Handwork is Fun!!

I already think handwork is fun, and I really dig Carolyn Friedlander’s designs, so how could I resist signing up for the Modern QuiltGuild’s webinar hosted by Carolyn herself, entitled “Handwork is Fun”? 

 

Last night I propped up my eyelids and tuned in at 10pm and I wasn’t disappointed. Especially when it was revealed at the end that she has a new line of fabric in the works. Eeeeeeeek! Keep an eye on her blog for more info and extras related to the webinar.

 

Recordings of these webinars are available online to members after they’re presented, so you don’t really have to watch live unless you want to ask questions. The two other MQG webinars I’ve joined (one about color theory, and one about paper piecing) were good, but I got more out of this one than I did out of those. 

 

The main idea of the presentation was to encourage quilters to give handwork a try. I’ve done a fair amount of handwork, so as I watched the webinar, I felt like I could really relate to (and agreed with) a lot of things that Carolyn was saying. I liked her point that handwork has a place in the modern quilting movement. Some of my guild-mates have shared tales of other more traditional guilds that reject machine quilting as heresy. I like that the reverse isn’t true. In particular I’ve seen a lot of big-stitch hand quilting on blogs I browse and it seems to fit right in with the modern aesthetic. 

 

After this little pep talk, I’m itching to give big stitch quilting a try, especially since it looks great mixed with machine quilting. You can use it as an accent or to add texture, etc., and you can still get your quilt finished before the end of time, which is my main issue. Don’t know when I’ll actually get to it, but that’s another story. I liked the specific information that was given about tools, especially, which makes getting started easier.

 

Here are some examples of handwork I’ve done. I’ve taken a hand quilting class and a needle-turn applique class and I’ve done lots of cross stitch and embroidery, but I’ve never tried hand piecing. I enjoy needle-turn applique, but the shapes I've worked on have been more traditional types of things (except for the basketballs, but they're just circles...).

 

 

 

Carrying on with the CF love-fest theme… I just got her book Savor Each Stitch along with Alison Glass’ book on modern applique (happy birthday to me, thanks mom!). I’ve got my eye on that awesome circle lattice block. Oh man, so many cool projects, so little time!!! What I’m REALLY hoping to tackle before I try anything else is Tangelo. Paper piecing here I come!!!

 

 

 

 

If you want to know who the queen of handwork is in my book (some traditional, some more modern), check out Quiltsalott. Her blog has been quiet lately but regardless…. WOW! I'd better stop typing now and start sewing, ha ha ha!!