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Posts Tagged ‘Brother Sewing Machines’

Meet Road 2018 Teacher Kristin Vierra

Monday, August 28th, 2017

Gammill stand-up longarm machines on a stationary frame. These classes are on Monday 1014R   Fun Feathers that Fit Anywhere and Tuesday: 2014R  Easy Background Fillers for Longarm Quilters Kristin will also be teaching a class on Wednesday where Brother machines will be provided for each student’s use: 3016C  Easy English Paper Piecing by Machine  Then, on Wednesday evening, Kristin will be teaching a design class (no machine necessary) 3068C  So I got it pieced, now what?  A Lincoln, Nebraska native and former University of New Mexico nursing teacher, Kristin Vierra has also lived in California, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Iowa, D.C., Tennessee, and Louisiana before returning back to her roots in Lincoln about 10 years ago. Kristin’s great-grandma taught her mom how to quilt and in turn, Kristin’s mom taught Kristin how to sew. As Kristin says, she has always sewn in one form or another, and even made an occasional baby blanket.  Kristin tried hand quilting but thought hers “never looked right; instead of nice even stitching, I had Morse code. You know, dot, dot, dash, dash, dash.”  She also felt that she never seemed “coordinated enough to quilt on a domestic.”  Plus, it always made her shoulders ache on big projects. When Kristin moved back to Lincoln, she “was lucky enough to find a used Gammill Longarm. That was when I really actually started quilting. My longarm and I just clicked and the rest as they say is history.” Kristin finds inspiration for her quilting literally “everywhere.”   It drives her husband and kids nuts because she has been known to come out of a bathroom and ask for the camera because there was a particularly cool tile that she wanted to use as inspiration for a quilt.  Architecture, carpets, nature, designs on people’s clothes— all are fair game to Kristin when it comes to quilting.  While she uses many quilting tools, Kristin’s favorite is her design board.  She had it custom made out of clear plexiglass with registration marks to help her divide up blocks.  Kristin places it on top of a quilt and draws on it with dry erase markers.  It makes it really easy to audition designs, without having to mark the quilt or even worse rip out stitches. She’ll be demonstrating this tool in her “So I got it pieced, now what?” class. Her best quilting tip is “don’t be afraid to try.”  Kristin admits that “some of my coolest creations have come from my biggest mistakes.” Kristin’s favorite aspect of teaching is “that moment when you can see the ‘light bulb’ go on in someone’s head.” All of a sudden, “some concept or technique they have been struggling with becomes clear and they get so excited.” For Kristin, that’s the absolute best feeling to be a part of. What does Kristin hope her student get out of her classes? “I want them to go away inspired and excited about whatever project they are going to work on next.  It doesn’t matter if you are making cuddle quilts or the next BOS winner.  All that matters is that you are enjoying yourself and having fun.” To learn more about Kristin, please visit her website.]]>

Grandmothers, Granddaughters, and Quilting

Saturday, April 8th, 2017

Levonne signed up Angela for sewing classes and Angela thought they were “really fun.” In her classes, Angela has made a purse, pin cushion, neck pillows, and a skirt. Angela grew up watching her grandmother quilting. Since she was three, she would sit on Levonne’s lap and watch. Angela started quilting on her own 2 years ago. Her first quilt was queen size!! She has her own Brother machine and will inherit her grandmother’s Brother embroidery machine one day. Angela is currently interested in longarm quilting and has been practicing. Her dream is to own a Gammill machine one day. When Gammill, Road’s Platinum Sponsor, heard this, they invited Angela to spend some time with their machines in their booth. They promised to work with Levonne and Angela to have Angela’s dream come true!!Grandmothers, Granddaughters, and Quilting Rachel lives in Orange County, California. She brought her 9 year old granddaughter, Siri, who lives in Montana. Rachel’s grandmother was a quilter and when she passed away, Rachel “took up quilting in earnest.” That was 38 years ago. Rachel’s daughters all sew and now she hopes to pass on her love of quilting to Siri. As Rachel says, “Traditions are important.” Siri is just learning to sew from her mother. She has made pillowcases and has donated them to the Beach Cities Quilters Guild. Siri’s favorite quilt on display at the show featured a cat. Faith, age 8, is the great-granddaughter of Annie who has been quilting since 2005 when a co-worker invited her to take a quilting class with the Downey Adult School. Annie now takes classes every Friday at Pico Rivera’s Rio Hondo Park.  Annie quilts “any pattern I can put together,” and particularly enjoys Quilt in a Day by Eleanor Burns. After watching her “Nanny” make a quilt, Faith asked her if she could make one. Annie cut out 5 inch squares and Faith sewed them together, making her first quilt for her baby sister. Faith hopes to make quilts and sell them because “quilting is fun.”Grandmothers, Granddaughters, and Quilting]]>