Posts Tagged ‘easy to sew’

FORGET HALLMARK!

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

ART TO MAIL  -  May 1, 2011

12:00 – 3:00pm

Priscilla Read

Mother’s Day is May 8th this year. Art To Mail on May 1st is a perfectly timed adventure for anyone who has a mother, or is one, or married one or hopes someday to be one. It’s also perfect for anyone who just wants to learn to make stunning, mailable fabric post-cards.

Postcards have always been a way to remember friends, share good times and make art personal. Using your sewing machine and scraps of your favorite fabrics you will construct and embellish a mini-masterpiece, and take with you the skills to make more postcards at home. Why let Hallmark express your sentiments, when you can do better yourself, and have such fun!

The Envelope Please… “BEST IMPROVISATIONAL QUILT CLASS”

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

IMPROVISATIONAL SPLIT LOG-CABIN – THE GEE’S BEND WAY

Stacy Sharman

April 12 and 19, 6:15-8:15pm

If there were an annual Award Season for quilt classes – like the one for movies – this class would be in the running as a “sleeper.” Stacy offered this class in March and it quickly filled to overflowing. Now it’s being offered again, and there are just a couple of spots left.

Quilters sense that Stacy offers them a new way of working and a new sensibility;  this class generates its own buzz.  The quilts from this class have been wonderful; each one is different and for most students it’s a  step towards thinking about quilts in a new way.

There’s some poetic justice in the idea that these modern, loose-reined quilts are heirs to the traditional, practical beauty of Gee’s Bend Quilts.  The classics deserve to be reinterpreted. Especially when it can be done in the freshest possible ways.

 

What’s next?  IMPROVISATIONAL QUILTS: THE SEQUEL!

COMING IN JUNE, 2011,  TO A CLASSROOM NEAR YOU:

Improvising a Basket Weave Quilt – The Gee’s Bend Way


Tips for New Piecers – Take Pictures!

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Last week I finished a jacket that was intended as a birthday present for my wonderful mother-in-law.

Caroline is a gardener and bird-watcher, living in the cold, cold Midwest. The jacket was meant to give her a warm hug on her February birthday –  when we couldn’t be there to do it in person. I was thrilled with the fabrics I found — and, since I only have one jacket pattern,  I was set! Having procrastinated far too effectively, I laid the jacket out and sewed it up over the course of two or three days.  I made some truly creative fixes to my mistakes, a la Lisa’s quilt.  I hemmed the jacket on birthday-minus-3 day; then affixed two silk frog fasteners and mailed it off.

No picture. Oops! I can show you the fabrics — and I can remind you to always take pictures before mailing gifts to your loved ones. Most of us stop short of carrying those little “brag” books in our purses, but I’ve yet to meet a quilter who doesn’t want to see what you’re working on!

See you at the Store. And please, bring pictures!  — Heather


Coming Soon!

Monday, January 10th, 2011

January is a great time of year. The holidays are winding down by now  — the memories are good, but with their prickly edges worn smooth. After 6 weeks of indulging your family and friends, and indulging IN too much food and drink — your best New Year’s choices come down to, 1) hibernation, 2) finishing an old project, or 3) starting a brand new project.

That’s right – you can start a brand new project with friends while taking a class at New Pieces – see our calendar here!

New this month, two drop-in quilt “classes”:  Tuesdays “Mornings with Mary Anne” from 10-12:00pm. Or, on Thursday afternoons join “Tea with Carol Lee” from 1-3:00pm.  Bring your project and get just as much help and encouragement as you need to take your next step.

Also for those preparing to “take the next step”, Cyn Long is offering a drop-in class on Tuesdays from 4:00-6:00pm for quilters interested in creating or improving their personal blogs.

Also returning in January are perennial favorites “Saturday Sampler” with Cindi Cossen (now held on the THIRD Saturday of each month, still at 8:30am) and the Asian Block of the Month Club (on second Wednesdays, at 6:15pm). Asian BOM is taught in rotation by 5 New Pieces Staff/Teachers with a wealth of experience and patience to offer. Both these Classes are demonstration/discussion format, and the proposed patterns for both series are really stunning.

Sign up to take part in  any of these new adventures the next time you come into the Store, or by phone. Any of them would might inspire you this year — and be the perfect alternative to hibernation!

‘Tis The Season – For (Handmade) Giving!!!

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

And we’re all trying to find the perfect gift.

Handmade gifts are a favorite of mine!

When I don’t have time to make a quilt, the next best thing is a perfect, personal pillowcase.

I just finished two “penguin” pillowcases for my grandsons, and two more beautiful blue ones, in a Japanese floral, for my mother-in-law.  She’ll love the sateen!

The 4 pillowcases took me no more than 3 hours to make, total.

Last year my grandsons got pirate pillowcases and put all their toys inside. They left with their pillowcases thrown over their shoulders like Santa Claus. Soooo cute!

At New Pieces, we have loads of fabrics you can put together for a perfect, personalized pillowcase for someone special.  Come in visit, and we’ll help you coordinate your fabrics.

We can even show you how to make the pillowcases. What could be easier?

xxxxx