Petal Pinwheel Challenge and Upcoming Workshop

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 =)

IMG_3759

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

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!

StaceyDay_Logo

 

 

 

Flying Finish

 

This weekend two of my favorite quilts went winging their way down to the AQS Paducha show! Sapphire Star and Sherbert at the Beach, hands down two of my favorite quilts, were accepted. I was thrilled to find those emails in my inbox, let me tell you! I wish I could be flying away to the show to see them, and the quilts from my favorite quilters! I think there is another Myers-Badger quilt making the rounds and they are always STUNNING.  Sherbert at the Beach was accepted into the new Modern Quilt category, while Sapphire Star is in the Traditional Wall hanging from a Pattern Category.

I managed to finish up my Riley Blake project for the MQG Riley Blake Basics Challenge. I even finished it in time to enter the contest! Woot woot!

Quilts 002This is only the second pillow I have ever made. The zipper is a vertical zipper. The pillow form was the same size as the finished dimensions of the case, but I don’t think it is puffy enough. I might scrounge around for a 22″ insert. The pillow is 20″ finished, and the scallops are finished edge applique. I used Free Spirit Designer Solid in Chamois for the negative spaces, which I thought would be more off white, but is definitely a yellow hue. The pillow is a sample as well as the challenge entry. Gotta love the whole dual aviary demise with a single hard round object.

I also finished my Trend Tex Challenge quilt for the Canadian Quilters Association Quilt Canada. The show is in Ontario this year, which is much too far for me to travel, and it sounds like a lot of fun. I would love to see all the different quilts, especially because this year they have also introduced Modern Quilt Category. I would love to see what makes it in! Not to mention the stellar merchant mall. There are a plethora of modern online quilt shops in Ontario.

Quilts 005I free pieced this puppy, and matchstick quilted it. I don’t think I will be repeating that anytime soon. The quilt is 18″x20″ approx, and it took me 5 bobbins and way more time that it ever should have. But it looks great!!

Quilts 010This quilt will be auctioned off with all the other Trend Tex Challenge quilts. I hope whoever get it loves it as much as I do!

The Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild should make a great showing in the Modern categories. I think a dozen members entered multiple projects. I entered three myself.  I will keep you posted =) Until then…

Happy Stitching!

Stacey

Blogathon Canada Day!

Welcome Everyone from the Blogathon Canada Blog Hop!!
SewSistersQuiltShop

My name is Stacey, and I live in Beautiful British Columbia, Canada. I have been blogging here for just over a year now. I love to quilt, and Paper piecing stars and compasses are my favorite. I am a founding member of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild, and I love it! I am a self-described Hybrid Quilter, not fully traditional, not fully modern, but fully a quilter! I love to write patterns, and I work as an X-Ray Technologist to support my quilting addiction.

I hope you enjoy your visit.

I am so excited to share my newest quilt with everyone- Sherbert At The Beach!

Sherbert at the Beach

Sherbert at the Beach

Sherbert at the Beach is my Michael Miller Cotton Couture Challenge quilt. I gets its name from a memory of the summer, when I took my little guy to the beach on a hot day. We had ice cream and it dripped all over the sand, too fast for us to catch it. It was a great day that I will always remember. When the challenge was announced at the August guild meeting the bright, citrus palette immediately brought the idea of bright fruity sherbert to mind and the memory of that day. Having only worked with Kona solids at that point, the Michael Miller Cotton Couture was a pleasant change for me. I like the texture and the weight of the fabric. It is almost a voile weight. Very light, easy to sew.  I chose a  Free Spirit Designer Solid in Sandstone as by background color to keep the colors popping without looking like a neon sign. I also used it for the backing and binding, and threw my extra blocks onto the back. WHAT?! A Pieced back you say! That’s right, I finally did it!

The quilt consists of 16 Disappearing Nine Patch blocks. Those were a lot of fun to make once I got over the fact that I was technically making each block twice. I chose random color placements and some I even cut off-center for some variety. Overall it worked out great and this quilt is probably the most truly modern thing I have ever made.

Quitling Detail

Quilting Detail

I chose an overall meandering square design for the quilting. I saw the design used by Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting some weeks ago, and I immediately thought if it when I was preparing to quilt.  I free motion quilted mine however, and getting those points perfect takes some practice! Not all the lines are perfectly straight, which I think gives it a great organic feel. I used a YLI Coated Cotton Quilting thread in Rose  for the top and Mettler Metrosene for the bobbin. The balance between the two threads was amazing and you cannot see the colored thread on the back.

YLI Rose

YLI Coated Cotton Thread in Rose

I was very impressed with the thread. I was afraid that the weight combined with the coating would not go over well, but it is specially made for machine quilting, which definitely shows when you are quilting. I highly recommend trying some out!

Quilting Detail

Quilting Detail

Thank you everyone for for coming over for a visit! There will be lots of exciting things happening here at Stacey in Stitches over the next few months, so feel free to follow along!

As promised, here is the free pattern I promised you all! Some of you may recall the Quilted Clock I made for my FLiRTS swap partner. There was enough interest to turn that clock into a pattern. Enjoy!

Quilted CLock Pattern

Quilt CLock Templates

Happy Stitching,

Stacey