Dear Friends,
Hello! How I have missed all of you! I am so excited to come back out west. I seem to have lost the last six months… my mother-in-law has been very ill and required our attention (in Indiana!) and we moved. It gets harder to move as I get older, and this move was into town. It’s very convenient, but I am afraid I just don’t do well in town. I miss the space and the privacy and my chickens and my goats and my garden…very much. It took a long time to unpack and settle in this time. The house is nice – it’s a big Victorian farmhouse – but it’s RIGHT in town. The guys all love it. They have such busy social lives, you know! This year, too, is my youngest son’s senior year of high school. I had forgotten how stressful that is! Homeschooling my sons has been so all-consuming that I won’t know what to do with myself next year. I’ve been a full-time mother for nearly 27 years!
So I have been slow to get quilts finished. I apologize. I do have really creative projects for this year’s classes, though! In addition to the regular hand and machine quilting classes and Quiltmaking 101, I have added two more “basics” classes – beginning sewing classes for fleece and other fabrics, using commercial patterns and covering the basics of how to make garments of different kinds. Select a pattern from the rack and I will help you make the garment or project!
Flannel sleep pants make great Christmas presents for everyone on your list!
Scrubs made from top-quality cottons are AWESOME! There are so many fun and pretty fabrics to choose from! This pattern, available at Akers, has three pockets.
Check out the great selection of fleece and patterns. We have a separate class in beginning sewing for those who want to explore sewing with fleece!
And you won’t want to miss the the fashionable Boho skirt, reincarnated from the previously-fashionable Broomstick skirt. You can make a beautiful custom-fitted skirt with side pocket in cotton batik for under $30. The batiks at Akers are so lovely!
Be sure to tell your friends about these basic sewing classes! I really enjoy sewing garments.
Quiltmaking 101 for this year is the Stepping Stones pattern, and we will cover all the basics of creating a quilt top. This is a good class for anyone who wants to learn how to quilt. It's rotary cut (and you will learn how to do that!) and machine pieced.
This year’s party quilt (shown below) is designed for two fabrics (and a border, if you like). It’s a FASCINATING pattern I got from a friend in Australia. She calls it a Millstone pattern, but it’s different from the one we know by that name. So I call it the Aussie Millstone pattern. The way this one goes together is just amazing. It’s also one of the most fabric-efficient patterns I have seen. You could make several of these before Christmas! Please sign up early for this class. It fills up fast, and I really want you to learn this pattern!
I wanted to do some more challenging and unusual quilts this year. Don’t be scared away by the curves – this year you will become an expert at them! I have NEVER done so much curved piecing as I have in the past two months.
I like the Circles quilt, with its big round pieces, but my personal favorite this year is the Wheel of Mystery quilt. The longer you look at it, the more patterns you see!
I can never get good pictures of the purply true blue that I like to work with. These are done in dark and light values of clear blues and purples. I just LOVE this quilt.
I also included some Cathedral Curves quilts –
The Cardinal Curves block combines handwork with machine piecing.
A quick and easy tablerunner for those just wanting to try it out!
I used a combination of hand and machine work to create this stunning autumn tablerunner! It's such a neat technique, with so many possibilities!
I am including two “chart quilts” – both requested last year - for the modern art quilter. The Batik Autumn quilt is super easy to sew, with folded corner triangles on the stars and the speedy Flying Geese border. The challenge in this one is the creation of the color flow. We use crutches and graphs to help chart out the fabrics.
Then there is the GORGEOUS Spikes quilt. It was hard to name – it’s like sunbursts and fireworks. I love this quilt. It’s created with a combination of foundation and traditional piecing. I won’t lie to you… it’s a big project. It took me three days of solid sewing to make the quilt top. In the class, we will focus on charting it out, using color and fabrics effectively, foundation piecing techniques, and the curved seaming.
I also created a quick and easy Tumbling Blocks pattern with no inset seams. This is a fun project!
A warm and cuddly rag quilt in flannel will go together in no time, another excellent Christmas quilt!
It starts with a preprinted panel for you to quilt with big stitches in embroidery floss before adding a checkerboard border. Very cozy!
Judy Martin has two new patterns out now – the Windy City Star and an interesting pattern called Shadow Boxing.
The Windy City Star, in particular, is one of those complex-looking patterns that are simply created with innovative cutting and piecing techniques.
or to see it in simple fabrics with higher contrast:
If you are a member of the Block of the Month club, remember to sign up for the last class! I think you will be happy with it.
So look for me soon! I can’t wait!
Much love,
Cathe Timmons
QUILT PARTY!!!!!
AUSSIE MILLSTONE
Saturday, Oct. 21
We have so much fun in this class! Dinner, snacks, and beverages are provided, and we sew from 4 pm to well past midnight. You need to sign up early for this class. It fills up fast!!!
STOP BY THE PHARMACY AND SEE ALL THE NEW QUILTS!
EMAIL ME if you have any questions!