I forgot to mention that when I was in Long Beach I took a machine quilting class from Karen McTavish -- hoping to learn some alternatives to my pathetic meandering. I did learn a couple new ideas; didn't do any "McTavishing" on this quilt but I did do more quilting than I usually do, with lots of pebbles and other stuff. *I had waited to the end to quilt the tomato itself because I couldn't decide what to do, (I know, you're not supposed to do this) and after I got most of the rest of the quilting done I realized that the tomato was pretty puffy -- so I did some after-the-fact half-baked trapunto, by slitting the back and inserting a couple of rounds of poly batting in the tomato. The back is now whip-stitched together and I'll put a label over the slit.
Speaking of backing, is this not the most wonderful veggie fabric ever? I may have to go and buy some more of it, just because...
And, just because -- here is a lovely blue hydrangea that's blooming in a shady-ish part of the yard. It was a birthday present in a florist pot 8-1/2 years ago, and it's been thriving in the ground ever since!
* Karen McTavish is a hoot, and I think she's probably a good teacher but: this was a class to learn her technique on a "regular" sewing machine and she absolutely would not do a hands-on sewing demonstration because SHE only quilts on a long-arm. I think that if you're going to teach a class like this, you have to be able to show how it's done!
6 friends commented...:
Red is very hard to photograph. I have never gotten a good photo of a couple of mine with major red parts.
Beautiful blue hydrangea.
I can't imagine taking a class without a demo of the technique.
What a fun quilt! Couldn't you just picture it in a kitchen nook with a black bistro set and red accents? :-)
Hmm, I agree with you on the class demo. If she doesn't feel confident or likes to do her quilting on a regular machine - what makes her think that her students will get a lot out of the lesson? Sadly not all famous art personalities make good teachers. But at least it sounds like you were inpired to finish this lovely tomato. :-)
Love your tomato quilt! Those borders just *make* it!
Your tomato quilt is so lovely it makes me want to take a bite of it. That produce fabric is really cute too.
Holy cow, I would be royally peeved about that class. Not cool!
Your veggie backing is very cool. Nice quilt!
Love your tomato quilt and the backing too! That's a pretty gorgeous hydrangea...I can't keep mine blue...they always come up pink the next year!
You're right about needing to see a demo...especially machine quilting. If you had known beforehand, would you have still taken the class?
Post a Comment