Mission: Pack 4 Class on Off the Wall Friday

Okay, show of hands, who out there gives a small groan when you get the supply list for a big quilting class?  25 years later and many, many 5-day quilting classes and I still get intiminadated when I first read the list.  You think to yourself, "Self!  Does she really want us to bring all this stuff?  Are we really going to use all of it? And how much fabric is actually enough?"  I mean nobody wants to get to class and think, "Gosh I wish I had  "insert the most perfect fabric here" with me."  But also you don't want to be THAT gal who brings her whole stash.

Now in all honesty, Veronica Hofman-Ortega, did a very good job with her supply list for my upcoming class in Improv Piecing.  Here is our mission ... if we chose to complete it...

Fabric

• Choose solids, textured and tonal blenders (fabrics that read as solid), hand-dyed fabrics (only if you have hand-dyed).

• Bring a good variety of fabrics in light, medium, and dark values. 

•  a minimum of a 1/2 yard piece of each fabric (cut selvedge to selvedge from the bolt).
• Try to have colors in values of at least a 5-step range from light to dark: lights, light mediums, mediums, dark mediums, darks.

• bring more yardage (2-4 yards) of fabrics you’ll use as a dominant color or background.

• 3-4 total yards of “zinger” fabrics: brights, saturated or neon-like colors (neon yellow, lime, turquoise, bright  red, bright orange, pink, etc.). Stripes, plaids, checks, and geometrics can be considered zingers and will add interest. Some of these zinger fabrics can be fat quarters or large scraps.

• 1-2 yards each of white, black, cool neutrals (greys) and warm neutrals (cream, beige, taupe)

• Optional, if time permits and you want to experiment: a larger scale print, orphan quilt blocks, or a UFO (unfinished project) you’re willing to cut up.

 Now when I first read the requirements, all I saw was the "a minimum of a 1/2 yard piece of each fabric (cut selvedge to selvedge from the bolt" part and thought  - Oh! Oh! - I mean I hardly EVER have half yard cuts.  I mean they might have been a half yard cut at one time but who knows if they are now.  Then I thought - well the class is Improv Piecing so if I really need a bigger cut I can always just sew a few quick seams and I'll have a bigger cut.  Right? 

Then after 2 weeks - yes 14 days  - hemmming and hawwwing  - I still couldn't make up my mind for a palette.  I originally was just going to pick an abstract quilt or painting I like and pull the colors from that or even go to my pinterest color board and pull from that.  But nope...couldn't make up mind.  The fabric supply list seems to imply that I will know what dominant color will be - sigh - it's like they haven't met me, ya know?  Sooooo I pulled all the colors!

Pulling from my stash by Hue and Value .... this is what I got

Let me just say that putting fabrics into 5 step value piles is harder than it looks when value is relative as well as color!  One thing I notices is that I own a LOT of Jennifer Sampou's gradated fabrics so I do have half yards that have like 3 values in them.  Anyways - I did my best!  Next was the neutrals so I added a full range of lights  - greys - blacks.  With that accomplished, I dove back into my stash and pulled any cool fabric I thought was interesting.  That way I won't get to class and regret leaving my most interesting fabrics home.

Now how to get it all to class.  I have two containers (I actually have 3 but that is truly an obnoxious amount of fabric!) I bought years ago just for that task...they fit nicely into the car and under your table.  And this is what I ended up with!

After getting it all done, ya know what I thought?  OMGoodness this is going to be a pain to get back into the right bins when I get home!  (PS...now that I'm looking at the picture - I have a lot of dark navy - that would make a nice dominant or background fabric! Gotta pull some more - 'cause ya know I got more)

I'll pack the rest of my supplies and I'll give my stash one good look through - that fabric goes into a smaller tub labeled .. "Just in Case".  Also, I like the idea of bringing UFO that I'm willing to cut up.  That sounds theraputic in the very least!

So How Do You Pack for Class?

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