Planning ahead

I'm planning a Fabric Embargo for 2014.  I have an enormous stash and with every new fabric purchase, something that I have wanted to make for months or years slips further down the list.  My plan is to use my stash for at least the first six months of 2014, possibly the entire year.  Heaven knows, I could go many YEARS without buying anything new!

I have 3 UFOs that I want to finish:

• Lily Pad/Atkinson Designs quilt - needs 2 borders
• 2010 Designer Mystery BOM - needs final border
• Second Story/Miss Rosie Quilt Company - blocks finished, needs assembly/pieced sashing

Since I don't do well with detailed planning of future projects, I'm just going to go where my whim takes me when I am ready to start the next project.  Some things I know I will be making in 2014:

• Baby quilt for my niece, who is expecting in June - planning will commence once baby's gender is revealed.  This will be my one exception to the "Nothing New" rule as the expectant Mommy wants input into the design and I may not be able to make it from my stash.
• Hubble/Miss Rosie's Quilt Company - using Basic Grey's Little Black Dress & LBD2
• This Square Root of Nine/A Quilter's Dream quilt for my mom
• Get started on graduation quilts for my twin boys (though I'm still in denial that they are going to graduate in 2015!!)

Hello, Old Friend

I've been having some piecing problems this year.  It seems like all the quilts I finished in 2013 had some kind of issue when I started to sew the blocks together.  After talking it over with some friends, I decided to go back to my old Trusty Pfaff and see if I can get back to being the piecer I once was.  Maybe I'll even blog more!

I did finish Nantucket and had some piecing trouble, but it's all together now.  I don't have a picture to share because Hubble has taken over my design wall.

This will put my piecing skills to the test!   I'm going to make 2 versions of this Miss Rosie's Quilt Company pattern.  I'm using Little Black Dress and Little Black Dress 2 by Basic Grey.

Here's to perfect piecing in 2014!

Say it ain't so!

Earlier in my quilting career, I had a real disdain for 9-patches.  I found the piecing "boring" and the blocks too plain for my tastes.

Then I met and took a class with these women...

And made this quilt...

And now the 9-patch block is one of my favorites.













Here is the start of my Nantucket quilt.  Like Sinta, I started with the 9-patches.  I know I'm really going to LOVE this quilt!

Seeing RED!

I've been smitten with Minick & Simpson's Midwinter Reds collection since it arrived at Keepsake Cottage.  Working at the counter and looking over at the beautiful red, cream and tan bolts was making me want to make something, very badly!

And then, in early October, we had a trunk show of three Midwinter Reds quilts sent by Minick & Simpson which only fueled my desire to make a red quilt!  The quilts are even more beautiful in person than they are on a pattern cover.  I chose Nantucket, and when Sinta received a FQ bundle for her birthday and was trying to decide what to make with it, I tried to persuade her to choose Nantucket, too!

She did choose Nantucket, and we convinced a couple other friends -Thelma and Nicole - to join us.  I hope you will check in to see our progress on this fabulous red & white quilt!

Look what's blooming!

Whew - I haven't finished a "garage door" sized quilt top for a long time.  In other words, one so big I had to take it outside to photograph because it's too big to fit on my design wall!

Thelma, Nicole and I all fell in love with this quilt last year when we attended the Buggy Barn's outdoor quilt show.  We've been planning to make this for over a year, and finally put the pedal to the metal and finished this gorgeous quilt.  It was a fun project to work on with friends, and made it even more special that we swapped fabric for it, too.  I have bits of both my friends in my quilt, and that just makes me smile.

The pattern is Autumn in my Garden and is featured in the Buggy Barn book, A Little Bit Crazy.  The 'Barn has also just come out with this as an individual pattern, which you can order from their website.  They also have a kit available, in case you don't have two great friends to swap fabric with!

One of these things is not like the others

One of these things just doesn't belong!  Yes, that blocky sunflower on the left does not belong!!

Note to self:  This last row of blocks went together so quickly because you FORGOT to add the flip corners to the center of the sunflower.  FOUR TIMES!   Argh...   I will be at one with my seam ripper today!

Autumn in My Garden

Wow, where has the summer gone?  Kids heading back to school in less than a week.

We've had an amazing summer in Seattle - hardly any rain and lots of sun.  But I can already feel a hint of fall in the air and it will be here in less than a month.

Another sign of late summer - I'm seeing fields of sunflowers in my sewing room!  This is Autumn in My Garden by the Buggy Barn.  It's from their book A Little Bit Crazy.

Thelma, Nicole and I saw this quilt hanging at the Buggy Barn quilt show last summer and have been talking about it ever since.  We've even traded strips of fabrics to give each quilt more variety.  Even better than raiding your own stash, is raiding your friends' stashes, too!

There is a lot of prep work involved in getting ready to make a block.  The centers are 8 x 8 squares that finish 1".   I've got some oldies but goodies from my stash worked in here!

It will be fun to see my friends' versions of the quilt, too.  Because even though I know we have some of the same fabric, I have a feeling all of them are going to be unique.

Blogger Girls' BOM

You may notice that my blocks look much the same as they did on June 1.  You would be right.  In fact, this is the same picture, as my quilt top is still in its unfinished state.  Between end of school activities, family visiting and our region's Shop Hop, I haven't had time to work on this one.   I'm still undecided about how I will put the blocks together, but it might just be a simple sashing and cornerstone.

Don't forget to stop by the following bloggers to see what they've done with their quilt tops  - so many creative choices for finishing.   And check out the Flickr page, too.

Monique from Open Gate Quilts
Sherri from A Quilting Life
Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Lissa from Moda  Lissa
Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Nicole from Sister’s Choice Quilts

Diamond Traditions Winner

Thanks to everyone who joined me for the Blog Tour for Diamond Traditions.  I enjoyed reading your comments.  I had 55 commenters and the random number generator picked number 42 - Linda V., who wrote:

Linda V June 20, 2013 at 12:10:00 PM PDT

The runner is wonderful! Thanks for the giveaway

Thank you all for visiting!  I'll contact Linda to get her address to mail the book!

Diamond Traditions Blog Tour, Brilliance

Thanks for joining me on my featured day of the Blog Tour to celebrate Monique Dillard's new book, Diamond Traditions.  This is the quilt I decided to make - Brilliance.  This is the version of the quilt that you'll see in the book.

Before I show you the one I made, Monique asked all of us some "getting to know you" questions, so here are my answers.

1.  When did you start quilting?
I started quilting in 1993 (gasp - 20 years ago!) after watching a PBS show called Quilting from the Heartland, hosted by Shar Jorgenson.  I'd always liked fabric and quilts, and the idea of rotary cutting really appealed to me.  My first quilt taught me that rotary cutting and cardboard templates do not mix, and also that I never wanted to use templates again!

2.  What was your first project?
Ambitious for a first project, I chose a quilt from Quiltmaker magazine called Winken, Blinken and Nod.  I had all manner of trouble with shaving off just a sliver of the cardboard template with every cut of my rotary blade, so in my first attempt at assembly, nothing fit together.  I was determined, though!  I had to buy more fabric and I bought a template kit that included a laminate type material and special scissors that allowed you to cut through it.  This worked out better for me, but I still wound up with a quilt where nothing matched in the center!

3.  What is your favorite movie?
Wow - so many to choose from!  I choose Dirty Dancing which has a wonderful love story, great music and Patrick Swayze - yowza!

4.  What is your favorite book?
Another tough question.  I'd have to say She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb.

5.  What is your favorite tv show?
My favorite classic show that I can watch again and again is Friends.  I have all 10 seasons on DVD and watch them often while I'm sewing.  My favorite current show is Grey's Anatomy.

6.  Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Seattle, Washington.  When I was in junior high, my parents moved us just north of Seattle, near where I live today with my husband and 3 children.

7.  Dog lover?  Cat lover?  Neither?  Both?
I love dogs and have been trying to adopt a French bulldog for years.  Maybe someday I will actually have one!

8.  If you didn't quilt, what hobby would you do?
Blasphemy!  I can't imagine not quilting - I love it so!  But I'd probably do something with yarn - knitting or crocheting - if I couldn't quilt.

9.  Sports - participant, spectator or neither?
I'm not much of either, but I do enjoy watching high school girls' basketball, especially when my son is playing in the band.

10.  Least favorite part of quilting?
My least favorite parts are anything having to do with the finishing - assembling the rows, adding borders, piecing the back.  I'd much rather be sewing blocks!

11.  Most favorite part of quilting?
My favorite part is cutting out a quilt and bonding with the fabrics that I am going to use.  That's the part that feels the most creative to me - choosing the perfect fabrics to go with a pattern, then making that first test block to make sure I like how the fabrics play with the pattern.

12.  Person who is your quilting inspiration and which designer/quilter would you most like to meet?
I'm lucky enough to have met two of my favorite designers that I now consider friends - Carrie Nelson and Monique Dillard.  I would very much like to meet Kim Diehl and Kaffe Fassett some day.

13.  Salty or Sweet?
Definitely sweet, preferably with chocolate!

And now back to the real reason you're here, to find out more about Monique's new book!

When Monique asked me to participate in her blog tour, I wanted to help, but found myself really short on time.  So my choice from the book was Brilliance.  It's a very simple quilt with snowball-ish blocks and it really shows off the fabric.

I used the fabric collection 2wenty Thr3e designed by the folks at Cosmo Cricket for Moda.  I used a cream Bella Solid for the sashing and Moda Essential Dots in Dove for the border.  I quilted it using straight lines about 1/4-inch apart.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and now I have a cute table runner that measures 16-1/2 x 27.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the Blog Tour.  Please leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 23 and I will select one lucky person to win a copy of Monique's fabulous new book!  Good luck to all.

Diamond Traditions Blog Tour

Happy Monday and welcome to the first day of the blog tour to celebrate my friend Monique Dillard's beautiful new book, Diamond Traditions.

Please join these bloggers this week to see their versions of the quilts in Monique's book and comment on their featured day for a chance to win a book.
Monday - Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Tuesday - Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Wednesday - Me!
Thursday - Sherri from A Quilting Life
and wrapping it up on Friday - Monique from Open Gate Quilts

In the home stretch

Ready for Block 6 of the Blogger Girls' BOM?  This block is another one of my favorites.  I made a little design tweak by making some of my star points from a different fabric.  Not that I'm all original and stuff - the simple truth is that I ran out of main star fabric and had to make do!  Other than that, this block was a cinch to make.  Head over to Monique's blog to get your final free block pattern.

Next month we'll show our finishes.  I haven't decided on a setting, but I have figured out the order of the blocks.

Don't forget to stop by the following bloggers to see what they've done with Block 6.   And check out the Flickr page, too.

Monique from Open Gate Quilts
Sherri from A Quilting Life
Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Lissa from Moda  Lissa
Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Nicole from Sister’s Choice Quilts

Strawberry Fields Forever

Have you discovered the wonders of Pinterest?  Where you can lose hours looking at home decorating ideas, recipes and quilt designs?  I don't spend a lot of time there, but I do keep an eye out for quilt designs.  When I saw this quilt made from Fig Tree's Strawberry Fields fabrics (one of my all-time favorite collections), I decided I had to make a quilt like it.

I clicked through to find the pattern and was able to determine that the quilt was designed by Ryan Walsh, who has a blog here, though it hasn't been updated in a while.  I didn't see a pattern available for sale through his website, so I looked up the found the block in my Around the Block Again book by Judy Hopkins, decided on a block size (mine are 12") and made my own Strawberry Fields quilt.  There is a narrow sashing between the blocks and a slightly wider border of the background fabric.  I plan to use Minky on the back and finish with a scrappy binding using my leftovers.

This was a really fun quilt to put together - nice big pieces and easy construction.  Thanks, Ryan Walsh, for the inspiration!

April showers bring May flowers...

...and Block #5 of the Blogger Girls' BOM.   I was only able to make one block before the deadline.   My sewing machine decided it wanted to chew up the second version of Block 5.  My Pfaff is in time out right now.

At any rate, here is Block 5, and also a shot of my 9 blocks so far.  Only one more month, quilting friends, and our blocks will be ready to assemble into a quilt!

I'm using the fabric collection Field Notes by Blackbird Designs for Moda.

Please visit Monique to download this month's block, and also stop by the following bloggers to see their blocks for this month.  And don't forget the Flickr page where you can add your photos even if you don't have a blog.  I really love seeing all the different fabric combinations!

Monique from Open Gate Quilts
Sherri from A Quilting Life
Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Lissa from Moda  Lissa
Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Nicole from Sister’s Choice Quilts

April Schnibbles Finished!

OK, *now* my Hat Trick Schnibbles quilt is finished.  It ended up around 35" square.  I hope my mom will like it for her belated Mother's Day present!

I can't wait for Sherri and Sinta's parades to see all the different variations of the Hat Trick pattern.

Edited to add:  The fabrics are batiks and prints from the Paint Box collection designed by Edyta Sitar/Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda, along with some background fabrics from my Jo Morton stash.

Hat Trick

I'm finally getting my energy back after my bout with pneumonia.  I was happy to learn the April pattern for Another Year of Schnibbles was Hat Trick - it was one I hadn't made yet.

I used Paint Box fabrics by Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda, both the batiks and regular prints.  I finished all the 9 patches last weekend, but didn't have fabric for the setting squares or triangles.  The charm packs did not have enough light fabrics to use for that.  Seeing it on my design wall, I was anxious to get it finished, so I started pulling some tan backgrounds from my various Jo Morton collections and I like how they worked with the Paint Box prints.  I think I will leave it square like this, without adding a border.  Edited to add:  I will end up adding borders to this because I'm gifting it to my Mom and she needs something a little larger.  I just have to wait for the Paint Box yardage to show up in stores!

There's still time to join in on the Schnibbles fun!  Visit Sinta at Pink Pincushion or Sherri at A Quilting Life and get all the details.  And if you don't have the pattern yet, you can buy it and download it instantly from the fabulous designer, Carrie Nelson - just go here to her online shop.

No foolin'!

Nope, no tricks here!  It's April 1 and time to show you block 4 in Monique Dillard's Blogger Girl BOM.  This block will be a very memorable one for me because I worked on it while I was recovering from pneumonia!  I've never had pneumonia before and it really turned my life upside down.  Taking a shower and getting dressed was enough to make me have to stop and rest on the couch.  These 2 blocks, which should have taken a day at most, took me over a week to complete.  Every step took me 3 times as long as it normally would, as I just didn't have the strength or brainpower to work on these fabric combinations.

But all told, this will be a memorable block for me for another reason - it's my favorite so far in this series!  I love how changing the fabrics up a little bit make the 2 blocks seem completely different.  I hope you have fun with it too, and I also hope you are completely healthy when you're making yours!  Back to work today after my 2 week "Pneumonia Vacation."

Please visit Monique to download this month's block, and also stop by the following bloggers to see their blocks for this month.  And don't forget the Flickr page where you can add your photos even if you don't have a blog.  I really love seeing all the different fabric combinations!

Monique from Open Gate Quilts
Sherri from A Quilting Life
Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Lissa from Moda  Lissa
Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Nicole from Sister’s Choice Quilts

It's not you, it's me

I don't remember ever spending this much time on one quilt project.  I knew I was going on a retreat in January, so I cut and pieced pinwheels starting in December to make this awesome quilt, Woven in Pinwheels, designed by Gerri Robinson of Planted Seed Designs.   This is my first time using one of her patterns, but it won't be the last.  The instructions are clear and the diagrams couldn't be better.  I also like her style of designs - lots and lots of pieces but pretty simple components.

I made some epic mistakes with this quilt.  The major one was taking it on retreat and sewing merrily along while gabbing with my friends, not really keeping a close watch on my 1/4 inch seam.  I got home to find that most of the star blocks I assembled were not the right size due to me not using enough of a seam allowance.  I really only had 9 blocks that needed to be remade, so I set them aside and created 9 new star blocks when I got home.

Then somehow, while putting the stars together in vertical rows, I discovered another 9 that did not fit together.  They should have measured 8-1/2 inches and most were 8-1/2 inches in one direction but only 8-1/4 inches in the other direction.  So I'm getting the vertical rows together, remaking the last row of star blocks and finally pretty close to finishing this one.

I hope you won't let my foibles discourage you from trying this pattern.   It is a beautiful and a very clever design and I have enjoyed the process, even though it has taken me much longer than a quilt  project ever should!  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... I just hope it's not a train!

I'm making Woven in Pinwheels quilt with French General's Chateau Rouge fabrics.  It only takes a fat eighth bundle and some background.  Lucky for me that I bought a fat quarter bundle.   I've used much more than a fat eighth with all the blocks I've remade.  But hey - I have 18 star blocks that I can use for the back of the quilt.... if I can get THEM to fit together!

Blogger Girls Block of the Month, Block 3

Oh my - I haven't updated my blog but once since last month's BOM posting? I am sorry for my poor, neglected blog.  I am now assembling a quilt I've been piecing since December.  I expect that life will settle down for me after 2 vacations and a February full of musical performances, and I will be able to do more sewing and posting!   I am very anxious to be able share the quilt I'm making using French General's Chateau Rouge fabrics.

Without further ado, Monique Dillard at Open Gates Quilts has the third block of her FREE Block of the Month quilt available for download today.  The Blogger Girls BOM is a 6 block quilt.  You can make a small quilt with 6 blocks or make 2 of each block for a larger quilt.  Stop by Monique's blog today and get the instructions for your third block.

I'm using Field Notes, by Blackbird Designs for Moda fabrics.  I struggled this time with picking colors for my blocks.  I made the blue one first and wasn't entirely thrilled with the results.   As I studied the finished block on my design wall, I kept seeing a Churn Dash block in the middle, so with the second block, I tried to emphasize it more with the wine colored fabric.

Please visit my fellow bloggers to see their blocks for this month, and don't forget the Flickr page where you can add your photos even if you don't have a blog.  I really love seeing all the different fabric combinations!

Monique from Open Gate Quilts
Sherri from A Quilting Life
Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Lissa from Moda  Lissa
Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Nicole from Sister’s Choice Quilts

Megan's quilt

My daughter's best friend was diagnosed with leukemia just a few days before Christmas.  With a feeling of helplessness, what's a quilter to do but make a quilt?  I had some cute fabrics from the Out to Sea collection by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller.  I used a pale blue Minky dot for the back.

Megan is undergoing chemo and has a good prognosis.   I hope this can bring a smile to her sweet face.

Blogger Girls BOM, Block 2

Monique Dillard at Open Gates Quilts has the second block of her FREE Block of the Month quilt available for download today.  The Blogger Girls BOM feature a 6 block quilt.  You can make a small quilt with 6 blocks or make 2 of each block for a larger quilt.  Stop by Monique's blog today and get the instructions for your second block.

I'm using Field Notes, designed by Blackbird Designs for Moda fabrics.  Here are my 2 blocks for this month.   I see that I didn't follow Monique and everyone else's lead by rearranging the colors in the second block, but I still like how they turned out.  Please visit the following Blogger Girls as they sew along and post pictures of their blocks, too.

Monique from Open Gate Quilts
Sherri from A Quilting Life
Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Lissa from Moda  Lissa
Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Nicole from Sister’s Choice Quilts

There's also a Flickr page where you can upload photos of your blocks if you don't have a blog (or even if you do - it's fun to see them all in one place!)

Tickle

This is my first 2013 finish.  It's one of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company's new Little Bites pattern.   This one is called Tickle.  I made it just like one version pictured on the pattern cover, using Cinnamon Spice by Blackbird Designs.   This was a fun little quilt.   I'm already planning my next Little Bites project.

Happy New Year!

And my wish for a healthy and prosperous new year for everyone!   My daughter and I will do our annual "wild and crazy" thing to ring in the new year - The Polar Bear Plunge into Lake Washington at high noon today (water temp was 46 degrees).  It's such a fun mother/daughter tradition - it makes me feel energized about starting the new year.

Another fun way to ring in the new year - Monique Dillard at Open Gates Quilts is kicking off her FREE Block of the Month program today.  The Blogger Girls BOM feature a 6 block quilt.  You can make a small quilt with 6 blocks or make 2 of each block for a larger quilt.  Stop by Monique's blog today and get the instructions for your first block.

I'm using Field Notes, designed by Blackbird Designs for Moda fabrics.  Here are my first 2 blocks, and please visit the following bloggers as they sew along and post pictures of their blocks, too.

Monique from Open Gate Quilts
Sherri from A Quilting Life
Thelma from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies
Lissa from Moda  Lissa
Denise from Quilter’s  Window
Nicole from Sister’s Choice Quilts