Between working and life, I haven’t blogged the amazing quilts and fun runners that I’ve had the privilege of quilting…for awhile. I hope you enjoy the variety of custom and edge to edge quilting, that I’m going to share with you.

 Hello dear friends -- Have you found that quilters make instant friendships with other quilters? It's one of the many wonderful things about quilting! And this past month, with two trips up to the Chicago area, two trips out to the west side of Houston, and ten days to/at/and from Baltimore on the Prairie (a wonderful annual quilt seminar up in Nebraska), I met many fellow quilters. This month I will share pictures from those trips... and also provide a VERY brief intro to using the Draw function in Word for those who have asked for instructions on how I make my own paper foundations for precision piecing. Here we go - it's going to be quite a ride, as I have filled this blog with tons of pictures! First of all, I did two lectures and two workshops with the Prairie Star Quilt Guild in St. Charles, Illinois (outside of Chicago). What a fabulous group of quilters! After a day of stitching, five of the gals came to one of the lectures with the progress they had made on their Rose Fans blocks from my Bed of Roses quilt. They were super students and so much fun!  One of the students was actually from the Pride of the Prairie Quilters guild in Naperville; I'd given a lecture and done a workshop with them in August, and Cathy and her friend came and took more workshops in St. Charles. Cathy was determined to finish her block... and she sent me a picture of it, below. What a splendid job! Meanwhile, at Show and Tell time at the Prairie Star Quilt Guild, I got to see the work of many other quilters. Below is a most beautiful rendition of Ladies of the Sea. The woman who made it was a joy to talk to - her work was exquisite! Below is my And To All A Good Night quilt. I thought I'd show it to you before I show you the next picture so you can see the difference that color choices make. Barb Vlack - whom some of you may know through her book and classes on Electric Quilt software - made her own And To All A Good Night. Look how she chose a vibrant blue for the night sky that Santa and his reindeer are gliding through - and then she incorporated some of that same blue fabric into the blocks below. It is a grand quilt! When I was doing things with the Prairie Star Quilt Guild, I stayed with Barb - we have known each other for many, many years. She was tickled pink to show me how she had recently remodeled her house. Her basement has become a dream sewing room, for sure. Check it out. With lots of built-in shelving and a large open area for her long arm machine, she is ready to roll out quilts in style. Looking the other direction (away from the long arm), you can see Barb's work area with her sewing machine and various supplies, including a healthy set of books. Between the two areas, Barb has put an antique counter with its bins... which she has, of course, filled with fat quarters, sorted by color. I could only wish to be that organized! Along one wall, Barb has two hanging doors that slide open and shut like old barn doors. Behind the doors is... more storage! I'm just drooling, right now... storage, real storage for all the notions and tools you need! And you can close the doors and have a nice-sized design wall. How sweet is that?! Imagine... a place for all your UFOs and projects... where you can actually FIND them and perhaps even finish one! Barb had a very cute cuckoo clock on her wall... one made for a quilter. I fell in love with it. Look at the pendulum -- it's a thread spool! When the clock strikes on the hour, the quilter uses her cutter and cuts the fabric. It is just too, too clever for words. Nearly everyone who knows me at all knows that I'm a sucker for a vintage/antique quilt. The quilt below is one that Barb put together, using two different Lemoyne star blocks. One set of Lemoyne stars was made by her mother. Those stars were all machine pieced and have the earmark of a split square in the corners. The other set of stars was made out of Barb's scraps. They were all hand pieced using Inklingo - a nifty creation of Linda Franz. I was not familiar with it, and Barb was quite happy to show me how it works: you print some templates onto the back side of your fabric, cut out your pieces, and then hand stitch along the marked lines. It makes for a perfectly pieced block - one that is quite portable. It also makes blocks with set-in squares and triangles, easy to make without having to split the squares or triangles, giving a much cleaner look to a block like the Lemoyne star. Below is Barb's Inklingo-made star. Here's a picture of the back of Barb's star. If you look carefully, you can see the Inklingo markings on the fabric. It's something I need to explore a bit more, for sure. Here's Barb with another gorgeous quilt on her bed. I love cheddar (antique orange) fabric and I love stars, so what's not to love about this quilt?! Whenever I look at an antique quilt, I enjoy looking at the fabrics, the design, and the quilting motifs. In the photo below, you can see that there are to 4-petal flowers quilted between the stars. But wait... wait... there's more! There are also "pumpkin seed" circles quilted between the stars! And between the star blocks, there is an "open" block that has a big flower quilted across it. I find all of this so interesting - you may be bored by it, but I am fascinated by the designs that women chose to use many, many years ago. Here's the actual "block" arrangement that alternates with the "open" block. It is five simple little stars... but note this: the stars have a lot of different green (and blue-green) points on them, along with alternating red star points. Would you have ever thought of doing that if you had made a quilt like this? I doubt that I would have! The border on this quilt was interesting - outward-facing dogteeth units. The quilting in the border was just as interesting to me: diagonal three-line bead-board quilting. It's awesome! Barb had a pile of scrap squares sitting in her sewing room and I asked what she was going to use them for. She showed me the beginning of an interesting quilt block arrangement. The blocks are a variety of triple-four patch blocks - with extra squares and strips set between them. I hope to see the finished quilt sometime. I am always looking for ways to use my scraps and de-stash my stash (even though I know that's impossible in my lifetime). Barb also showed me another project she's working on - using my Washington Medallion quilt pattern. I love her color choices -- they are a vibrant combination of blues and golds and rusts, with some other colors thrown in for good measure. She has started working on the next border.... pinwheels, as shown below. She has a few more to go after that, too! Another thing that was hanging in Barb's sewing room was the beginning of what she called a "Travel Tree" quilt. It is done with wool - and gives the maker a real opportunity to use all different sorts of stitching to attach the leaves to the tree. In addition, each leaf has a memory from a trip. I thought this was a very novel way for a quilter to carry memories into the future. The trunk of three has the logo of the city of St. Charles on it. You can also see an Australian boomerang from one trip - and of course, an American flag at the base of the tree. Below, you will see a memory of seeing and hearing an opera on another trip -- La Boheme. You can see Mimi's lost apartment key, the candle whose light was extinguished, and the flowers that Mimi embroidered while waiting for the return of her lover. What a fun way to remember special times and places in your life. Of course, I could not avoid noticing Barb's candy-apple red Featherweight! There's a story that goes with it. Ruby is the stone of a 40th anniversary... and Barb found this machine on her 40th anniversary (or thereabouts), so it was an omen that she could not pass by. She has named her machine "Ruby-dooby-doo." How cute is that?!! Barb had put an old 1930s era "kit quilt" on my bed. These quilts were offered back in the 30s and 40s and sold as kits. The kit included a pattern, the muslin, marked with blue washout markings, and the fabric to applique onto the muslin. You can still find them on eBay on a lucky day! In the picture below, I've taken a close-up of the quilt. You can still see the little blue dots that were designed to be the quilting lines. Below, you can also see that the quilts included a good amount of embroidery. Barb showed me one of her latest projects - a grandmother's flower garden quilt. She has even put a picket fence across the top of the quilt. Her hexagons were very small which gave the quilt a delicate look. You can see by my thumb how small the hexagons are -- and you can also see the amount of hand-stitching involved in making a grandmother's flower garden quilt. Oh my.... Barb managed to find another vintage kit quilt - one with flowers and a flowing ribbon on it. Here's a detail photo of the ribbon -- I love how it flows so smoothly. And a side-border of flowers - also free-flowing. And a corner of flowers.... Here's a close-up of one of the blue flowers. I had to "recolor" this in Photoshop to make the markings show up, but I think you can barely see "Blue" written between the two blue petals, along with the original applique lines that were printed on the muslin. Today's applique is not nearly this easy, is it?! Barb even found yet one more kit quilt - but this one was not sewn at all. She has taken it upon herself to make this kit quilt, herself. The poppies are gorgeous... but Barb changed the center of the poppies from the original yellow color to black. I think she made a wise choice -- the black really "pops" against those red fabrics! You can see, on the leaves below, the stitching that has been added, including little "hairs" on the poppy stem. You can also see the applique lines that were printed on the muslin. And here, you can see the quilting lines that were included in each kit. What would we do today if all of the quilting lines could be printed on our fabric? I often get questions from quilters, asking how I quilted a particular quilt. This would answer that question right away! The border of this quilt was also marked on the edge. I think that's pretty nifty! It looks like it would be a pin to bind, though! Barb had a crazy, unique, antique quilt to show me -- it looks like a variation of a pickle dish design... with a weird center. Here, you can see that the blocks had different reds in them. Did the quilter design the use of different reds or just not have enough of one red to make the whole quilt? We'll never know. And, looking at the back of the quilt top, we can only imagine how challenged quilters were before the invention of our marvelous cutters and mats and rulers. I doubt I'd be the quilter I am today if I had so few tools to work with. New York Beauty quilts are among my favorite. Barb showed me this one -- made with thirties fabrics and feed sacks. Here, you can see the block and the sashing strip. What a lot of work these quilts were - again, especially before the invention of our rotary cutters and mats and rulers. The cornerstone of the sashing strips is an interesting block - and the fabrics this quilter chose were certainly unique with the use of two different sizes of polka-dot prints! Below is one of my early quilts - The Christmas Lady. It's an old favorite... and Barb has designs on what she's going to do with this pattern. She has enlarged the pattern - it's really big now... and she's going to make a much larger Santa Lucia girl. What fun! Here's a photo of my old Classic Nutcrackers quilt. In that set of nutcracker variations is one from the classic Nutcracker Christmas story -- Herr Drosselmeyer. Barb has started her own Classic Nutcracker quilt - and below is her Herr Drosselmeyer nutcracker. I loved her choice of fabrics. And I especially liked that she was able to find some fabric that had a little clock or pocket watch on it. Barb put it to good use by attaching it to her nutcracker. She also used some really cool teeny little brass rivets for the buttons on Herr Drosselmeyer. And for those who aren't lucky enough to find pocket-watch fabric, Barb showed me a little set of buttons that she'd come across that could have been substituted. Aren't they just too cute?! Barb will be coming to Houston in October to teach a set of workshops on Electric Quilt - and to do a lecture on 60 ways to use 9-patches. If you're in Houston at the end of this month (eek - where did the year go?!), check her out! Last week I did a workshop up in Cypress, Texas (northwest of Houston). I always have SO much fun teaching workshops. It didn't help that I have been so busy lately that I forgot to put all the pattern kits in my car before I headed out to teach. With a good printer on hand, I was fortunate enough to make copies of my master pattern and managed to recover quickly. The full pattern set has been shipped out to the guild now, though. The gals were very understanding and forgiving - bless their hearts! I was doing a workshop on making what I call "twirly ball blocks." They are so much fun to make! The gals all agreed that they were fun to make and much easier than they ever imagined. I sneaked in a photo of one of the partly-done blocks.... And I loved this choice of fabrics - so unique. While there, I had a few free minutes and one of the students, Kathy, showed me some of the blocks she had finished but not yet assembled into a quilt. I'm just going to show you the pieced blocks first.... you can look at them quickly - just to give you an idea of how you can take any classic block and surround it with half-square triangles, to make a unique new block. These are combinations of 12-inch and 6-inch blocks. Here is the back of a pair of the 6-inch blocks that Kathy made. Her blocks were pieced perfectly - absolutely perfectly. And when you look at the back, you can understand why. She clearly takes the time to ensure that the seams are pressed open, making them flat and even. I should note that the photos above were taken when the blocks were all sitting in a box -- if they were laid on the table, they would have been absolutely square and flat. Kathy had also finished appliqueing all of the Classic Santa blocks that go with her pieced blocks. Again... scan through these quickly if you wish, otherwise, check them out. They're wonderful and the pattern has the story behind each of the unique Santas and the ways Christmas is celebrated in other lands and other times. First, here is Saint Basil, the Gift-Giver. He is remembered and celebrated in Greece for his generosity and aid to the poor. BY the way - Kathy used brushed cotton for the beards on these Santas, which gave a special soft, dimensional look to each of them. This Santa is Swiety Nicotaj, the Star Man of Poland. Usually a village priest or close family friend, the Star Man visits families as they share stories and sing songs around the Christmas tree on Christmas eve. Children are tested on their religious knowledge and then given small gifts. This character is the Danish Julenisse - tiny little gnomish figure less than a foot high. Throughout the season of Advent, Julenesse leave presents for small children, which they find when they wake in the morning. Then, on Christmas even, everyone heads to bed and the Julenisse bring large sacks of presents for everyone. The Russian St. Nicholas is regarded as the patron saint of all people from all walks of life. He is based on a portrait of St. Nicholas that Duke Vladimir brought to Russia. Kris Kringle is the predecessor of our American Santa - but he is German in origin. His name is a corruption of the German word "Chriskindl" or "Christ Child" - and he was once thought to be the Christ Child's chief helper and a bringer of gifts. Kris Kringle is still popular in many Pennsylvania Dutch homes in America. I love the fabric that Kathy chose for Kris Kringle's robe. I love the name of this Santa: Old Ukko from Lapland. Old Ukko was regarded by the Finnish people as the protector of the poor, outcasts, and children. He owes his origins to the class of Santas that arose from great mythological gods - and his title was, "the ancient father who reigns in the heavens." Ukko is said to travel from Lapland on a sleigh pulled by reindeer and was one of the earliest Santas to be depicted using this mode of transportation. When Kathy made this block, she could not find any brown brushed cotton for Ukko's bread - so she used wool. Oh my - what an applique task... but it turned out beautifully! This particular Santa is my favorite - I love his flowing beard and the staff he uses. His name is Dedt Moroz or Father Ice. He is part of an ancient Siberian bedtime story. He was regarded as a just and fair man who traveled by sleigh and saved a young girl from the evils of a harsh step mother. Good King Wenceslas comes to us from a dynasty in Bohemia, now known as the Czech Republic. Known for his kindness to the poor and his generosity to children, orphans, widows, and slaves, he is revered today as the patron saint of the Czech Republic. The Knickerbocker Santa was the Santa that made Santa Claus gain popularity in America. He was first described by the wealthy elite as a jolly elfin Dutch burgher with a clay pipe. His purpose was to quell the hooliganism rampant in New York City at the time, with fears of not getting gifts for being good children. That's an oversimplification of his origins - but still relatively accurate. This Santa was born of politics, not the church. The Wassail Santa comes from a pagan winter custom of the Druids, wherein they celebrated trees during the winter solstice. The Christian Church later adopted the wassail tradition as a means of spreading good will - with "wassail" being an old Anglo-Saxon term for "be whole" or "be well." The Medieval Gypsy Santa is based on the stories and legends of the Middle Ages. Stories of St. Nicholas had become widely known and accepted, and tales of his generosity, courage, and miracles were carried across Europe and Asia by minstrels, crusaders, nomadic gypsies, and sometimes even invading armies. He was always seen as one who cherished children. Here's a close-up of Kathy's block - I love how she added bangs and beribboned braids to the dolly in Santa's bag! The Swiss Samichlaus appears in Catholic regions, dressed in bishop's robes and in Protestant districts as an old man in a Capuchin cloak. He rides into town on a little donkey, often accompanied by a little devil called Schmutzli (who punishes bad children). Children await the sound of tinkling bells, announcing his arrival and the soon-to-be-bestowed gifts. So where do all these Santas go? Here is where mine went -- along with all of the 6-inch and 12-inch pieced blocks. It is called Classic Santas and is a favorite quilt of mine. Of course, I love the holiday season, so it's hard for me to not like any Christmas-themed quilt! I used those same Santa patterns, though, and on a challenge to myself, made the entire quilt out of white, white-on-white, off-white, tans, taupes, and neutral fabrics. I think I like this quilt more than the other one because every time I see it, I think of the sights and smells of Christmas in the kitchen with brown sugar, melted butter, sugar cookies, marshmallows in hot chocolate... and more. Okay - now for a different quilt! Here is my friend Marsha with her version of Omigosh. She had appliqued a lot of little baskets... and used them in place of some of the shoofly/prairie star blocks. I love the look of this quilt. Here, you can see the blocks a little better. There is just something really awesome about 1/2-inch squares made into nine-patch blocks! Another view -- Marsha set her blocks on point, which is a wonderful setting, as it makes the "chains" run horizontally and vertically. I love it! And just in case you are wondering what the back of a quilt looks like when you have 1-1/2 inch 9-patches... here's your chance to see! This quilt (Afternoon Delight) was made by Martha Baldwin. She sent me a picture after I asked her to - she won first place in the Coast Prairie Quilt Guild show. Congrats to Martha!!! Here's my version of Sarah's Revival. I've heard it called "Sarah's Revenge" so often now that I sometimes can't remember what the real name of the quilt is!  I'm showing it to you so that you can imagine what Georgann Wrinkle's Sarah's Revival blocks will look like when she sets them... even if she sets them differently than I did. I love her choice of fabrics - using a delicate floral print for the background is a wonderful idea! Take a look at her blocks. I can't wait to see Georgann's finished quilt! Okay... I said that I would, at some point, tell everyone how I use the Draw function in Word to design my own paper foundations. The more I've thought about it, the more I think that I'm just setting myself up for a ton of questions and emails and frustrations... so IF you choose to read the following, do so on ONE condition: don't ask me to explain it further... please. I learn a lot by pushing buttons... especially once someone has shown me the basics of some new software. I'm far from an expert -- FAR from it. I use simple things because it makes life simple. So here... in simple terms, is an INTRO -- not a complete dissertation -- on how you can use the Draw function in Word to create paper foundations or other drawings. Please note that there are many different versions of Word, so you may have to chase around your menus a bit to find where various items are in your version of Word. Please don't ask me to find buttons or icons for you... I don't know where they are on your computer. Just play around and experiment and eventually you'll have it all figured out and can share with me what you learned! Also, if you have the October/November 2014 issue of Quilters Newsletter, there is a wonderful article in there by Debbie Caffrey, who also uses Microsoft Word to design quilts. Her instructions are far more thorough than mine are, below - and will take you through a more comprehensive "lesson" in using the Draw function in Word. Hunt down the issue if you don't have it - it will be worth it! First of all, you will need to find where the "Shapes" icon is in Word. In my previous version, it was on the top banner. I've also seen it under "Insert" in newer Word versions. So look for it. It's where you get started in drawing. You may even have a drop-down menu for "Draw." Just push buttons and you'll get there sooner or later! Here's the Shapes icon.... And here is where it is at the top of my Word program: Open up a new document. Find the Shapes icon. Once you click on the Shapes button, you'll have a menu pop up with all kinds of shapes on it -- squares, triangles, circles, lines, arrows, etc. Click on a shape (e.g., a rectangle) and then put your cursor onto your document page. You should have a "plus" sign on your document then - left-click and hold as you drag the corner of the shape across your page to make it the size you want to make it. You do not have to make it the exact size you want, as you drag your cursor. Look on your menu bar and you should see a little box where you can change the size of a shape. If you don't see it, it might be buried in a single "Size" icon on the menu bar. You can change the size of your shape by changing these numbers. If you KNOW you want a shape to be perfectly symmetrical {e.g., a perfect square or a round circle), then hold down the Shift key as you drag your cursor to create the initial shape -- or if you have a shape but just want to make it symmetrically bigger smaller, hold down Shift and drag a side or a corner of your shape (to do that, click on the shape and you will see little "anchor" points appear - grab one and you can then drag it). Below is a picture of the Size box.... Okay... in the Draw menu, you can play around with Shape Styles (how it's colored/shaded) and lots of other things. Mostly, I use these buttons: The first one is the Shape Fill - highlight a shape and then click on Shape Fill (the paint bucket) to fill it with colors, a photo/picture, or a texture or pattern. Depending on your version of Word, you may have to click on Texture and then at the bottom of that menu is a little icon to click on for More Textures, which is where you'll find another menu for filling a shape with Pattern Fill -- you can fill the shape with circles, dots, and more of all sizes and colors. The second button in the column above (the pencil shape) is Shape Outline. Highlight a shape or a line and click on this to change the thickness of the outline or make it dashed or an arrow. You can also change the color of the line with this button. The third one can be used to create shadows and 3-dimensions; I don't use it much at all. When you are putting multiple shapes together (e.g., making a line of half-square triangles), you will want to join them into a single unit so that they don't "float apart" as you add to them. To do that, hold down Shift and highlight each shape/line... then click on Group... and a drop-down menu will give you the option to Group or Ungroup the shapes. Group them so that you can move an entire unit without having to move individual pieces of it. That's an important function. You can align shapes, too. If you want a circle centered in a rectangle, use the Align drop-down menu. The little button drawings in it are pretty self-explanatory. You can rotate the shapes - turning them 90 degrees or reversing them. Look under Rotate for that function. The Arrange function has Bring Forward, Send Backward, Send Behind Text, etc. You'll use that when layering things and when you want one of them to be on top of the others. Sometimes I have to put a "No Fill" (using the Shape Fill) on something so I can see what is buried beneath it. If you draw a line and want to change its shape, click on the line and then click on Edit Shape. You can move the registration marks on the line, or even delete them, to change the shape of the line. If you want to put a shape into a document, you may have to click on Wrap Text to adjust how the text floats around the shape. Choose what you want the text to do - be on top, behind, or around the shape. In general, I use the Wrap Text and select "Tight" to make the text wrap around the shape. Okay... that's enough for now. Go play with this and see what you can create! And use the Help function, not me, to answer your questions. I guarantee that I can help other people very little when I'm not standing over their shoulder and seeing what they see! I'm not trying to be mean... but I want to set your expectations low! So what have I been working on this month? I've got SO much to show you... but I'm already late because I had to teach my new laptop to obey my orders (it was a poor student and I was a poor teacher...). Next month you'll see what I couldn't fit in this month's blog. I'll talk about everything that happened at Baltimore on the Prairie, including my first stop in Salina, Kansas at The Quilting Bee - a wonderfully amazing quilt shop that my co-driver Becky and I visited (and dropped a few bucks in!).   And I'll show you some of the fun things I've been stitching up -- some pieced blocks, some de-stashing blocks (a hopeless task), a whole new Baltimore album quilt top (I just need to add the outer pieced border!), some Sally Collins quilts (she is one amazing woman!!!), and more... because the HOUSTON QUILT SHOW WILL BE IN TOWN in just a few weeks! Yes, this paragraph was full of exclamation points but I got excited!!!! Thanks to everyone who let me take picture and who sent me pictures for this month's blog. Your help is much appreciated; I'm not sure I would have a lot to say without everyone helping me with the content. Until next month... happy stitching -- Sue PS... I hope I can get the November blog out on time but I have to warn you... I will be at the Houston show instead of blogging that weekend! PPS... did I tell you I'm going to be at the Houston quilt show?!!! I hope our paths cross! (c)2014 Susan H. Garman 

Between working and life, I haven’t blogged the amazing quilts and fun runners that I’ve had the privilege of quilting…for awhile. I hope you enjoy the variety of custom and edge to edge quilting, that I’m going to share with you.

image source weekend wishes is a short one today folks. our weekend wish is to have our mackenize get well soon. i've been busy taking care of my little girl - she's come down with a nasty case of the croup. we'll be resting up, crossing our fingers for lots of sleep, good health and snuggle

Quilters' Guild Collection at York UK See all their mosaic patchwork here: http://www.quiltmuseum.org.uk/collections/mosaic-patchwork...

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The quilts listed below are now offered for sale. Please email if you are interested to buy or have questions about shipping. I am happy to provide close up details of any of the quilts - just ask! Paintbox 2 29"wide x 51" long Digital print of an acrylic painting of my favourite paintbox. Free motion quilted. £320 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Detail of Paintbox 2 Detail of Paintbox 2 Birdwing Butterfly This is a digital collage of a sketchbook painted page and a butterfly image created on an iPad. The image has been digitally printed onto cotton fabric, free motion quilted and hand painted.26" wide x 18"long 46cm x 66cm £150 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Detail of Birdwing Butterfly Wolf Moon This quilt is machine pieced using hand dyed, printed and indigo dyed fabrics. It has been free motion quilted and features hand embroidered embellishments. The haloes of pale moonlight have been applied to the quilted surface using paint. 46"wide x 25" long 117cm x 64cm £320Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Detail of Wolf Moon Detail of Wolf Moon How Fragile We Are I never thought when I made this quilt that the words would have such significance in a pandemic! Screenprint with monoprint, discharged fabrics and hand dyes. Stamped text. Hand and machine quilting. 45"w x 31"h £250 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Hurt No Living Thing Screenprint with monoprint. Discharged fabrics with hand dyes. Machine pieced. Stamped text with fabric painting. Hand and machine quilting.42"w x 31"h £250 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Pearl Fox Screenprint, monoprint and linoprint with discharged and hand dyed fabrics. Stamped text. Hand and machine quilting. 41"w x 30.5" h £250 Includes postage and packing within the UK. please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Ragged and Black This quilt is a digital print of one of my gouache and indian ink paintings. It is free motion quilted with hand painted detail and digitally embroidered text. 53in wide x 69.5ins high £825 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Ragged and Black (detail). Ragged and Black (detail). The Messenger This quilt was inspired by the crows, rooks and jackdaws that live all around my house. The Messenger (detail). The Messenger was digitally printed from my original gouache and Indian ink painting. 58in wide x 39ins high £500 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Some Day I'll Fly Away 39.5ins wide x 58.5ins high £650 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Some Day I'll Fly Away (detail). Some Day I'll Fly Away (detail). This is another digitally printed whole cloth quilt. The printing process is really faithful to the original painting, showing even the woven texture of the painted canvas. Edge of a Feather This is a piece my daughter Laura and I worked on together. It combines my hand painted garden birds with an image of a wonderful old tree in her garden. The design was digitally printed onto cotton poplin fabric. We free motion quilted the the whole thing voiding low-key text in the background. 32.5ins wide x 54.5ins high £650 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Edge of a Feather Greater Spotted Woodpecker detail. Edge of a Feather Green Woodpecker detail Edge of a Feather Chaffinch detail Edge of a Feather Wren detail And In His Dreams He Heard the Surf Roar Digital print layered with block printing, appliquéd text, hand stitching and free motion quilting. 28"wide x 35" long £350 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire for shipping costs to other countries. Detail of applied text on 'And in His dreams He Heard the Surf Roar' Big Wave 2 In this quilt I combined the traditional Storm at Sea design with free motion and hand quilting. The crest of the wave was hand painted while the rest of the design was block printed using acrylic paints. 23.5" wide x 42.5" long £250 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire shipping costs to other countries. Big Wave 2 detail Blue Moon Rising Blue Moon Rising was inspired by my local landscape in winter. The trees and moon were discharged from black linen and the foreground simply pieced using cotton fabrics. 31ins wide x 41 ins high £375 Includes postage and packing within the UK. Please enquire about shipping costs to other countries.

Alabama designated the Pine Burr Quilt as the official state quilt in 1997. The Freedom Quilting Bee was organized as an outgrowth of the Civil Rights Movement in 1966. Black workers were losing their jobs in retaliation for registering to vote, so the women formed an economic cooperative to sell their quilts. Their goal was to raise money for the Civil Rights Movement and to earn money for their families.

Style No. 88332671; Color Code: 030 Store galore with the quilted Rory baskets. Exclusively at Anthropologie Cotton Due to the handcrafted nature of this item, expect slight variation in the appearance of each unique piece Sold individually Imported Dimensions 14"H, 14" diameter

Looking for a Quick and Easy Bed Sized Quilt? This is It! We love the simplicity of the “Rebekah Amy Quilt” by designer Rosalie Quinlan. There are no small pieces or tricky piecing to deal with. Plus, you can easily adjust the size of the finished quilt by adding or subtracting rows. This would be …

Cinzia White ––  Paper-piece New York Beauty blocks inspired by Australian wildlife With its radiant beams and calculated curves, the New York Beauty quilt has always been a showstopper. Now you can make your own jaw-dropping Australian wedding quilt with Cinzia White, the esteemed designer behind The Storyteller’s Sampler Quilt. This queen-size bed quilt boasts 54 gorgeous New York Beauty blocks named for and inspired by Australian wildlife. Don’t be afraid to begin your foundation paper piece journey, as the author’s clear instructions will guide you and help you feel truly accomplished. A true creative journey! Sew the New York Beauty quilt of your dreams Stitch 54 unique blocks that pay homage to Australian wildlife Learn to foundation piece a queen-size quilt by machine #11402 64 pages with 1 large and 2 jumbo pullouts UPC: 734817-114024 eISBN: 9781617459795 Related Blog Posts New York Beauty Sampler Blog Tour Journey of the New York Beauty Sampler A New York Beauty Sampler from Down Under Combine Two Colorful Quilts! The link will open in a new tab or window.

It's been quite awhile since I taught at a guild in Virginia. Before my lecture, I had dinner with about 6 women, and one of them mentione...

YouTube is full of fascinating videos involving all sorts of things, including sewing! Whether you often check out sewing videos on YouTube or have yet to explore that world, we think you will appreciate this list of what we think are the 10 Best Sewing YouTube Channels you'll want to follow. It was difficult to narrow down the list to only 10 as there are many more amazing tailors and seamstresses who make useful videos and who truly make the best sewing channels on YouTube, but we felt that these were the accounts with the most variety. There are also videos on techniques and projects for all skill levels. No matter what you are looking for when it comes to sewing, you will find a channel in this list that is worthy of hitting that "subscribe" button. Before we get to these top sewing YouTube channels according to us editors here at AllFreeSewing, did you know that we have videos, too? Check out our original sewing videos here. Watch our useful video right below and then keep scrolling down to get to our awesome list of sewing YouTube channels we love. If you like them, be sure to subscribe to take advantage of all the free tutorials, tips, tricks, and projects they all have to offer every week! Sign Up For More Free Patterns >>>

The Friday girls have been very productive this week with many of them coming to class on both Friday morning and again on Saturday for this months 'Midday to Midnight' MADNESS! This absolute stunner belongs to Robyn and is nearing completion. Robyn is English paper piecing the hexagons with lots and lots of fussy cutting along the way. Shirley is making lots of 'star a day' blocks and is still up to date! For anyone who has been chasing the templates - they are now in stock. This one caught my eye... I love how the dark fabric has been cut. Leigh has completed Mrs Billings! At 9.17 pm Wednesday evening to be precise! Here is a close up, well done Leigh! Eighteen dedicated patchworkers turned up for this months Midday to Midnight madness. They all arrived with gusto, loaded with lots of projects and enthusiasm. When midnight chimed there were still sixteen weary souls in attendance - all happy, tired and ready for bed. There were several Mrs Billings on the go as well as the 'star a day' blocks and many other lovely works. Shirley brought Mrs Billings along to be quilted... YES she really is hand quilting Mrs B! Glenys is appliqueing her final Mrs Billings border in place, almost ready to attach. Lou was motoring along machine piecing the double diamond border for Mrs Billings... And I had a lovely evening of stitching and catching up on all the chatter of whats whats in the quilting world... stuff I miss out on sometimes with the bustle of running the shop. A great time was had by all and I am sure there will be lots more of these nights to come! Until next time,

Edyta Sitar in the Laundry Basket Quilts booth, with the half-square triangle quilt from all the Moda spring 09 lines

The Improved Nine Patch A very popular 20th-century pattern Particularly in scrappy pastels with white ovals between the nine patches There is no square block. It's BlockBase #306. Today we call it Improved Nine Patch or Glorified Nine Patch. The first name was published in the Rural New Yorker in February 1930, pretty early in the 1930s quilt revival. Most of the quilts were probably made from this 1933 Kansas City Star design. It takes some piecing skill for the curves but quilters were crazy about Double Wedding Rings at the time so this design of similar construction fit right in. Although someone at the Star thought this would be a good beginner's quilt in 1935. The Quilt Index has quite a few Lulu Schock from the West Virginia Project & the Quilt Index. Including some two color variations. From the Indiana Project & the Quilt Index. Mary E. Garrett worked in a clothing factory and made hers out of factory cutaways---shirt chambrays. All these look to have been pieced after the pattern appeared in 1930. I had BlockBase draw a pattern to fit on an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. Print this out for a 6-/12" circle. You might want to turn it into a block. Dolores Hinson published it this way in her 1978 book A Quilter's Companion and Quilters Newsletter sold templates for this block about the same time. UPDATE: I found a block-style pattern, probably the earliest published in Comfort magazine, maybe in the 1920s. Hammock Quilt Block Merikay Waldvogel let me photograph Mildred Dickerson's scrapbooks of patterns and this drawing by Mildred (?) shows it with a different name than we'd use. Templates might be the answer. Fons & Porter sell some here: http://www.shopfonsandporter.com/product/Glorified-Nine-Patch-Template-Set/fabric-and-notions Or just go to eBay and buy a quilt. Dated 1965 And by the way, any nine patch could be improved with polka dots.

Free knitting pattern. Pattern category: Sweaters. Sport weight yarn. Features: In-the-round, Round Yoke, Seamless, Top-Down. Intermediate difficulty level.

Check out how I custom quilted Kim Diehl's Hope and Harmony quilt, which is in her new Simple Double-Dipped Quilts book. I share which rulers I used, the batting, thread color, and my quilting process for the background design.

Edyta Sitar in the Laundry Basket Quilts booth, with the half-square triangle quilt from all the Moda spring 09 lines

The Improved Nine Patch A very popular 20th-century pattern Particularly in scrappy pastels with white ovals between the nine patches There is no square block. It's BlockBase #306. Today we call it Improved Nine Patch or Glorified Nine Patch. The first name was published in the Rural New Yorker in February 1930, pretty early in the 1930s quilt revival. Most of the quilts were probably made from this 1933 Kansas City Star design. It takes some piecing skill for the curves but quilters were crazy about Double Wedding Rings at the time so this design of similar construction fit right in. Although someone at the Star thought this would be a good beginner's quilt in 1935. The Quilt Index has quite a few Lulu Schock from the West Virginia Project & the Quilt Index. Including some two color variations. From the Indiana Project & the Quilt Index. Mary E. Garrett worked in a clothing factory and made hers out of factory cutaways---shirt chambrays. All these look to have been pieced after the pattern appeared in 1930. I had BlockBase draw a pattern to fit on an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. Print this out for a 6-/12" circle. You might want to turn it into a block. Dolores Hinson published it this way in her 1978 book A Quilter's Companion and Quilters Newsletter sold templates for this block about the same time. UPDATE: I found a block-style pattern, probably the earliest published in Comfort magazine, maybe in the 1920s. Hammock Quilt Block Merikay Waldvogel let me photograph Mildred Dickerson's scrapbooks of patterns and this drawing by Mildred (?) shows it with a different name than we'd use. Templates might be the answer. Fons & Porter sell some here: http://www.shopfonsandporter.com/product/Glorified-Nine-Patch-Template-Set/fabric-and-notions Or just go to eBay and buy a quilt. Dated 1965 And by the way, any nine patch could be improved with polka dots.

Free knitting pattern. Pattern category: Sweaters. Sport weight yarn. Features: In-the-round, Round Yoke, Seamless, Top-Down. Intermediate difficulty level.

Store *galore* with the quilted Rory baskets.

A modern quilting blog by Kelly Biscopink, author of the book "Modern Designs for Classic Quilts." Features quilting techniques and tutorials.

I pieced this quilt right after I had made The Birthday Quilt. The Civil War Reproduction fabrics I'd pulled were still singing for me, and it didn't seem

Create a unique and festive quilt this holiday season with the Happy Holidays quilt kit featuring Hibernation by Tilda! You won't be able to resist the charming Christmas trees, stuffed stockings, gifts galore, and other adorable designs that will make your holiday memories last a lifetime.  Happy Holidays Quilt Kit featuring Hibernation by Tilda- kit includes fabrics from the Hibernation collection by Tilda for the 59x80" quilt top and binding. You can choose from Chambray Blue or Eucalyptus Beige *You will need an additional 5 yards of fabric for backing*

Don’t faint! I’m trying to catch up on my “newsy” stuff, therefore another post! I was asked by one of my favorite groups to look into and try to vend at the Beaumont quilt show. I put it off too l…

A few of the quilts that caught my eye at PIQF this year.

- Results from #10

Evidently this week I have been engrossed in what is new and fabulous in the quilting world right now. Before the week ends I have a...

Tokyo Quilt Festival 2018

2017 Topic 17: Shades of White Hitomi Hosono Well hello everyone, Darcy here with a new topic. How time is flying, we are up to Topic 17 already. I am sure you are all fully immersed in the deep, rich tones of Autumn, but winter is not far away and soon we will be turning to all things white, so to prepare you for those winter whites our new topic is called 'Shades of White' Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 16: Rust Challenge... The winner is: Pavla from PavlArt Email Darcy to claim your prize. [email protected] I think this might, at first, appear to be one of our most challenging topics, not in a difficult way, but more that it will really make you think about your project. What can you create with shades of white, what message can you convey, and how will you go about it. Also, how, or will you be able to, resist adding other colours? White is associated with quiet, calm, light, innocence, peace and purity, it almost always looks clean (scary I know) and is generally a positive colour. It can look serene and gentle but can equally be energetic, tactile and full of emotion. The PaperCutter Just how many shades of white are there? Next time you are in a DIY shop, have a look at their paint chips you will be astounded at how many whites there are. Winter white, snow white, smoke white, cream, eggshell, old lace, ivory, linen, antique white, off-white, baby powder, chalk, white peony, white whisper, ultra white, meringue, paper lantern, frost, moon, iceland, chantilly, and so on. For the most part, in isolation they will all look just white, it is only when you layer them up that you can see the subtle differences. So layering is a great way to treat a shades of white project. Even using the same white paper, once layered, can give you great shadows, which in turn make various areas of white pop more. Joey Bates How about a tiny house in a champagne glass, this would be wonderful for a wedding gift or as a new home gift. Helen Musselwhite Not only are there lots of whites, but there are many surface treatments too, look back over previous topics, we have had pearlescent and metallic, both of those work beautifully with white. At PaperArtsy we have Pearl glaze and Metallic glaze to accentuate your whites, look at another topic, Glitter, clear and white glitters whether fine or chunky, will dramatically change your work. Debby4000 So you have pulled out all your whites, you have them layered and you added glitter, how else can we create differences? Texture; this is always a wonderful addition. I love collecting wallpaper samples, there are some great embossed wallpapers, don't forget about handmade papers too, there are some yummy ones. You could of course make your own paper! What about texture paste, PaperArtsy Grunge paste is a perfect base to add interest, but can also be added to subsequent layers. Vito Capone Other textures you could introduce would be fabric, perhaps muslin (cheesecloth) for softness, or satin for a smooth sheen, silk for a touch of delicate, or velvet for cosiness and luxury. Livingontheedge Don't forget you can add all manner of embellishments such as embroidery and buttons. This is a gorgeous way to bring snowflakes indoors. Yvonne Pratt Often vintage ephemera will be all different shades of white as it yellows over the years, look for old book pages, vintage fabrics and lace, old faded photographs. Kasia Avery Here you can see papers and fabrics all layered together, held in place by both delicate and bold stitches. DJ Pettitt Other fragile papers will also add dimension and interest, think about using tracing paper, vellum, tissue paper, music paper or deli paper, layer up all those thin papers to create a great base without bulk. Gristello Maybe you are staring at a blank white page and thinking it looks intimidating enough without adding even more white, how on earth can i even start this project? Why not try starting with coloured pages, add paint or gesso or layers of paper and create your white masterpiece. How much of your colour can you cover up, that will be a challenge eh? Druga Szesnascie Another double spread here where book pages have been whitewashed with either diluted paint or gesso, (dilute just enough so that the pages underneath can still be seen) then the top layer is thicker paint through a stencil, a great way to layer and add a little texture. Oliver Jeffers I always think these seed pods from the Lunaria plant are so ethereal, if you can find these dried out they would add gorgeous dimension to your project. Burpee As if by magic, here is a mixed media piece combining old dressmakers patterns, white paint and lunaria seeds. Anca Gray The above artist, Anca Gray, has some very interesting things on her blog, lots of use of whites and neutral shades, great inspiration. I adore these pieces stitched together, what could you hide inside those panels? If you look carefully you can see that she has hidden wordfetti under the stitched panels. check out her blog for more inspiration. Anca Gray If you fancy yourself as a fashionista you could put on a 'brave face' and go for this all white outfit! Viktor and Rolf If you are looking to redecorate a space in your home then this might inspire, although the background wall is coloured you can see just how much light has been introduced by the large white mounts within the frames. From a full wall to tiny ornaments, how about some pebble painting. Shop pod I shall leave you with something very tasty, how is this for a beautifully tiered cake. Hall of Cake I hope those examples have inspired, I have to say I had a relaxing time searching for photos. I think they show that shades of white can be beautiful and peaceful but also very exciting. Have a wonderful two weeks of creating. Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! ~ Darcy We hope that you learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here? The current topic link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 26th November 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. Challenge Guidelines The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic. We encourage you to play with us and explore your personal creative style. Please mention which PA blog post inspired you and and why (link directly to that post). Please don't link to the home page of your blog because then no-one can track back to easily find the original post. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though! You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday 26th November, 17:00 (London Time) Prize: The winner will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. email: [email protected] NEW Challenge/ winner: Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Hand quilting is the technique of sewing together the three layers of a quilt (batting between two layers of fabric) in a decorative freehand stitch.

Hi friends! Are you surviving the Polar Vortex? If you are reading this somewhere warm, be thankful! =) The kids just went back to school today in my neighborhood after 4 canceled school days in a…