Quilt Convention, and Kaleidoscope #2

I recently attended our State 4-day Quilt Convention, held in Chadron, Nebraska. We stayed in Student Dormitories. The facilities were excellent, cafeteria wonderful, attendance great, 54 classes available, and the summer heat in the upper 90s, was uhhhh… normal.

I will tell you about the 3 classes in which I participated.

The first was an all-day class with M’liss Rae Hawley, and we worked on a Kaleidoscope Quilt, based on her just-released book, M'Liss Rae Hawley's Scrappy Quilts: Let the Fabric Tell Your Story. The main part of her class was learning to sort our scrap fabrics, no matter what color, from light to dark VALUE. When using ALL fabrics, this is a bit more challenging than using fabrics in just one color family. I had already constructed a Kaleidoscope quilt (previously posted, see below) BEFORE the convention because as I pulled fabric in preparation for the class, I became sooooo inspired, the top was DONE before even receiving her brand-new book. But, fabrics on my too-early project, while quite acceptable, did NOT blend, which was the point of the entire exercise.

So YES, I did start another one (below) in her class, with better understanding of VALUE blending, from light to dark and visa versa.
All the fabrics are from my stash. I am very pleased with this second kaleidoscope. But I DO need to SHOP for the perfect border.

The second class (half-day) was “How to Improve your Hand Quilting Stitch” with Ami Simm. She brought 40 different battings with her, gave us each a size 10 Colonial-brand needle, and we each had a very short time to practice on each of those battings and rate them as to how we liked them. The sandwich was made of the same fabric top and bottom on each hoop, but with a different batting. It was not easy to give each sample more than a minute or two, but there were definitely differences. We rated them on a spreadsheet. When time was up (too soon!) she provided us the key – a wonderful tool! Some of us liked one and disliked the next, but the next person might be totally the opposite. We did NOT practice on bamboo, a new product on the market, but we DID try a Corn blend, which was OK. However, the instructions on the Corn blend said “Do not Iron.” I WILL take this information with me for the next shopping trip I make for batting.

I am almost totally convinced the variables have mostly to do with the batting, although heat and humidity, fabrics, and my own attitude also influence my stitches.

The third class was a trunk show given my a state teacher, Bonnie Kucera. What a great bunch of quilts, so unique in many ways, and most of them made with small – really small – pieces. What I liked best was that her fabrics were ‘regular’ (not the latest and greatest or most expensive) fabrics. In other words, she WAS using up the older stuff but THAT did not detract in the slightest.

Now, I knew Ami Simms has a humorous side to her personality, and looked forward to listening to her presentation during one evening dinner program. However, I was not prepared for her delightful skills as a comedienne. She had the almost-400 diners practically rolling on the floor with her stories! So much cackling and guffawing, and hooting from the audience! What fun. If you have the opportunity to hear her Life with Quilts presentation, I urge you to sign up.