Looking Forward to Sunny Days!

I can't wait for Spring to arrive so that we can have more sun-filled days! I am definitely a "solar-powered person"! Last week during our 4+ days of gray sky and rain, I brought the sunshine and Springtime inside by working on this fun little dress for a class I'm teaching at Thimbles in Hoover, AL. I started with the Jacqueline pattern by The Children's Corner; I modified it to have a 3" wide band at the bottom of the skirt. I chose to use a combination of Lilac and Apple Green Pique from Fabric Finders and made my piping from Fabric Finder's Black and White Striped Pique.  I attached a Black and White checked ribbon directly above the hemband seam.  I then appliqued a set of my Bright Lime Green Gingham Delilah the Daisy flowers on the front of the dress.  To continue with the Black and White accents, I stacked Black buttons on top of White buttons and used them on the center of the yoke and down the dress back.

Upcoming Classes at Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion

During the February 2012 Martha Pullen School, I will be teaching two pre-day classes.  On Monday, I will be teaching "Fitzgerald the Food-Fighter" bib class.  As with all of my applique classes, I teach the applique techniques in the first part of the class and then we work on a "real" project.  In the techniques portion of the class, I have a practice kit that the students will work with to help them learn how to turn corners and go around curves. During the afternoon session, the students will applique "Fitzgerald the Puppy" to the bib.  They should be ready to attach the bias binding by the end of class.  If you've ever been to a Martha Pullen School, you know that in most classes you leave with an unfinished object.  In my classes, my goal is for you to finish or be almost finished when you leave!

My second class is a two-day class in which we will be making this "Red-Hot Roosters" outfit.  I am very excited because this is the first time that I have gotten to teach garment construction as part of my project!  On Tuesday morning, I will once again teach my appplique techniques to the students.  If I have any repeating students from previous classes, it allows them to have a refresher course!

Tuesday afternoon, the students will cut out their pants and applique "Bernard the Rooster" to the left pants leg.  On Wednesday, we will start out the morning altering the Sew Beautiful Wrap Dress pattern to eliminate the button closure and add the drawstring waistband.  By the end of Wednesday's class, the students should be complete with both the pants and top!

  

Where I've been...

I thought I would share with you where I have been lately, and what better way to share than to actually show you!  Last weekend, I was teaching at a wonderful quilt store, named Heart to Heart Quilt Shop, which is located in Trussville, Alabama.

The owners, Linda and Cindy, do a wonderful job of selecting fabrics and offer a wide range of classes.  I taught a mini version of my Introduction to Machine Appliqué class in the morning.  After this, we started working on appliquéing Mortimer the Monkey.

All of my students did an excellent job on their projects.  One of the ladies decided to applique her grandson's name using my  Alphabet Applique pattern, which you can download free from my website.  In her appliqué, Mortimer is hanging from one of the letters.  Next time, I will show you my sample garment that I used for this class.