Weekend with Tula Pink part 1

a weekend with Tula Pink......

in 2011 at Sisters i took a class from Tula Pink. it was one of the best trip i had to Sisters. we did Tula's Cartwheel quilt in that class. so when i saw that Miss Pink was going to be near me this year it was an easy answer if i was going or not. pretty much nothing stood in the way of me taking another class from her.

the whole weekend (back in July) was put together by Stash which is a super cool quilt shop in Walla Walla, WA. if i had a quilt shop mine would look and feel like Stash. its full of fabric, patterns, notions, pre-cuts and much much more. everywhere i looked there was something i wanted. more on that later.

they had their front windows completely decorated up with everything made from Tula's fabric.  wall art, pillows, lamp shades, skirts and quilts.

Friday night was a meet and greet at Stash. Tula was there and she was signing books and chatting with all of us.  in talking with Tula we discovered that we both were staying at the same hotel.  so.... lucky me got to have breakfast with Tula.  i had a great time talking with her about various topics.  what you see in Tula's fabrics is her - fun, bright, whimsical and all with a bit of an edge to it.

 

side note: in my world of sewing hanging out with Tula Pink is at the top of my list and i have had the great pleasure of doing it a few times now. 

 

the class was held at a local hotel in Walla Walla that is top notch.  the staff at Stash did a great job in getting the room set up and ready for a quilting class.  there was several ironing stations as well as design boards for us to put our blocks on as we finished them.

 

at each spot there was a goody bag full of all sorts of fun things.  my bag had jelly beans, 3 fat quarters, fun buttons, thread, a pattern, a discount coupon to Stash and a super cool Tula Pink coffee cozy made by the ladies from Stash. 

 

the quilt we worked on was Stacks from Tula's book.  i picked her latest fabric collection to make the quilt out of and i picked the dark purple fabric for the background.

 

this was my view from my machine in the class room.  you can see the design walls lined up around the room.  i went to this class by myself but made a new quilting/blogland buddy.  Teresa who sat across from me.  she is a Tula fan just like me and even better she loves quilting and she is a long arm quilter as well.  Teresa blogs over at www.quiltingismybliss.blogspot.com - you all need to go and check her out.

 

once my Stacks quilt is done i am sending it to Teresa to have her add to the magic of the quilt with her stitches.  she has already done two Stacks quilts and they are both amazing.

 

so the day progressed and i had plans to take lots of pictures of the process of making the block.  however, Tula decided that there would be a prize for whoever had the most blocks done by the end of class.  the picture taking went by the wayside and the sewing took over.

 

there are a total of 20 blocks in this quilt.  i had a blast putting the blocks together.  Tula would come by and do a block count check every now and then.  good times were had.  when time was called i had 19 1/2 blocks done - one seam left to get to 20.  there was another gal who was about the same.  we each got a roll up of Tula's The Birds and The Bees fabric.

 

i got all of my blocks put together in class.  once home i pressed them all.  sorted them out and sewed together the top.  i am adding boarders to the quilt to make it bigger.  once i get that done i will post pictures of it.  

 

                                                    the pictures are not the greatest but i love, love, love the purple setting fabric with these colorways from The Birds and The Bees.  i am normally a green girl but lately i seem to be having a love affair with purple in all of its various shades.

 

me and Tula after my sewing marathon.  Tula was wearing Bernina red that day since now she is a Bernina gal herself.

 

since i had some help with the marathon from my machine i thought it was only fitting that Tula gave it some love as well.

 

there will be a couple more posts to come about this trip.  i did some shopping at Stash and Tula did a lecture after the class.  she shared her design process as well as some of her quilts.

 

i know that i haven't been posting regularly.  i am gradually getting back into it.  my life took a turn in July and has been a little out of sorts since then.  each day is a little better so i thank you for hanging in there with me.

 

happy sewing

Tula, Stash and Therapy

today is the day that I travel to Walla Walla - the town so nice they named it twice. hahaha. no I did not come up with that one.

you might be wondering what is in Walla Walla that would take me there.  well it would be none other then

that's right.  Tula Pink is going to be there.  I know crazy right?  just a short 2 hour drive for me and I will be among greatness in the quilting world.

I stumbled upon this event/workshop awhile back when I was out on Facebook one day.  I totally freaked out.  how many towns are named Walla Walla?  I dug deeper, holding my breath and then I cheered.  its the Walla Walla in Washington.  I called Stash, the shop hosting the event right away and signed up.  I didn't even know of this great little quilt shop so close to me.

since I wasn't able to make it to Sisters this year this trip to Walla Walla sort of makes up for it.  I said 'sort of'.

this evening is a meet and greet with Miss Pink herself as well as a book signing.  my book is already signed but I am taking a friends to have signed and I am sure I will be doing a bit of shopping as well.

tomorrow is the class with Tula.  we will be making her Stacks quilt from her book.  Stash did up kits for the quilt.  option one same fabric as the quilt in the book.  option two a combination of Nightshade and The Birds & The Bees.  hmmmmm.  me being me wanted to do the quilt out of just The Birds & The Bees.

so, I called Stash and they sent me fat quarters of the line.  I picked what I wanted to use for the quilt and went hunting for a background fabric.  I must confess I had a little help making the final choice.  thanks Tula - she is so cool like that.  those that know me know I am not a fan of setting things in light colored fabric.  so this is what i ended up with. 

i have my fabric all cut up and ready to go and my car is packed.  a little highway therapy.  a little retail therapy.  a little sewing therapy.  some time with Tula.  who could ask for anything more?

Cartwheels Class With Tula Pink

you all know by now that i took a class from Tula Pink when i was at Sisters this year for their Outdoor Quilt Show. i have been wanting to get this post up but time & issues with Blogger it has taken me longer then i wanted it to. but here it is.

the class that i took was her Cartwheels quilt pattern. she brought her quilt with her. not only is the pattern amazing but the quilting on it is amazing as well. it was quilted by Angela Walters. the detail in the quilting is wonderful & it really accents the pattern.

the back of one of Tula's quilts that has her Parisville Hair Spray Can label on it. Love It!!!

one of the quilts that Tula brought to share with us was this one that she had played around with removing color from the fabric. as you can see above the pink/red has been removed from the flowers. this was done with Rit Color Remover. Rite Color Remover removes the red dye from the fabric 1st.

this whole quilt has had the fabric altered either one way or another. Tula told us that she also uses bleach to change the coloring of fabric. we all gasped when we heard that. she said that she starts with 2 cups of bleach in a medium to full washer. bleach removes yellow dye from the fabric 1st.

again, here is a pic showing the normal fabric on the left with the pink feathers & then the color removed fabric on the right with the neutral colored feathers.

another quilt that Tula brought to share is her Spiked Punch pattern. she said that this quilt was made mostly from scraps & that it is her most popular pattern.

Tula also shared her Modern Alphabet quilt with us. she was teaching that class the next day. she showed us the fabric that she was going to be using & she had picked a navy for the background. i wonder how that quilt turned out?

taking a class from her is great. i learned a lot from her. one of the greatest things i learned from her is how she pins her fabric. yes. she pins her fabric. Tula said that she is a traditionalist when it comes to the sewing part of making quilts. anyways, back to pinning. most people pin their fabric like i have the pins on the top half. Tula pins her fabric like i have the pins on the bottom half. i asked her why & she told me that they are easier to take out as she is sewing. she just uses her right hand & flicks the pins out as they go by before the needle. i tried it in class & its now how i pin. it really saves time because you don't have to stop & remove pins. you just keep sewing & flicking them out as you go. i then used my magnetic pin holder to gather them all up.

a few other sewing things that i learned from Tula during the class is that she sews most everything with grey thread.

she also sews standing up. yep. we talked a lot about that one because i have back issues & that is the reason she sews standing up. its easier on her back. she just uses bed risers to raise up her sewing table.

oh, she also has 3 machines that each have a project on them at all times. that way if she gets board with one she can move onto something else. brilliant idea. now i just need a couple more machines.

Tula is great to take a class from. she helped me put my fabrics together for my Cartwheel quilt. Tula has a great story of how she got into the business & you can tell how passionate she is about what she does. she cranks out the quilts as well each year. i think she told us anywhere from 80 to 100 each year.

i know i already shared these but this is what i got done in class with her.

i am getting caught back up on some sewing stuff & hoping to get back to this quilt soon. i really would like to get it finished because i love Prince Charming & i want to get it done to see it all together.

if you ever have the chance to take a class from Tula Pink don't think twice about it. do it. it is well worth the time. she is a wealth of knowledge & a blast to spend a day with.

thanks Tula for the education, the fun & the memories.

Sisters Day 1

day 1 is under our belts here at Sisters. this was the 1st year that i have taken a class at Sisters. they have classes going the whole week prior to the Outdoor Quilt Show. my friend Shelly took the class with me. we did Tula Pink's Cartwheel pattern with Tula.

here is a pic of Tula's Cartwheel quilt. the quilting on it is amazing. it was done by Angela Walters.
of course i had to get a pic with Tula. she is so much fun to take a class from. we learned a lot & met a lot of wonderful people.
then a pic of my partner in crime Shelly & me. we don't often get to spend a whole day together & it was great catching up, sewing & goofing off.

last night we went shopping at The Stitchin Post which was great. i will post more pics about the class when i get a chance. for now we are off to more quilt shops for some retail therapy.