Workshops

Here are the workshops/lectures I offer. Click on one of the links below to see more details. If you are interested in having me teach or lecture, please contact me at helmuth@golden.net

Trunk Shows/Lectures:

1. "My Journey as a Quiltermaker"
2. "Relief Sale Quilts"

Workshops:

1. Yellow Lady Slipper
2. Orchids with Sashiko Border
3. Introduction to Sashiko
4. Landscape One
5. Landscape Two - The Next Step
6. Roses
7. Sunflower
8. Pot with Pansies
9. Showy Lady Slipper
10. Jack in the Pulpit
11. Chinese Lantern
12. Hawaiian Block
13. Crazy Quilt Block

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Lecture / Trunk Show

1. My Journey as a Quiltmaker

• Duration: (1 hour)

Showing a variety of quilts and wall hangings, I will share my journey as a quiltmaker with you.

Quilting has meant a great deal to me. Many appliquéd quilts will be featured, as they are my favorite.

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2. Relief Sale Quilts

• Duration: (1 hour)

Many people have heard of Mennonite Relief Sales, but don't know what they are. The annual Relief Sale in New Hamburg, Ontario, features the largest quilt auction in Canada - with 100% of the proceeds donated to worldwide relief efforts.

Over the years, I have been inspired by the enthusiasm of the women in my church and my local quilting guild, to coordinate a number of unique group quilts, which were ultimately donated to the Relief Sale. Each one was an adventure!

In this slide show presentation, I talk about my personal experiences with the Ontario Mennonite Relief Sale and the group quilts I have orchestrated.

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Hand Appliqué Workshops

3. Yellow Lady Slipper

• Duration: 2 days
• Level: All (some appliqué experience a benefit)
• Project Size: 24"x29" (centre: 14"x20")

This native orchid is a striking project for the student with some prior hand appliqué experience.

Teaching a variety of techniques, I will lead you through the construction of the flowers. Fabric selection will be discussed, as colour choice has a huge impact on the success of this project.

Finally, you will infuse your work with true Japanese flavour by embellishing the border with sashiko. I will provide examples of some of the many sashiko patterns , then teach you how to stitch this design into your own work.

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4. Orchids with Sashiko Border

• Duration: 2 Days
• Level: All (some appliqué experience a benefit)
• Size: 24.5"x29" (centre: 14"x16.5")

Ready for a taste of the exotic? Why not learn to appliqué this elegant orchid arrangement, embellished with sashiko stitches? I will guide you through the different hand appliquéd techniques necessary to create the pot, then fill it with twigs, leaves and orchids. You will finish the arrangement with moss to give the whole a three dimensional feeling.

Colour selection is very important in this piece and I will discuss choices that create a dramatic effect.

Finally, you will infuse your work with true Japanese flavour by embellishing the border with sashiko. I will provide examples of some of the many sashiko patterns, then teach you how to stitch this design into your own work.

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5. Introduction to Sashiko

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All
• Project size: 18" x 18")

Using 4 traditional Japanese designs, we will learn the running stitch used by the Japanese to create beautiful sashiko designs. Sashiko is a beautiful compliment to traditional quilting!

The four 6" blocks created in the workshop can be combined into an 18" pillow or small wall-hanging, as shown in the workshop sample, above. Alternatively, at right, I've created a sample showing how blocks can be interspersed with squares of Japanese prints.

There are so many ways to use sashiko in your projects: let this workshop inspire you!

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6. Landscape One - Basic

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels
• Project size: 5.5" x 4.5"

We will start with a very simple landscape, using the pattern shown at left.

Fabric selection is important: you will need a variety of colours, shades and prints, but only in small amounts -- so start saving your scraps! You will be amazed what you can do with even the smallest scraps.

The detail photograph shows the same landscape pattern, but embellished with a different style of tree: see how it changes the final result!

Also discussed, fabric selection for season and mood, as well as options for finishing your work.

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7. Landscape Two - The Next Step

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: Continuation from Landscape One
• Project size and design: your choice!

This workshop challenges participants to use what they learned in Landscape One to create their own landscape. First, you'll make a pattern from your own picture; then you will start the appliqué on a muslin background. It is strongly recommended that you take the first workshop before participating in this one.

The sample shown here is an example of an appliquéd landscape derived from a photograph: imagine the possibilities!

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8. Roses

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels
• Project size: 21.5"x21.5" (9" circle )

Here's a beautiful project. All the romance of a full-blown rose is captured using dimensional wired ribbon appliqué.

I will teach you about the tools and tricks for needle-turn appliqué, as you create the stems and leaves for your rose. Fabric selection is important if you want the variety of shading and colour that gives a realistic result. It is also possible -- though not necessary -- to fussy-cut leaves from a printed fabric, as I have done in the sample shown.

You will then learn to create the rose "petals" and rose bud. For this, the dimensional wired ribbon gives gorgeous depth, colour and sheen!

We will also discuss ideas and techniques for finishing your project. These roses make a wonderful gift for someone special -- if you can bear to give them away!

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9. Sunflower

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels
• Project size: 20.5"x 20.5" (9.5" circle)

Like a ring of sunshine, these dimensional wired ribbon sunflowers beckon us with the promise of summer. You’ll learn the basics of needle-turn appliqué as you create the stem and leaves.

You'll learn how to make a template for your pattern and how to choose fabrics effectively for creating highlights and shadow.

Next come the sunflowers themselves and you'll be delighted to discover how easily the shaded wired ribbon can be shaped into a ring of petals. So simple -- but such a beautiful result.

The flowers are finished by creating centres filled with coloured seed beads. Finally, you will learn to set your creation into a reverse appliquéd border.

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10. Pot with Pansies

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels, but very suitable for beginners
• Project size: 22"x20.5" (center 10"x9")

Capture the essence of spring with these lovely pansies in dimensional wired ribbon appliqué. And it's easier than you think!

This is a hand appliqué project that confident beginners can readily take on. I will lead you through the basics of needle-turn appliqué techniques as you create the pot and leaves.

Next you'll learn to manipulate shaded ribbon into blooms that look almost like the real thing.

Finally, you'll embellish your bouquet with delicate lilies-of-the-valley, made with fabric blooms and embroidered stems.

I will present different options for framing the appliquéd pot of flowers, as well as finishing and quilting your block.

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11. Showy Lady Slipper

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels
• Project size: 20"x14"

I love orchids, and enjoy capturing their elegant simplicity in appliqué. The Showy Lady Slipper is endangered in the wild, but we can safely capture it in this project with an Art Deco flavour.

We will begin by creating and layering pattern pieces, and I will lead you through the fundamentals of needle-turn appliqué as you create the stem, leaves and blooms of your flower.

We will discuss the importance of fabric selection for achieving a realistic result.

Ideas and techniques for quilting and finishing will lead you toward a completed project you’ll be eager to display!

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12. Jack-in-the-Pulpit

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels
• Project size: 18"x20" (oval: 8.5"x10.5")

This native bloom is a sure sign that spring has come to the woodlands!

Refine your needle-turn appliqué technique as you create the distinctive striped leaf and tiny spadix inside that gives this plant its name. We will review pattern layering and discuss fabric colour and selection, for wonderful results.

I will teach you how to frame the oval inset that sets off the piece, and we will discuss tips and techniques for finishing. You’ll be delighted with the result!

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13. Chinese Lanterns

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels
• Project size: 19"x25"

The distinctive lantern shape and bright orange colour of these blooms make them a popular choice in autumn gardens and dried arrangements. Now you can capture these cheerful and festive-looking flowers in appliqué!

Fabric and colour selection is vital to the success of this piece, and we will look at your fabrics and discuss how to make good choices as you build the leaves and blooms from your pattern pieces.

I will lead you through needle-turn appliqué techniques, and will demonstrate the tools and tricks of the trade.

Finally, we will review ideas for finishing and quilting your project.

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14. Hawaiian Style Cut-outs

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All levels
• Project size: 28"x28"

In Hawaii, the pineapple is a symbol of welcome, and appears commonly as a decorative motif.

The method for creating these cut-out blocks with a Pacific flair is fun and easy to learn. I will guide you as you move from pattern, through fabric selection, to cut-out, and finally to needle-turn appliqué -- demonstrating the tools and techniques that will give you dramatic results, as in the sample above.

I will also show samples of more complicated patterns that can be created using the very same techniques, as in the photo at right.

We will also discuss ideas for finishing and quilting your project.

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15. Crazy Quilt Block

• Duration: 1 full day
• Level: All
• Project size: sample shown is 8.5"x8.5"

Indulge in embellishment! Learn different embroidery stitches, beadwork and ribbon work used for crazy quilting. We will be working on an 8" block, made before the workshop from a pattern that will be provided.

This is a chance to use all the "things" you have collected over the years, from old handkerchiefs to buttons and charms to old laces. There are so many options for embellishing your work, and I will show other samples to inspire you.

We will also discuss ideas for finishing your piece, or incorporating it into other projects.

No Internet....again

We get our Internet via signals, that go from tower to tower. Usually it works well, although bad weather can interfere.Last week we ran into another problem. This is what I read in the local paper. "Around 2am on September 12th , vandals send a 120 foot communications tower crashing to the ground near Parker.Estimates are that the vandals used an angle grinder to sever the tower's legs. The cost is at least $100.000 and 3000 customers were without Internet services". That included us. I'm happy to say, that as of last evening we were connected again. The police is looking into this, but it is out in the country, so not many people are around at that time of the night. I managed to finish the Christmas throw. It is all flannel, so it is warm and cosy. I learned a lot by quilting it and feel ready for the next one. On Saturday I took a beginner course in making flower arrangements. It was put on by the Horticultural Society in Fergus and it was a lot of fun. Each had to make 3 arragements in a short period of time. After lunch we watched one member make abstract arragements and they were amazing. The worst is always to try and get the arragements home in one piece without dumping them upside down in the car.I was lucky that day! The weather is still beaufitul. It looks like we have our summer just a few months later than other years. This is very good for the corn, since that is still behind. Yesterday was guild meeting and afterwards I picked up my daffodil bulbs. They are huge. They barely fit in a big crate. I will need Laurence's help to get them in the ground. I got something to put on the end of a drill, so he can run that machine, while I put them in the ground.

Shorter days are here

Saturday we had a visitor. Jenny came and she had Bernie, her Bernese Mountain dog, along. I just had to take a picture of a sweet dog in front of the sweet peas. These are in full bloom and it seems, that the more you pick, the more blooms there are. Another sign that fall is near are all the dahlia's I have in the garden. They always take a long time to get to the blooming stage, since I put the bulbs right into the garden. The yellow ones are almost dinner plate size. The orange ones are smaller. I like the color better, but these only last a short time. We did get the sedums planted.I have ordered 200 daffodils to plant in between, but I will not pick those up till our guild meeting next week.Jenny came home with 120 crocusses and they will also need a home. We even planted grass seed on the part that won't have plants. I phoned the hardware store and asked if they had anything that would drill holes in the ground and that would fit in an portable drill and I was lucky. There is one there,even on sale. I will pick that up next week also. Why do it the hard way, when there is an easier way! In the quilt department. I needed a card and I came up with this idea. The back ground has some selvages sewn on The sunflower is fused and then covered with some thread painting. Size is 5 by 7 inches.I like to do these small projects when I get tired of the bigger ones. I'm still not finished quilting the one from last week. The center is an all over design and there are feathers in the border. I have never been able to do even close to a decent job with these feathers. This is shown from the back. The front is harder to see, since it has different colors. I think I'm getting a little better. These feathers are all done free hand. I only draw the spine. 2 more to go and I can put the binding on. Hooray, another project to scratch of the to do list!

The final move

When we moved in December it was too late in the year to move our farm sign. Then this spring the legs snapped in a bad wind storm. We moved it to the workshop and there it stayed. Laurence was busy and so it did not get done, till last week that is. To prevend the legs from snapping in the wind again he brought 2 cement block over and put them on each side of the potentilla. Next we had to find a small generator to run the drill, but it all came together on Monday and it is done. Today I visited my friend Lois and at her place we pulled out a bunch of perenial ivy. I planted that tonight around the blocks, so hopefully by next year they will be covered by ivy. If you look to the right of the sign you can see another bigger flower bed. At one time there was a statue. We sold it and pulled out all the overgrown evergreens. It is still very uneven and there are a lot of weeds. That job will be tackled next. I'm going to borrow a rototiller (sold ours for I did not think I would ever need one again)Since the bare patch is big, I needed a lot of plants. I wanted sedums, but could not find any in the nursery I went to today. On my way home I saw a sign at the end of a farm lane with "perenials for sale" On a whim I drove in and boy, was I glad I did. It was an Old order Mennonite place with a good size greenhouse and lots of plants. I came out of there with 14 good size and very healthy sedums for $70 plus tax. Now to fill in between the sedums I thought of daffodils. The plan is for the daffodils to bloom in the spring and by the time the foliage turns brown, the sedums have grown enough to cover the foliage. One call to Ontario Seed did the trick. There will be 200 bulbs waiting for me on the day of the next guild meeting. Now on the quilt front. This flannel quilt top I bought at a store a few years ago. My plan was to machine quilt it, but instead it ended up in the to do pile. But that is about to change. My next project will be to machine quilt the top with the Dutch fabrics. I want to do a real good job, so this quilt is my trial piece. The center is an all over design and in the border I want to try free hand feathers. I did learn what not to do. You can see the way I basted the layers together and it did not work. I get tangled up in the threads while quilting. I end up cutting the basting as I quilt, what is a real nuisance.

Memories

I grew up on the farm in Friesland with Friesian cows and horses. That was in the days before these black horses where popular all over the world. All his farming life my dad had some Friesian horses around. Although we milked a lot of cows for those days and had an up to date milking machine, we never had a tractor till after I moved to Canada in 1970. My dad did not like anything with a motor, but could tell you the pedigrees of all the cows and horses for generations.Our horses, all registred, did the work,Besides that we drove and rode them. I can still remember when the inspector of the Association would be in the area. Dad would take one or two horses by the halter and on his bike he would go to the next town. We would follow on horse back if necessary. Right there, in the middle of town on the cobbelstones the horses would be judged. If they were good enough the branding iron would come out and the appropriate symbol would be burned in the neck. Over the last 25 years there have been Friesian horses in North America. Inspectors would come over and judge the horses here for entry in the books. My brother let me know, that this would happen near Woodstock near the end of August. So last Saturday, with the combining over and some free time I convinced Laurence to come with me to see the judging. It was just like the olden times with the black horses, shown by people dressed in white. The weather was not co-operating and at first the judging was done outside in the rain, but later it was changed to the inside arena. It was just like I was home again, except this time I was only watching. This made me wish I could still be riding, but that has not happened for a very long time. After a few hours Laurence really, really, really had his fill, so back to home it was, where I had so Skype with my brother in Friesland, who had been to a similar, but much larger show near his place. Back to quilts now. I finished the sashiko sampler and it turned out not too bad. The final size is 43 by 43 inches. Fabric used is Essex (linen/cotton mix) by Kaufman Threads used: overdyed cotton threads by Sassalyne. Appliqued circles come from a piece of silk fabric bought from John Marshall Crest designs: Japanese Design Motives 4200 Illustrations of Japanese Crests ( Dover book) Setting idea: Japanese Quilt Blocks by Susan Briscoe

A busy week

Last week Thursday we started finally with the wheat harvest and it could not have gone better. By Monday afternoon Laurence was almost finished. Just when he started at the last of the neighbours it started to rain. Not that we were out of work. Monday was also the day to get ready for the chick delivery on Tuesday. A lot has to be done at the last minute. As this picture shows, our quiet road changes during harvest time with lots of activity. It is fun to see how 2 large combines try and get past each other. As I write this Laurence is back combining and he should be done soon. Just for a break we went to Jenny's on Sunday. Laurence received a ticket for a ride on the jet boats on the Niagara river and since it promised to be very hot, this was the week-end. Tony went along for the ride. Jenny and I chickened out and went to the botanical gardens instead. The guys had a great time and came back thoroughly soaked. We had been warned and had dry clothes and shoes along. During the harvest I do not have to be right there all the time, as long as I can do whatever comes along " right this moment". This morning it was announced that the rest of the large strawbales had to be brought inside and some help would be appreciated. Now I can drive the tractors, but I'm not very good at it. This I could manage and by noon another job was completed. Next up was a visit to the doctor for my mother-in-law. After supper it will be the rest of the lawn to cut. Not much in the quilt department will get done! I'm working on the machine quilting of a sashiko piece. It is going, but slow. I should be able to show it by next week. I find that very slowly I can do a better job and my shoulders are not quite as sore. 2 more tops are waiting and then it will be back to some new applique.

Another one done!

The sashiko on both of these pieces was done a few years ago. I quilted the one on the left, but did not get around to do the other one. But last week it finally happened. I'm planning to hang both upstairs in the hall. This is after I have put something on the big window to keep the sun out. The sashiko on this piece are all cranes. The patterns came out of a Dover book with over 4000 crest designs. They had to be enlarged, but it works well. And I will not be out of patterns in a long time. This was the first time I used a variegated thread and I like the result. It seems to blend in better and gives it a softer look.

This is, what I look out to, when I do machine work. As you can see I'm working on another quilt and this one is much bigger. I put another small table behind the machine and use my ironing board to the left side. This way I get as much of the quilt as possible level with the machine.

Last week I mentioned, that we finally had started with the wheat harvest. That did not last long. After one round they tested for moisture and the wheat was way too wet, so the combine went back in the shed, where it still is. The weather is warmer, but we have not had the hot, sunny days we need.

I bet you, that there are not many people, who get their bread delived at home anymore. But we do. Every third Wednesday afternoon at about 2, a white van will drive in the lane. Out comes the baker, Guehnter's from Milverton, with the bread. And it is the best bread you can get, according to Jenny. She refuses to eat anything else. Nobody home.....no problem. The bread is put on top of the freezer and you can pay the next time.

Blame it on the apples

I know that I'm a day later that normal,but it is that time of the year again. The old harvest apple tree at the home place is loaded down with apples. That is a change from most years. With this old tree you never know, what to expect. Last year only halve the tree had apples, the year before there were none. After a year with apples it usually takes a year of. On my way to get a tool out of the shop I realized that the time had come to pick apples and make apple sauce, so that's what I have been busy with. It is a messy job, but come winter, it is handy to have all those jars all ready with dessert. This past week I managed to get 2 small wall hangings finished. When I was visiting the guild in Perth in the spring I promised to make a pattern with a snowy lady slipper and here is the result. It is hand appliqued and machine quilted. I like to put the focus, in this case the orchid, in a frame with 2 colors for a back ground. It makes it a little bit more interesting. The Jack-in-the-pulpit has been around for a while, but I never came around to quilting it. This one is also hand appliqued. I consider these practice pieces. There is one top I want to quilt, but I feel that I'm not good enough yet. So there are 2 more tops to be quilted in the next few weeks. By then I should have a feel for what I can do and what my "weak" points are. We had some warmer weather in the last week. If it stays sunny for the rest of the day Laurence will be able to start combining the wheat. In general the crops are a few weeks behind a normal year, whatever normal is. But with this, in general cooler weather, the flowers have been doing very well and last way longer than other years.