Blowing My Hair Back I

Just popping in with a little finish that you saw here before I added the big-stitch hand quilting. The name is explained in the original post, as is the source of inspiration for this 22" mini that I have grown to love despite the in-yer-face colour scheme.

I was lucky to have the opportunity to take and review Gwen Marston's Abstract Quilts in Solids class available on iquilt.com . They often have sales and specials on the site, so when they do, grab your chance to learn from the lovely Gwen. Her gently encouraging teaching style is my fav. This quilt is exactly modelled on one of her "string block" class sample quilts.

I love the fun details and shapes that emerge when they angled lines of the quilting meet!

I decided to quilt this in a large running stitch using 8wt. white perle cotton. Gwen often does free form zigzag quilting on her abstract work and it's super effective, so I thought I'd give it a try. I marked the lines with a 1" x 6" ruler and a Clover white wax pen so that they would be straight, but unmeasured. I'll definitely do this again as I love the effect. I quilted this whole piece over the course of our summer vacation on Hornby Island...mostly waiting for, and riding on, the ferries (it takes 3 boats to get there!).

I've made a start on a second abstract quilt based on other lessons in the class, but I think I'd like to grow it in a medallion-style like Gwen so often does. I may refer to her excellent book Liberated Medallion Quilts that is in my home library for some additional ideas. I have enough scraps of these fabrics, that's for sure!

I'm really enjoying working with solids and a limited palette at the moment. I've got another fun improv quilt to share next week that is a sample for an exciting new workshop I'll be teaching in the coming year.  Check back Monday for that one as part of the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Abstract Quilts in Solids - A Workshop Review

Last year I felt so fortunate to spend two days in workshops with Gwen Marston. Her work has long been an inspiration to me, even though it took several years to work my way to improvisational design after borrowing her book Liberated Quiltmaking from my traditional guild's library about 10 years ago.  In last year's workshop, Gwen taught us techniques used in the making of her sublime 37 Sketches quilts (that have been published in their own gorgeous hard cover book).  You can the two pieces that I created in the workshop here.

Fast forward to last month when I received an email from Gwen asking if I'd be interested in reviewing her latest workshop, an online class on the American Quilter's Society iquilt platform.   The workshop is called Abstract Quilts in Solids - of course I immediately said YES!  This would be the perfect opportunity to learn more from one of my quilting idols while playing with a box of strippy scraps I recently bought from an IG destash. The colours are not my usual fare, so I figured having specific class techniques to try would be the perfect way to just use them and not obsess over what to make.

Strippy scraps purchased on IG destash from Pink Castle Fabric. These are leftovers from their Mocassin BOM. A fun colour challenge for me!

Gwen's class is divided into six lessons. The entire class is 2 hours and 20 minutes long, but there's no need to watch it from start to finish. Instead, I watched the intro, then one or two lessons at each sitting.  That's the beauty of an online class: sipping your favourite drink in your jammies while learning from a master teacher on your own schedule!  It is my goal to make a mini quilt from each lesson to practice the techniques, but also to force myself to use these crazy bright colours and (gasp) brown together.

The centre block of my string quilt.

It doesn't take long into Gwen's introduction segment to know you are in expert hands. Gwen's ease and relaxed approach really set the stage for her no-fuss lessons to come. I especially loved her explanation of why she finds solid fabrics painterly: she says "when you buy paint, it comes in solid colours, it doesn't come in Aunt Gracie." In addition, Gwen goes on to say that solids allow you to see the piecing angles and shapes and even lines of quilting more clearly. So true!

I've modelled this layout on one of the example quilts Gwen shares in her "string quilt" lesson.

Each lesson features a different style or technique of improv piecing done in Gwen's way. She's been building her quilts using these techniques for years. Her comfort in working this way is obvious and the language she uses is so encouraging and supportive that any student would feel they are able to try and succeed in creating their own versions.  I love that she describes blocks as having "a rollicking good time" together. Gwen doesn't fuss about colour theory; she admits to using colours that she enjoys looking at and that "are friendly beside each other". What great approach! Whether you are a tried and true traditional piecer, or a newbie adventurist in the quilting world, I'm quite certain you'll take a lot from this class; if nothing else, the permission to explore your stash with creative abandon and enjoy yourself while doing it.

Here's my string quilt called "Blowing My Hair Back I" it measures around 22" square. The name comes from the hilarious expression I learned from a taxi-driver in Juneau who said "whatever blows your hair back" - equivalent to "whatever turns your crank".  In this case, these wild colours are literally blowing my hair back!

Working in Gwen's style is definitely playtime at the sewing machine. If you're looking to expand your improv piecing repertoire, or just take a break from precision pattern sewing, I highly recommend this class.  You'll quickly see why Gwen is a beloved teacher and highly-respected maker of liberated, improvisational quilts.  Plus, it's just nice to spend time listening to her wise words and watch her masterful hands at work. Grab your scrap bin and have some fun!

I'll be sharing more class work from Gwen's lessons soon...

Small Studies

I completed the two small studies that I made with Gwen. I love them! They are a sweet little sewn diary of the two days I spent with her. Each one records the techniques she shared with us.

I began sewing on the first day by preparing tiny blocks and units of piecing that demonstrated Gwen's small study techniques. On the second day, I realized that I really had two compositions in progress; one with a predominantly grey background and one with a white background.  I decided to sew a few more units and complete two separate studies.  

As per Gwen's 37 Sketches examples, they are bound with a single fold binding, cut at 1 1/4". I had a look at Kerry's tutorial since I haven't applied a single fold binding in ages. They are fiddly, but for a piece not much larger than a piece of paper, a double-fold is just too much edge.  I quilted them in about 15 minutes each, just with unplanned straight line/walking foot sewing wherever I felt like going. Now, that's liberating!

Here are the little technique sections (mostly all sewn with nothing wider than a 3/4" strip):

inset skinny strips

wonky spikes

pieced inset skinny strip

tiny log cabin

On both pieces you can see the wonky/improv equilateral triangles (which take some concentration!) and on the bottom right side of the grey piece you'll see inset tiny squares that Gwen likes, too.  All of the fabric is the new shot-with-white Scandinavia line from Oakshott.  I'm so happy I brought my little fat quarter stack along to the workshops. The limited palette allowed me to forget about having to choose the right colours and just focus on the process.  Plus, I was able to create two small but beautiful quilts with tiny pieces of very precious fabric.

Modern Quilt Guild members: RUN, don't walk, when the sign ups open for Gwen's QuiltCon 2015 workshops in Pasadena!! You'll not experience a more uplifting, generous, kind and experienced quilting teacher. Pinky swear.

Quilting with Gwen

Do you have a quilting idol? I do. Her name is Gwen Marston. When I first took the book Liberated Quiltmaking (first published in 1997, but re-issued twice since then) out of my guild library about 10 years ago, I was immediately enthralled by the photographs and technique illustrations. Her work was unlike any I'd ever seen.  There was a folk art/Amish/Gees Bend charm to her quilts that captivated me.  I admired each photograph and hoped that one day I would have the technical confidence to try my hand at such a different style of quilting.

Quilts and hand quilting by Gwen  Marston

In my opinion, Gwen, and possibly a few others like her, paved the way for so much of the modern quilt making movement that is steam rolling through the quilt world and internet today. Solids? Stitch and flip corners? Slice and insert strips? Wonky strip borders? Improv triangles? Wonky stars? Alternate grid patterns? Liberated medallions? She was doing it all in the late 90's.  Every one of her many books is an inspiration and an illustrated guide to her quilt making journey from folk art quilts to improvisational masterpieces.  I cannot recommend every one of them enough.  Liberated Medallion Quilts and 37 Sketches are my two favs.  Minimal Quiltmaking is also a visual treat.

I was sad to learn Gwen had given up her Beaver Island, MI week-long quilting retreats two years ago as it had been my hope to attend one at some point.  Occasionally I would hear about her teaching workshops in the Seattle area but the timing never seemed to work out for me. Finally, this past weekend, I got to spend two days with Gwen. Two of the best days of my quilting quest to date.

A portion of Gwen's 37 Sketches exhibit

The first day workshop was called Small Studies and was based on Gwen's 37 Sketches work. She brought about 2/3 of her sketch quilts with her for us to admire and taught us some of her working small techniques. We spent the better part of a day sewing with nothing larger than 3/4" to 2 1/4" strips. I never work that small!  She demonstrated her techniques for achieving wavy, skinny inset strips, impossibly skinny/pointy spikes, inset tiny squares and improv equilateral triangles.  When she pieces 1/4" finished checkerboards, they are not strip-pieced and cross-cut. Oh no. Gwen keeps 3/4" squares in "a beautiful antique Spode dish" beside her Featherweight (all of her quilts are sewn on a Featherweight and hand-quilted) because they look so pretty and they are so fun to sew together.  Seriously, I could have hugged her about 10 times that day.

Gwen talks about her various binding techniques. These quilts are finished in the style she learned from the Mennonite women. The finished edge is about 1/2" wide. Two opposite sides are bound first, then the other sides are bound and raw edges tucked under at the corners.

"I had to be brave when I made this one [indicating the center block] - this is not the most exciting block, but the triangles in that radical colour combination? And those red circles?...I didn't know how those were going to work out!"

She quilts without marking "so that the lines tell their own story...and isn't that more interesting?"

I wish I had a tape recording of some of my favourite quotes from Gwen, like "save everything, it might come in handy later", or "cut from the straight of the goods", or "ask me if I care about show bindings".  Everyone was encouraged. Everyone felt their work was valid and progressing. She's a pro. I could not be more happy that she's been recognized by the Modern Quilt Guild and invited to be the Keynote Speaker at QuiltCon 2016 in Pasadena, CA.  Gwen's a completely relaxed and comfortable teacher; her years of experience and sharing are evident. She credits the Mennonite women that invited her in and taught her the power of sharing years ago when, as a young mother, she found herself in a new town without quilting friends.  She also spoke about her inspiring friends Jean Wells and Freddy Moran and the projects they have done together, sharing ideas while respecting each other's style and direction.

Gwen and I with my two small studies on the design wall.

I made a point to try each of the piecing techniques Gwen had demonstrated and use them to create two small studies of my own. They'd represent a diary of sorts from my days with Gwen.  The second day was very special as there were only 10 of us sewing with Gwen in a private studio on a rural farm just south of the border.  I continued my work from the previous day and complete two small quilt tops not much larger than a piece of paper. I used the brand new Oakshott Scandinavia shot cottons that I had received from Oakshott recently. This is an unusual palette for me and I love the results. The subtlety of the fabrics let me focus more on technique and shape and removed the added mental energy of worrying about putting bolder colour combinations together.  That can come later!

Quilt and hand quilting by Gwen Marston. Black thread! Why not?

Small study & it's big sister, with Gwen 

I loved that Gwen shared two of her "big sister" quilts that evolved from her small studies. She is working only small these days, nothing larger than about 30-40" square. She hand quilts all of her work and says anything larger is just too cumbersome in her hoop. Plus, her house is stuffed with quilts and she finds it easier to travel with just one suitcase of quilts when she's teaching now.  She was very interested and asked a lot of questions about machine quilting  that "the moderns" are doing.  By the time she got about 10 sketches into her 37, she stopped quilting them entirely and just bound the small quilt sandwiches with a single fold binding.

Gwen explains that this entire quilt was made from tossed scraps she salvaged from one of Beaver Island week long retreats.

I feel so incredibly lucky that I had these two days to learn so much from Gwen, to see her work in person and to finally hug my quilting idol. She's the bees knees. And she likes cows.