Saturday 29th July was Hawke's Bay Patchworkers and Quilter's 2nd Give It A Go Day. This year I was able to participate as a student rather than a tutor.

My morning workshop was Strip Pieced Magic with Neddie Clark, based on an idea in a book by Ricky Timms called Convergence Quilts.

We were required to bring 4 16" squares of different fabrics. I decided to take a selection of my hand painted fabrics. With Neddie's help we decided on four that looked good together and here is the result:

The workshop highlighted the need to be systematic, organised and precise. I was rather pleased with the result.

At 12 o'clock lunch was announced so we packed up and moved to the next station in preparation for the afternoon session. Some of our members volunteered to prepare a soup and bun lunch which was just what we needed.

My afternoon workshop was McTavishing Style Free Motion Quilting with Ann Yeo, using ideas from Karen McTavish's book, Mastering the Art of McTavishing.

I have done a bit of free motion quilting but it's always good to try something new. I have been impressed with Ann's wonderful quilts and wanted to learn her secret.

We started right back at the beginning with paper and pen to practice the shapes and create what Karen calls 'muscle memory'. I found the practice on paper quite relaxing. It felt good to draw. It was quite mesmerising. Then came time with the machine. We used a free motion foot, threaded the eye on the bobbin case and loosened the top thread. I was impressed with how easy it was. Just three main shapes and I was away like I'd been doing it for years. I'm really looking forward to incorporating these new skills in my future quilts.

There were two other workshops running, a foundation piecing class working on a Christmas tree runner and another class learning a new way to make Cathedral Window blocks.

Another great day, enjoyed by all who attended.