The funnest weekend
When my younger son was little, he would sometimes say at the end of a very good day, “Mom, this was the funnest day.” Well, back at the end of February, Jo Morton came to town to teach workshops and speak at my guild – The Annapolis Quilt Guild. I had the pleasure of meeting Jo at dinner on Saturday night and taking two day-long workshops on Sunday and Monday and then listening to her talk at the guild meeting on Monday night. At the end of it all, the thought that popped in my head was “This was the funnest weekend.”
I have long admired Jo’s books, patterns and the fabric she designs for Andover. How wonderful to meet her in person and to discover what a lovely (and fun!) person she is. Above is my almost finished class project from the hand piecing workshop. Both classes (I also took hand applique) were full of great tips in addition to instruction. Some of my favorites were “no knot” piecing, her little travel storage box and her method for making plastic templates. Thanks Jo!
Jo also shared how she cleverly accumulates her hand pieced stars in a primitive wooden bowl. I thought the idea was charming — you could actually turn a WIP into room decor. So, I bought a wooden trencher off Ebay. Clearly, I did not pay attention to dimensions because when I put my little star in the bowl, I realized (gulp) I was going to need a whole lotta stars. See below.
Well, that was easily remedied. I just went back and got a smaller bowl. Now, that’s more like it.
I admire you hand piecing – it's something I just haven't mastered. Love the bowl – both of them.
Love the LeMoyne Stars you made in Jo's class. Also love the wooden bowls for displaying your blocks – just irresistible! I was lucky enough to take a hand applique class from Jo a few years ago and she is just charming. Her blocks and fabrics are truly wonderful for reproduction quilt lovers!
Dixie
Glad you got a chance to enjoy her class. Your little quilt is very cute.
Love the coloring of your project. What a great idea of the bowls, to let WIPs be decorations.
What lovely little stars! They look so cute in the wooden bowl:)
Taryn, I was going to take Jo's LeMoyne Stars class at the Annapolis guild, but my dad went back in the hospital that weekend, so I missed out. I took a class from Jo at Hershey a while back and she was great to get to know! I love how you are setting your stars ~ beautiful!
I have three of the bowls…and love those stars! You gave me good ideas! Hee!!
Beautiful blocks…love the bowl idea!
Hi Taryn I just love your class sample. Colours work so well together and that bowl is perfect and a great idea
Keep having fun
Cheers
Lynne
The little quilt is just beautiful, LOVE the fabrics you chose and well putting the blocks in the wooden bowl is just a great idea! I guess I need one of those too!
Love your little quilt. l too have taken workshops with Jo when she visited Australia several years ago, and agree she is the loveliest lady. l only wished she would come again.
Thanks for sharing.
Linda C
OH! Your LeMoyne stars are Soooooooooooo beautiful. I love it! Love pink with brown!!! Great job, Taryn. 🙂
P.S. I love the sight of LeMoyne star on primitive bowl. I use my prim bowl for unfinished blocks also. I think it's very charming as a decor. 🙂
I like the idea of putting the blocks in a wooden bowl of some sort. I will have to keep my eyes on the lookout for one.
LOVE the quilt top, Taryn! It's gorgeous!!! Hand pieced lemoyne stars is something I'm going to have to try and tackle! Any tips?
Beautiful little top; I love how the cranberry and strawberry colors look together!
The star blocks look sweet in their wooden bowl; think I need to look around the house!
Very cute quilt! I really like it! I also love Jo Morton's fabric! It sounds like the class with her was a great learning experience!
Love this little quilt! I also drool over Jo Morton fabric and patterns. I was on vacation in Louisville, KY last week and found some great Andover pieces from her lines. I would sure like to know more about the "no knot" method. I have a wooden dough bowl, but it's just enormous! Thanks for your post.
I love it Taryn..the quilt and the wooden bowl decor look fantastic!
Julia ♥
Your little quilt is gorgeous, Ilove the colours and of course, the LeMoyne stars!