HQ Elevated – Part Two – Dueling Threads

HQ Quilting Elevated (cont.)

Day Two: (Thursday)
Day two began with a fantastic presentation by Sew Batiks, Bruce Madison.

He talked about his visits to see batik manufacturing using the ancient Indonesian wax “resist” process. I will NEVER look at batiks the same way again. The craftsmanship and labor that goes into the fabric is difficult to imagine next to modern fabric print / dye techniques. My favorite part of the process was seeing how the copper stamps for the wax are made. Repeating prints on the fabrics are made by manually stamping wax onto the fabric. The registration required,and achieved, by the artisans is amazing. After wax is applied, then the fabric is dyed. And here, we thought quilters were talented…

Bruce doesn’t have his videos or photos posted, but he shared some of his collection during his travels. Look at some of the tiny dots. From what he showed us, some of the intricate designs are still created by hand with wax in tiny Tjantings.

My Classes;

1. Spinal Twist – Megan Best
My best description for this class is Spines Unabashed. Placement of repeating designs on a spine can result in a finish with a different attitude than traditional feathers. If you have “had it” with feathers, or want a more modern or lacy look, spinal twists are for you!
If you want to learn more, and devour some eye candy ideas for your quilting, check out Megan’s books. Spinal Twist Books By Megan Best

2. Border Magic – Lynn Blevens
Border magic made good use of Pro-Stitch ability to align designs to start and end points. I found this technique easier than the traditional zoom and nudge technique I had been using. Lynn suggested breaking borders into smaller sections and demonstrated another new Pro-stitch feature which allows you to swap start and end points. Woo Hoo! I am (almost) excited to create the three custom borders on my Mom’s next quilt. We didn’t have time to finish the exercise in class, so I would have been nice to be in both this one and one of her others that finished that project.

3. Fearless Custom Quilting with HQ Pro-Stitcher – Vicki Hoth
Placement and design manipulation are king for custom quilting with HQ pro-stitch. The classroom was full of Avante Machines with the latest installation of Pro-stitch. She gave tips for creating borders and skewing designs in triangles for framing designs. We paired up and were able to practice stitching, manipulation & placement.

Now, as if these classes were not enough fun, I attended an optional outing to Antelope Island State Park Thursday evening for a picnic dinner and a hike. The hike was fantastic after a day of classes. It was just what I needed to stretch my legs. I have posted images that some of our group took during their visit.
We rode bus across the causeway and stopped at the Fielding Garr Ranch for a picnic. The evening was lovely. While I wandered the ranch, I read that the first foreman (Fielding Garr, Died in 1855) had four wives and twenty seven children.