For my WIP today, I decided to work on my lost in the crowd blocks. (You can see the inspiration quilt here.) I'm having a little 4 patch party! These little bits of happy fabric are fun to sew up. I have plenty of new scraps to sew thanks to my new Heather Ross quilt that is in progress. I came across some 3" squares in one of my scrap bins, so I chopped them into quarters. Each block yielded four 1 1/2" blocks with no waste. How handy and timely! I have 305 blocks complete. (I had to replace a few because my dog ate at least a few of them. Good grief!) I did the math over lunch today, and according to my calculations I will need 1200 pieced 4 patches for a queen size quilt. I have to admit that I was actually a little disappointed that it wasn't a higher number. Maybe it's time to seek professional help? Ha! Anyway, that means that I'm about 25% done piecing the 4 patches. That's pretty encouraging!
Last November I had the opportunity to speak to the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters. A woman named Jean Gilbertson brought this amazing quilt fo...
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Last November I had the opportunity to speak to the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters. A woman named Jean Gilbertson brought this amazing quilt for show and tell that literally made my jaw drop...in the best way possible, of course! If I recall correctly, this is at least a queen size quilt. It was truly stunning. Each of the 4 patches finish around 2", so each individual square finishes at about an inch, I believe. I was foolish and asked the only question that came to mind, which was: "how long did it take you to make that?" (I should know better. Hahahaha!) No surprise that her response was: "a long time". After seeing this EPIC quilt, I knew I had to make something inspired by it....someday. After a mandatory three month waiting period, I STILL want to make it, so.... ...I pulled out some scraps and started sewing! I had a small bin of 1 1/2" squares that I had previously cut, so I was able to sit down and sew.....no prep needed. How fantastic!!! Of course I've already blown through my supply of pre-cut squares, but that means I'm making good progress! I made it a point to not overthink the fabric selection. I know that some day in the future I will look at some of these blocks and think, "what was I thinking", and other days I will think, "hey, those aren't bad at all". I waver back and forth, depending on the day, or my mood, I suppose. (Does that happen to anyone else???) The pieces are small, but not unmanageable. That's a good combo! (Quarter in the photo for scale.) There are a lot of things to love about this project: -There is only one seam in the center to match up. -Playing with fabric combinations within each block is a delight. -They are small, so you can get away with finger pressing the seams during the block construction. (I do press them with an iron once a bunch of blocks are finished.) -They are addictive. As I was sewing, I found that I kept telling myself, 'just one more'. -They are QUICK to make. -It's easy to check the block for accuracy with a 2 1/2" square. Did I mention that it's FUN sewing up scraps??? I'm having a blast! A friend asked me, "how many blocks do you need to make?" I think this is one case where it's better to NOT do the math quite yet. Why take all the fun out of it so soon? Hahaha! I decided to name my quilt "Lost in the Crowd", for a few reasons. One, because it would be really easy to camouflage ugly scraps and get away with it. Two, if you wanted to point out a favorite fabric to someone, good luck finding it! Rarely do I have a name for a quilt this early in the game, so that's pretty exciting! I think I'm going to go sew just a few more blocks now. :)
Last November I had the opportunity to speak to the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters. A woman named Jean Gilbertson brought this amazing quilt for show and tell that literally made my jaw drop...in the best way possible, of course! If I recall correctly, this is at least a queen size quilt. It was truly stunning. Each of the 4 patches finish around 2", so each individual square finishes at about an inch, I believe. I was foolish and asked the only question that came to mind, which was: "how long did it take you to make that?" (I should know better. Hahahaha!) No surprise that her response was: "a long time". After seeing this EPIC quilt, I knew I had to make something inspired by it....someday. After a mandatory three month waiting period, I STILL want to make it, so.... ...I pulled out some scraps and started sewing! I had a small bin of 1 1/2" squares that I had previously cut, so I was able to sit down and sew.....no prep needed. How fantastic!!! Of course I've already blown through my supply of pre-cut squares, but that means I'm making good progress! I made it a point to not overthink the fabric selection. I know that some day in the future I will look at some of these blocks and think, "what was I thinking", and other days I will think, "hey, those aren't bad at all". I waver back and forth, depending on the day, or my mood, I suppose. (Does that happen to anyone else???) The pieces are small, but not unmanageable. That's a good combo! (Quarter in the photo for scale.) There are a lot of things to love about this project: -There is only one seam in the center to match up. -Playing with fabric combinations within each block is a delight. -They are small, so you can get away with finger pressing the seams during the block construction. (I do press them with an iron once a bunch of blocks are finished.) -They are addictive. As I was sewing, I found that I kept telling myself, 'just one more'. -They are QUICK to make. -It's easy to check the block for accuracy with a 2 1/2" square. Did I mention that it's FUN sewing up scraps??? I'm having a blast! A friend asked me, "how many blocks do you need to make?" I think this is one case where it's better to NOT do the math quite yet. Why take all the fun out of it so soon? Hahaha! I decided to name my quilt "Lost in the Crowd", for a few reasons. One, because it would be really easy to camouflage ugly scraps and get away with it. Two, if you wanted to point out a favorite fabric to someone, good luck finding it! Rarely do I have a name for a quilt this early in the game, so that's pretty exciting! I think I'm going to go sew just a few more blocks now. :)
The lost quilt from Gingercake. And how it found its way back again.
The description card reads, "Crazy Quilt 1883-1893 Silk, cotton, wool, and linen, pieced and embroidered with silk and cotton threads Crazy quilts, which emerged after 1850, were usually composed of small, irregular-shaped fragments of silk, wool, and other fragments pieced together. The seams were then embroidered using a variety of stitches. They acquired the name “crazy quilts” because of the strong colors and busy, confusing nature of their designs, typical of Victorian taste."
Last November I had the opportunity to speak to the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters. A woman named Jean Gilbertson brought this amazing quilt for show and tell that literally made my jaw drop...in the best way possible, of course! If I recall correctly, this is at least a queen size quilt. It was truly stunning. Each of the 4 patches finish around 2", so each individual square finishes at about an inch, I believe. I was foolish and asked the only question that came to mind, which was: "how long did it take you to make that?" (I should know better. Hahahaha!) No surprise that her response was: "a long time". After seeing this EPIC quilt, I knew I had to make something inspired by it....someday. After a mandatory three month waiting period, I STILL want to make it, so.... ...I pulled out some scraps and started sewing! I had a small bin of 1 1/2" squares that I had previously cut, so I was able to sit down and sew.....no prep needed. How fantastic!!! Of course I've already blown through my supply of pre-cut squares, but that means I'm making good progress! I made it a point to not overthink the fabric selection. I know that some day in the future I will look at some of these blocks and think, "what was I thinking", and other days I will think, "hey, those aren't bad at all". I waver back and forth, depending on the day, or my mood, I suppose. (Does that happen to anyone else???) The pieces are small, but not unmanageable. That's a good combo! (Quarter in the photo for scale.) There are a lot of things to love about this project: -There is only one seam in the center to match up. -Playing with fabric combinations within each block is a delight. -They are small, so you can get away with finger pressing the seams during the block construction. (I do press them with an iron once a bunch of blocks are finished.) -They are addictive. As I was sewing, I found that I kept telling myself, 'just one more'. -They are QUICK to make. -It's easy to check the block for accuracy with a 2 1/2" square. Did I mention that it's FUN sewing up scraps??? I'm having a blast! A friend asked me, "how many blocks do you need to make?" I think this is one case where it's better to NOT do the math quite yet. Why take all the fun out of it so soon? Hahaha! I decided to name my quilt "Lost in the Crowd", for a few reasons. One, because it would be really easy to camouflage ugly scraps and get away with it. Two, if you wanted to point out a favorite fabric to someone, good luck finding it! Rarely do I have a name for a quilt this early in the game, so that's pretty exciting! I think I'm going to go sew just a few more blocks now. :)
For my WIP today, I decided to work on my lost in the crowd blocks. (You can see the inspiration quilt here .) I'm having a little 4 patch...
Leah Evans, whose work is for sale at the annual Smithsonian Craftshow, creates wall hangings from abstracted geogrpahies
Well that at least is what it has felt like the last couple of weeks. My design wall has been home to just one thing… my Starry Night quilt. I was determined not to take it down until it w…
Kaffe Fassett quilt pattern using the shirts of a friend who lost his battle with cancer- -this was one of a pair that I made for each of his son's.
It is something every traveling quilt teacher fears, her quilts will be stolen or lost. Unfortunately, it has happened to me. I’m heartbroken. . . please share the images and story below. I…
It has been a weird week. I am running up against the deadline for finishing the "Elements" pieces and I essentially lost two days this week. Monday morning I woke up with a stiff neck and by bedtime I was in a serious amount of pain. Did not sleep and by morning I was in such pain and fear of what might be causing it that I went straight to the Urgent Care Clinic near us. It was a strained trapezius muscle in my neck, making my neck impossible to move without screaming, hot pain and sending tentacles of pain winding up around my skull. The recommendation was rest and drugs and sleep and a soft cervical collar to support the weight of my head. So I lounged around all day on Tuesday reading and sleeping, felt a little better on Wednesday and much better today. So I was back in the studio this afternoon. "Water" should have been easy (that's why I left it for last), but I had a hard time settling on an idea. Close to my heart is the wetland area where we walk, so that began to take shape in my head. I started with an assortment of blue, gray and tan fabrics and fused some strips to form a base. At the end of today I had this: I think I am nearly there. A few additions, then I will trim it to size and bind it. Speaking of the wetland area, we had a surprise when we walked last week. Sofia was with us, and as we came around the corner near the Fanno Farmhouse, Beth and I were talking away and Sofia piped in "look at the turtle!" There, studiously digging in the dirt at the side of the trail, was a large turtle. I took its picture with my phone. That evening on the local news was a story of another turtle that was captured in a backyard several miles away. They are snapping turtles that have invaded the wetlands and creek. They are not native to the area and are thought to have been pets, originally, that were released into the creek and have bred there for years. This is the season when they come onto land to dig holes and lay eggs. They are quite destructive, eating the native fish, frogs, even baby ducks and can take a finger off if you are dumb enough to offer it to one. We found this one pretty interesting and were happy to have encountered it until we learned later what pests they are. If we see another we are advised to call the Parks department or Fish and Wildlife, who will come and take it away. Wish I had known. Now I am on the lookout when we walk.
We are so inspired by what Coulter Fussell has brought to our lives, not just…
We’ve long been fans of the work of Irene Roderick. Her quilts have been featured in Curated Quilts multiple times, and Christine Ricks, our co-founder and Creative Director of Curated Quilts, purchased Roderick’s quilt “She’s Lost Control Again” that hung at QuiltCon 2020 in Austin. We couldn’t help but notice the in
James Matthews has been walking and biking around Little Rock for about a decade, getting to know the city as he documents and photographs houses of worship and leads urban walks, among other projects.
Finished the campfire piece today. Actually, I thought I had it finished yesterday. It looked like this: I don't know if you can see what I changed. The bottom foreground wasn't quite working for me. Those rocks around the fire looked too tight and somehow unnatural. And the ground itself wasn't "grounding." I added a couple more rocks and some deep shadow, which seem like an improvement to me. And then I added more sparks. Seemed like it needed those. This piece will be submitted for our next High Fiber Diet show, "The Elements." If I can get them done in time, I hope to complete all four elements to submit. I started with "fire" because it seemed the most challenging, but now I am having a hard time coming up with any ideas for earth, air and water! The size of this is 15" x 35". I kind of wish I had made it larger.
Happy dance happy dance happy dance! Last July, I told you about the loss of four irreplaceable quilts displayed by C&T Publishing at Spring Quilt Market. Our beloved Allie Aller reports that h…
Sometimes we all need a little break from quilting. It’s easy to get lost in projects, and every once in a while it’s good to flex your creative…
Image source: Jenny Bowker – Lost in Singapore For my birthday and Mother’s Day the lads in my life decided...
This morning I spent several hours cutting in an attempt to bring some order to the scrap chaos that is currently in my sewing room. My m...
Lately, I feel like I have zero focus or direction in my sewing. I have lots of quilts in the works but I just can't seem to make a lot of progress on any specific project. But there is one quilt top that has been finally moved to the "ready to be quilted" pile. And that is my colorwash scrap vortex quilt. Woo Hoo! What was the secret on this one? It was my leader/ender project as I was working on all those other things. So it just quietly continued to grow and evolve as I wasn't paying attention. Lots of tiny blue and purple scraps went into this one. It is hard to believe that almost all of the fabrics are scraps from previous quilts. I think it measures about 50 x 60". I will have to see what I have for a backing because I am sure I have a couple choices for this one. I am hoping to dig around and uncover an oldie that I can finally find a home for. Now, back to my "real" projects! Follow Me on Bloglovin' Follow me thru Email Follow me on Feedly Linking Up: My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread) Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!) TGIFF (Thank Goodness it is Friday Finish) Busy Hands Quilts (Finished or not Friday) Crazy Mom Quilts (Finish it up Friday)
I love blogs. I can get lost in them. That's the problem... I can also waste a lot of time - but is learning, being inspired, and seeing what everyone else is doing a waste of time? I think not. Facebook? Well, that's another story. I haven't figured out their real value. Yet. I'm not in a hurry to learn, either. So, this month, I am once again behind on all of my projects. Nothing has gotten finished, little has gotten started, and yet the first of the month came rapping on my door. Hello? Anybody home? I was out of town for most of the week (more on that, later), and when I got home, a blog post from a friend of mine popped up on my laptop: Denise Green (an amazing friend and longarm quilter) had just posted photos from her trip over to see the quilt show in Kerrville, Texas. Here's what I found interesting about her post: since she's a longarm quilter, her view of quilts is different than mine. So are her photos and comments. I emailed Denise and asked if I could use her blog for my blog. Answer: "I'd be honored!" I'm actually the one that was honored by her quick and positive response. What I thought I'd do is to show you all of her photos along with her comments... and then add my own comments. It's interesting to see how we both view the same quilts. If you want to catch up on Denise's blog directly, you can find it here: http://hollydeequilts.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/its-a-quilt-show-kerrville-style/. Let's get this conversation started, now. Denise's words are in italics. Mine are plain old straight up and down. D: We arrived at the show and my friend, Susie, met us there. She is a member of the Hill Country Quilt Guild and had a few quilts in the show (with ribbons on them!). One of Susie’s quilts – I quilted this for her – her quilts are a delight to quilt – she is very good piecer and I love her colors and pattern choices! S: I love how Denise quilts Judy Neimeyer quilts -- she honors the pattern but adds her own spin with feathers, spikes, swirls, and unique designs. The color choices on this one are great. D: (This is) Susie’s Prairie Star (a quiltworx.com pattern) – yes there is a ribbon on the right side! S: Well deserved, I'd say! D: I quilted the quilt below for Susie earlier this year – I really enjoyed this one! What I enjoyed almost as much was I sent her my king-size triple 4-patch to quilt and I just got it back. That was a GREAT TRADE! S: I love the soft colors in Susie's "Love is in the Air" quilt. It's from a Lori Smith pattern. I especially love the use of all those golds and blues and browns in the sashing strips. Are those are four-patch sashings? Yes! D: (Susie) added the pieced sashings as well as the applique border. The pattern had plain sashing and border. S: I love those sashing strips. I wish I could think of things like that! This picture needs to go into my folder of "great ideas." Susie machine appliqued the non-pieced blocks/borders. She did a nice job with that. D: This quilt of Susie’s ("Sew Many Colors") was made as a block of the month from Pinwheels and Posies. Each block is the same (except for fabric placement), Susie quilted this one! S: Pinwheels and Posies is a local quilt shop in Dickinson, Texas. They did this block of the month a while back and it clearly turned out nice. If Denise hadn't pointed it out to me, I don't think I would have noticed that the blocks are all identical. There's a lesson in there for all of us about the importance of value (how light or dark a color is), as it can have a dramatic effect on what a block looks like when you are finished making it. D: Another student, Linda B, was also working at the show and had a ribbon (or 2) on her Glacier Star Quilt that was started in a class I taught at Pinwheels and Posies. I love how she added to the main body of the quilt with her “tucked” border and this beautiful Jason Yenter print. S: If you have a chance to take a Judy Niemeyer class from Denise (her workshop schedule is posted on her blog), it's worth the trip. Denise is an excellent teacher with endless patience for anyone and everyone. In general, I'm not a fan of "cheater cloth" pre-printed borders and blocks. The border on this quilt, though, is really wonderful and frames the quilt nicely!! D: Kim’s quilting (her longarm business is called "A Busy Bobbin") was honored with the ribbon for Best Machine Quilting – WELL DESERVED! Our local longarm bee is excited to have Kim as our speaker Monday night at our monthly meeting. She and Linda B. will be joining us and talking about the rulers Kim uses and how she fills all that empty space with all of that gorgeous quilting. S: I am spoiled rotten by living in an area filled with quilters -- Denise started a longarm bee quite a while back, before it seemed that nearly everyone had some sort of quilting machine. She schedules speakers every month for the members -- and I can't wait to go to hear from this speaker. Look at the unique combination of quilting designs in this quilt.... D: (Here is...) Linda's sweet mini! S: Sometimes it's the little things that count, right? I want to point out that the Kerrville guild puts a wooden clothespin on every quilt. Quilt show attendees can then grab the clothespin to see the back of any quilt without having to hunt down a white-glove lady. What a great idea! D: I took several pictures of quilts that I enjoyed the setting of the blocks. I love how (Holly Nelson) set these blocks. S: I love the wonderful quilt edge, too. And setting those blocks inside a scalloped circle... wow. Holly designed these blocks for an applique class she taught in Fredricksburg, Texas. D: Here's another great way to set blocks. S: Love the blocks. I wondered where Holly Nelson planned to put this piece and was able to read the tag on her quilt, which said she designed this quilt for applique classes in Bandera, Texas - and the layout was an "experiment" as she's running of space for wall hangings. D: This is a great setting for those hexie blocks. S: I love the rich reds against those deep gray-greens and yellow-greens. The information on this quilt says that "Perseverence" was made by Merry Ann Rothe and quilted by Donna Scofield. The pattern is from "Quilts from Grandmother's Garden" by Jaynette Huff. This is a delightful quilt and the quilting makes it come alive. D: I love Stephanie Brandeburgs panels – I like how this quiltmaker broke up the panel. S: Carol Pope made "My Summer Garden" by using a 22 by 44" panel because she liked its shape and design. Her quilt was quilted by Donna Scofield (I hope I read that right; the label was pretty blurry...). I am always amazed when people can take something like this big panel and have the confidence to slice it up and add some long pieced and printed strips. It's wonderful! D: Great bargello quilt – I love the addition of the leaves in the border. S: You're right Denise - this is a great combination of a contemporary bargello design and a set of classic pieced blocks. Don't you love the little green piping between the outer border and the binding? Little additions like that make the difference between a good quilt and a great quilt. And the quilting is wonderful, with feathers ruffling their way across the bargello and a great leaf shape on the maple leaves. D: And the quilting ideas I find at shows! S: I have so much to learn! Denise is right - the quilting is phenomenal and offers lots of unique ideas for quilting; it changes from feathers to pumpkin seeds to cross-hatching without missing a beat. "Pottery II" was entered by Linda Humphrey, who says this was a "pass around" project of the Sew Bee It Bee. Linda made the center block and then passed it to each bee member to add a border. Other bee members include Helen Ridgway, Anita Crane, Holly Nelson, Marilyn Lampman, Ro Molder, Isabelle Tolliver, and Marvene Wallace. The finished quilt is 38 by 21 inches. And it won a Judge's Choice ribbon! D: Amazing quilting! S: Absolutely. Great ideas here! D: Gorgeous quilting! S: Ditto! This quilt, called "Walking Home," was made by Julie Schlichting. D: Awesome quilting! S: Tremendous! This 16 by 18 inch quilt, called "Desert Hills," was made by Jane Kutach. It was inspired by a workshop with Karen Eckmeier in 2012. D: More quilting to love! S: I do! D: Quilting! S: This is a great example of how to fill a square without just doing "doodling" in it! D: And these were just fun quilts; the colors are probably what draws me in. Love the colors for the Wild Goose Chase – a pattern by quiltworx.com. S: I was attracted to the design (how did they do those flying geese -- I would assume paper piecing?). And I love that diagonal border! D: Love the color in this one too! Great block! S: Yes - this block is incredible, both in the body of the quilt and in the border. My bucket list has a Lemoyne Star quilt in it.... hand pieced with 3 or 4 inch stars. D: Isn't this little mini pretty? S: I love the rich reds and greens. This quilt is another round robin quilt, with each person (Marvene Wallace - owner - and Anita Crane, Linda Humphrey, Marilyn Lampman, Ro Molder, Holly Nelson, Helen Ridgeway, and Isabella Tolliver) adding a border. The entire process took 8 months to complete. That's dedication! D: Bright and colorful... S: Yes - and a lot of work! D: I love the poppies on this grey scale quilt (that's hubby in the photo). S: This is another beauty! Kerrville has some pretty wonderful quilters in its midst! D: This was a group quilt. They started with a photo, cut it apart. Each member of the group was given a section of the photo to reproduce in cloth - and now you see the quilt put back together. I think this would be really fun to do - what do you think? S: These quilts have always intrigued me. I see them all the time in the Group Quilt category at the Houston quilt show... and they are stunning! This quilt is called "Infinity Interrupted" and was made by Wanna Bee members. D: See the seams? This shows where each member's work was added! D: I am not usually a fan of T-shirt quilts - but this one I love! This was a wonderful t-shirt quilt! S: I agree Denise -- I love the random way the t-shirts were added. D: And of course, I left the BEST for the last - Best of Show went to this beautiful quilt - this pattern is Ladies of the Sea by Sue Garman. Sue is a friend of mine and she was working on this quilt when we travelled to Brigham City, Utah, a few years back. If I remember correctly, the compass corner stones were inspired by some wall art in the facility where she was teaching (I went as her helper because I am originally from Utah). It is a marvel to watch Sue work - she is AMAZING! I hope Sue will enjoy the substitution this quilt maker made to the original quilt. The submarine honors a family member if I remember correctly. D: (Here is a) substitution to the original quilt (which is all tall ships). S: What a gorgeous rendition of this pattern! I love when people personalize quilts and make them speak to themselves or their families or their experiences. It makes the quilt extra special -- and the USS Carbonero is a great substitute for another historic ship! UPDATE! Thanks go to Susan Longacre who Chaired the Quilts in Motion Quilt Show of the Hill Country Quilt Guild in Kerrville, Texas. She sent me some additional information on this quilt. The maker of this quilt is Barbara Woodman, a very accomplished quilter, formerly of Uvalde and now living in Kerrville. She won ribbons for: First Place in Category, Best of Show (large), and Viewer's Choice. The most heartfelt information is that Barbara made this quilt for her husband who served on the USS Carbonero submarine but, unfortunately, he died before she finished the quilt. This quilt is such a beautiful legacy for Barbara and her family - and I thank her for sharing it with other quilters. D: Scrumptious quilting! S: Boy, you've got that right! I'm so sorry I don't know the maker and quilter's name for this quilt -- it is SO well done! D: I hope you enjoy my tour of the Kerrville Quilt Show and if you are in the area for Memorial Day weekend in 2015, you should add this show to your list of activities. S: Absolutely! What a great set of quilts - and definitely a beautiful town to visit! Thanks, Denise, for sharing -- I appreciate your friendship so much. Isn't it great that quilters seem able to make friends with complete strangers in a heartbeat? That's what happened with Mary Clendennen when I met her a few years ago. We bumped into each other at the Houston quilt show and she was so excited that I had gone over to Austin to see their quilt show and her quilt had just won best of show and I featured it in my blog back then. She is just the sweetest person you could ever hope to meet -- and we parted, saying we ought to get together some time. So here we are, a few years later... and we bumped into each other at two more quilt shows... and she again invited me to come visit her for a few days. Below is her quilt, "Ruffled Roses," based on the pattern I wrote for Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims' on "The Quilt Show." I just love the fabrics in it - all from an Elly Sienkiewicz line. But most of what makes this quilt so wonderful is Mary's exquisite piecing. I've never seen such precision! Here is a close-up of her quilt -- take a look at the piecing, but also the quilting (done by Angela McCorkle). Quilting can make or break a quilt, and Mary is certainly fortunate to have found someone who knows the craft well. By the way... Mary doesn't applique (yet), so she had a friend prepare the pieces for her and then appliqued the prepared units in place. She's determined to learn applique in the future. And so..... last week, I headed over to Marble Falls. Mary lives on her ranch along the Colorado River, which, when combined with the sweet blessings of Mary's warmth, hospitality, and friendship, gave me a piece of heaven on earth. I spent several days with Mary and her friend Marcie Wendrock and some others -- sewing, learning, relaxing, and enjoying my first time away from home in several years. It was a sweet breath of fresh air. Watching Mary work was an inspiration, in itself. Check out one of the blocks she had made: Do you want to know why it was such a joy to see her work? Because she is the QUEEN of precision piecing. I learned that I need to pick up my pace if I want my blocks to be as good as Mary's. But wait! Wait! There's more! Check out the back of her block. Look how she works to press the seams open! It was a great "light bulb moment" for me to see her block from the underside. It's perfection, plus! No wonder her quilts look so great. When I arrived, here is the quilt Mary was working on. She finished adding the final two borders while I was there, and was on to other projects. You can probably guess, by seeing the block above, why Mary's quilt lies perfectly flat. Some of the gals were working on Jo Morton quilts.... And Marcie was designing and working on a brand new quilt based on an antique. I fell in love with it and can't wait for the pattern to be done. You'll have to wait to see it... but the wait will be worth it!!!! One of the women there showed some quilts -- here is an antique spools quilt... And a close-up of it... And Zell Cook's quilts were stunning - she does a lot of quilts using tsukineko inks and embroidery - here's one with very detailed embroidery work in it. And a close-up of one of Zell's blocks... Now that I've finished sharing all those photos, one of you might be asking... but what are YOU working on, Sue? I've been working on lots of different things... and have no photos to share this month. Hang in there - they will show up soon enough. And I think you'll be glad I've kept busy, busy, busy, getting my next quilts ready. Several of you asked how they could find out what my lecture/workshop schedule is. Here is an incomplete list; where the location is undisclosed, it is because the group has asked that they be the first to announce me coming: June 15, 2013 - Lakeview Quilters Guild, Nassau Bay, Texas - precision piecing workshop June 29, 2013 - Sugarland Applique Society, Sugarland, Texas - applique workshop July 1, 2013 - Baytown Area Quilt Guild, Baytown, Texas - lecture July 15-16, 2013 - Hill Country Quilt Guild, Kerrville, Texas - lecture and feathered star workshop August 5, 2013 - Piecemaker Quilt Guild, Corsicana, Texas - lecture October 7-12, 2013 - location undisclosed; lecture and several days of applique workshops October 17-20, 2013 - Greenbriar retreat center, Athens, Texas - lecture, feathered star workshop, applique workshop Late October/early November - reserved for the International Quilters Association quilt show, Houston, Texas Winter, 2014 - 4-5 day personal workshop in my home, demonstrating design, process, etc. February 23-27, 2014 - Applique Away on Galveston Bay, Galveston, Texas - two 2-day applique workshops March 5, 2014 - Coastal Prairie Quilt Guild, Missouri City, Texas - lecture and workshop May 20-21, 2014 - Marble Falls Quilt Club, Marble Falls, Texas - lecture and workshop June 4, 2014 - Alvin Quilt Guild, Alvin, Texas - lecture June 24-25, 2014 - Ozark Piecemakers, Springfield, Missouri - lecture and workshop August 21, 2014 - Pride of Prairie Quilters, Naperville, Illinois - lecture and workshop September 17, 20, 2014 - West Houston Quilt Guild, Houston, Texas - lecture and workshop September 9-14, 2014 - location undisclosed; lecture and several days of applique workshops October 25+, 2014 - reserved for the International Quilters Association quilt show, Houston, Texas April or May, 2015 - Northwest Suburban Quilters Guild, northwest Chicago, Illinois - details to be determined June 18-20, 2015 - Trinity Valley Quilt Guild and Denton Quilt Guild, Dallas area, Texas - lectures and workshops Late October/early November - reserved for the International Quilters Association quilt show, Houston, Texas Much of my time over the past two months has been spent preparing for these workshops. I like to have plenty of examples of how to do things, including options for those who want a simpler or more unique option. Perhaps we'll get to meet at one of these events in the future! One more thing before I close. I am struggling with a creativity block. I want to start a new quilt - probably a block of the month - and cannot seem to focus on anything that really grabs me. So... what have you been looking for, what is your favorite type of quilt to make, what would you like to see me design? I'll listen to any ideas you have! Happy stitching - Sue (c)2013 Susan H. Garman
slow stitching embroidery.
We are so inspired by what Coulter Fussell has brought to our lives, not just…
The products and fabrics shown in this post were given to me by Island Batik. The Island Batik Ambassador’s challenge for May is to “Make It Modern”! The Modern Quilt Guild defin…
Welcome to our free quilt patterns gallery! Quilt lovers, get ready to be inspired! Browse through thegallery and download all the quilt patterns for FREE! All Pdf files include the instructions and illustrations that you need to be successful, starting with your very first quilt. You’ll find lots of easy quilt patterns that are …
I remember seeing a quilt by Kaffe Fassett where the sunlight shines through the fabric to give it a stained glass effect.
Looking through my QuiltCon photos I found more to quilt show photos share with you! Truth be told I could share photos for weeks, and still be awed.
Today let's create this traditional Lost Ships quilt block. There are similar quilt blocks that are also called Lost Ships but I chose this one for the tutorial. Plus it's super easy to put together with only Half Square Triangles!
Just in time for some holiday sewing! This modern pattern design is a celebration of connection with a nod to nature.
Sometimes we all need a little break from quilting. It’s easy to get lost in projects, and every once in a while it’s good to flex your creative…
For my WIP today, I decided to work on my lost in the crowd blocks. (You can see the inspiration quilt here.) I'm having a little 4 patch party! These little bits of happy fabric are fun to sew up. I have plenty of new scraps to sew thanks to my new Heather Ross quilt that is in progress. I came across some 3" squares in one of my scrap bins, so I chopped them into quarters. Each block yielded four 1 1/2" blocks with no waste. How handy and timely! I have 305 blocks complete. (I had to replace a few because my dog ate at least a few of them. Good grief!) I did the math over lunch today, and according to my calculations I will need 1200 pieced 4 patches for a queen size quilt. I have to admit that I was actually a little disappointed that it wasn't a higher number. Maybe it's time to seek professional help? Ha! Anyway, that means that I'm about 25% done piecing the 4 patches. That's pretty encouraging!
