Color Burst in QUILT (June/July 2013)

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you have had a good week.  As promised, I am sharing with you my “Color Burst” quilt that is featured in the latest QUILT magazine issue (June/July 2013).

I nicknamed this quilt my “Iron Man” quilt because I felt like the Iron Man after making hundreds and hundreds of half-square-triangle units in order to finish the quilt top.

The little HST units finish at 1.5″ — and I don’t even like piecing!

Here is a little behind-the-scene tidbit… In order for me to make the photo shoot, I completed that quilt from start to finish in about 5 days!  Sometimes I really think I have a screw loose somewhere… ha!

Here you can see the very clever quilt layout better – and see the pinwheel secondary pattern.

All that said, this quilt was made with lots of affection because the design is based on an actual quilt in the DAR collection, shown in the following. Click here for the technical information.  So, can you imagine having to piece all those blocks by hand, as done by the un-named original quilt maker?  What a heroine she was!!

[image source: Quilt Index]

And you know I love re-making historical quilts with our contemporary palettes.  I feel connected to quilters of the past when I work on such quilt projects.  It is my way of paying tribute to the women that have gone before us generations ago for their contribution in the rich American quilting heritage.

I used Thimbleberries’ Block Party fabrics (by RJR) for my interpretation of the design for a sweet vintage flair.  Click here to view the full fabric range.  I love how the fabrics end up giving a spring palette to the overall quilt design.

It was a little nerve wrecking working on a borderless on-point quilt because the pieces of the large HST units at the edge were cut on the bias.  I was scared to death the quilt top was going to turn out wonky.  I press-starched the fabric stiff before cutting to avoid the distortion in the cutting and piecing processes.  That seemed to take care of the stretching on the bias problem, because my quilt top laid flat upon completion.

Quilting was kept very simple to keep the “antique” look – just quilting in the ditches along major straight lines.  As always, I used Aurifil Mako 50 Cotton threads to quilt over Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting.  Now that the quilt is returned to me… my little pea brain has been toying with the idea of going back to quilt the open area with feathers (of course!).

Honestly, as much as I am not crazy about piecing… I told the editor I would make the quilt AGAIN in a heartbeat using just red and white fabrics.  All that to say, those HST units shouldn’t deter you from attempting this quilt.  It is actually quite relaxing because there isn’t much variation to the piecing – just piece maybe a block a day, and don’t complete the entire quilt in 5 days like I did.  Kits to replicate Color Burst are available for purchase here.

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you liked my springy Color Burst quilt!  Have a great weekend.

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Click here, and here for my other contemporary interpretations of antique quilts.

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Click here, here, here, here and here for my posts on DAR quilts.

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My 2013 lineup thus far besides “Color Burst” – click on the links for more information:

Annie’s Love Those Precuts Book (January 2013):  Apple of My Eye

Annie’s Sweet Layer Cakes (April 2013): Sunburst Melody, to be posted

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Spring 2013): Baubles, Baubles

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Summer 2013): Curious Cats

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Summer 2013): Fabrique Foursome

Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting (March/April 2013):  Now I know my ABC’s

Machine Quilting Unlimited (March/April 2013): Quilting Curvy Feathers

QUILT (June/July 2013): Pattern Play, to be posted

Quilt Trends (Winter 2013, Cover Quilt): Tango

Quilts and More (Spring 2013): 2 Wishes

Quilts and More (Spring 2013):  Watercolor Sketches

Quilter’s World (February 2013): New Life

Quilter’s World (April 2013): Monkey Around

Quilter’s World (Summer 2013): Garden Mist, to be posted

Quilter’s World QUICK & EASY QUILTS (Spring 2013): In & Out

Quilter’s World QUICK & EASY QUILTS (Spring 2013): Garden Maze

Simple Quilts & Sewing (Spring 2013):  Stained Glass

The Quilter (December 2012/January 2013): Not Too Square

The Quilter (April/May 2013):  In the Meadow

Benartex Free Pattern (March 2013): Pumpkin Patch/Autumn Fauna

Benartex Free Pattern (March 2013): Flora Linda/Catalina

Quilting Treasures Free Pattern (January 2013): Mediterranean Dream

Quilting Treasures Free Pattern (February 2013): Butterfly Kisses

Catching Up: Final Sneak Peek

Hello Friends — just so you know I am NOT anti-social.  I just have a lot going on this week trying to meet magazine and Spring Quilt Market deadlines.  Please know that I have really missed socializing with you.  Anyhow, here is a quick final sneak peek on my Catching Up quilt.  It is only called Catching Up temporarily until I can reveal the name of the fabric line in due time, along with information on the pattern.

I tried for the first time using the zig zag stitch in my quilting.  The jury is still out whether I am totally in love with the effect even though in my mind during the planning stage it would look spectacular!  But one thing is for sure, oftentimes I won’t know unless I actually physically stitched the stitches out.

Alrightie, dear Friends, with that I bid you good bye and go back to finishing up the 400 one-inch finished squares that are going into my current quilt.  Until tomorrow… when I will share with you another magazine featured project!

Thread Talk from My Sewing Machine #48

Hello Friends!  I hope you are doing well.  My “Twirly Whirly” quilting motif should be self-explanatory in the following images.

These twirly whirlies are perfect for allover quilting, strip quilting, or sashing/border quilting!  I tested them on my most recently completed quilt, and will definitely be experimenting and practicing with them in the future! [Sadly, my pictures didn't quite turn out... that's why I have no photos to show.]

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Quilting.

Cupcake Necklace

Miss Baby thinks she has arrived…

The cupcake pendant is hand sculpted by a glass artisan in North Carolina, and can be purchased here.  I know some of you have daughters and granddaughters around the same age as Miss Baby, and thought you might like a gift idea or two from time to time.

Thanks for stopping by.  I am getting ready to start another quilt today.  Will have previews for you in a day or two.  Later, Friends!

Fabrique Foursome in Fons & Porter’s EASY QUILTS (Summer 2013)

Welcome back, Friends!  I hope you had a restful and wonderful weekend.  Our little family took a little break from our fast-paced life over the weekend.  I am happy to report to you that I packed in quite a bit of sleep over the weekend.  So now I am all ready to work on all things Spring Quilt Market!

You might recall my Curious Cats quilt was featured in the Summer 2013 issue of Fons & Porter’s Easy Quilts.  Today, I am sharing with you another quilt that is featured in the same issue.  My Fabrique Foursome!

The colors!  That’s my feeling when I look at my Fabrique Foursome quilt.  The fabrics are from Paula Nadelstern’s Fabrique-istan and Extreme Colors collections, by Benartex.  The instructions in the magazine detail how the fabrics are fussy cut to easily achieve the “burst” effects you see in the quilt blocks.

I like to use both black and white to tie the quilt design together when I am using a lot of colors within a design.

Snapping these pictures was not without challenges…. as you can see in the following sequence!

You can probably imagine what ensued… my little lovely assistant, who worried about my Stained Glass quilt falling into the water, had a “more important” pursuit (literally!) during this photo shoot.

Now back to Fabrique Foursome the quilt… A quick thank you to Sherry McConnell from Indiana for piecing the quilt.  The design itself is meant to showcase the fabrics, and so quilting was kept to a minimal using Aurifil‘s Mako 50 cotton threads over Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting.

Fabrique Foursome quilt kits are available for purchase here.  You can also browse here for non-quilting Paula Nadelstern products.

I hope you have enjoyed the colors in Fabrique Foursome.  And I want to wish you a very Happy Monday and week!  God bless you all.

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My 2013 lineup thus far besides “Fabric Foursome” – click on the links for more information:

Annie’s Love Those Precuts Book (January 2013):  Apple of My Eye

Annie’s Sweet Layer Cakes (April 2013): Sunburst Melody, to be posted

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Spring 2013): Baubles, Baubles

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Summer 2013): Curious Cats

Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting (March/April 2013):  Now I know my ABC’s

Machine Quilting Unlimited (March/April 2013): Quilting Curvy Feathers

QUILT (June/July 2013): Pattern Play, to be posted

QUILT (June/July 2013): Color Burst, to be posted

Quilt Trends (Winter 2013, Cover Quilt): Tango

Quilts and More (Spring 2013): 2 Wishes

Quilts and More (Spring 2013):  Watercolor Sketches

Quilter’s World (February 2013): New Life

Quilter’s World (April 2013): Monkey Around

Quilter’s World (Summer 2013): Garden Mist, to be posted

Quilter’s World QUICK & EASY QUILTS (Spring 2013): In & Out

Quilter’s World QUICK & EASY QUILTS (Spring 2013): Garden Maze

Simple Quilts & Sewing (Spring 2013):  Stained Glass

The Quilter (December 2012/January 2013): Not Too Square

The Quilter (April/May 2013):  In the Meadow

Benartex Free Pattern (March 2013): Pumpkin Patch/Autumn Fauna

Benartex Free Pattern (March 2013): Flora Linda/Catalina

Quilting Treasures Free Pattern (January 2013): Mediterranean Dream

Quilting Treasures Free Pattern (February 2013): Butterfly Kisses

Brownies – slightly dry or moist?

Happy Friday, Friends!  This is totally off quilting… I realized it’s been a while since I showed you I actually do other things besides quilting!  HA!

The recipe for the above “slightly moist” brownie is available here.  I didn’t have dark chocolate chunks.  So I just regular semi-sweet chocolate chunks.  Turned out de-lish.  Now it’s your turn to tell me if you like your brownies slightly most, or dry.  There is of course no correct answer to this question.  Do you also have a favorite recipe for brownies?

Have a great weekend!  Today I am taking about 4-5 quilts for styled outdoor photography.  Stay tuned for details.  Have a lovely weekend!

Behind-the-scene peek!

Hello Friends,  I have been doing a lot of calculations of late.  I use the old-fashioned way, pencil on paper!

This behind-the-scene photo shows an essential part of what I have to do in making my quilt designs happen!  I have quite a bit of Math work to do for my upcoming designs for the next few days.  I also have quite a few recently featured quilts that have been returned to me, and are just waiting around for styled photography before I can share them with you.  So, I appreciate you being patient with me.

I hope you are having a good day!

Virtual Trunk Show #10: Spring 2013

Hello Friends, I was so happy about getting some warm weather a couple of weeks ago.   But apparently, the cold weather isn’t quite ready to leave us for the year…. and so, we are back to the colder temperatures again!  I heard on the news some of you might even get some snow today… yikes!

Nonetheless, mentally I am forcing myself to think that we are in spring through some of my springy quilts.  I hope you will enjoy the “virtual Spring” I am sharing with you today. Feel free to click on the quilt names to view detailed pictures of the quilts.

1.  Stained Glass, Simple Quilts & Sewing Spring 2013 – this is probably my favorite Spring 2013 quilt!

2.  New Life, Quilter’s World February 2013

3.  Not Too Square, The Quilter December 2012/January 2013

4.  Lollipop Spring, Jump-start Your Quilting

5.  Garden Maze, Quilter’s World’s Quick & Easy Quilts Spring 2013

6.  In the Meadow, The Quilter April/May 2013

7.  Watercolor Sketches, Quilts and More Spring 2013

8.  A Sprinkle of Spring, Fons and Porter Love of Quilting May/June 2012

9.  Flower Duet, American Patchwork & Quilting June 2012

10.  Out of the Nest, The Quilter August/September 2012

Which of these Spring Quilts caught your fancy?

Thanks for stopping by.  I’d better get to the sewing machine and work today as the second half of the day will be spent running errands.  Hugs to you all!

Catching up: Sneak Peek #1

Hello Friends!  I hope you have had a good weekend, and have had a great start to a new week.  I put myself in the high gear to get quite a few things done because my “to-do” pile is getting to be rather overwhelming.  I worked on a new quilt over the weekend, and here is a sneaky peek for you:

Do you like what you see so far?  I would like to know how you would coordinate the print such as the one shown?  Bright and bold, or a bit subdued, or scrappy?!

I will have more revealing peeks for you when it is safe for me to do so.   I think I am going to be able to quilt this quilt in a “fun” way.  Stay tuned for details.

What’s on your agenda this week?  I hope you get to do something fun!  Thanks for stopping by.  Hugs to you all.

Sew in Love {with fabric} April Blog Hop & Giveaway!

Good morning, Friends!  I participated in an April Blog Hop hosted by Benartex’s Sew in Love with Fabric.

This is my little Spring Pillow Ornament I contributed to the hop:

I used Benartex’s Antoinette fabrics for this project.  You may click here to see the entire fabric range.

And you  may recall, I have designed my Queen Anne quilt using these lovely fabrics.  The pattern is a free downloadable pattern.  Click on the quilt name for details.

I was happy to use some of the fabrics again to work on something fun and small.  Head on over to Sew in Love {with Fabric} to get the tutorial on how I made this my Spring pillow cutie!

When you are at Benartex’s Sew in Love {with Fabric}, and after you have seen the easy steps I took to make my pillow ornament,  go on to enter and win the following Benartex Antoinette bundle by:

#1.  Signing up to follow the blog, with

#2. and additional entry by liking Benartex on Facebook — AND

#3.  leaving a comment to let Benartex know you have done #1, or #1 and #2.

From my experience working with Benartex, the people at Benartex are AWESOMELY generous with their fabrics.  So, you don’t want to miss this chance of winning a fabric bundle from them.  Entries are accepted between now and next Tuesday (4/23/2013).

Happy Spring to my friends in the Northern Hemisphere (and do sincerely hope Spring will descend where you live), and to my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, do bundle up and stay warm!