This week I took a hand embroidery and beading for quilters class with Catherine Redford. What fun!

Definitely stepped outside my comfort zone on Thursday with going to a class where I knew not one person and doing stuff way more advanced than my simple redwork and cross-stitch skills. I did enjoy the folksy look of the hand embroidery sampler, but really LOVED the beading lessons. I was amazed at the difference a bit of simple hand stitching and bead placement can make in a project. This is the extra bit of oomph I’m looking for to up my show quilt game.

Also attended my first official guild meeting this morning. There’s definitely a lot of talent and opportunities for leadership, social and skill development (for me) with this group of ladies and gents. One of the ladies I met at the embroidery class yesterday recognized me and took me under her wing during the meeting. I really appreciated her showing me the ropes. I checked out a book from the library and picked up some fabric to make placemats and a kid quilt for the charities the guild supports. Hey, opportunities to practice my FMQ and ruler work! 🙂

Enjoy some photos from Thursday’s class!

Me? Piecing, hands-down. Most every project I’ve completed in the past two years – regardless of designer – has been pieced. Just take my Lori Holt projects for instance: A Quilter’s Cottage, My Happy Place, Great Granny Squared, projects using blocks from Vintage Christmas and Farm Girl Vintage I/II…yeah, I’m all over those.

Not so much with the half-finished Granny’s Garden that’s been languishing in my studio. Why? It’s primarily applique. The blocks are simply gorgeous, but seem to require 3x the work of a pieced block. I’m good with a mix of some applique, hand embroidery and embellishment on a quilt, but my preference is definitely not for a primarily appliquéd quilt top.

There, I said it.

That’s why I scaled Flea Market Flowers back to a single large pillow, so I can do the Dresden flower technique. I skipped Chicken Salad and decided against Prairie Meadow for the same reason – primarily applique. I did order the Prairie Shoo-Fly Stars boxed kit, though because – you guessed it – it’s a pieced project. I’m also eagerly waiting on my copy of Scrappiness is Happiness.

Now that I have more time for quilting and a desire to take on more challenging projects, I may decide to go back and tackle blocks/projects that use the Sew Simple Shapes I’ve collected. Before I do that, I’ll complete the Granny’s Garden quilt.

Guess what? Teacher preplanning week starts tomorrow and I’m not gonna be there! 🙂

Cue the happy dance music, please.

I’ll miss my workday peeps, but I’m so glad I took that giant leap of faith two months ago. Looking forward to a week of quilty fun and getting back out there after 10 days at home due to COVID.