Borders! Big step forward.

I have added borders to my quilt! The first picture is the quilt on my design wall which is 4' x 8' and you can see the width of the quilt is too large for my wall. You might also notice that the rocks have more dimension and there are shadows at the waters edge. This was done with fabrics paint. My favorite fabric paint is Stewart Gill which can be found at the larger quilt shows.

The second picture is of the border fabric when I was auditioning it. I love these fabrics. I actually bought these on fabric.com and am really pleased with the quality and price.

I now want to extend the design into the lower borders. The water also needs an overlay of organza and tulle. This is and exciting step since now I see the end in sight. This will be a bear to quilt!

Looks like the final size will be around 60 inches wide by 80 inches tall.

Best Quilting Teacher I have Ever Had!

This week I was lucky enough to take a class from Sharon Schamber . I think I have mentioned before that I belong to a large quilt guild (almost 300 members) which give us the funds to book top notch quilters.

The name of the class was Domestic Feathers Borders, Corners and Blocks. Now I don't do traditional quilts or quilting but this class was full of tips and tricks to improve your free motion quilting. I actually have started a "real" quilt at our house in NC and must say I am having a devil of a time getting blocks to come out all the same. Any tips will be greatly appreciated!

Sharon was an excellent teacher. She explained everything in great detail and made sure everyone understood. One of the most interesting things she does in to dip all of her spools of thread in mineral oil for a few seconds before the first time she uses them. She says that this keep her machine oiled and extends the life of the thread. I was excite to find out that she uses a Juki QE98 for her domestic machine.....this is the same machine that I use so I guess I should have no excuses for my quilting.

If you ever have a chance to take a class from Sharon, don't miss the opportunity. She really was the best quilting teacher I have ever had.