Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Drapplique with Pam Holland

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On Saturday I took a class with an award winning quilter, Pam Holland. When I arrived, she was unpacking a huge suitcases full of quilts. By the end of the day she shared a little story about each quilt. She gets her inspiration from faraway and nearby. Wherever she travels, she snaps pictures that will inspire her in some way while quilting. Drawings for quilts are sometimes the results of sketches she makes for her grandchildren. The first impression one gets from her is that we can never run out of ideas.

With quilts on the table, she got busy giving everyone a well documented instruction sheet. We were going to learn a technique she calls "drapplique". It's a combination of drawing and applique. She made sure all the proper pens and fabric were distributed so we could follow along and trace one of her designs. Once the design was on the fabric, we got out the colors and filled them in.

Yours truly marched to a different drummer and began modifying her drawing. Didn't want to insult Pam, so I hope she understood that it's just me thinking outside of the "box" or should I say "fat quarter". And I've never been one to stay inside the lines when coloring, but I did my best.

The afternoon session was for test driving the Janome machines with the convertible free motion foot. Pam takes free motion stitching to new heights. We learned about threads and which needle to use and set about stitching over our drawings. It took some patience getting the hang of the machine and the rhythm of stitches. (Once again, yours truly had a hard time staying on the lines.)

One of the most amazing things I have to tell you about Pam's quilts are that the backsides are just as pretty as the front. So when she came over to look at my progress and turned over my wonky quilt with the wiggly lines, I was afraid she might faint! I wasn't finishing off my stitches.( I had an immediate flashback to junior high home economics class when Mrs. Smith yelled at us for puckers in our seams!)

The only thing we didn't get before we left was a "Pam pill" to swallow each day with our daily vitamins. One that would give us the energy, the talent and skill to carry on. In order to get my dose of Pam and all that she shares about quilting, I'll prescribe a visit to her website. Just Click Here

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