DWM: Black bird, hello!

Our guild (www.nlcqg.org)  hosted the talented and prolific designer Pat Sloan this week.  She presented a trunk show at the monthly meeting on Wednesday, telling us about herself and about her approach to design.    Pat explained that she worked in the computer industry for more than 20 years, kept that job as she tried out the quilt business, and in 2000 went full-time in designing/quilting. Her husband Greg is the business manager.  It takes a tremendous amount of time and energy to be a successful quilt entrepreneur.  Marketing is key, and here are some of the places she does that:
Here's her website: www.patsloan.com
Her blog: http://patsloan.typepad.com
Her radio show: www.creativetalknetwork.com
Her online store: www.patsloan.biz

On Sunday (yesterday) Pat presented Easy Machine Applique (the link goes to her workshop description page; scroll down on her website to see the info).  Pat uses Heat 'n' Bond Lite for fusible applique. She prepares the appliques with the "donut method" in which the HNB is applied only to the edges of the piece. That keeps the applique supple.  She prefers using the blanket stitch for all her applique. 

If I am able to describe a 6-hour workshop into one paragraph, you might ask if it was worth it. YES!  We learned about  fusible webbing brands, about thread, and about approaches to designing.  Pat is a good teacher with a dry sense of humor. She connects well with the audience.







Here is HER class sample, which was the basis for our class project. It's called "My Little Blue Bird."










Here is my work-in-progress.   I made a red-winged blackbird--hence the title of this blog post.   I have fused these pieces but I haven't stitched them yet. The outer border will be magenta (as in the HSTs). I think I will use lime green for the berries and orange (or orange-red) for the stars.

 

This basket quilt hung behind Pat during her program. Is it the yummy colorway, the batiks, or the baskets that put this on my want-to-do list?  Now that I know Pat's applique techniques, I'm eager to try it.

See what other quiltmakers are up to at Judy's Patchwork Times.