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Quilt Goes Off To College!

I love giving quilts to family and friends! There are some occasions that just seem to call for a warm cozy hug from home, and going off to college feels like a perfect moment to let someone know you are thinking of them, hoping for good things to come their way and celebrating the new paths they will take. This quilt is going off to college with a great-niece soon, meaning not yet! She is starting her college career with on line classes, but I have a feeling that won’t slow her down a bit. She is smart and insightful, already in contact with room mates and dorm mates anticipating when they can be on campus.

So, the QUILT!

My co-ed gave me a color scheme of gray and lavender, which I thought was very sophisticated and would make a spectacular quilt. I chose a pattern designed by a dear friend, Lisa Bee Wilson of Towerhouse Quilts, called “Mountain Top Quilt”. It is available at her Etsy shop, and believe me, this is a pattern you will use more than once. It really does lend itself to using any simple color scheme, and lots of stash fabrics. Since we are in a pandemic, I did need to ask my quilting buddies for some lavender fat quarters, and even so, did end up getting more from my favorite shop, Jean Marie’s Fabrics. I was lucky to have just enough of this fabulous Tula Pink backing fabric in a complimentary color way! Seeing these stacks of blocks grow and putting it on the design wall was pure enjoyment for this textile junkie! I loved adding a variety of grays and blacks to the full spectrum lavender fabrics, and I do love the controlled scrappy effect of the layout with darker blocks framing the quilt.

Look closely, and you will see the quilting I chose, called “Topographic”. It is featured in my Get Addicted To Free Motion Quilting book. It’s a design I like as an all-over, on a contemporary or earthy quilt. It is fast and easy, giving the quilt a relaxed drape, perfect for a bed quilt.

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Upcycle/Recycle!

Well, it’s been rainy and windy for the last few days here in the Pacific Northwest! I thought I needed a pick-me-up, so I’m sharing a project that was featured in an article in the Fall/Winter issue of Make It Yourself.

These flower pot cover-ups are so cheerful and fun!  I especially love having something to set my Christmas poinsettia into that will fit with the rest of my Holiday decor, and what better use is there for a worn out Christmas sweater!!  Find out how to make them, and lots of other projects in the magazine, it’s available now at newstands.  The article has several designs from  Lisa of Towerhouse Quilts too, BONUS!

Check out Make It Yourself on facebook, they always have creative ideas to share!

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New Projects in Print!

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Several projects that were done in collaboration with my friend and quilting buddy Lisa, over at Towerhouse Quilts are featured in the Fall/Winter 2014 issue of Make It Yourself magazine!  Be sure to keep up with Make It Yourself on line and on facebook!

We love working together on anything, and this is a fun example of Girlfriends Gone Wild with imagination!  We had the best time brainstorming how to make the projects we came up with.  Once you get atarted, it’s hard to stop! I hope you will pick up the magazine, it is loaded to the MAX with fun stuff and of course the directions and patterns are included for you to make your own wonderful versions!

Here’s a link to get a digital version and see other awesome projects included in the mix.  Lisa is also featuring more projects on her site too!

I’ll be posting more pics of some of the projects soon!

 

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Love making Table runners!

Black Eyed Batik

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I’m just like a lot of you, I love a quick project now and them sprinkled in with the more complex quilts I work on.  Table runners are one of my go-to projects, when I just want to FINISH SOMETHING…….., ANYTHING!  These pics are of table runners, and one horizontal wall hanging that have helped me keep my sanity that way!  I love rich saturated colors, and making a small piece gives me a chance to work with different fabrics and colors I might not automatically choose otherwise.  I can see how they work together, and that will give me confidence to use them in a larger piece as well.  All of these runners were designed in collaboration with Lisa Bee-Wilson over at Towerhouse Quilts, so be sure to check her site to get a look at her versions.   Click here to download the FREE patterns for each of them! The wall hanging, Waves of Hospitality is an art piece I did a few years back, and of course I teach classes in this technique, and have added my signature pieced borders to this one.  Hope you enjoy seeing them!

For previous posts about these runners:

One Hour Table RunnerBarber Pole Table RunnerPiano Key Table Runner Summer Star Table Runner.

The featured image at the top of this post is a table runner from “Perfect-Fit Pieced Borders” called “Black Eyed Batik”, another colorful favorite!  That book is out of print, but I have copies available on my shop page.

 

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Lookee, Lookee, Lookee!

Just got word the newest Generation Q has been released as is now in stores.  These pics are just a teaser of the fun project Lisa Bee Wilson and I collaborated on for this issue!  See the full version in the magazine!  Can’t wait ’til mine comes in the mail!

See this post for all the great details on “Between the Covers”!

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Cozy Flannel Quilts!

wintergreen quiltJust noticed that All People Quilt was featuring some cozy flannel quilts on their weekly newsletter today! I thought I should check it out, and what did I find but MY QUILT Wintergreen featured on the first page! What fun to see it again in a wonderful setting. This quilt is on my guest bed right now, awaiting our company for Christmas. It is made of flannel, and homespun, both plaids and prints, and even a stripe thrown in for good measure! I used a shot cotton backing as I wanted to keep it light, but I used a wool batting for the warmth. The quilting is pure fun: a large paisley in the plain blocks with contrasting thread so it would show against the print, and horizontal zig-zags in the background. My good friends helped me meet the deadline: Wendy Fast pieced the quilt top and Lisa Bee Wilson of Towerhouse Quilts did the quilting on this one. It’s fairly loosely quilted so the loft of the wool is maintained, and believe me, this is a cozy one. All People Quilt is offering it as a free download now, but originally it was published in “Quilts and More“.
I hope you will send me a pic when you finish yours!

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Best of Show & and Best Machine Quilting!

The Blackberry Jam is a fun festival in Lowell, Oregon.  It’s a fun couple of days, and they put on the sweetest quilt show EVER at the grange hall!  My friends at the Pine Needlers Guild organize and run the show.  I ‘happened’ to enter a quilt I had done as a collaborative work with my friend Pam.  Now, here’s the deal:  I don’t really enter shows much, and especially not because I think I should win.  I just enter because I know I make interesting quilts, and people like to see them!  So, as I arrived to see the show, Lisa grabbed me and we went running into the next room to see that I had won these fantastic ribbons!  What made it so special is that the ribbons are hand made and absolutily beautiful!  I wanted to give the Best of Show ribbon to Pam and keep the Best Machine Quilting ribbon, but she wants me to have BOTH!  Very generous!  Hmmm, wonder what we should enter next year…..!