An Unexpected Road Trip

The other day I was trying to find a quilt storage solution in the new condo.  I figured this out, but in the process I knew I needed to reduce my stash of quilts and the tornado survivors in Washington came to mind.  I googled to find the name of the quilt shop in Washington and had a short email conversation with Nancy.  She said they were collecting quilts.  I said I had a few extras.  I was going to send them in a box, but I took a road trip instead.

Being a long time Kansas resident I understand all about tornadoes.  I get it and I wanted to help in a small way.  It seemed too impersonal to send the quilts in a box and it's not that far from Chicago.

The ladies at the Peddlar's Way Quilt Co. in Washington are reaching out with quilts to support their community and the surrounding area. It's another wonderful example of the generosity of our community.

 Look at what they've collected already.  I added eight quilts to the stacks.

 As we drove out of town we saw this.  It's just a tiny bit of the devastation.

It was hard to look at.  It's a harsh reminder to be thankful for what we have.  I know I am.  

Proud to Be

I love being a member of the Modern Quilt Guild. For me it's a place for inspiration, community, and fun.  As we say in Kansas City, "The MQG changed my life."  It may sound a little over the top, but it's true.  My KC peeps and many folks around the country who are a part of this group understand. The connections, the friends, and the community have given me more than I've given them.

As many of you know I'm a Board member for the MQG and now I've been elected Chairman of the Board.  I told myself that 2014 was going to be my year of saying NO, but in this case, no wasn't really even a consideration.  I'm passionate about modern quilting and the guild and I want to do what I can to see it thrive and grow.  I'm proud to be one of the leaders of this group.  In a small way it is an opportunity to give back for what I've been given.

Have you joined?  Are you a part of the movement?  We'd sure love to have you.  It's an exciting time for our guild as we establish a solid foundation and set ourselves up for the future.

I hope I can do the group proud.   Though, in order to be Chairman of the Board, don't I need a gavel? A quilted, colorful one, maybe?  No quilted vest, though.  I won't even go there.

Homage

I'm home.  I'm happy to be home.  I have a little regional work, but after that it's time to take care of me, my family and to take time to sew and create.

I'd like to share this quilt with you.  It's called Homage and the pattern and a short article are in the current issue of The Quilt Life magazine.  I love this quilt.  It's also going to be hanging at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Tinley Park this weekend.

 It's densely quilted with a diamond serpentine stitch.

Can't wait for it to come home.  As Kansas gals say, "there's no place like home!"

You Know What They Say

....about give people who are busy the most work....I feel a bit like that's what's happened to me.  It's a function of having the word YES as a well used word in my vocabulary.  I'm working on increasing the frequency of NO, but I'm not very good at it yet.

With so little time to sew I have managed to finish a few things, one with the help of my longarm quilting friend Anne.

Supernova is done.  It's just a class sample, but I'm pretty happy with it.

 I'm packing again.  Back on the road today...in Arlington Heights near Chicago, then to Lowell Massachusetts for the Opening of the exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum.  I'm finally going to see my quilts hanging in a museum.  Then off to Baltimore for work at the Milltown Guild and the Baltimore MQG...so excited for that!  Home one day and off to Houston for Quilt Market and then to Austin to work with the Austin MQG.  There are still spots in those workshops in Austin.  I'd love to have you as a student if you're in the area.  Contact the Austin MQG for more info or drop me an email and I'll get you in touch.

I got the "Bursting with Pride" quilt quilted in the one full day I had a home yesterday.  I was hoping to get it bound before I left today.  If I have room I'll take it with me to bind on the plane.

Modern Solids

My friend Alissa is debuting a new line of solids with In The Beginning Fabrics, Modern Solids II.  She sent me a set and asked if I would put together a quilt to showcase them at Quilt Market.  I don't have a minute at home to sew, so I threw my machine in the car and have done some hotel room sewing the last couple of nights.  I'm still obsessed with the slice/insert technique so I made this "Bursting With Pride" quilt for her.  I'm so proud of her and her success! I'm setting the blocks on point this time which creates a new design from the same blocks I used in another quilt.

I chose to use all of the cool colors in the modern solids line.  I especially love the greens so I decided to showcase them a bit more.  I also have to say that the two grays in the line are perfect.  This one is so dark and dramatic and there is a wonderful light gray as well.  Check out all the colors here.

 These fabrics are cross woven with different threads in the warp and weft so they have a beautiful shimmer, are soooo soft and have a wonderful hand.  I ran out of background so I've only got two of the corner triangles in.  When the rest of the fabric arrives I have the backing fabric chosen and I'll be on to quilting when I get home.

Marti, thanks for letting me use your design wall and for finding internet for me to do this post.  Aren't quilters the best!

Gratuitous Cuteness

Because I miss them.

Bruno misses me too.

I'll be home soon!

The Traveling Quilts are Traveling Again

I took a minute or two from my days at home to try and get caught up.  I've been behind on the traveling quilts and suffering from lame quilter guilt!  I've got two in the mail and on their way, Alissa's and Amber's.
For Alissa I made a few supernova stars.  The quilt really didn't need me to do any more piecing, so this is a starry medallion for the back.

 I only added one to the front, with just a tish of kona flame which is Alissa's favorite color.  It wouldn't be an Alissa quilt without a touch of flame.  Then I simply added two side borders to the quilt.  It was pretty busy already and I thought it needed a bit of open space to let everything else sing!

 Here's the one little touch of flame.

 Amber's also had a lot going on, but I latched onto one element, the unwinding spool of pink thread.  I love to make spools so I went for it and added a few more to the quilt.  A little repetition is a good thing.

 I free pieced the backgrounds and set them so they looked like they are bouncing down the side of the quilt.

 One quick announcement for you.  I wanted to let you know that my Craftsy class is on sale.  Just click to save 75% during the Craftsy Saleabration!  The sale is on through the 21st!

Have a happy weekend!  I'm teaching and may head over to RIOT FEST in Chicago to see my boy's band play.  Quilting and head banging music...what's better than that?

Prairie Grass Quilt

It's about time I made a quilt to be the "mascot" quilt for my blog.  This is the Prairie Grass quilt.

 Can you tell I'm sort of obsessed with the slice/insert technique lately?

 Makes me happy!

 I think what I like best is how this fabric (the print on the back of the quilt) looks so different cut in thin strips and makes perfect "blades" of grass.  I also love the osnaburg fabric in the background.

Troy and Christina, you are the winner of a pdf copy of Amy's book.  Please drop me an email with your contact information and Amy will send you your prize.

I'm home to sew today!  Oh happy day!

Amy Ellis has written her third book, Modern Neutrals and it's on tour this week.  I'm not sure when that girl sleeps!  I think most of you know I love a neutral.  For me, they are calming and sophisticated, but even if you’re a wild color obsessed quilter, as I am on certain days, I'm sure you will find a design in this book that you could paint in your own way. 

That's the great thing about good design and the quilts in this book rely on good design.  Amy has done a great job designing a set of block-based quilts that effectively use value, which is essential when you're not leaning on color.   

My favorite quilt in the book is Slice. 

As some of you know, I love to cut things up and this quilt feeds that urge.  I always wonder what would happen if things were cut apart and put back together and that's just what Amy does in this quilt.  I think the on point setting takes this quilt to the next level as well.  I need to let Amy know that I might have to cut it a couple more times to see what happens?  I think she'd be OK with that!

I also love quilts that create illusions and the Placid Curves quilt does that beautifully. 

Don't you love when simple squares and rectangles create curves?  It's beautiful!

There are 15 projects to choose from in Modern Neutrals.  They're all simple to piece and this book is an 80+ page lesson in using value.

Head here to answer a few questions that may help you win a hard copy of the book and some extras from Amy.  Be sure to read my post carefully and follow along on the rest of the tour.  You'll need some information from the post and the others to answer the questions.

I'll draw one winner to receive a pdf copy of the book.  Just leave a comment and answer the question, how are you at using value in your quilts?

Comments will close Sunday midnight.  Winner on Monday if all goes well!  Comments are now closed!

Dancing on the Table with Dan

This my Dancing on the Table with Dan quilt.  I'm just going to say I adore this quilt and am so proud that I accomplished the vision that was in my head.  The quilt was inspired by the one and only Dan Rouse, who I had the pleasure to meet at Camp Stitch-a-lot in Michigan.  Dan brought one of his quilts which he quilted with amazing spirograph-like quilting.  I did some quilting like that years ago, but not anywhere near Dan's work, but it reminded me of that quilt and my time as a kid playing with my Spirograph.  If you don't know what that is...google it...it's hours of doodling fun!  One night at camp when I couldn't sleep I sketched this quilt idea and it's come to life.

The quilt is one giant slice and insert project done with 1" strips...1/2" finished!  The quilt is about 65" x 80" which made some of the slices over 80" long...and that's 80 inches of cutting on the bias and sewing with long bias edges.  I don't think I've ever pinned this much on one project.

I may have been crazy to try it, but I'm just crazy enough to do it and am I glad I did.

All those lines make me happy!  I love a line!

Right now I'm pondering the quilting...this one needs a professional.  I don't usually worry that my quilts will lie flat and be square, but for this one...I'm shaking in my boots.  Stay tuned!