To Do Tuesday: Happy National Quilting Month!

There is something special brewing for this Merry Month of March!  It is National Quilt Month and on Saturday the 21st it will be National Quilting Day!  

To start the month's festivities off,  you should check out this Instagram post for an opportunity to get a free Missouri Star Quilt Co. pattern:

Next are some suggestions from the Quilt Alliance for how to plan to spend National Quilting Day:

Click the picture or the link to see the suggestions.

May I also recommend an excellent and very special podcast that my non-quilter son passed along to me:  Quilters Joe Cunningham and Luke Haynes and museum curator and textile conservator Olivia Joseph were interviewed about the "History of Quilting" on Allie Ward's "Ologies" podcast.  

Their discussions cover the various fabric, quilt and creative piecing styles used in quilting that have developed over the centuries.  They also discuss quilting's ever evolving position in the craft and art worlds.  My family is good about keeping their eyes and ears open to things related to this craft that I love so much!!

Before I can focus on all the craft month celebrations (well, I have already listened to the podcast),  I need to get back to the work at hand!  As always,  I am happy to join in with everyone linking up for "To Do Tuesday" hosted by Carol over at "Quilt Schmilt" and talk about the doings from the past week and what's on my agenda for the current one.  

The list of things on my last "To Do Tuesday" report was as follows:

1.  Trim and bind the UFO I longarmed while I was away.  

Done!  As usual I had hoped to get it done sooner but finished is better than timely! 

I still have to clip any visible basting stitches, trim some threads and bury their knots and apply the label I made for it.  Then the "Finished Or Not Friday" post that should have gone up last week can go up at the end of this one!

2.  Continue quilting "Modern Twist" as this month's UFO Challenge finish.  

Nope, didn't get to it since "Pulpit Tile" took longer to finish than expected.  But now that the other one is almost done,  I can go back to work on this at some point later this week.  

3.  Cut out the next set of "Alaska" BOM blocks and get at least one pieced together.  

Also done!  And the good news is that all the piecing in the block gave me the opportunity to do some leader/ender sewing with two other projects as well.

4.  Finish piecing the "Freedom Stars" QOV top.

Not totally done but definitely moved a little further along.  I've now got eight rows of the center pieced so only four more rows to go and then I can sew the whole center together.  This was one of the projects I used to leader/ender with the "Alaska" block and push the pieces for that project out from under the needle.  

I think that going forward this week, I want to try to do some 30 minute daily sewing sessions during which I can get another "Alaska" block done and hopefully the rest of the center rows for this completed as well.

5.  Continue working on the layout of the "Picture That" QOV top with the new fabrics for it that I picked up in NC.

Nope and until "Freedom Stars" gets done, this one will have to wait to get up on the design wall.

6.  Do the finishing work on the completed "Year of the Horse" cross stitch.  

Nope, didn't get to this one.  I did make the final decision on which of the fabrics I had put with it that I will use for the finishing step.  The floral will surround the piece in the front and the other print will go on the back.  I am thinking that I would also like to find some trim to add around the edges of it as well.  Sigh, another time when the loss of Joann's hits hard!  

I'm hoping I can get a chance to go to my local Michael's and see if they carry trim.  It's not something I ever shopped for there in the past so I don't know what they might have or if they even carry that kind of item.  

7.  Stitch the second "Hexie Snowflake" block to its background.

  I did start working on it but so far only have the center flower circle and three of those inner mushroom shaped areas on the left stitched down.  It will continue to be my nightly "news show" stitching for the rest of the week.

8.  Try to squeeze in some work on the "Charming Sweatshirt" I got started while away.  

Nope, didn't get to this and I don't think I will this week either.  This is going to be a project in "time out" for a while until I can get some of the other things done.

9.  Work on two other projects I cut out while away. 

The first of those projects were the Bowl Cozies I had die cut.  They are all now finished and the details will also be in this week's FONF report.

The second is the "Sparkle and Shine Log Cabin project I had rotary cut the parts for.  

This was the other leader/ender I used as I worked on the "Alaska" block and "Freedom Stars" QOV top.  This is a really big block once it's done!  

Even though it was simple sewing (just straight seams), with all the rounds to be stitched I was only able to get one block completed.  However, this too will go into the rotation for the "30 minutes a day" sewing.  With only nine of them to make,  I figure I can get them finished by month's end.  

So my plans for this week are to:

1.  Continue quilting "Modern Twist" as this month's UFO Challenge finish.  

2.  Piece another "Alaska" BOM block.  

3.  Finish piecing the center of  the "Freedom Stars" QOV top and possibly add the borders to complete it as well.

4.  If  the "Freedom Stars" top has been finished, re-start the layout of the "Picture That" QOV top with the new fabrics for it that I picked up in NC.

5.  Do the finishing work on the completed "Year of the Horse" cross stitch.  

6.  Finish stitching the second "Hexie Snowflake" block to its background.  

7.  Continue making blocks for the "Sparkle & Shine" Log Cabin project as leader/ender piecing.

I look forward to seeing what quilting projects everyone is celebrating in our special month when they link up for "To Do Tuesday" this week at Carol's "Quilt Schmilt".  Happy Quilting!

July Recap: Part 1 - A lot of FMQ Plans and Summer Camp

All the FMQ Stitching Plans

July began with a project teased in June:  

With an upcoming Angela Walters "How Do I Quilt It" Free-Motion Quilting Challenge I was pushed to start Apple Crisp,  a project which I had long wanted to do (the link is to the free pattern).

This is a picture as it originally appeared in the Oct 2010 APQ issue.

I spent the end of June and the first half of July piecing the blocks for the project.  I changed the patterned blocks in it from eight inch to six inch so I could use my Accuquilt Snowball block die to make the cutting and sewing easier.  

Trying to meet the deadline, I even pieced some of the blocks while away on a camping trip!

During the FMQ Challenge,  Angela was going to discuss stitching patterns that could be used to fill Chevron, Snowball, Log Cabin and Curved blocks and Applique borders.  

She covered Snowball blocks in the second week of the challenge.  I watched that episode and for the first time watching one of her challenges, I did not immediately get ideas for how to stitch my top.  However, as I looked beyond the stitching she did in the blocks, I did find ideas for filling other spaces in my top.  That combined with some of my own ideas led to what I used to eventually finish this one up.  

Since I spent most of August trying to come up with a definite stitch plan, I didn't actually get to layering this until the start of September.  It is now done and you can read about how it finished up here.

Since the Challenge also covered Log Cabin blocks, that encouraged me to also pull out the Rainbow Log Cabin top I finished back in 2023.  I was hoping I could keep up the quilt stitching momentum and get another UFO completed. 

However I had the same problem with the Log Cabin stitch patterns from the challenge:  she showed some great designs but none I really liked for my top.  Then just like for "Crisp",  I did take one cue from how she stitched the dark side of one of the blocks she demo'd and figured I could combine it with another simple plan on the light areas.  Angela had also suggested just using filler designs to stitch some blocks and that was something else I decided I could accept for doing the stitching on this project.  

However, I never did get around to actually layering or quilting that top because of road blocks I had hit with deciding on the final combination of stitch patterns to use on "Apple Crisp" which I considered my first priority.

Summer Quilt Camp

In mid-July, I participated in a series of workshops called "Quilt 2024: Summer Camp" which has now been renamed Quilt and Learn.  For this event, you could sign up for free to watch five days of workshops.  There was also an option to pay $20 to get an extra week of access to all of them or $49 for six months access.  Here is a list of the workshops presented:

Click on the picture to enlarge.

There were a lot of great workshops covering a range of creative techniques and the majority of the instructors were new to me.  This is the first time I had done something like this and I am looking forward to participating in it when they run it again in January 2025.

In addition to all the FMQ planning, I also did a lot of "Christmas in July" stitching but I will talk about that in the next post!

(Last) Trip Recap: Mini Quilt Retreat and a Special Stop on the Way Home

As noted in previous posts, my DH and I traveled to North Carolina for his last vacation of the year.  For the first part we camped and for the second part we visited my MIL.  She and I shop hopped during the first few days of our stay with her.  The remainder of our time was to be a mini quilt retreat for she and I.  Well, for all the shop hopping we did, I must say I got a lot less actual sewing done!   

Although it was not like that's what I planned to do:  as usual I took my trusty Featherweight (in the red tote I made some years ago) and a bag full of projects to work on:

Our stay was shortened due to the camping trip, the three days we spent shop hopping (and visiting a relative) and the need to leave a day earlier than we normally would have.  All of that cut into the time in the quilt room!  Sigh!!   

The first thing I set up to work on were the scraps I had brought that I am using for the APQ Scrap Happy QAL.  I wanted to continue adding to the blocks I had started making before we left home:

I managed to get ten blocks done during the trip.  I had hoped that I'd make enough blocks to be able to finish the whole top but I guess I'll still be working on those.  To help augment my scraps, I went through a big Rubbermaid tub of scraps my MIL had been holding for me.  After sorting through all the goodies and cutting some for use in my project, I bagged up the rest to take home for further sorting through:

I also brought the materials to get a travel-related project done.  Two years ago I made the large version of an iron travel tote for a Sunbeam travel iron I had at the time.

That tote was also big enough to carry a full size iron.  Unfortunately, that travel iron burnt out early this year so I purchased another mini iron to use at my sewing table and when traveling.  Not long after getting it, Gay Bomer at Sentimental Stitches offered a pattern for a cute little mini tote.  I really loved the idea of having a scaled down version to carry the new iron.  Knowing we'd be going to my MIL's, I kitted it up with fabrics from my stash to work on while there.

I'm very happy that I did manage to get this finished!  I also helped my MIL make one for her own mini iron made from some Tula Pink fabrics she bought on the Hop.  She was finishing it up when we left.

I had brought last year's Shop Hop book with me on this trip as I planned to work on one of the projects offered in that book and that I had purchased fabric for last year.  I also wanted to make Annie Unrein's "Piecekeeper" bag which was offered in this year's book (but can also be picked up free on her website).  I'll be making that one from fabrics from this year's Hop.

Well, all I got done was the cutting for both projects. 

And this was a chance to use a fun new notion!

I cut and appliqued two fussy cut motifs from another print onto that border print.  

That red fabric is one designed for last year's Hop that I was still able to purchase on the Hop this year.  The fabrics designed for this year were all sort of busy, big and bold motif prints and I wanted some of the colorful small print and tone-on-tone coordinates they had offered last year to fill out this project.  

Now that we're back home, I'm going to work on getting both of those bags done.  This way I can bring them on the next trip down to hold purchases and projects!  I had two other projects I planned to make using the Shop Hop themed fabrics that I also didn't get to as well as two other non-Shop Hop projects brought along.  One of those is a Halloween themed project that it looks like will have to be pushed forward onto next year's "To Do" list.

A Very Special Stop

On the way home I was able to indulge in a special treat!  I watch Pat Sloan's daily videos and as a Virginia resident, she often promotes the Virginia Quilt Museum.  In fact, right now she has a quilt auction going on with them for some of her quilts.  I've long wanted to go to the museum but always thought it was too far west in Virginia to be able to veer off course on our travel route either down or back.  However, this time when I mapped out our return trip,  I realized that it was not that far off the return route the GPS had mapped out for us.  So on the drive back, we stopped in!

Located in a 19th century house with it's own extensive history,  I got to view the exhibits on display.  What was cool is that two of Pat's auction quilts are hanging there.  One of them, "Hometown Charm" is the one that influenced me to augment the Minick & Simpson Pear BOM that I've been receiving kits for.   

My plan is to change the coloring of this to be similar to this. 

So cool to see the inspiration quilt in person!

As we were making our plans for the trip home,  I also happened to read Lori DeJarnett's Humble Quilts blog and learned that she too had a quilt on exhibit at the museum!  There is a group exhibit of quilts replicating the Buhl Bushong Quilt in the museum's collection.  

The antique quilt

So I got to see Lori's and other reproductions of the original quilt too!

Reproductions by Nancy Swanwick (in Grunge), Antonio Munoz, Lori DeJarnatt and Ellen Malenfant (in Kaffe)

The museum also has a great vintage machine collection....

....and a current exhibit of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) juried art quilts....

....as well as an exhibit of 9/11 blocks.

Another surprise nod to my own project intentions:  in my last post, I talked about shop hopping for fabrics to make a red and white version of this quilt:

Needless to say I was thrilled at discovering a blue and white version on display here!  Oooh, don't tempt me....

Big reproduction fabrics fan that I am, I also purchased raffle tickets to try to win a reproduction of a sampler crib quilt in the museum's collection:  

The antique...

The raffle reproduction

I am SO glad I had a chance to visit!!  Now that we are back home and October is coming to a close, I am setting up my project plans for November and the end of the year. 

"Infinite Variety" Fans, Your Time Has Come!

Great news for all of you that loved the "Infinite Variety" exhibit:  The International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska acquired Joanna Rose's quilt collection last year and it is now on exhibit again!

They will also be holding a "Textile Talk" today at 2 PM Eastern.  You can register for it although if you miss it, these are usually posted to You Tube within a day or two.

Will any of you be lucky enough to be in Nebraska in the coming months to attend?  If you do, please post about your visit and share it with the rest of us!!

Update 4/30/22:  

Just saw on Lori DeJarnett's Humble Quilts blog that the IQSC has put up a fabulous virtual display of the exhibit!  So if you (like me) can't get to Lincoln, Nebraska you can take it all in at the museum website.

Happy National AND Worldwide Quilting Day!

 Once again, it's the third Saturday in March which means it's:

As always there is a lot going on for this special day in the quilting world!   Check out the links on the Quilt Alliance page to connect with the fun events they are sponsoring.   They are also encouraging quilters to display a quilt outdoors and asking you to share your picture at #nationalquiltingday2021.  

Over at Quilting Daily (the people who bring you all the patterns and magazines from Fons & Porter, McCall's Quilting, Quiltmaker and Quilting Arts), they will be hosting a live virtual Podcast Bee today.  There will be opportunities to ask the hosts questions and win prizes from their sponsors.

The Fat Quarter Shop is offering a free mini quilt pattern to make to celebrate the day.  If  you finish it and upload a picture of your quilt to their website by April 6, you may win a prize from them!  

My NQ day already started well.  I usually DVR the weekly episodes of the Fons and Porter Love of Quilting TV show which air here on Saturday mornings.  This morning I was thrilled to see not one, not two but THREE episodes in the queue for today!  

With those shows in addition to Pat Sloan's daily video and the Quilting Daily Podcast today, I'll have a lot of quilty content to play in the background while I work on projects.  I have three things on my "To Do" list for today:

1.  Sewing today's "Block-A-Day" blocks:  I was inspired by Pat Sloan's plan to work on her "Hope" blocks daily for the month of March.  I decided though to use that prompt to work on two projects that I wanted to do and which I plan to continue not just for March but the the rest of the year. 

I'm making "Wishing Rings" blocks ala Cathy over at the Sane, Crazy and Crumby blog and I am finally getting started on some of the blocks for my own scrappy "Trail Mix" quilt.  I've long loved this APQ design and have seen bloggers I follow like Cathy and Vireya among the others who have made this one up.  Last week I set up a bunch of block sets in advance which helped me to be ready to sew each day.  So I will also do that again today in prep for the upcoming week's sewing. 

2.  Pick the next two blocks and fabrics for my "Scrappy Christmas Figs" BOM:

I want to get them done over the next few days so I can post early to next week's BOMs Away link up. 

 

3. As I looked back through my posts, I realized that last year we were just starting quarantine around the time of last year's NQD!  So the last time I posted about NQD was in 2019 and ironically, at that time I was working on this:  

This is my "Emerald's" project which I hope will one day be my display quilt for March in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  Unfortunately, I didn't get it done that year or last year. 

I did however, have big plans to get it done this year but had not pulled all the parts back out until the day of the holiday!  Just like before, I am still moving pretty slowly on it.  I'm having to come to terms with the fact that I was attracted to the quilt pattern because of the colors they used.  What I hadn't really taken into account were the types of greens used there versus what I had pulled from my own scraps and stash.  

I loved the yellow greens and olives used in the majority of the patterned quilt but had pulled mostly blue-, sage and forest greens from my own stash.  Fortunately, the tans for the setting triangles that I have are darker than the fabric used in the pattern so I think it will work out in the end.  I'll be cutting a few of those to put up with the blocks to see if I can get myself more enthused to push this to a finish.  

How are you spending National Quilting Day today?  I hope it is filled with projects or linkups that deepen your love and appreciation of this wonderful craft.  It is another opportunity to share that with each other and those we love!