Quilting Class

Two of my sewing goals for 2009 were to make a quilt and to take a class. I can check these items off my list because I'm taking a quilting class at Cloth & Bobbin, a local quilting shop. We're making the wall quilt shown in the picture. It's a sampler quilt made up of rail fence, 9-patch, log cabin, flying geese and friendship star blocks.

The hardest thing for me was selecting the fabrics. I'm a "matchy-matchy" type person and it was hard for me to put together three different print fabrics. The only guideline we were given was to select a light, a medium and a dark fabric. I could have cheated and selected three prints from a coordinated collection like Amy Butler or Kaffe Fassett, but where is the challenge in that? The fabrics I eventually selected serendipitously matched the color scheme in my sewing room, so if my quilt isn't too horrible looking, I can actually display it!

Sewing can be a solitary pastime. The best part of the class is the camaraderie that is developing from sewing with other people in the room. Right now, most of the conversation is panicked cries for the instructor, but as we get more comfortable with the process the conversation will become more friendly. We're very supportive of each other. Whenever someone finished a block, we all cheered and applauded! I got a big hand for my first 9 patch block. So far, we've done a rail fence and a 9-patch block. My blocks have turned out well, but I'm a little nervous about my flying geese. I've heard and read that blocks with triangles can be tricky because some of the edges are on the bias.

The class includes sewers with many different levels of experience. One person admits to making a quilt last year with her daughter. Another person keeps trying to make 5/8 inch seams - a big quilting no-no. My quilting experience is limited to watching Alex Anderson's "Simply Quilts" and Fons and Porter's "Love of Quilting". I started a quilt several months ago, but I all but gave up on it almost immediately. It's much more fun learning with other people. By the end of the class, I'll have a finished wall quilt; batted, backed, quilted and ready to hang!