Walking Foot WOW! with Bay Area Modern Quilters

Happy Quilting Reveals

Look at all those smiling, happy faces from this Saturday's Walking Foot WOW! workshop with Bay Area Modern Quilt Group.  What a fabulous group of quilters who were all eager to learn new quilting designs that can be stitched using a walking foot.  And check out all that glorious and modern quilted texture that is just as beautiful to admire as well as to touch!!  

Fun was had by all throughout the day as these quilters reached for their trusted rolls of blue painter's tape (along with a few other design tools) and stitched out beautiful stars, spider webs, starbursts and spirals!!  There were rays, chevrons, matchsticks and grids galore!!  

Happy Quilters in Progress

This is such a fun class to teach as no two samplers, let alone blocks look alike!!  During the practice time, each student chooses their favorite designs to fill in one or more blocks on their 9-patch sampler quilt.  I love watching everyone's sampler transform as each block is stitched in with different quilted textures and designs!!

9-Patches Transformed through Quilted Texture!

I was seriously impressed with how many blocks these quilters managed to stitch in just 1 day!!  Several students moved onto their second sandwich, and several more were very close to finishing their first sampler! 

And then I just love watching students take the basic designs and add their own fun twists to create even more exciting designs and textures!!  Students explored using different decorative stitches and combinations of stitches, stitching bowties instead of a full sunburst and so much more!!  

Design Variations

At the end of the day, we did a little show and tell with each participant sharing their favorite design and/or highlighting their unique variations.  There were definitely some all-around favorite designs but oh the possibilities!!

I received a fun email the very next morning from Susan, who returned home after class and finished stitching the last of her blocks, sharing that she "couldn't go to sleep last night until the project was complete."  She included a picture of her finished stitched sampler (on the right) which was both absolutely gorgeous and now beautifully bound!!  I especially love how Susan incorporated so many different textures into her center block surrounding her heart.  

Susan's Evening Progress Resulting in a Stunning Finished Sampler!!

These stitched samplers are absolutely gorgeous wholecloth quilts and would make a lovely, yet functional artwork for any quilt studio.  Several students mentioned the possibility of turning their samplers into quilted pillows, totebags and more!  I cannot wait to see more pictures from this group of both their finished samplers and how they apply these designs to their quilt tops (hint hint!!)

I hope you can join me for a future Walking Foot WOW!  workshop.  I have several more Walking Foot WOW! workshops already scheduled for 2017 and more on the horizon!  Be sure to check out my teaching calendar and/or follow me via facebook.