Going to Guild - Karla Alexander

Last Monday was guild night, and our guest was Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilt Company. She taught a class on Sunday that I was unable to attend, sadly. The work her students brought for Show and Tell was inspiring.

Karla was last at our guild about five years ago, and she always tells a story about a quilt her mother made for her. Even though I've heard it before, it always makes me tear up. I guess the story reminds me a little bit about the Orange Crush quilt I made for Grace - all those scraps, each with their own memory.

Double Crossed by Karla Alexander

Karla plays with line and color in exciting ways. Her patterns seem to find new ways to arrange and show off the fabrics.  She always brings loads of quilts to demonstrate a point.

Loose Ends by Karla Alexander

I also love how her techniques bring out a luminous quality to the quilts that reminds me more of a painting or stained glass than fabric.

Clam Shells by Karla Alexander

Karla's more recent work dives deep into curved piecing, and this is what I would love to learn from her. The way these clam shells are designed is ingenious!

Lanterns by Karla Alexander

But my favorite quilt of all may be one of the less complex ones. The Lanterns quilt would be such a great way to show off those fabrics that you just can't bear to cut, the ones that need wide open spaces to show off. I love the lines of this quilt, and can think of so many fun ways to free motion quilt each individual lantern.

I've linked to each pattern in case you want to try one for yourself. If your guild is looking for a teacher/lecturer, or if you're trying to decide on a class at a show, you can't go wrong with Karla!