series of three that I have plans for.  I want the final quilt to be a triptych of three panels, all near the same size but not necessarily exactly the same.  Side by side, they should match without being too matchy (if that makes sense).  I'll be teaching a class on stained glass quilts and will use this design since it's my original pattern.

Originally I tried a couple of ideas, but they just didn't work.  Eventually I spent a Sunday mass in a different church not far from our home.  The stained glass windows are simple.....squares of different colors and an occasional circle within a square.  I started playing with this idea and finally found what I was looking for.  After I made the first quilt (shown at right) I sent a photo to QC and they approved the design.  I then wrote most of the lessons since I had taken photos as I worked on the first quilt.  Once the lessons were written, I put everything aside for a few weeks to give my brain a rest and to forget the details of what I'd written.

I picked it up again last weekend.  This time I read my directions as I made a new quilt (shown on left).  I tried to find glitches and errors as I worked so that I could correct those.  I discovered a few errors that I now know will need a little more time, but still I think that by next weekend I'll be ready to send the lessons to QC for their perusal.  Then, hopefully, we'll be ready to set a class date and begin working on the web pages.  I am shooting for a summer class and am planning to make the third quilt while the class is going on.  I've found from teaching writing that to work on the same project as one's students builds camaraderie and also lets me see the issues as they come up.

I'm hopeful that a third panel will work as well as the first two did.  It's a fairly easy design that looks complicated--perfect!

Stained Glass Quilts

Stained glass quilt I made in 2007.

In the fall I decided to contact www.quiltcampus.com about teaching an online course.  According to their website, QuiltCampus

"is an online campus where you can take a variety of classes from quilt teachers, meet quilt students, share experiences, ask questions, and share photos of class projects - all from the comfort of home. Our teachers and students come from all over the world. Taking classes online is easy and fun and one of the bonuses is the people you will meet.

Online classes are similar to correspondence courses, but with a twist - you can converse with the teacher and with other students through a forum!" (www.quiltcampus.com/about).

 I've been interested in teaching quilting since I gave a presentation for my local quilt guild, the Cotton Quilters Guild.  I am already a high school teacher with 20 years of experience, so it should be an easy jump from teaching English to teaching quilting.  After applying for a teaching position and discussing
their needs, I believe QuiltCampus (QC) to be a good fit for me.  They've since asked me to teach the process for making a stained glass quilt.  I had to delay the course, however, when mom became so sick.  The staff at QC was very understanding and suggested that I take all the time I need to mourn her loss.   Feeling that I now need to keep busy and be creative, I decided to work on a stained glass quilt to decide whether or not the idea in my head will work for this course.  Once the quilt is completed, I'll send photos of it to QC, and they will decide whether its something that will be of interest to their students.  Then comes the fun part, designing and writing the course.  Everything is sent to QC and they put the course online and do all the technical work.  I promise to be available to discuss the pattern, directions, etc. with students on certain days through either a forum or email.  Since I'm now teaching a dual enrollment English class through videoconferencing at work, this will prove to be an interesting addition to my teaching experience.

Stained Glass quilt I made for a church raffle in 2008.

In preparing to make this quilt, I've been looking at photos of stained glass in my fine arts books and online.  I've also spent maybe just a little too much time really analyzing the windows while at mass.  I have made a couple of stained glass quilts, and understand the basic idea of how they are constructed.  I have a plan for stippling the quilt before adding the black "leading" in the hopes that this will stabilize the quilt and keep it from being too loose.  The quilt I started today is almost there....I've placed the fabrics and begin the stippling.  Once that is completed, I'll add the black bias for the leading and then bind the quilt.  We'll see how well this works.  I'll keep you posted.