A huge thank you to everyone who visited for The Reclaimed West Blog Tour.

I wanted to reply to everyone’s comments, thank you all so much for your kind and encouraging words! I drew the winner of my free pattern, and the lucky number is……#25! Beezus, who said “Congratulations Stacey”. Yay!

 

Welcome all to my day on the Reclaimed West Blog Tour. ( If you are here for the Blogathon Canada tour and giveaway, click here after reading all about this wonderful tour and entering this giveaway, and if not, check out both for some great fun!!) You can find all the tour dates and blogs here on the Timeless Treasures blog. They are a super group of very talented ladies, so check them out!

I cannot even begin to describe my feelings to you all, having a design chosen as part of The Reclaimed West Tour. So a little back story might be in order.

 

I own almost every Judy Niemeyer pattern there is. She is one of my biggest influences, and it shows constantly in my work. I have made her Amazon Star in three sizes, 18″, 40″, and the full 104″. My Sapphire Star quilt, made from her Glacier Star pattern, has been juried into multiple shows across North America and even took home a ribbon from the Canadian Quilters Association. I have a private running challenge with my Grandma over who is going to finish her Pepper Dish first, and I was even able to provide an extra copy of Birds of Paradise to someone after the call went out on Quiltworx Facebook page. I love Judy and Judels work, and will even get up extra super early on sale days just to get the latest patterns.

Being a part of the launch of her new fabric line, The Reclaimed West, is a huge deal for me. Understatement of the year maybe….

I could ramble on and on about how beautiful the fabric is, the richness of the colors, the striking prints (only Judy and Judel could romanticize cows to the point where I would willingly sew with them), and the soft silk feeling of rolling around in a pile of…I mean…sewing with the fabrics.  Instead I will show you with the introduction of my new pattern:

Star of the West

When I saw that Timeless Treasures was looking for submissions for the line, I fell out of my chair and immediately got to work playing. I knew that I wanted to do something to show the influence Judy had early on when I first started quilting, but at the same time keep true to the aesthetic that has evolved into my own style. So I started playing with the layouts and negative space. And playing…and playing… and playing.

I realized I was over-thinking things, and settled on a simple feathered star block. Then I found a color layout that I loved, and added the geese border. I wanted to reclaim that old favorite of mine, the lone star and flying geese, by adding some negative space and drawing out a little modern in the overall design. I created something that I loved, and sent it off with hope in my heart.

 

After I picked myself off the floor a second time, when I got the email saying my design had been accepted, I got to work drafting and writing. In true Judy style the quilt is foundation pieced. I love foundation piecing, it makes pointy points! Then the big day arrived with a box of fabric on  my front step. I crawled on up and opened it and immediately started sewing.

I finished in record time (for me) and then I was stumped. How to quilt it? The finished size is 64″x 64″, not unmanageable on my machine. But I was stuck. I simply could not decide. I definitely wanted to pay tribute to the beautiful quilting found on all of Judy’s quilts, but also wanted to keep within the modern traditional. Enter Ann Olson of Ann’s Quilt and Stuff. She took my top and turned it into a masterpiece. She delivered exactly what I was looking for, free motion triangle fillers, straight lines, and these amazing triangle feathers in a tribute to the gorgeous feather work found on an original Judy quilt. I cannot even begin to thank Ann enough.

From start to finish, this quilt has been an incredible journey for me. To be a part of the blog tour with all these amazing quilters (almost all of which are certified Quiltworx instructors or successful business owners, or both) has been a joy and a privilege.

 

Star of the West is available from my Craftsy shop. The pattern is a PDF download, full color diagrams and pictures. The foundations are included in the pattern, but require legal size paper (8 1/2″x 14″ paper) to print. I am also giving away one of my patterns to a lucky commenter today! Just leave a comment at the end of this post. I will draw the winner on Friday, November 21 at 8pm (the conclusion of the tour). Timeless Treasures is also giving away an awesome Reclaimed West prize package here! You get an entry a day. Just visit the blogs of the day and follow the link back to enter each day.

Thank you for stopping by and allowing me to share my quilt with you. Please visit again!

Happy Stitching,