If

If I published a pattern for this mermaid quilt, would you buy it?
If you were going to make a mermaid quilt, how big would you want it?
Is there anything you would change about my design?
Would you like a machine embroidery file of my mermaid?

I know there is quite a bit of interest in mermaids right now but there is a lot of work in publishing a pattern and I need to know if it would be worth my time. I would love to hear from you so I know whether or not to pursue this.

You can send me a private email if you don't want your comment published here. My email address is: larkspurlanedesigns@yahoo.com

Thanks!!!

Mermaids, again.

 I have a lot of people that find my blog because of the word "mermaid" so I thought I would post a picture of the project I was working on today. It is a jean jacket with a mermaid applique which I did a while ago but today I decided to get out my new Babylock Embellisher and add some yarn and wool roving in the background. There is still a lot of work to do but thought you might like to see the progress. I'd love to hear what you think about her!

Beginning Quilting

I teach a beginning quilting community college course a couple of times a year. The project I teach has all of the elements of traditional quilting, including strip piecing, applique, adding borders, quilting, binding and adding a hanging sleeve. This is one version of that project. In the first class, I talk about choosing fabric and the supplies each student will need. I also show my first quilt and point out there are almost no points on any of my stars. In addition, I show some of my more recent quilts but I want to make sure they know I was a beginner once, too. In a recent session of this course, I met a lady who was as passionate as myself about quilting and she inspired this design. The project I usually teach has a simpler applique design but as soon as Nancy learned how to piece the background she began making more backgrounds in different fabrics. Each background had a different theme so it needed a different applique design. So far, between the 2 of us, we have created 4 other applique designs. Our idea is to do seasonal banners and this rose is the banner for February. We have also finished designs for December, March, April and October. I will post pictures of those soon. Did you take a beginning class or are you self taught? What was your first project?

Ready, Set, GO!

I am getting ready to start teaching my own independent classes. This will be our first project. It contains all of the elements of a traditional quilt so it is the perfect beginner class! I have been teaching for about 10 years but it has always been through a shop, Community College or Chautauqua Institution. I am so excited to be more in control and be able to concentrate on what my students want. Wish me luck!

My New "Toy"

I am mainly known for paper pieced designs, which I love to do, but I am starting to venture into some applique. My most recent applique design is the mermaid I have been working on. Because of a recent event at the sewing machine dealer where I teach, I have purchased an Accuquilt Studio Cutter and have inquired about having a custom die made to cut out my mermaid pieces. I should get a quote today to see if it is possible for me to produce my mermaid as a precut applique and offer her for sale without having to remortgage my house first!

I didn't buy any dies with the Studio Cutter, since I only bought it to do custom dies, so it is set up in a corner of my studio, just waiting to be put to work. I hope it isn't waiting too long. I have a lot of students who want to purchase my mermaid applique and put her on all sorts of things, like tote bags, jean jackets or make a small wall quilt like my sample, so I am hoping I don't have to disappoint them or make them wait too long.

Mermaid quilt started!

I got to spend the weekend with one of my best friends, who happens to be an amazing art quilter, so I was inspired to start working on my mermaid quilt. I drew my mermaid on Saturday, then started to play with different fabrics on Sunday. She is done with fusible web applique and I am pretty happy with the progress so far. My husband told me my original sketch was "comic book" good, which I took as a huge compliment coming from him. You can't see any details yet in the actual quilt, but I am planning to do some thread painting and beading and who knows what else!

This is so different from anything else I have done and I hope I continue to be inspired by this project and will post pictures as I go along.