Hi guys, so happy to have you all in class. I'm now closing the class to new participants. I think we have plenty of great, creative energy here. I hope you all have either posted your intro or will do so soon. And make sure that you comment like crazy on others' posts. We all need encouragement.
Whenever you post, please stick your name in a label on it. You can find the labels at the bottom of the area where you write your post. I've gone back and added names to several of the older posts, so you may find your name easily by hitting the "show all". If it's not there, just type your name in the field. The labels make it possible for us to find all of an individual's posts.
Um, that's all I can think of at the moment. I've actually got sunshine here after hail on Friday - eek. Any questions? Take care, have fun, and sew!
Showing posts with label Tonya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tonya. Show all posts
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Tonya: Looking for Inspiration?
So fabulous to have you all in this "class." I'm tempted to not give you any suggestions for what to make because I'm already seeing some really great ideas out there. If you know what you want to do, excellent, get sewing.
Now I'm going to just throw some more ideas at you. If one of these grabs you, or inspires something else, go for it.
How about a quilt of a large repeated letter? I've seen some I really love, in particular this P Quilt by Lureca Outland. You could practise different ways of making a letter, with serifs and how do you make it curvier... Or pick two letters that are meaningful to you.
Bug jars is a pattern that would be incredibly easy to free-piece. After all, it's just a rectangle of cool fabric that you add triangles to for a more rounded shape and then add a top.
Instead of filling your jars with bugs, how about making Wish Jars. Do you wish for love (heart fabric, or there are loads these days that actually say love), chocolate, more time (clock fabric). Use your imagination.
Or you could free-piece different bugs and then put them into jars. Or just leave out the jars. I've always thought back to these marvelous ladybugs that Kate made. They're marvelous. Try something like that.
Still not sure what to do?
Okay, how about a variation on my Terms of Endearment? It doesn't have to be obnoxious like mine. Think of a person or pet that you want to make a quilt about. List out all the various nicknames or endearing names you call them. Pick your favorites and start sewing the letters up. That counts as repetition, so don't worry about the "theme" of the class.
Or the names of all the pets you've ever owned. Yes, I'm on a pet kick. You could pick all your favorite authors or literary characters...
Okay, way too many ideas and you still don't know what to choose. For those of you who want more direction:
Pick a four letter word. L-O-V-E or H-O-M-E or someone's name. Whatever. Make each of those letters a minimum of 10 times. Your goal is to make the letters small, so it might take several tries. Aim for a maximum of 4".
Make the letters different ways. Experiment. Having problems making small letters? Well practise making O's. Start with a 1" square - that will get you small.
That would be another quilt for you - just lots and lots of O's. X's and O's (Hugs and Kisses) is a favorite combination of mine. And I love Heidi's idea of playing with binary code: 1's and 0's.
Do you want a scrappier look? Use different reds for the letters and creams for the backgrounds (or whatever). A crumby look? Then make the letters but don't pay any attention to the fabric that you pick.
Just make the letters for now - you don't need to put any background around them or finish them to squares.
You can take a peek over at this old blog post of mine to see some of my quilts using some of these ideas.
Whatever quilt you're making, don't worry about the final result. The first step is to just play and make blocks.
If you ever get stuck or have any questions or need more nudging in any direction, please let me know. I've got the link for the Tonya Tutorials on Quiltville over in the sidebar. The basics or the letters should be what you need to get started.
Now start sewing!
Now I'm going to just throw some more ideas at you. If one of these grabs you, or inspires something else, go for it.
How about a quilt of a large repeated letter? I've seen some I really love, in particular this P Quilt by Lureca Outland. You could practise different ways of making a letter, with serifs and how do you make it curvier... Or pick two letters that are meaningful to you.
Bug jars is a pattern that would be incredibly easy to free-piece. After all, it's just a rectangle of cool fabric that you add triangles to for a more rounded shape and then add a top.
Instead of filling your jars with bugs, how about making Wish Jars. Do you wish for love (heart fabric, or there are loads these days that actually say love), chocolate, more time (clock fabric). Use your imagination.
Or you could free-piece different bugs and then put them into jars. Or just leave out the jars. I've always thought back to these marvelous ladybugs that Kate made. They're marvelous. Try something like that.
Still not sure what to do?
Okay, how about a variation on my Terms of Endearment? It doesn't have to be obnoxious like mine. Think of a person or pet that you want to make a quilt about. List out all the various nicknames or endearing names you call them. Pick your favorites and start sewing the letters up. That counts as repetition, so don't worry about the "theme" of the class.
Or the names of all the pets you've ever owned. Yes, I'm on a pet kick. You could pick all your favorite authors or literary characters...
Okay, way too many ideas and you still don't know what to choose. For those of you who want more direction:
Pick a four letter word. L-O-V-E or H-O-M-E or someone's name. Whatever. Make each of those letters a minimum of 10 times. Your goal is to make the letters small, so it might take several tries. Aim for a maximum of 4".
Make the letters different ways. Experiment. Having problems making small letters? Well practise making O's. Start with a 1" square - that will get you small.
That would be another quilt for you - just lots and lots of O's. X's and O's (Hugs and Kisses) is a favorite combination of mine. And I love Heidi's idea of playing with binary code: 1's and 0's.
Do you want a scrappier look? Use different reds for the letters and creams for the backgrounds (or whatever). A crumby look? Then make the letters but don't pay any attention to the fabric that you pick.
Just make the letters for now - you don't need to put any background around them or finish them to squares.
You can take a peek over at this old blog post of mine to see some of my quilts using some of these ideas.
Whatever quilt you're making, don't worry about the final result. The first step is to just play and make blocks.
If you ever get stuck or have any questions or need more nudging in any direction, please let me know. I've got the link for the Tonya Tutorials on Quiltville over in the sidebar. The basics or the letters should be what you need to get started.
Now start sewing!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Welcome
Welcome to the Lazy Gal Summer 2007 Class Blog.
The class is open to anyone, but the rules are you have to make the quilt up out of your own head. No patterns. No templates. No EQ quilter. This is all about free-piecing or applique. There will be no set instruction. I'm not going to tell you what to make. But I will hopefully provide you lots of inspiration and encouragement.
The class theme is Repetition. So we'll (or should I say "you") will be taking one or several images or letters or words and making them over and over again, perhaps trying to make each one a bit different. But the truth is, you can actually do whatever you want. No rules except no rules.
You'll need a blogger account if you want to make posts on this blog. But you don't have to post here to be a part of the fun.If you want to participate send me an email (tartbr47 at hotmail dot com).
I need to know:
What name you want to go by?
Do you want to participate in the group blog? If so, I need an email address to send you your invitation to join. (If you don't already have a Blogger account, you will be prompted to create one. you don't have to have a blog, just the account)
Do you have another blog elsewhere that you'd like me to post in the sidebar? If you don't have a blog and don't want to create one, I am willing to add your photos for you as long as I don't get too overloaded.
Everyone will be able to read this blog and leave comments, so I hope you'll stop by and see what's happening here, even if you don't want to play.
Once you've gotten the invitation to join, hop on in and write a post introducing yourself. Please put a label on your post with your name. See how this one says Tonya?
I'll write a post soon with some suggestions for what to make if you don't already have an idea.
The class is open to anyone, but the rules are you have to make the quilt up out of your own head. No patterns. No templates. No EQ quilter. This is all about free-piecing or applique. There will be no set instruction. I'm not going to tell you what to make. But I will hopefully provide you lots of inspiration and encouragement.
The class theme is Repetition. So we'll (or should I say "you") will be taking one or several images or letters or words and making them over and over again, perhaps trying to make each one a bit different. But the truth is, you can actually do whatever you want. No rules except no rules.
You'll need a blogger account if you want to make posts on this blog. But you don't have to post here to be a part of the fun.If you want to participate send me an email (tartbr47 at hotmail dot com).
I need to know:
What name you want to go by?
Do you want to participate in the group blog? If so, I need an email address to send you your invitation to join. (If you don't already have a Blogger account, you will be prompted to create one. you don't have to have a blog, just the account)
Do you have another blog elsewhere that you'd like me to post in the sidebar? If you don't have a blog and don't want to create one, I am willing to add your photos for you as long as I don't get too overloaded.
Everyone will be able to read this blog and leave comments, so I hope you'll stop by and see what's happening here, even if you don't want to play.
Once you've gotten the invitation to join, hop on in and write a post introducing yourself. Please put a label on your post with your name. See how this one says Tonya?
I'll write a post soon with some suggestions for what to make if you don't already have an idea.
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