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Two weeks ago I introduced one of my latest quilting fascinations – Seminole piecing. This week I’d like to share pictures from the class I taught on this technique at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts  in June. I made kits for the students, so they could focus on the piecing techniques. They did a great job and everyone went home with samples of 5 different border patterns to refer back to when they’re ready to add some extra excitement to their quilts.

I will be teaching this workshop at the Madison Quilt Expo in September – kits and all, and I’m hoping it will be a hit! If you’d like to sign up go to:  https://store.wiquiltexpo.com/collections/sit-sews.

I will also be teaching half day workshops on a class I call “Where Do I Start With Fiber Art” (formerly “Parallelisms”). It is based on my book of the same name. To register for that class please go to:  https://store.wiquiltexpo.com/collections/hands-on-workshops.

A few days after the Seminole class in Cedarburg, Beth sent me this picture of the project she bordered with the Seminole braid pattern she’d learned in the workshop:

She used a striped fabric in the braid and I think it’s spectacular. Beth said that each length of striped fabric only made 8 units so the braid changed looks every so often. I can’t wait to try striped fabric in my Seminole borders. Thanks Beth!

Tomi was in the class too and she brought along a trio of Seminole dolls she was given by her grandfather.

She had some fascinating information about these dolls. Next week I’ll share their story and how I acquired my own Seminole doll!

Have you used Seminole piecing in your quilts? Do you have any pictures you’d like to share? Please email them to me at .

I’ve had the wonderful privilege to teach at the Madison Quilt Expo every year since it began. After each show I begin thinking of what new project or technique I should share the following year. While noodling on this after last year’s show an idea began to form. I learned to do Seminole patchwork back in the early 90’s. I hadn’t seen or heard much about it recently and thought it might be a good topic to revisit. I found 2 great books in my own collection and couldn’t wait to start playing with some of the patterns. The quilts I have to share at this time are just tops, three of which I’ve shared for various reasons in previous posts, but I’d like to point out the extra zip the Seminole style borders give to each piece.

I shared my way of doing Simple Seminole with my Open Lab class at WCTC and some of the ladies jumped right into it. Three of them were kind enough to allow me to share these pictures:

And Laurie has used the technique on 2 bed sized quilts.

I recently put together a 3 hour workshop on Seminole piecing and taught it at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Art earlier this Summer. It was a hit! I’ll share pictures from the class and some background information on Seminole piecing in next week’s post.

My friend Barb sent me a picture she found on Facebook of a lovely table topper. It was a pattern by Ruthann Eckersley called Sew Easy Strata Star (all of her patterns are available at: https://ruthsquilting.com/patterns/).

I decided to play with this design, but in my own way (of course). I pulled out a 1 yard batik from my stash that was dyed in gradation,

and cut it into 1 ½” strips.

I sewed these strips back into strata and cut the triangles to make the topper. I didn’t have enough fabric for the small triangles that complete the 3D effect in Ruth’s pattern, but was happy with the spinning star. Here are the 3 possible layouts I came up with:

I pressed the strata using my strip stick. It’s a wonderful tool, and I posted about it a few years ago https://chrisquilts.net/?p=3497. It was so helpful in this project, because I wanted the seams to press crisply. The Strip Stick is a padded piece of half round moulding covered in muslin. By laying a seam at the top of the curve, and pulling the adjacent strips down with my thumb and forefinger,

I’m able to press the seams to the side without any pleats or puckers on the right side. It also allows me to only press one seam at a time. I love it!

To purchase your own, go to: http://www.thestripstick.com/.

Since I didn’t have enough fabric for the pieced corner turn triangles, and I didn’t want to figure out how to finish those 45 degree points, I added corners and made a square.

It’s ready for quilting, but I really wanted to try the original pattern, so I pulled a gradation of blues and greens out of my stash and here’s the results:

I like them both.

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And I’d like to leave you with this parting picture my friend Eileen’s husband took of her while she was quilting.

She had quite a special helper :-)! Thanks for sharing the picture Eileen!