Ruth McDowell class 2nd week 04-13-12

There are always many flower designs in Ruth McDowell's classes.  This year there were a lot of orange flowers.  Once Ruth does the sketch the student must turn it into a drawing and enlarge it (Kinko's is handy) to a size that she feels she can piece.  Ruth presents sewing methods for tiny pieces, but the student must judge what size pieces she can handle.

http://www.ruthbmcdowell.com/
  

This first project by Trace Nickels looks like flowers, but the photo is actually of umbrellas hanging upside down in the lobby of the Ballagio in Las Vegas. 

 
Ruth didn't hesitate and started marking the circles.

 
This is the most unusual piecing diagram I have seen in a Ruth class.  The drawing needs further segmentation of the circles. The letters are the sewing order.  That large "A" piece is where the sewing begins.  Add "B", "C', "D", etc.  The "S" in the middle is the last piece to be sewn in. 

 
Trace is auditioning fabrics.  She is considering not piecing the dome, but quilting in the lines. 

 
I think there are fifteen segments in the "S" piece.  Trace has used a great range of red/orange/pink.

 
Ruth works on the lines for a hibiscus flower submitted by Charlotte Coomes.
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First the section lines.

 
Then the segments to grade the color from maroon in the center to white/cream on the outside.

Charlotte completed her drawing, numbered all the templates and added the tick marks.  Then the fabric selection began.  Try everything - ask yourself: Are you happy that fabric is there?  Do you miss it when you take it away?

 

This is where Charlotte was on the last day of class. 

 
Cristie McGuire worked on a cluster of Clivia flowers. Design complete, numbered and ticked.

 
Cristie had a huge selection of orange fabrics.  This is where she was on the last day.

 
I don't know what Ruth was saying, but love this picture of her.

 
Gail Abeloe started a hydrangea design 19 years ago when she took a class with Ruth.  But she could never make it work.  She brought this picture to make another try.

 
Ruth starts marking each petal.

 
She talked about the shape of the individual flowers in the "puff" of the flower head.

 
Gail did the drawing and then mirror imaged it to make the "puff". She added the elegant leaves and took the drawing to Kinko's to have it greatly enlarged - to a size that she feels she can piece those tiny petals.  Here she has pinned up clips of fabric to audition - impossible to see if large pieces are pinned up. 
  

 
By the last day of class she had a nice selection of hydrangea colors along with some leaves and background.

 
Jan Sheets is taking a different view of fabric selection for her poppy.
 

This is where she was on the last day of class. I think it will be spectacular.   

Ruth McDowell class - 2nd week of class 04-12-12

I am sorry some of these pictures are so poor.  I was too far back which prevents adequate editing, but I am trying to show the progression of the projects. 
There were a number of people quilts being designed in the class and here are three of them.

 
This lady was in a photo taken from a bus in Africa.  I didn't get a picture of the original image.

 
Ruth quickly identified major section lines.  In places none of us would have imagined!

 
She continued to mark seam lines - including the knotted scarf on the back of the head.

 
Here she has used colored markers to accent certain parts of the design, something that can be a huge help when trying to piece small pieces together.  She has also started writing the piecing order - "Sew A1 to A2 to A3 to section B." 

 
Helen Hillman was choosing gold fabrics in keeping with the colors of Africa when she was there. 

Ruth is talking to Helen Hillman during the critique session held on the last day of class.

 
This is picture of Nancy Cheadle's mother when she was a young woman.
The pictures of Ruth doing the drawing were too bad to show.  

 
But here is her suggestion on doing the hands which are such a dominant part of the image. . 

 
Nancy is auditing fabrics for the figure - the background can come later.

 
Carole Pirruccello's grandgirl looks like Dorothy with her basket and Toto.

 
Ruth is laying out the main section lines.

 
This is Carole's completed drawing - everything numbered, but no tick marks yet.

 
Here she is auditioning some background fabrics.

 
The freezer paper templates for the dress have been ironed on the back of the fabric and pinned in place.

First Day of Class w/Ruth McDowell on 04-03-12 04-11-12

Unfortunately, I still have the cold, but am much better.  I spent half a day in bed and the rest at the computer trying to catch up with e-mail neglected while I was at Empty Spools.  I also worked on the pictures.  Instead of Wordless Wednesday I will start the images from Asilomar Week 2.  

 
Ruth starts her classes with lessons on how to develop a design that can be sewn together in the "old fashioned way" - pieces sewn face to face and pressed open.  Her process is shown in all of her many books, some of which are available from Ruth's website, at your local quilt shop or on Amazon. 
www.ruthbmcdowell.com


The first full day all of the students sit around the easel where Ruth will show the different ways a design inspiration might be interpreted.  Here she has taped up three different images brought by students - Cosmos at top left and Apple Blossom at bottom right were the two she worked with. .She has taped tracing paper over an enlargement of the Cosmos above.  

 
She started by finding a line that would split the Cosmos flower into roughly half. She determined to use straight line piecing and continued dividing the flower into pieces that will be sewable. I always feel that I am watching magic as she quickly draws the lines creating a "map" of the design.  She makes it look sooo easy, but after creating 500+ quilts she has developed a fine eye for where the lines should go.  For the students it is much more difficult and sometimes takes the entire five days to finish drawing and marking the design.

 
Jolene Norman has completed the Cosmos design, transferred it to freezer paper, marked the piecing order and tick marks to be match while sewing.  She has pinned up a few fabrics to audition.

 
By the last day during the critique session she had chosen more fabrics, including some for the background.

 
For the Apple Blossom Ruth drew a few petals with straight seams and then switched to curved.  The student, Carolyn Hughey decided to use the curved seam version, going on to develop her drawing, transfer it to freezer paper, mark the piecing order and add the tick marks.

 
Carolyn has selected polkadot and plaid fabrics for her Apple Blossom quilt.

I'm going to try to show the quilts done in class from drawing to whatever had been finished by the last day.  It might make more sense to those who have not been in Ruth's classes. 

Dinner out - again

I have spent the day in bed - reading, dozing, taking Airborne and Tylenol.  I do feel better tonight, but I had to miss the Surfside QGuild meeting today, which featured Velda Newman.  Darn!  But, I'm sure that all of the members are glad that I kept my cold germs at home. 
I did spend some time working on pictures from Empty Spools and Asilomar, but not enough to present many of them yet.  So, here is a fabulous meal I enjoyed with friends at Peppers, one of my long-time favorite Pacific Grove restaurants. 

 
Years ago (12, maybe) I had dinner at Peppers with Liz.  We ordered the Paella which is made for two.  It was fabulous and we ate and ate and ate.  Finally we had to leave some on the serving platter.  Since then I think of that scrumptious meal and wish I could do it again.  This time there were three of us to share the platter and we still left some behind.  By the time I took this picture we had served ourselves.

 
There were mussels, clams, calimari, shrimp, and fish fillet atop the fragrant rice/veggie combo. .

 
In addition to the rice in the paella, black beans were served along with our choice (corn) of tortillas.   Now I am looking for someone else to share an order of paella when I go back to Peppers again.

Monday Browsing 04-09-12

I'm am really dragging my tail, sorry I didn't post last evening.  I drove the six hours home from Empty Spools/Asilomar today, after a night at the home of my friend Mary.  All I did at her house those sixteen hours was sleep and eat!  WHAT a great friend she is.  She fed me "Heaven in a Bowl" for dinner - it is the best lentil soup anyone ever invented and the perfect sustenance for someone with a head cold.  That is me!  I have been taking Airborne and trying to get as much rest as I can, but I am very, very tired.  I have all the class images from my second week with Ruth McDowell - they are downloaded into my laptop and I will try to do the editing and post them as soon as I am recovered a bit.   Obviously I didn't do much browsing last week.
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STOLEN QUILTS ALERT!  On March 16th, while teaching in New Braunfels, Texas, Karen Combs rental car was broken into, her teaching suitcase was taken and all her quilts, samples for the class Patchwork Illusions, as well as all her teaching gear.  She has posted details on her blog. Please pass along to all.  http://karencombs.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/quilts-stolen/

Baby robins: http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9479342&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Fantastic Fibers at the Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
http://fantasticfibers.theyeiser.org/2012-accepted-entries