We are most of the way through August and just about at Back-To-School time here at the cabin. With three teens in high school this year… I just can’t wait for school to begin.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS: We have been busying ourselves for our next big upcoming event in September… the Checker Open House. Templates are being cut and packaged and patterns finalized. We look forward to visiting with our team at Checker and meeting more of our customers. A little birdy told us that we will be one of four pattern vendors at the open house… so we are excited to see everything that’s new.
This October we will be spending some time in Lynchburg, VA for a weekend visit with the ladies of Patches and Pieces. Full Trunk Show and lecture on Friday morning, a mini class on Friday afternoon and an all day All Scrapped Out! Workshop. The ladies will be picking their class from two of our new class offerings.
November we will be spending some time with the Eternal Quilters of Glen Burnie, MD and the Hayfield Country Quilters in Alexandria, VA. We are really looking forward to heading back to Glen Burnie, MD and meeting all the new ladies in NoVA. All the info for the events can be found on our events page and is updated all the time.
CABIN NEWS: Mostly we have been concentrating our time here getting the word out about our CWQ Quilting Cottage. Lots of our local friends and neighbors here in Fredericksburg, VA have been paying us at visit at the cottage to get their projects quilted or hear more about our rental classes and times. We taught our “custom” class on Tuesday on the machine to a new renter. Because we are a one-on-one teaching facility we were able to combine two of this customers interests and create a one-of-a-kind class in AutoPilot and Free-Motion quilting. Our new friend Linda came all the way from Waldorf, MD to play with the machine and do a little Doodle Quilting.
We are also pleased to be training our friend Sarah on the fine arts of running the machine. Sarah is an accomplished teen quilter and an employee of the local quilt shop. Sarah will be helping out around the cottage and we really look forward to her visits. One of her favorite finishing methods is to add Minkie or Cuddle fabrics to the backs of her quilt tops. The Innova is the perfect machine for quilting with Cuddle. Here are a few of Sarah’s creations.
Do you have any quilt tops that need finishing? Drop them off here at the cottage. Look for our ad in the upcoming September/October issue of the Country Register newspaper in Virginia. Mention that you saw the ad and get 20% off your next Edge-to-Edge design.
Interested in hiring me to visit your guild? Get in touch with the staff… we still have some spaces left in our 2016 calendar. I’m excited about 2016 this year as I will be making my way to Georgia in the spring and I am looking forward to tasting some great southern food. Due to several requests from Guilds to come back for a visit I have added a few new lectures/mini classes to my schedule this year. If I’ve already been to your guild and you would like to have me back… check out our two new titles.
Doodling Your Way to Free Motion Quilting-
Do you desire to learn how to free-motion quilt but just can’t seem to take the leap? Having trouble breaking away from stitching-in-the-ditch or meandering? Longarm quilters make free-motion quilting look so easy but they didn’t start with feathers. They started at the very beginning and that’s where we will start.
This class is all about learning the beginner and entry level free motion quilting steps that you need to practice in order to work your way up to the tough stuff. We start by learning about the best teachers and resources and the easiest designs to try. We practice hand guiding with a handy homemade tool and learn how to practice right on your quilt top without leaving a mark.
This class can be taught in a classroom without machines. You will learn about marking your quilt top and the pros and cons of each method, the best ways to practice your technique and the coolest tool from the local hardware store that will change the way you look at your quilt tops.
Quilting Threads (Navigating the endless tips, tricks, books, blogs, patterns and products of the quilting world) –
You can’t strike up a conversation with a quilter, read an article or blog or attend a class without learning a new tip or trick to make your quilting life easy. You can’t pop into a quilt shop or attend a quilt show without seeing another product or demo that can “revolutionize” your quilting. If you’ve been quilting for some time you are probably tripping over books, patterns and templates that you hardly use and missing out on some of the the products that will make your life easier. If you are new to the quilting world what exactly do you really need to buy? Everyone is a designer, blogger and lecturer. How do I know who to listen to?
Over the years I’ve been teaching I have been asked my opinion on lots of sewing topics including the best tips for getting the job done, little tricks that make life easier and your quilts just a little bit better, the best books for beginners and beyond, blogs that are useful for design, tips and techniques, the best pattern designers and some of the best (and worst) of the products on the market.
I have made a living designing quilts and other projects around other quilters scraps, rulers and products and have made a hobby out of learning from as many quilters and sources as I can. I would love to share some of my favorite dos and don’ts from my quilting journey and don’t mind sharing some of my best mishaps either. Let me take you on a humorous journey navigating all the quilting world has to offer.
I look forward to teaching and visiting with lots of new Guilds in the new year. Check back with us… cause we are working on new designs and books every day and we have an adorable new surprise for quilt market.
Happy Quilting
~Penni