Who needs sleep?

After Wayne's Trunk Show, I had to get on my computer and play with some nine patches. I'd made a small mat a few years ago from leftover HSTs and just picked two nine patches at random from it. Don't know if Wayne has done these configurations, but it was definitely fun. In the one on the right, some of the HSTs needed to be recolored to make the medallion effect. 

Only problem is that I started it late and didn't get to bed. Maybe I'll call these designs, "With Eyes Propped Open I and II."

 

For those not familiar with what Wayne does, I drew a nine-patch (used CorelDraw) and rotated, flipped, etc. until I liked it. Changing colors would create more variations. The quilts look complicated, but the blocks are simple. I've already too many UFOs but if God permits sewing machines in heaven, eternity should be long enough....

Trunk Show

Yesterday presented a delightful opportunity to meet Wayne and Linda. They were at a quilt shop in my city to present a trunk show, a small part of the quilts from Wayne's amazing mind. For this display, he used quilts that came from the idea of nine-patches and pinwheels only. Each quilt is named after a town in our province. The variety is astonishing. You can go to his blog and click on that category from a list down the side.

While the quilts were even better "in live" than the photos and ideas from the blog, the best part for me was the delightful personalities of Wayne and Linda. They are fun, down-to-earth and very friendly. This matches both their talents in designing and making quilts. 

Hop on over to Wayne's sketchbook and poke around. He has a website, a book on designing, and another one in process. If you are every in Alberta, look him up. He sells patterns too, and his patterns are not only well-executed, but he also gives several suggestion in each for variations in using them, a real bargain that shows his heart... he wants everyone to share in the fun of "I designed this myself!"

Thanks for a super couple of hours, Wayne and Linda!
 

Lattice on a Blue Sky

When Joen Wolfrom came to town, I had to take the classes offered. One of them was about designing blocks by taking classics apart and putting them back together in a different way. This class included how to use elements from the blocks to design a border. For me, who discovered late in life that I really do love geometry, this was enormous fun.

A second class was about combining ordinary blocks to make secondary patterns. I enjoyed this one too, and the picture is a small quilt that I made as a result. I called it Lattice on a Blue Sky because that is sort of what it looks like, but then if you close your eyes a bit, the blue looks like a design on a yellow background. Joen is a soft-spoken, lovely lady. Take a class from her, if the opportunity comes. It will not be regretted!