Elaine Quehl the
award winning Quilter came to MBQG to teach a two day workshop on machine
quilting. Elaine uses a variety of styles of quilting in her work including
some very organic stitching in her Botanical series. But the focus for our
limited time was on specific designs including swirls, flowers, feathers and so
much more.
The sounds in the
hall alternated between quiet moments of rapt attention as Elaine effortlessly
drew and stitched her intricately flowing designs and the whirring of 20 sewing
machines when we started to apply her lessons to our own work.
There was much
talk about thread. Besides the fibre content; the weight; and the comparisons
of the varieties, we also learned that what we all may need is a “thread
stash”. When asked how she makes her choice of thread at the store, Elaine
explained that she believes in having every colour “just in case”.
We learned which
needles are best and lots of insider tips about how to deal with problems.
Tension of course was an issue but with Elaine’s help, we understand more about
adjusting our machine tension and probably reducing our personal tension when
it comes to machine quilting.
It was a
successful couple of days with the participants tired but happy, and eager to
try more machine quilting. Elaine seemed to enjoy her time with us and I am
sure that plying her with all that seafood enhanced our reputation as a Guild.
"Drift" – Elaine Quehl
More pictures can be found on our Flickr Photostream here
Many thanks to Sandra R for her excellent report on the workshop. Watch this space for a report on Elaine's trunk show and talk at our Guild meeting tonight.
