Bloggers Quilt Fest - Fall 2017

Woohoo!  I just came across Amy Ellis' blog post that the Fall 2017 Bloggers Quilt Fest is underway!  Amy is a Martingale author and pattern designer who has been doing this online festival in conjunction with Fall Quilt Market for about ten years now.  There is also a Spring Festival but for the past few years she has run that one through Instagram.

This time around she is going back to the old format:  everyone will post the link to their blog post about their quilt to one page -- the one announcing the start of the festival.  Amy says the linky software she is using will indicate with a check mark which posts you have already visited so you can keep track of your viewing.

This is always a great way to see what people are making around the world and find new bloggers whose work you'd like to follow.  If you have something to share, be sure to post your link to Amy's site by next Monday after which a random number generator will pick the winners.  Just follow the instructions for adding your link on the festival announcement page.  There are great prizes up for grabs so it's worth a shot to enter! 

I don't have anything to put up this time around since I haven't been at the machine much lately.  That means I can spend my time taking a trip around the quilt world and see all the beautiful work others have to offer.  Always an inspiring pleasure!!

It's Almost Here -- Bloggers Quilt Festival - Fall 2016!!

Blogger's Quilt Festival is hosted by Martingale author Amy Ellis and provides a great opportunity to see what other quilters around the world are making.  Participants can link up a blog post to Amy's website and observers can click the links to view their beautiful projects and discover new blogs to follow. 

Since 2009 the festival had been blog focused.  However, back in January Amy had announced changes to the festival.  The annual spring BQF was moved to Instagram and is now the IGQF.  The Fall BQF has remained as blog-based but is now held in September rather than in late October/early November when the big Houston Quilt Market is held.  So if you are like me and don't do social media, this festival is your chance to participate or view quilts that you may not have seen before!

The quilts be will linked together in entry categories based on the style of quilt:  Mini, Small, Large, Applique, Art, Hand Quilted, Home Machine Quilted, Modern, Original Design, ROYGBIV and Scrappy.  You can enter a project whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced quilter so if you have something you'd like to showcase, please post a link so we can all check it out!  Just like at many live quilt shows, part of the fun is that you can also play Quilt Show Judge and vote on your favorites with prizes to be awarded to the winners once the festival ends.

Quilters can add their links (and it must be a new post, not an old one) in the appropriate category September 19 - 24.   You will be able to vote for your Viewer's Choice favorites September 24 - 29.  The sponsors will award prizes to the winners on September 30.

So put it on your calendar to head on over to Amy's website on Monday and take a look!!

P.S.  If you happen to see this post after the festival has ended, don't worry!  Amy leaves the links up to view all the wonderful entries so you always have a chance to see what you've missed!

Big News! Changes to the 2016 Bloggers Quilt Festival!

Since 2009, Amy Ellis formerly of the  "Park City Girl" blog and now blogging at "Amy's Creative Side" announced recently that there will be changes to the format of the biennial "Blogger's Quilt Festival".   

When it started Amy was only blogging.  Now that she is also a quilt designer, book author for Martingale and fabric designer for Moda needless to say she has a lot of commitments!  Given the amount of work it takes to host the festival, she has needed to change her approach to keep everything running smoothly. 

In sum, the spring BQF will move to Instagram and become the IGQF.  The Fall BQF will remain as is (with blog link ups) but will be held in September rather than in late October/early November when the big Houston Quilt Market is held.  You can read about the changes in detail on Amy's blog here. 

I have participated in the BQF since it started although not in every year (click here to see my entries) but I always check out all the links.  It's been a great way to show my work and an even better way to discover the work of other quilters.  I'm not on social media and haven't decided yet whether to dip my toe in with this.   Amy notes that even if you aren't on social media, you'll still be able to view the entries and I can certainly settle for that. 

As always if you've never checked out the festival, all the links to the past shows can be found on her blog here. 

OMG! It's Time For Bloggers Quilt Festival!!

I can't believe I forgot about this and might have missed it!  You know that when everyone in the biz heads for Houston in the Fall, it's time for Amy Ellis' Bloggers Quilt Festival!

Needless to say with all I have on my plate right now, I don't have anything to enter this time around.  I hope you do and I'll be coming around to see what you put in!  If you're like me and just want to ogle all the quilty goodness, then head on over to Amy's website here.  As before, the quilts are in categories and you'll find links to your favorite project types:   Mini, Small, Large, Applique, Art, Hand or Home Machine Quilted, Modern, Original Design, ROYGBIV or Scrappy.

If you haven't already entered something, you still have time: you can link up a post about your project until October 29.  Those of us checking out everyone's work can also nominate projects for "Viewers Choice" during this period.  After the link up closes we'll be voting for our favorites in each category.  Hey, if you're in it, you might win a prize or be profiled on Amy's site as a "Featured Quilter"!

This is the next best thing to being in Houston, so go have a look!  You may find some new ideas to try or new blogs to follow.  Either way, it's always an enjoyable event in the blogging year!

P.S.: If you missed any of the past festivals, scroll down the festival announcement page and you'll find Amy's convenient links to what you missed.

 

Catching Up On May

The Merry Month of May is almost over and there has not been ANY quilting done so far this month!!  As noted on my previous post, I had just gotten my sewing machine back from being serviced when the month began and my focus shifted to being immersed in community and school events which will still be finishing up this week.  It turns out I wasn't prepared for how much all this would knock me off my normal quilting rhythm and schedule.  I even missed being able to go to a local guild quilt show that's held annually in early May!  When the lion's share of my involvement ended last week, I had hoped to spend the Memorial Day weekend having one giant Quilt-A-Thon.  Instead I spent it mostly running around with the hubby (who was finishing up his week of vacation) trying to get the last few things I needed for the spring planting of the flower boxes on my terrace. 

So with that big job now done, I feel like maybe I can finally get back to the quilting!  But before all that, I was fortunate that there are ways to stay involved with quilting when one can't get to the machine.  Thanks to the internet, when one can't sew, one CAN surf!!  Of course the problem with that is this can happen....

That's just why I've avoided joining Pinterest up until now!  Actually, I haven't needed it because there is so much other stuff on the web to occupy me.  The first thing that kept me immersed in all things quilting was the release at the beginning of the month of the latest issue in the Quiltmaker Magazine's "100 Blocks" series.  They are up to Volume 11!  Once again there are a lot of great blocks by new and returning designers.  Each time a new issue comes out, the Quiltmaker staff hold a week long blog tour to preview some of the blocks during which copies of the magazine, fabric and pattern prizes are up for grabs.  I was lucky enough to win one on Day 3 of the tour! 

This generous prize package was courtesy of Quiltmaker, Timeless Treasures fabrics and pattern designers Desiree Habicht of Desiree's Designs, mother/daughter design duo Kristy and Shayla Wolf of Sassafrass Lane Designs and Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods.  All of  these designers have blocks in the issue (Blocks #1005,  #1019,  #1020 and #1028, respectively) so check them out if you've already got a copy of the issue.  Needless to say, this was a great way to start off the month and made up for not being able to sew!

My original plans for the  month had also included getting some important quilt stitching done.  Something I had hoped to get to help with that was some new templates for free motion quilting.  After my experiences back in March stitching Baptist Fans using cardboard templates, I had taken a look at the options that are around for making them with acrylic rulers made for FMQing on domestic machines.  The ones that seemed best suited for the task for me are the "Circles On Quilts" templates by the Australian company Westalee Design.  After watching their video, I ordered them.

I look forward to trying these out on at least one of the Kaye England Civil War Sampler quilts that are still waiting to be quilted up.  I also have in mind an idea to do a quilt with decoratively quilted circles in the future.  If you want to order these or any of the other Westalee templates, they now have a stateside supplier, Sew Steady, so shipping is now only a few states rather than half a world away!

Ever since I started quilting, it seems I manage to "kill" an iron each year!  I had picked up my latest one when we did our warehouse club shopping at the beginning of the month. 

The bonus is that it coordinates perfectly with my current ironing board cover!  The downside?  I was planning to make a new cover when I finish some spring re-decorating of my dining room/Quilt Studio.  Well, for now it's a perfect match.  However also on the iron front, I finally got to order the SteamFast travel iron which Craftsy had on  sale recently for a great price.  I've read a lot of good things about this little iron.  Not only will it be great for travel use but I'm looking forward to being able to use it right at my sewing table when I use my Omnigrid Fold-Away Portable Cutting & Pressing Station something which has been awkward to do with a standard size iron.

Finally in these last few weeks of the month I've been able to spend the time between meetings and events or while traveling to meetings and events, looking at all of the wonderful entries in the Spring Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.

 

 

 Hosted by Martingale author Amy Ellis, this is always a great chance to see what other quilters around the world are making and to discover new blogs to follow.  You also get the opportunity to play Quilt Show Judge and vote on your favorites.  There's still some time to vote so if you haven't done so already, head on over and take a look!!  If you are seeing this post after the festival has ended, know that while it's too late vote on your favorites, Amy leaves the links up to view all the wonderful entries so you always have a chance to see what you've missed!

 

With the volunteer commitments winding down, the holiday over and DH and the boys going back to work and school, I hope to have a little quiet time to try to get in at least some stitching work before the month completely ends and I need to do my next "Get It Done!" report.  Hope your month has been more productive than mine!!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Starts Tomorrow!

One of the highlights in the quilt blogging universe is when Amy Ellis' Bloggers Quilt Festival arrives in the Spring and the Fall.  Amy hosts the festival to give those of us who will not be attending the big International Quilt Market show (held in Houston, TX each Fall) a chance to show off our newest and best work! 

Just like in the Spring BQ Festival, there will be entry catagories based on the style of quilt:  Mini, Small, Large, Applique, Art, Hand Quilted, Home Machine Quilted, Modern, Original Design, ROYGBIV and Scrappy.  Anyone can enter a project (beginner, intermediate or advanced) so if you have something you'd like to showcase, please post a link so we can all check it out!   If you missed any of the previous festivals, you can still access all the links here.

 

Starting tomorrow on Amy's site, you will be able to link your festival blog post (and it must be a new post, not an old one) in the appropriate catagory and you can view other's links until October 31.  During this time you can also vote for your Viewer's Choice favorites.  After that, the ability to add links will close and everyone can go back and vote for their favorite quilt in each catagory up until November 7.  Amy has a slew of sponsors who will be awarding prizes to the winners in each catagory when they are announced on November 8. 

 

I doubt I will entering something in the festival this time but I know I will be taking time each day to view all the wonderful quilts that have been made by bloggers around the world.  It always offers new creative inspiration and is a great chance to pick up some new blogs to follow.  Join the fun, post a quilt, support the prize sponsors and give Amy a virtual pat on the back for continuing this wonderful tradition! 

Bloggers Quilt Festival Entry - Spring 2014

I wasn't sure I'd finish this project in time to make the festival but luckily I made it!  The festival is being hosted by the wonderful woman who pioneered this festival six years ago,  Martingale author Amy Ellis.  This will be the fourth time I've had something ready to actually enter in the festival but I always make sure to view the entries because you get to see so many great projects and find great new blogs to follow and inspire you.

My entry this time is my "Sweet Land of Liberty" wall hanging which fits in the Small Quilts category.

This is the full on finished shot but here's another one so you can see the quilting detail:

The Basics:   

 My quilt finished at 34" x 39" to fit the space I want to hang it in and to best utilize the fussy cut print I used for the center.  It is based on the "Liberty Hall" pattern from the Summer 2008 "Easy Quilts" magazine issue and was designed by Jill Reid (who I was sorry to hear just passed away recently).  I recently saw this same pattern featured in the new "Best of Fons & Porter - Patriotic Quilts" book published by Leisure Arts.  The quilt was designed to be 54" x 63" so I had to adjust my block, header and letter sizes accordingly.  All the fabric used is from stash.  It is layered with wool batting (I used leftovers from another project) to help make the center motifs "pouf" up:

You can stop here if you like and if so follow this link back to the Small Quilts page of the Festival so you can check out the rest of the projects being displayed and thank you for visiting!  However, if you are interested in a little "process" blogging, feel free to continue on!    

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The Process Details:  

Every quilt has a story and made a journey to its completion and this one is no exception.  The journey for this quilt started back in 2002 when I first started quilting.  Right off the bat I liked red, white and blue quilts so part of my very first fabric order was a "Lady Liberty Half Yard Sampler" from a Quilts & Other Comforts catalog.  There were the obligatory red, white and blue prints in the sampler but also this one (which I've since learned was from the "Peace & Plenty- Quilts For A Cure" line):

 

 

 At the time, I didn't know what I might use the print for but much later I saw the "Liberty Hall" pattern in "Easy Quilts" magazine.

The original quilt used a printed panel for the center but I just knew my "Liberty" print would make a great substitution.  When we moved a few years ago, I realized I now also had a good spot for this wall hanging and decided last June that it was finally time to make it.  Over time, I had collected many R/W/B fabrics.  One in particular was the Brown and Red Stripe with Stars print used in the header of the quilt which as soon as I saw it, thought it was perfect for this project since it would allow me to eliminate the appliqued stars in the header in the pattern.  I was able to pull everything else I needed also from stash.  

When it came time to add the letters in the header, I wanted something different and decided to fussy cut them from the cream stripes in this Anna Griffin fabric leftover from another project from four years ago:

 
with this result:

Unfortunately, once I got the top and backing done and layered, it sat around for a long while since I had a lot of  older UFOs that I was also trying to eliminate.  Having gotten many done in the last six months, I was finally ready to vanquish this one as well.  I had recently purchased some straight and curved rulers for quilting (based on this review) which I used on another recent project and thought I would use a lot on this project as well.  But I actually only used the curved ruler to free motion quilt the spines of the feathers and only used the straight ruler to help guide the walking foot when I was stitching over the plain fabric squares and rectangles (when I quilted over the nine-patches I just eyeballed it from corner to corner).  The hardest quilting was the close stippling done around the center "panel" motifs (as seen in the picture in "the Basics" section).  It was a lot of stops and starts since the backgrounds around all the elements weren't always connected.  

I added the red border between the header and the body of the quilt and around the center "panel" because I felt they needed the extra separation after I began laying out the blocks on my design wall.  But because I had already worked out all the adjusted measurements, I couldn't add in a traditional skinny border since it would throw everything off.  So what you see is just a thin strip of fabric folded in half (wrong sides together) and stitched between the seams.  The curved corners in the center "panel" was from a circle, faced and cut into quarters and also inserted into the seam. What you see finishes to a little less than 1/4" so as not to cover up too much of the print details.

In the end, it should also be noted that the center print inspired the name change for the quilt from what it was called in the pattern.  All the "bountiful" motifs in the print reminded me of the second verse of the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee".  I was disappointed that I wasn't able to use all the motifs from the print in the front of the quilt but I was able to incorporate the ones I couldn't use into the label area on the back of the quilt.

 
 I am also very happy to have finished this since it was also on my 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long list.
 

 

If you've stayed with me this long, I thank you very much for looking back with me on the journey of this quilt.  I hope you enjoyed the visit and hope you enjoy all the rest of the Quilt Festival entries!! 

Bloggers Quilt Festival Is Here!

The Spring 2014 Bloggers Quilt Festival starts today at Amy's Creative Side. Click on the link below or on the side bar and enjoy a parade of wonderful quilts!

Just like in the Fall Festival (which if you missed it, you can still access all the links here), there are entry catagories based on the style of quilt:  Mini, Small, Large, Applique, Art, Hand Quilted, Home Machine Quilted, Modern, Original Design, ROYGBIV and Scrappy.  Anyone can enter a project (beginner, intermediate or advanced) so if you have something you'd like to showcase, please post a link so we can all check it out! 

 

 On Amy's site, you can link your festival blog post (and it must be a new post, not an old one) in the appropriate catagory and you can view other's links from now until May 23.  During this time you can also vote for your Viewer's Choice favorites.  After that, the ability to add links will closed and everyone can go back and vote for their favorite quilt in each catagory up until May 29.  Amy has a slew of sponsors who will be awarding prizes to the winners of each catagory when they are announced on May 30 and 31st. 

 

Don't want to enter a quilt but still want to win something?  If you comment on Amy's BQF post, you will be entered for a chance to win a Babylock sewing machine!

 

I had planned to enter something this round but it's not quite finished yet so fingers crossed that I'll get it done in time to add to the fun.  But regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing all the lovely things everyone else is showing and picking up new blogs to follow. So get right over there and enjoy the virtual show!

Back (Again) From the Abyss

Whew!  It's been a very long time since my last post.  I still haven't got to the point where blogging is integrated into my life well enough that I post regularly.  It seems it's always feast or famine with it.  But I'm back now even though I've also missed out on a lot.  But I am hoping to finish out the year with a bang rather than just whimpering!

When I last posted I had just purchased some long desired rulers, one of which I had hoped to use on a commission charity quilt project that I had signed up to do with another quilter.  I also had started the very big job of painting about half of our home and I had an upcoming week-long trip down south to three states.  Added to that my oldest son, having graduated high school in June, was still in the process of deciding whether to attend college or start working.  Oh and throw in that I had made a very big and ambitious list of projects to try to tackle for the Third Quarter of Leann's 2013 Finish-A-Long.  For some silly reason I thought all those juggled balls would fall neatly into place one by one.  The plan was that by September, I would be cruising, smoothly, to finishing up my own summer quilt work as well as the commission project.  After that I would move on to a few fall projects I wanted to tackle and then set up my "To Do" list for the final year end push.

Ha!  What's that saying: "Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God laugh” (attributed to author David Milch).  In the end, only some things got done and none of those finished up as quickly or smoothly as expected.  When delivery of part of the materials for the start of the commission project was delayed, my need to focus on all the life stuff only delayed the start even further.  My son made his decision at the final hour (choosing to go to school) but then that added additional chauffeuring work to my daily schedule further changing the rhythm of my days.  So I am only now getting settled back into my little quilting world.

I can tease a picture of one project that did get done during this time and hope to do a post in the coming weeks about how it relates to bigger changes in my "studio" space.

Oh, before I leave, I also want to shout out the Fall Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Martingale author Amy Ellis that is going on right now at her website, Amy's Creative Side.  This is the wonderful biannual on-line quilt show that happens during the big Quilt Market weeks.
 

So first chance you get, go on over and check out what the entrants have posted for this round.  I've still got a couple more categories to check out too.  Don't forget to vote for your favorites!

Hopefully, I'll be back with another post sooner than last time!

Thoughts From the Bloggers Quilt Festival

Whew!  I just finished viewing the last of the catgories for Amy Ellis' Bloggers Quilt Festival and voting for my favorites.  This is the fifth year Amy has hosted this online event which she holds twice a year in conjuction with the vendor Quilt Markets. 

Like all of the previous years, this was a great festival -- truly a chance to see what so many quilters around the world are working on.  This year Amy did it in a new format -- rather than just having one huge linky list, quilters added their projects into specific catagories like Bed Quilts, Wall Quilts, Hand Quilted, Art Quilts, ect.  This definitely made it less overwhelming to view all the entries.  

However, I also realized something while deciding what to vote for in each catagory.  Trying to choose between all the beautiful quilts I saw, I felt like I got a taste of what it must be like to be a Quilt Show Judge.  There were times when it was really, really hard to choose just one favorite.  Years ago, I listened to one of Annie Smith's podcasts where she talked about her experiences as a judge and what quilters entering contests should keep in mind about the process.  I did find all of what she said to be true as I tried to make my own selections from all the online entries.

I now really get the challenges involved when you have to try to pick a favorite from 50 or 60 quilts in a catagory.  Your first reaction will be to narrow it down by going for the visual --- choosing those quilts that most catch your eye.  You may like a lot of the quilts but there will probably be just a few that stand out visually above the rest to you.  With the online show, I found that then reading the stories behind them often influenced whether a quilt stayed in the running or not.  Maybe it was the effort the quilter had to put into getting the quilt from idea to finish or the inspiration behind the quilt or unique materials or techniques that were used (or invented) to make it.  I don't know if show judges have that information when they judge but for this festival it definitely was a factor. 

Another judging quilbble is making sure your quilt is in the right catagory.  There were a few instances in the festival where I saw quilts I liked but not for the catagory it was in.  In those instances, juding a quilt based on what the catgory is supposed to represent meant it scored lower for me than it would have if it had been placed in what I believed was a more appropriate catagory for it.  This is also something I've read is true for live judged shows.

The limitation of judging an online quilt show like this is that you can't actually see the quilt in person.  Bad pictures really work against the maker (something that I know I need to work on for my own projects).  This is also something that I've read is true when people send their quilt entries in for initial selection even before judging.

I have to say that even taking into account what I liked about some quilts it was still hard to choose just one to vote for!  So now I understand why at the quilt shows, the skill of construction of the quilt comes into play.  When faced with two quilts both equally visually beautiful, well executed, and with equally successful interpretations of design or theme, the only other factor that might distinguish the two might be how well it was made -- right down to the last stitch!  As quilters, we laugh when people tell us about judging critiques that talk about "the fullness of the binding (or lack thereof)" or being chided for "not hiding knots in the back of the quilt" or "uneven quilt stitching".  But if you're in the position where you  HAVE TO make a choice and some seemingly inconsequential issue is all that seperates one outstanding quilt from another, you're going to use it! 

This also brings to mind something else Annie said: that quilters need to remember that there is no doubt that judging does have a big subjective element to it.  Beyond the established or outlined judging criteria, a judge also brings their own preferences to the table.  So a judge that prefers hand work might boost that over an equally beautiful machine done quilt.  Or if you like intricate piecing over "liberated" or favor original works over intrepretations of published pattens those things may sway your vote towards a particular quilt.  As a quilter however, this also means that you must take judging comments and choices with a grain of salt.  You must remember that your quilt is not being judged just on its own merits, it is competing against other quilts.  Not winning or getting a ribbon DOES NOT mean your quilt is bad, it just means that when all the factors came together, someone else's quilt pushed more of the judges' buttons than yours did in this particular show.

All that said, all I can say is "thank goodness for Viewers Choice" --- although even there I could have really use more than one vote!  This is the chance for you to elevate a quilt that held a particular appeal for you towards the award platform.  We should all make it a point to take the time to fill out those Viewers Choice cards at any show we go to and give a boost to the quilts that might not "take the cake" but do "steal our hearts".

Bloggers Quilt Festival -- Spring 2013

It's been a while since I've posted so what better way to get back in the groove than to participate in the Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Martingale quilt author Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side.

 This is a wonderful biannual tradition that was pioneered by Amy and allows quilters and non-quilters alike to sample all the glorious creativity going on in the quilting world today.  This is the first time in a few years that I've had something finished in time to coincide with the festival so I'm excited to contribute again.

The project I'm offering up is my Brrr! quilt in the Throw Quilt category.  Finishing at 65" x 88" it's large for a throw but too small to consider it a true bed quilt for my queen bed even though that's where I plan to display it during the winter months.

I'm happy to say that this one was a UFO that had been sitting around since 2009 awaiting quilting but is now finally done!  The pattern is "Brrr Park" by Minick & Simpson and made from their Moda fabric line "Winter" from a kit purchased in 2008 from Keepsake Quilting.  The backing, a lovely flannel (one of my favorite kinds of fabric) was also purchased from Keepsake.  I thought the theme of it was the perfect complement to the patten design.

I didn't make this right after purchasing it for one reason:  all those Half Square Triangle Squares (known in the quilt world as HSTs)!  I was put off by the prospect of making so many HSTs (there are 40 in each tree and another 166 around the first border).  The thing that jumpstarted the project for me at the time was Quilt-Pro coming out with their Print & Sew: Triangle Magic software.  This allows you to print out a sheet of paper (letter or legal, your choice) with HST sewing and cutting lines on it for the finished size HST you need.  Then you layer your fabrics right sides together, sew on the sewing lines, cut on the cutting lines and voila you have anywhere from 4 - 48 HSTs (again depending on the finished size needed) done in no time!

These were not from this project but you get the idea!

Brenda Henning also makes a similar program called Trianglulations that will do the same thing.  I highly recommend them if you have a project that calls for making gobs of HSTs (and any of you still waiting to start your Civil War Chronicles BOM will know what I mean!)

Once the top was made and promptly layered, this quilt sat around waiting for quilting.  I've spent the last few years trying to build up my machine quilting confidence.  Every machine quilting expert says that you have to put in the time on the machine to get better at it and they are absolutely right.  Every project I do shows some improvement in my stitching and (to use Carla Barrett's term), "quilt whispering" (deciding what to stitch where).  I particularly had a lot of fun with that on this quilt as I did a lot of different motifs:

Swirls

Free-form interpretive on the Trees

Snowflakes

Scriptwriting/Words

and even a little straight-line with a walking foot

As I often do with quilts that will be displayed on the bed, I also stitched up some coordinating accessories to go with it.

The print pillowcases and the neckroll cover were made from fabric from Moda's "Figgy Pudding" line by Basic Grey from a few years ago.  Now I just have to wait for Winter to return (but there's no rush there I assure you)!

So thanks for stopping by and please continue on your tour of all the fabulous projects being presented in the Bloggers Quilt Festival.  Postings will be added through Friday 5/24.  Then you can vote on your favorites in each category from 5/27 - 5/30 and the winners will be announced on 5/31!  Enjoy the rest of the show!!

Bloggers Quilt Festival Is Here!

It's here, it's here, the best week of the year! 

The Fall Bloggers Quilt Festival is in full swing at Amy's Creative Side.  Click on the link below or on the side bar and enjoy a parade of wonderful quilts!

I don't have anything in the festival this time but I will be drooling over all the lovely things everyone else is showing and picking up new blogs to follow.  So get right over there and enjoy the virtual show!

What's Going On?

Had hoped I would have gotten so much more done by now but I have been really getting distracted by....well everything! Trying to get the house in order, trying to return to normal routines, volunteering, sewing, surfing the web, whew!  So what's going on right now...

Once again, apologies for the picture quality -- still taking pictures with my (old) cell phone because I still haven't found my camera charger cord!

I am still plugging away at the Aunt Grace project.  The good news is that the last block (and a biggie), the center block is now done!  This one had to be appliqued and I decided to brush up on the hand applique I had learned at the end of last year.  The center Dresdens were stitched together and the tops were "back basted" by machine and then stitched by hand.  The border "stubby" Dresdens were prepped using the starch method which made them easy to then stitch. I was hoping to get the the top completed by weekend's end so that I could (finally) start on all the Civil War projects I have in the pipeline. I've cut out some of the finishing elements but it looks like this one will go into another week.  I'm not going to fight it any more, that's just the way it'll have to be.

Now for some housekeeping:

This just in!  

The new Sarah Fielke (formerly of Material Obsessions and now a solo author) book just arrived from the U.K. yesterday!  I saw this one on a blog tour and was intrigued by some of the quilts in it.  The book was released in Europe May 1 but won't be released in the U.S. until August.  It can be had now from this distributor with free world-wide shipping.  Note: Cutting and quilt measurements in the book are in metric AND imperial.


Sandy on a recent post on her "Quilting For The Rest of Us" blog and in her recent podcast asked everyone to update her on the quilty resolutions we made at the start of the year.  I had posted my goals there but have to admit almost mid way into the year I've not gotten far.  Here's my recap:

1. No UFOs for 2011.  So far not so good.  I signed up for Myra's PHD (Projects Half Done) Challenge but haven't gotten one thing done due to the move!  I had pledged six and still hope to try to get three done before the June deadline (and the Civil War pipeline should yield one of them). 
2. No new UFOs for 2011.  Considering that I am still pushing to get the Aunt Grace project done this might happen.  At this point it's my only new project started so, so far so good.
3. Empty existing (haven't started yet) project bins.  Having moved, this is now one bin and a couple of cabinets.  Haven't pulled anything out of either of them yet though.
4. Shop the stash, no new project purchases for 2011.  Crashed and burned shortly after moving.  The new place has yielded new ideas for projects and I couldn't resist investing in a few.  So shoot me.
5. Keep up to date on all BOMs.  Again, Aunt Grace contributes to this and if I can get started on the CW stuff there's a contribution to that (Civil War Chronicles) there too.  So I am sort of on track for this one.
6. Gain confidence on choosing stitch patterns for quilting.  So far I haven't quilted anything this year yet so the jury is still out on this.  

ATTENTION QUILTERS!!!!!

(and anyone who loves gorgeous quilts)

 

 
 The Bloggers Quilt Festival started Friday!  I can't wait to go look but it looks like I, once again, won't get to contribute.  But it's way more fun to look anyway.  You can get there by clicking the link above.  So go take a look!  Go, right now and have fun!!

This Just In.....

I just found out that Amy of Amy's Creative Side blog (formerly Park City Girl) is once again hosting the Third Annual Bloggers Quilt Festival! 

Click the link above or on the sidebar to go to Amy's site to view the quilts on display or link your own!

This has been great fun the last two years to both view and participate in.  Since I just found out, I'll have to figure out what and if I want to post.  Note: The deadline for adding your link is next Friday, May 28th but the links can be accessed for viewing even after the Festival is over. 

So what are you waiting for, get over there right now!  Trust me, you'll really enjoy it.

Fall Bloggers Quilt Festival

Welcome again to all who are coming from the Park City Girl blog the host of the second Bloggers Quilt Festival! Amy came up with the idea to host the first event back in the Spring (and the links are still there so check them out here if you haven’t before) . I am glad to have an opportunity to participate again.

My entry this time is another of the quilts I completed in 2008. My quilting projects are usually driven by the chance to try out a new (or new for me) technique and that was the case with this quilt. I came across the book "Wonderful One Fabric Quilts" by Kay Nickols in a Hancock’s of Paducah catalogue. I thought that it was a novel idea and I loved the idea of being able to take one striped fabric and make a quilt from it that looked like it was made from multiple blocks (no shopping for coordinates!).

This is the finished quilt (front and back) that was made from only two fabrics:

The stripe that was used to make the front, center back and binding was Moda’s Red Harvest Bouquet Stripe designed by Deb Strain and the back border fabric was Marcus Bros. American Plains Large Floral both purchased on the internet from Allentown Sewing Center. Ms. Nickols’ technique calls for cutting into quarter triangles a square of your fabric that is sized to yield the motifs from your fabric that you would like to showcase in your blocks. The square size will vary depending on the fabric you use. In my case a 10-1/2” square was quartered to yield the design you see. The sunflower strip from the fabric was fussy cut to make the binding.

This was a fun project to do and was one of those rare projects that made up quickly (in one month).

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the festival entries – I know I have!

1st Annual Bloggers Quilt Festival

Welcome to all who are coming from Amy's site to another entry in the Bloggers Quilt Festival! Amy (innovator that she is) at the Park City Girl blog came up with wonderful idea to host a quilt festival for all the quilting bloggers out there. And if you've gotten all the way down the list to me, you know there are ALOT of quilters blogging (or is it bloggers quilting??). Although the title of this post says that it is the first annual festival, I saw on one of her more recent posts that this might become a bi-annual (Fall, Spring) event from here on which would be cool. If you need to link back to her site to access other entries click the button above.

My entry for favorite quilt (right now and the first of my 2008 finishes to be showcased) is this one:

It's called " "Flannel" Point of No Return" . Why is it my favorite? First because it's made of flannel! If a handmade quilt is a hug, a flannel quilt is a double hug! This quilt is as cuddly as it gets. I made it to be a couch quilt (something for the kids to snuggle under while watching TV) but it hasn't left my bed since I finished it. I've heard that a flannel back is also good for keeping your quilt from slipping off the bed so it's utilitarian and cozy!

The second reason this is a favorite is that all the plaid fabrics used here were FREE! When I started quilting back in 2002, I read a tip on the Worldwide Quilting Page that if you were a new quilter, needing to build your stash of fabric cheap and lived in a city with a garment district, you might be able to get fabric that was being discarded by cutting rooms for free. My DH is a UPS driver who at that time delivered in Manhattan (NYC) and was often assigned to the garment district. I asked him to keep a look out for fabric being discarded and his instructions were that as long as it wasn't suit fabric (something I knew he could identify) he was to bring it home and I'd figure out if I could use it.

One day he came home with a giant black garbage bag full of fabric cuts and these beauties were one of the treasures I found in it. They were probably fabric samples since they were all uniformly sized to about a fat quarter, mostly (what I thought were) flannels and a few in straight cottons. At that time I didn't know you could make a quilt in flannel but I had read that plaids were really useful in quilting and thought the range of colors were too good to let go.

Maybe a few months later, I saw an episode of the "Simply Quilts" TV show on HGTV (it was still on then and what got me started with quilting) and Sandy Bonsib gave tips from her book on quilting with flannel. Now I knew these fabrics could definitely go into a quilt. A year later I purchased a back issue of the April '93 American Patchwork & Quilting magazine (the first issue, I believe). The original "Point of No Return" quilt pattern was in it, designed by Country Threads of cotton plaids in reds, greys and blues with a cream background and a red plaid back. I immedately knew this was where these fabrics would be used.

It was another year later when I stumbled upon a flannel fabric sale at a Joann craft store and was able to get the cream flannel and the backing "flannel" for (wait for it) $2.99 a yard! Snapped them up and thought I'd get right to work on it. Instead I cut out ALL the pieces for the blocks (A LOT of triangles), made a few and then put it aside in favor of other projects. Then last year, wanting to fulfill a personal "one quilt finish a month" challenge, I dug all these out, intent on finishing the quilt and did so! Now I am a big fan of flannel backs and while not all projects will get one I've currently got two more quilts in the works that will have them.

Quilt Back and Label

The reason why "flannel" is in quotes is that the only real flannel fabric in this quilt is the cream background. Ms. Bonsib's advice for binding was to use a regular cotton fabric because flannel fabric is stretchy. When I finally went to buy my binding fabric, I really wanted to have flannel right down to the binding. I found a plaid that I liked that was listed as a "brushed cotton" something I thought I had never used before but figured it might work well with flannel.

When it came in the mail, I realized that ALL the plaids AND the backing fabric were also brushed cottons: a flannel texture on front and a regular, flat cotton weave on back. Who knew? But I had already named the quilt so I just added the quotes to keep me honest!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the festival!