Hello, I’m Sharon and this is my first blog post ever. As you look at our group picture, you will see that I’m the one who isn’t wearing a sewn garment. Actually, when we took this picture, Sandra said, “Look, we’re all just about the same height. Except Sharon.”
I love to organize retreats, so I am very excited to be part of the Artistic Alchemy group! The energy and talent in this group is unparalleled. Each one of us has a unique style and can share a different perspective. It has also become a great friendship, and I feel fortunate to have Christine, Heidi and Sandra as personal and professional friends. I am so looking forward to our 2014 retreat at Zephyr Point.
My career has been in fire protection engineering. This is a discipline that requires precision and working within close tolerances. Even though the process requires precision, I must be able to communicate how the process is to be completed, and I must communicate that information clearly. So, when I started designing quilt patterns, that is the approach that I took. I wanted to design a unique quilt, but make the process uncomplicated and definitely not intimidating. I’m short and blonde – how difficult could I make things? I enjoy precision and precision piecing, and my patterns are designed to give you an extraordinary look. One of the principles that I discovered early in my career was that if the project appeared daunting, start in a corner and work out. If you take it a step at a time, all of a sudden it is no longer intimidating.
I have decided to teach two projects at the retreat this year:
I will be teaching FyreWyrks I, which is a contemporary Lone Star design.
We will first break down the color placement so you can get your star to “sparkle.” Then we will build the components until, all of a sudden, you have a beautiful star. We will strip piece the star points, and I will show you how to block your points so they will easily fit together. The outer points are paper pieced. The pattern is also designed so that there are very few Y seams. Once your components are built, it all goes together flawlessly .
The second project that I will be teaching is my Anacortes pattern.
One of the great things about this pattern is that I provide template sheets.
All you need to do is pin the sheets to your fabric and cut on the lines. There is no need to cut individual templates, which can be extremely time-consuming. Color placement is key with this pattern. If you look at the quilt you will see different patterns and shapes emerge. We will work with color placement first. Once you decide where you want your fabrics, the rest is simple. The templates are all designed to fit together easily. Once again, it is a matter of building the components. With the exception of the border, this is a “one block” quilt.
I love fabric and I love color!! Give yourself options and enjoy playing with fabric and color. The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the process. You will walk away with a stunning quilt!
It has been a lot of fun writing this blog. I’ll catch up with you again in a few weeks. I’ve got a some new things in the works. You can sign up for my newsletter on my website. You can also go to my Engineered for Quilters Facebook page. I will be launching a new contest very soon.
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