Virtual Retreat Aug thru Dec 2015 Info on first post

[wendy w.]

I'm sewing beads on a quilt taking me ages, may get the glue out in a minute :dry:

[Nancy R.]

Love the bag! It looks like you did a great job, so I wouldn't forego making another, if I were you. I love making bags and zippers continue to get easier as you work with them. There are a lot of easy techniques for putting zippers in bags, so trying different patterns can help you learn what works best for you and gives you the experience to be able to modify patters to make them more like what you like.

[Jennifer D.]

Lotti - your pot holders are beautiful! I would be afraid to use them as my pot holders frequently get scorched and stained. I'd hang them proudly in my kitchen as decoration instead!

Purple Quilter - I'm not sure what your original plan was, but could you use a neutral sashing strip to tie the two together, or a third fabric that has tones from each panel (but this might require another shopping trip)

~ Jen

[Jennifer D.]

Purple Quilter, I just went back over your posts about your current quilt and the things that stand out are

a) it is a rush order
b) trying to make it double sided, although possible and the idea is attractive, will take more time to sort out the details.

Because of a I would suggest that you go with the KISS school of making - Keep It Simple S****d - in other words keep to your original plans and proceed with all due speed and get it finished. Rush orders are not necessarily the best place to start experimenting, which I think is what is starting to happen here.

[Jennifer D.]

OH MY GOSH YOUR RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only are you right BUT yo also gave me a new idea!!!!!!!! Well kinda sorta like a new idea anyway!!! Ok time for me to get busy busy busy!!!!!!!! YESSSS and THANK you again!!!!!! LOL

[Jennifer D.]

[karen f.]

I just saw your bag Jen. It is gorgeous!
Love the potholders Lotti. They are a perfect gift.

[Dawn S.]

Lotti, the pot holders are beautiful! You really have some tiny strips in there, huh!?!?

Jen, love that bag! I had to laugh about your zipper comment! I made that same comment to a friend, and she just laughed at me, told me how simple they were, and I should be afraid of them. I still stear clear!

Purple Quilter, all of your Asian prints are very pretty! I'm sure anything you make with them, whether blended, matchy-matchy, or even "off" will be greatly appreciated, and keep him warm! Leave your worries and perfectionism at the door. Rosemary is right on!

QUESTION! I'm busy gathering up supplies for my Houston Festuval trip. I am taking a Noriko Endo Confetti Naturescapes class. She said to bring lots of scraps. I know I will be cutting these into confetti for my fabric "paint." Everything I have seen on-line shows her only using solids. I'm wondering if I can use my batik scraps. I don't think she ever has. Also, her scrap and my scraps are different. She shows, in one video that I found, a stack of about 6 layers of around 2" x 7" that she cuts all at once for her confetti. That's more than a scrap to me! My scraps are not stackable for cutting, due to all of the different sizes and shapes. Bottom line......I really don't want to run out and buy 10 solid fabrics, but on the other hand, I don't want to bring something to class that causes me to go too slow for the class. Help! Comments, please!

Dawn

[Dawn S.]

Dawn, when i WAS GOING TO GO TO hOUSTON, i WAS ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE TEACHERS THROUGH THEIR WEBSITES TO ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS LIKE THIS ONE. tRY TO GET A HOLD OF HER/HIM THAT WAY. gOOD LUCK.

sorry for the caps, but in a hurry so won't undo. love anyways,

[Dawn S.]

Ok, after spending most of the morning fussing and rearranging, I finally have the visual in my head worked out.............

[Dawn S.]

Terrie, yes, that would be the logical thing to do! BUT, I cannot go to her site. Every time I type in www.norikoendo.com, it redirects me to another site, and all I get is one line of Japanese characters. I have no clue what it says!

Purple Quilter, I'm wondering if just the red and a black border might be more dynamic? I guess the beige just isn't speaking to me. It kind if gets lost as the outside border. Just my thinking.

Dawn

[wendy w.]

Dawn batiks will be good she'll use plains or hand dyes because they are double sided and batiks will have the same effect

[Nancy R.]

Hi Dawn -

A friend of mine took that class last year and she used all batiks with no problem. The only thing you can't use is commercial cottons because you need the backs to look like the fronts. It doesn't matter the size of the scraps that you start with, you just need piles of color big enough to fill in the areas that you choose. The biggest surprise for my friend was that Noriko didn't give you an image to start with. Instead, the students define their own images. It wasn't a problem, but it was a surprise so she was scrambling a bit at the beginning deciding what she would make. So you might think about your image ahead of time, just in case.

[Carol G.]

You all have motivated me to spend time with my sewing machine. Finished 2 charity quilts this week. Well, almost finished. LOL. Both made with pre-cuts.

[Dawn S.]

Wendy and Nancy, you made my day! I spent the afternoon cutting and ironing my batiks, so it is good to know that others have had success with them. Noriko does tell us to bring 2 or 3 pictures to work from, so I think I'm set!

Thanks again!
Dawn