Guild meeting & Quilting Class

Wednesday was my meeting with the Champlain Valley Quilter's Guild of New York. Our guest speaker was Debbie Wendt.

Debbie certainly loves Egypt. Her trunk show consisted of quilts and attires from Egypt. She had various examples of hand dyed textile and spoke of her love of shopping in Cairo and more particularly, shopping on the "street of the tentmakers".

I had an opportunity to examine closely the work of the Tentmakers of Cairo, whom are now catering to tourism by replicating tent designs on wall hangings. It was quite informative.

The whole process of tent making was historically done by men, however women are beginning to learn the trade. The stitching around the design is not as refined as one would expect in the hand applique quilting milieu, which is understandable given the intent of their original work. I wouldn't be meticulous with my stitches either if I was embellishing a tent! ;o) I will say that their work is beautiful and the colours so vibrant!

The following day, Debbie Wendt taught a class using Barbara Chainey's method of quilt making from her book Fast Quilts from Fat Quarters.

I love this book! I like the idea of using fat quarters to create quilts that is beyond the Yellow Brick Road and/or Turning 20 quilting patterns. Myself, I've never made a turning 20 quilt but I do know of a friend who has done many!

Let me warn you, Barbara's method requires you to think about how you'll fabricate your block. You can create simple 4 1/2 inch units that can be assembled into more complicated blocks of 8, 12 and/or 16 inches (finished size) all by following her cutting plan.

It was a lot of fun to work out the various possibilities. The minimum numbers of FQ required are 6 (six), which will yield 12 - 8 1/2 inch blocks, with left over pieces for your creative enjoyment! lol

Since I have way too many UFOs, WIPS and PIGS going on, I attended the class with the intention of learning about the technique. I brought FQs that were disposable! lol

All and all, it was a fun 2 days. For those interested, Debbie will be teaching at MQX.

Thanks for stopping by!