I am teaching the Framed Diamonds / Dancing African Ladies quilt in Grand Junction, Colorado, Oct. 15, 2011. The location is Quilters’ Corner in Grand Junction. Due to my travel schedule, I am unable to loan out the original Dancing African Ladies quilt. Therefore, I selected two related fabrics from my stash (these are older fabrics, no longer available):

(Cutting directions available in the Quick Diamond Quilts book).  I cut the tropical floral print at a 22.5-degree angle (to control the grainline) and sub-cut into 45-degree angles. The grain runs through the center of the diamonds, and the quilt will be stable once it is pieced.  I also cut the striped fabric on an angle, and sub-cut into quarter diamonds. These are the ruler sets I used, in addition to the long 6″ x 24″ ruler.

click the image above to order the Fussy Cutter diamond rulers, or the Quarter and Half ruler set

I sewed combinations of framed diamonds, and arranged them on my design wall. I alternated a pieced diamond with a floral diamond, all arranged in rows. The edges looked a little too “blendy” between the striped diamonds and the print, so I added a narrow dark brownish batik fabric trim at the edges of the striped diamonds.

I pieced the rows of diamonds diagonally, creating larger sections, and finally assembled the entire top. I sewed 3 fabrics together, creating borders. The borders were added, and the corners mitered finish the design.

We had a wonderful week together at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, CA. The Empty Spools Seminars hosts several sessions each year, and 8-10 quilt workshops each session. Please enjoy the quilts made during our workshop!

Picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Tomorrow will be a big day! I am heading up the road to Ontario, California! What is in ONTARIO, you ask? The big Road to California Quilt Show, of course! No, I am not teaching! WHOOPEEEE! I get to be “one of the girls” and attend a workshop with Melinda Bula.  Her work is lovely, and I am only taking a 1 day workshop to learn her technique.

The Ontario Convention Center is a big beautiful place with a view of the nearby San Gabriel Mountain range (on a clear day). We are predicted to have rain so it might be stormy. See you there!

January 15th   FOLLOW  UP!   The workshop with Melinda was relaxing and creative play time! I enjoyed the day away, and the quilts at the show were PHENOMENAL. The dense quilting was particularly amazing – I feel like an amateur compared with these master quilters! Click on both slideshows for a peek at Road to California, and Melinda’s work on YouTube.

 

We had a great workshop in Harlingen! Take a look!

Whoo-hoo! Just look at the progress of the Apple Valley quilters during a 6-hour workshop! They did do some advance cutting and sewing in preparation for class. Diamonds were cut, marked and partially constructed in class. The small scale mock up designs show the finished design – just beautiful, ladies!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The new Open Star workshop – from my Quick Star Quilts book. Here are some photos of quilts in progress during the one-day workshop. Click on any image to see a larger view.

Wow, what a quick trip to the Redondo & Hermosa Beach area – just west of Long Beach. The Diamond Landscape / Monet Waterlily workshop was terrific – take a peek!