Woo Hoo!! Winter is almost over!!! This weekend Daylight Savings Time begins - I have finally gotten used to it being light out at 6 pm, now it will be light out until 7 pm and later! Does this mean that cutting the grass and yard work will soon begin? I don't know about you, but I have a love - hate relationship with yard work. I love the way it looks when it's finished, but I hate the work that goes into it! Personally, I'd rather be quilting!

As always, things here have been busy. I have been working with a local quilting instructor, Heather Spence, on a new online class. I know that there are a lot of you who have smaller, longarm machines. Heather is the Tin Lizzie machine "goddess" and we now have a Tin Lizzie Basics class online. For details about this online class Click Here

Feathers, Feathers, Everywhere!

In this months newsletter I want to talk about FEATHERS! Feathers are the mainstay of most quilters. Feathers are so versatile that they can be very formal to very casual and everything in between! There is no "right" way to make feathers - there is the traditional longarm feather and now the newer hump, hump, bump feathers - the only "right" way to make feathers (or any other quilting design) is the way YOU are making it right now! 

Although there is no right way to make feathers, there are many different tools you can use to make them.

Templates - If you are looking for structured feathers and you work with templates, or want to learn how to use templates, there are the Longarm U Feather Guides in four different sizes. The Feather Guides will help you make wonderful feather wreath with many variations for borders and other designs. There is even a video showing how to use the Feather Guides to make a Feathered Wreath with only one start and stop! Also available is a Feathered Wreath online class where you piece a simple quilt top and quilt it using a combination of the Feather Guides and free hand stitching. 

To view details about the Feather Guides Click Here

To view the Feathered Wreath video Click Here

For details on the Feathered Wreath Class-Template Version Click Here

Stencils - If you don't work with templates or you have a machine with a smaller workspace, you can use Feather Stencils to draw your feather designs onto the quilt top and then quilt the designs. Longarm U has a line of Feather Stencils - and the stencils all work together and can make wonderful designs.

To view the details about the Feather Stencils Click Here and to learn about an online class, Feathered Wreath Quilt - Stencil Version Click Here

Pantographs - If you work with pantographs, Longarm U has three wonderful feather patterns. Heathers Feathers (named after my oldest daughter), Traveling Feathers - a 16 inch wide pattern which covers a LOT of space and Feathered Baptist Fans. All these patterns are wonderful to work with and they will make your quilting look outstanding!

Free Hand Feathers - Last but not least are free hand feathers! There are so many different free hand feathers that is almost impossible to list them all. Free hand feathers are SO versatile - they can be used to fill almost any shape!

There is one more online class to talk about - where you are quilting, you guessed it, free hand feathers! The free hand feather design used in this class, the Feather Plume, is used in two different sized borders, two different blocks and in a star! All this from one basic design! This class was originally viewed as the 2009 New Years Day Quilt, but has now be re-named the Feather Plume Quilt! This class is now back online and anyone can join the class at any time.

For details on the Feather Plume Quilt Online Class Click Here

If you have attended any of the online classes is the past, send me your comments and photos of your finished quilt. I'll post them on the Longarm Classroom website in the class descriptions. Send your comments and photos to LongarmU@aol.com.

More online classes are available on the Innovations Online website. These online classes were recorded during Innovations 2009 and are now ready for you to view.

For a list of Innovations Online classes Click Here