Three fabulous days!

It was time for our national teacher, Laura A Cunningham, to visit in October; a time members who had signed up for the classes had long awaited!


The First class was called "Free Motion 101and Beyond"

What a treat to enjoy Laura's work up close!























We didn't believe her when she said we would learn everything on this quilt in the beginner class.

  After a brief lecture regarding the basics of free motion quilting, Laura demonstrated her technique before sending us all to our own machines.

Later, we were treated to a bonus demo of doing ruler work on a domestic machine.  Remember- Safety first!

This is a sample of some of the ruler work Laura has done.







Laura calls her practice pieces "dirty laundry".  She brought plenty of them along for us to admire and get personal demos on any of the designs she has done.

Practicing new designs on a whiteboard helps you develop smooth lines when you get to your quilt!



















Here are some up close looks at what we did in class.

PJ Edelstein

Martha Lorshbaugh

Kathi Everett

The second class was called Paisley/ Feather/ Zentangle Fusion




















This is one of Laura's pieces using this design technique.  Still a work in progress.

Using freezer paper, we learned about the design process.

Then we headed to our machines!

Laura's quilts were again on display and, during breaks, it was great to get some personal lessons on her techniques.











After lunch we all gathered for a critique session, where ideas for how to enhance, complete designs and finish the pieces were discussed.

Here are a few of the works in progress from class.

Tracy Jachimowicz

Melanie Tubinis

Chris Kuehl

Kathi Everett

And a group shot!

On Saturday, Laura shared some design inspiration with the guild during her lecture.

Sometimes you have to remember to think outside the block.

The ladies present who took classes shared what they accomplished.

Everyone seemed very happy with what they did!

We let Laura go first so she could travel on for a brief vacation, but then she wanted to stay to enjoy our show and tell.

Nancy Ellers made herself a new hat in fall colors

Nancy made this Jacob's Ladder with donated blocks and fabric for Community service

Nancy finished a UFO that only needed binding!

And staying with the seasonal theme, Nancy made a leaf quiltlet

Lorraine West is still enjoying the small embroidery projects.

Lorraine also did some wool appliqué

Irene Bow- from a pattern called "Railroad Tracks"

When Irene said she wasn't sure she liked this now that it's finished, Laura offered to take it off her hands!

Eula Serrino made a quilted baby gift using an alphabet panel

She's adding this fabric book to the gift.

Kathi Everett used upcycled silk fabrics to make this beautiful runner to be given as a housewarming gift

Chris Kuehl's grandchildren wanted to sew, so she taught them to make string pieced blocks

Chris turned some of the blocks into a small quilt to give to the parents!

Shirley Lapp's beautiful Log Cabin variation....

...and pinwheel quilt.

Susan Rathbun made a skinny quilt to hang in a skinny window.  The ArtCGirlz are doing  embellishment  projects, so Susan figured if you're going to embellish, you should do a LOT of it!

Chryl Doody pieced this 9 patch quilt for Community Service

Cathy Judkins finally got this put together from a kit she took back when Melanie and Mary Anne were doing Community Service!

Terry McGuire spent most of the summer making this!

Terry also reminded us that donation quilts should be called "cuddle quilts" since the word "charity can have negative connotations.

Nancy Schraeder worked with her nieces to make this quilt as you go tree skirt to be a gift for their mom.

Nancy's cute Jack O'Lantern

Nancy made this as a thank you gift

Nancy took a class with Jack Edson, who visited the guild last spring.  He provided pictures to work from.  Nancy named her quilt "Susan, more than the artist's wife" in honor of the woman in the picture.

Sandy Shufeldt also took the class with Jack Edson.

Mary Kozub finally has new slippers!

This is the smaller version of Mary's zigzag quilt.  There will be a tutorial soon for those who wanted to learn the technique.

Apologies to any projects not pictured.  Sometimes, in spite of my best efforts, I cannot get a decent picture of what is shown.  Omissions are never intentional.

At the November meeting, we'll be enjoying a "Demo Derby", with techniques shared by members.