Progress Report, 2017 Schedule and A New Friend

Time sure travels fast when you are not looking. It's been almost two weeks, I thought I would give an update before I travel again.
On the quilting front -
Hand stitching on "Mom and I" quilt is coming along. I am inching towards a finish at a snail's speed but as I have always said, I am in no hurry. Eventually I will get there.

Each stitch has a place of its own, rainbow of threads have been quite entertaining to see how they react to the background.

 Initially I had thought of adding meandering lines with just enough stitching to bind the layers. 

But it didn't seem enough, so I continued adding more texture to it.

Was it a right decision?

I will know once I bind this quilt.

In other news -

My husband and I are leaving for India in a few days. I am excited to be able to see my mom again but this time around I will also be hitting the markets to shop for the wedding. We will also be traveling to visit extended family and some friends. Last couple of weeks we will be spending in Thailand before returning home. This will be our first ever trip to one of the eastern countries and I can hardly wait! Look for the #traveldiary on IG and FB @therootconnection

I will be coming back to a busy schedule for 2017

April
Class
South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Santa Cruz, CA
Lecture
Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild, Pacific Grove, CA
Workshops and Presentation
Tompkins County Quilters Guild, Ithaca, NY
Presentation
San Francisco Quilters Guild San Francisco, CA 

May 
Presentation and Workshops My first time teaching at Quilted Straight! I have heard great things about the shop and excited to be teaching two day classes.
Quilted Straight  Port Gamble, WA
http://quiltedstrait.com/classes

June:
Presentation and Workshop
Napa Valley Quilters  Napa, CA
Napa Valley Quilters

July: So excited about teaching at Sisters again! I will also be presenting this year and sharing my story. Will I see you there?
Classes and Lecture
Sisters, OR
http://www.quiltersaffair.com/

September:
Lecture and Workshop
EBHQ Berkeley, CA
Mount Vernon
Quilting Retreat - Details coming soon

November: YES! I am going on a quilting cruise right after International Quilt Show in Houston. 
November 5-12
Quilt Cruise to the Caribbean
http://iqacruise.com/ 

Yes, it is going to be a busy year but all I want to focus on right now is my trip!

A New Friend 

This past December I met an incredible quilter in my home town, India. She visited her family here in late 90s. During her visit, she came across some quilt shows on TV and got inspired to make one! Her brother bought her basic rotary cutting tools and gifted her with a book on quilting. Almost 20 years later, she has quite a few quilts in her collection and she is still making them as we speak!
All of them are mostly hand sewn and hand quilted.

Her quilts are just like any other quilts in India, made with materials on hand and using fewer tools. She uses all kinds of material and the results are stunning. Blades dull out faster than she can keep up so she gave up on the rotary cutting and started using her cutting mat as a guide to cut her squares and triangles. She also used hand cut cardboard templates for her quilts.

I absolutely fell in love with her. Can you blame me?

When I asked if she ever gets tired of hand piecing such large quilts, she responded, "Not really, I pray as I sew these pieces and somehow it all works in harmony."

It was a humbling experience to see her soulful quilts.

Cotton and Polyester

cotton and blend

 The ones on the couch behind her are also bed size quilts

Hand stitched all the way

and the front

And what does she do with all these quilts, you ask?
She gives them away as gifts.
I can not wait to meet her again and continue this friendship for years to come.

Happy Quilting!

Sujata

Mid Appalachian Quilt Conference

I will be presenting a lecture and teaching three classes at Mid-Appalachian Quilters conference at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. 

My focus will be on teaching the techniques to make free-form blocks with cutting in layers and sewing gentle curves and encourage individual creative thinking and explore the designing process. 
 
Registration is now open! 
Click on the link below for the complete list of classes and to register for classes.
http://maqonline.org/registration/2015registration.html


Here is the list of my classes.

118  Windmills on Friday, 10th July

• Instructor:  Sujata Shah
• Project Size:  Approx. 48 ½" x 48 ½"
• Skill Level:  Beginner
• Method: Curve piecing, Free-Form blocks
• Project Rating:  Easy
• Sewing Machine:  Required

• Description:  Inspired by the windmills of Pennsylvania farms and Sujata's childhood memories of paper pinwheels, Windmills is a beginner-friendly project. Participants will use a simple five step process to make an art quilt with free-form traditional blocks. With easy-to-follow instructions from the book Cultural Fusion Quilts, this class is designed to focus on cutting curves through multiple layers of fabrics, and sewing curved seams. Individuals will construct blocks resembling an appliqued leaf using a carefree and fun technique. Participants will also explore possibilities of various layouts by changing the orientation of their blocks.
  Participants are encouraged to review the examples of quilts provided for this class before selecting the fabric for this project.

• Skills Taught: Free-Form blocks using gentle curves in both cutting and sewing.
• 
  
• Additional Class Fees:  $28 for the book, "Cultural Fusion Quilts".

 

218  Hourglass Twist on Saturday, 11th July

• Instructor:  Sujata Shah
• Project Size:  Approx. 62 ½" X 62 ½"
• Skill Level:  Beginner
• Method: Machine Pieced
• Project Rating:  Easy
• Sewing Machine:  Required

• Description:  The free-form hourglass block may look simple but it has a unique twist: with overlapping and mismatched points, it creates negative and positive space. Adding curves to cutting, sewing, and final trimming of pieces makes the quilt-making process engaging and unpredictable until the last stitch. Explore the endless possibilities that can evolve from this humble, traditional block. Combinations of curved and straight lines create movement and texture while creating perfect balance. In this class, participants will learn the basics of free-form blocks from the book Cultural Fusion Quilts. They will choose to either follow the pattern or manipulate the design presented during the class to create their own unique version of the quilt.

• Skills Taught:  Free-form blocks
• Additional Class Fees:  $28 for the book, "Cultural Fusion Quilts".

 

 318  Peppermint Pinwheels on Sunday, 12th July

 

• Instructor:  Sujata Shah
• Project Size:  Approx. 64" x 64"
• Skill Level:  Beginner
• Method: Curve piecing, Free-Form blocks
• Project Rating:  Easy
• Sewing Machine:  Required

• Description: Inspired by folk art applique flowers, Peppermint Pinwheels is a perfect spring or summer project. One might ask: is it possible to make a pieced block with curved flower petals without any patterns or template? The answer is, yes! This design focuses on cutting multiple curves through layers of fabrics and sewing the pieces into free-form flower blocks. Participants will follow instructions from the book Cultural Fusion Quilts and construct blocks resembling large appliqued flowers with appliqued centers. The process is easy to learn and quick to reproduce. Sujata will share many tips on making free-form blocks and offer many suggestions for color combinations and layouts during the class.

• Skills Taught: Cutting in layers, Organic Piecing, Free-Form Blocks
• Additional Class Fees:  $28 for the book, "Cultural Fusion Quilts".

I am excited to be part of this event. I hope to see you there!

Workshop Pictures!

As I had mentioned last week, I taught 'Organic Piecing' at Philly Modern Quilt Guild this past Saturday.
The retreat was held in the art studio of Waldorf school in Philadelphia.
Here are some pictures of the students' work.

Fall colors!

Bright and cheery vintage curtain fabric in use!

Cool winter hues

Little bit of Spring and Summer

Background for an applique

Jessica Levitt of 'Juicy Bits'

Jessica Levitt

Jessica taught a class on color theory before my workshop. She is also an author of a book. Visit her blog to find out more about her work.

It was a lot of fun to be surrounded by quilters who were already thinking outside the box.

Here are some pictures of artworks in progress by the students of the school.

Students learn how to make a soft sculpture of themselves before they graduate.

Fun!

Have a wonderful day!