Sunday, May 12, 2013

An Esoteric Field Study

At the first Canberra Quilters meeting of each year, the teachers and shops show and tell the quilts and classes they will be teaching that year. This year, Jenny Bowker stood up and showed off her Shimmering Triangles quilt and said she would be teaching the class in May at Addicted to Fabric. My friend Angie was sitting next to me that night - we looked at each other as Jenny said this.  Sold!

This weekend finally rolled around, and as usual I was highly unprepared. I didn't know what fabric I would use, didn't know which version of the quilt I would make. I didn't want to use a whole line of fabric, but I did want to use up some of my stash. But nothing seemed to go and I was really stuck. By 10.30 on Friday night I grabbed the first bundle of fabric on my shelf, and popped it into my bag. It was a fat quarter bundle of Field Study by Anna Maria Horner. I really love this range, but I had never intended to use it all at the same time. Talk about lazy.

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

Jenny is not only a great quilter, but she's a great teacher and a wonderful enabler. It was she who had the idea to start a modern quilting group under the banner of Canberra Quilters. Twelve months on, that group regularly has 25-30 quilters who come along once a month to share, sew and be inspired. And as a teacher, Jenny allows you to work out for yourself what may or may not work, and then gently guides you to see how it can work better. And then while you're sewing she tells great stories of Egypt, and her time in Ramallah, and what happened when she was in Paducah last week. It's hard work being so constantly inspired in a Jenny Bowker class!

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

I'll admit - I was bamboozled by my fabrics. Normally I find it easy to put fabrics together, but this time I was in deep water and didn't know how to get out of the pool. I tried to find some solids to put against it, but nothing sang. So I thought "Dammit! Just use what you have and strive for a non-shimmering sparkly effect!".

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

This is where I stalled after lunch. I'd made a heap of half square triangle units, but I had no vertical design wall space, not much sewing space (entirely my own fault), my ruler was being used by someone else and I desperately needed a strong coffee. So I did what I should have done an hour earlier - I packed up and went home, and worked on my quilt from there. Massive design wall, comfortable chair to sit in, coffee. Check, check, and check. I laid the pieces I had already cut and sewn on my design wall.

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

Uh oh. All I could see was a big mess. The blocks I thought were lower value (bottom right and top right) were actually very busy and ruined the shimmering effect. But I figured if I could get more contrast in the other blocks, I might be OK so I lurched forward. That night I sewed some more HSTs, cut out all my squares and packed and sorted everything into ziploc bags. The next morning on the second day of quilt class I was much happier.  I had this.

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

And this - a design wall I set up by pinning some cotton batting onto the solids at the shop. MUCH BETTER!

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

I spent the day sewing my HSTs together into units, and then sewing some blocks together. I was really happy now with how the quilt was going now. Sure it wasn't all sparkling and shimmering like Jenny's quilts and the other quilts that were being made in the class, but I had something a little bit different - a very busy and very bold quilt which made you really look at what the fabric was actually doing. I like to think I set a challenge for myself out of my own laziness.

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

I still have a lot more HSTs to make (all those white spaces need to be filled, but I'm enjoying seeing where it is going. I especially love the shattered fabric effect from the HSTs.

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

This set might be my favourite.

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

And I love the little star blocks that appear all random-like in throughout the quilt.

Jenny Bowker Shimmering Triangles class

I'll enjoy this quilt being on my wall for the next few days, but I won't be sewing anymore on it until my exhibition quilts are made. I'm looking forward to the day I get a chance to sew some more on it!

So thanks Jenny, and thanks Angie for encouraging me to do this class with you. I really did have a lot of fun, and sewing with others is somehow so much more satisfying than sewing by myself at home.

19 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you blogged about it. I had a BALL and that's in large part because you were such a great class buddy.

    I love your version. LOVE IT! I love that it's not like all the others and that your fabrics are so large, bold and bright.

    I can't wait to see more of it. Thanks so much for spending this weekend with me. :)

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    1. So much fun! Thank YOU for being a great workshop mate! Lets do it again next weekend!

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    2. Oh man, would love to back up for another weekend of quilting fun but I think I have a quilting hangover... I slept so soundly last night - out cold!

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    3. My poor old sore back would kill me if I did a two day class again! Really suffering for it at the moment (perhaps if I could do a class flat n my back? Ooh Craftsy!)

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  2. they are coming out gorgeous Michelle.. I love AMH!! you can't go wrong with it.. i love your layout so far, i love busy prints. can't wait to see the finish!

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  3. It is gorgeous Michelle. It is such a visual feast and I think it does sparkle. Looking forward to seeing it finished once the exhibition quilts are done.

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    1. Thanks Jo! Was lovely to meet you on the weekend. Sorry I was just a leeetle distracted!

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  4. I have never seen anything like this and I LOVE IT - there is so much movement in your design and in your fabric choice! My eyes are just roaming around the screen! Good for you on sticking to the challenge and being bold!

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    1. Thank you! Yes I think the fact you never have a place for your eyes to rest is what appeals to me too. Can't wait to finish it!

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  5. Oh, go you! It's amazing! I love those fabrics too, but wouldn't think you could do something so cool with them! Good on you for taking a break but going back, that must have been hard to do!

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    1. Thanks Bec! Would you believe I hadn't even pulled them out of the bundle before Saturday? If I had I definitely wouldn't have used them - there are definitely no un-busy prints in the range! But in retrospect I'm glad I went in blind - goes to show you can be brave and rebellious ;)

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  6. That is AWESOME (And I love that fabric range) and amazing effect!

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  7. I REALLY love this Michelle...would like to have a go myself

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  8. This is looking so fantastic! I was loitering around A2F on Saturday... I wish I'd paid more attention to what was going on down the back!

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  9. Dude! I keep coming back to look at this - I love it so much! X

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  10. I love this quilt! Would you be willing to tell me how large the block size that you is? The HDT's? Thanks!

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