Happy Wednesday! I'm happy to share today that I'll be teaching at next year's Glamp Stitchalot Sewing Retreat, hosted by Pink Castle Fabrics. Mark your calendars!


If you're not familiar with Glamp Stitchlot retreats, let me give you the run down! It's a weekend sewing retreat in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The weekend is packed with classes, sewing time with your friends, and social events.

Back in 2015, I taught at the first Glamp Stitchalot event! It was a lot of fun, and students worked on a medallion style collaborative quilt, with a different row/center taught by each instructor.

The 2018 Glamp Stitchalot Retreat is November 8-10 at the Sheraton hotel in Ann Arbor. There will be three hour classes from four teachers (Kerry Goulder, Felice Regina, myself, and one more to be announced). There will be lots of open sew time to work on projects, and giveaways too! Plus, Thursday dinner, three meals on both Friday and Saturday are included in your ticket. I'd recommend coming in early on Thursday to make a shopping trip to Pink Castle Fabrics HQ!

My class will focus on transforming a quilt design with color and fabric. We'll discuss how color selection and fabric placement can completely change a pattern, and put those skills into practice working on a big block you could turn into a pillow or mini quilt. We'll squeeze in a crash course on color theory for quilts too. 

I find these kinds of events really help to recharge my creative batteries. Especially since we interact with other stitchers on the internet a lot, it is exhilarating to be in a room full of fellow stitchers! And an opportunity to make new friends too.

Hope to see you there! There are payment plans available for 3, 6, and 10 months to make your budgeting easier. Buy tickets and find details about the event here.

Happy Sewing!

Glamp Stitchalot 2015

Happy Wednesday! I wanted to chat a bit today about my experience teaching at Glamp Stitchalot last month! I've taught at two Camp Stitchalot events, which are held at a bed and breakfast in Michigan a couple times a year. This was the first Glamp Stitchalot, which was held at a hotel in Ann Arbor, MI. There were five other teachers (Violet Craft, Sarah Fielke, Katy Jones, Alison Glass and Tula Pink) and we all worked together to design a mystery medallion quilt, which students worked on throughout the weekend!


Michael grew up in Saline, which is right outside of Ann Arbor, so I've been to visit the area quite a bit. One of my favorite things about going is Zingerman's bakery. They make the best sourdough! It's so good.


Always traveling with my own quilt! This is my much loved Patchwork Prism quilt made from vintage sheets. Still a favorite. And also two of my Stitches. I got to room with Deedrie, which was awesome!


I was able to visit Pink Castle Fabrics in their newer location, which was awesome! They ave SO much fabric, ahhck! With all the attendees visiting I stepped in to help cut fabric for a while, which was fun! I managed to get out of there with only a couple half yards, phew! Could have done some real damage in there.


A peek at the classroom! Loaded with Janome Skyline S7s!


Here is my version of the mystery medallion quilt. Each of us was responsible for designing a center block and a border, which could be interchanged according to preference! I used every border once. I chose half-square triangles (surprise, surprise!) for my center block and the very last border is mine. Unfortunately, the pattern was exclusive to the event, otherwise I'd direct you to it!


We were also asked to design a t-shirt for the event (if we wanted!). I wanted to keep things simple and also design something that would have all the details from the weekend! I am so pleased with how it turned out, and it's really comfy. I've been getting lots of wear out of it!


I had a great time at Glamp Stitchalot! It was really nice being able to stay inside all weekend, and the attendees were really lovely. The Pink Castle Team (Brenda, Jason, Hayley, Hayley, Josh and more!) did so much to make this a killer event, if you can make it in the future, do it! The June Glamp is sold out, but they do have a waiting list, here.

Brenda and I were pretty excited for the chocolate fountain, duh! A highlight for sure! :)

Happy Quilting!

I'm Teaching at QuiltCon!

I'm excited to share with you all that I will be teaching at QuiltCon in 2016, February 18-21! I have never been to QuiltCon, so I'm looking forward to the experience as well. The workshop catalog went out earlier in the month, and I wanted to share the workshops that I'm teaching! Registration for workshops opens up on June 25th, and you can find the full catalog here.


I'm teaching two full-day workshops, and the first is the Shining Stars Sampler. We'll explore a variety of patchwork techniques throughout the workshop to create six different stars in two sizes each. We'll work towards a throw sized quilt using my Shining Stars Sampler Pattern! I'm currently making a version of this quilt in all solids, totally outside my comfort zone!


My second full-day workshop covers Equilateral Triangles. I'll show you how to cut triangles without a special ruler or template and piece them accurately. We'll also chat about the math behind designing your own quilt and creating a custom template. You can choose a quilt size of your choice, from my Triangularity pattern! I'm hoping to finish my throw size Geometric Bliss version in time to bring!


I'm teaching two half-day workshops, both from my book, Patchwork Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle. The first is called Mastering the Half-Square Triangle. I'll show you three different methods for making HSTs, as well as tips for pressing, trimming, and 1/4" seams. We'll make four quilt blocks from the book!


The second half-day workshop I'm teaching is Creative Half-Square Triangle Piecing. In this workshop we'll explore creative methods for adding a twist to the basic HST. We'll work from my book, Patchwork Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle to make patchwork HST quilt blocks. I had fun stitching up some sample blocks using green/blue/purple prints from my collections.

Hope to see you there! I can't wait to be somewhere warm in the middle of winter! :)

Fall Classes + Sewcial Totes

Happy Wednesday! I wanted to take some time today to talk about my Fall teaching schedule and to share a promotion with you.

As I mentioned last month, The Sewcial Lounge is moving! The big day is rapidly approaching, and they need your help! They are running a fun Sewcial Tote Promotion with different levels of involvement. The feature product is these hand screen-printed tote bags! There are discounts and goodies to be had as well, so make sure to check it out! You can get all the details on the promotion here, and you can buy your tote bag in store or online.


The Sewcial Lounge will be open in it's new location (841 Lakeside St, Suite A, Madison, WI) starting Tuesday, August 26th. They'll remain open in their current location through Saturday, August 23rd. And now, my Fall classes! All of this information can always be found on my Teaching page.


Zipper Pouch Basics Class
Learn to create two different style zippered pouches in this class! We'll cover zipper basics and learn to install a zipper for a simple lined pouch and a large cosmetic pouch using home dec fabric, from my Triplizip Pattern.

Scheduled Classes:
Wednesday, October 15th, 5:30pm-8:00pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)
Thursday, December 11th, 5:30pm-8:00pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)


Laminated Cotton Zipper Pouch Class
We will advance our zipper skills in this class and learn to sew on laminated cotton. You will complete a boxed bag with handle, from my Triplizip Pattern. These make great gifts!

Scheduled Classes: 
Thursday, September 25th, 5:30pm-7:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)
Thursday, November 13th, 5:30pm-7:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)


Lined Drawstring Bag Class
Learn to sew a simple bag using my Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern. These bags whip up in no time, and are great for holding just about anything! Give as a gift, or use as eco-friendly gift-wrapping. A great project for beginner & advanced sewers alike! Bag is fully lined and features a boxed bottom.

Scheduled Classes:
Thursday, October 9th, 5:30pm-8:00pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)
Wednesday, December 3rd, 5:30pm-8:00pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)


Equilateral Triangle Pillow Class
Equilateral triangles are a great shape to work with in quilting, and they’re not hard to use! In this class we will learn how to cut equilateral triangles without a special ruler, and straightforward piecing techniques all while working on a fun pillow project.

Scheduled Classes: 
Wednesday, October 22nd, 5:30pm-8:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)


Quilting Basics Class
Learn the basics of quilting in this fun class!  We’ll create a sweet nine-patch mini quilt for you to hang on the wall, or use as a table-topper.  This class is a great way to try out quilting for the first time, or as a refresher!

Scheduled Classes:
Thursday, September 18th, 5:30pm-8:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)
Saturday, December 13th, 10:30am-1:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)


Plus Quilt Top
Are you comfortable with the basics of quilting, and ready to make your first baby quilt? This is the class for you! We'll tackle a simple geometric plus quilt in this class, using my Arithmetic Pattern. Learn tips and tricks for accurate cutting and piecing. (Class will cover quilt top construction only.)

Scheduled Classes:
Thursday, November 20th, 5:30pm-8:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)


Block of the Month Club
Join us for the Block of the Month Club at The Sewcial Lounge. In this club you will learn fun quilting techniques, meet new friends and create a gorgeous, unique quilt. Each month we will get together to create two new blocks. We will use my Simply Sampled Pattern for the blocks, which includes finishing instructions for the quilt to complete on your own.

Scheduled Classes:
1st Thursday Sept to Dec 2014 from 5:30pm-8:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI) FULL
1st Wednesday* Jan to June 2015 from 5:30pm-7:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)
*First session is the 2nd Wednesday (Jan 14) due to Vacation.


Half-Square Triangle Block of the Month Club
Join us for the Half-Square Triangle Block of the Month Club at The Sewcial Lounge! In this club, you will conquer half-square triangles, meet new friends and create a gorgeous, unique quilt. Each month we will get together to create two new blocks. We will use my Half-Square Triangle Sampler Pattern for the blocks, which includes finishing instructions for the quilt to complete on your own.

Scheduled Classes:
1st Thursday* Jan to June from 5:30pm-7:30pm @ The Sewcial Lounge (Madison, WI)
*First session is the 2nd Thursday (Jan 8) due to Holiday.

Camp Stitchalot

Camp Stitchalot - The Hankered Inn, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Happy Wednesday! This week is absolutely flying by! Before we get too far from it, I want to chat about my trip out to Michigan earlier this month for Camp Stitchalot!  As I've mentioned before,  Camp Stitchalot is a retreat hosted by Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics and Rossie of Fresh Modern Quilts. It's held at the Hankered Inn in Pleasant Lake, MI.  They're being held about once a quarter, so make sure and check out the upcoming camps!

Camp Stitchalot - Cutting, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

This year's camp was so much fun! It was a really nice group of ladies! Anna and I drove up Wednesday so we could check out Pink Castle Fabrics!  We arrived at the Inn on Thursday and get right down to sewing! I worked on another mystery pillow!

Camp Stitchalot - Drawstring Bags, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

On Friday, the rest of the campers arrived and a few of us whipped up some Lined Drawstring Bags! We use Terri's add-on tutorial for the outside pocket!

Camp Stitchalot - Quilted Potholders, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Camp Stitchalot - Quilted Potholders, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Debbie taught us to make quilted potholders in the evening! They came together so, so easily! No binding and no turning under/topstitching! I used Color Me Retro for mine so they can hang in my kitchen! You can find instructions for making them on her free projects page!

Camp Stitchalot - Scrappy Trip, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

I worked a little bit on my Scrappy Trip Along Quilt, but for the most part I worked on Christmas gifts! I got them all done at camp, but I'll have to wait to show them!

Camp Stitchalot - Marcia's 241 Bag in Nordika, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

On Saturaday, Anna show us how to make her 241 Tote Pattern! I have made this one many times (here and here), so I didn't make one.  See everyone's fabric choices made me wish I had brought fabric to make another one though! Check out this one Marcia made using Nordika!

Camp Stitchalot - My Pillow Top, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

In the afternoon, it was my turn! I chatted a bit about color and warm/cool combinations before we dove right into making our mystery pillows! It was so fun to see how different everyone's pillows were, depending on their fabric choices!

Flatter by Soak helped keep everything smooth before we did some cutting on the bias!

Camp Stitchalot - Maureen's Pillow Top, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Maureen made a very festive pillow!

Camp Stitchalot - Ashley's Pillow Top, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Ashley choose a fuschia, teal and mustard palette!

Camp Stitchalot - Debbie's Pillow Top, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Debbie went with deeper tones for her pillow!

Camp Stitchalot - Rossie's Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Rossie added some fun patchwork and quilting to the back of her pillow!

Camp Stitchalot - Annika's Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Annika pulled colors from a special print that she used for the back of her pillow!

Camp Stitchalot - The Hankered Inn, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Thanks to all the lovely campers, my fellow teachers Debbie and Anna, and our hosts Brenda and Rossie for a great camp! If you live in the Midwest you've got to make it out to one of these camps! They're a blast! For more information on future Camp Stitchalot events, see here.

Happy Sewing!

Upcoming Classes at The Sewcial Lounge

The Sewcial Lounge, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Happy Wednesday! Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend! Ours was great, we stayed home, relaxed, and ate lots. I'm about to hit the road with Anna for Camp Stitchalot today, I just wanted to quickly chat about a few other classes happening soon!

Block of the Month Club, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

There are still spots in the early session (4pm-6pm) of our Block of the Month Club at The Sewcial Lounge.  We had such a great time with this class last year, we're happy to be offering it again! This year it will be 6 two hour sessions, so we'll meet the 2nd Thursday of every month January-June.  In the end you'll have 12 different quilt blocks and instructions to put them together into a sampler quilt!

Equilateral Triangle Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

In January I'll be teaching a new class at The Sewcial Lounge, the Equilateral Triangle Pillow class! In this class I'll show you how to cut equilateral triangles without a special ruler, and how to piece them. We'll finish our piecework into an envelope pillow! This class is being held on Thursday, January 16th, 2014.

Featherweight Foot Pedal Drawstring Bag, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

I'll also be teaching a Quilting Basics class on Wednesday, December 11th, Drawstring Bag class on Wednesday, January 22nd and a Zipper Pouch class Wednesday, January 29th. All fun classes too! :)

More information on all these classes and to sign up, go here.

Camp Stitchalot: Nordika Mystery Pillow

It's nearly time! The Winter 2013 Camp Stitchalot Retreat is a month away! The retreat is held at The Hankerd Inn in Pleasant Lake, Michigan and is hosted by Brenda Ratliff of Pink Castle Fabrics and Rossie Hutchinson of Fresh Modern Quilts. It's pretty central here in the mid-west and about an hour from the Detroit International Airport. This winter's camp is December 5th-8th, and I'm happy to be teaching again this year!

For more on my experience at last year's camp, see this post.

Nordika Mystery Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

This year, I'm teaching a pillow workshop! I've developed a special mystery (not quite so mystery anymore) pillow pattern for us to make! In addition, I'll be sharing my favorite ways to customize and finish up pillows!

Nordika Mystery Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

One of the great things about Camp Stitchalot is that we'll be sewing together all weekend! The teachers will be available throughout the weekend to help you work through your class projects or whatever else you're working on! It's perfectly timed to help you finish up (or start, if you're like me) your holiday gift sewing.  Or take it as an opportunity to tackle some of your works-in-progress!

Nordika Mystery Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

I'm excited to share this pillow with you all, it's so much simpler to make than it looks, which is always a treat! It's a mystery because the choice of colors and fabric placement can completely change the look of this pillow! I choose to make mine with Nordika, but am already scheming a second using warm and cool colors!

Nordika Mystery Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Nordika Mystery Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

I finished my pillow up with a simple zippered closure on the back and some echo quilting using Aurifil 50wt thread #2600!

Nordika Mystery Pillow, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

I hope you'll be able to join my fellow teachers, Anna Graham and Debbie Grifka, and I next month! Anna will be teaching her popular 241 Bag Pattern and Debbie will be sharing her Easy Turn
Potholders and Holiday Hotpads!

For more information and to purchase tickets, head over to Pink Castle Fabrics. Ticket prices include lodging as well as brunch and dinners! There's no reason to leave all weekend!

Hope to see you there!