Teaching Free Motion Quilting for the Whistler Valley Quilters

 I had a wonderful time teaching for the Whistler Valley Quilters' Guild in early November.
Though a relatively small guild of just under 50 members they are an extremely dynamic and talented group with a busy program that includes community quilts, a wide range of workshops, trunk shows, one day "mini" retreats, library and an annual retreat lasting four or five days.

Our classes were held in the Is Tken Hall of the wonderful
Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre.
This is a round room with wrap around windows, perfect lighting and a view of the stunning northerly mountain ranges and Lost Lake Woods.
I can safely say that this the most beautiful and spiritual venue that I have ever taught in.

The cultural center also contains three galleries containing historic and contemporary artifacts from the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations, guided tours, multiple venues for community and private events, a First Nations gift shop, onsite catering and the Thunderbird Cafe featuring an Indigenous inspired menu.

I was treated to lunch daily (thank you Sarah) from the cafe and the food was fabulous.

Day 1 - Fun with Free Motion Quilting

Our first day of classes was "Fun with Free Motion Quilting".

This class is for anyone who has wanted to learn how to free motion quilt or for those who have tried and want to expand their skills.  

During class we explore correct body positioning, how to set your machine tension, correct needle / thread / design combinations, layering and correct hand positioning for successful stitching. 

Students stitch a small sampler of several designs including loops, spirals, stars, flowers, stippling and hearts with emphasis on stitch length, tension and comfort with stitching in all directions. 

Drawing the design first for easy stitching

Doing some wonderful stitching on Day 1

All the participants were super enthusiastic. We had such fun!

Look at this lovely stitching. 

Jordan is doing a great job.

Free Motion Quilting really is fun!

All of the stitching samplers were beautiful !

After a very successful day one several of the ladies treated me to a lovely dinner at the Attic at 21 Steps. The company, atmosphere and the food were all fabulous. What a treat! Thank you ladies.

Day 2 - Botanical Quilting Made Easy

The morning of  day 2 in Whistler was beautifully crisp and clear.
Everyone arrived at class well rested and eager to learn.

In "Botanical Quilting Made Easy" students learn a variety of  organic free motion quilting designs inspired by nature such as fanciful leaves, vines, ferns and flowers. 

These designs look wonderful as a background fill or overall design on batiks, art quilts, children’s quilts and more.

Stitch them small with blending thread for a more traditional look or go big and playful with all your fancy threads.                                                                          

Thread choice (colour, type and weight) to enhance design are discussed as students stitch a small design sampler.

A quick demonstration of Botanical Free Motion Quilting  - wish this was my sewing room!

I"m always inspired by how quickly students can progress with just two days of class and just look at how much fun they're having!

Liking Botanical quilting

Enjoying stitching Botanical vines and leaves

This is really fun!

Great combination leaves and tendrils

Look at all the fabulous stitching!

Lovely leaves and climbing vines

Echo quilting adds detail

Having fun stitching Wisteria 

Chrysanthemums and leaves

Wonderful Wisteria

Fabulous leaves and vines

Everyone did such a wonderful job!

Doing a wonderful job

Creating the Wisteria flowers

I'm so proud of everyone!

I have to thank Sarah for doing such a great job of organizing our classes.

Another huge thank you to Sarah, Earnest and Miss Simone for their kind hospitality in welcoming me into their home and taking such wonderful care of me!

At the end of class Sarah and the group presented me with this beautiful glass candle holder

created by Michael Forbes.

It has a deep personal meaning and I will cherish it always!

Student Work

Free motion quilted by Anita Winkle

Within a few weeks of our class I received a lovely E mail from Anita which she has graciously allowed me to share.

In it she writes; 

"I attended your two day workshop in Whistler in November. I had previously only done a little free motion but only as an absolute last resort. Well, during your class I discovered that this was indeed a technique that I could do. 

Imagine my surprise! 

 So I am writing to show you the 4 panels that I bought a few years ago but never made into the pillows partly because I could not imagine how I would quilt them. 

Well here they are quilted with a meandering star pattern that I learned from you. 

I love them. I am loving FMQ. 

I do not know if I am willing to do an actual quilt but certainly these panels were a lot of fun to quilt."

You did a beautiful job Anita and rest assured, you're more than ready to use your new found skills to quilt a full sized quilt !

Julies Name Game - New Free Motion Quilting Design #138

As I predicted, you had a loads of fun naming this weeks new free motion quilting design!

In the end it came down to a tie.

The winning name, chosen on November 3, 2019 by popular vote (Facebook and Instagram) with a little help from a random name picker is....

"Going Batty"!

Thank you and congratulations to Sandy Robison Lowery of Duncan B.C.

for suggesting this winning name.

Julies Name Game - New Free Motion Quilting Design #137

Inspiration is everywhere..... nature, a moment in time, the meaning or the rhythm of a favourite song.
I was thinking about my Dad and singing a "road song" in my head while drawing and this is the result.

The winning name for this new Free Motion Quilting design was chosen by popular vote (Facebook and Instagram) on Sunday October 27 at 6:00 P.M. (Pacific).

This design is now named "Detour"!

Thank you and congratulations to Carole Thornton.

Speaking of detours her Facebook profile says that she is from
Keremeos B.C.
I don't quite know how to tell her but I'm pretty sure that she now lives in Parksville B.C. just around the corner from me :)

Oh...and the song was "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson.

creativfestival - Toronto Fall Show

Once again creativfestival in Toronto was an exciting event with a fabulous merchants mall and a wide variety on hands on and lecture/demo classes.

My classes were all lecture/demo with the exception of a new hand sewing class for children.

                        Timeless Traditional Quilt Blocks

Students are shown precision piecing techniques while learning how to construct a variety of traditional quilt blocks.

Pinning for success, half square triangle units, quarter square triangle units, accurate pressing, what makes them traditional and ways to use traditional quilt blocks were all covered in this fun, hour long presentation.

Stack, Cut, Sew and Go!

Stack some fat 1/4's or squares of your favorite fabrics, cut them into pieces, mix them up and sew them together. 

What do you get? 

Fabulous fast and fun quilt blocks, pillows, placemats and more. 

Go modern with solid fabrics, add simple sashing strips for a stained glass effect or use traditional fabrics and decorative stitching for the appearance of Victorian crazy patch.

So many possibilities!

My Toronto students even got to see me piece a set of Halloween placemats from start to finish.

One Meter Challenge Quilt

How often have you ended up with a meter of glorious fabric in your stash only to end up stumped as to how to use it?

In this class students learned how to start with a meter of their favourite fabric, add a half meter of a coordinate or a collection of fat 1/4's and design a beautiful table topper, lap quilt, baby quilt or the start of something big.

No two alike!

Perfect Your 1/4 Inch Seam

Do your points and corners seem to get away from you?

Have you experienced blocks that seem to shrink or grow?

Did you know that as quilters we we measure, generous, scant and "Quilters" 1/4 inch allowances depending on the fabric used and the project that we are creating?

Easy to follow tips are given in this class so that your 1/4 inch seams will be perfect from now on.

Always popular!

Introduction to Free Motion Ruler Work (Domestic Machines)

This demo/lecture explores the correct way to set up your machine for Free Motion Ruler Work, what needle to use and how to work with these wonderful new tools to create smooth, detailed stitching designs with little or no marking required.

                                    How Do I Quilt My Quilt

Many patterns and books finish with the phrase "Quilt As Desired" leaving today's quilter unsure of how to finish their project.

This ever popular class addresses the decision making process that quilters must go through to help them finish their quilts.

The choice of quilting design, batting, thread and needles as well as how to preview and mark their design are all covered in this fast paced seminar. 

Make a Mini Stuffie

A mini stuffie makes a great little pal.

Hang them off your backpack, sit them on your desk, stash them on your bed, hang them off a keychain or give them as gifts.

In this beginners sewing class students (of all ages) leaned how to sew on a button, basic pinning techniques, how to do a whip stitch and fill their completed mini stuffies.

A tiny rabbit was the subject of this class with lots of trims, buttons, beads and pom poms available for personalization.

The students had so much fun creating ... a clown bunny, a skater bunny, a zombie bunny, a pretty bunny with headphones a funky rabbit (too mature to be a bunny) and more.

Thank you to Husqvarna Canada 

A big thank you to Husqvarna Canada for loaning me the amazing Brilliance 75Q for my demonstrations.

This wonderful new machine handled every technique with ease. 

It even has a built in ruler work setting!

This is a dream machine for any quilter!

A final note about sewing events and friendship

I feel so blessed to be able to see students who return year after year to take my classes.

You know who you are ... I love being part of your quilting experience and hearing what you're working on and how your year went.

I love the experience of meeting so many new students and hearing your stories.

This year your experiences and reasons for being at the show and wanting to quilt were especially touching. 

Thank you for making me a part of your journey.

As always I enjoyed seeing many friends from the world of sewing.

I also had the pleasure of rooming with a new friend, Yvette Chilcott.

It was a pleasure to spend the evenings planning future classes with someone who is equally passionate about the future of the sewing industry. 

Julies Name Game - New Free Motion Quilting Design #136

A moment to draw (if not to stitch) on my way to teach at CreativFestival Toronto.

As I was on the plane and waiting for take off it seemed like a good time for another flying creature!

This new Free Motion Quilting Design was named by popular vote (Facebook and Instagram)on Sunday Oct. 20 '19 at 6:00PM (Pacific).

We seem to be keeping with a bit of a name theme for our butterfly designs.

This designs name is now "Flutterbyes".

Thank you and congratulations to Barbara Root of Vancouver B.C. for suggesting this winning name.

Julies Name Game - New Free Motion Quilting Design #135

Still "on the road" and design inspiration is everywhere.

This new Free Motion Quilting Design was inspired by a performance by a world champion Hoop Dancer that I had the privilege to watch.
Different things appear to different people in the ever changing pattern of the hoops as the dancer moves throughout the dance.

The same is true with Free Motion Quilting Designs and the reason that it is so much fun to have you name the designs that I create.

This design was named "Chain Gang" by popular vote (Facebook and Instagram) on Sunday, Oct 13 2019 at 6:00PM (Pacific).

Thank you and congratulations to Nancy Carscadden Phillips of Nanaimo B.C. for suggesting this winning name.

Julies Name Game - New Free Motion Quilting Design #134

Sometimes designs just flow from one to the next and other times they just throw themselves at your feet.
This new Free Motion Quilting Design is a little bit of both.

Named with the help of a random name picker from names suggested on Facebook and Instagram as of  Sunday Oct. 6 at 6:00PM (Pacific) this design is now called "Connections".

Thank you and congratulations to Nancy Carscadden Phillips of
Nanaimo B.C. for suggesting this winning name!

Classes available.