In The "Nick" of Time

St. Nick just arrived and has a surprise for someone. Lorraine Zensen  of Stonewall, Texas painted this Santa with me in my "Santa's Secret" class (Houston 2011). I am always thrilled when students share their finished work. It's quilted too. YEAH!!!!!!  Thanks Lorraine and Happy Holidays!

A Perfect Quilters Travel Gift

 For anyone that has purchased one of Madieras Thread cabinets with some 197 thread spools plus   notions, you know how wonderful this selection of thread is. I have one of these cabinets  in white and while I love the thread, taking the cabinet with me on a travel retreat is a pain... BUT WAIT!!!! as they say on infomercials...
One can purchase the content of the thread chest without the chest... and the cost is about half. A complete thread chest with contents can easily hit the $400.00 mark.  Half of that is a pretty nice Christmas gift. ( I ordered mine through Bags and Bobbins shop in Claremont, California), but I'd be pretty sure anyone that carries Madiera products could likewise order for you.

 and.... 2 layers of thread drawer contents (complete with spool label trays and dividers) fit perfectly in a regular size Super Satchel by Art Bin.This is what I now take with me on retreats... It's got whatever I might need in a pinch and takes up little to no space.    The store did have to special order it... but it showed up within 2 weeks. Pretty sweet.

Finishing Father Christmas

The center of this 16" x 18" miniature piece finished...  now moving to the border.

This free motion border fill is one of my favorites when a bit of elegance is called for.  It is basically a feathered flower with added scrolls and curly Qs to fill in where needed.  I used medium value silver thread to add further definition to the metallic silver and white border fabric.   The edge is trimmed up flush to fabric edge in preparation for the small tight binding.

 The   border matching binding from front view is appx1/4 wide.  Nice and tidy.

Front finished. Yeah!

Final finish:  Addition of a label and sleeve. Color it DONE!!!

A Christmas Theme Commission

Now that I've finished some traditional  quilting work for Christmas gifts to family members, I get back to quilting a commissioned art piece I painted a while back. This is a miniature piece about 16 x 18.  It is so ("sew") much fun as Father Christmas is delivering lots of things for quilters.  The top here is secured to batting /backing with strategically stitched monofilament. ( I dislike quilting around pins.)

With just one side of his coat quilted, I can appreciate what the simplest small filler does to show off elements on his coat.

 I've shown a version of this image before so I won't quilt the whole thing before your eyes but note I work hard to 'gracefully' end and begin lines at the edge of quilts and images. I seldom go straight to the edges, but instead curve into slightly.  ( I'm quilting upside down here if someone is puzzled.. sometimes it's easier.)

The central elements of this guy are done.  You can see a bit more of the quilting and finishing process on the click here link below.

The pieced but yet unquilted border on this piece is drawn inward a bit  so that the quarter inch insert ( next photo) around the edge of this image was distorted a bit since there is only quilting (somewhat dense) in the center.   Now.. before I can quilt the outside boarder... it's time to block this quilt by dampening with a spray bottle and pinning it into place ( atop my big board)  and allowing it to air dry.  The technique... spray, smooth, and pin in place til dry. Then quilt the border and finish.

CLICK HERE  to see more details of  pieced bordering,  and quilting this image.

Another Class added.. Hawaiian Applique without the 'A Word'

I've been teaching this class aboard ships on quilting cruises.  WHY NOT ON LAND too ? DUH. 

This is fast and economic and I'll begin offering more widely in 2014.  

 Description: 

Ever want to own a quilted Hawaiian Appliqué but don’t do the “A’ word… or even if you do appliqué, don’t want to spend the amount of time it takes to complete a complicated design such as this.  My very first quilt ever was a hand appliqué, hand quilted pillow that took several weeks.  Forget that!     Absolutely anyone can do this!  

Go to Patt's Newest Workshops on the side bar or click here to go direct to class details

Honoring Nelson Mandela

HIS DAY IS DONE:   by Maya Angelou

His day is done.

The news came on the wings of a wind

Reluctant to carry its burden.

Nelson Mandela’s day is done.

The news, expected and still unwelcome

Reached us in the United States and suddenly

Our world became somber.

Our skies were leadened

His day is done.

We see you, South African people

Standing speechless at the slamming

Of that final door

Through which no traveler returns.

Our spirits reach out to you

Bantu, Zulu, Xhosa, Boer

We think of you

And your Son of Africa,

Your Father

Your One More Wonder of the World.

We send our souls to you

As you reflect upon

Your David armed with

A mere stone facing down

The Mighty Goliath,

Man of strength Gideon,

Emerging triumphant

Although born into the brutal embrace of Apartheid

Scarred by the savage atmosphere of racism,

Unjustly imprisoned

In the bloody maws of South African dungeons.

Would the man survive?

Could the man survive?

His answer strengthened men and women

Around the world.

In the Alamo in San Antonio, TX

On the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco,

In Chicago’s loop

In New Orleans Mardi Gras

In New York City’s Times Square

We watched as the hope of Africa sprang

Through the prison’s doors

His stupendous heart in tact

His gargantuan will

Hale and hearty

He had not been crippled by brutes

Nor was his passion for the rights

Of human beings

Diminished by twenty-seven years of imprisonment

Even here in America

We felt the cool

Refreshing breeze of freedom

When Nelson Mandela took

The seat of the Presidency

In his Country

Where formally he was not even allowed to vote

We were enlarged by tears of pride

As we saw Nelson Mandela’s

Former prison guards

Invited, courteously, by him to watch

From the front rows

His inauguration.

We saw him accept

The world’s award in Norway

With the grace and gratitude

Of the Solon in Ancient Roman Courts

And the confidence of African Chiefs

From ancient royal stools.

No sun outlasts its sunset

But will rise again

And bring the dawn

Yes, Mandela’s day is done,

Yet we, his inheritors

Will open the gates wider

For reconciliation and we will respond

Generously to the cries

Of the Blacks and Whites,

The Asian, the Hispanic,

The poor who live piteously

On the floor of our planet

He has offered us understanding

We will not withhold forgiveness

Even from those who do not ask

Nelson Mandela’s day is done

We confess it in tearful voices

Yet we lift our own to say

Thank You.

Thank You, Our Gideon.

Thank You, Our David.

Our great courageous man

We will not forget you

We will not dishonor you

We will remember and be glad

That you lived among us

That you taught us

And

That you loved us

All!
A video recording by Ms. Angelou' is available at www.state.gov: "His Day is Done"

A New Class: The Quilter's Filling Station

 I'm adding a new class to my list of workshops...  There's a line of people that have been asking for something like this.... so it is time. ;-)

Filling Station  Overview :Attend this class and you’ll leave with confidence and quilting motif samples to use in your work at home.  We’ll look at and free motion 3 ‘types of motifs: ones that stabilize, harmonize, and  even ‘MOVE’ your eyes on your quilt tops. You’ll create a sampler piece of stitched motifs of each type and that sampler can serve as your own quick reference library OR you can approach it as a standalone machine quilted art piece.  You’ll grow through FREEDOM to fill and learn in the doing!!.   A 6 hr class 

Go to http://www.pattsclasses.blogspot.com to see all of Patts newer classes including this one... or click here to go direct now.