QuiltCon 2023 Workshop Projects

I'm officially 2 months behind on my goal of monthly blog posts, so I've taken a moment to be a little disappointed in myself, and now I'm going to try to catch up. First up is what would have been my February post...

My mom and I attended 2 workshops at QuiltCon 2023 in Atlanta. The first was Scrap Swap Social with Wendy Chow (@the.weekendquilter). Everyone brought scraps, which were sorted by color, and then Wendy instructed us in making a mini quilt using fusible grid interfacing. I used the grid interfacing many years ago, so I understood the basics, but Wendy shared some tips that made for a more precise completed project.

When I was selecting my scraps, I started with the abstract floral and then chose others that went with the color story. The low volume sashing and overall emphasis on peach are right in my comfort zone. I finished the 15x15 inch mini quilt top in the workshop and brought it home for quilting and binding. Now it hangs in my home office so I can admire it Monday through Friday.

The second workshop we took was Scraptacular Improv with Rossie Hutchinson (@rossiecrafts). Another scrap-focused class! Improv is not my strength or preference, but Rossie shared some strip-piecing and patchwork techniques that gave the improv process a little more structure and order.

For this workshop, we were told to bring in scraps or precuts. This is what I brought and arranged in a way that I thought was pleasing and could inform my piecing:

Not surprisingly, I leaned into peach and low volume neutrals, plus my other favorite, navy. During the workshop, I made the strawberry strip unit, navy checkerboards at the top, and green checkerboards that ended up in my finished piece:

This panel is approximately 18x32 inches. I plan to finish it and hang it on a wall in home. So that was my QuiltCon 2023 experience. Well, except for one significant souvenir...

This Juki machine replaces a secondhand BabyLock that I've had for a few years but never really loved or been that impressed with. We used these machines in Rossie's workshop, and the sale price on machines only used at QuiltCon was just too good to pass up. I look forward to logging many hours and cranking out projects (especially garments) on this new member of my Juki family (this makes 3!).