I am so thrilled! I have been wanting to share a project with everyone, and I have a couple more weeks to wait, but the fabric line has been released and my quilt is the feature image! OHMYGOSH!!! Head on over to the Windham Fabrics website and see if you can find it =) Hint: its somewhere on the main page 😉
Happy Hunting!
*update* Check out Pages 17/18!
Last night was Sew-In night for the VMQG. This is the first one I have been to in a long time, and the first at our new location. Its a bit of a drive from my place, ut well worth it. The space is open and they have air conditioning! Woo hoo! Very important when you have irons and machines all running. Â OUtlets are few and far between however, so we had a power chain running.
I brought a couple projects with me that I haven’t had time to work on at home. This way I could only work on those things! I was able to finish my Watermelon Dragon from Anne’s design.
Watermelon Dragon
And I cut out the pieces I need for a log cabin memory quilt. I am making it for my friend’s sister’s grandmother-in-law.
Her favorite colors are Purple and Teal, and its will be a gift for her birthday.
Nothing like a pretty teal monochromatic group of fabrics!
There is also a huge table for basting, and our work spaces are quite large too.
I bring my Janome 6600. My grandma gave me this machine 12 years ago and it runs like a dream still. She bought it the year I was born. Its also really quiet too, which is good for having a conversation with my fellow VMQGers.
Our president, Holly, getting ‘er done!
We all seem to accomplish a lot at these sew ins. Amazing what some time out of the house can do!
Yesterday also marked the 5 month mark of my participation in Quilt Design a Day, and toda is my 100th post! woo hoo! Quite a few milestones this weekend.
We are off to the beach today, I hope everyone has a great weekend as well!
Monday night was the annual outdoor meeting of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild. I have missed it every year from being out of town, but this year I finally got to go. It was so much fun sitting at Trout Lake with my fellow VMQGers. We had a great turnout considering its summertime, and we are now officially over 100 members! Way to go VMQG! This was the meeting where we showed off our MQG Petal Pinwheel challenge quilts. I got mine back from Joan that afternoon and quickly sewed the binding on before I left the house, then hand stitched it to the back during the meeting. I love a hand turned binding!
It took forever to get a good picture of it though, since it was super windy that afternoon. My patient husband stood there battling cats and kids and peeking neighbors so I could finally get a good shot to enter in the challenge. I drafted a template and then played with the orientation until I got the movement I wanted, without slapping you in the face with a pinwheel =)
The best catless, kidless, peeking neighborless picture I could get when the wind was down. Yes, I know there is still a kid in it =)
I fussy cut the prints and added Cotton Couture Solids in Sun, Kryptonite, Watermelon, Coral, Aqua and Orange. The background is CC in natural. I ordered Khaki but it was a little too green tinged to work. I have other plans for it, probably a QDAD =)
Spinners
I paper pieced the tiny pinwheels. They are 3″ square and I offset them around the outside, again to mimic movement. Joan quilted it perfectly again, with spinning straight lines that I just love! The little details in the center of my spinners are perfect! I chose the Peg a Plenty print for my binding and cut it on the bias. I love a bias stripe binding! (Have I mentioned I love bias binding??)
I also announced a paper piecing workshop that I will be teaching in September. I am very excited to be teaching. Paper piecing is my favorite technique. You can do so much with it! Its a beginner class so I will be showing my students how to pre-cut strips for full coverage, how to do the piecing, how to adjust a block when needed, and all the tips and trick to good piecing skills and well made blocks. The pattern is really easy and from Amanda Hines Kattner of What The Bobbin? Her July 21 QDAD was a perfect foundation ready block and it also has the bonus technique of a Y-seam, and she happily sent me the image file. Woo hoo!
For those of you interested, block details, quilt ideas, and  sign up for the workshop will be available soon on the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild website. There is no pattern fee for this one. Hope to see you there!
And the winner of the fat quarter bundle is *drumroll*
#5!
buntyw, who said:
Thank you to everyone who entered! It was great to see so much interest in QDAD, and all your thoughtful, positive comments were appreciated =) There sure were some great puns!
Enjoy your fat quarter bundle buntyw!
I am! Of American Quilter Magazine! Woo hoo!! The July issue of AQ cover both Paducah and Lancaster Quilt Weeks, and my quilt, Sherbert at the Beach, was on page 56. As was my picture! Too cool!! I have always loved the quilt week issues of AQ Magazine. I love flipping through and looking at all the gorgeous quilts and the quilting and EVERYTHING! They are so inspiring. Â If you don’t have the July issue I highly recommend getting it. Not just because I’m in it (though that’s always a nice bonus!) but because it covers two quilt weeks and the winning quilts are stunning.
Sherbert at the Beach
The same quilt won Best in Show at both quilt weeks, and there are no words to describe it. Handmade glory is as close as I can come without gushing like a 12 year old girl at a BSB concert (Which I totally went to last month, OMG!) The article about the artist was a good read. SHe is dedicated to her art and it shows. A couple of my personal quilt heros also had quilts place in each show, and that’s pretty awesome too.
There is also a great article on designing and machine quilting feathers. I am a sucker for intricate feather motifs, so I will definitely be putting some of this into practice. There are also lots of fun patterns and blocks included.
All in all it was a very nice surprise to find in my mailbox this afternoon. Especially after the great Fruit Snack Nasal scare of this afternoon O.o
Happy Stitching!
Stacey
Now don’t get me wrong, I love me a little Ryan Gosling eye candy. And the meme’s are just hilarious and fun. I just wonder where the idea took off from. Was it the Spoonflower staff challenge? Or does it go deeper? Does it really matter?
I don’t really mind not getting an answer, I just wanted a legitimate excuse to go window shopping
er, do research.
For your Sunday Evening enjoyment!
From Patchworkduck.com
From the Moda Blog but found on pintrest
from Pins and Bobbins
Welcome back friends!
I had the opportunity to review another book for the VMQG. This time around I pulled Stack Shuffle and Slide by Karla Alexander.
Stack, Shuffle and Slide
I am not much of an improv quilter, not by a long shot. There is something about randomly sewing things with no plan that scares me. The one time I tried I ended up with a set of fairly symmetrical blocks that looked planned. Â Its this reason that when I started into Stack, Shuffle, and Slide, I could not put it down. I sped through the whole thing, and re-read a couple chapters, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Now, I have to be honest, I hadn’t heard of the stack the deck technique used for the projects in the book, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I got was a versatile technique combining structured techniques and modern improv cutting. The result is a quilt style suitable for any quilter and experience level.
Loosely Woven
Stack Shuffle and Slide patterns can be as structured or as improv as you want. The quilts themselves are very easy to customize. In fact, Karla includes tips for fabric selection and cutting ideas at the start of each. She also gives you her inspirations and why she chose to make each quilt.
Karla writes in a friendly manner that makes the instructions easy to understand. The patterns are well written and straightforward, with plenty of diagrams and illustrations to highlight key points in the techniques.
Reflections
Her quilts are the perfect combinations of styles, Â so I am sure anyone could find at least 3 quilts in the book that they like (Go ahead, get the book and prove me wrong!) There are 15 quilts to choose from in a wide variety of sizes, and almost all of them can be increased in size by cutting some extra blocks.
Simple Simon
The projects for the most part are simple, there are a few that are more complex, but the instructions and diagrams are well written, so as long as you aren’t rushing through you will be fine no matter what your skill level. The simple patterns are perfect for quick gifts or a day retreat.
Paint Chips
Most of the quilts use smaller cuts of fabric so its really easy to pull from your stash. Prints, solids, it doesn’t matter, as long as you keep to the suggested values you will keep the essence of the quilt design.
Dot Dash Click
My favorite quilt is a toss up between Dot Dash Click and Simple Simon. Both have an eye pleasing aesthetic to them and I can’t wait to start pulling fabrics to see where it takes me.
Hang Ups
Overall I would recommend Stack, Shuffle and Slide to pretty well everyone, but especially those quilters who enjoy the improv process or have always wanted to try but get stuck, like me! I think the stack the deck technique is simple enough for anyone to learn and use, and the number of patterns included means there is something for everyone. The book is easy to read and understand, the patterns are clear and well written, and her designs suggestions make it easy to tailor the quilt to suit your own personal tastes. An A+ in all categories!
Windmill Way
Until next time,
Happy Stitching!
Stacey
I recently submitted a block to the Accuquilt Win the Dream contest. My block is the Hummingbird Star.You can click here to vote. It finished at 16″ square, and is constructed using freezer paper templates and applique methods. The top blocks right now are very gorgeous, with over 608 votes there is still a ways to go, but its fun, and I will release a tutorial when voting is all over for the block!
Happy Stitching,
Stacey
Our household has been a busy one the last few days. With a pair of birthdays coming up (mine included!) this weekend there has been little time to just sit and sew. When I do sew during the daylight hours, I have my little helper right there with me winding bobbins and cutting threads.
The other day he pulled a couple pieces of fabric from the scrap bin and wanted to sew them together. He was so proud of his quilt! He ran around the house all day with those two strips of fabric clutched in his hand, showing Daddy and his stuffed toys that “Harry sew too!” *sniff*
When I do get some alone time, I have been working on my Modern Metallics challenge quilt. Â I happily borrowed a design idea from Anne @ Play-Crafts for this one. She runs the Quilt Design a Day group, and its so much fun! Her 03-19 design was an instant favorite of mine, and I knew I had to make it. On a much smaller scale of course.
Each of those little blocks is 3″ square. All paper pieced. Its been fun. I still have to make my center squares, but I should hopefully have something to show you by the end of the month.
I also received my quilts back from AQS Quilt Week in Lancaster. I was thrilled to see my blue ribbon in person. Harry found it first, pulled it out of the box, and shoved it in the door of the fridge. How knows that the fridge is where Mommy puts his special art. It was adorable and heartwarming that he knew how special that ribbon is to me. Don’t mind my smudgy fridge =) Those little fingerprints are there with love!
I also got my package from Craftsy for the Tula Pink Mystery Quilt. I am looking forward to this one! I wasn’t sure how I felt about the FoxField collection, but now that I have seen it in person I love it. The colors are happy and bright, and the prints are a much smaller scale than I thought they would be, which I love. I promptly ordered more of my favorites. Yet more squishy goodness to look forward to! There are still kits available for anyone who want to join in. Knowing Tula Pinks style, its going to be one good mystery quilt!
Linking up with Lee@ Freshly Pieced!
Happy Stitching!
Stacey
Just when I thought I couldn’t do much more, BAM! I decided that joining the Quilt Design A Day group with Anne from Play-Crafts would be the best thing ever. And it TOTALLY is!
The idea is to use one of the two daily palettes from Design Seeds to make a quilt design inspired by the photo and use the palette for the colors. The designs should take no more than 30 min or so, and the whole point is to challenge yourself and have fun.
Win on both points!
Since I am not a big user of solids, this is quite a challenge for me, but its getting easier every day. My favorite design so far is from yesterday.
Yesterdays palette: Floating Tones
Yesterdays Quilt:
I initially made the lily block as the quilt, but it seemed to much like a block trying to be a quilt! I played with the block, offset the appliques, and added an Irish Chain variation for the background. The quilt layout is an on point with 9″ blocks. This one might actually get made as a small wall hanging. Â I really like how the background gives the impression of rippling water.
So far my favorite design is the one Anne showed on her blog inspired by the Artichokes. I want to see a full pattern from that!
Everyone involved have been super supportive and encouraging to each other. I am having the best time, and every day it gets a little easier.
Happy Stitching!
Stacey
