Glamp Stitchalot - More Fun on Day 2

The fun continued on Day 2 of Glamp Stitchalot.

The first class of the day was with Rashida Coleman-Hale.  A paper pieced airplane (tail and wing sections), which included regular piecing and curved piecing (nose section).  The row consists of three airplanes, 20.5 x 12.5 inches each.

We learned to use a glue stick to secure the first piece of fabric.  Genius!  Starting has always been difficult for me.  Rashida also cuts her fabric pieces according to the template (remember to include seam allowance).  We didn't use this technique in class, but she showed me how to do it.  I think it would be helpful.

Using the glue stick and the technique I learned from Penny Layman the day before, I was able to finish this block in class.  My hatred of paper piecing started to wane during this class.

And as much as I wanted a break from paper piecing, it was good that our next class was more paper piecing with Carolyn Friedlander.  Building on what I had learned already and being in the groove, I actually enjoyed making this block.  Carolyn's row consisted of three of these blocks, each 20.5 x 12.5 inches each.

Carolyn shared two great tips.  She uses the largest stitch on her machine to baste down the first piece of fabric (and any long piece).  Game changer!!!  She also suggested basting down the outside pieces so that it's easier to join all the sections together.  Carolyn also showed us how to measure the size of the pattern to determine how wide a piece of fabric to cut, and she suggested cutting strips of fabric to that size.

Using all the great tips that were shared, I was able to complete one of Carolyn's blocks.  And I love it.  And I stopped hating paper piecing.  I can't say that I love paper piecing or that it's my new passion, but at least now I have techniques to make it easier, and I'm not opposed to trying it again.

And then to finish the day, our next class was with Elizabeth Hartman @ Oh Fransson.  Time for some regular piecing.  The Studios row is 8 x 60 inches, and the One Bedrooms row is 4 x 60 inches.  I finished both rows at Glamp.

Although I didn't do it (because I had already pre-cut all my pieces), Elizabeth showed us how to fussy cut prints.  Instead of cutting a template to the unfinished size, she recommends cutting a piece of freezer piece to the finished size of the piece.  That way, you can ensure that you don't cut off bits of the print you want.  Iron the freezer paper onto the fabric and add a seam allowance before cutting.  Such a simple thing, but genius!!

Photos with the teachers.

And then sadly, it was all over.  Nothing to do but pack up and get a good night's sleep.

I had an awesome time, learned some awesome quilting techniques, and met some wonderful new friends.  Thanks to Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge, Julia @ Jada's Quilting Adventure, and Dena @ No Frickin' Blog Yet, for going on this adventure.  When is our next retreat??

Off to find some time to finish the rest of the paper pieced blocks so I can piece all the rows together.