Fireball

I worked on another quilt from the closet. This is the fireball quilt.  I made it to figure out how to spiral with stitch and flip triangles.  I was using it as a class sample, so I wasn't going to finish it, but I like it too much not to.

I'm not usually a border person, but I wanted to extend the firey colors, so I made the spiral the center medallion and added a couple of borders to pump up the volume.

I made the back too, so it's ready to baste and quilt.  As always there is a quilting decision to be made.

I have an idea for this one.  I'm thinking of a spiral of flames that swirls around the center.  They may repeat and get mixed with some radiating lines.  I'm still sketching the idea, but at least I have a starting place.

From the Closet of Creativity (Shame)

I have so many unfinished items it's a bit overwhelming, but I'm determined to tackle them.  It's hard for me to focus on one thing at a time, but I'm trying to change my spots. I will admit I'm working on a new design simultaneously, but for me that's an improvement. At least it's only one new thing. So, I fired up the machine and got a few things done.

I tore off the outer border of this, which was a linen that read way too yellow, replaced it with natural osnaburg and focused on getting it finished.

I changed the backing fabric too.  Quilted it up and chose the binding.

I finished handstitching the binding last night after guild.

I love crazy piecing and using crazy pieced sections in other projects.  This is one of my favorite techniques from the book.  I love that I can use up those little pieces fabric.

I also started on these pillows.  These are the second set of pillows that are in the book that have been hanging in my closet for a year or more.  My mom and dad sold the farm and moved into a house in town and my mom mentioned that they would be perfect in the new house.

I've got two of them quilted so far.  I have the third one to go and then I need to head out and get some zippers for the backs.  Another project well on the way.

I also made a back for a very old quilt top.  I'm going to tackle those tops hanging in the closet one at a time.  As that old Egyptian Pharaoh once said, "So let it be written, so let it be done!"

Supernova 2

One of the projects I pulled out to work on is the second version of the Supernova quilt from the book. The center medallion has been done forever. I just have a few rows to add to the top and bottom and one column to each side and the top will be done. I can handle that this week.

I love how this quilt builds from the center outward.  The fussy cut center...

...then the next layer of color...

...and then the final layer to create the center medallion.

I used a variety of textured fabrics for the background of this version.  This fabric is in the center.

This texture is next...

...and this one will be in the outer rows.  It'll be combined with another fabric since there wasn't enough of this to finish the quilt.  I think the different textures really add to the design of the quilt.

I hope to have a completed top by the end of the week!

The winners of Quilt Scene are Brenna and Kirstin.  Please drop me an email with your contact info and I'll get the magazine out to you.  Congrats!

On the Move

I'll be on the move one way or the other in the next week. I'm heading to North Carolina to do a trunk show at Thimble Pleasures in Chapel Hill on Thursday the 11th and an improv class on the 12th and 13th. I haven't been back to NC in years, so it's going to be like going home. If you're in the neighborhood I'd sure love to see you!  I can't wait!

Everything in the house is packed, from fabric down to the last spoon in the kitchen.  We don't know quite where we're going, we just know we're going.

In the midst of all this the second printing of Quilting Modern finally arrived on the slow boat from China!  I'm so happy to have copies again, though the last thing I needed was another big, heavy box in the house.  The book should be shipping to stores and Amazon is no longer charging 70+ dollars for a copy.  If you don't have a copy, now is the time!

I actually have been making quilts over the last couple of months.  This one is Firestacks, inspired by my childhood campfire building experiences.  Firestacks will be in Quilt Trends magazine this winter.  I've also got work in Interweave's Quilt Scene magazine, Mary Fon's new magazine, Quilty, and in the debut issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited. I'm thrilled about Modern Quilts Unlimited, a magazine dedicated to modern quilts and quilters.  Pretty cool that modern quilting is the star of this publication!  The debut issue is being printed and you won't want to miss it!

I'm hoping that we'll be in our new condo in the next couple of weeks and that I can plan, organize and begin working in the new studio.  I believe it's going to happen!

Supernova Makes a Splash!

I hope the Supernova quilt from the book will make a splash this weekend. Katie and I donated this quilt from the book to The Ocean Discovery Institute for their fall gala fundraiser, Bubble Up. Ocean Discovery is all about inspiring young scientists in the San Diego area and I'm all about that! Supernova is a perfect fit for this event. I'm also giving away a full day private quilting lesson and of course a copy of the book to the lucky winner.

Katie and I are sad to see this quilt go, but it's such a wonderful cause.  The Bubble Up Gala is Saturday, September 8th!  Goodbye Supernova!  Now go raise some money!

New Mexico Here I Come!

I'm heading to Albuquerque in September. If you're in the neighborhood, I sure would love to meet you.  Give Suzanne at Hip Stitch a call and make your reservation for both the Friday events and the class on Saturday.  We're going to have a ton of fun!  Another packed weekend!

I'm on a poster...how funny is that!

Double Swirling Medallion

The Double Swirling Medallion (a bigger version of the Swirling Medallion quilt in the book) is finally done. Had some quiet time late last night to finish sewing on the binding.

I especially like the overlapping spiraled quilting.

It needs a quick wash and then it's ready to cuddle with on the sofa.  It's not huge, but the perfect cuddle size for a short person like me.

Thanks so much to everyone who has donated to Action Kivu so far.  We're doing great, but not near our goal.  Check out the previous post for more info and please give if you can!

A Magical Weekend

Sorry to have disappeared for a bit, but I've been on the road, teaching and taking care of family things. I wanted to drop in a share a bit about what I've been up to. My trip to Colorado was simply magical. The whole weekend was about quilts and quilters...two of my very favorite things. The trip started out with a visit to the Fancy Tiger in Denver. What a store...beautiful, inspirational and the most fabulous teaching space I've ever seen. It's a must visit if you're in the Denver area.

I did a book signing and trunk show of my quilts.  We spread the quilts on the table, draped them on the floor and hung them on walls.

...and people came and we talked quilts.  Thanks to Jaime, Amber and all the staff of the store.  They were terrific and made me feel like part of the Fancy Tiger family.

I didn't think it could get better than Friday, but then there was Saturday.  Tara, chef, quilter and innkeeper at at bed and breakfast in Fort Collins, and Angela, owner of Mama Said Sew, another amazing fabric store, put on a quilt themed dinner to honor me and celebrate the book, "Quilting Modern."  These women went above and beyond with personal touches and created an extraordinary celebration of the quilting community.

The event was all about thoughtful touches like these....handmade pincushions that were our placecards with the signature line from the book, "Break free, go bold!"  Each made using techniques in the book.

The quilts were on racks and placed on the grass forming a quilty path through the yard.  The trees, flowers, and trickling water created a magical backdrop for the dinner.

and each place had a handmade placemat, again each made using techniques in the book.  We all got to take ours home and not only were they placemats, they were actually place"cases".  At home the placemats turn into pillows.  How creative and cool is that?!

The centerpieces for the table were glass cylinders filled with river rock, topped with succulents.  The rocks represented the pebble quilting on the cover of the book.  Details like that touched my heart and made the evening an event that I will never forget.  The quilt-themed menu (which was creative and delicious), the people, and the atmosphere, made for a nearly perfect evening.  The only thing that would have made the evening perfect is if Katie would have been there.  We missed her!

Tara and Angela even hired a professional photographer to capture the evening.  I hope you will be seeing her pictures soon, so you can get a complete picture of this amazing evening.

If that wasn't enough I spent Sunday and Monday taping "The Quilt Show" in Boulder.  Another experience that I never imagined I would have.  Not only did I get to work with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, Jean Wells was taping as well and I had the opportunity to have lunch with her.  Lunch with an idol is a pretty cool thing.  Shelly, the producer, Lilo, Adele....all amazing women (and the great crew) made my experience a positive one.

I wouldn't have had this weekend without my friend Penny.  You may all know her by her blog, Sewtakeahike.  Penny and I have been online friends for years and Penny was the spark that ignited this whole experience.  She connected me with Jaime, Amber, Angela, and Tara and helped make this all happen.  Not only did she make the connections, she graciously invited me to stay with her and she was my chauffeur for the weekend.  It was the first time we'd met in person and I have to say I'm so happy we did.  I think we cemented our friendship in a way that you can't do online.  Penny and I had so much in common it was sort of scary...coffee, collecting Danish modern enamelware...we even have the same galvanized trash cans and now we have matching slippers courtesy of Penny's amazing skill at paper piecing and her creative mind!

I had another blind date in Colorado.  Jenny, another online friend, came to the event at the Fancy Tiger in Denver and when she found out I was going to be in Boulder, suggested that I give her a call.  I did, and like Penny, she made me feel welcome in Boulder and we shared a dinner where we talked quilts and got to know each other better.

The weekend reinforced for me that I joined the right community.  The community of quilters is the place to be and I'm damn proud to be a part of it.

Stitching and Flipping!

My goals before I left on my travels were to get a few things done that have been languishing in the closet and to get all my class samples finished. Didn't quite achieve both, but I've made progress.  I did finish all my step outs and samples for my Quilt Show Taping in Colorado next week.

I focused next on getting on my class samples done for my Stitch and Flip class.  The Stitch and Flip class is turning into one of my favorites. It always amazes me how creative folks can get with this technique. People keep coming up with new designs and that keeps the class fresh and exciting.

I'm just about finished with this double version of the Swirling Medallion quilt from the book.  I quilted spiraling circles because every time I look at this design I see a rock dropped into a pond and the ripples that extend into the water.

Binding left to go on this one.

I always knew that stitch and flip triangles could form a spiral and before I taught the class in Kansas City, I figured out how to make that happen.  This spiraling version is Fireball.

This spiraling version is Let's Go Fly a Kite.  I love how one is so strong and dramatic and the other is so light and whispy.  I have a couple more class samples for this technique that I need to get finished as well.  At least they are all basted and ready to quilt.

My next Stitch and Flip class is in Chicago with the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild on Saturday, August 11th.  If you're in the area, check it out.  There may be a space or two left.

PS...Margaret is the winner of the pattern.  Congratulations!!

A Little Hiccup in My Plans

It seems whenever I have time to sew, something happens to get in my way. This time it was my beloved Bernina. She decided to have a bad day, be surly and uncooperative, and I was tearing my hair out. Nothing serious, (I hope) but four hours later I made an emergency call to my favorite Bernina technician in Kansas and she talked me down from the ledge. My baby will have to go in for a check up.

I decided I liked Scandia Crush so much I made it bigger.  It was fine for a class sample, but I wanted to be able to give it away as a baby quilt and I don't like tiny baby quilts....bigger ones are useful for so much longer, so I made more blocks until I ran out of the gray Heath fabric.

  My friend Kate brought me over a couple of yards of this Finlandia fabric from her secret stash for the back!  Perfect!

Since I decided to let my Bernie rest, I did a bunch more cutting.  Look at all these hexies....more Stockholm....can't get enough of that fabric!

I basted a couple of quilts from the closet too.  Now I really need my machine!

Stockholm...I have a crush on you!

I've been busy making class samples and step outs for my upcoming appearance on "The Quilt Show." I was only going to make 4 blocks, but I liked it so much, I kept going.  This is "Scandia Crush", a version of the Lilac Crush quilt that's in the book.  It's such a sophisticated look...I'm in love with it.

The background is Alexander Henry's Heath in gray, kona coal and white and the rest of the fabric is Robin Zingone's Stockholm and some of my last scraps of my Finlandia fabric by Free Spirit.  Gotta tell you I'm in love with that Stockholm fabric.  I love when just a touch of prints makes such a big impact! I don't know what took me so long to use it.  I've got a couple hundred hexagons cut from this as well.  Itching to make that quilt!

I bought most of my Stockholm prints from Tammy at Marmalade.  She's about the only one who has it and I think I need to buy more before it's gone.  The orange and lime and blue and brown colorways are pretty great too!

It's Good to Have a Goal

I'm hoping to get some sewing done for myself this week.  I have to finish up my traveling quilts blocks and get them on their way and I'd really like to get some tops out of the closet and get some finishes.

 I tweaked this top a bit and now it's done.  Ready for a good pressing!

 I have a panel done for the back, but it needs a little pizzaz!  I'm thinking maybe this Olivia dot?

I took these 6 quilt tops out of the closet.  I have some backs to make and some basting to do.  I'm going to try table basting as soon as I get this first back made.  I'll let you know how it goes.
Hope you're getting some sewing in too!