Thrilled to Pieces

New Home Announcement!

2010-09-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to come by my new blog address and sign up to follow! You will be automatically entered to win a $50 gift certificate to your favorite online fabric shop. What every quilter wants......free fabric! www.caliquilter.blogspot.com

Giveaway to Celebrate Moving Day!

2010-09-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

My blog is moving to http://www.caliquilter.blogspot.com/. To celebrate the move, I am giving away a $50 gift certificate to your favorite online fabric shop! Visit my new blog and register as a Follower before October 3rd and you are entered in the drawing. On October 3rd I will use the Google Random Number Generator to pick a winner. So help me celebrate my move and....well, get what every quilter wants. Free fabric!

My New Machine

2010-09-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Look what has come to live in my studio!

A 1955 Singer Featherweight!

I have been lurking on Craigslist and Ebay for months watching for one of these machines that was in good shape and reasonably priced. I found one, bid and won! Woohoo.....until the machine arrived. The seller on Ebay said it "sewed beautifully." I took it out of its box and threaded it, put in a bobbin and tried to sew.....nothing. The bobbin make a sickening rubbing sound and I couldn't bring the thread from the bobbin to the face plate. Uh-oh.

I took her down to my local sewing machine shop and here is where I give a shout out to Marty at The Sewing Machine Shop in Walnut Creek, California. He took the machine apart and completely serviced the machine. He found a badly compressed mass of thread that had collected behind the bobbin casing that made it impossible for the bobbin to work correctly. He cleaned her up, adjusted the bobbin, adjusted the tension, checked the belt, installed a new bulb and.....she is as good as new (for some additional $$$).

This little machine just purrs along. Very quiet and a super straight stitch. I can see why these machines are so popular. She is 15 inches long, 9 1/2 inches tall and weighs 11 pounds. Tiny, but amazing! She came with 15 different attachments. I spent all afternoon researching online what these attachments do...because they didn't come with any instructions. I have one foot that you can feed a strip of fabric into the foot and it will create a bias tape AND simultaneously sew it onto another fabric. I need to do some experimenting.

If you have one of these machines and have some of these amazing attachments, please comment here about what you have learned and let's share with other Featherweight owners.

Bee Blocks for Alex

2010-09-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

I had a nice quiet Sunday afternoon to myself to sew. I just recevied round robin bee blocks from Alex of Canberra, Australia and decided to work on that project because I love the block she chose. It is a simple paper pieced kaleidoscope block. It is easy to sew but spectacular when grouped together. It forms a secondary pattern that looks circular, much like Storm at Sea. I was having such a good time, I made two of them for her...just couldn't help myself. Here's the first:

and here is the second:

and here are the bee blocks that have been made for her so far:

These blocks still have quite a journey ahead of them and by the time they make their way back to Alex she should have lots of beautiful blocks for her quilt!

A Bee Block for Victoria

2010-09-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

In my round robin quilting bee, Victoria from London, England requested this framed block. She asked for an appliqued center, if we chose to do one for her...

I appliqued a sewing machine and tiny quilt in the center to symbolize the quilting bee that has brought this group together as friends. Each piece of fabric in the frame is a fabric that I have used in other blocks for this bee, giving Victoria's quilt a connection to all the other quilts. Her quilt is growing...and on its way to Southern California for its next stop.

It's nice to have this block finished because there were more blocks in the mailbox when I got home this afternoon!

Rose of Sharon Blocks!

2010-09-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

Sharon Pederson's Rose of Sharon Block Book has been released by Martingale Press. Two of my blocks are featured in the book. This book was the result of a contest sponsored by Electric Quilt last year.

There are some really amazing blocks in this book and I am so humbled to be among them! Sharon was sweet enough to send me some autographed book plates for some of my quilter friends...only three and half months until Christmas!

Christmas in August

2010-08-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today I received a package from my secret partner in the Modern Swap, Kerry in Exeter, England. The swap involved sending 6 fat quarters of fabric, a decorative item for our partner's sewing room, and a handmade gift. Kerry is a very creative quilter and sent me some adorable gifts.

She made me this darling pin cushion caddy which will be perfect on my cutting table ~ a splendid place to park my rotary cutters. And look at this Good King Wenceslas ornament she made.

There are some remarkable details on this little ornament!

She also sent along this fabulous handmade gift:

Quilted coasters! Aren't these just too darn cute?

She also sent along fabrics from my very favorite designers:

Isn't that mini-bunting cute? There is a booklet on quilts from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection, as well as a fat quarter of a limited edition print from the collection. It's completed with postcard photos of Exeter, where she lives.

Thanks, Kerry, for your lovely, generous gifts! I will certainly enjoy using each and every one of them. I was certainly lucky to have been assigned such a wonderful secret swap partner.

Pillow for Modern Swap

2010-08-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have to stop signing up to participate in any more online quilting projects so I can do some sewing for myself! I am finishing up this pillow for a swap I am in. We are swapping a yard and a half of modern quilting fabric, something decorative for our partner's sewing room and a hand made gift.

I know who I am sending to, but I do not know who is sending to me. I have been reading my partner's blog to get some idea of her tastes. She is a very talented quilter. I hope she likes what I am sending her! So, it's back to the machine to sew the pillow together and organize the rest of the package. I borrowed the idea for this from my friend Krista in the Journey Round Robin bee. Thanks for letting me use it, Krista!

Block Twelve for Moose on the Porch Quilt-along!

2010-08-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! The last block for this fun quilt-along. This one is a little color crazy but I am almost out of fabric and I was absolutely determined not to use anything but the jelly roll. Ahhh, done! Well, almost. Still have to do a layout and stitch it all together, but that is the easy part!

It is so satisfying to get to this point in a quilt. The blocks are done and there is light at the end of the tunnel!

A Bee Block for Jen

2010-08-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is another block for the round robin bee that I am participating in. This block is for Jen in Canada. She sent her starter block for inspiration and asked that we not make her block, but something inspired by hers. She also asked for earth tones and asked that we use a piece of her hedgehog fabric. This is the block I made for her:

This is my block with Jen's starter block:

and here are the rest of the blocks so far:

(Note to self.....iron that sheet next time before you lay the blocks out on it, girlfriend! Good grief.)

As the round robin progresses it is becoming more interesting and a little more challenging. This starter block came with three other blocks for me to consider in choosing my pattern and fabrics. The next block I receive will have four other blocks with it. Each successive block will have more visual elements to be taken into consideration in the design process. I love the challenge of making a pattern that will complement the other blocks. This project is helping me grow as a quilter and provides me with the opportunity to get creative!

Another block for the Round Robin Bee

2010-07-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

I have finished my block for Monika in Germany. She chose the paintbox block that Oh, Fransson! has made so popular. Each block features fabrics in one color and there are two sets of borders that are a solid of that color. The borders are irregular, giving each block a slightly different look. Here is my block:

I have to admit that I have not used red in my quilting before. I recently saw some very fun red and white prints in my LQS and bought a few so I decided to take the leap and make my block in reds. Here is my block with Monika's starter block:

and here are the blocks that have been made for Monika so far:

I am not much of a photographer and this photo doesn't do this group justice. Each block has some unique, fun thing going on in it. A mermaid with seahorses and an octopus, two people used pretty printed selvages in their borders, some gorgeous purple batiks, and the black block features a gorgeous silver metallic floral in the center and is very sophisticated. I think Monika is going to have a beautiful quilt when we finish!

Block Eleven

2010-07-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

This is the eleventh block for the Moose on the Porch quilt-along. I am running out of fabric in my jelly roll so I have a pretty crazy color scheme going on in this one. It is a good thing there is only one more block to go! I am determined to make the entire quilt out of this jelly roll. This has been a fun and very easy project. I am glad to have a little time to sew today. You know things are busy when you can't find 10 minutes to sit down at the machine. I have two blocks for my Round Robin bee sitting here waiting for some attention. I am hopeful to get at least one of them finished up today.

Block Ten

2010-07-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

This is the tenth block for the Moose on the Porch quilt-along. Two more blocks and it's done. Well, almost. There is still sewing the top together and quilting it, but we are almost there.

The instructions for this cute little flower block had some issues, but it still went together fairly quickly. Which is fortunate because my youngest daughter is taking her driving test for her license next week and she has been sitting, tapping her foot, waiting for me to finish this so we can go out and cheat death....ur, practice driving this afternoon.

My Charming Mini Quilt from Kimmie

2010-07-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

In yesterday's mail I received my mini quilt from Kimmie in Oregon. She and I swapped charm packs of fabric and were to make whatever we wanted for each other. This was organized through an online quilting bee. Check out http://www.quiltingbeeblocks.com/ if you are interested in joining one of these groups. I would encourage you to try it. It is a great way to meet other quilters and expand your quilting horizons! Not to mention it is just plain fun. This is the mini I received from Kimmie. It is about 18 inches.

A beautiful "watercolor" heart! This had to be a challenge not only because these are one inch squares, but the fabrics I sent her were somewhat subdued and not a lot of color variations. Kimmie did a great job of placing the fabrics, and the piece is also beautifully quilted.

Also in the envelope were a few extra gifts! Lucky me!

A pretty journal, two cards of cute buttons, a darling Laurel Burch cat magnet (looking great on my refrigerator door) and a craft pattern for cute fabric cupcakes. How much fun can one envelope contain? Thank you so much, Kimmie. It was so much fun being your partner in this swap!

Update on Traveling Round Robin Bee

2010-07-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have finished my block for Krista in Seattle. I love the bright fabrics she chose for her starter block and the equally pretty fabrics Elizabeth and Cindy N. used in their blocks that accompanied Krista's. Here is the block I made for Krista:

Here is Krista's block with mine:

And here are all the blocks so far:

It is fun watching these quilts grow block by block and seeing their personality develop. I need to finish writing in Krista's jounal and then I will pop them all in the mail tomorrow for their next stop in Southern California.

Charming Mini

2010-07-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am on a mission to expand my horizons and step out of my quilting comfort zone and I am learning new things every day! Last month I signed up to participate in a quilting swap. The rules were to send a charm pack of fabric, plus a fat quarter of a coordinating fabric, to my swap partner. My partner uses what I send her to make a mini quilt of her choice and returns it to me. I am to do the same for her.

My partner, Kim from Oregon, sent me a charm pack of "Blush" by Moda. This is what I made for her:

It is 16" by 16". I had to rework the pattern twice to be able to get a complete heart out of a 5" square of fabric. I originally used solid circles of fabric but they looked too static so I strip pieced the circles and appliqued them onto the background. I liked the circles better in the multi-colors. Then it came time to quilt it. I prefer hand quilting my smaller tops and the big stuff I send off to the long arm experts. About two and half weeks ago I very gracefully tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and landed full force on both of my hands (to avoid doing a face plant on the cement), injuring both of my hands. Hand quilting this project was out of the question. It had to be finished and mailed by the first week in July. I have never machine quilted so I thought why not start now?

I used almost three yards of muslin and batting practicing straight lines, curves and graduated to stipples. I actually started to like it! Then it came time to put this project under the needle and I froze. What if I made a mistake? I had planned on doing a simple stipple but I couldn't do it. I put on the walking foot and did some tame stitch in the ditch quilting which, oddly, distorted the squares slightly. I am not sure why, but I guess with some experience I will figure it out. Here's the back:

I called it "Love Makes the World Go 'Round."

What I learned: sewing a tiny quilt is harder than it looks; quilting around a circle isn't easy; I have tremendous new appreciation for quilters who do amazing free motion work on their home machines.

Postcard Swap

2010-06-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

In my online round robin quilting bee group, a few of us decided to swap quilted postcards. Something like artists' trading cards, only postcard size. I have only done one of these before, but I had fun sewing mine and sending it to Terrie in Sourthern California. This is the darling card I received from Deanna in Ohio.

The mountains remind of the Grand Tetons outside of Yellowstone National Park and summer vacation!

The back is darling, too! Love the yellow butterfly stamp. Thanks so much, Deanna. The card is proudly displayed on my inspiration board on the wall in my sewing room.

Block Nine for Moose on the Porch Quilt-along

2010-06-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Block nine was another quick, easy pattern. I enjoy using this line of fabric (Objects of Desire - Moda). All of the blocks have a bright and cheery look. It is a good thing that we only have three blocks to go in this quilt along because my jelly roll is almost gone!

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks!

2010-06-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

In the Traveling Bee quilt group I am participating in, we are having a quilt-along. Each month one of the participants chooses a block and everyone sews it up. This month Vickie chose Dutchman's Puzzle. The flying geese block is an old standard, but Vickie posted a tutorial at www.sisterschoice.typepad.com/sisters_choice_quilts/2007/04/f that shows how to make four blocks at once. Wow! I have always cut the rectangle, put the squares in the corners, sewn edge to edge, cut off the ears, pressed and repeat. The method shown in the tutorial is speedy and insures perfect points every time.

Fun! I wouldn't mind a whole quilt out of this one...

Wonky Houses

2010-06-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

In my Secret Society of the Traveling Bee group, Cindy N. asked for a neighborhood of wonky houses. I learned something in sewing this block. I am a symmetry girl.

It is actually harder than it looks to sew these cute little houses that are....well...wonky. It was fun doing this block because it is so different from what I usually do. I hope Cindy likes it. Here is the rest of the neighborhood so far.

Take a trip over to my friend Jane's giveaway! The button for Jane's Fabrics is at the top of my page.

She has some beautiful fabrics in her Etsy shop, too...

What?!

2010-06-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last fall Electric Quilt organized a design challenge in conjunction with AccuCut, Martingale Publishing and Nine Patch Media. The challenge was to design a Rose of Sharon block in the EQ software using the AccuCut shapes: a simple rose shape in 8 sizes, a simple leaf shape in 8 sizes and a small palette of batik fabrics. I submitted a dozen designs, all non-traditional. It was fun coming up with the designs but I hit "send" and forgot about it.

At Spring Market they displayed the six winning designs made up into a beautiful quilt. The grand prize was an embroidery software package, but since I don't have an embroidery machine I wasn't having prize envy.

I have received an email from Sharon Pederson, who is writing a book for Martingale and doing a DVD for Nine Patch Media about this challenge. One or more of my blocks are being included in her book and the DVD. She only had room for 84 blocks in the book. There were 850 entries. I am speechless!

I will be interested to see the book when it is released in August. At this point I can only guess which block made it in, but I hope it was "Sharon's in Love." It was my favorite.

Rainy Day ~ Revised

2010-05-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

After looking at the "Rainy Day" block on my design wall for the last two days, I have decided that the strong circle design fabric is too overpowering for the umbrella design. I have sewn the block again, using a solid pink and I think I like it better.

The pink patches will show up as pinwheels more than the circles did, and I think the pink solid is not as distracting.

I love the circle design in the first block (left) but when I stand back and look at it from five or six feet away, the umbrellas disappear and all I see are the circles. The block on the left would look great if I put the pink solid in place of the umbrellas, but I want the umbrellas!

I have to admit that I frequently get "frozen" at this point in the design game. What if I am making the wrong decision? What if I spend hours and hours making the blocks with the solid pink and I end up with something I don't like? Aggghh! Maybe I should put them aside and make something else! I defeat myself before I even get started. Well, today I am making the decision to forge ahead with the pink solid. But I really, really like the circles.....oh, dear.

Japanese Cottons

2010-05-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are on a four-month sabbatical in Sendai, Japan. My brother-in-law is a professor at Texas A&M and is collaborating with some colleagues on a special project there. My sister-in-law knows I love to quilt and offered to do a little shopping for me. I asked for some cottons and told her to pick some that she really liked. In the mail came these:

A fun selvage for the person in my round robin bee who wants selvages in her block ;)

The cutting slip from the Daiei Department Store in Sendai.

I have never seen a fabric quite like this. My sister-in-law said it is very traditional Japanese cotton. It is slightly heavier than a good grade quilt shop fabric, but it is very soft. It is cotton, but it has a nubby texture like raw silk. The colors are bright but in a subtle way. Lovely. Good job, Kate!

Now the pressure is on to find a pattern to showcase these beautiful prints.

(Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I am making it for Kate).

Rainy Day Block

2010-05-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

It is a cold, rainy day today so this has been an appropriate project! I have been thinking about a block pattern that I can use for my cute umbrella fabric and I have come up with this modified pin wheel block. It will make a nice secondary design when it is sewn together on point. I think the circles may be a little too much visual weight. I might try a soft pink solid the color of the background in the umbrellas and then use the circles in the border. Hmmmm....what do you think?

Block Seven ~ Do Over!

2010-05-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

After looking at the block I made yesterday for the Jelly Roll sampler, I decided I didn't like it. It doesn't have enough contrast so....do over! This is better. It will look much nicer with the other blocks and has a little more personality. I will save the other one and sew it into the back of the quilt.

Block Seven ~ Quilt Along

2010-05-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

This is block seven for the Moose on the Porch Quilt Along. I am not sure I like the light squares in the center, but since this quilt is for my daughter and it's all about the shoes, I wanted to put the stilettos in. I may make another one using the four square with a darker fabric, just in case this one is too light when I ultimately put the quilt together. I am using 2 1/2 inch precut strips so I had a hard time fussy cutting the shoes. I almost cut off the toes on the two on the right, but I don't think she will mind. Can't let perfectionism get in the way of the fun!

Rainy Days

2010-05-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I stopped in to my local quilt shop to look at some Superior Thread after reading a number of comments about it on our flickr group for the Journey Quilting Bee. While I was there, I saw this adorable new fabric. It is called Rainy Days and Monday by Riley Blake Designs.

I love the umbrella fabric.

It said, "Take me home! Take me home!" So, I did. That is one reason I have to stay out of pet shops and animal shelters. Or zoos, for that matter. On more than one occasion I have come home with something unexpected. At least this doesn't eat, doesn't need to be groomed or demands to be walked. The print is so lively and modern. It makes me smile just looking at it. Now time to think of a pattern to use it in!

A Sweet Centerpiece

2010-05-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

Last year when I was helping my mother-in-law and father-in-law move out of their home of 55 years to move to a retirement community, my mother-in-law gave me several beautiful things from her kitchen. Among them was this silver candleabra. It was very tarnished and I wasn't sure I would be able to resurrect it. With some elbow grease I was able to get it to shine again, but there are a few imperfections here and there. I have a tea cup collection and I decided it would be cute to put the cups on top of the candleabra and use them as containers for a flower arrangement. My mini roses are just the right size for the cups and the arrangement turned out very sweet and feminine.

The First Bee Block

2010-05-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

I received the first block in the round robin Quilting Journey Bee. It is from Elizabeth, who lives in California not too far from where I live.

I love the starling fabric she sent along to be included in the block. Elizabeth requested a block that is geometric and her favorite colors are red, black and white. This is the block I made for her

This is an old turn of the century pattern that is based on an antique mosaic tile. I think it looks very modern when made up in Elizabeth's favorite colors. We each sent along a journal with our starter block, so I need to write in Elizabeth's journal and then send the blocks on their journey to the next quilter. I would have never chosen these colors for myself, but after working with them I discovered I really like this combination of colors. I am sewing for someone else, using their favorite blocks and colors, and it is forcing me to move out of my comfort zone and try different things. I am sure this experience will allow me to expand my horizons as a quilter (not to mention it's a lot of fun).

A Quilting Journey

2010-05-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

I am participating in a round robin quilting bee, organized via the internet. There are 21 of us in five countries. We will each be making a block for everyone else in the group. We have been talking to each other via our Flickr group for the past two weeks and I feel like we have known each other forever. I designed this block as my starter block and have asked that everyone in the group make me a block that they love, using this block for inspriation. I can hardly wait to see what comes back to me!

The Sun is Out!

2010-05-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have spent a fair amount of time grumping and fussing about the cold, rainy weather we have been having here in Northern California, but the sun is shining and it is beautiful today. My roses have never looked better. All this cool, drizzly weather suited them. Amazingly, I haven't seen any black spot yet. If you like roses, I want to share these photos from my garden.

So lovely. I love old garden roses because they actually have a scent. There is nothing more disappointing than putting your nose in a rose expecting that heady smell and....nothing. Flowers that have a scent do not last long as a cut flower so breeders are slowly breeding all scent out of modern roses. I enjoyed taking a few minutes to stop and really enjoy my garden. Now it's back to the sewing room.

Block 6

2010-05-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today I completed Block #6 in the Moose on the Porch Jelly Roll quilt-along. These are such fun blocks to make because they go together so quickly. I love this one because we were to fussy-cut something in the center of the block. This fabric, "Objects of Desire," is about shoes. My oldest daughter loves shoes and I am making this for her, so how perfect!

...a closer look at the center....

Wouldn't it be fun to have that high heel?

End of the Swap

2010-05-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

I have received the last fat quarter from the swap I was participating in. It is beautiful.

I love the little brown design on the selvage edge. The colors are unique and the flowers are really sweet. This is from Moira of Nottingham, U.K. Thanks so much, Moira. I am considering using this as one of three fat quarters that I need to take to a workshop I am participating in given by Dale Fleming (of "Pieced Curves So Simple" fame). I will try to match the dark rose color of the flowers and the dark brown in the print on the edge for the other two pieces. They should look terrific together.

I am sad to see the swap end because it was so much fun to wait for the mail to come and have something really delightful and unexpected arrive. My thanks to the generous quilters who swapped with me!

Swap!

2010-05-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

A B-I-G day at the mail box today! Wow, I feel like I won the fabric lottery. Seriously.

From Cricket in Kennebunk, Maine I received this beautiful pink geometric print.

AND

this pretty pink floral

AND

this sweet pink and beige print - aren't the birds sweet?

AND

these cute little pieces

AND

these

Thank you, Cricket. What a fabulous gift.

That was the first envelope.

The second envelope was from Amy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In it was this beautiful, big, bold floral. I put the pack of sharps on it so you can judge the size of the tulips. This is awesome fabric.

Thank you so much, Amy. I love it.

The third envelope came from Maxine in Sunderland, United Kingdom. In her envelope there was this gorgeous Amy Butler floral

AND

these

Candied hearts, vintage buttons, sweet floral ribbon and -- chocolate!

Thank you, Maxine.

Fabulous fabric, vintage buttons, new sharps, ribbon and chocolate? It just doesn't get any better than this. Thanks to the three of you for your very generous gifts. This was my first swap and I didn't know what to expect. This experience has far exceeded my expections. I am still smiling...

More Fat Quarter Surprises

2010-04-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

The fat quarter swap organized by Sew Mama Sew! is fabulous. I look foward to the mail carrier roaring up the street in her little white van every afternoon, hoping that she will deliver another envelope containing a special surprise. Today I got two (well, three actually).

From Laura in Parkville, Maryland I received "Mod Dots" by Patty Young for Michael Miller. This modern print screams "cut me up and use me immediately." Laura prewashes all of her fabric and she was worried this fat quarter may have shrunk a little (doesn't it kill you how honest and genuinely wonderful quilters are?) so she sent along this....

a little something extra. Can't you just see a quilt using the first piece on the front, and this one on the back? I don't know the name of this pattern, but when I finish typing this post I am going to find it online. What a fabulous backing fabric. Thank you, Laura! I am going to enjoy using both of these.

No. Wait. There is more. From Jayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I received

...this beautiful winter-themed fabric. It is Hoffman California International Fabric, design #E8821. I just love these birds. The only problem with a fat quarter swap is -- I want two yards of all of them!

Aren't these birds sweet? Thank you, Jayne!

Block Five

2010-04-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

Here is Block #5 from the jelly roll quilt-along hosted by Moose on the Porch Quilts. It is a pattern called "Chain Link." It reminds me of a Chinese lantern. I have never used pre-cut quilt fabric so this project has been a lot of fun, and I now understand why pre-cuts are so popular. Quick and easy!

The quilt world is buzzing with news of Electric Quilt's upcoming release of version 7. The world of virtual quilting is stepping up another notch. Version 7 includes 79 new features. For those of us who LOVE EQ6, we can hardly wait to get our hands on this product. (Internet grapevine says preorders can be made at patchworkplanet.com if you just can't wait for it's early June release.) Version 7 boasts improved scan capability for both photos and your own fabrics, new block tools, 120 new layouts and blocks that resize themselves when you simply drag and drop them into place on your quilt layout. There is also the return of an earlier (and very popular) feature - the ability to design one quadrant of a block and then flipping it or rotating it to make an entire block. Awesome! If you quilt and have not tried this software - try it. It is so much fun. There is lots of built in help to get you started. The only problem is you will have so much fun playing with the software designing original quilts, you won't be at your machine....

Fat Quarter Swap

2010-04-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

The first two fabrics have arrived from the Fat Quarter Swap organized by Sew Mama Sew.....

Adrienne from California sent this wonderful Kaffe Fassett. The colors are fabulous. I am working on a kaleidoscope quilt right now and this will be a beautiful addition. Thanks so much, Adrienne.

This fun fabric came from Kathy in Arizona. The background is a light buttery yellow with black filigree butterflies and wonderful purple and black bumblebees. I will have to find the perfect place for these bees.

This fabric looks like it could be a custom piece that you would find at Spoonflower.com. Thanks, Kathy. I will enjoy finding a way to use this unique fabric!

Oh, Baby! Braids!

2010-04-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

I have finished the chevron braided strips for my baby quilt. Five rows of chevrons with four setting strips.

It doesn't have outside borders yet, and measures 30" x 44". It is raining, dark and cold here in the San Francisco Bay area and this quilt is bright, cheerful and makes me hopeful that Spring is coming soon!

I thought I would take some time today to explain how I put this quilt together. Braids are fairly quick to piece. There are lots of ways to use these braided columns. You can set them together like I have, or you can set them together without the setting strip (although I think it looks too busy), and you can also cut them into segments and sew them into four patches which can be very striking.

Thoughtful color choices will make these quilts sparkle. Earlier in this blog I showed you photos of the mint green and rosy pink background fabric that was my inspiration for choosing these colors. To make the colors play well with each other, pick fabrics that introduce the next color. For instance the white daisy on pink background has a yellow center. That allowed me to pick a yellow fabric with the white swan and pink ribbon. I then switched back to pink and white, and then darker pinks. It is also okay to abruptly change the color of the next piece if they are neighbors on the color wheel or complement each other.

This photo shows how I moved from pink, to pink and green floral, to green and white prints.

I also picked a dark lavendar (complementary) color which I used randomly, and sparingly throughout the quilt, to help the eye move around these pastel colors.

When I sew, if I have left over scraps that can be cut into 2" x 4" rectangles, I cut them up and group them together by color in boxes. When I want to make some chevron braided strips, I pull out the colors I want to use together and, wow, it's already cut out and ready to sew!

The next step is to lay out the column on the work table, choosing your fabrics and making the color transitions. Stand back and look at it and see if anything looks like it doesn't belong. (Looking at the strip through a digital camera lens really helps to see something that's not working.) In the photo above, the dark pink polka dot is strip #1 and the light pink dot is #2.

Take piece #2, the light pink, and place it right sides together with the base of piece #1, as shown here.

Sew a 1/4" seam down the right side of piece #2 (the light pink).

Press the seam, and take it back to the work table. It is important to press these each time, even if it is finger pressed, because each seam you make builds on the last seam.

The white daisy fabric is piece #3. With pieces #1 and #2 lying right sides up, place piece #3 right side down on top of them, as shown below.

Sew a 1/4" seam down the right side of piece #3, just as you did before.

Press the seam open and return to the worktable.

Add piece #4 from the column to the right side of pieces #2 and 3. Sew the 1/4" seam down the right side of the piece, as before. Press open.

Keep adding strips and repeating the above process until you have a column of strips in the length you desire. The upper "V" ends of the column and the "V" point at the bottom will be cut off when you add the borders, so allow some extra length for that.

Do not cut off the outside triangle edges until after you join the columns or sew on a setting strip.

For my quilt I chose a setting strip made of solid mint green and a bright pink with tiny white polka dots. The green strip is 1 1/2" wide and the pink strip is 1" wide. I sewed them together and then put the setting strip right sides together with the chevron column.

The setting strip is placed right at the base of each "V" where each of the strips meet, leaving the triangle ends of each strip above the setting strip. Pin the setting strip on from the top of the column to the bottom. Sew a 1/4" seam the length of the strip. Press open.

Place the setting strip right sides together with the next chevron column and repeat the above process until all the settings strips and columns are joined.

With just a little practice you can master this very easy piecing technique. But beware, these quilts can be addictive! Give it a try!

Fat Quarter Swap!

2010-04-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Over at SewMamaSew.com they are having a theme month with lots of tutorials and photos of fun, modern quilts. They were organizing a fat quarter swap so I signed up for two. I will be trading a fat quarter of fabric with two groups of women. (A fat quarter is a piece of fabric 18" x 22" inches. It is a quarter yard, but is cut as half of a half-yard, instead of a long skinny 1/4 yard cut.) My swap partners are all over the U.S. and two in the United Kingdom. I participated in one of these a couple of years ago and it was fun to wait for the mail and see what surprises came out of the envelopes.

I went to the fabric shop today to pick out my swap fabric. It was hard to choose. I wanted something I would love to receive, so I picked these:

This is "mille fleur," from Alexander Henry Fabrics. They were just putting this on the shelf when I walked in the store, so it is a brand new release. It has an Asian flavor to it, but it is very modern and fresh. I love it. With all those shapes and color changes it will be fun to use.

This one is "A Breath of Avignon," designed by Sandy Klop who lives here in my hometown of Walnut Creek, California. Sandy designs under the name of American Jane and this fabric is printed by Moda. It has been fun watching Sandy progress from quilter, to professional long-arm quilter, to pattern designer, teacher, and now fabric designer. This design is fresh and vibrant. All the fabrics in this collection are very pretty and it was hard to choose one. I hope the quilters I send these fabric to will like them as much as I do.

Block 4

2010-04-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here is block number four in the Moose on the Porch Quilt-along. There was a strip of fabric in this collection that I thought I would never use - big, wide, multi-colored stripes with random scallops. This block is perfect for it! The little three inch steps allowed me to fussy cut the stripes so they look like solids.

Design Wall Monday - Braids

2010-04-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Hate to throw away scraps? I do. If a fabric scrap is at least 2" by 4", I cut it into a 2 x 4 inch rectangle and put it in my "braid" box, organized by color. I find French braid quilts to be a fun exercise in color. I recently found this fabric in a little home decorator fabric shop. Isn't it cute? This will be the backing, and maybe in a border on the front. I took these photos in the evening and the light was terrible so I apologize. The green is a minty green and the pink is dark.

What a great fabric for a baby quilt! Out came the "braid box" and these are the fabrics I picked.

A few hours at the machine, and bam! Braids.

I still have at least two more rows to sew because these shrink up in size considerably when they are sewn together (this is just a cross-section, the braids are about four feet long). In looking at this picture, I also see that I have a couple of fabrics occurring in the same spot in the row, so I will have to fix that. More about braids tomorrow....

Block Three

2010-04-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is block three in the Moose on the Porch sew-along. The pattern called for four different fabrics, one for each quarter, with alternating centers, but the fabric line I am using, "Objects of Desire," doesn't lend itself to that many combinations so I just used two. Very cheery, but I need to stop using so much of this green polka dot. I have used it in two of the three blocks I have made.

Sew, Mama, Sew! is doing a great online program this month featuring quilting tips, techniques, patterns and a quilt of the day. Every day in April will feature something new. Check it out.

What's on the Design Wall?

2010-03-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

The second block from the Moose on the Porch quilt-along. I understand why these pre-cut fabrics are so popular. It took less than 15 minutes to put this block together using the 2 1/2 inch pre-cut strips. Time to think about some patterns made with these.

It is a good thing this project didn't take too long. The sun is shining, it is warm outside and Miss Cleo is not being at all subtle about what she wants to do.

Circles!

2010-03-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

This month's challenge from Electric Quilt is to design a quilt featuring circles. I have designed several, but I like these two the best, so I think I will send them in. I haven't participated in one of their challenges yet, so this should be fun.

Favorite Applique Tools

2010-03-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, when I was working on the applique on my sample quilt for my new pattern I found myself stopping to consider the little workhorses on my sewing table. They have made my handwork easier over the years and I feel they deserve a shoutout.

First are my Little House applique pins. I have had this tiny tin of pins for almost 20 years and they are still as straight and sharp as they were when they were new. There is a trend now to use applique glue to affix applique in place before stitching. The glue is useful for some projects, but these little pins with their very small glass heads are easy to place, hold the applique very securely, and I very rarely have a problem with my thread getting caught on them. I am a big fan of these wonderful little pins.

Next are my Roxanne needles (particularly the #11 sharps). These small, incredibly sharp needles (with impossibly small eyes) glide through layers of fabric like a hot knife through butter. They are a little pricey, but stay sharp forever and are well worth the investment.

My applique scissors and my scissors-minder. The little scissors-minder was given to me as a gift by a dear friend who is also a quilter. She has a carved wooden face, a pretty cotton dress and is filled with lavendar. She waits patiently on my sewing table and holds my needle and thread, as well as keeping those pesky scissors in sight.

This is a new product. Mary Ellen's Best Press. It is a scented, clear spray starch. This one is rose scented. I use it to shape my applique pieces before I apply them. It is a great starch. It doesn't gunk up my iron and it makes my workroom smell like the rose garden. I am not sure my husband would appreciate his shirts being starched with this, but it is wonderful nonetheless.

Last, but not least, this pin cushion. I have several pin cushions, each holding a different kind of pin, but this one always makes me smile. It was given to me as a gift by my daughter. We were in the Shanghai airport on our way home from a two-week performance tour in China with the Contra Costa Children's Chorus. She knew it would be the perfect little accessory for my sewing room, and she was right.

What's on the design wall today?

2010-03-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

Konda Luckau of Moose on the Porch Quilts has organized a sew-along. The project is a sampler quilt made out of a jelly roll. Not the pastry. A jelly roll is a collection of fabric strips 2 1/2 inches wide by 36 inches long. The strips are then rolled up in a circle and tied with a ribbon which makes them look like a jelly roll - hence the name. I happen to have a jelly roll that has been sitting in a drawer for a few months. It is from the fabric line called Objects of Desire (shoes). I bought it to make something for my oldest daughter who loves shoes. I haven't been able to decide what to make out of it, so this is a perfect project. 12 designers have each selected one block to put in the quilt. This is the first block. You can see the participants work on Flickr at www.flickr.com/groups/1343277@N20.

A New Design

2010-02-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

Invigorated by my walk in the sunshine yesterday, I came home in the mood to design some floral applique. Here it is. I visited my local quilt shop a few days ago and saw the most beautiful dark khaki green toile. It was the inspiration for the circles and border. This would make a nice bridal quilt if it were done in softer colors. It would take some time to applique all those leaves but I think it would be worth the effort. When I finish appliquing the flowers on the Ohio Star quilt I am working on, I will start this one.

Enjoying Some Sunshine

2010-02-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

I don't want to complain about the rain because we need it so badly, but I couldn't help feeling uplifted when the sun came out today. We walked the dogs in the open space behind our house and enjoyed seeing the brilliant green grass and the trees in full bloom. Spring won't be far behind. Everyone we passed on our walk had a big smile on their face. It is supposed to rain again tomorrow, so I will just enjoy the euphoria while I can. This has put me in the mood to applique some flowers. Or maybe plant some live ones.

For the Love of Blogs

2010-02-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

Do you enjoy reading blogs, and particularly blogs written by and for quilters? Check out quiltersblogs.com. The site reviews 935 quilt blogs every day and posts interesting text and photos from those blogs. I wonder how long it takes to review almost a thousand blogs a day? The mind boggles. It is a great one-stop source of inspiration.

Ready for the rings

2010-02-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

I was in the mood to create something "pretty" yesterday. I looked through my box of "I'll-get-around-to-using-this-someday" stuff and this is the result. A ring bearer's pillow. It is about nine inches square. I took apart a silk rose and rearranged the petals, adding some tulle petals. The center is a vintage crystal button. I found the button at a wonderful little shop in Berkeley called Exclusively Buttons. The small shop is filled with vintage buttons. The owners are proud to tell you that there isn't one plastic button in the shop. Bakelite, abalone, cloisonne, pearl, crystal, obsidian, brass...if a button has been made of it, they have it(except plastic, of course). It is only open on Friday and Saturday, but if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is definitely worth a visit.

Baby Betty Boop

2010-02-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

When my friend Linda saw this embroidery design last week she said, "Oh, it's Betty Boop!" I hadn't quite noticed the resemblance, but this could be Betty as a baby. I am trying two things with this pattern. This one I have made into a tooth fairy pillow by appliquing on a heart that is open at the top. I am embroidering a second one on a blue background for a birth announcement pillow. I am going to embroider the baby's name, date of birth and birth weight in the area where the heart is. Then I will decide which one will become my pattern. It is hard to tell in this photo, but the wings are embroidered in a silver metallic thread. The thread has to be used in very short lengths or it frays and breaks so there was a lot of tying off and rethreading.

Eventually, Spring will come...

2010-02-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

My tulips are about 6 inches tall now. We had a semi-warm day today, so they shot up a little more. It won't be long until I have a blaze of pink and white in my garden. This is one of the varieties that I planted this year. Maybe I have been stuck inside too long with all this rain we are having, but I am longing for spring.

This star is from Ohio...

2010-02-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

I am busy designing a quilt pattern based on the Ohio Star block. This block is easy to sew (as long as I am precise) and is a great basic shape to edit. All the shapes begin as a square, so there are lots of possible variations. This is the first block. I love the pink and brown combination.

Work in Progress

2010-02-03T17:25:00.001-08:00

I have been busy drawing embroidery patterns, which is good and bad. I have spent a lot of time drawing and redrawing, and stitching and stitching again. Quilt patterns are a lot easier! Last year my garden club had a florist demonstrate some interesting wreath arrangements. I thought an embroidery pattern based on a wreath shape might be fun, so off I went. Valentine's Day is approaching so I went with a heart shape. There are still a few details that need to be polished, but this might be my first embroidery pattern.

Another cold, wet day!

2010-01-21T13:25:00.000-08:00

Cabin fever is setting in. I was looking for a photo of vintage fabric to put on the web site I am trying to build and ran across a link for vintage dress patterns. This one is from the late 1920's. That was such a sophisticated era for fashion. I wasted far too much time looking through the patterns on the site, but it I enjoyed it nonetheless...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

Most of the day has been spent working on a web site. All I can say is I am glad I don't have to do that every day!

I have also been experimenting with coloring the background on an embroidery block. The technique is to draw a picture, color it with colored pencils, scan it into the computer, and then photocopy the picture onto paper-backed fabric that can go into the printer. I have seen quilts done using this technique and they are really pretty.

Well, things did not go as planned. The printer ate the first two sheets (and at $1 each, I wasn't going to keep feeding them in). The last one I tried did go through but did not print evenly. When I peeled the paper off the back, I didn't really care for the feel of the fabric. It has a plastic feel to it. When I tried embroidering the roof, it was difficult to push the needle through the fabric so I decided to abandon this block and try again.

Tomorrow is another day. Next I am going to try using fabric crayons on muslin and see if I get better results.

Thread Salad

2009-12-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

I am participating in an online embroidery workshop sponsored by HEN (http://www.handembroiderynetwork.com/) based in England. The teacher uses a technique she calls thread salad to cover large areas in her embroidery. The first lesson required time spent dying unbleached muslin with coffee grounds and hand painting and stamping muslin to use as background for the embroidery. The muslin I used for the nest block was soaked in coffee for ten minutes. It is the most beautiful mocha color. The photo doesn't do it justice. The background for the tree was made by mushing around coffee grounds on muslin. Messy but thoroughly satisfying. The nest is made by cutting lots of short lengths of embroidery thread and then heaping them on the fabric and circulating it until it covered the background. Voila, a nest. The egg is a piece of muslin that I painted and then stuffed and stitched.

The tree trunk is a piece of muslin stamped with ink and colored with pen. I was encouraged to use the thread salad for the tree leaves, but liked the cut fabrics better. I think I will play with the thread salad for the ground at the base of the tree. I still have to embroider in some flowers and bushes or some other shapes to fill up the empty area on this block.

2009-11-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

Oh, oh, oh. Colds have laid low the kids and the husband. Still recovering from all the activity last week. I did spend some time doing some embroidery that I am really dissatisfied with. Nothing worse than having some time to do something creative and then feeling like the time spent wasn't worth it. Oh, well. Hoping for something more positive tomorrow!

More Sharons

2009-11-20T13:55:00.001-08:00

Here are a few more of the designs I entered in the Rose of Sharon contest at Electric Quilt. They received over 800 designs, so the book being prepared with the 100 best designs should be terrific. Ultimately, EQ will make all 800 designs available to everyone using EQ.

In Stitches

2009-11-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

I don't remember the last time I embroidered something but I am sure I was not old enough to drive and still wore braids. When my friends Linda and Carol invited me to join them in taking an embroidery class at the local quilt shop, I thought it sounded like fun so I tagged along. We stitched up some lovely little floral blocks. I was introduced to Lucien embroidery floss which is very nice to work with. The colors are very vibrant and it is silky so it doesn't knot up easily. We also learned to back the embroidery block with light weight flannel so we could "travel" with the thread. It saved stitching time but made setting the blocks together a little more difficult. I think the setting block in the quilt we made for the class overpowers the delicate embroidery, but it was fun to get reacquainted with this needle art that is becoming very popular again.

Rose of Sharon Contest

2009-11-17T15:03:00.001-08:00

Electric Quilt has joined forces with Nine Patch Media and Sharon Pederson to host a contest designing Rose of Sharon Blocks. Sharon is putting together a book that will feature 150 different Sharon designs. None of my are traditional so they may get tossed out, but it was certainly fun putting them together. Here are the first few.

Ramsey and Cleo Dress Up

2009-11-15T10:15:00.001-08:00

Temporarily leaving the subject of quilting for today, I would like to share a recent photo of Cleo and Ramsey. The girls take them to the dog park every day to play. The city sponsors a dog parade around Halloween and there is a costume contest. The girls dressed Ramsey as Santa, and Cleo dressed up as a demented-looking elf with four ears. Christmas costumes are not traditional dress at Halloween so they certainly stood out. They were very patient and wore their costumes without complaint. Sadly, they did not win a prize...

Time to Tie One On!

2009-11-14T16:58:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Jan recently lost her husband Karl after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Last week Jan gave me two boxes full of Karl's ties. She knows I quilt and was hopeful that I would be able to use them. There are a number of beautiful silks, and quite a variety of designs and colors. I spent four hours this afternoon carefully taking them apart, but have only put a small dent in the pile! I am glad for the time this is taking because it gives me space to reflect on possible designs for this very special collection of fabric.

2009-11-13T09:57:00.000-08:00

My quilt is back from it's journey to Fall Market in Houston. I created it using EQ6 and Andrea Bishop from EQ borrowed it to use in her Schoolhouse presentation on using the software to design kaleidoscope blocks. It also hung in EQ's booth at the show. It was fun to receive photos of it at the show from Andrea. That's one way to have a quilt hung in Houston!

The Beginning

2009-11-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired to start my own blog after spending many enjoyable hours reading the blogs of talented artists nationwide. They share their passion through words and pictures of their work, their families and the world around them. I love fabric, color, designing quilt patterns and using my hands to create. I hope to use this vehicle to chronicle my journey.