The pattern for this quilt was published in my book Sewflakes: Papercut Appliqué Quilts by C&T Publishing.  Now, for the first time, you can take a class to get you started on your own Tools of the Trade quilt.  On October 22, 2011, the class will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Quilters Cupboard in Uxbridge ON.  It will also be offered at Quilt Canada in Halifax NS on Saturday, June 2, 2012.

The first block that I designed for this quilt was the block “Cut it Out”.  On a square piece of paper folded into eight equal segments, I drew half a pair of scissors on one fold just touching the opposite half at the tip of the blades.

When this was cut out and unfolded, the result was eight connected scissors with a star shape in the center.

To unify the blocks, I decided to incorporate that star shape in the center of each sewflake design in the quilt.  “Pins and Needles” portrays thimbles as well as pins and needles in a pin cushion.

Here is the resulting block with embroidered pins and needles in the pin cushion.

One of our all-time favorite tools is our sewing machine, drawn with cut-outs in the table to create the center star shape.

This is the block “Sew Business” with embroidered thread detail.

Irons and ironing boards are the subject of the design “Pressing Matters”.

This is the block, complete with seed beads for the iron vent holes.

A wonderful invention that most quilters wouldn’t do without is the rotary cutter, seen here alongside its companion ruler.

Here is the block “The Cutting Edge”.

The sixth and final design features a tangled measuring tape.

This is the block “Measure Up”.

Fusible appliqué was used to create the six 13″ x 13″ sewflake blocks, stitched with a tiny zigzag stitch in invisible thread to cover the raw edges.  The blocks are framed with a pieced sashing of Spool blocks, each measuring 3 ¼” x 3 ¼”.

My color palette for this quilt was determined by the fabric I chose for the outer borders.  The fabric spools of thread suggested the red for the scissors and pin cushions; the blue for the sewing machine tables; the green for the ironing boards; and the yellow/gold for the rotary cutters, rulers and measuring tape.  They were echoed as well in the “thread” of the patchwork Spool blocks.

The conference will be held at Dalhousie University, a beautiful campus located minutes away from the ocean and Halifax city center.  Choose from a wide variety of over 100 classes from Canadian and international teachers.  Other activities during the week include lectures, dinners, a merchant mall and a closing banquet at the Cunard Centre on the Halifax waterfront.

And there will be quilts!  The National Juried Show is a showcase of the best quilts and wearable art from across the country; the awards presentation on Tuesday evening, May 29th, is sure to be an exciting event.  The Trend-Tex Challenge presents the creative results of five Trend-Tex challenge fabrics to portray the theme “At Home in my Garden by the Sea”.  Other exhibits include the CQA/ACC Invitational Show, the Mariners Quilt Guild Show, the Mayflower Quilters’ Guild Show, the Needlework Exhibition, “Seams Like Home” Nova Scotian Provincial Miniature Challenge, “Secret Codes”: An Exhibition of Contemporary African Nova Scotian Narrative and Picture Quilts, and displays from the Fibre Arts Network (FAN) and Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).

Many special events are planned throughout the week, such as a “Kitchen Party” on Wednesday evening, a Show-and-Share Quilt and Fashion Show on Thursday evening, three Friday evening after-dinner lectures, and of course, the final Saturday evening Nova Scotia Ceilidh Closing Banquet.  Tours are available to the nearby attractions of Peggy’s Cove, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, and Halifax city itself.  And for the professional quilter, four half-day sessions on Tuesday May 29th will cover a variety of topics related to career development.  So much to do!

I will be teaching four one-day classes and presenting one of the half-day career development sessions at Quilt Canada 2012:

Introduction to EQ7 - Wednesday, May 30, 2012

EQ7 is the newest and most advanced version of the best-selling Electric Quilt software and it is also the most user-friendly.  This incredibly full-featured quilt design and drawing program has been especially designed with beginners as well as advanced designers in mind.  This class is oriented towards beginners and covers the basics of simple quilt layouts as well as how to colour, save, and print your quilt designs.  (Laptop computer and EQ7 software is required.)

Sewflakes: Papercut Appliqué - Thursday, May 31, 2012

As featured in my book Sewflakes, papercut appliqué is a technique similar to making paper snowflakes. In this workshop, we will discover how to design these unique snowflakes for fabric, with an emphasis on incorporating recognizable images into the design, and then look at various ways to transfer the design from paper to fabric.

Butterfly Mosaic - Friday, June 1, 2012

Let your creativity soar as your butterfly comes alive with color.  Cut and fuse small pieces of fabric to form your own mosaic masterpiece.  Optional kit includes 40 swatches of pre-fused fabric, but this is a great way to use up all your fabric scraps!

Tools of the Trade - Saturday, June 2, 2012

Tools of the Trade features papercut appliqué blocks of some of the favourite tools in a quilt maker’s studio.  Begin this project in class by making the scissors block using fusible appliqué with an invisible edge-finishing technique.  Exercise accurate piecing skills while making a 3-¼” spool of thread block.   Book purchase required:  Sewflakes: Papercut Appliqué Quilts.

Web Strategy for Business Success - Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Your web site is a vital tool for building, supporting, and developing your quilting business.  It establishes your credibility in the industry and represents who you are.  Whether you are just starting out or considering a makeover, your web strategy should be consistent with your business goals.  This session will consider the essential elements of an effective web site, how to generate and monitor traffic to your site, e-commerce, blogs, integration of social networking tools, and more.

Questions?
Post any questions you may have in the comment box below and I will attach my reply so others can read it as well.  You can also follow this event on my Facebook Page and post comments there as well.  Hope to see you next May in Halifax at Quilt Canada 2012!

I recently had the opportunity to participate in this program as an Artist in Residence at Cartwright High School in Blackstock, Ontario.  Our project involved using quilting and the textile arts to communicate concepts from the Grade 9 English and Math curriculum.  During these two class periods over the course of five days, the students would learn how to design and construct their own quilt block using my Sewflakes:  Papercut Appliqué technique.

It wasn’t difficult to see the many connections between quilting and Math.  The first lesson associated with papercut appliqué is folding a square piece of paper into different sizes.  I have always described the resulting folded shape as a wedge, but of course it is also a triangle.

The students used the paper folding lesson to investigate various types of triangles and their properties.  They learned about internal and external angles, the relationships between angles, and my all time favourite, the Pythagorean Theorem!  (Didn’t you ever wonder why we multiply the short side of a half-square triangle by 1.414 to find the length of the long side?  a² + b² = c²!  If a and b are equal to 1, then c is the square root of 2, or 1.414.  Isn’t that great?)

There were many activities with a distinct focus on English.  During the introductory presentation about quilting, students were asked to complete a listening guide handout.  A hands-on activity with a selection of my quilts encouraged them to analyze, interpret, and articulate what each piece was trying to say.  They began to see how quilts, and art, can be used to communicate. 

The students were assigned to write a short story, and to begin by completing an outline document.  Part of the report asked them to consider what image or images might best depict a central idea in their creative writing.  This image then became integrated into their papercut appliqué design.

On the final day, each student delivered an oral presentation to the class.  They shared a brief synopsis of their short story and displayed their completed quilt block.  It was required that they be able to explain why they chose their particular image as well as how that image significantly related to their story.

This was, for me, fascinating.  How incredibly fulfilling it was to see the students come full circle:  from analyzing and interpreting my quilts to analyzing and interpreting their own designs.  I’d like to share four of my favorite quilt blocks with you and tell you a little bit about their stories.  This project truly was a unique learning experience, and not only for the students – for me, too!

This is a snowflake of maple leaves, and in the center of each leaf is a tear drop.  In the story, a troubled young girl copes with her distress by kicking at a pile of fall leaves and lying in them crying.

This snowflake features money bags as the key element in an action-packed tale about a bank robbery.

Here we have dollar signs once again, this time on fire.  This is a story of greed and its power to destroy everyone around it.

A boy gets caught up in a gang and seeks to escape a destructive lifestyle.  The snowflake tells the moral of the story:  stay away from guns and knives, booze and drugs.

This is particularly true about my Papercut Appliqué workshop.  Based on my book Sewflakes:  Papercut Appliqué Quilts, students learn how to design their own one-of-a-kind snowflake-style designs.  The results are always different, amazing, and beautiful!  I love teaching this class.

Sometimes, a student arrives to class with a clear idea of what they hope to accomplish.  Such was the case with Jan, who took the workshop at the Quilts in the Gardens show in Burlington ON last year.  She was in the process of making a quilt for her daughter’s upcoming wedding and wanted to design a co-ordinating wallhanging for her future son-in-law.

She was working with African fabrics and a safari theme, and knew that she wanted to incorporate elephants into her sewflake design.  She even came to class with pictures of elephants!  I remember debating with her what would work best in the center of her design and was delighted to see what she came up with.  I was also most impressed with the way she made the elephants three-dimensional and with the embellishments that bring the animals to life.

Congratulations, Jan, on your stunning design.  Your daughter and son-in-law must have been thrilled to receive such beautiful gifts from your heart and your hands.

My block is called Spring Snowflake. It was designed using papercut appliqué, as described in my book Sewflakes. Similar to making paper snowflakes, the blocks are designed by folding and cutting paper. What makes sewflakes unique is the use of a recognizable image as the foundation of the design. Spring Snowflake is made up of six tulips.

Magazine Giveaway
Mary Light, Shelburne ON

As a quilting teacher, I am often inspired by my students. I have taught this technique of Papercut Appliqué many, many times over the last few years and particularly enjoy witnessing the beautiful designs that are created by the class. Spring Snowflake was inspired by one such student. An award-winning quilter in her own right, Mary Light operates a long-arm quilting business in Shelburne, ON Canada. It is only fitting that she should receive this free copy of the magazine.

Spring Snowflake Quilt Project

Here is an idea for a quilt project to showcase your Spring Snowflake blocks. (Measurements are finished sizes and do not include seam allowance.)

• Make six 12″ Spring Snowflake blocks.
• Join them together with 2″-wide sashing strips and 2″ x 2″ cornerstones.
• Add 1/2″-wide accent strips.
• Appliqué 7 individual tulip motifs onto two 6″-wide horizontal border strips.
• Appliqué 10 individual tulip motifs onto two 6″-wide vertical border strips.
• Make four 6″ Half-square Triangle blocks.
• Sew appliquéd border strips and Half-square Triangle blocks onto the quilt.

Completed quilt measures 43″ x 57″.

Follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour daily Nov. 9-13 at www.quiltmaker.com/quiltypleasures for inspiration, ideas and giveaways galore! Look for 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers in your local quilt shop, or purchase it at www.quiltmaker.com/100blocks.”