SOAR!

At the last minute, I entered a block called "SOAR" in the AccuQuilt Design Contest.   It's basically a popularity contest so I need votes!   But, the neat thing about is that prizes are also awarded to your chosen guild (County Line Quilters in my case) and your chosen charity (Last Chance Ranch, a local animal rescue). 

For security and fairness, AccuQuilt does require you to register your email.  It's pretty easy to do!

You can vote once a day until May 27.  So, please do!  Here's the link to my entry:

http://www.accuquilt.com/block-contest#!/entry/6688818?=e54mk7

Thank you!

My block, SOAR!

SOAR in a Quilt with an On Point Setting

SOAR in a Quilt with a Horizontal Setting

   

One Patch At A Time

This evening, I will be announcing the County Line Quilters Guild's annual challenge theme.  It is "One Patch At A Time" - a challenge to make a One Patch Quilt.  So, I combed the internet and my stash of projects and pictures for examples  (and non-examples!) of one patch quilts for inspiration.

In 2000, Quilter's Newsletter Magazine came out with a very helpful article on One Patch quilt and they also published several one patch shapes!  It was so exciting to find this article for not only does it include the templates, it includes some pictures of what the one patch shapes look like in a quilt.  So, click on this link:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090124080514/http://qnm.com/articles/feat15.pdf

From Janet Wickell at Quilting.About.com

One Patch quilts are those that consist of one repeating shape.  The one that comes to mind right away is the Apple Core.

By Lynn Kough, 2013 AZQG show.

I also find this baby blocks quilt fascinating.  It's a tessellation quilt made with  half-hexagons.  And, it IS a One Patch Quilt.

By Terry Aske.

This next quilt is also a tessellation done with half-hexagons.  But, because some of the setting pieces are full hexagons, it cannot be called a One Patch Quilt.


As a rule, only some tessellation quilts may be considered one patch quilts.

Check out my "A Thimble Full" quilt.  While a One Patch Shape is used - the Tumbler, this quilt cannot be considered a One Patch Quilt.  The multi-color tumbler consists of fabric squares and the rows are separated by sashing.  Both of these fail to make this a One Patch Quilt.

Change it to one fabric per tumbler and eliminate the sashing and, voila!, it becomes a One Patch Quilt!

Pieced Cracker Block - NOT a One Patch

Most of us are familiar with the pieced Cracker block that is often used for signature quilts. 

Cracker - One Patch Quilt.

However, there is another Cracker block which is a One Patch Shape.  It looks like a rectangle with wavy sides.  
A great resource for One Patch Quilts is
Quilt Teacher/Author/Celebrity Pat Yamin.

This cracker quilt is her sample and she offers templates to make One Patch Quilts including the Cracker acrylic template.

By Debbie Moyes. 

A simply stunning One Patch Quilt is the Spinning Star. There is so much movement to this curvy shape.  Does it not look like an Apple Core that has been stretched on the bias?









Another resource to check out is Ardco Templates.  They offer metal templates for a variety of quilt shapes.  The links I have included are for their Charm Templates and their Single Shapes pages as these are where most of the One Patch Shapes are listed.

This brings us to Charm Quilts.  A Charm Quilt is one where no fabric is repeated except maybe for the background or setting.   It does not have to be a One Patch Quilt though a lot of Charm Quilts are.

One Patch Quilt -  Yoka's Thousand Pyramids CHARM Quilt

NOT A One Patch Quilt - Peggy's Snowball CHARM Quilt

So many other One Patch Quilts out there.  I may have to revisit this in the future!  

Have you made a One Patch Quilt?

Guild Show 2014

My quilt guild just had the bi-annual quilt show this past weekend.  What a fun but exhausting time!  The quilts were just amazing.  Anyhow, here are some pictures.  Enjoy!

This was the raffle quilt that I designed and the guild members put together.

Raffle Quilt detail.  Beautifully quilted by Kim Pope. 

Joined by a third Joyce (Joyce H's mom)!

My friends, Joyce O. and Joyce H.!

One of Joyce Hughes' quilts entered in a McCall's series of quilt competitions. 

Joyce's final quilt for the McCall's competition which won her the top prize! 2012 Quilt Design Star!

Setting up my booth on Friday.  Apparently, I've been indulging my love of brights lately.

A bit chilly on Saturday.  DH Mike's the best!  

I gave my Vendor's Choice award to Grace Katz for this
hand-pieced and hand-quilted project, "Worth the Wait".  Just amazing.

Detail on "Worth the Wait".  I just love it.

Carol Breinig and her stunning quilt that was hanging directly across my booth.
It won the Round Bobbin's Vendor's Choice!

Joyce Overberger's latest quilt (really big quilt, too!) that she made with her friend, Joan.  

A Vintage Yo-Yo quilt.
It's one of the Vintage quilts that the guild will be auctioning off in October.
Contact County Line Quilters Guild for more info.

 

What a surprise and a delight it was to see this quilt by Rosemary Malizia!
It was a shop hop quilt that I designed several years ago. 

From the talented Gretchen Gibbons comes this unique project.
These were Batik UFO blocks that she embellished with wool applique.  
Just her style!  

Our former guild president, Jeanne Malone, received
these signed oriental lantern blocks from the membership.  She did a great job finishing it!
I had to look 3 or 4 times before I found my block.  Lesson learned - go for contrast when signing blocks!

Innovative quilt by Mary Mollettiere(sp?).

Traditional quilt also by Mary Molly.  Awesome! 

One of the pansy pots scattered around the show.  So pretty.

Just one more... Marilyn Becker so happy to have won the raffle quilt!

Sochi and Quilts

Have you noticed the colorful bibs all the athletes are wearing at the Winter Olympics?  Look a little closer - doesn't that look like a quilt design?  I just keep obsessing about all those diamonds with pinwheels and triangle shapes!  I want to make this quilt now.  Think Kaffe prints especially for the reds.  Yummy!

Canberra Quilters (Australia) also noticed the same thing and did a little research.  The designs are apparently intended to show Russian arts and crafts.

Check out the blue diamonds in the forefront!
By secretlondon123 (Flickr: Ice Arena) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)],
 via Wikimedia Commons

From facebook.com/jdombstravels

Well, I got a little more curious and did a bit more googling.  Next thing I found out is that the U.S. Snowboarding Team's official jacket is basically a patchwork created by Burton Snowboards. It is inspired by handcrafted patchwork quilts and the American flag.  It seems that snowboarders really love it, too! Who knew quilting and snowboarding would ever mix?!

 Here's a picture of gold medalist Sage Kotsenburg wearing the jacket and below is Shaun White with both the jacket and the bib!

By Parke Brewer (VOA) (US Kotsenburg 'Stoked' on Winning First Sochi Gold)
 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

From Burton Snowboards.

Shaun White wearing the bib and the jacket underneath!
from https://twitter.com/shaun_white

It might also be worth looking into Norway's Curling Team's uniform.  Those pants look really interesting, too!

Have you seen any other quilty uniforms while watching the Olympics?

Free Quilt Patterns

Notice a little something different?  I'm fiddling around here to share more quilts with you.   The latest are a bunch of my free quilt patterns that are listed under the "Free Stuff" tab above.   They are in PDF so you can easily download them.

Speaking of free quilt patterns, here's a shoutout to Ebony Love of lovebugstudios.com   for doing the Downton Abbey Mystery Quilt Along!  You're awesome, Ebony!  What an undertaking!

Anyway, if you haven't registered yet, you still have time to get the free weekly patterns to create your very own Downton Abbey quilt!   Come January 12, 2014, the Mystery will be totally solved and Ebony will no longer offer the pattern for free.

My Downton Abbey quilt will be a scrappier version of the Edith quilt kit.  It's got a lot of peach and some pink and green.  The original Edith also had purple and blue.  I'm still adding and removing fabrics to my version and I have yet to get started on the sewing!  I'll post a picture of my fabrics soon.

If you need Downton Abbey Fabrics, the Round Bobbin Quilt Shop will have the complete line at some point.  Though, right now, they are missing several bolts just like everyone else.  Downton Abbey is just so popular!

New Projects!

Here's one of my latest projects - it's a Block of the Month program called Sprinkles I designed for The Round Bobbin Quilt Shop.  Susan, the shop owner, put this quilt together from light, bright and delightful batiks!!!  

Speaking of latest projects,  I've just added a new page here with a list of them!  Check it out!  (Click on the scrappy quilt on the right.)

More exciting projects coming!!!   Watch for them! 

Gifts for Giving

The Holiday season is here - and so is all that Shopping!  So, this is just a reminder to consider alternative gifts this year.  For instance, November 24 is Small Business Saturday.  Why not visit a small business near you and spend your money there?  You would be supporting not only that small business but also your local community.

Actually, why not visit a small business throughout the year?  As quilters, we already do this everytime we go into a local quilt shop and buy something.  Why not take it a step farther and visit locally-owned restaurants and one-of-a-kind stores?  I have tasted some of the best food from these local restaurants and found some of the best gifts at local stores.

And, gifts can be in form of services.  Maybe pay for someone's newspaper subscription or maybe get a gift card to the hairdresser.  These sentiments are exactly those expressed in an  editorial letter by a Mr. Psalmond that appeared in the Moultrie (GA) Observer a year ago.  

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Thanks to American Patchwork and Quilting for the following:

Winners & Drive for Donations Update

Sherry B. from Iowa and Deb B. from Minnesota are the winners of the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog tour giveaway!

Congratulations!

Thanks to all who participated!

Regarding the drive for donations for victims of Sandy, I can't express my gratitude enough!  In just a few short days, we've received such a great response.  At the CLQ guild meeting last night, there were so many donations that I could barely take all of them in my car.  Good thing there were lots of clothes and quilts/blankets so we were able to squish them all in!


Thanks so much to Lisa from Kentucky who has gone out of her way to donate to this drive.  Your family's generosity is much appreciated and very awesome.

In the last few days, I have seen more and more calls for donations.  Here are a few:

American Quilter Society/Project Linus - asking for twin to queen sized quilts.

eQuilter Hurricane Sandy 5000 Quilt Challenge - read about this on Luana Rubin's blog. Details are at here.

Bumble Beans Basics - a NYC based quilter who has organized a quilt drive.

The Round Bobbin Quilt Shop, is still accepting donations in the Philadelphia area as well.

Again, thanks so much for all the donations.

Help for Sandy Victims

We all know how devastating Sandy was.  Well, it's been more than a week but there are still displaced families who urgently need our help.  Our friend, Cyndi Hershey, told me about this and we decided to have this grassroots drive for donations.

The families are in need of winter clothing - coats, hats, scarves, gloves, etc - as well as regular clothing.  Personal hygiene items that can be used in shelters are also needed.  Kids need backpacks for school (the school will provide school supplies).  Finally, with the cold weather upon us, there is a great need for QUILTS!  Blankets are in short supply so quilts of any size would be very welcome.   

If you are in the Philadelphia, PA area, please drop your donations off at the Round Bobbin Quilt Shop in Ambler.  Cyndi and Jim Hershey will transport these donations to Hoboken, NJ where Cyndi's daughter lives and works at the school.  Otherwise, please check with other relief agencies to see how you can help or contact your local quilt shop for help in starting your own drive for donations.

Thank you for your generosity.

 

Are you Blog Touring?

I am so honored and glad to have my block included in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 6!  This issue will hit the stands on November 13th!  Watch for it or keep reading to see how you can win a copy.

Picture courtesy of Quiltmaker.

My block is #573, Cross Keys, found on page 54.  I so love to play with colors and shading.  So this block features blue in three shades, and a yellow-green accent on a neutral background.

Here is the quilt, as shown on page 16, that I made to showcase this block. I created a pieced sashing strip that coordinates with the block and produces a neat secondary pattern!

Picture courtesy of Quiltmaker.

So many of my friends love reproductions so I had to see what this block would look like in repros.  Then, I just had to see it in pastels and in a very graphic black, white and red!

They all look so different, don't they?  With the repro block having such a strong cheddar background, I wanted to see it in a quilt with the pieced sashing.  I love the transparency the secondary block creates!

 Here are two simpler Table Runner settings - just the blocks sashed with cornerstones:

What colors would you want to see in this block?  Post your answer in a comment below and  be sure to include your email address.  You will be entered to win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 6 from the publishers!

Also, if you subscribe to this blog AND post a comment, you'll be entered in a separate drawing to win a book from me.  

Winners will be chosen early next week so be sure to post your comment and/or subscribe by Sunday evening, November 11. Please be sure to return to the Quiltmaker blog to keep touring everyday and be entered to win even more goodies!  

Thanks for visiting and if you're in the U.S., don't forget to vote today!  

 

Half Square Triangles

Today is the first day of the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Blog Tour!   Visit the other blogs listed today and tomorrow, come back to see my block and some options to use it!

In the meantime, here's a rundown on the different ways to make Half Square Triangles (HST).  I find that I use certain methods depending on the project I'm working on.  When making an HST, you typically need 2 different squares of fabric, 7/8" larger than the desired finished size.  So, to make a 2" finished HST, start with cutting two 2 7/8" squares.

1> The very simplest method is to simply cut a square into 2 triangles.  Sewing 2  triangles together make a HST!   This method is simple and fast.  However, working with the bias edges can sometimes be intimidating.  I would suggest using sizing or spray starch first to make things go more smoothly.

2>  The second, more popular method, is to mark the diagonal on the wrong side of a square of  fabric.  Layer two squares right sides together and sew 1/4" away from the marked line on both sides.  Cut on the marked line to get two HSTs.  This method is easy and simple but not as fast as the first.

3>  Using paper foundation is pretty popular.  There are several products in the market that work well, including software that allows you to print whatever size foundation you need.  This is such a great idea to make very precise HSTs.  However, tearing out the paper can be time-consuming.

4>  Use a ruler/template to cut or mark HST pieces.  For example, a lot of patterns require 2" finished HST squares using a 2 1/2" strip.  The best way to do this is to use special templates.  These methods are great when dealing with pre-cut strips.  

With any of these methods, one can always make oversized blocks that get trimmed down to exactly the size  needed.  So which way is your favorite?